I went to the lighthouse, all right. How can I miss such an important tourist hotspot?

Here, I'll make a poem—

(The text of the poem is unreadable. There are several watery bites into the page, and so, the page was soaked and the ink ran.)

Meh. I showed my totally awesome poem to Lorcan. He apparently didn't like it, so he bit it. His mouth wouldn't let go until I bribed him with cola. What a jerk.

I guess I have to write an actual journal entry again, because I kind of forgot what I wrote in the poem.

So anyway, there were plenty of Trainers at the lighthouse. The thing about some of them was that they automatically made assumptions of me, and it was pretty weird how they made them. For example, I fought against a bird keeper who accused me of not caring about the sick Pokémon (basing it off shaky assumptions, of course). I didn't really say anything about the sick Pokémon during or before the battle we had after he made the remark. After the battle, the bird keeper came to the conclusion that I really did care! But I said freaking nothing the entire time. Unless he can judge my love of Pokémon by the way I shout, "Kitty, extrasensory!"

Otherwise, I don't know what kind of thought process that boy is under.

After that business, I battled a couple more times, then went out a door. I was so causal about it, I didn't realize until too late that the "door" I went out of was actually a huge window.

I fell gracefully onto my feet.

I think it's some kind of miracle that I didn't break my leg, or something. I fell a great distance down, so I heard my ankle crack a little bit once I made contact with the ground. It didn't break, though. Unfortunately, a badly sprained ankle wasn't much better, so I ended up limping around to the door back inside. Lorcan was the one with me at the time, so of course, he took everything perfectly in stride. As I wobbled around pathetically, Lorcan snorted and walked on without me. He got into a lot of battles too—I found him nibbling on sailors' shoes, releasing a bird keeper's birds, and pushing down old antique ladders. He wanted to get attention from the ladies for being a bad boy. I told him that was ridiculous and that nobody likes assholes, but he didn't listen. He'd listened to too many cliché romances on the radio.

When I finally got to Jasmine, the Gym Leader, I found her "busy" attending the sick Pokémon. She was, in truth, not doing anything. All Jasmine was doing was idly staring at the Pokémon, having this concerned look on her face that never resulted in responsible actions. She mentioned to me about getting medicine, but she couldn't get medicine herself for...whatever reason. Personally, I felt like somebody else could watch the sick Pokémon while she went out and got medicine. Or the other way around. The Trainers of the lighthouse seemed to care about their Gym Leader, but they're apparently too dumb to do anything.

Anyway, the medicine was said to be located at Cianwood, which is way over the sea. I got Lorcan to learn the move Surf, so he can surf over the water and get us to that town (after I beat Morty, of course).

Well, Lorcan completely took it the wrong way. He thought that I taught him the move so that he could become some kind of hot surfer, or whatever. Apparently he thinks surfing will cause him to be popular with the ladies.

I was exhausted by Lorcan alone. He kept slowing down as we walked back to Ecruteak so he could look out into the bushes and try to find somebody (preferably female) to impress. It looked as ridiculous as it sounds. I got him back in his Poké Ball and took out the timid Cinder instead. Cinder was quiet, as usual, but as we walked, all I could think about how it was a good thing he wasn't female. God knows what kind of nonsense Lorcan would be up to if one of my Pokémon was female.

Especially if that female happened to be in his egg group. I shudder just to think of it.

Add my sprained ankle to the complicated walking equation, and it took me hours to get back. The evening turned to night as I walked back to Ecruteak. The oil lamps next to the old houses were flickering peacefully as I made my way back to the Gym, walking again on the stone paved roads. The darkness seemed to turn even darker as I plunged myself into the dimly lit Gym. I was only too aware of the rushing water below me, its whispers in the murkiness chilling down my spine as I looked forward to pitch black darkness...


Morty's Gym

Safety: 4/10

Goddamn stupid design, safety wise. Darkness...on a thin path surrounded by fast water? Who designed this crappy Gym? Are they out of their minds? There is some kind of forcefield, so I'll give them a little bit of credit. But, in all honesty, there'll be a day when that forcefield doesn't work, when the Mediums don't see the person fall in...and so, get ready for the lawsuit. I'll wholeheartedly support it when it happens.

