The bushes parted neatly as Eric made his way through them towards the
blazed trail, recognized by most trainers as 'Route 29'. Mistral had long
since packed up her things, thoroughly upset that she had been left behind.
There were only a few small ledges between him and Cherrygrove City, and
they were easy to climb.. if you had mountain climbing gear.
"Where exactly do you think you think you're going, anyways?" Mistral demanded, using her left hand to move some of her pink hair out of her eyes. Eric hadn't noticed this about her before. Infact, he didn't notice her much at all. She stood around his height, with the pink hair, of course, and she wore clothes that offered coolness in the face of the blazing sun that rested high above them. Short shorts that clung to her body with sweat, and a blue shirt (the arms looked like they had been cut off) followed the same suit. Also, she seemed to be wearing hiking boots that had seen better days. Her eyes were a deep color of blue. On her waist was a leather pouch. One of the larger pockets, he supposed, carried her Pokemon. Various smaller pockets housed what looked like Potions, and Pokeballs she hadn't used yet. "You know you can't climb those ledges..
"I never did know why you couldn't. They seem so easy to climb," she continued, as Eric moved past her to continue up the trail towards Cherrygrove City. Mistral made a desperate effort to keep up with him, catching a snag in the tall grasses. "Hey! Why aren't you talking to me!"
Eric's Pidgeotto circled high overhead, looking for something, causing him to look up at the bird Pokemon. "Sorry. My mind was on other things."
"What do you mean, 'Sorry'? I should've known you were just any other thief, like those Team Rocket people!"
His eyes wandered from his Pokemon, to Mistral, shooting her an icy glare. "And what exactly do you mean by THAT?"
"Where should I start?!" Mistral growled, her temper rising now at the thought of Eric talking back to her, especially with the information she had divulged to him only minutes earlier. "Well, first off, you go off and you steal a Pokedex from Professor Elm!"
"He wouldn't let me challenge the Pokemon League. So i'm setting a new standard for Pokemon Trainers everywhere.. you don't need to take stupid tests to learn about Pokemon," Eric answered calmly, suppressing his rage.
It seemed as though Mistral was suppressing her own rage. "Grr.. You didn't even know a thing about Pokemon. I'd be surprised if you even knew what town we're going to next! If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have a goal set!"
"Wrongo. I have two goals set."
"Oh, really?! I'm going to enjoy hearing what they are."
Eric opened his palm, sticking his middle finger and index finger out, as if to emphasize the number two. "First, I plan on challenging, and defeating, the Pokemon League in both Johto and Kanto, AND the recently discovered Hoenn." He ticked his middle finger down back into his palm with the other fingers. "Second, I plan to find and capture rare and elusive Pokemon to train and use to defeat the Pokemon League." His hand made a fist, which he put up right in front of Mistral's nose, speaking now with a poisonous tongue. "If you have a problem with me trying to become one of the few owners of a Slowking, or at the fact that I want to become a Pokemon Master, then you don't have to accompany me any further. I think i'd be well off by myself, without someone whining about what i'm doing and what my ambitions are, no matter how high they might be."
Mistral looked taken aback. Her rage had subsided, replaced with confusion. "I.. uh.."
"If you're going to be travelling with me, you will know that I am not a legal Pokemon Trainer. You will know that most of the stuff I will be doing won't be acceptable to most trainers and the Pokemon League, but at the point i'm at right now, there's no going back. Even if I did relinquish my Pokedex back, i'd be banned from the Pokemon League for the rest of my life, perfect test scores or not," Eric continued, stomping his foot to make a point. "Now, if you choose to return to the river and continue fishing, good day to you."
With that, he turned on his heels, and continued down the trail, Cherrygrove Town pulling up on the horizon. It would only be a short walk more.. "Ooo.. God damn you, Eric! Fine! I will go back to my fishing! And I hope you never get a Slowking!" The words went in one ear, and out the other.. it was just like the taunting back at school, about his poor scores on everything he did. After a few more seconds of walking, the sound of two feet making their way through the tall grasses interrupted his thoughts.
