Chapter 2: Trainer
Lucas's eyes widened in awe and admiration as the venerable Pokemon Professor approached the Center's counter.
"I saw this young man running to this Pokemon Center and came in to see what had happened. I overheard the whole conversation," The old man stood in front of Lucas and without turning away from the boy addressed the nurse, "Would it be all right if I spoke this young man alone?"
"That's fine, I'll go check on the Eevee," the nurse replied and wandered back to the recovery room.
"Now what is this ridiculousness about you not being a trainer?" despite being an old man and not very tall, Professor Oak could still be an intimidating figure, standing firmly with his arms crossed and a relaxed expression that was equal parts friendly and judging. Lucas looked up at the man and slumped his shoulders in defeat. It wouldn't make sense to try to lie or dodge the question.
"My brother is John, the former Champion of Sinnoh, Kanto and Johto. Not only that he's been better at me at everything since I was pretty much born," Lucas explained sadly. It was probably the first time since he was seven that he had ever opened up to an adult, "If I became a trainer it'd just be yet another thing he could prove he's better at. Another way he could prove I'm the failure of my family,"
"Do you like Pokemon?"
"I love 'em!" Lucas stated, "Have since I was a kid,"
"So what does it matter if you're good at it or not? We don't love things because we're good at them, we get good at things we love," the professor explained philosophically. He put a hand to his chin and leaned over to further exam the teen with the Mohawk, "Besides, I'm not convinced you would be bad at training Pokemon,"
Lucas glanced at the old man sceptically, "What makes you so sure? For all you know I'm just some punk kid 'with an attitude problem' like everyone thinks I am. You don't know me from Adam,"
"I've always had an eye for talent when it comes to Pokemon Trainers. And 'punk kids' don't save sick Pokemon that don't even belong to them. I know lots of Trainers who have trained for years and wouldn't have done that. I'm willing to bet you're a nice kid who was dealt an unfair hand and reacted by trying to prove that he's as worthless as everyone makes him out to be," Professor Oak shockingly astute observation unnerved Lucas. "I'm so sure in fact, I'd be willing to stake this on it,"
The professor reached into his lab coat and pulled out a shiny red device from his pocket. Lucas gasped, despite himself, "A Pokedex!"
"That's right. Information on Pokemon is always changing with new discoveries. Twenty years ago we thought only 150 Pokemon existed in the world, today we know there's substantially more than that. The information is very valuable but difficult to get because filling it out requires catching every known species of Pokemon there is. I only give Pokedexes to determined Trainers I think have the skill and guts to fill them. Trainers who could take on the Champion and win. It's yours if you want it,"
Lucas had wanted that device for as long as he remembered, but reality was reminding the boy of his fate, "But I told you, I'm not a trainer. I don't have a license, I wouldn't even be allowed to own Pokemon without it,"
"You let me worry about that. Just come to my house tomorrow afternoon and I'll have everything ready for you,"
"Your house? I thought you lived in Pallet Town,"
"I do, but I also have a house here. I come to Sinnoh very frequently to visit my old friend Professor Rowan. You'll want to visit him some time in the future," At that moment the nurse came back with the little Eevee in her arms.
"Look who's all better," She chimed happily. The Eevee jumped out of her arms and ran over to Lucas, "When I went back there he was going nuts, I guessed he wanted to come out and see you, young man,"
"Hey lil' buddy," Lucas said kindly before picking up the now healthy Pokemon. The nurse wasn't kidding about how fast the creatures recover. The now snuggling normal-type was completely different than the pitiful creature he found in Eterna Forest.
"So have you decided to keep him or should I call Bebe?" The nurse asked.
Lucas looked to the professor and then to the little brown animal in his arms, "I'm keeping him!"
"Then I'll get you a Pokeball," The nurse reached under the counter and procured the red and white object Trainers kept their Pokemon in for safe travel and convenience. As she handed the ball over to the boy she asked another question, "Would you like to name your new Pokemon?"
Lucas looked the Eevee again and replied, "Yeah, I'll call him Gizmo,"
As Professor Oak watched the transaction he had a sudden realization. He reached into his lab-coat again and pulled out three Pokeballs, "There's something I always give to trainers who receive my Pokedex. You may choose between Charmander, Bulbasaur or Squirtle,"
The boy couldn't believe his luck. He had dreamed of this moment his whole life. He had imagined going to Professor Elm in New Bark Town, just outside of Cherrygrove, and getting to pick a starter Pokemon. Now he got choice of the legendary Kanto starters, just like the infamous former Champion, Red, "I want Charmander." He grabbed the Pokeball from the Professor's hands along with the Pokedex and turned to the nurse, "I'll call him Hotrod,"
"You're off to a good start, young man," The professor smiled, "Just come to my home tomorrow and you'll be all set to start your own Pokemon Journey," Another realization surfaced, "Er...I'm afraid I don't know your name,"
"It's Lucas," the boy replied. The professor's famous eccentricities were famous for a reason.
