Yay! Because I haven't actually looked at this chapter for about, oh, several months, I'm not entirely sure if it's any good. On the bright side, watch Ash fail at fishing! Again! Only in real time words! Seriously, I don't think he's ever been very successful with catching a fish…
Remember that I love Reviews! Please? Pretty please with sugar on top?
Univerce
Fishing For What?
As it turns out, the small Venipede does want to be with me for a while. How long, who knows? But so long as the little bug is happy, there's no real reason to question it. So, at the moment, it's quietly settled onto one of my shoulders, Murk hovering around above my head and Shinx skipping along beside me. The pokeball he's got as a toy now, a regular pokeball, actually, that's deactivated, thankfully still works and can minimize. So it is currently extremely small and around his neck like a sort of necklace.
Burgh had been absolutely happy to see me going off on an actual Journey… But not until he'd given me a celebration dinner of sorts. He actually kept me after the 'gym battle' we had and introduced me to several types of dishes that bug type pokemon love, one of which the small Venipede seemed addicted to. Just a collection of berries, really, that were sliced up among cabbage and tossed together. In other words, Fruit Salad…
Anyway, after a conversation with my father, who told me a bit about his own journey, and a very long one with my mother on the responsibilities of owning a pokemon, everything was set. While the bug type gym leader had done his best to convince me to go, and so had my father – mother was against it, of course – the choice was set by my pokemon. Well, them actually being 'mine' is what set it in stone. My mother would have told me to get rid of them the second I set foot into the house, after all. Especially the little Venipede, who is now referred to as Pill. Because he looks so much like an extremely oversized pill when he curls up. Point is, my mother is not getting rid of my friends. No way in hell.
"What do you think, guys?" I muse, watching the people move about Castelia. "Move onto the desert? Then Nimbasa City?"
Murk dives down, hovering before me and giving an approving cry. Shinx cheers himself bouncing out in front of me with joy and glee. Pill, unlike them, just snuggles into my shoulder, seeming rather content with whatever choice we stick to. Clearly he'll be the one who's just happy to have a hug and a home. Well, that's his own thing.
"Alright, then. Nimbasa City it is."
Or, it would be.
"Adlien!"
But life doesn't work like that.
Turning around, my eyes land on a joyful Ash and company. Complete with a brand new face. A blonde stands among the group with an adjusted bowl cut and green beanie cap. White skirt, orange vest, white undershirt, she's clearly more comfortable in clothes that fit students… If she's a student, then that means her family wants her educated, so middle or upper class. Wonder what a girl whose parents clearly want her to be informed is doing with a group of pokemon trainers. Then again, maybe she's able to multi-task well enough to do both.
"Hello, Adlien," Cilan grins, looking particularly pleased today. "Wonderful day, right?"
"Ignore him," Iris sighs. "So, are you going to enter?"
"Enter?" I hum, giving them a bored look.
"The fishing competition!" Ash cheers, the blonde going wistful at the words – weird. "We're all going to enter! Iris and I are competing against each other, too. Whoever catches the biggest water-type pokemon wins!"
"Fun," I shrug, enjoying the way Pill snickers quietly in my ear. "But I'll pass. Fishing isn't my thing."
Cilan gasps almost instantly. "What!? How so!?" he demands, almost scandalized. "Fishing is an absolute must for any pokemon trainer! How can one simply deny-"
"I'm not a trainer," I point out to him. "I don't even know what I am. Those battle against Lenora and Burgh were just-"
Ash's face lights up like a Christmas tree. "You fought Burgh!? You're challenging the gyms, then!? That's great! Now I've got another rival in Unova. I wonder if you're as strong as Trip is or if…"
As he trails off into la-la land with his words, my ears quickly block him out, turning back to Cilan who is smiling patiently. How he can manage it, I'll never know. That kid must have some very hyper siblings to keep pace with Ash and his million lightyears a minute train of thought. Not to mention the clearly split second decisions said trainer probably makes every day, if not every few hours…
"Like I was saying," I continue, ignoring the words from a very pumped pokemon trainer, "I'm not actually a trainer. I don't know what I am, but trainer isn't the word for it. Probably just regular traveler, maybe talk to a few of the gym leaders. But the pokemon with me are not for battles or contests. Just company."
