The once rust colored sky was now a deep blue, the bright sparkles in the
sky and cool breeze signaling nighttime. Most of the forest Pokemon had
tucked in for the night, the occasional Noctowl could be heard hooting in
the inky darkness. It would usually be more silent at this time, if a
Pokemon Battle wasn't occurring in the woods.
Neptune rammed as hard as it could into one Mightyena, knocked it back somewhat. Small drips of blood fell from the red nose of the wolf, but it immediately ran its tongue over its muzzle to lap it up. Growling lowly, the beast rushed Neptune, knocking it over completely, and placing a paw on its exposed chest. Baring its teeth, the Mightyena prepared to take its first bite.
"ERIC!!" Kristen, yelled, her voice shaking, "HELP NEPTUNE!!!"
Eric looked over at the downy chick Pokemon. He didn't exactly know the Pokemon's name, nor did he care at this point. Pointing at the attacking Mightyena, Eric ordered it to attack. Being a beginner Pokemon, it had no trouble obeying it's temporary "master" and rushed blindly into combat. The other two Mightyenas stood guard around the tree where Birch had climbed up, waiting to rip him apart should he fall down.
"Eric! That Pokemon's called a Torchic, have it use Ember!" Birch called.
There was no need for Eric to order the attack, as the Torchic heard Birch's voice and used the attack itself.
"Torchic!! Torrrr!" It squealed before opening its beak and spewing out tiny cinders toward Mightyena.
The attack barely fazed the beast at first, but then some of the embers got into its eye. Howling fiercely, and thrashing about, the Mightyena backed away from Neptune and Torchic. Neptune immediately flipped over onto its feet and sprayed Mightyena with a Water Gun, knocking it back a few feet. The other Pokemon, the green gecko was ready to help as well, and hopped into the air, flipped around, and slammed the wolf with its thick tail.
"Whoa! What's the name for that Pokemon?" Eric asked, impressed.
"That's a Treecko, and it used Slam attack!" Birch replied.
Skidding back, the Mightyena growled a bit, before falling over in pain. Seeing this, the other two pack wolves decided to help, but before they could, Birch's tree branch snapped, and fell directly onto them. A huge cloud of dust and whimpering was all that could be heard, until the two beasts could be seen running into the woods. The other Mightyena limped after them, his role in the pack would be decided afterwards. Eric and Kristen rushed over to the fallen Birch, who was doubled over in pain.
"Dad! You okay?!" Kristen cried.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Birch coughed.
With that, Birch tried to stand up, but a searing pain shot through his leg and he fell over. Eric and Kristen managed to catch him, but it was clear that he had sprained his ankle.
"Dad, you can't walk, we'll help you home." Kristen cooed.
"Ugh. Eric, the Pokemon, go recall them into their Pokeballs." Birch said, gruffly.
Eric grabbed the two Pokeballs in each hand, and clicked on them with each finger. Transparent red lasers shot from each ball, and pierced the two Pokemon, turning them into energy, and sucking them into their Pokeballs. Placing them into Professor Birch's bag, Eric hurried to catch up Kristen, who was helping her father walk back to town.
The morning sun shone through the large windows of Birch's lab, if you could even call it that. Professor Birch was more talented as a field researcher, and his lab was nothing more then dozens of cardboard boxes used for storage, some houseplants, and the occasional coffee mug on a table. Birch, now in crutches, was apologizing for the events that took place last night.
"Eric, sorry for yesterday. It was my recklessness that endangered you, plus I didn't a chance to give you one of the Pokemon." Birch said.
"Don't sweat it," Eric replied, "To tell the truth, I'm just grateful to be alive after that ordeal."
Birch laughed nervously, still shaken from yesterday's events. He then hobbled into the back room of his lab, Eric steadily following behind him. The back room was biblically disorganized. Massive amounts of discarded paperwork were strewn about, outdated magazines, and empty Pokeballs littered the shelves. The walls were decorated with cobwebs, and Eric was sure he spotted a Spinarak in the corner of the room, but he resolved to keep his mouth shut. Birch grabbed his bag from its location on the floor and removed the two Pokeballs from it.
