neogirl7900: Heh, don't like canned raviolis? What about the homemade or restaurant kind? I think they're okay, though I used to like them much more when I was little. Now I just stare at the odd, hard black pieces of meat I occasionally find in them. It's kinda gross... Anyway, thanks for reading!
Charcaol: Yeah I haven't been camping in a loooong time. Whenever my family went camping my parents always made it a bit annoying by having to complain about—everything! Ugh... oh well, it was still fun. And I'm glad you like the story, thanks for the support.
MorriganFearn: O.O That's a big review! You type more than I do when I'm feeling verbose! But that's good, because I like reading long reviews. I'm glad you like my characters; considering it took me about two years to develop them to my liking (hopefully you like the rest that I have yet to introduce). Kayla, I think, seems real because I gave her one of my personality flaws: shyness. When I was in elementary school, I swear I was the shyest kid in the world. I know what being like that is like, so I decided to make Kayla like that too. After all, what writer doesn't put a bit of themselves into the characters he/she creates. When I first came up with this story, I wasn't going to include much of Gary, but after I started writing him, it just seemed so fun; so, I made him appear here and there. Like I think I've said before, Charmander is my favorite character. He's fun to write, and I gave him the job of being the one to lighten the mood when it gets down. Also, he does have something else to his personality, as you'll get a hint of in this very chapter! I like Cubone as well, because I just like cool, mysterious people like him. And we'll get to delve more into his personality a few chapters later. As for the three 'mystery pokemon' as you put them, we will eventually learn more about them, and yes, that was a Quilava. By the way, Quilava and Sneasel are two of my favorites as well! (Though I don't care much for the voices they have on the show... Quilava kinda sounds like a retarded Stitch from Lilo&Stitch...) Oh and thanks for the kudos. I'd better cut this short... it's turning into a chapter all its own! Hope ya' like the rest!
Antithesis: Nah, I wouldn't give the whole thing away that early on, where's the fun in that? Oh, and about Cubone's age: I was always curious as to how long pokemon live. I mean, nobody ever addresses it. They must die at some point, so they can't live too long. As for Cubone, he has a special reason he has lived for so long.
ExuroFlamma: Yes. Here you go! (gives cookies) My chapters will be getting longer. I swear the higher the chapter number, the longer it gets. I try to make them around 9-12 pages in Word, because I've found that most people like reading that length. Anyway, glad ya' like it so far!
Disclaimer ('cause I keep forgetting): I do not own pokemon, nor do I want to really. I am actually quite content with owning very little. Though, my original characters are mine, ya' know.
The Glass Half Full
Ch.6 Together Again!
Now with the addition of Cubone to her group, Kayla was actually starting to feel a bit of confidence growing in her. She no longer felt timid about talking to Charmander, and although there were still a few things she didn't understand or know about Cubone; she felt comfortable with him because of the fact that he was her father's pokemon. The three of them walked side-by-side into the wooded area that was the Viridian Forest. Even though it was still quite light out, the sun was starting to get nearer to the horizon and Kayla knew that it must be getting close to night. But as they entered the dense forest, it quickly became as dark as nighttime, and Kayla checked the small clock she had in her pack.
"It's about 6," she said, putting it away in the pocket she had gotten it from.
Charmander's stomach growled, (Oh… can we eat now? My stomach's getting grumpy….) The bright flame on the tip of his tail weakening a bit.
Kayla chuckled, "Your stomach sounds like a Charizard!" She smiled; somehow, Charmander always made her laugh….
Charmander gave a fake laugh, (Eh heh heh heh. Charizard… that's a good one…) Then he fell silent.
Cubone raised an eyebrow, (Something wrong?)
Charmander ignored him.
As the three entered a small clearing in the heavily wooded area, Kayla looked around. They were in a field of tall and short grass. It reminded her a bit of the farm back home… Tufts of tall grass waved to her in the wind, and Kayla smelled the air as it blew by. She could see more of the sky in the field, and could now see that the sun was about to dip into the horizon. Soon night would be upon them even out in the open.
"We can stop here and eat I guess," she said, suddenly becoming aware of how hungry she was.
Charmander perked up, (Yay! I'm starved!)
