Chapter five: The journey begins.
.
[A/N: Fifth chapter already? I'm making progress here, ladies and gentlemen. Yeah! Ugh. Wally, the boy who's loved by most of the girls around here. NO I'M NOT JEALOUS! I don't know what's so special about him. I mean he's weak, fragile and a sore loser. How did he ended up in victory road? Isn't he sick? Does he secretly want to die so bad? To be honest, I don't like him and that's my opinion. Anyway, enjoy and I'll see ya later, chumps. Peace .]
***********************************************************************************************************************************
{And so they went on with their unforgiving sin, Mocking The god with every step they took. Their very existence was enough for Arceus to judge them unworthy of His mercy. And when they crossed the line that He had drawn for all humans, He whispered His unquestioned command. And His word manifested before the sinners eyes; Die.}
Kaito waited for his friends to join him at the entrance of the town, there he stood looking at the road ahead. He knew that this road would take him to Oldale town, only this time is different. He was going to head west instead of North, to a town called Petalburg. He remembered looking from the bus window when he was on his way home at a building that looked like a dojo, brown rooftop, grey walls and automatic glass door. It was nothing like the gyms back in Johto, not that he dared looking at one of gym leaders or setting foot into one of the gyms anyway. A familiar voice snapped him out of his thoughts as May an Brendan both called out to him. He waved back as the three joined together " Kaito you should have told us beforehand. I had to pack my things faster than a Tailow. What changed your mind all of a sudden?" Kaito smiled warmly at Brendan before walking between him and May, patting May over her head gently " well, you could say that someone's annoyance helped changing my mind. Also I thought that I could learn a thing or two while traveling with you guys". May her puffed her cheeks and stuck her tongue out " like hell I'll teach you my secrets on how to become fabulous. You can ask Mr. boring Brendan to teach you about how boring the pokémon study is". Before Brendan could answer her, a wild poochyena jumped out of a nearby bush, snarling at the three. May screamed in terror before hiding behind her two friends " Ah! An evil pokemon. make it go away!". Kaito merely smirked at the angry Poochyena before grabbing a poké ball that was hanging from his belt " well look what we have here. If it isn't the same poochyena I fought earlier this day. My you are a persistent one, aren't ya?". The wild pokémon growled and blistered its tail, ready to charge them. Kaito tossed his newly obtained Mudkip's poké ball in front of him " Come out, Neptune!" Mudkip jumped out of his ball after the red light had disappeared. Brendan raised an eyebrow when he heard Kaito calling Mudkip by that name " when did you come up with that name? I don't remember you calling him Neptune when you fought May". Kaito smirked while looking at the wild pokémon " well since Mudkip is a water pokémon, why not name it Neptune?" May rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. In her opinion, Kaito could have chosen a better name, like Kipper or Muddy, yet again torchie isn't a creative name either. She shook her head and focused on the battle ahead as Mudkip obeyed his trainer's command and rammed into the wild hyena with his head. This fight didn't take long as Poochyena fell on its side, fainted. Kaito returned his pokémon into his poke ball then grabbed an empty one " well you were a tough one when we first fought, I'll give you that. You were brave enough to challenge me again into a fight, it would be a waste if I didn't add you to my team". Kaito tossed the ball over to the fainted Poochyena, sucking him in after it hit his forehead. The ball shook violently for three times before it clicks shut. Brendan clapped his hand as Kaito lifted the ball up high " well done, you caught your first wild pokémon without any help, are you sure you weren't a trainer back in Johto?" May interrupted before Kaito could answer " wow good job, it's odd that a Poochyena would attack after you battled it earlier this day, if it was the same poochyena that is". Kaito laughed a little as they continued their journey to Petalburg city " well I guess this one is different, I guess. Maybe he has an offensive nature and behavior. That'd become handy if we trained him to be a guard dog, don't you guys think?". Both May and Brendan nodded as they reached Oldale town. they stopped briefly at the pokémon center so Kaito can go and heal his pokémons. After that they head west toward Petalburg city through route 102.
Route 102 had its own beauty, with a pond to the east of where the three stood with different types of pokémons enjoying its cold water, wingulls flew over the pond, one of them touching the water surface with its wing. A group of blue pokémons with a lilypad over their heads that allowed it to float in the water. Few zigzagoons and poochyenas hiding in the bushes. Ahead of them stood a young boy, no older than ten, wearing a blue cap that faced backward, a yellow t-shirt, a blue shorts and a pair of blue shoes. The youngster was playing with his zigzagoon when he noticed Kaito, May and Brendan. He walked up to them waving at Brendan " Yo, Brendan. Long time no see, bud". Brendan waved back at the young boy " Hey Calvin, it's good to see you too. What are you doing out here?" The boy known as Calvin crossed his arms and smirked at the three " Oh you know, training to beat you, the usual. Say who are these guys? I've never seen them before". Brendan looked back at his friends " Oh, I'm sorry. Calvin, meet Kaito and May. They both came from Johto not long ago. Guys, this is Calvin, he's from Oldale town". after Calvin greeted Kaito and May, he looked at Brendan with a smirk " Say Brendan, how about we have a Pokémon battle, for old time's sake? Don't worry, I'll go easy this time I promise" Brendan looked over to May then back at Calvin " As if you had ever beaten me in a pokemon battle before. I would like to, but my friend here is a new trainer, I want her to practice how to handle a real pokémon battle. Is it okay for you two?" May hesitated a little, she wasn't ready, not after she had lost her very first battle against Kaito, even if it was a friendly battle " Ummm. I don't know, Brendan. What about Kaito? Why can't he have this one?" Kaito rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed by May's fear of losing " Oh c'mon, it's a pokémon battle, May. You'll be fine, just focus on winning. Everyone loses a battle, only those with no goal to become a real trainer would give up after their first defeat". May weakly nodded and stepped forward, holding the poké ball that contained herein Torchic In " well I guess you are right, Kaito, I'll try my best. Just don't laugh if I don't win ok?" Kaito rolled his eyes again " whatever".