"So? Have you decided on which Pokemon you want? There's two left. Treecko and Torchic." Birch stated.
Eric thought about the Pokemon and how they battled yesterday. He vaguely remembered the Treecko, since it did the least work of the three. The Torchic stood out in his mind more. Eric could still vividly recall how its Ember attack had blinded that Mightyena. The decision was clear now.
"I'll take the Torchic." Eric decided.
"Oh? Most of the male rookies choose Treecko. They say it's cooler looking." Birch responded, surprised.
Birch handed Eric the Torchic's Pokeball. Eric immediately let the Pokemon out, so he could get a closer look at it. The ball popped open, blasting energy all over the room. Eric shielded his eyes, but Birch was used to it. The silver light took shape and formed into the Torchic from last night.
"Tor! Torrchiiii!" it chirped.
Eric bent down and rubbed the Torchic's head, and smiled as it purred slightly in response. He couldn't believe that he would be taking this Pokemon home with him. Lifting it up, Eric held the Torchic close to his face, and he could feel the warmth from its fire gland located within its body.
"Now then little bud, you need a name," Eric started, "What would suit you?"
Eric went through a list of generic fire Pokemon names, such as Blaze, Inferno, and Hothead. Each name was worse than the last, and it got to the point where Torchic was refusing some of them. Finally, Eric noted Torchic's feet, which were laced in bumpy, rough skin, and had sharp claws at the ends of the toes.
"Hmm...how about Talon?" Eric suggested.
"Torchiiic!" it chirped.
"Looks like it likes the name Eric." Birch said, laughing.
"Good, 'cause it was either that, or Beak..." Eric replied, relieved.
"Eric, are you planning to challenge Gym Leaders?" Birch asked, suddenly serious.
Eric zoned out for a second. The mere mention of Gym Leaders conjured up thoughts of his father. Eric didn't hate his father. No it wasn't that. Eric hated the actions of his father, what he did to him and his mother around 2 years ago. As far back as Eric could remember, his parents were always having little arguments about everything. Then as some point lost in memory, the little arguments turned to big arguments, then those big arguments turned to physi—
"Eric, HELLO?"
Eric's thoughts were shattered by Birch's gruff voice. He forgot where he was at first, but he quickly snapped back into reality.
"Eric, I asked you a question. Are you planning to journey and challenge Gym Leaders? You are old enough to do so." Birch said, impatiently.
Eric thought for a bit. Journeying around Hoenn sounded pretty nice, but if he challenged Gym Leaders, that meant he would have to face his father eventually. After leaving Eric and his wife, Eric's father opened up a Pokemon Gym in Petalburg City. Eric wasn't sure if he was ready to face him again. He didn't necessarily HATE his father. He just wanted to know why things couldn't just remain perfect between his family. Eric made his decision. He at least wanted to talk with his father.
"Yes, Professor. I will challenge Gym Leaders." Eric said at last.
"Well, in that case, you will need a PokeDex." Birch replied.
"A PokeDex?" Eric inquired, he had heard of them before, but he never knew exactly what they did.
"Yes, the PokeDex," Birch said, pulling one from his bag, "They are small hand-held encyclopedias that store the data of Pokemon within them. Point them at a Pokemon, and the infrared sensor will pick up its life signal and give you information about them. It's very useful for Pokemon battles."
Birch placed the red console in a slot on his computer's hard drive. After some rhythmic humming coming from the computer, it ejected the Dex. Birch handed the PokeDex to Eric, who placed it in his pocket.
"I've registered you as a Pokemon Trainer. Your ID # is 000465. This means you can legally participate in the annual Pokemon League Tournament. Provided, of course, that you actually have 8 trainer badges. Those are required to enter the tournament." Birch explained.
"Got it." Eric replied.
Lifting up Talon and smiling, Eric started to head out of the front door, but turned around suddenly.
"Hey, uh Professor?"
"Yeah?"
