Chapter LV- Cutting Ties
We walked towards the building and could smell the wood burning strongly as
black smoke rose out of the chimmney in the middle of the house. This was another open
hut really. It didn't have any walls at all, It was simply a roof with a Kiln under it,
supported by sparsly located wood pillars. We looked around and as we walked in, caught
a fleeting glimsps of Jarod running over to his bonfire.
"Hello?" Noki said and suddenly a young man turned around, covered in soot. I tooke off
his glasses and revealed the only part of his skin that wasn't covered in soot, just around
his brown eyes.
"Hey there. What can I do for you?" He said and removed his blacked gloves. All of a
sudden a charmeleon ran in from a side of the hut and dropped a pile of wood next to the
young man. "Is that all? Blaze...I'm gonna need more then that...I know it's hard by
yourself, but I know you can do it!" He said to it, and this seemed to motivate it as it ran
out and back into the brush. "Sorry about that. It just hasn't been the same since Brian left.
By the way my name is Roger, I'm the new Charcol maker here. Brian moved his
establishment to the Orange Islands, taking his Farfetch'd with him, so I'm here with
Blaze." He said and waited for Blazes triumphant return, but it didn't happen. "Ah well.
Like I said...what can I do for you?"
"We would like to buy some charcoal. I think I'll get a large charcoal necklace, with two
peices..." I said and Erika continued,
"A medium one for me...with two peices..." And Noki finished,
"And a medium one for me with three." We all looked at her.
"And where are you going to get the money for that?" I asked.
"Ugh....my mom." She said not really knowing how to answer.
"Well...ladies...that's quite and order..." he said and looked around on his table, pushing
the piles of dust and debris into a pale below him, "but as much as I hate to say this...I
can't really fill that order at this moment." he said and we all stared at him. "I'm sorry but
it's just become so popular I really can't keep up the demand with only one pokemon, and
I can't exactly leave to find another one to help me..." We all looked at each other and just
kind of thought for a few moments.
"Hey! I've got a Charmander!" I said and snapped my fingers. "Maybe she can help!" I said
and ran back to the pokemon center quickly, switching her with Hinoarashi, then running
back. "Here she is!" I said gasping somewhat. I let her out and he gazed at her.
"Oh she's a beautiful pokemon. She's a little more red then mine...I wonder why...?" He
said mummbling lightly.
"She's a Cinnibar Island Charmander. One of very few left after..." I said and I stopped in
mid sentance. I didn't realize just how aweful it was to think about that all over again. I
hadn't thought about it for almost a year and it suddenly is just thrust into a conversation.
"Does...she know cut?" He asked and walked around the table.
"Yea...I think so. Charmander...can you go help Rogers Charmeleon and cut some wood
with him?" I asked and Charmeleon shook its head 'yes' heading off in the same direction
as Blaze.
"Oh this is great. Thanks so much." He said just as Blaze and Charmander returned with
handfuls of wood. "Much better Blaze! And thank you Charmeleon!" He said and she
smiled, following Blaze back into the bushes. "Actually...I think I have enough wood
now...if you guys want to stay here for about and hour, or if you want to go eat, either is
fine. It should be ready by then."
"Thanks very much for the offer, but I think we're going to go find my husband. He should
have lunch ready by now...though I'll tell you what? I'll leave charmeleon here for a bit to
help...ok?"
"Thanks so much....hey...wait....are you....hey!! Erika Crimson and Marcy Silph!!!
Wow....well thanks VERY much then miss Marcy."
"Welcome^_^" I said and we headed off in Jarods direction. We could see a small puff of
smoke over by the well and as we headed away from the kilns we could smell lunch, and it
actually smelled pretty good.
"Ok ladies!!!!" Jarod said and we all sat down on a mat Jarod had placed for us on the
sandy but slightly grassy ground. There was a big pot of some sort of stew in the middle,
and bowls that had some cooked sliced potatoe in them.
"Mmm....smells good Jaord...." Erika said, being handed one of the bowls and passing it
down to me, which I then passed to Noki. I got mine next, then Erika, then Jarod. He
took a long laddle, and standing up again spooned out two things each into all of our
bowls. It looked like a rice dish that had some corn and carrots mixed in with the ramen
flavoring.
"Where did you get the rice dad?" Noki asked as she smelled it and couldn't resist taking a
small sip of the loose broth in her bowl.