Calvin took few steps back to make a space for both his pokémon and May's to fight. He ordered his pokémon to take his point on the field. Calvin's zigzagoon immediately jumped into its side of the battlefield and wiggled it's tail, waiting for the fight to begin. May gently kissed the red and white sphere before tossing it " Here goes, Torchie. Let's turn on the heat!". Torchic came out of the ball, chirping loudly as she landed gracefully on her own side of the field. Brendan stood between the two, taking the role of the referee " Alright. This'll be one on one pokémon battle, both trainers will use only one pokémon. Are you two ready? Pokemon battle ready. GO!".
May was determined to win this battle. She wasn't going to let a kid humiliate her in front of her friends, especially that arrogant Kaito " Torchie, dash toward zigzagoon and use ember!". Torchic reacted quickly to her trainer's command, sprinting as fast as she could towards the enemy ahead. Calvin was so taken back by how fast May's pokémon is, he couldn't react as Torchic took a deep breath before blowing a jet of flames towards his Zigzagoon, making his pokémon cry in pain as Torchic flames burned his spiky fur. " Ziggy, get a hold of yourself. Use tackle while Torchic is close". Ziggy, as Calvin called him, jumped out of the flames and rushed towards May's Torchic, but May predicted that " Torchie, dodge and use scratch. Don't let that zigzagoon beat you". Torchic evaded Ziggy'sattac just in, and with a quick, sharp attack with her talon to the side, she managed to knock him out. Calvin returned his pokémon, still not believing that he had just lost to a rookie trainer. May screamed in joy as she grabbed her Torchic into a tight hug " Yay we did it, Torchie. We won our first real battle. I'm so proud of you". Brendan smirked at Calvin as he walked up to May to congratulate her " Well, Calvin. Still think you can beat me?". Calvin huffed before leaving them " humph. It was pure luck. We shall meet again, Brendan. and when we do, I will be victorious". May turned to look at Kaito, who's still not impressed by her first win " See? I told you it was going to be easy. Why did you doubt yourself? If you don't believe in yourself and in the strength of your pokémon, you won't be so lucky next time". May looked down, embarrassed by how he was right. she was doubting her pokémon's strength, no, she was doubting herself. Brendan rubbed May's back, making her look up to face him " Hey, what's important is that you won. Don't let Mr. grumpy let you down, your will burns just as intense as your Torchic flames. You just have to ignite it". May smiled at Brendan as she looked at Kaito " see, Why can't you say nice things like Brendan? Is it hard for you?" Kaito mumbled under his breath as he walked besides them towards Petalburg city.
After a few encounters with young trainers, they finally reached Petalburg city. It was slowly getting dark so they had to postpone their visit to Norman's gym. They walked into the city's pokémon center and asked the nurse who worked there if they could rent a room. The nurse gave them a key to one of the rooms but before so, she told them that the room has only two beds. Brendan told her that they can arrange that later, what's important is that they have a room to stay in for the night. The three head upstairs to their room which held the number 104. When they opened it, they weren't surprised. It was a small room with two beds next to each other, a two seater couch, a small kitchen complete with a refrigerator and a microwave and a bathroom. May and Brendan both jumped into the two beds, each one claiming his/her own bed, leaving the couch for their new friend. Kaito sighed as he threw his heavy bag on the couch before laying on it. The three stared at the ceiling for a minute before May's empty stomach began to growl " I'm starving. I haven't eaten anything since morning". Brendan sat straight as he looked over to Kaito " how about we grab something to eat from the restaurant downstairs? They must have something interesting on the menu, right?".