"I see," Cilan nods, looking thoughtful. "But still, even a trainer who is not a trainer needs to know the necessity of fishing!"
Knowing that argument will get me nowhere, like it seems to do with everyone, a heavy sigh escapes me. This might end up being a very long day. So, instead of trying to make it even longer than necessary, my mind quickly comes up with an alternative.
"How about this? I'll go with you guys, but won't sign up. Instead, you guys will do whatever it is during the competition and I'll watch for future reference. A sort of experience," I offer, hoping Cilan will take the offer. "I don't want another pokemon anyway. The three with me are plenty company for a journey around Unova."
While the green-haired boy muses quietly, Iris pops up next to me, grinning like a loon, her eyes sparkling. Clearly she's all for this plan as she nods quickly, taking my hand and pulling me along down the sidewalk. Why she feels the need to drag me along I won't even question, although I will question why she's so intent on dislocating my shoulder. But oh well, so long as she doesn't try to break something. A dislocation is a quicker heal than a broken bone.
"This is going to be great!" the blonde squeals. "Oh, I hope I catch something adorable!"
"You'll do great, Bianca," Ash pipes up, moving rather quickly with the others.
Iris is still dragging me along.
"Before I completely forget, though," Cilan chimes in. "Bianca, this is Adlien, a friend of ours from Nacrene City. Adlien, this is Bianca."
Seeing where this is going, my eyes turn to the blonde, nodding quietly to her while she grins and starts an entire monologue. Whatever she's saying goes in one ear and out the other, nothing really sticking save her name and that she loves both cute and strong pokemon… So, basically all pokemon out there? Or is it the cute and strong looking pokemon that she loves? Or maybe she's just quirky and it completely depends on her first impression and the presentation of the pokemon for her to decide. That's how contests work, after all.
Is she a contest judge, then?
Why does it feel like déjà vu? Oh, right… Because Ash is being loud despite me telling him to keep his noise level to a minimum. He clearly wants another knock over the head. But since they all are worked up, I suppose it can't truly be helped. Finally, the others disappear into the tent, giving me some peace and quiet.
Cilan seems really into this fishing thing, probably from some very good past experience or a great deal of pride in his own ability. Either way, his words did have some truth to them. Even if I'm not a pokemon trainer for contests or battles, I am a pokemon trainer of some sort. Meaning any and all types of pokemon and the ways to catch them should be familiar to me, even if they won't be used by me. Having said so, I might as well give the connoisseur a chance, my gaze sliding over the area of the canal to study all the aspects of the competition. So far, everything looks pretty familiar to me, even if the scenario is different.
A few battle rings have been set up around a few different wooden piers. Boys and girls of varying ages and possibly experience have applied for admission, obviously, and are currently practicing their swings and their battling where space allows. One of the proctors for the fishing competition seems to be going about checking competition badges on all those who applied and handing out specialized pokeballs to be used. Really, it's just a regular one with a fish stamp on it, but whatever works.
So really, it seems like a boring old pokemon competition, much like the ones done in Pinwheel Forest during holidays. The officials of Nacrene City's council will pick out competition supervisors and those people will decide how it works. Usually, though, it's just a regular capture competition, in which a few pokeballs are allotted to every participant in the competition and they go into the forest. There's a few proctors at the edge of the forest and all competitors are divided into different groups to head into the forest at different times, allowing minimal chances for cheating. Once they've entered the forest, they're usually giving half an hour to a full hour to catch something and return.
My dad's won the last three years or Summer Solstice Festival competitions in a row.
"This is gonna be great!"
Turning away from the competition field, my eyes catch Ash racing from the tent with the others, a few more contestants following after them. They all race towards the piers, getting ready for the start of the competition. Far more calmly, I stride after them all, my pokemon seeming just as bored as myself. Maybe Cilan was right and signing up would have been a good idea. Or maybe not, judging by the way Bianca has hooked a wild Ash…
She's right, though. It doesn't count if she catches Ash. Unless he magically becomes a water type.
