A/N: Pokémon speech is in italic, just so no one gets confused with the whole talking between human and Pokémon. And so, enough of explaining, and more telling – and let's go on with the story!
The Sage Chronicles
Chapter II
The Professor
Nateja looked down, her deep, sky blue eyes bright and twinkling with tears, at her butterfly barrette, and let out a wet gasp. She pushed a loose strand of her burly wood hair behind her ear. It lay in pieces, its graceful wings broken, and its ruby eyes scattered inches apart, looking up at Nateja with a sad expression. It was in pieces, shimmering on the floor and it's once striking appearance seemed more than dwindled, lost, in true fact. Nateja bent down, and swept it into her hands, the glass. Marigold had always said to never lay hands upon any glass without gloves and a sweeping brush. Jolt trotted over, and licked Nateja's face, making her let out an exasperated giggle, much to Jolt's disappointment. Nateja ran her hand along Jolt's spine, feeling no pain as she petted his needle-like fur. Jolt knelt in front of Nateja, his eyes darting around at several pieces of the barrette. Jolt's expression seemed sympathetic.
"I feel distraught for you, Nat, I really do."
Nateja sniffed loudly, and dabbed at her eyes with a hanky from her handbag. Her tone sounded dull and not very… her.
"Forget about it. It's not like I care anyway. It was a silly dream anyway. I couldn't possibly do it."
"Don't say that. I'd go with you and help, you know that."
"Yeah."
Nateja swept up the last of the barrette of pieces, meanwhile, receiving a shocked reaction from Jolt ("Surely you're not just throwing it away!") and pretending to dump it in the garbage (though she hid many of it in her coat pocket). She finished off the last of her homework, before going into the kitchen for dinner. Nateja prodded and poked at her beef and vegetables, and refused to talk to her parents for now. She couldn't possibly forgive them at the moment for refusing her what she longed for the most. She wanted to get out of this place, out of this town, out of this sort of world, and they had just crushed her like that, not even bothering to consider how she would react or feel. What was wrong with them? Grandpa was given the chance when he was ten, for goodness sake, so why couldn't be given it the same way? Nateja banged the table with her fist so hard without even knowing it, and her glass of water trembled. Marigold clicked her tongue, and Alex leaned forward, frowning.
"What is wrong with you this evening, Nat?" Alex asked, though he probably knew the answer anyway.
"My name," responded Nateja, rather robotically, "is Nateja. And never you mind. Not like you'd care anyway."
"Natty," (Nateja explained her name once again to Marigold) "that is not true!"
"Please, lets just stop now, shall we?" Nateja stopped for a moment, shook her head furiously, making her ponytail whip from side to side, and stood up. "I'm not hungry. I'm going over to Becca's." Her parents made no retaliation, and Nateja sprinted over to Becca's, a couple of houses down. When, Nateja finally explained, Becca was shocked.
"You mean…"
"Yeah."
"So…"
"Yeah."
"Please stop saying that Nat."
"Alright."
Becca flicked her long blonde hair over her shoulder, and fiddled with her bracelet a little, looking up at Nateja with big brown eyes, and a worried face, her lips parting as if to say something, before they closed rapidly. Becca breathed in deeply, throwing herself onto her squashy electric pink armchair, and laid her head back. Silence wandered around the room for a moment, and Becca managed to force some words out of her mouth, though they came fast and soft, almost a whimpering noise.
"What are you going to do, Nat?"
Nateja clearly wasn't paying attention; she was stroking her crystal vial importantly, her face expressionless, her breathing ragged and uneven. Becca leaned forward and said quietly:
"Nat?"
Nateja jumped, and drew her hands back from the crystal vial, unaware that she had backed up against Becca's bed. She wound her locks around her index finger, reliving every moment in her life – up until now.
"I don't know."
"You've got to have something. You always do. Always."
"Well, I don't have anything this time around Becca, okay?"
"Sheesh, do you have to shout?"
Nateja lowered her tone to an exposed voice, the kind that you hadn't heard since her age of six, an emotional girl, and the kind that loved birthday parties, sleepovers, and balloons, and adorable Pokémon. The voice that had been lost before it even had a chance to shine.
"I'm sorry, Becca. I don't know. I guess I'll just have to… have to… wait."
"No. You're not."
"What?"
"You're getting out of here, Nateja, you and Jolt, and I am going to help you. You have a lot ahead of you; you can't throw that away. I'm your best friend, Nat. Your best friend for life."
Before she knew it, Nateja had been pulled into an embrace, and her eyes tickled with tears she had been trying to hold back, but she knew the powerful friendship – a bond that could never be broken – between herself and Becca was too strong to waste, and she somehow believed every word Becca had ever said. There wasn't any conversation between the two, they somehow knew what the other was going to say – they didn't know how, yet they just knew it.
"Tonight, Nat. You are leaving tonight."
In Willow, stood a laboratory, home of the famous Professor Garret Wyatt, who was known through all of Sage as the leading expert in Pokémon research. Nateja couldn't lie – he boarded himself up in that miserable old Lab, with no sign that he was getting any air; or light, for that matter. Poor guy. Kids in Willow would throw rocks at the windows, the little rascals, and call out rude and inappropriate names toward the Professor. Nateja never thought she would be approaching it before in her life, yet still felt the gravel beneath her feet as she beckoned up the winding steps toward the large iron doors, which towered ten feet above the ground. Nateja gulped, and she rubbed the sweat off of her brow with the back of her left hand. Jolteon stood beside her, poised as if he was expecting something to pounce. Something rustled above Nateja. She shrieked, and stumbled backwards a little, and looked above her. A Taillow glided above her, beating its wings furiously. Just a stupid Taillow, Nat thought quickly. Nateja sighed in an annoyed tone. Jolt chuckled. Nat told him to shush and proceeded to let herself inside.