"Then I'll see you tomorrow, Lucas," Professor Oak shook the young man's hand and left the center.
"I should probably get going, too," Lucas turned to the nurse and lowered his head in gratitude, "Thanks for everything, ma'am,"
"It was no problem. I hope to see you again, Lucas," The nurse smiled.
Lucas left the center and put the Pokedex in his back pocket before he sent Gizmo to his Pokeball. He placed one Pokeball in either hand and looked down at his new friends. It was like a dream. He was beginning to think this wasn't real, that maybe he died without realizing it on the ship, or was concussed somewhere, still in Eterna Forest. As he walked through the city and placed the Pokemon on his belt, reality finally set in. His brother's house was straight ahead of him, and Lucas's old hatreds came swarming back, adding more drag to his feet in addition to the exhaustion. He paused in front of his sibling's home, completely unwilling to knock on the door. He did not want to live here. He did not want to deal with his pain-in-the-ass brother. He would have rather taken another stint in Juvey. He wanted right that second to start his Pokemon Journey. The one he wanted since he was little, the one stolen by John to begin with. After what seemed like eternity, the Mohawk-bearing boy scolded himself for acting like a sissy and finally knocked on the door.
"Well if it isn't little Lulu!" John threw open the door with mock surprise. Lucas gritted his teeth, he hated that nickname even more than he already hated his brother., "Guess since you're here that means the cops didn't bust you, Delinquent. Well, you better come inside,"
Lucas swore heavily under his breath as he stepped through the threshold and examined his new hell. The house was seemingly a shrine to John. The walls were covered with photos of various tournaments and events, and the shelves were filled medals and trophies. Like some kind of sick joke, there was a giant photo of John over the fireplace with a few of his Pokemon. His older brother was three years older than him at nineteen. In addition to being older, he was larger, being almost a foot and a half taller and at least fifty pounds heavier out of pure muscle. The two barely looked like brothers anymore. It had been at least three years since John and Lucas had seen each other and a lot had changed, including John apparently taking up weightlifting. When they were much younger they had looked very similar with the same colored hair and eyes, but now they were totally different, not just in appearance but in attitude. Lucas noticed John had managed to become an even bigger jackass, "So what was so important that you didn't pick me up at Canaclave?"
"They want to turn the old Galactic lab here into a battle facility. As a former Champion they wanted my opinions about it. The meeting was scheduled today," John shrugged as he closed the door and followed Lucas through the living room.
"Mom is going to be thrilled to hear that was your 'important reason'," Lucas commented wryly.
"I've got at least fifty more free passes before the Folks get angry at me, with all the stuff you've done," John snapped back, "That hair alone with worth five, not counting your new tats and piercings. What the hell were you thinking anyway? No wonder you ended up in Juvenile Hall,"
Lucas ignored the comment, "So where's my room?"
"Upstairs and to the right," John pointed out, "But before anything we're going to go over a few ground rules. The reason you're here is because you screwed up, big time. I'm not Mom or Dad so I'm not going to baby you like they have. If you mess up again I will kick your ass without a second thought. First off, you're on your own in terms of food. I always keep stuff in the fridge, but I'm not your chef, I'm not going to cook for you. Second, I'm not your maid. If your crap is all over the place I'll just throw it away. Third, you're going to get a job. I don't care that you aren't in school, but if your ass isn't in a school chair it's bringing home a paycheck. And finally while you are in my house you are a goddamn saint. You aren't to get so much as a jaywalking ticket. If the cops bust you for something and bring you back here you'll be wishing they would have just shot you in the act. Am I clear?"
"Crystal. You don't have to worry about me being in your way, I'm not going to be here long,"
"Keep telling yourself that, but the Folks aren't going to let you go home anytime soon," The younger brother started climbing up the steps when John noticed the bulge in his brother's back pocket. He tackled the smaller boy into a headlock and pulled the Pokedex out, "What the hell? You're stealing now? Listen, Mom and Dad may have let you get away with this bullshit, but I sure as hell am not,"
"I didn't steal it!" Lucas gasped, "It's mine!"
"Don't lie to me twerp! Don't forget I'm your last chance," John snarled as he tightened his grip, "Now where did you get it?"
"I'm not lying! Professor Oak gave it to me!" Lucas wheezed, his older brother's grip was beginning to make him light-headed, "And I don't steal!"
