Hi. Remember me?
To RedYoshi14: Thanks for the vote of confidence. I appreciate it. And yeah, the story is about a Pokemon Researcher.
Any constructive criticism is appreciated. I have a lot to learn, since I'm just a beginner.
With that said, lets get on with it.
Rustboro City.
One of the largest cities in the all of Hoenn, it boasts a rather unique cityscape, and is the main hub of industry in the entire region, courtesy of being home to the MASSIVE Devon Corporation, among other reasons. Yet despite its extreme growth in recent years, the place still manages to give off an old and rustic feel.
And in the hustle of this quaint city, a young teenage brunet could be seen walking back home, a dejected expression on his face.
Darn it! I mean, really dude? Did you actually expect this to be that easy? Thought that some random schmuck would just drop a crap ton of cash on some random kid to fill his quota for "Look, I did a good thing!"Arceus, why am I so stupid!?
Meet 13-year old Ross Melder, a (Junior) Pokemon Researcher. Fresh out of graduation from the local Pokemon Trainer School, he decided to become a Pokemon Researcher to learn more about...well, pokemon, like the professors do! You see, unlike the other children, Ross was far more interested in learning about how pokemon work than about how they can beat the crap out of each other. Isn't that nice?
Currently, he was contemplating on why he expected a request about acquiring research funds for an unestablished, unknown, THIRTEEN-YEAR OLD researcher to have any semblance of working.
He still has yet to find an answer.
Ugh...look, he was desperate, alright?
Tch...Whatever, dwelling on it won't help me, so it doesn't matter anyway. Look on the bright side, at least I have enough to finally do something...
Indeed, he did. Thankfully, the combination of his parents, their friends (since he barely had any, the poor sod), the friends of their friends, and his old school teachers pitching in, netted him a sizeable sum of about 6,000 Pokedollars. Three times more than the average trainer tends to start with.
Yet for Ross, it was barely enough for one experiment.
Normally, a Researcher that was just starting out would conduct small, obscure experiments that cost little to no coin, build up their credibility, make some money, do more experiments, and make more money before finally doing something that requires a lot more funding (unless you were a certain Unovan Prodigy, anyway). This would allow said Researcher to either use the funds that they've been building up, or raise some funds, as they're not some nobody and actually have a reputation.
Unfortunately for Ross however, doing that required both time and patience. And if Ross knows anything, it's that he's not patient.
He still tried the fund raising method though. And the results speak for themselves.
Ross is a nobody.
But that's fine! He thought, refusing to lose his optimism. I'll be able to begin my first experiment tomorrow, and for that, I need to get to Petalburg. But first...
Mom's curry is waiting for me! Ross's pace began to grow in speed. He was famished from the stressful day and couldn't wait to get something into his stomach. He would eat like a Snorlax tonight!
Dinner at the Melder House was a lovely affair. His mother, Olivia, had prepared some of her famous curry (the best curry, in Ross's humble opinion), and so Ross made an attempt to empty his plate before anyone else could even begin. "It's my way of showing appreciation", he had once told her.
In reality, he couldn't wait to eat and needed to make an excuse so that he could begin before the others.
A whole load of Tauros Dung is what it was.
Anyway, once Ross had begun his attempt in earnest, Enko (his mom's Skitty) barreled into his side, stopping him from inhaling any more food, and almost succeeding in making him cough out what had been partially consumed.
"Ouch! Why!?" Ross, the liar, yelled, annoyed at the little feline. He knew that he was at fault, but did the pink ball of maliciousness really have to hit him so hard?
Enko growled at him, but considering the fact that she was a Skitty, it came out more like a confused purr.
Ross got the message though, so he just sat there, folding his arms over his chest, and looking grumpy.
"Now don't be like that, Ross. You know that she was just worried about you choking on your food," His dad, Brent, said consolingly. The tall, lean man was a Pokemon...Transporter? Courier? Deliveryman? He would transport items, people, and pokemon to other places with his trusty Honchkrow (who was somehow much, much bigger thana regular Honchkrow) for a small fee. The pay wasn't particularly high, but it was enough to live somewhat comfortably.
Plus, his father loved to fly, so he really can't complain.
"I get that, but still. She didn't have to hit me so hard!" Ross whined, not at all placated.
His mother finally chose to interject after that, raising a finger. "Think about it, Ross. If she hadn't hit you so hard, it would have encouraged you to continue with those abysmal table manners. And then one day you'd end up choking on your food and dying. Do you want that, hmm?" She countered, smiling sweetly at him.
"...No, I guess not," he replied, slightly less annoyed than before. His mother had always knew how to come up with the dumbest yet believable reasons while making him look like the stupid one. Safe to say, Ross doesn't really argue when his mom's around, for the most part.
After finishing this conversation about why a Skitty ramming into your stomach is a good thing, Ross finally remembered he had to tell them something.
"By the way Dad, can you and Honchkrow fly me to Petalburg tomorrow? It's for my research," He turned to his father, awaiting his answer. .
"Sure, why not? I was heading there anyway," He said, seeing no reason to turn him down.
"But what're you going to Petalburg for that you can't get here?" asked Olivia, quite confused on why he wanted to go there. While she was aware of the topic of his research, she didn't know why going to Petalburg would help him with it.
"I've heard that sometimes, people find a Ralts on one the routes near there," He explained. "Route 102, I think? The one that goes to Oldale."
And with that, they immediately understood.
"Are you going to catch one?" Brent inquired, slightly curious. It was somewhat of a big deal if he was, since that was going to be his first pokemon.
Ross inclined his head. "Yeah, then I'll hopefully be able to trade him to Roxy."
Hopefully being the key word. I don't expect her to actually accept though, with the mountain of work she has to do. Plus, she's a type specialist. Training a Ralts would go against that.
Still, couldn't hurt to try.
Olivia looked skeptical. "She'll probably decline. You realize that, right?"
"Yeah, but I'm asking her anyway."
"And when she refuses?"
"If she refuses..." Ross gets up from his chair, and starts walking back to his room to turn in for the night. He pauses for moment, muttering his answer, before closing the door shut.
"Then I'll just have to do it myself."
...
Seconds pass, and Olivia's gaze turns to her husband. "Dear, why does he have to be so... dramatic?
She asked, exasperated.
Which one of us did he even get that from?
Brent put a hand under his chin and nodded. "I don't know, Olly." Then he raised his fist with dramatic flair! "BUT DID YOU HEAR THAT!? OUR BOY MIGHT GO ON AN ADVENTURE!".
Olivia looks at her husband of fifteen years.
Then she looks at the door that Ross left through.
She looks at him again.
His eyes were sparkling.
Finally, she sighed. "Ross, I hope to Arceus you know what you're doing..."
-Chapter End-