"Huff.. Okay. Okay. I'm sorry about what I said," Mistral apologized, trying to catch her breath. "I couldn't just leave you. I mean, you'll need help against all those trainers looking to grab that reward. And, besides, my knowledge of Pokemon can come in handy. Plus, I don't want you to divulge that information about Slowking, so i'm gonna tag along and make sure you aren't selling it to every trainer that walks by with ambitions for a Slowking."
"Fine. You can come along, then."
"Great! Let's go to Cherrygrove Town, then!"
------
Cherrygrove wasn't much bigger than New Bark Town, but it was a bustling place full of starting trainers and all sorts of Pokemaniacs with different ambitions. It was a great place to recruit help for Eric's cause.. well, if he had one. But you never know when you need the help. Eric used Mistral to help out; since he didn't want to be seen in places where he knew he'd be recognized, he allowed her to take his Pokeballs to go into the Pokemon Center to recover his Pokemon. Mistral was quick to point out that no-one was even in there.
"Only taking precautions," Eric shrugged, heading down by the river. Several boulders lay out over the large stretch of land, perfect for sitting, and he didn't hesitate to take one for himself. Sitting, he seemed content with allowing his Slowpoke to wallow in the water, while his Pidgeotto, happy to be away from the confines of its Pokeball, soared through the air with ease. Trainers littered the shoreline to the river, all of them chatting about how they hoped they'd get a Slowpoke to try and find the secret.. imagine their surprise when a Slowpoke wallowed right into the river, sat in the shallow water, enjoying himself.
"H-hey! Slowpoke!" One trainer called out to his fellow trainers. As if in unison, preparing to dive in and do water acrobatics, they each brought out Pokeballs and began throwing. Eric had read about this, luckily; a captured Pokemon could not be captured by other trainers. Mistral seemed amused that they each walked away, one by one, as they realized the Slowpoke was captured.
Eric gave a whistle, which the Slowpoke took a few moments to register before moving towards his trainer, albeit slowly. "We can't stay here long. Too much of a risk, anyways.."
"Are you joking? It's almost sunset! If we went on Route 30 now, we'd be in alot of trouble," Mistral advised, as if she had hung around there overnight once.
"What do you mean?" Eric asked, glancing over at the pink-haired girl. "I've heard there are alot of Pokemon over there at night that aren't there in the morning, but.."
"There've been reports of a Monkey-ish Pokemon attacking trainers at night out on Route 30. It's been such a problem. But, I forgot, you don't read the newspaper," Mistral shot at him, trying to catch him off guard.
Eric ran a hand up through his hair, as a breeze wafted through the area. Light was beginning to get scarce. "I don't waste my time and money on the newspaper. I watch the news on TV. But, if you're going to be buying one tommorow morning, feel free. I'll read it with you."
"Hey! You know, you can stop being cold to me," Mistral muttered angrily.
"I'm not being cold. I'm trying to get close to you, that's all. If we're going to be travelling partners, there's no point in arguing with you about every little thing," he replied, closing his eyes, yawning.
"I.. er-um.. eh..." she seemed to stumble to find words to say. He could almost swear that he felt the heat coming off her cheeks, as well. "Well.. Don't be hitting on me, now! I'll have you know, I don't date convicts!"
Eric gave a hearty laugh at her remark. "What's so funny?!"
"You don't date them, but you follow them around. Sounds a little contradictory."
Mistral raised a finger towards the air, and opened her mouth to speak, but she quickly closed it, looking towards the water of the river. "Hmph."
"Excuse me.. Is your name, Eric?" a voice called from behind them.
Opening his eyes, Eric whirled around on his boulder to find a tall, lanky looking trainer looking down at him. The boy stood about 6'1", easily standing taller than Eric was. Glasses were present on his face, allowing his brown eyes to see better. He wore long jeans, but they were black, and most of the places where stitch would've been present, neon-green plastic lined them, covering up the stiches. Also, he wore a loose fitting black shirt. His hair was tied back in a pony-tail, and his hair looked greasy, and unkempt, like he hadn't bathed in a couple of days.