Design: 9/10

The Gym looks pretty cool, if you disregard the safety implications. The flickering lights travel around the room and obscure other parts, which gives a ghastly impression. This impression is easily comparable to the mystical strength of Ghost type Pokémon. That's a very nice touch, considering that the Gym sponsors Ghost types. Also, the platform that you stand on appears to be bamboo made, which is a pleasant throwback, considering that it must refer to Ecruteak's traditional culture.

Gym Trainers/Leader: 10/10

The Gym Trainers, who were Mediums, were nice people (albeit a bit on the eccentric side). The Gym Leader was a showy guy, although he was interesting. Still, I must give him full credit for not attempting to sue me. More on that later...

Average Score: 8/10


"I see a shadow of the person that will provoke the legendary rainbow-hued Pokémon," Morty said to me mysteriously as we faced each other.

"Really?" I said, feeling flattered.

"Yes. I believe that person is me!"

"Um...what do I have to do with this again?"

"You're going to help me reach that level! I need to become the strongest Trainer in the world in, um, five years, and you're just a stepping stone in my way. My plan is to beat seventy Trainers by November, and then continue on from there. You're going to help me finish my goal. Isn't that wonderful?"

"Oh, shut up," I blurted out. I honestly thought that the Gym Leaders were here for the other way around. They're supposed to help me, the challenger, get stronger. Now that I had a sudden awakening to what the real situation was, I started to feel weird.

"I need Suicune more than you do," Morty said, clearly irritated by my lack of cooperation. "I was born to capture it...to call it my own..."

I narrowed my eyes and directed Lorcan forward.

We had to battle, of course. I needed that badge, which meant that to an extent, I needed Morty. I just had to never bring up the subject of legendary Pokémon in his presence again.

After I won the battle, Morty gazed at me in stunned defeat. I smiled at him triumphantly.

"I see..." he said with surprising calmness. "The one the Kimono girls were talking about is...you..."

"What?" I said. "How can you people just know about those kind of things? I've just met you."

"You know what? Never mind. You should head to Olivine City next."

I nodded importantly and accepted the badge that Morty gave me. I was just going to place it in the case I had for the badges when I realized that Lorcan was swimming in the water underneath the platform. While Morty and I were talking, he must have gotten bored and sneaked down to play in the swift waters.

I started yelling sternly at him without thinking. "Come back here! Bad, Lorcan, bad! Bad boy!"

I was shouting at him the same way one would shout a naughty dog, but Lorcan took it the wrong way again. A self-satisfied smirk began to form smugly on his face, and he kept on splashing. He splashed slowly, and carefully, just to spite me.

"Enough!" I shouted.

I shot the bewildered Morty an apologetic look before releasing Kitty from his Poké Ball. I instructed Kitty on what to do, and he did it. Using his small white wings, Kitty soared over the water before picking up Lorcan in slender hands. Lorcan struggled in mid-air, threatening to bite Kitty. Kitty looked pissed off more than anything else, and he swung Lorcan over the air and onto Morty's head. (Kitty doing that part was not part of my plan, if you were wondering.) Morty started screaming and was wildly trying to swat Lorcan off, although Lorcan seemed content to munch on Morty's corn colored hair. His hair must have been very delectable.

I reached out to get Lorcan off. When Lorcan wouldn't respond back immediately, Kitty hastily kicked him in the nose. Soon, Lorcan's nose started bleeding, and it bleed all over Morty's head. Morty shrieked louder. I tried to get Lorcan in his Poké Ball, but he kept trying to eat it. I don't think I've ever been more throughly humiliated. I felt like Lorcan did a direct insult to my cooking.

The Gym Trainers would've been there by then, had they not been old nearsighted ladies in a dimly lit Gym. As the closest one was taking her sweet time trying to come here, Morty was screaming his head off and I was trying to yank Lorcan out of the same loosening head. I was also screaming simultaneously, because if God had humans evolve in the last few centuries it's to develop our prized ability to multitask.

"Stop eating Morty's head!" I shouted at Lorcan.

To be honest with you, I think that order created more problems than solved them because now Morty was yelling about losing his beautiful head and intellect. Also, Lorcan hissed at me.

God, please evolve something better in me. For all of humanity. Please.

I finally shoved Lorcan off. I bribed him with lemonade for him to stay in one place. Then I gave him a piece of my mind until Lorcan was shivering with fear. He timidly got back inside his Poké Ball.