Staring at the competitors, my eyes catch a few strange occurrences. For instance, a couple rods breaking mid cast or lacking enough fishing line. Some of them even have faulty pokeballs that are either deactivated or duds, not even opening to capture the fish being reeled in. Something is very wrong here. Nevertheless, the others are having their fun watching the connoisseur demonstrate how to fish. Including the type of lure to be used for different types of pokemon. Strangely enough, he has a lure shaped like… himself…
Narcissism… Who knew?
Slowly but surely, the fool of a connoisseur draws his lure back in, and before long yanks a flailing fish pokemon out of the water. With a flick of the fishing rod, said pokemon goes head first into the battle arena, one of the first to be reeled in as others battle their own respective water types in other arena. Shortly after landing in the water, the now revealed Basculin growls at an emerging Pansage. Seems Cilan wants this one.
Well, this is officially a very boring event. Hopefully something good happens sometime soon. Preferably before Shinx tries to make something happen, which he seems rather close to doing. Pill, still sat on my shoulder, grumbles quietly from her spot, watching as the many trainers begin to reel in their own contest entries. Or, at least, attempting to.
With a spin on my heel, my feet carry me down along the canal walkway, checking on how everyone's doing on their entries. As said earlier, some have lost their rods to breaks in the material or have insufficient fishing line in their reels, others still unable to activate their pokeballs. This is still incredibly sad. Among all of these people, it seems that one small child is having the most trouble, her line looking rather tangled. And none of the other competitors seems to have noticed either, or simply don't care… My feet move me automatically, watching the little girl getting close to tears as she pulls at the fishing line.
"Don't do that," I pipe up, closing in from behind. "You'll just make the tangle worse."
Thankfully, this is one of the rods that has a fair amount of fishing line. Perfect.
"Here, let me," I offer, smiling kindly as I crouch next to her, taking the rod from her hands. "When you run across a knot like this and are on a crunch for time, the best thing to do is just cut the string away."
Shinx yips softly next to me, nuzzling the young child as she whimpers, still close to a breakdown. Murk leaps from my shoulder to perch on hers instead, nuzzling her himself as well. The only one who remains with me is Pill, who instead chooses to slip from the other shoulder into my lap. I carefully lean the rod against my shoulder to quickly search my pockets. It had occurred to me that in order to cut a fishing line, you need something that can actually cut. A soft hum from Pill in my lap returns my attention to the fishing rod, seeing the line neatly severed.
And the Venipede spitting out the other section.
"Thank you, Pill," I chuckle, stroking the bug's shell.
Now having a severed fishing line, my fingers string the untangled line along the rod, dragging a good portion through the final ring. To finish it off, I retrieve the hook on the old line, remove with Pill's help and tie it on with a noose knot. With a quick check of my work, my gaze returns to the little girl, eyes softening while holding the rod out to her.
"Here. Now try."
Smile spread across my face, I watch the little girl continue her attempt at fishing for the duration of the competition. Ignoring the outraged cries of a certain connoisseur about some dumb fish he managed to catch. Along with the pained cries of a certain battler as a pink blob of tentacles gropes- I mean, hugs him to death. And even past that, where pokemon begin to appear from pokeballs almost randomly as some chick with outrageous hair and a man with far less outrageous hair and a Meowth start screaming- Wait, what?
"I get it! They're obviously a team of rocket scientists!"
Please tell me that wasn't Bianca spouting something stupid…
"Uh, they're really not that kind of team," Ash mutters.
It was Bianca, then.
"They're bad guys who go around stealing people's pokemon."
That settles it, then.
"Shinx, Murk," I whisper to the two hovering next to me, "fetch those bags."
As pokemon appear onto what is no doubt about to become a battlefield, the two of them dash from my side towards the bags. Pill hops from my shoulder, standing defensively in front of me as it gives a quiet cry. My gaze focuses on the pokemon battle before me, watching Bullet Seed and a Thunderbolt bounce of a mask. The two boys from the travelling trio have called out a Pansage and Pikachu, not a bad choice with all things considered. But a Yamask and Woobat on the other side for the creepy adults show a great deal of resistance. That ghost type is pretty smart to use its mask like that – not many would dare try with something so precious…
Until, of course, Shinx cries out a bit too loudly.
Several sets of eyes turn away as the pokemon in battle clash yet again, the flying opponents falling to the ground from the hit. Standing at the water's edge, my little kitten friend is watching the water in dismay where several pokeballs are floating along. A number of them suspiciously open. As everyone starts questioning what's happening, my sight just barely catches the glimpse of pink as another ball opens, a cute Tympole flopping out and into the water.
