A/N: Thanks to – kitsune07, kuro akki fuzen and Sapphire Heaven for their reviews and support while I started off this story! You guys really are worth the mention! So… thanks! Right, now on with the story! Also, I am very sorry it's so short! I had writer's block for the past two weeks and… you get my drift. So yay! I'm back!
The Sage Chronicles
Chapter III
The Surprise Guest
Summer had eventually settled in, widening a cloak of evergreen flowers with shades of goldenrod, crimson, Indian red, and any other wonderfully fantastic colour one could possibly imagine, their stems bright and green, protruding from the earth. The downpour from the night before had wasted away, with the only remainder of what had happened were the raindrops laying weightless on the tree leaves Yet the sun was still blazing brightly, sweeping sunlight across the land, giving birth to shadows of mostly anything – even the rare occasional sighting of a human and her Pokémon wandering across the land near to hopelessly, trying to find their way to the next city (which, on an extra note, was named Laelia City, nicknamed by many Home of Petals!). One of these two figures – at first sight – well, their energy seemed dwindled and worn, while the other – a Jolteon, an electric type Pokémon – literally sprinted ahead of her, letting out playful barks. The girl groaned, and placed her gloved hands behind her head, before falling backwards onto the patch of green meadow. The Jolteon ran forward in assistance.
"My feet hurt!" Nateja cried loudly, and Jolt rolled his eyes to high heaven, only to be accustomed to more of Nateja's pleads for a break and catch her breath, despite Jolt's refusal ("You had a break an hour ago!"), and continued to rest, twirling her diamond necklace around her neck, getting lost in her world of crystal once again, entwined in a fantasy. She stood in the arena in Marble City, a roaring crowd cheering her on – banners and badges with her name on them bobbed up and down, or flashed. Jolteon sprang forward and brought down the opponent as if it was a hopeless Magikarp. The crowd went wild. Nateja felt a quick – yet harmless – shock run through her limbs, and she stared blankly at Jolt, who was looking towards the tanned earth in shame. Nateja folded her arms across her chest maturely and cocked an eyebrow at him.
"That wasn't very nice."
"You weren't listening to me, Nat, and you missed the Latias that just went by."
"Where?" Nateja spun around, her arms flailing wildly, her domino carry-on-bag swaying from left to right as she stood up hastily, eyeing the land around her with bright blue eyes. Jolt snorted with laughter.
"I can't believe you fell for that."
Nateja huffed and puffed and returned furiously to the earth, her brow furrowed with sweat, the sun scorching the back of her neck. She looked rather fashionable for someone out travelling, in fact, though no one gave two hoots about it, frankly. Nateja grinned at the look – or how she would imagine it – on Becca's face when she tried to explain that she had no idea where Nateja had gone, and then burst into dramatic tears, and they would fall for her act. She was a little more traumatized with guilt about her parents, but it was an inconsiderate action (Nat wasn't afraid to admit) but an action that had to be taken. Nateja sighed and pulled Jolt close to her, taking in his fur, which didn't sting or hurt at all, in fact, it felt very much cuddly. Pushing her long locks behind her, Nateja whipped an ice cold bottle of water from her bag and gulped it all down in a few short seconds, loving the sensation of water trickling gently down her throat, which felt natural and soothing. She stood up, and shooed a buzzing fly away from her face. She turned to Jolt, who was eyeing an Aipom jumping from branch to branch childishly in a tree. He sent a quick snap of electricity at it, and caused the Long Tail Pokémon to squeak in fear and scramble further up the bark of the tree.
"Bully. Hurry, are you coming or what?" Nateja beamed, as Jolt paced forward, following her with average speed. He had become accustomed to her face, and dare not lose the memorable picture of her in his mind. She was more than his master; she was his best friend.
"I'm coming, Nat. How come, barely a few minutes ago, you were complaining for a rest, and now you're ready for anything?"
Nateja shrugged.
"You tell me. I guess it's just how I was born, you know, like…"
"You're ability to speak to me?" Jolt asked, raising his paw to his mane.
"That's the one. Now come on, I think Laelia is a little further north. I never was good with maps," she giggled, the sole of her trainers cracking the soft earth.
Whoosh! An avian-like Pokémon grazed the clouds along the sky, letting out a recognisable shriek, well, for the most part, recognisable to her trainer, anyway. Her large wings were colored in shades of brown, and she beared a purple crest on her head and a very long and narrow beak. Her neck was elongated and thin, and her wingspan was indeed a force to be eyed and taken seriously. Her speed among the sky was nearly that of an albatross, a very honourable award to be presented with. And, on her back, grasping onto her feathers, huddled a figure, presumabley a teenage boy, of fifteen or sixteen. He was shockingly handsome for his rugged nature, with short, black hair, and childish bouncing hazel eyes, with his iris hidden behind his fringe. He ushered words into the female Fearow's ears, and she nodded swiftly, before swooping towards the ground a considerable amount. The Fearow let out a shriek, and the young man yelled some words of comfort. He stroked its plumage, and gave a final order. It swooped down towards the earth, beating its massive wings.