"Yeah. That's me. What can I do for you?" Eric replied, hopping off the boulder. The taller trainer was intimidating, not to mention, he seemed to be alot more muscular than he was. "Oh. I was simply wondering if my guess was correct. So you're the fugitive?" the man asked, smiling.
"Uh. Yeah. But by the looks of it, the police haven't been too keen to catch me, even when I show my face in public. Infact, I haven't seen one for a while."
"Yeah. They're all still searching around New Bark Town for you. That Vulpix you had with you when you pilfered the Pokedex was spotted by a few trainers, not to mention the ones you beat. I figure you should leave tommorow morning, bright and early, if you don't want to get caught. Try to put some distance between you and those officers," the trainer advised, looking back over his shoulder.
Eric's eyes wandered up the man's face. "What's your name?"
"You can call me Eugene. I'm a beginning trainer, much like yourself, and the pink-haired girl here. I'm interested in hanging around with you guys for a while. I want to see just what i'm up against before I choose a.. rival."
Mistral seemed to perk up, glancing back at the two from her boulder so she can concentrate on their conversation. "A rival?" Eric asked, cocking his head to the right slightly. "Why would I need a rival?"
"To keep you on your toes," Eugene replied, his face showing relatively little emotion. "If you're going to be running from the cops, you'll need to be on your toes. And you need strong Pokemon."
Eric seemed to contemplate this for a few seconds. "Well.. Alright. You can tag along for a while."
"Excellent. So, are we leaving for Violet City in the morning, or right now?" Eugene asked, glancing from Eric to Mistral.
"Right now."
"Are you crazy?!" Mistral screeched, jumping towards him from her boulder. "We'll get attacked by that crazed Pokemon if we go down Route 30 at night!"
Eugene shook his head. "It's Eric's decision. He is on the run, you are not. If you would like to stay, and catch up with us tommorow, feel free."
Mistral seemed to have a terrified look on her face, and Eric could tell why. They had different bodies, but their attitudes were the same, though, she could count on Eric being alot more anti-social.
"Alright. Off to Violet City, then."
"Yup. Off we go!"
"To our dooms," Mistral groaned, walking after them, as they turned north.
--------
End Chapter 3
"Where exactly do you think you think you're going, anyways?" Mistral demanded, using her left hand to move some of her pink hair out of her eyes. Eric hadn't noticed this about her before. Infact, he didn't notice her much at all. She stood around his height, with the pink hair, of course, and she wore clothes that offered coolness in the face of the blazing sun that rested high above them. Short shorts that clung to her body with sweat, and a blue shirt (the arms looked like they had been cut off) followed the same suit. Also, she seemed to be wearing hiking boots that had seen better days. Her eyes were a deep color of blue. On her waist was a leather pouch. One of the larger pockets, he supposed, carried her Pokemon. Various smaller pockets housed what looked like Potions, and Pokeballs she hadn't used yet. "You know you can't climb those ledges..
"I never did know why you couldn't. They seem so easy to climb," she continued, as Eric moved past her to continue up the trail towards Cherrygrove City. Mistral made a desperate effort to keep up with him, catching a snag in the tall grasses. "Hey! Why aren't you talking to me!"
Eric's Pidgeotto circled high overhead, looking for something, causing him to look up at the bird Pokemon. "Sorry. My mind was on other things."
"What do you mean, 'Sorry'? I should've known you were just any other thief, like those Team Rocket people!"
His eyes wandered from his Pokemon, to Mistral, shooting her an icy glare. "And what exactly do you mean by THAT?"
"Where should I start?!" Mistral growled, her temper rising now at the thought of Eric talking back to her, especially with the information she had divulged to him only minutes earlier. "Well, first off, you go off and you steal a Pokedex from Professor Elm!"
"He wouldn't let me challenge the Pokemon League. So i'm setting a new standard for Pokemon Trainers everywhere.. you don't need to take stupid tests to learn about Pokemon," Eric answered calmly, suppressing his rage.
It seemed as though Mistral was suppressing her own rage. "Grr.. You didn't even know a thing about Pokemon. I'd be surprised if you even knew what town we're going to next! If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have a goal set!"