" Woah, how can you eat like that, May?" Kaito was shocked to see May devouring twice the amount that he had ordered, he tried not to laugh as May tried to devour a whole sandwich in one bite "You know, that's not how a lady would eat, but come think of it, you're not a lady to begin with". Brendan almost choke on his food when he heard that, he knew that May hates when someone mocks her beauty or talk about how a lady would've act. He looked at her as she slowly put down her unfinished sandwich and slowly chewed what was in her mouth. When she finished swallowing her food, she slowly turned to Kaito, who's already crying from laughter, and smiled innocently at him right before she slapped him so hard, it knocked him off his seat with force. Kaito stared at the ceiling for a moment, he needed to analyze what did just happen. His left cheek was crimson red due to the powerful slap he received from May, who left without saying a word. Brendan looked with worried eyes at Kaito as he helped him standing up " You shouldn't have said that, Kaito. No girl likes when someone says that she isn't a lady". Kaito winced when he touched his own cheek " ow. Suicune, it was a joke. I didn't know she'd take it seriously". Brendan shook his head before the two headed back to their room " In any case, you should apologize to her. But not now, leave it till tomorrow. Now we should get some rest, because tomorrow is a big day for all of us. We'll meet her father, Norman, Petalburg city's gym leader". Kaito nodded as they entered the room. When they walked in, they saw May burying her face into her pillow, ignoring both of them. Brendan went straight to his bed, leaving the couch to Kaito. As Kaito twisted and turned to get some rest on the couch, he couldn't help but to remember his past life back in Johto. How he used to hangout with his friends, how they were feared by all other trainers. Even the eight gym leaders would cower before them, and they don't even have a single badge. How fate could be so cruel to him? In a blink of an eye, everything's gone. His eyes swelled with tears that he had kept for so long, he wanted to weep for them, but he was too ashamed to do that, not after what he had done, how cowardly he left them to escape his fear, how he broke his promise when things didn't turn out in his favor, how he betrayed himself. He wiped his eyes to prevent his tears from running down his cheeks, then he closed his eyes shut, cursing under his breath.
The next day, May woke up to the smell of something being baked. She slowly lifted her head up, only to see Kaito making some pancakes. She got up and approached him slowly, still not fully awake. She rubbed eyes with one hand while yawning " Good morning, sleepy princess. How are you feeling today?". May frowned, she hadn't forgot what he said last night " Shut up. Hearing your voice first thing in the morning gives me headache". Kaito silently continued baking, sure he could just slap her for talking back that way, but seeing how she just got up from bed, he knew she's not fully awake. Brendan woke up later, only to see May sitting at the table, looking at a pile of hot pancakes without eating. Her hair was a bit damp so he guessed she had just got out of the shower. He grabbed his towel and a set of clean clothes before heading straight to the shower. Meanwhile, Kaito was still baking few more pancakes for Brendan and himself, he saw that May wasn't eating and he didn't mind, she was still angry with him about yesterday " where did you get the ingredients? I don't remember seeing them here. Did you go to the market nearby?" asked May coldly while poking a pancake with a fork. Kaito chuckled at her silly question " yes. I woke up earlier this morning and went to the poké mart to get the ingredients needed. Take a bite and tell me how it tastes, don't forget the syrup". May sighed while pouring the syrup all over the hot pile of pancakes. When she took a bite, she was about jump and hug Kaito straight away, hadn't he act like a total jerk, that was one of the best pancakes she ever had " Latias, this is tasty". Kaito had to physically stop May from eating Brendan's share of pancakes before she could devour them too " I want more! Give me More!". Brendan got out of the shower, still drying his hair when he saw Kaito trying to calm May by giving her his own pancakes.
After they finished their breakfast, the three went outside to visit Norman, the city's gym leader. May mentioned something that would freeze Kaito's blood in it veins " Before we moved to Hoenn, my father used to be Goldenrod city's gym leader. He was one of the strongest gym leaders in Johto, you see. He trains everyday with his pokémons to ensure he doesn't lose to amateurs, like you two for example". May kept talking about how awesome her father is, not knowing that Kaito was already trembling in fear. Not because of how strong Norman is, according to May. But because he was one of Johto's eight gym leaders. And if Norman would recognize him, it'll be over for Kaito. He knows that only one of them is after him, but he wasn't sure if she informed the rest of the gym leaders about it " Suicune, Entei, Raikou, Ho-oh, Lugia, Celebi. Please don't let him recognize me, I beg of you". Kaito mumbled under his breath while they approached a tall, lean, middle-aged man with short black hair with a single fringe at the center with three edges and dark eyes, wears a white t-shirt that is covered by a grey and maroon jacket, with the sleeves rolled up. He also wears charcoal trousers with elasticated ankles and pair of geta - dark brown flip-flops with black straps, standing in front of the city's gym, talking to a kid " Not bad, it was a good battle. Come back and challenge me anytime. I'll be looking forward to seeing you and your pokemon again when you're stronger". The kid nodded and promised The gym leader to be back again after training hard. When the young trainers left, Norman looked at the three teens approaching him. He crossed his arms and smiled at them " Well if it isn't my sweet little princess and Mr. Birch. And I see that your new friend Kaito is here with you too". Kaito's worst fears had become real, Norman has recognized him. Now, he had to get ready to what was coming for him.
************************************************************************************************************************************
[A/N: phew . finally. I've been working on this for almost two weeks now. I'm sorry if I didn't upload it earlier but traveling can really mess things up. Anyway post your honest review and dark I'll be seeing you guys later. See ya :D]
{if you are reading this, know that you have been visited by Kyogre, fortune and prosperity will come to you , but only if you say "Make it rain, Kyogre" In the reviews :) }