The three of them sat down around a dry dirt spot in the clearing, and Cubone gathered some wood for a fire. Charmander dipped his glowing flame tail into the small mound of sticks, and soon enough, a small fire was going. Kayla heated up the Raviolis that Charmander was so hoping for in a small pot that she had packed for her journey. She passed out forks to both of her pokemon, and the three began to eat. Kayla brought out her PokeDex to look over, while Charmander and Cubone talked to each other.
(Hey Pops, there's something I don't get about that weird Oak tree you lived in,) mumbled Charmander, his mouth full of Raviolis.
(And that is…?) said Cubone, watching Charmander.
(Well, why were there no pokemon around it? I mean, why were they all so afraid? When Kayla and I walked by it, we both felt really scared, like there was something there… something evil…)
Cubone paused for a moment, silence filled the air; that same feeling that Charmander had just been describing….
(The pokemon of that area know to stay clear from my tree. In the past, I was merciless to those that entered my territory…) he trailed off, leaving Charmander shivering.
(Uh… uh… yeah…) said Charmander, trying to smile; although what he really wanted to do was grab Kayla and run far away. Cubone was starting to scare him.
Cubone closed his eyes for a moment, (I am sorry; I did not mean to scare you. My past has not been a very nice one. Perhaps someday I will tell you the story, but not tonight…)
Charmander looked unconvinced.
Cubone grabbed a piece of ravioli with the fork Kayla had given him. (Trust me, I would never hurt anyone close to my Master…)
Beep! Cubone, the Lonely Pokemon. It is said that Cubone wear the skull from their deceased mothers…. No human has ever seen their true faces. Compassion seems to be something that most wild Cubone lack. They tend to want to be alone for a great deal of the time, and generally do not care about others' feelings. However, with much training and taming, Cubone can become excellent companions. Cubone evolve into Marowak at level 36. This Cubone is at level 42. Its attacks are: Skull Bash, Focus Energy, Thrash, and Seismic Toss. This Cubone is unreadable by this PokeDex in the area of stats.
"Hmm… that's weird…" said Kayla, giving a puzzled look to Dextra. She shrugged, "I guess there are still a lot of things I need to learn about you Mr. Cubone."
Cubone sat silently.
(Level 42? Oh that makes me look real powerful…) whined Charmander; he was only still at the skill level that he started with.
Cubone waved his hand as if to dismiss Charmander's comment, (I have been on many journeys in my lifetime. Yours has just begun. It is understandable that I am at such a high level.)
Kayla fiddled with the PokeDex some more and then pointed it at Charmander...
Beep! Charmander, the Lizard Pokemon. If a Charmander's tail flame ever goes out, it will perish. They typically enjoy spicy and bitter food, and can be very loyal to their trainers. They evolve into the very popular Charizard. Push the green button for more on this pokemon's evolution. This Charmander is at level 5. Its attacks are: Scratch and Growl. This Charmander's stats are as follows: High Attack, Low Defense, High Special, and Medium Speed.
"Push the green button? Okay sure, I'd love to see what Charmander evolves into," said Kayla, recalling the Charizard window on the door to Professor Oak's lab.
Charmander evolve into Charmeleon at level 16, and then into Charizard at level 36. However, as with certain types of pokemon, the Charmander evolutionary line gets more and more difficult to handle as they evolve. Caution for those who evolve their Charmander; they can become very uncooperative and even mean-spirited when they evolve into Charmeleon. Some trainers have even reported their Charmander as completely changing in every aspect of their personality when they evolved.
"Wow…" said Kayla, trying to imagine Charmander as mean-spirited. She just couldn't do it. How can someone end up being a horrible mean-spirited person when they started out so nice?
Charmander stared off into space, his mind clearly thinking deeply.
Cubone watched him carefully. There was something Charmander was obviously hiding on this subject…
Kayla could sense Charmander's tenseness too, so she decided to put away the PokeDex, and talk to Charmander. "Like your Raviolis?" she asked with a smile.
Charmander looked up, (Yeah!) he said happily, stuffing another spoonful in his mouth.
Kayla laughed, "I'm glad."
The sun was now setting on the horizon, painting beautiful pink and gold colors dancing across the sky. Some Butterfree were visible flying across the other side of the field.
"Well…" said Kayla, surveying the land around them, "I guess this looks like a good spot to camp out, it's a nice flat field; it'll be perfect. I'm glad we decided to camp out like Gary and Mike. I forgot how fun it is…."