"Oh I just picked some up and the pokemart. Rice and Ramen, the staple diet of any good
pokemon trainer. Especially my angel!" He said and laughed lightly.
"Very funny." I said and took a sip of it as well. To my suprise it was quite good. the rice
had absorbed the flavor of the beef flavoring and the corn, making it soft and full of flavor.
"Hm...this is good Jarod....how did you make it?" I asked as we all began to eat now,
whipping out our chopsticks, making sure to get every last bit in our bowls to our mouths,
along with the potatoes.
"M.....mmmm" he said as he swallowed. "My little secret." He said and winked. "Maybe if
you're good I'll make it with REALLY good ingredients when we get back to Goldenrod.
Beef, fresh corn...crunchy carrots...it'll be a feast!!!!" He said and I could see a gleeful
twinkle in his eye.
"Well...mom always did say I better marry a man who knows how to cook." I said and we
all split what was left of the stew between ourselves and our pokemon.
"Better get this all cleaned up." He said and took our bowls, organizing everything.
"Ok. Well we'll be back in like 15 minutes hunny. We gotta go pick up our charcoal then
we're heading to the gym. Ok?"
"All righty then."
"Hey mom...I'm gonna stay with dad and help him clean up." She said and didn't follow me
and Erika as we walked back to the charcoal makers house. The smoke was thick now,
heavier then it was before and we walked into the house, taken aback by the copious
amount of wood that was overflowing inside.
"WOW." I said and we looked around. There were piles of wood as high as the celing.
"This is great!! I can make enough now for all the trainers that come around! Oh! Erika!
Marcy! Where's your friend?" He said turning around taking off his goggles. And then it
hit me. That's why she stayed behind. That's why she said her 'mom' would pay for it. I
chuckled to myself and he looked perplexed.
"Ah...she had to help with clean-up crew." I said and began to count out money as he
shuffled through the shelves under his tabled looking for the right size and number of
charcoals we had asked for.
"Ok....um are you sure that you want the ones with the two and three peices?" He asked
and pulled them out.
"They're expensive aren't they?" I asked and put my hands on my hips.
"Ya...normally they all together would be 18000....but since your Charmander helped me
so much....I will lower it...but I mean it's still kinda expensive...15000...?" He said and I
almost laughed.
"Ugh well. If we need it we need it^_^" I said and pulled out my wallet as Erika pulled out
hers. We both split the cost, me paying for both mine and Nokis.
"Alright then. You're all set. Here they are." He said, handing me a large paper bag, and
handing Erika a somewhat smaller one.
"Right then. Now...where did my Chamander dissapear to?" I asked as I looked around
and the two of them, covered in soot emerged from the bushes with bundles of wood in
their claws.
"Well Charmander. It looks like you've got a good job here^_^" I said and giggled.
"Charchar...Charmander char chacha. chacha charm...cha...charmander char char?"
*Actually...I like Blaze. He's cool...do you think I can stay here for a bit master?* She said
and I was slightly taken aback by this.
"Really...?" I asked somewhat sad. Roger looked very confused by my answer to seeming
jibberish to him.
"Charmander charchar cha...charachar chacha charm..." *I'm not really any use in the
computer...at least here I can help both of them...* She said and put down the pile of
wood. Blaze stared at her, and by the look in his eyes I could tell that he didn't want her to
leave.
"Well...this is...quite a shock Charmander...you were my first pokemon...it's not easy for
me to just....." I started but my eyes had already started to tear. I knew Erika understood it
too. I could here her sniffle lightly behind me and walk outside to pet Ryu.
"What....what did she say?" Roger asked softly and I turned to him slowly not lifting my
eyes off the ground.
"She says...." I began and I could feel a cold tear slip its way down my cheek. "She wants
to stay here with you..." I said and I felt another fall down my other cheek.
"No...I can't...I couldn't..." He said and put his hand out, but I grasped it lightly and
looked up, my eyes fully watering by now.
"If...it's what she wants..." I said and I could barely see anything anymore as I fought to
hold the tears back. "I have no right to thwart her happiness. That is after all...all I want
for her." I said and handed him her pokeball. "Please...take good care of her for me. She
was my first pokemon and..." My voice trembled as I said the next line, "...and I want her
to be with a master that will take care of her...who will keep her safe....and happy."
"Of course. Mrs. Silph. I promise." He said and placed his other sooty hand ontop of
mine, looking me straight in the eye. "I promise you."
