Author's Note:
… Eh. I have no excuse for lazy updates at this point in time besides laziness. As such, I shall blame myself and only myself for this!
With more shout-outs to realecielshieru and AR215 for both of their Follow and Favorite!
Disclaimer:
Pokémon and any other referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective owners and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.
Of Children, Men, and Monsters
Chapter Thirty: Novelty
Cue music – Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal Version soundtrack – Route 31
Marza and Oscura were about half-way to Cherrygrove when Chikorita managed to catch up to the two of them, panting lightly as she entered their respective lines of sight.
"Chikorita? What are you up to, following us all the way out here? Did Elm forget about something again and have you be the errand girl?"
The Grass-type shook her head, though she certainly understood as to why and how she came to that assumption before all potential others.
"Well, what's your purpose for being here, then?"
Chikorita, not being able to speak English, had trouble expressing her reason for this. Resisting the want to sigh, the Leaf Pokémon decided that she had no other choice (aside from some roundabout non-sense), but to get… well, in a word, cheesy. With a considerable amount of reluctance she started rubbing against her leg, like a dog showing affection to its master.
"… You like Oscura and I…? Oh, you want to come with us!"
Chikorita rapidly backed off, grateful for both her swift understanding and for the fact that she could stop this embarrassing action almost as soon as it started.
"… Well, it's fine with us. Right, Oscura?"
Said Larvitar nodded her acquiescence, eager for some additional companionship.
"And I hope that Elm let you out himself this time?"
Another nod of returned indignation, along with a slight look of anger.
"Well, we could always use the… well, not really man power, more the Pokémon power, in our not-so-little quest."
Chikorita let out an inquisitive "Chik?" as if to say, "Which is…?"
"Well, we're going on what is probably considered the usual Gym quest, and we're also looking for someone. It's a but personal between him and I, so the specifics are on an absolutely-need-to-know basis. As in, you'll only get to know if it's absolutely necessary. I apologize, but I've some secrets that I would rather keep to myself, at least until we get close enough as companions. Just wanted to put that out there," she stated for the record.
Chikorita nodded, wondering as to just what this human's deal was to make her say this.
"Now, on to more immediate concerns! Namely, finding out what you like to eat and what to name you… You are fine with a nickname, right?"
A fourth nod, - she understood the practicality of nicknames, and that aside, she would rather not be so… generic, in a word.
"Good. I'll think on some names and hopefully share some with you by the end of the day. Now, to rest for some at the Pokémon Center and ask about what your species likes to eat…"
About three hours after checking up on that information with the aid of Nurse Joy (turns out Chikorita could just eat most plants and grass, which made Marza wonder whether this could be counted as cannibalism or not), the trio-plus-one-egg were resting for a spell at Mister Pokémon's place. The presence of Chikorita and the egg made the man quite inquisitive.
"A Chikorita? And you still have that egg? Do tell of the circumstances that lead up to you being with both!"
Marza explained in the most succinct manner that she could.
"Hurm… Well, considering the fact that you have two – three, if you count the Pokémon that will inevitably hatch from that egg – you're making great progress on assembling your team of six already!"
"Six? So there's a maximum to the number of Pokémon that can be used in normal Pokémon battles?" she assumed curious.
"Indeed, though I'm left wondering as to why you aren't already aware of this."
"I'll say roughly the same thing that I said to Elm: I'm not exactly the most worldly of people."
"Are you saying that you've had a sheltered life up to this point or some such?"
"… You could say that…"
'I mean, I wasn't exactly aware of other worlds before that shady person came along…'
"Well, that aside, you said you're going to Violet? Well, you ought to get going shortly if you want time to see the sights there! It's still about an hour off, and who knows if a Trainer'll challenge you to a battle!"
"Good point. Come on, you two, we'd better continue on!"
Now venturing into unfamiliar territory, Marza opened up her Pokégear, which, after some menuing, displayed "Route 31". The map, which now displayed a slightly larger area than the previous time she had checked, showed off a landmark that Marza hadn't noticed before. Tapping it as she walked across the somewhat rocky field between the treelines, the small text box talking about the area she was currently in was replaced by an alternative text box, the header of which read "Dark Cave". The description was as follows:
"A dark, difficult-to-navigate tunnel that runs beneath the Johto region. Has many man-made entrance/exit points along the eastern edge of the Silver Range."
Marza assumed (correctly, as she would find out in the future) that the Silver Range was the virtual fence of peaks reaching to the sky in the distance. With this, as well as the description in mind, she mentally proclaimed, 'I'll consider going back here later. If it's as hard to navigate as the thing says, then I doubt it's practically possible to get through it at the moment. I have other things to be doing, besides… Anyways, moving on…!'
Carefully treading down the series of ledges, the trio continued westward, halting only during two instances.
The first came with a particularly exhausted-looking, slightly chubby man resting near a tree. He looked mighty sleep as he proclaimed, with some slurs: "My feet're burning and I feel sooo sleeepy… If I were a Pokémon, I'd be sooo easy to catch… Eeeasy…"
"… Are you trying to give me an unsubtle tutorial or something, because I already–"
"Eeeeeasy…" he simply repeated with additional emphasis, sinking against the tree he was leaning against.
"Right, moving on…" she stated, both to herself and her companions, more confused than, say, freaked out.
Instance number two occurred with a Trainer interrupting her progress for the second time out of what would likely be many. This one reminded Marza of Joey, what with his seemingly similar age and casual shirt-shorts combo, though this Trainer was packing a straw hat that appeared a size or two too big for him, as well as a large bug net and a bag slung over his shoulder.