I looked back at Morty. Morty was too confounded to even get angry at me. He was shaking, his hair tangled with blood and spit. His purple headband was on the floor, dyed with blood. He hardly realized that the ordeal was over so he curled up on the floor, swaying back and forth while whimpering pitifully. He kept muttering about snakes in a strangled voice. I realized that he must be scared of them.

Well, this was some shit the esteemed foreseer didn't anticipate.

I wasn't sure what to do about him. No amount of apologies would atone for Lorcan's absurd behavior. I decided that I had to wipe him up a bit, and as I had no towel, I took out my hat and gently swabbed Morty's hair with it. I noticed that he had a very unpleasant hair gel on, and it smelled terrible and sticked to almost everything—including my hat and hand. I kept trying to clean him up, though, because it was the least that I could do. Morty started crying, and he clutched my arms like a toddler, which was making it kind of hard for me to do a decent job at cleaning him up. His saliva rubbed off into my sleeves.

"Your...your hat," he sobbed, tugging at my sleeves.

"What about it?" I asked softly.

"It smells...like tea."

There was an awkward silence.

I patted Morty's shoulder clumsily. "Yeah, I...know."

The awkwardness then peaked into uncomfortable levels. Thank God, I was able to see by then the shadow of a Medium.

I stood up, impulsively placing my hat back on my head. It was a stupid decision, because the glop and all that hanged in front of my face. "Miss!" I said quickly. "See, there was an accident here—"

"Go away!" the Medium shrieked at me. "Stop bothering the seer!"

"I—"

I never got to finish the sentence, because I got transported out of there so fast I didn't know I got kicked out at first. I had to go back inside the Gym and get kicked out again before I knew what happened. I guess I can't blame them. As the Trainer of that outrageous Dratini, I sorely failed at my responsibilities in training my Pokémon. It's good enough that they didn't smack me into court for a million dollar lawsuit, or something. That's what I would probably do.

After all that unnecessary drama, I headed back to Goldenrod to see how Bill fared. I was covered with spittle from both Lorcan and Morty. My ankle was still sore. I lectured Locan all the way to Goldenrod, with the plan to continue lecturing him on the way back. Lorcan was shaken by the earlier incident. And so, all he could do was give me fearful nods. I admit that I felt somewhat bad for him, but I couldn't stress how horribly he had behaved well enough. Thing is, he became an important member of the team I couldn't just give away, and I really did think he knew better. He had a special place in my heart.

I was passing through Goldenrod's northern gate when I was stopped by the clerk.

"Excuse me, kid! I got this letter from an old friend of mine. I replied right here, but I can't send it. Can you deliver it?"

"Sure," I said, taking the Pokémon. It was a Spearow, all right, a female named Kenya.

I glanced at Lorcan curiously, seeing how he would take this new female of the team. Lorcan was tense (probably from me), but he made no movement towards Kenya, the Spearow. He barely looked at her. I relaxed, but just barely. I don't think Kenya is in Lorcan's egg group, so she can't make much of an impact on him. I'll have to see how he reacts to a female Dragon type Pokémon, or something.

At Bill's house, I was found to be received reluctantly by the household. The mother glared at me. The little sister hid under the table and covered herself with a tablecloth. The father stared at me from the corners of his eyes before silently excusing himself. Bill, however, was pleased. He strolled to me in evident joy.

"I'm related to Oak!" he exclaimed. "I really can't believe it, this is such big news, apparently when I was born—"

"So I was right?" I interrupted.

He nodded. "For your correct assumption, you deserve a prize." He handed me a Poké Ball.

I shot Bill a questioning look as I fingered the Poké Ball.

"A female Eevee," Bill said.

I smiled sheepishly. "Thanks—"

I accidentally dropped the Poké Ball on the floor and there it was, the Eevee, sitting in Bill's living room. It was a pretty little thing, with bushy caramel colored fur, and doe-like chocolate brown eyes. It gazed up at me in curiosity.

"Aw, it's adorable," I told Bill.

"So you'll take it? Nickname it?"

"Sure. It...looks like a Miranda."

Miranda wrinkled her tiny little nose at me. It was so cute, there were tears in my eyes due to the ongoing wanting of cuddling it.

I nodded to Bill. "I'll take her."

I then left the house before Bill told me the rest of his life story.


Author's Note

School has started. Already there's been some delays getting chapters up. But I'll try to get things up faster.