John's Journey

Chapter 2

The old, worn-out pickup truck rattled down the hard dirt road, leaving a cloud of dust behind it. The peeling blue paint and the squeaks emanating from the engine gave telltale clues as to the condition of the vehicle. Sick and dying were the words that came to mind of a person looking at it for the first time. As the truck pulled up into the driveway of an even more beaten-down single story house, it became apparent that sick and dying didn't just describe the truck – the house was in worse condition than Ol' Blue.

The truck screeched to a halt on the uneven pavement of the driveway. Steam hissed from underneath the hood. The driver's side door opened and a beautiful girl of about 20 years hopped out, staring disdainfully at the car.

"I really hope you win, John," she said with a hint of vehemence. "I...hate...this stupid...truck!" She emphasized each word with a hard kick to the side of the truck, leaving five sizeable indentions.

The other door opened, and John stepped out. "Well, gee, Skye, kicking it isn't going to make it any better."

As if to spite his words, though, the hissing steam stopped abruptly. Skye gave him a smug look.

"Oh, really?"

John sighed and ignored her. Grabbing his bag from he bed of the truck, he made his way up to the steps, watching his step to avoid the many holes that various animals, such as Digletts and Dugtrios kept making. He reached the doorway and grasped the handle, swearing loudly when it refused to open. He gave a mighty, two-handed tug, and succeeded in ripping the door off its hinges.

"Geez!" he exclaimed. "Everything is falling apart around here! The truck, the house, Mom..." His voice trailed off as he thought of his mother, lying in the intensive care department of a local hospital. One of the millions of people in the world with cancer, the doctors' prognosis for her recovery was not good. They believed she had a year left, maybe two. She was the real reason for John's decision to go on this Pkmn quest.

A single tear formed in John's eye as he thought of his mother. He turned his head and surreptitiously wiped it away before Skye could see it. How embarrassing it would be if his older sister had caught him crying like a baby! He shook his head and smiled to himself.

With a grunt of effort, John succeeded in replacing the door in its frame. His sister joined him on the steps and looked at it. "Good job, macho- man. But we're gonna need to replace it anyway." They both sighed, and then headed inside.

As John and Skye entered the house, a brilliant yellow streak raced by them. John barely had time to think, Was that a Pikachu?, before a larger streak of tan and gold blew by him in pursuit of the first.

"Hey, get back here!" he shouted. He and Skye tore after the Pkmn, chasing them through their house in a vain attempt to restore order. Finally, John managed to grab hold of the yellow blur and swing it into his arms. He held it at arms length, with an exclamation of, "Hey! It is a Pik-"

At that moment the Pikachu released a Thundershock attack that traveled straight through John's body, shocking him into releasing the electric mouse. He fell down, twitching spasmodically, his dark brown hair sticking out in all directions. The Pikachu fell to the floor and raced out of the house, closely followed by his pursuer.

Skye ran into the room and skidded to a halt as she caught sight of her bother. Giggling violently at the sight, she handed him the phone. "It's for you," she said between tears of mirth.

John grunted his thanks and grabbed the phone. "Yeah?" he asked harshly, speaking into the receiver. "Who is it?"

On the other end, Gregg answered, "It's me. Your one true love."

John grinned and lost his angry demeanor. "Oh, hey Gregg. Have you talked to your dad yet?"

"Yeah. He's already set up a meeting with Prof Oak and us for tomorrow. He said he'll swing by at about 10 to pick you up. Fortunately, Oak doesn't live to far away. Actually, he's only in Pallet Town."

"Pallet Town?" John echoed. "That's just south of here." He paused, thinking to himself. "Okay," he said finally. "I'll be here at 10, waiting. See you tomorrow."

"Bye."

John hung up the phone and flopped down on his couch, which sagged considerably under the strain of putting so much weight on broken legs. Tomorrow, thought John. I'm going to become a Pkmn Trainer! And when I do, we're gonna make sure you get better, Mom.

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At ten o'clock the next morning, John sat on his front steps waiting for Gregg and his father to pick him up. They were half an hour late, causing everyone to be anxious about whether they were going to make it in time. Fortunately, the ghettos where John lived were towards the southern end of Viridian City, meaning that they didn't have very far to drive to get to Pallet.

The hour-long drive passed mostly in silence. The two friends both discussed which Pkmn they planned on getting, but the boys' nervousness got the better of them, and they fell quiet in a few minutes. The bumpy road, and the fluttering nervousness in the pit of his stomach was all that kept John from falling asleep.

The first sign that they had entered Pallet Town was the fact that the road became much smoother, and the dense trees that had been on either side the road thinned out considerably. In the distance, everyone could see the brilliant white buildings of Pallet Town, including the noticeably larger building that housed Prof Oak Laboratories.

Gregg's father parked the car in the parking lot of the esteemed Oak Laboratories and all three of them got out. As they started towards the main doors, an old man with short white hair and wearing a long white lab coat hurried out to meet them.

"Welcome, welcome," he said excitedly. "It's good to see you again, Mr. Smith. I'm always happy to meet with one of my largest contributors."

The two youngsters stood awkwardly off to the side until Gregg's father (Mr. Smith) and Oak were finished talking. Oak turned to them and said, "Well, let's see now, what do we have here? I take it you two are the ones who are interested in becoming Pkmn trainers?" John and Gregg nodded nervously, and Oak smiled. "Well, then," he said, "if you'll just follow me."

He led the group into the lab and handed both John and Gregg a packet of paper. He explained that these were simple tests that, once taken, allowed a person to officially become a Pkmn trainer.

An hour passed in silence as John and Gregg sat through their tests. John's mind whirled as he read through the questions, some difficult, but most of them simple. There was one that absolutely stumped him, and he ended up guessing the answer to it, certain that it was wrong.

At the end of the hour, he and Gregg turned in the tests to Oak. A knot formed in the pit of John's stomach as Oak passed them through an electronic scorer. He closed his eyes and thought to himself, Please, oh please, let me pass, for my mother.

Oak finished scoring the tests and turned to the two friends. He handed Gregg his test first. "Good job, Gregg. You passed with an outstanding score! One of the highest I've ever seen, and certainly the highest since the elite Master Ash Ketchum. 96% is your score."

Gregg gave a cry of triumph and leapt into the air in joy. He turned to John and extended his hand for a high five.

John returned it halfheartedly. Sure, he was happy for Gregg, but the anxiety he felt prevented him from truly enjoying the moment with his friend. He looked at Oak, his eyes pleading a silent entreaty for some sign of how well he did. Oak returned his gaze with a steady, unrevealing stare.

"Frankly, I'm surprised at your score, John," he said. "Normally, I have extremely good instincts about people. I judge them very well. However, in this case, I seem to have been mistaken."

John stiffened at these words from Oak. Was it possible? Could he have failed the test? He felt Gregg start in surprise at his side. John stared at the floor in dismay. Oh no, he thought to himself. I'm sorry Mom. I've failed you before I've even begun.

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Well, I thought I might leave it as a cliffhanger. Though, it's not much of one if you think about it. I mean, what kind of story would it be if the main character fails before he's even begun his quest? Wait for the next chapter to find out. Oh yeah, and don't forget to R&R.