Chapter Nine: The Warm Welcome.
"So you got yourself a Forest badge," Grant smiled as he examined the pin Lucas presented before him.
"Yup! I managed to beat all of Gardenia's Pokemon, even if the final round was sort of cheating" the teen Trainer explained as he drank the coffee Grant had given him. After winning his badge and going to the Pokemon Center, Lucas stopped by Professor Oak's house to show him his success as well as show him the Pokemon he had captured. Though he still didn't have very many, the professor was still interested to see the young man's collection, especially his new Rotom. Apparently the electric/ghost was an extremely rare specimen, and Sparky may have been the original prototype. After meeting with the professor, the teen's next stop was Grant, the owner and president of the Underground Explorer's Club, the second friend Lucas made in Eterna City. Now he was sitting with the kind old man and enjoying a hot meal he had been provided.
"Do you have any plans on your next stop?" Grant asked as he handed the badge back to its owner.
"I was thinking most likely Oreburgh City," Lucas said between big bites of stew, his Pokemon were also enjoying their meals on the ground around him.
"Oreburgh City is a fine place, with a great Gym run by one of the most wonderful Leaders you will ever meet. Smart as a whip and an upstanding young man," Grant said proudly.
"Sounds like you know him personally," Lucas smirked, "Only thing I'm not looking forward to is the long-ass trip I'm going to have to take to get there. I'm going to have to cut back through the forest, go through Floroma Town, again, Jubilife City, again and head through the tunnel just to get to the city. It's going to take me two days at least!"
"Not if you have a bicycle. South of here is a Cycling Road, mostly downhill as well. Strong young fella like you-should only be a four-hour ride, maybe only a little more if you get stopped by Trainers," the old man explained, "And if you need a bike, I can get the Bicycle Shop owner to lend you one, he's a member of the club,"
"Actually, I have a bike, it's one of the few things I do have after getting kicked out of my parents' house. Probably best not to go at night though, since I'm already tired from spending last night in that old mansion and then going against the Leader. My best bet is to head out first thing in the morning. Thanks for dinner Grant, I know I'll stop by again,"
Lucas spent the night in the Pokemon Center, and was up bright and early the next morning, his body slowly getting adjusted to waking up early. He restocked his provisions and bid farewell to the city. He considered stopping by his brother's home to let him know how he was doing, but decided against it. He was still not very thrilled about his brother, and suspected that John would somehow turn his victory against the Gym Leader into some sort of insult. He pulled his folded bicycle out of his duffel bag and got ready for his ride. His bike was red and black, his two favorite colors, with flame and skull decorations. With it he'd annoy and harass the citizens of Cherrygrove, another memory of his old life that he no longer looked upon with satisfied dark humor. Now he just felt foolish about it. He lifted Gizmo onto the handlebars. Like himself, the definition of this bike would change.
Like Grant had told him, the bicycle path was just south of the city, and was a very easy ride. He was stopped a few times by some Trainers who wanted to battle, and he was given the chance to send Franky out again a few more times, to the humor of his opponents. He won each time, every battle getting slightly easier as both he and his Pokemon got stronger. By around noon, he could start to see the outlines of the buildings or Oreburgh City. However, as he peddled towards the city, he failed to notice the series of fliers and signs, posted along the light-posted and bulletin boards that lined the road.
Like Eterna City, Oreburgh was situated within rocky hills and stony formations, just in the shadow of the massive peak of Mr. Coronet. Lucas could see how so many tunnels and caverns could rest underneath both cities, and committed himself to exploring some of them with his gift from Grant before leaving for the next Gym. If it was true that there were fossils in the ground, he most certainly wanted one. Within another hour, the outlines of the city had became clearly defined. He jumped a final ledge with his bike and had arrived in the town's outskirts.
He and his Pokemon were still in good shape, so instead of immediately heading into town, Lucas decided to explore the grass first. In a short amount of time he had caught a Machop and a Ponyta. Satisfied with his captures, the boy started exploring the city.
Using his Pokevice, Lucas found the locations of the Pokemon Center and the city's Gym, as well as learning that the town was home to coal mine and more to the teen's interest, a museum which promised to have lots of Pokemon fossils. The boy made a mental list of the things he'd like to do in town before leaving, slipped the device back into his pocket and headed towards the Pokemon Center. As he turned a corner at a block, Gizmo started nudging his neck and chirping. The teen looked towards where his Pokemon was guiding him and saw a little boy sitting on the steps of an apartment building waving to him.
"Hi! Excuse me! Are you a Pokemon Trainer?" he called out.
"As a matter of fact, I am," Lucas smiled proudly. He didn't think he would ever tire of reveling in that fact. Even Gizmo seemed to pose a bit when Lucas declared himself. The young man walked towards the building as to not have to keep shouting back and forth with the child.
"Do you happen to have a Machop?" the little boy asked eagerly.
"Yeah, why?"
"Would you be willing to trade it for my Abra?"
Lucas raised an eyebrow and gestured back the way he came, "There are loads of Machop right outside of town, why don't you go out and catch one yourself?"
"I can't," the boy explained sadly, "I'm kind of weak, I get sick a lot and don't get to leave my house much. Even on a good day these steps are as far as I go. I'd love to get one myself, but my parents wouldn't let me. I really want a Machop though. They're strong and they're tough and they're everything I'm not. If I had one, I wouldn't feel like I'm such a wimp. So, please?"
The little boy's pleading touched Lucas, "Sure, okay, I'll trade you my Machop. Just give me some time to get to the Pokemon Center and get it, okay?"