Charmander nodded, although he still wanted pillows…
(May I return to my pokeball to sleep,) asked Cubone, preferring some time alone to think. He had a lot on his mind right this minute, and some silence and seclusion was just what he needed. He walked up to Kayla so that he could motion that he wanted to be returned; but he paused, unsure of where she kept her pokeballs.
Kayla yawned. Even if it was only early in the evening, she still was very tired. So much had happened in one day that she was completely done in. She nodded to Cubone and pulled out his pokeball from the front pocket of her pack.
"Sure you can… return Cubone," she said sleepily.
Cubone's eyes widened in mild surprise, then disappeared as the red light engulfed him.
"Well, looks like it's just the two of us again Charmander," said Kayla, smiling at her tiny pokemon. She reached over to grab something out of her pack. As she did do she heard an odd noise… like the soft flapping of wings…
Charmander smiled back, (Yep. Hey! Since we have a fire, let's roast some weenie--!) He stopped abruptly.
"What's wrong?" asked Kayla, her hand digging in her pack to find her lantern.
(Look out!) yelled Charmander, pointing to behind Kayla, his eyes widening in fear.
Kayla turned around, her hand still in her pack, "Huh?"
What met Kayla's eyes as she turned around to see what was spooking Charmander was a small group of three Butterfree! There was one Butterfree in the front that appeared to be the leader. Its eyes narrowed in a malicious stare at Kayla and Charmander.
Kayla was stunned into silence. Butterfree had always looked so cute and harmless to her, but now they hovered before her looking ready to attack! She searched her mind frantically to figure out what she had done to anger them, but could come up with nothing.
"What did I do wrong?" she asked the Butterfree leader quickly.
(Yeah man! Don't hurt us!) squeaked Charmander, his voice beginning to crack again.
The leader began to talk, but to Kayla's mind, it just sounded like Butterfree noises. She could feel panic beginning to rise in her; how was she supposed to answer back!
(You have trespassed on our land and you dare to ask what it is you have done!) yelled the angry leader, his wings beating rapidly to match his anger.
(Mister…,) quaked Charmander, knowing it was he who had to answer, since Kayla couldn't understand him, (Whatever we did, we didn't mean to…! All we did was build a fire to--!)
The three Butterfree all gasped in horror, mumbling angrily to themselves.
The leader turned to Kayla and Charmander again, (You fools! Building a fire in a forest and in a field full of grass and flammable material! Imbeciles! You could have burned up the entire forest! This is why we're here. We dispose of ignorant fools like yourselves, which is not always easy, nor do we catch everyone… But now that you've further proven your ignorance, and rudeness, we shall do what we must!) he turned to the other two Butterfree behind him, (Company, attack!)
Charmander shook violently, (Oh great…! Kayla, I don't think they're going to listen, so let's just RUN!) He leaped up and grabbed at Kayla to pull her up.
Kayla, feeling very in the dark about what was going on, leapt up when Charmander pulled up on her and began to run with him further into the field. Her heart began to beat quickly, and she realized how fast she could actually run when needing to. Charmander, despite his small stature, was actually keeping up with her quite well.
The Butterfree continued to pursue them for quite some ways, and every time Kayla turned her head to look back, it seemed as if they had gotten closer. They looked twice as intimidating with the now deep red and orange colors of the late sunset shinning all over their faces and wings. Kayla kept running and running, now into the forest again, branches hitting her legs and arms as she sprinted past trees and bushes. She stepped hard on a spot that was particularly muddy, and dirt and mud splashed up the side of her overalls.
"When will… they… give… up?" Kayla panted as they ran along.
Charmander jumped a bit as he ran to keep up, (I don't know… but I hope it's soon!)
After a few more seconds, the Butterfree stopped, and watched as Kayla and Charmander continued to run, even though they had stopped chasing them. The two had been running so fast, that the Butterfree were actually getting quite tired.
Kayla slowed a bit, and when she noticed that the Butterfree were gone, she stopped and caught her breath. Charmander collapsed on the ground, muttering something about water. The darkness of the dense forest around them would have been very uninviting under normal conditions, but after being chased by angry Butterfree, anything was better.
Kayla sat in silence for a moment, trying to figure out what had just happened, when she noticed that she could hear voices…
"Hey…" she said to Charmander, who was still lying on the ground, "Do you hear that? It sounds kinda like Mike…"
Which it did. Kayla got up slowly, and began to walk over to where the voices were coming from; the mud in her now brown shoe squishing as she stepped.