"Be careful girl!" he warned, pointing a finger towards the ground in haste.
She was losing altitude, her narrow beak snapping open and shut every few seconds, with a 'caw' of ill fortune soon to come, yet her master remained calm and motionless, as he ran a hand through his short hair, the bristle like roots giving him a feeling which tickled his finger tips. He stiffened and drew his light skinned hand back, the breeze gently pushing it backwards. He sighed inwardly, aware that the pair of them were about to plumet towards solid ground. Whoosh! They stumbled down a fair bit, at an overly odd 48 degree angle. Wham! The force of wind barged against their skin, like weights, and the young man let out an exasperated moan. Now, it had to happen now! He sweared to himself silently and under his breath.
"Prepare for landing!"
The two hit the darkened ground in an explosion of earth and sand littering all over the area, consuming the nearby, well, to be honest – everything. A piercing scream arose from a few feet away, and quick whispers followed. The young man craned his neck sidewards to get a better view, and layed his eyes upon a young women around his age, her burly wood hair moving lightly in the breeze that had been created when Fearow and himself had landed less-than-perfectly. She had a bear-dog-fox Pokémon at her side where her hands lay openly drooped, and she was staring at him blankly, no longer frightened by the sudden entrance. He stood up, only to be brought to his feet again by a searing pain through his ankle, and as he felt his knees collide with the ground, he rest his gaze on the girl and her Pokémon, and smiled nervously. Oh, joy. Another embarassing situation – the blood came to his face, and the young man diverted his eyes away from the girl.
"Are you… okay?" she asked breathlessly, as he stood to his feet uncertainly. He wore a black shirt which matched his locks of hair and his short sleeves revealed muscular arms, with a tattoo (showing the chinese symbol for fire and love, together) emblazened upon his skin. He wore a navy over-shirt and black denims with perfect condition trainers. He sighed as if this happened everyday – which, Nateja made clear in her mind, didn't – before unclipping a sphere from his belt, and, in a moment, the Fearow erupted into a mess of red data and returned to its Pokéball. He eyed Nateja, as did she with him, to make sure that they could trust one another. When the test was over, he held out a firm hand, the pain and agony still throbbing through his foot.
"Tyson Oak. And you are?"
"Nateja. Nice to meet ya." Her eyes darted to his reddened ankle. "Is that alright?"
"It's fine," he grumbled inconsiderately, "great, in fact." Nat cocked an eyebrow, and snorted.
"Well, that'd be a lot more convincing if you weren't tearing up. Here, let me help you. Sit down." Nateja scrambled around in her bag for a little bit, before drawing out a lengthy piece of bandage tape. She pushed up his denims to reveal a bruised ankle, with a little of the skin around it shredded. Nateja winced.
"This could hurt a little bit." Tyson nodded and promised to not shout or release his pain in any physical way, and while he forced his eyes shut, Nat found he was true to his word while she sprayed, though he did bite his lip a little while. She proceeded to dab water where it continued to bleed.
"So… where did you come from, then? Not including the sky."
"My Grandparents sent me from Evergrande City. My Grandfather insisted that I start my journey here rather than in Hoenn. And I must say that I am glad I was given the opportunity. What about you, then?" He looked a tad uncomfortable to begin with, but relaxed almost instantly. Nat continued.
"Long story. I kind of… left home. With Jolt," (she introduce Tyson to Jolteon, who seemed overly enthusiastic with a new Pokémon – Fearow – around) "to start my travels. I couldn't just wait around, if you get my drift." He agreed.
"Yes. I didn't know I was going until Grandfather gave me his Fearow and sent me on my way. I wanted to be a breeder, but Grandfather believes in training and growing strong with a Pokémon team."
"Harsh. Why didn't you tell him that, then?"
"That's the thing, I don't know, Nateja. But I've found it to be highly enjoyable. I've got my badges already and I was heading back to Evergrande, but, as the circumstances are, it'll have to wait. Are you done yet?"
"Yup. All better. And you could come with me… if you… want." Silence. Nat felt awkward and silly. They didn't talk, but he just stood up and turned to her, with a smile upon his face.
"Alright."
And a long friendship was soon to begin, mingled with hate and care, but can the past of relatives even begin to sum up properly?
