Aaand we're back! What's up fellas, bruhmeister here! Back with another chapter of Roadtrip! Last time, Tyler and the girls finally left home on their journey, a world full of possibilities await them!
Disclaimer: The user bruhmeister does not imply ownership of the companies shown in the literature "Roadtrip".
Let's get going!
Tyler sighed as he felt the wind pelting his face as he drove down the main road that went through Twinleaf town, the place he called home. The recent modifications he and Josh made on his car really paid off, as it drove better than ever. Not to mention sounds better too.
Jewel loved leaning a bit out of the window, her tongue lolling out of her face as the wind pelted her too, earning a wide grin on the Eevee's face. She found this highly amusing, in stark contrast to her previous life with her abusive trainer.
Autumn on the other hand, was still as shy as ever, keeping close to Tyler as he drove. She sat snuggly into the passenger seat. Though she may not show it, she loved the feeling of speed as well as shown when her human decided to let loose and put his foot down. She was also highly intrigued by the various hand movements Tyler did as he drove, such as shifting gears and activating turn signals.
The group made small talk, such as talking about the forest that Autumn called home. He remembered how he and his father used to take strolls through it on warmer days and going berry foraging in the spring. Through his thoughts, he didn't notice the tear falling down his face. Autumn however, did.
"H-hey Tyler, are you alright?" She asked with concern. Tyler shook his head lightly, stopping any potential waterworks. "Nah, I'm fine. Just thinking about something, s'all."
"Y-you sure? You were crying just now…" She asked him again, feeling a slight bit of sadness coming from him. Jewel also noticed this, as she stopped leaning out and sat down beside Autumn, showing concern as well. "Tyler…You're hurt." She spoke up, startling him a bit.
Tyler sighed, before shaking his head again. "No, I really am fine. A bit of dust got in my eyes, nothing more." He sternly replied. Jewel decided not to continue prying, continuing leaning out the window. Autumn decided to the same, curling up into a ball as she was pretty tired.
After roughly two more hours of driving, Tyler noticed a town coming over the horizon. Sandgem Town was fairly small, even compared to Twinleaf. However, it became a somewhat popular location due to it's serene and peaceful atmosphere, with lighter winds compared to the rougher gusts of route 201.
"Hey, look. We're here." Tyler spoke as he shook Autumn lightly to wake her up. Jewel looked over to Tyler, sitting down beside her friend afterwards. "Sandgem Town, I've heard a few nice things about this place."
"Hmm, such as?" The Eevee inquired. "I mean, I've been here before, but I never got the chance to explore it as I was kept in my ball all the time."
"Well, mainly, it's pretty close by to the Lake Verity. I've also heard that the local cuisine is pretty good and that there's a new hot spring. Should be great." He spoke, earning a nod from Jewel. Autumn awoke fully shortly after.
Upon entering the town, Tyler felt the wind was much calmer, but still pleasant. He drove around until he found an inn. He turned into the parking lot and got out of his car, opening the passenger door afterwards. He walked over to his trunk and grabbed his backpack and walked over inside the building. It was a bit small but well furnished on the inside, giving off a cozy and tranquil atmosphere.
Wow, pretty nice in here. The size doesn't do it justice.
Tyler walked over to the front desk, soon being greeted by an old man, presumably the owner of the inn. "Ah, welcome young man to Sandgem Inn. I'm Hector, how may I help you today?" The old man greeted with a smile.
"Hi, I'd like a room here. Maybe with two be-" Tyler was suddenly interrupted by a light tug on his brown pants. He looked over and noticed the sad faces on both his Pokemon, catching the hint fairly quickly. "Uh, one bed is fine." He finished, getting both of them to yip happily.
"Oh of course. Your room is room 15 on the second floor. Your trainer card, please?" The old man said, prompting Tyler to hand over his card. After a few moments, he handed his card back, as well as a keycard. "Here you go, Tyler. Have a nice stay."
"Thank you." Tyler answered, walking over towards the stairs, followed by his Pokemon.
Upon reaching his room, he opened the door and was greeted by a fair sized room with one bed off to the side, a TV and a couch nearby. Immediately, Jewel ran over and jumped on the bed, letting off a sigh of happiness.
"Mmmm, so soft!" She cried, stretching a bit before laying down again. Tyler chuckled, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and plopping it down beside the bed. He knelt down and rummaged for his clothes and towel. Autumn leapt up on the bed as well, enjoying the softness as well.
"Alright, girls. Behave yourselves, I'm gonna take a shower." Tyler said as he entered the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
"Man, Tyler is super nice. I'm really glad you helped saving me back there. Had you not helped…I wouldn't have met him…and I can't imagine what'd happen to me." Jewel spoke softly to Autumn, her ears drooping slightly. "Thank you, Autumn."
"Y-yeah, n-no problem. But…I'm worried for him." Autumn replied, Jewel tilting her head in confusion. "Yeah, same here… I wonder what he's so secretive of."
"I-I don't really know, but he looked hurt. I-it might be something that happened to him in the past." Autumn pondered.
"Yeah, probably. But what might it be? He's so nice, what heartless monster would hurt him?" Jewel thought aloud, with Autumn nodding in agreement. "Hmph, and he's pretty tight lipped about it too."
"I-I mean, most Pokemon are like that, so probably humans too. I-I think we shouldn't pry h-him, it might make things worse." Autumn explained, which Jewel let out a sigh in response.
"Yeah, I guess… I hate seeing him like that, though." She added.
Before they could continue, they heard the bathroom door rattle slightly before swinging open, upon which a shirtless Tyler stepped out with a towel around his waist. He looked at them with an apologetic grin as he scratched the back of his head.