We walked towards the building and could smell the wood burning strongly as
black smoke rose out of the chimmney in the middle of the house. This was another open
hut really. It didn't have any walls at all, It was simply a roof with a Kiln under it,
supported by sparsly located wood pillars. We looked around and as we walked in, caught
a fleeting glimsps of Jarod running over to his bonfire.
"Hello?" Noki said and suddenly a young man turned around, covered in soot. I tooke off
his glasses and revealed the only part of his skin that wasn't covered in soot, just around
his brown eyes.
"Hey there. What can I do for you?" He said and removed his blacked gloves. All of a
sudden a charmeleon ran in from a side of the hut and dropped a pile of wood next to the
young man. "Is that all? Blaze...I'm gonna need more then that...I know it's hard by
yourself, but I know you can do it!" He said to it, and this seemed to motivate it as it ran
out and back into the brush. "Sorry about that. It just hasn't been the same since Brian left.
By the way my name is Roger, I'm the new Charcol maker here. Brian moved his
establishment to the Orange Islands, taking his Farfetch'd with him, so I'm here with
Blaze." He said and waited for Blazes triumphant return, but it didn't happen. "Ah well.
Like I said...what can I do for you?"
"We would like to buy some charcoal. I think I'll get a large charcoal necklace, with two
peices..." I said and Erika continued,
"A medium one for me...with two peices..." And Noki finished,
"And a medium one for me with three." We all looked at her.
"And where are you going to get the money for that?" I asked.
"Ugh....my mom." She said not really knowing how to answer.
"Well...ladies...that's quite and order..." he said and looked around on his table, pushing
the piles of dust and debris into a pale below him, "but as much as I hate to say this...I
can't really fill that order at this moment." he said and we all stared at him. "I'm sorry but
it's just become so popular I really can't keep up the demand with only one pokemon, and
I can't exactly leave to find another one to help me..." We all looked at each other and just
kind of thought for a few moments.
"Hey! I've got a Charmander!" I said and snapped my fingers. "Maybe she can help!" I said
and ran back to the pokemon center quickly, switching her with Hinoarashi, then running
back. "Here she is!" I said gasping somewhat. I let her out and he gazed at her.
"Oh she's a beautiful pokemon. She's a little more red then mine...I wonder why...?" He
said mummbling lightly.
"She's a Cinnibar Island Charmander. One of very few left after..." I said and I stopped in
mid sentance. I didn't realize just how aweful it was to think about that all over again. I
hadn't thought about it for almost a year and it suddenly is just thrust into a conversation.
"Does...she know cut?" He asked and walked around the table.
"Yea...I think so. Charmander...can you go help Rogers Charmeleon and cut some wood
with him?" I asked and Charmeleon shook its head 'yes' heading off in the same direction
as Blaze.
"Oh this is great. Thanks so much." He said just as Blaze and Charmander returned with
handfuls of wood. "Much better Blaze! And thank you Charmeleon!" He said and she
smiled, following Blaze back into the bushes. "Actually...I think I have enough wood
now...if you guys want to stay here for about and hour, or if you want to go eat, either is
fine. It should be ready by then."
"Thanks very much for the offer, but I think we're going to go find my husband. He should
have lunch ready by now...though I'll tell you what? I'll leave charmeleon here for a bit to
help...ok?"
"Thanks so much....hey...wait....are you....hey!! Erika Crimson and Marcy Silph!!!
Wow....well thanks VERY much then miss Marcy."
"Welcome^_^" I said and we headed off in Jarods direction. We could see a small puff of
smoke over by the well and as we headed away from the kilns we could smell lunch, and it
actually smelled pretty good.
"Ok ladies!!!!" Jarod said and we all sat down on a mat Jarod had placed for us on the
sandy but slightly grassy ground. There was a big pot of some sort of stew in the middle,
and bowls that had some cooked sliced potatoe in them.
"Mmm....smells good Jaord...." Erika said, being handed one of the bowls and passing it
down to me, which I then passed to Noki. I got mine next, then Erika, then Jarod. He
took a long laddle, and standing up again spooned out two things each into all of our
bowls. It looked like a rice dish that had some corn and carrots mixed in with the ramen
flavoring.
"Where did you get the rice dad?" Noki asked as she smelled it and couldn't resist taking a
small sip of the loose broth in her bowl.