The little boy smiled widely, "Thank you,"
Lucas did as he promised and went to the Pokemon Center to heal up his team and get his new Machop from his PC. Within twenty minutes returned to the child and traded him for his Abra. The boy thanked him gratefully and asked him to make sure his Abra would be okay. And after reassuring the kid his Abra was in the best of hands, the teen headed for the Gym.
It felt good to be the good guy for a change.
As Lucas drank in the warm, fuzzy feelings of his good deed, he immediately became crestfallen when he arrived at the Gym. In addition to the signs that declared the Leader, a man named Roark who apparently raised rock-types, and winners of the Gym badge, including his brother and the mysterious Dawn and other Lucas, there was a third sign that greatly disappointed the teen: a sign declaring hours of operation.
Gym hours: Monday-Friday, 4pm-9pm, Saturday, 10am-5pm, Sunday 11am-4pm.
Today was Thursday, and it was only three in the afternoon, Lucas would have to wait another hour before being able to challenge the Gym Leader. Annoyed, Lucas pulled out his Pokevice again to try to figure out how best to kill the time before the Gym would reopen. Stuffing it back into his pocket, the teen decided to locate the Pokemart. Before he was even one-hundred yards from the Gym, he was suddenly tackled to the ground.
"Freeze! You're under arrest!" A massive male police officer was on top of the teen's back, yanking his arms back and snapping cold metal handcuffs onto his wrists. The teen was slightly winded from the unexpected body-check, but could see three more officers surrounding him, including one holding a squirming Gizmo.
The actions were so out of left-field, so unexpected, that only one thought could form in Lucas' dazed mind, You have got to be f*&%ing kidding me.
Lucas hated handcuffs. They were probably the thing Lucas hated about being arrested. Though this had happened to him many times, the metal shackles were always the worst part. It wasn't because the police would always do them too tight and his hands would fall asleep, and then ache for days—though he did hate that. And it wasn't because it was a physical symbol of him screwing up and getting caught for it, yet again—though that reminder was always humiliating. No, the part Lucas hated most about handcuffs were how defenseless they made him feel. With his hands restrained he couldn't fight back, protect himself. They made him feel vulnerable, the feeling he hated most in the world. He was very vulnerable right now, sitting alone in the dimly lit interrogation room, his hands cuffed behind his back to the uncomfortable metal chair, his things spread out on the table for examination and his Pokemon taken away from him to some unknown location. If he weren't so pissed, he'd find the situation hilarious. Despite the fact that started turning his life around, started being polite to people, started doing kind acts, for the first time in his life in the longest time he had done nothing wrong, he still managed to get arrested.
The door to the interrogation room opened and a severe looking lady cop marched in and faced the teen. Her tough looks didn't impress Lucas, he had seen the act too many times before, and many times better done, "So why the hell did you dumbass pigs arrest me? I didn't do anything!"
"That's what they all say," the cop snapped, her eyes narrowed over the teen's foul-mouth and bad attitude.
Lucas rolled his eyes, "So what the hell are the charges anyway?"
"Pokemon Larsony." She stated as she crossed her arms.
"WHAT?" Of all the possible crimes the young man would ever thought to be charged with, this was not one he believed would ever be possible, "Jesus Christ, this has to be some kind of joke. You think I've stolen Pokemon?"
"For the last week we've had reports that suspicious-looking strangers have been robbing people of their Pokemon. A concerned citizen reported you skulking around our city, and you, young man are one of the most suspicious looking people I've seen in a while. What are those, gang tattoos?"
"You obviously don't get out much. And no, these are not gang tattoos," Lucas decided against mentioning he was in a gang, that would not help him, "Not to mention there is no way this thief could have been me because I've only been in this town less than two goddamn hours!"
"You were found in the possession of Kazza. I know that Abra personally because he belongs to a neighbor boy of mine,"
"I traded him for it! Ask him yourself!"
"Right now we're looking into whether or not the Pokemon you had on you were reported stolen, as well as the Pokevice and Pokedex,"
The teen tried very, very hard to change his approach. He knew his temper was not going to get things better, "Listen, officer, I know I don't exactly look like Mr. Upstanding-Young-Man, but I am a legit Trainer, I have a license and everything. If you just look in the pocket over my chest on my left side you'll find my card. And if you call Professor Oak he'll let you know I'm for real,"
"Your things have been gone through thoroughly, and no identification was found on your person," The officer declared. Lucas' eyes widened in horror, before dropping his head in defeat. That vest pocket was the same one he kept his Pokevice in. When he pulled the device out he must have unintentionally grabbed the card as well and dropped the license in front of the Gym, "And we're not about to bother the great Professor Oak because of some delinquent kid. It seems you're underage, so at the moment we're trying to find a family member to get in contact with and let them know of the charges,"
Oh my god, no! Lucas felt like he was going to be sick, and the color drained from his face. If the police got in contact with John it would be all over. Not only would his journey come to an end, even if the charges were dropped, he would just know that John would duct-tape him like a mummy, hang him from a chain and use him as a punching bag. Assuming his parents weren't the first to find out, they would most likely hire a hitman.
Just as Lucas felt all hope was lost, the door to the interrogation room opened and a man in his early twenties stepped in. He had familiar dark colored hair, thick glasses and was wearing a safety helmet that the teen knew he had seen before somewhere. Lucas could not tear his eyes off of him, "Sorry to disturb you officer, but you asked me to talk to you about security in town, and the others said you would be here,"
"It's no problem, Roark, I was just interrogating this Pokemon thief, I should be done soon, though this kid refuses to confess," the officer explained to the Leader. The rock Trainer nodded and smiled and turned back towards the door.
"Hey wait!" Lucas suddenly remembered where he had seen this person before. Now he could not let Roark go. He knew that this person may be the way to save himself, "You're Grant's grandson!"
The man turned to the teen and tilted his head curiously, "You know my grandfather?"