"Wrongo. I have two goals set."
"Oh, really?! I'm going to enjoy hearing what they are."
Eric opened his palm, sticking his middle finger and index finger out, as if to emphasize the number two. "First, I plan on challenging, and defeating, the Pokemon League in both Johto and Kanto, AND the recently discovered Hoenn." He ticked his middle finger down back into his palm with the other fingers. "Second, I plan to find and capture rare and elusive Pokemon to train and use to defeat the Pokemon League." His hand made a fist, which he put up right in front of Mistral's nose, speaking now with a poisonous tongue. "If you have a problem with me trying to become one of the few owners of a Slowking, or at the fact that I want to become a Pokemon Master, then you don't have to accompany me any further. I think i'd be well off by myself, without someone whining about what i'm doing and what my ambitions are, no matter how high they might be."
Mistral looked taken aback. Her rage had subsided, replaced with confusion. "I.. uh.."
"If you're going to be travelling with me, you will know that I am not a legal Pokemon Trainer. You will know that most of the stuff I will be doing won't be acceptable to most trainers and the Pokemon League, but at the point i'm at right now, there's no going back. Even if I did relinquish my Pokedex back, i'd be banned from the Pokemon League for the rest of my life, perfect test scores or not," Eric continued, stomping his foot to make a point. "Now, if you choose to return to the river and continue fishing, good day to you."
With that, he turned on his heels, and continued down the trail, Cherrygrove Town pulling up on the horizon. It would only be a short walk more.. "Ooo.. God damn you, Eric! Fine! I will go back to my fishing! And I hope you never get a Slowking!" The words went in one ear, and out the other.. it was just like the taunting back at school, about his poor scores on everything he did. After a few more seconds of walking, the sound of two feet making their way through the tall grasses interrupted his thoughts.
"Huff.. Okay. Okay. I'm sorry about what I said," Mistral apologized, trying to catch her breath. "I couldn't just leave you. I mean, you'll need help against all those trainers looking to grab that reward. And, besides, my knowledge of Pokemon can come in handy. Plus, I don't want you to divulge that information about Slowking, so i'm gonna tag along and make sure you aren't selling it to every trainer that walks by with ambitions for a Slowking."
"Fine. You can come along, then."
"Great! Let's go to Cherrygrove Town, then!"
------
Cherrygrove wasn't much bigger than New Bark Town, but it was a bustling place full of starting trainers and all sorts of Pokemaniacs with different ambitions. It was a great place to recruit help for Eric's cause.. well, if he had one. But you never know when you need the help. Eric used Mistral to help out; since he didn't want to be seen in places where he knew he'd be recognized, he allowed her to take his Pokeballs to go into the Pokemon Center to recover his Pokemon. Mistral was quick to point out that no-one was even in there.
"Only taking precautions," Eric shrugged, heading down by the river. Several boulders lay out over the large stretch of land, perfect for sitting, and he didn't hesitate to take one for himself. Sitting, he seemed content with allowing his Slowpoke to wallow in the water, while his Pidgeotto, happy to be away from the confines of its Pokeball, soared through the air with ease. Trainers littered the shoreline to the river, all of them chatting about how they hoped they'd get a Slowpoke to try and find the secret.. imagine their surprise when a Slowpoke wallowed right into the river, sat in the shallow water, enjoying himself.
"H-hey! Slowpoke!" One trainer called out to his fellow trainers. As if in unison, preparing to dive in and do water acrobatics, they each brought out Pokeballs and began throwing. Eric had read about this, luckily; a captured Pokemon could not be captured by other trainers. Mistral seemed amused that they each walked away, one by one, as they realized the Slowpoke was captured.
Eric gave a whistle, which the Slowpoke took a few moments to register before moving towards his trainer, albeit slowly. "We can't stay here long. Too much of a risk, anyways.."
"Are you joking? It's almost sunset! If we went on Route 30 now, we'd be in alot of trouble," Mistral advised, as if she had hung around there overnight once.