"Heh, sorry girls. Forgot my clothes again. Old habits die hard, I guess." Tyler admitted while walking over to his backpack. As he crouched down to take his clothes, Autumn let a tiny gasp and Jewel looked wide-eyed as they noticed his back.
Across his fairly muscular back, there were a three long scratch marks that trailed from his left shoulder blade to the middle of his back, alongside two smaller ones coming from his right. A fairly noticeable scar of what seems to be a bullet wound was on his left shoulder. It was truly a horrifying sight for the average person.
Tyler noticed the gasp Autumn had let slip and turned to her.
"Hmm, what's wrong Autumn?" He asked her, making her yelp a bit in surprise.
"N-nothing, I-I j-just pulled a muscle." She stuttered, rubbing her left hind leg in faux pain. Tyler looked fairly concerned.
"Oh that's not good. You want me to massage you?" Tyler offered nicely. Though the thought of it was very enticing, Autumn had to avoid unnecessary talk since it might give her away. Luckily, Jewel caught on to this quickly.
"Oh no need, I can do it!" Jewel chirped happily, though her thoughts were anything but.
"Alright then." Tyler said while putting on a white shirt and grey sweater with a white diagonal line crossing the front. He walked back into the bathroom to slip into a pair of boxers and brown jeans. He then walked out after drying his hair and hanging his towel to dry. Grabbing his fairly worn Nike's, he walked over to the bed and sat down as he put his shoes on.
"Hey, I've been thinking. We should head on over to Lake Verity. We'll be taking heading over to Route 201 tomorrow, since we're going to spend today exploring Sandgem, how's that sound?" Tyler said while he tied his laces. The girls liked this idea quite a lot, since both of them never really had the time to explore the world around them.
"That sounds great! I've been dying to see everything!" Jewel yipped happily, having pushed her previous questions to the back of her mind. "I also saw a pretty cool food shop when we came here and it looked so good!"
"Food shop? You mean restaurant?" Tyler asked, getting her to answer fairly quickly. "Yep, that!" Tyler chuckled as he rubbed her back, earning a delighted yelp from her.
"Haha, alright. I guess we could head there. How about you, Autumn? Noticed anything you'd like to do?" He offered. Autumn thought about it for a while before responding.
"W-well, I did see a large park near the center of town. I-I would like to go there…" Autumn mumbled the last bit, barely audible. Though, Tyler still caught it.
"Sure thing. Also, Autumn. You don't need to be so nervous. I'm right here after all." Tyler chuckled, pointing a thumb back at him and giving her a small smile. "And I'll be there for you two anytime." He said with a wide grin as he hugged both Pokemon, catching Jewel and Autumn off guard. They didn't protest however, instead leaning into his hug more.
They held the hug for roughly a minute before breaking off. He loved his Pokemon and he felt their love radiate as well.
Arceus, they're great. Thank you, gut, thank you.
"Right, let's get going. Oh, before we do, mind if I officially 'catch' you two? Don't worry, I'll let both of you out right after." He said, earning a nod from both of them. "Alright, Jewel, you're first."
He pulled out an empty Pokeball and tapped her with it, sucking her in with a red flash as the ball fell and shook, before letting off a yellow blink from it's button. Immediately, he let her out.
"There. Now it's your turn, Autumn." The Vulpix reluctantly walked forward, but she trusted him. The process went off without a hitch.
"Alrighty, let's roll!" Tyler exclaimed excitedly, picking both of them up and placing them on his shoulders. He promptly grabbed his wallet and his phone and went out of the room.
…
The rain pelted down hard, rattling the roofs of high rise apartments and lowly suburbs alike. It was especially audible in the Observatory that overlooked the Great Marsh, which was closed due to the large downpour. The citizens of Pastoria City didn't mind, considering this was a fairly common.
A person stood outside the gates of the Great Marsh. They wore a dark overcoat, stretching down to the legs, with their feet barely visible, which were a pair of silver high heels. They held an umbrella on their left hand and a phone on their right, pressed up on their face, a conversation broke out of the device.
"Cyrus, I'm here. Doesn't look like those shit-for-brains are though. Where the fuck are they?" The person spoke harshly. "They better not have gotten lost or I swear…"
"Shut up and keep quiet, lest you want to be thrown in jail." The voice from the phone replied.
"Fine. Arceus, why must I do this? Why not Saturn? That lazy sack of shit barely does anythi-"
"Did I stutter?" The voice harshly replied.
The person keep quiet as the voice, now known as Cyrus, continued.
"Saturn is currently occupied with gathering resources for our tests. Mars, I expected you to know how crucial these tests are, unless failure is wanted outcome. Apparently, I stand corrected." Cyrus spat, causing Mars to grit her teeth.
"You fucker. Alright, I get it. Treat him with more respect, what next? Be his bitch or something?" Mars talked back, venom dripping off her words.
Soon after, two men with teal bowlcuts and grey jumpsuits ran over to her, panting slightly.
"C-Commander M-Mars, we've got the p-package. We're ready when you are." One of them spoke, visibly scared and somewhat annoyed at his wet hair. The suits were hydrophobic, making them less of an issue.
Mars chuckled a bit, an grin formed on her face as she pulled her hood off, revealing her short red hair. "Fucking finally. Any longer and I would have fed you to my Golbats." She spat, getting the grunts to shudder.
The three figures walked towards the gate, sheltering themselves from the rain.
And that's chapter 5 for you guys! As usual, I hope you guys enjoyed and I'll be seeing you all in the next chapter! bruhmeister, out!