"Like I'm supposed to believe that. You stuffed a kid in his locker and tied him up so he couldn't call for help. Because theft is such a far jump from psychotic acts like that," John finally let Lucas up and let him catch his breath.
"He got what he deserved,"
"What? You actually have justification for what you did?"
"He was throwing rocks at a nest of baby Pidgey," Lucas finally admitted, "I warned him to stop. He would have killed them if I didn't. I stuffed him in the locker as a lesson. There was no point in telling Mom and Dad what really happened because they wouldn't have believed me anyway. The guy was an 'honor student' and the principal's had an out for me ever since he caught me making out with his daughter,"
"Argh, Lulu!" John pinched the bridge of his nose and grimaced, "You were willing to go to Juvey a third time over Pidgey? Why do you have to act like such a dumbass? Nobody, not even a trainer is going to out on a limb over Pidgey. I wouldn't do that and I'm a Champion for crissake!"
"I know you wouldn't," Lucas snapped back acidly. He eyed the Pokedex in his brother's hand, trying to figure out a way he could snatch it back.
"What's that supposed to mean?" John asked warningly. His stance became threatening as he lowered his arm to his side and glared at his brother and his accusation.
Suddenly from within Lucas all the hatred, the anger and the resentment came boiling to the surface. All the feelings he had kept to himself for the past several years about his brother and his parents rose up and spilled out of the teen like a venom, "You didn't even like Pokemon! You only became a trainer because it was an excuse to get out of school for a little while. You were always better at me at everything: better at sports, better at school, mom and dad even liked you better, and then you go out and become this big Champion,"
John was startled by his little brother's revelation. The stunned moment of silence transformed into indignation and he roared back, "That's a bullshit excuse. Me being the 'better brother' was just a nice, easy way of not having to try at anything. All your life you've been blaming everybody else for your problems. That's why you got expelled, that's why you've been to Juevy two times. That's why you do all these dumbass things and are always getting in trouble, because it's always someone else's fault!"
"That's not true! I only do the things I do so Mom and Dad will stop comparing me to you! I'm never going to be good enough for them, John! And when you became a trainer it was just another thing for them that I would fail at compared to you—the one thing that I liked and you didn't. The one thing that was special to me. You took away the only thing I loved! I'll never forgive you for that!"
"Then prove me wrong. Go out and prove to me that you're not a loser. If you love Pokemon so damn much then you won't be afraid to try. Then maybe you'll be as good as me at something and you can finally stop using me as an accuse for your suck-ass life,"
"No," Lucas lowered his gaze and stared at the floor before composing himself, "No I'm going to do better than that. I'm going to go out and become the champion of four leagues. You're only champion of three. I'm going to go to Hoenn when you never did. And then I'm going to come back and kick your ass with this Eevee," he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out the Pokeball containing Gizmo. He heaved it in front of him and it opened with a flash. The small brown normal-type materialized and stood loyally before his new trainer, "Then I'm going to show the world that you're not some perfect god like Mom and Dad make you out to be, and that I'm not just some failure!"
John looked at the Eevee with a smirk. He pulled off one of the Pokeballs off of his belt and tossed it casually, "Go Nidoking!"
The massive, dense monster nearly crushed a coffee table as it threw its head back and roared violently. Lucas could tell the behemoth was high-level, as high as level 80, and his own Pokemon was only level 12. If John would command his beast to attack, Gizmo would be knocked out instantly. Lucas held his ground, but if John would make a move, he wouldn't hesitate to bring his little animal back. This was his fight, not Gizmo's, and he wouldn't see him get hurt just so Lucas wouldn't damage his pride. Much to his shock though, there was not an ounce of fear in Gizmo's face. He took a stance, ready for battle, and would attack if Lucas gave the word. Neither Pokemon nor Trainer were going to back down. John realized this as well. He sneered and recalled Nidoking, "All right Little Lulu, we have an agreement. Go on your journey, I won't tell Mom and Dad you're wandering the countryside. But if you screw up or get scared you come back here and have to live by my rules. And you never get to complain about me or about how much your life sucks ever again,"
Lucas nodded in curt agreement, "Now give me my damn Pokedex,"
"I still don't believe that the Professor Oak gave this thing to you, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you didn't swipe it from some poor trainer," John casually tossed the device back to Lucas, who caught it frantically and glared back at his brother for his callous treatment of the valuable device, "You might as well settle in for the evening, Delinquent, tomorrow is a big day for you,"
"Screw that," Lucas replied, "I'm leaving tonight. I don't want to spend a single night in this shrine to yourself you've got going on. My journey starts now,"
With that he marched back towards the door stuck out his tongue and flipped his brother off. When his little brother slammed the door behind him, John shook his head and flopped on the couch.