"They're all empty? They've escaped!"
The red head is only partially correct. Another flash of pink, looking very familiar as well, and a blue Basculin sails out of the ball with a happy sounding cry. As it splashes back into the water, Cilan yells out for the fish in surprise. Of course he would memorize the stupid fish as soon as he caught it – too confident in his ability.
"That stupid Shinx!"
Hearing those few words, my eyes quickly snap to and narrow at the red head as she glares down at my partner. He glares back, unfazed, and starts to spark as he uses Charge, a perfect tactic for the moment. She gets any closer, a stray spark might hit and paralyze her, just like with any pokemon – humans are animals just like them, after all. To my slight surprise, though, she doesn't step closer, but calls on the Woobat.
"Tackle it!"
Crap. "Murk, Aerial Ace!"
My call is followed swiftly with a crowing, a black blur swooping down and slamming into the bat. As the offending pokemon hits the ground yet again, the man in the ugly uniform calls for the Yamask's Haze. Smart move, although it won't do much for getting them those pokemon back. The air is filled with the dark substance, inspiring coughing fits everywhere, and Murk is quick to hover in front of Shinx, using a weak Gust to keep the smoke back. While the others reign in their rampant hacking of their lungs, my attention turns to the two pokemon making their ways to me. Neither seem worse for wear, either.
"Good job, you two," I nod at them, letting Murk land on my shoulder and Shinx leap into my arms. "And good thinking with the Charge, bud. Maybe you'll be more brains than brawn."
Pill, still on the ground, whimpers sadly from his place, making me giggle and crouch down. Shifting my pokemon into one arm, I scoop up the little bug and settle him back on my shoulder, thankful when Murk flaps from my other and takes off. With two of them in my hold and the third out of anyone's reach – he's gone and perched on top of a nearby lamp post – my feet carry me toward the others.
"Where'd they go now!?"
Ash seems to have taken to the Lenora style of doing things. Bull-charge, at the ready. Cilan and Iris, though, are being a bit more cautious and checking the area. Bianca is just standing there, dazed and confused. Every other trainer who was participating, on the other hand, has vanished from sight. Most likely they didn't want to get caught in the pokemon battle and would come to see the results soon, when all the noise would truly be calmed down. No doubt they're hiding in the alleyways, some even brave enough to just distance themselves down the canal and standing next to the waterway.
"Does it really matter?" I hum. "If they're gone, that's a good thing. All the pokemon are safe and the criminals are nowhere around to cause further problems. That we know of, at least."
Of course, life doesn't like me like that. The sound of a small engine shakes my eardrums as the tent behind them begins to move. Apparently it wasn't much a tent, though, since the roof breaks apart and lifts, a duo and their pokemon counterpart rising out. Well… there they are…
Stupid Ash.
"Trust me! One day your Pikachu's gonna be all ours!"
"Never underestimate the power of Team Rocket!"
"You better watch your twerpish backs!"
Did they really just threaten us? A bunch of kids? As the three of them rise further into the air, my eyes land on the gear on their backs and widen to the size of plates – jetpacks. Since when do washed up criminals like them get such awesome stuff!? That's just not right.
Once they're several stories up, the 'tent' shudders, dust goes flying, and Murk is somehow right in front of me, using a weak Gust to keep it all back. Apparently the 'tent' wasn't built quite right, either, as it now lays in a collapsed pile of debris, bits of woods and metal strewn about. A particular connoisseur is already dived into the wreckage, clearly looking for something important. The others are watching as this 'Team Rocket' flies off in their gear, stuff they really shouldn't have… No fair.
"My next birthday present better be a jet pack," I hum to myself, ignoring the looks from the three pokemon with me. "Jet pack…"
"Where is it!?"
Cilan's desperation drags my attention to the wreckage again, spying him pulling out a collection of broken wood. But not just any broken wood, no. It's a-
"It's just an old rod painted gold…"
The poor connoisseur hangs his head at the discovery, his Pansage patting him on the shoulder in comfort. Is that seriously why he's risking the need for a tetanus shot? Really?
So sad…