"Where's Kristen? Is she collecting badges too?" Eric asked.
"Um, no, she isn't. Kristen is training to become a Pokemon Coordinator, so she left to go travel around Hoenn collecting Pokemon Contest Ribbons." Birch answered.
"Oh really? That's cool. I'll see if we could travel together." Eric said.
With that, Eric said his goodbyes and head out the front door. He figured he go home and pack some stuff up first. Then he'd try to catch up with Kristen. He hoped she hadn't gotten too far, since he didn't like traveling alone.
"So, you're planning to leave....TODAY?!" Eric's mom cried.
Eric's mother, Janie, was always over-protective of her son. She looked very similar to Eric, except she had long black hair that flowed over her tan skin. While Eric and Kristen were always playing outside as children, she always did her best to try to keep Eric out of danger. Now she was being informed that her son was leaving her to go traveling and possibly endanger his life.
"I agreed to you getting a Pokemon, but not leaving."
"I know Mom, but I can't keep Talon here forever."
Upon hearing this, Talon cocked his head to the side and chirped.
"Plus Kristen left. I'm going to be bored out of my mind." Eric said.
"Yes, but if you challenge Gym Leaders, you'll have to face..."
"...Dad" Eric said, finishing the sentence for her.
With that, Janie bent down and hugged her son, tears streaming down her cheek.
"Look Mom, I want to see him again. Besides, I can't just stay here forever. Plus, I'm going to try and find Kristen so we can travel together. I won't be alone."
The two stood there for a couple of seconds in complete silence.
"Eric. You're my son, and I supposed to know what's best for you," she started, "But if you really want to do this, well, I can't stop you, can I?"
"Nope." Eric said, smiling.
The two of them shared a laugh. It was nervous, sad laughter, but laughter nonetheless. After a couple of hours of packing, Eric set off. It was early evening, so he hoped Kristen had slowed down so he could catch up with her. Standing on the outset of Littleroot, Eric looked back and saw his mother, Professor Birch and his wife all waving at him. Smiling, he waved back slowly and turned around. A slight breeze blew his black hair to the side.
Next Chapter: Eric, Kristen, and the raging Swellow! Three ways to die!
Neptune rammed as hard as it could into one Mightyena, knocked it back somewhat. Small drips of blood fell from the red nose of the wolf, but it immediately ran its tongue over its muzzle to lap it up. Growling lowly, the beast rushed Neptune, knocking it over completely, and placing a paw on its exposed chest. Baring its teeth, the Mightyena prepared to take its first bite.
"ERIC!!" Kristen, yelled, her voice shaking, "HELP NEPTUNE!!!"
Eric looked over at the downy chick Pokemon. He didn't exactly know the Pokemon's name, nor did he care at this point. Pointing at the attacking Mightyena, Eric ordered it to attack. Being a beginner Pokemon, it had no trouble obeying it's temporary "master" and rushed blindly into combat. The other two Mightyenas stood guard around the tree where Birch had climbed up, waiting to rip him apart should he fall down.
"Eric! That Pokemon's called a Torchic, have it use Ember!" Birch called.
There was no need for Eric to order the attack, as the Torchic heard Birch's voice and used the attack itself.
"Torchic!! Torrrr!" It squealed before opening its beak and spewing out tiny cinders toward Mightyena.
The attack barely fazed the beast at first, but then some of the embers got into its eye. Howling fiercely, and thrashing about, the Mightyena backed away from Neptune and Torchic. Neptune immediately flipped over onto its feet and sprayed Mightyena with a Water Gun, knocking it back a few feet. The other Pokemon, the green gecko was ready to help as well, and hopped into the air, flipped around, and slammed the wolf with its thick tail.
"Whoa! What's the name for that Pokemon?" Eric asked, impressed.
"That's a Treecko, and it used Slam attack!" Birch replied.