"Ready?"
Jolt nodded slowly, and his needle fur seemed sharper and more alert than ever before. Clearly, Jolt seemed more human than Nateja had comprehended, and felt the same feelings that Nateja did at the moment, and Nat found that was why Jolt was her ideal Pokémon, and there personalities were obviously more alike than they had thought before. The iron doors opened with a metallic creak and, as sunlight changed the before appearance, Nat and Jolt's shadows stretched across the length of the room, before creeping onto the dust cover of a large machine, though the two didn't know its precise use. The Lab was covered from head to toe in a slightly normal green (the sort you would find on a ten years old bedroom walls) wall paper – some of it ancient and peeling – and tiles were situated from the door way up to a small kitchen, which really looked more like a cross between a café and a second hand shop. Test tubes with sizzling purple and yellow liquid, with smoke billowing from the tip sat on lockers that seemed more suitable for an average home. Clinking and clanking monstrosities of machines stood higgledy-piggledy along the room, scattered carelessly. A Rattata and a Raticate were running on treadmills, their eyes locked on Nateja and Jolt.
"Welcome."
Nateja jumped on the spot, Jolt growled and switched to a battling position, and a figure appeared from the darkness, and, from the moment he stepped into the light, Nateja's expectations were brought to shock, as they hadn't been suspecting something so average. Professor Wyatt was a young man, presumably in his late twenties to thirties, with a head full of wispy chestnut hair, and a goatee to match. He was almost five foot tall, and a little on the heavy side, and he wore a bright plum sweater (Nateja couldn't help but think to herself how Clarissa Charles would react to such fashion). Nateja moved forward, wary, yet beckoned Jolt forward, who obeyed immediately, yet reluctantly. Nateja squinted her eyes, than returned to normal vision, as she took in the nice surprise.
"You're… Professor Wyatt?"
"Last time I checked, yes."
Nateja laughed nervously and in a quite fake voice, before responding.
"Well, yes. I was hoping you could help me with something. You see…"
Nateja explained once again her current situation, and Professor Wyatt gave a few "Hmm…"'s and "Of course…"'s and "Yes…"'s.
"… And I need to be prepared."
"I see you've got a starter," (Wyatt nodded at Jolt, who kept his head bowed in response) "and all you need is a little boost. Hmm…" Wyatt dug into his pocket, muttering under his breath, biting his lip, before his hand came from its dark hiding place. In his palm, sat five red and white gleaming spheres, each with a small white button in the centre. Wyatt asked if Jolt would need a Pokéball, and to whom Nateja replied that he would not.
"Very well. I have something else for you, young one." He humbled away, and returned a moment later with a strange blue and black device in his hand. Nat questioned curiously what this was. Wyatt explained.
"It is a Pokédex, young one. It records the Pokémon you see and catch, and is an updated version of that of Hoenn. It can specify what gender said Pokémon is, what level, detect its footprints, and give you special advice on how it would be best in battle. But, I'd leave that to myself, personally," he chuckled. He also lent Nateja a potion or three, and a few sprays that would come in handy for later. Nateja couldn't explain her joy, despite herself.
"Thank you so much Professor!" Nat squealed.
"You're welcome, young one," he replied, beaming. He didn't get visitors often, and quite personally, he didn't like them interrupting his work; but Nateja was a special exception. But he would explain when the time was right.
"And," he began, a grin forming across his features, "I'll give you my contact number, for any difficult times in which you can't afford to lose. But, remember, young one, great challenges lie ahead, and you must rise to the challenge. Now go."
It was midnight at the cottage, and Nateja was ready to go, presumably in a couple of minutes. She wore her white denim jeans, and a black tank top (which revealed her midriff and navel) with a long sleeved white shirt that was literally the same, showing her midriff. Beforehand, she had to give her farewell to Alex and Marigold. She swift steps into their room, where they lay sound asleep. As much as she didn't wish to say goodbye, she had to, or she never would be able to fulfil her dreams. Becca and Nat had made an emotional goodbye, and, yes, there were tears, but that didn't stop them. She asked why couldn't Becca come with her, to which she replied that it would be much too risky. Mother and Father were breathing softly, and Marigold was muttering under her breath, telling someone to come home. Nateja felt a pang of guilt immediately. She pecked them both on the check, though she tried to hug them, the way they were positioned made it impossible.
"I love you, Mom. Love you Dad."
She scribbled a quick note, and headed out the door with Jolt, who was extremely saddened as well, since he had stumbled into Willow, he had become a part of it, a family, and to leave all his friends, felt remarkably cold and upsetting. Nateja grabbed her travelling bag, and swung it around her shoulder. Her five pokéballs were clipped properly onto her belt, and her hair was brought back in a lengthily ponytail. She sighed, and closed the door quietly; it's creaking sounding through the house. Nateja and Jolt disappeared into Willow Forest, past the Town Centre, past the Gates leading into her hometown, and leaving behind a life which would most probably never be seen as a past, or even a present. Jolt's fur cracked with electricity, his light showing the way.
The Beginning of Nateja M. Shannow had become reality.