"Hey! Our eyes have met, and, seeing as we're both Trainers, we are bound by the law to have our Pokémon battle!"
'Ugh, this again?'
"Fine, I'll indulge you. Which of you two wants to test her mettle?"
Chikorita stepped forth first looking ready and primed for action. Or, at the very least, more eager than Oscura, who decided to simply let her take center stage for the time being.
"Alright, then, Chikorita. Show 'em what for!"
"Go, my faithful Caterpie!"
Marza promptly took out her Pokédex, not really appearing to mind the bug's large size compared to what she was used to. 'Definitely cuter than some of the larger bugs and insects at home, at least.'
"Pokédex Number Ten: Caterpie, the Worm Pokémon. Typing: Bug. Ability: Shield Dust. Its voracious appetite compels it to devour leaves bigger than itself without hesitation. It releases a terribly strong odor from its antennae to defend itself from predators."
The battle was, in sum, rather simple: the Bug Catcher, who would later be identified as Wade, instructed Caterpie to use String Shot before Chikorita could get in range for any attacks. This slowed her down, but only slightly, and the Caterpie only managed to get a flimsy Tackle on Chikorita before going down.
Wade sent out a second Caterpie. The same process happened.
When the third Caterpie was sent out and soundly trounced, Marza retracted Chikorita, noting the sheen that she was getting from the sweat resulting from the struggle that was attempting to move fast under a large amount of sticky string.
The fourth and final Pokémon on Wade's part was thankfully not a Caterpie, yet still looked undeniably similar to the previous three Pokémon.
"Pokédex Number Thirteen: Weedle, the Hairy Bug Pokémon. Typing: Bug-Poison. Ability: Shield Dust. A Weedle has an extremely acute sense of smell. It distinguishes its favorite kinds of leaves from those it dislikes by sniffing with its big red proboscis."
This one was also defeated convincingly by Oscura, though not before a Poison Sting's needles impacted in her side as she tried to dodge. Wade, apparently trying to be polite, said after withdrawing his final Pokémon, "Nice job, Stranger! I should probably consider quality over quantity for my battling style, heheh… Anyways, since your Pokémon got hit by that Poison Sting, I figured I'd give you this."
A small transparent spray canister was offered, its yellow contents swirling idly inside as she took the item.
"And this is…?"
"An Antidote. Spray it over a place where you think a Pokémon's been Poisoned, and it'll heal pretty quick. Considering how many bugs I run into, I always have a bunch of spares handy."
"Why thanks you very much, ah…?"
"Wade."
"And I'm Marza."
'… Well, he offered it, and I would rather not risk anything…'
They shook hands with a mutual smile before Marza sprayed Oscura with the Antidote and helped clear Chikorita of the string she was still covered in, waving good bye to the lad as the trio continued forward.
… Ah, and there was also a third instance – or, rather, a collection thereof – though it was really only worth a few minutes, cumutively. Just picking some Apricorns was all, so there's really not a whole lot to mention besides the fact that these happened.
Marza eventually spotted a tower in the distance after she, Oscura, and Chikorita climbed a few ledges. From what she could see of it with her slightly blurry perception (she repeatedly refused the offers that her parents gave her for glasses because of how weighed down the things made her nose and ears feel), it had a sort of foreign flare to it. To be specific: it reminded Marza distinctly of certain Middle-Eastern architectural designs, bringing to mind the tall pagodas of the region's feudal era. Its foreign, traditional design sharply contrasted the Western-esque building design that Marza had encountered thus far.
Now, readers, do understand that Marza has hardly had the opportunity to do some actual world-wide travel, so the chance to potentially encounter another culture entirely excited her to a decent degree. She accelerated her pace, curious as to whether or not she was truly entering a zone of the region dominated by a different life style.
She entered and exited the gate with no small amount of eagerness, and the sight that she was greeted with just about stole her breath from her lungs.
The massive tower that she saw from earlier looked that much more grand now that she was closer to it. The buildings featured the same style of the pagoda in the distance, and some of the people that she saw were wearing highly traditional robes befitting of the appearance of the city.
'This is probably Violet City,' she realized only just then, a bit too distracted by the fascinating sight to come to the epiphany sooner.
Chikorita and Oscura appeared to be in a similar state because of the surprising novelty of the place, though they evidently got over the wonder a bit quicker than Marza did, with Oscura tugging at a pant leg, urging Marza, in turn, to focus. She did so after a few more seconds of gazing around, mumbling, "Right, Pokémon Center first, sight-seeing later."
Luckily, they didn't need to ask for directions, for the Center was right near the entrance. She entered it, eager to rest her feet and, depending on the time, explore a bit. The facility was virtually identical on the inside, yet possessed the traditional features of the city's style on the outside, as well as a very familiar nurse behind the counter.
"Nurse Joy? What're you doing here all of a sudden?" she inquired to the woman behind the counter, thoroughly bewildered.
The nurse grinned as she responded, "Trust me when I say that I get that question a lot. I'm guessing you met my sister at Cherrygrove, or some other place?"
"She's your sister, then?"
"One of many. Very, very many. In my part of the family, we have… what, fifteen identical sisters? Something like that? The trait of identical females in the family started a bunch of generations ago, I think. Anyways, my point is that your shouldn't be surprised to see girls that look almost exactly like me around the Centers. It's more or less a family tradition for to girls of our age and blood to be nurses!"
'What are the odds of that happening, assuming she isn't over-exaggerating?'
A quick glance at the clock after Oscura and Chikorita were healed up showed a time of around seven – a good hour or two was thusly open in her book for looking around... that is, after a session of resting up her feet.