"What do you mean?" Eric asked, glancing over at the pink-haired girl. "I've heard there are alot of Pokemon over there at night that aren't there in the morning, but.."
"There've been reports of a Monkey-ish Pokemon attacking trainers at night out on Route 30. It's been such a problem. But, I forgot, you don't read the newspaper," Mistral shot at him, trying to catch him off guard.
Eric ran a hand up through his hair, as a breeze wafted through the area. Light was beginning to get scarce. "I don't waste my time and money on the newspaper. I watch the news on TV. But, if you're going to be buying one tommorow morning, feel free. I'll read it with you."
"Hey! You know, you can stop being cold to me," Mistral muttered angrily.
"I'm not being cold. I'm trying to get close to you, that's all. If we're going to be travelling partners, there's no point in arguing with you about every little thing," he replied, closing his eyes, yawning.
"I.. er-um.. eh..." she seemed to stumble to find words to say. He could almost swear that he felt the heat coming off her cheeks, as well. "Well.. Don't be hitting on me, now! I'll have you know, I don't date convicts!"
Eric gave a hearty laugh at her remark. "What's so funny?!"
"You don't date them, but you follow them around. Sounds a little contradictory."
Mistral raised a finger towards the air, and opened her mouth to speak, but she quickly closed it, looking towards the water of the river. "Hmph."
"Excuse me.. Is your name, Eric?" a voice called from behind them.
Opening his eyes, Eric whirled around on his boulder to find a tall, lanky looking trainer looking down at him. The boy stood about 6'1", easily standing taller than Eric was. Glasses were present on his face, allowing his brown eyes to see better. He wore long jeans, but they were black, and most of the places where stitch would've been present, neon-green plastic lined them, covering up the stiches. Also, he wore a loose fitting black shirt. His hair was tied back in a pony-tail, and his hair looked greasy, and unkempt, like he hadn't bathed in a couple of days.
"Yeah. That's me. What can I do for you?" Eric replied, hopping off the boulder. The taller trainer was intimidating, not to mention, he seemed to be alot more muscular than he was. "Oh. I was simply wondering if my guess was correct. So you're the fugitive?" the man asked, smiling.
"Uh. Yeah. But by the looks of it, the police haven't been too keen to catch me, even when I show my face in public. Infact, I haven't seen one for a while."
"Yeah. They're all still searching around New Bark Town for you. That Vulpix you had with you when you pilfered the Pokedex was spotted by a few trainers, not to mention the ones you beat. I figure you should leave tommorow morning, bright and early, if you don't want to get caught. Try to put some distance between you and those officers," the trainer advised, looking back over his shoulder.
Eric's eyes wandered up the man's face. "What's your name?"
"You can call me Eugene. I'm a beginning trainer, much like yourself, and the pink-haired girl here. I'm interested in hanging around with you guys for a while. I want to see just what i'm up against before I choose a.. rival."
Mistral seemed to perk up, glancing back at the two from her boulder so she can concentrate on their conversation. "A rival?" Eric asked, cocking his head to the right slightly. "Why would I need a rival?"
"To keep you on your toes," Eugene replied, his face showing relatively little emotion. "If you're going to be running from the cops, you'll need to be on your toes. And you need strong Pokemon."
Eric seemed to contemplate this for a few seconds. "Well.. Alright. You can tag along for a while."
"Excellent. So, are we leaving for Violet City in the morning, or right now?" Eugene asked, glancing from Eric to Mistral.
"Right now."
"Are you crazy?!" Mistral screeched, jumping towards him from her boulder. "We'll get attacked by that crazed Pokemon if we go down Route 30 at night!"
Eugene shook his head. "It's Eric's decision. He is on the run, you are not. If you would like to stay, and catch up with us tommorow, feel free."
Mistral seemed to have a terrified look on her face, and Eric could tell why. They had different bodies, but their attitudes were the same, though, she could count on Eric being alot more anti-social.
"Alright. Off to Violet City, then."
"Yup. Off we go!"
"To our dooms," Mistral groaned, walking after them, as they turned north.
--------
End Chapter 3