Skidding back, the Mightyena growled a bit, before falling over in pain. Seeing this, the other two pack wolves decided to help, but before they could, Birch's tree branch snapped, and fell directly onto them. A huge cloud of dust and whimpering was all that could be heard, until the two beasts could be seen running into the woods. The other Mightyena limped after them, his role in the pack would be decided afterwards. Eric and Kristen rushed over to the fallen Birch, who was doubled over in pain.
"Dad! You okay?!" Kristen cried.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Birch coughed.
With that, Birch tried to stand up, but a searing pain shot through his leg and he fell over. Eric and Kristen managed to catch him, but it was clear that he had sprained his ankle.
"Dad, you can't walk, we'll help you home." Kristen cooed.
"Ugh. Eric, the Pokemon, go recall them into their Pokeballs." Birch said, gruffly.
Eric grabbed the two Pokeballs in each hand, and clicked on them with each finger. Transparent red lasers shot from each ball, and pierced the two Pokemon, turning them into energy, and sucking them into their Pokeballs. Placing them into Professor Birch's bag, Eric hurried to catch up Kristen, who was helping her father walk back to town.
The morning sun shone through the large windows of Birch's lab, if you could even call it that. Professor Birch was more talented as a field researcher, and his lab was nothing more then dozens of cardboard boxes used for storage, some houseplants, and the occasional coffee mug on a table. Birch, now in crutches, was apologizing for the events that took place last night.
"Eric, sorry for yesterday. It was my recklessness that endangered you, plus I didn't a chance to give you one of the Pokemon." Birch said.
"Don't sweat it," Eric replied, "To tell the truth, I'm just grateful to be alive after that ordeal."
Birch laughed nervously, still shaken from yesterday's events. He then hobbled into the back room of his lab, Eric steadily following behind him. The back room was biblically disorganized. Massive amounts of discarded paperwork were strewn about, outdated magazines, and empty Pokeballs littered the shelves. The walls were decorated with cobwebs, and Eric was sure he spotted a Spinarak in the corner of the room, but he resolved to keep his mouth shut. Birch grabbed his bag from its location on the floor and removed the two Pokeballs from it.
"So? Have you decided on which Pokemon you want? There's two left. Treecko and Torchic." Birch stated.
Eric thought about the Pokemon and how they battled yesterday. He vaguely remembered the Treecko, since it did the least work of the three. The Torchic stood out in his mind more. Eric could still vividly recall how its Ember attack had blinded that Mightyena. The decision was clear now.
"I'll take the Torchic." Eric decided.
"Oh? Most of the male rookies choose Treecko. They say it's cooler looking." Birch responded, surprised.
Birch handed Eric the Torchic's Pokeball. Eric immediately let the Pokemon out, so he could get a closer look at it. The ball popped open, blasting energy all over the room. Eric shielded his eyes, but Birch was used to it. The silver light took shape and formed into the Torchic from last night.
"Tor! Torrchiiii!" it chirped.
Eric bent down and rubbed the Torchic's head, and smiled as it purred slightly in response. He couldn't believe that he would be taking this Pokemon home with him. Lifting it up, Eric held the Torchic close to his face, and he could feel the warmth from its fire gland located within its body.
"Now then little bud, you need a name," Eric started, "What would suit you?"
Eric went through a list of generic fire Pokemon names, such as Blaze, Inferno, and Hothead. Each name was worse than the last, and it got to the point where Torchic was refusing some of them. Finally, Eric noted Torchic's feet, which were laced in bumpy, rough skin, and had sharp claws at the ends of the toes.
"Hmm...how about Talon?" Eric suggested.
"Torchiiic!" it chirped.
"Looks like it likes the name Eric." Birch said, laughing.
"Good, 'cause it was either that, or Beak..." Eric replied, relieved.
"Eric, are you planning to challenge Gym Leaders?" Birch asked, suddenly serious.
Eric zoned out for a second. The mere mention of Gym Leaders conjured up thoughts of his father. Eric didn't hate his father. No it wasn't that. Eric hated the actions of his father, what he did to him and his mother around 2 years ago. As far back as Eric could remember, his parents were always having little arguments about everything. Then as some point lost in memory, the little arguments turned to big arguments, then those big arguments turned to physi—
"Eric, HELLO?"