"Ha!" said Gary, snatching a pokeball from the ground, "Capture number five! This Pidgey feels like a winner too!"
Mike pouted, his arms folded tightly, "Well, I saw a lot of cool pokemon too, including a Pikachu, but I, uh, decided to let them go."
Gary's dark brown eyes narrowed, "Right."
"But I did! I saw them right--," he paused, "Oh, hi Kayla!" He smiled, anything to get him out of explaining his capture failures to Gary.
Kayla stepped out from behind the prickly berry bushes to see Mike standing next to a triumphantly smiling Gary, and a small campfire between them. Kayla blushed as she suddenly realized that these were other human beings she was about to talk to, people that she wanted to be friends with, and she began attempting to dust the dirt and mud off of her overalls in a nonchalant way…
"Oh, uh, hi you guys…" said Kayla, her usual timid demeanor returning.
She was about to ask what kinds of pokemon they had caught so far, when suddenly a soft flapping noise was audible.
Charmander jumped out from the bushes, (They came back! They say that they can see and smell a fire over here too! And boy do they look angry!)
He stopped cold in front of Gary and Mike's fire.
(Waah! Put that thing out you crazies! You're going to get us all killed!) he yelled, frantically kicking dirt all over the small flames.
Gary started, "Hey! What's your Charmander doin' to my fire!"
Kayla shook her head slowly, "Uh… I don't--," and suddenly turned around, hearing the flapping noise get louder, "Ahh!"
Gary and Mike both gave a confused look, "Huh?"
Kayla jumped up, "R-run!" She started running again, further into the forest, Charmander at her heels.
At first Gary and Mike didn't follow them, unsure of what was going on. Soon enough though, they joined the chase. Kayla looked behind her.
"Keep running!" yelled Gary to them all, "I think we've got 'em on the run!"
The leader Butterfree noticed this too and he started to fly faster to cut them off ahead so that they couldn't escape.
Kayla stopped abruptly, the leader blocking her path; and his expression one of exhaustion and rage.
(You will pay for your inconsiderate actions humans! One fire is excusable, but you have gone too far by adding another!) he said, readying an attack. A small, rainbow-colored glowing ball of energy began to form in front of his mandibles. It twisted and spun, making itself larger as the seconds went by.
"It's a Psybeam attack!" yelled Gary in awe. Kayla whimpered.
(Yes, and you'll be first little human girl,) said the leader in a dangerous tone.
Gary and Mike were frozen with both awe and fear. Despite what they had seen in movies and on television, they had never been in a dangerous situation like this before…
(I don't think so!) cried Charmander, taking a large leap straight up in the air so that his eyes were level to the leader's. He curled his tiny sharp claws, and swiped as hard as he could, his nails ripping the top layer of the Butterfree's exoskeleton.
As the leader cried in pain and surprise, Gary shook his head and came out of his temporary freeze, "Let's get outta here! Follow me!" He ran off into an even darker part of the forest, and Mike and Kayla followed without hesitation.
When the four of them were far enough away, they sat down on the ground to take a break. By now it was well into the darkness of night, and the only reason Kayla could see five feet in front of her was because of Charmander's flame tail. All of the moonlight was being blocked by the trees of the forest.
Kayla heaved a sigh. Would she ever get some sleep?
"Do you think they're gone?" asked Mike, as he peered around the small area they were all sitting in.
Gary looked up, "Are you kidding? They'd better be gone! I don't feel like running anymore…."
Kayla raised her head. "Do you guys hear something?" she asked them, looking towards Mike.
The sound of crunching leaves came from a bush behind Mike. He jumped up. "Oh man! Please, don't Psybeam my head off!" he pleaded, closing his eyes and covering his head with his hands.
But there were no Butterfree stepping out from behind the bush; just a boy. He wore what closely resembled an ancient Japanese Samurai suit. The detailed armor was hard to see in the diminished light, but Kayla could still tell that it was very beautiful craftsmanship.
A quick and sharp voice came from below the three-pointed helmet, "I am the Samurai of the Forest. I have come to challenge the four trainers from Pallet. I wish to learn more about the ways of pokemon battling. On my own I can only learn so much, but with others I can learn so much more. Now… which of you is the strongest?"
The three trainers all looked at each other; stunned once again into a moment of silence…
A/N: Thanks again for reading! Next time will feature Kayla (and Charmander's) first battle! Which means we get to see how the little lizard does. Stay tuned!