"Oh I just picked some up and the pokemart. Rice and Ramen, the staple diet of any good
pokemon trainer. Especially my angel!" He said and laughed lightly.
"Very funny." I said and took a sip of it as well. To my suprise it was quite good. the rice
had absorbed the flavor of the beef flavoring and the corn, making it soft and full of flavor.
"Hm...this is good Jarod....how did you make it?" I asked as we all began to eat now,
whipping out our chopsticks, making sure to get every last bit in our bowls to our mouths,
along with the potatoes.
"M.....mmmm" he said as he swallowed. "My little secret." He said and winked. "Maybe if
you're good I'll make it with REALLY good ingredients when we get back to Goldenrod.
Beef, fresh corn...crunchy carrots...it'll be a feast!!!!" He said and I could see a gleeful
twinkle in his eye.
"Well...mom always did say I better marry a man who knows how to cook." I said and we
all split what was left of the stew between ourselves and our pokemon.
"Better get this all cleaned up." He said and took our bowls, organizing everything.
"Ok. Well we'll be back in like 15 minutes hunny. We gotta go pick up our charcoal then
we're heading to the gym. Ok?"
"All righty then."
"Hey mom...I'm gonna stay with dad and help him clean up." She said and didn't follow me
and Erika as we walked back to the charcoal makers house. The smoke was thick now,
heavier then it was before and we walked into the house, taken aback by the copious
amount of wood that was overflowing inside.
"WOW." I said and we looked around. There were piles of wood as high as the celing.
"This is great!! I can make enough now for all the trainers that come around! Oh! Erika!
Marcy! Where's your friend?" He said turning around taking off his goggles. And then it
hit me. That's why she stayed behind. That's why she said her 'mom' would pay for it. I
chuckled to myself and he looked perplexed.
"Ah...she had to help with clean-up crew." I said and began to count out money as he
shuffled through the shelves under his tabled looking for the right size and number of
charcoals we had asked for.
"Ok....um are you sure that you want the ones with the two and three peices?" He asked
and pulled them out.
"They're expensive aren't they?" I asked and put my hands on my hips.
"Ya...normally they all together would be 18000....but since your Charmander helped me
so much....I will lower it...but I mean it's still kinda expensive...15000...?" He said and I
almost laughed.
"Ugh well. If we need it we need it^_^" I said and pulled out my wallet as Erika pulled out
hers. We both split the cost, me paying for both mine and Nokis.
"Alright then. You're all set. Here they are." He said, handing me a large paper bag, and
handing Erika a somewhat smaller one.
"Right then. Now...where did my Chamander dissapear to?" I asked as I looked around
and the two of them, covered in soot emerged from the bushes with bundles of wood in
their claws.
"Well Charmander. It looks like you've got a good job here^_^" I said and giggled.
"Charchar...Charmander char chacha. chacha charm...cha...charmander char char?"
*Actually...I like Blaze. He's cool...do you think I can stay here for a bit master?* She said
and I was slightly taken aback by this.
"Really...?" I asked somewhat sad. Roger looked very confused by my answer to seeming
jibberish to him.
"Charmander charchar cha...charachar chacha charm..." *I'm not really any use in the
computer...at least here I can help both of them...* She said and put down the pile of
wood. Blaze stared at her, and by the look in his eyes I could tell that he didn't want her to
leave.
"Well...this is...quite a shock Charmander...you were my first pokemon...it's not easy for
me to just....." I started but my eyes had already started to tear. I knew Erika understood it
too. I could here her sniffle lightly behind me and walk outside to pet Ryu.
"What....what did she say?" Roger asked softly and I turned to him slowly not lifting my
eyes off the ground.
"She says...." I began and I could feel a cold tear slip its way down my cheek. "She wants
to stay here with you..." I said and I felt another fall down my other cheek.
"No...I can't...I couldn't..." He said and put his hand out, but I grasped it lightly and
looked up, my eyes fully watering by now.
"If...it's what she wants..." I said and I could barely see anything anymore as I fought to
hold the tears back. "I have no right to thwart her happiness. That is after all...all I want
for her." I said and handed him her pokeball. "Please...take good care of her for me. She
was my first pokemon and..." My voice trembled as I said the next line, "...and I want her
to be with a master that will take care of her...who will keep her safe....and happy."
"Of course. Mrs. Silph. I promise." He said and placed his other sooty hand ontop of
mine, looking me straight in the eye. "I promise you."