Eric's thoughts were shattered by Birch's gruff voice. He forgot where he was at first, but he quickly snapped back into reality.
"Eric, I asked you a question. Are you planning to journey and challenge Gym Leaders? You are old enough to do so." Birch said, impatiently.
Eric thought for a bit. Journeying around Hoenn sounded pretty nice, but if he challenged Gym Leaders, that meant he would have to face his father eventually. After leaving Eric and his wife, Eric's father opened up a Pokemon Gym in Petalburg City. Eric wasn't sure if he was ready to face him again. He didn't necessarily HATE his father. He just wanted to know why things couldn't just remain perfect between his family. Eric made his decision. He at least wanted to talk with his father.
"Yes, Professor. I will challenge Gym Leaders." Eric said at last.
"Well, in that case, you will need a PokeDex." Birch replied.
"A PokeDex?" Eric inquired, he had heard of them before, but he never knew exactly what they did.
"Yes, the PokeDex," Birch said, pulling one from his bag, "They are small hand-held encyclopedias that store the data of Pokemon within them. Point them at a Pokemon, and the infrared sensor will pick up its life signal and give you information about them. It's very useful for Pokemon battles."
Birch placed the red console in a slot on his computer's hard drive. After some rhythmic humming coming from the computer, it ejected the Dex. Birch handed the PokeDex to Eric, who placed it in his pocket.
"I've registered you as a Pokemon Trainer. Your ID # is 000465. This means you can legally participate in the annual Pokemon League Tournament. Provided, of course, that you actually have 8 trainer badges. Those are required to enter the tournament." Birch explained.
"Got it." Eric replied.
Lifting up Talon and smiling, Eric started to head out of the front door, but turned around suddenly.
"Hey, uh Professor?"
"Yeah?"
"Where's Kristen? Is she collecting badges too?" Eric asked.
"Um, no, she isn't. Kristen is training to become a Pokemon Coordinator, so she left to go travel around Hoenn collecting Pokemon Contest Ribbons." Birch answered.
"Oh really? That's cool. I'll see if we could travel together." Eric said.
With that, Eric said his goodbyes and head out the front door. He figured he go home and pack some stuff up first. Then he'd try to catch up with Kristen. He hoped she hadn't gotten too far, since he didn't like traveling alone.
"So, you're planning to leave....TODAY?!" Eric's mom cried.
Eric's mother, Janie, was always over-protective of her son. She looked very similar to Eric, except she had long black hair that flowed over her tan skin. While Eric and Kristen were always playing outside as children, she always did her best to try to keep Eric out of danger. Now she was being informed that her son was leaving her to go traveling and possibly endanger his life.
"I agreed to you getting a Pokemon, but not leaving."
"I know Mom, but I can't keep Talon here forever."
Upon hearing this, Talon cocked his head to the side and chirped.
"Plus Kristen left. I'm going to be bored out of my mind." Eric said.
"Yes, but if you challenge Gym Leaders, you'll have to face..."
"...Dad" Eric said, finishing the sentence for her.
With that, Janie bent down and hugged her son, tears streaming down her cheek.
"Look Mom, I want to see him again. Besides, I can't just stay here forever. Plus, I'm going to try and find Kristen so we can travel together. I won't be alone."
The two stood there for a couple of seconds in complete silence.
"Eric. You're my son, and I supposed to know what's best for you," she started, "But if you really want to do this, well, I can't stop you, can I?"
"Nope." Eric said, smiling.
The two of them shared a laugh. It was nervous, sad laughter, but laughter nonetheless. After a couple of hours of packing, Eric set off. It was early evening, so he hoped Kristen had slowed down so he could catch up with her. Standing on the outset of Littleroot, Eric looked back and saw his mother, Professor Birch and his wife all waving at him. Smiling, he waved back slowly and turned around. A slight breeze blew his black hair to the side.
Next Chapter: Eric, Kristen, and the raging Swellow! Three ways to die!