Disclaimer: Pokémon. I don't own it.
A/N Greetings, fine people of the internet. Thanks to all the people who read, reviewed, etc. :) This chapter is longer than the previous one, and hopefully better. To all you Heart Gold/Soul Silver players, you'll probably recognize some of the dialogue. Now, let's get started!
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Chapter 2: Light and Dark
Gold was awoken early the next morning by an annoying flashing light. He growled. Normally, he hated getting up early, especially on Saturdays. But he didn't want to risk being late and having the Professor send someone else to get the egg in his place. He still had work to do in the lab, after all. So he had (reluctantly) set his clock to go off at six-twenty. Which it did, flashing the bright light directly in Gold's face. An effective alarm system, but really annoying. Stupid alarm clock with its stupid light going on and off in his face with stupid vindictive pleasure. He groped around for the snooze button for about ten seconds before he found it and smacked it, hard. Much better.
But then the alarm had to ruin it by going off again exactly nine minutes later. He growled again and turned it off, then gave it another smack for good measure. It was far too early for any reasonable person to be up, he thought. But at least he had something to look forward to.
Just the thought of it brought a smile on his face. If his mom was willing to start letting him go out of town on his own, maybe, just maybe, she'd let him travel even farther. Or at the very least challenging the first gym or two. That wasn't too much to ask, right? He'd even settle for just owning a pokémon and training it at home for the time being. But taking the entire gym challenge sounded a whole lot better. That would take quite a bit of convincing and negotiating on his part. A written list could help. But this was his mom, the mom who used to worry about him falling off playground swings, and to this day still told him to be careful around hot stoves. Still, he was going to be optimistic.
Gold swung his feet off the bed and quickly pulled on his shoes, ran a comb through his hair, put a jacket on, and grabbed his baseball cap on the way out.
Well, that was easy. He was glad he'd slept in his his regular clothes. Maybe he'd make a habit out of it. Smiling at the thought, he barreled down the stairs and took a flying leap five steps from the bottom. That had become a daily routine for him, and his mom had long since stopped running over every time she heard a loud thump in the morning.
He went into the kitchen where his mother was already at the table, sipping a cup of tea. How she could stand the taste of tea, Gold had yet to figure out. Or how she could always wake up so early without being dead on her feet. Morning people.
Oh, hi sweetie. You're finally awake!" she said.
Finally? 'Hey, I'm up forty-five minutes earlier than usual. You should be congratulating me.'
"Congratulations," she replied, and Gold rolled his eyes dramatically. "Now get something to eat before you leave."
Gold didn't miss the flicker of anxiety in her eyes as she said that. He'd seen that look far too many times before. And it was always his fault for that, he knew.
But he couldn't stay at home forever. Money-wise he was pretty useless. Sure, he had a job, but it didn't pay much . . . at all. Living off his mom's teaching wages was certainly bearable, but he really ought to be pitching in more, right? Winning a little cash in trainer battles—and much more in Gym battles—would be a big help. Though of course, only the very successful trainers ever made a good deal, but Gold had never planned to be anything but great anyway.
Being a great trainer obviously require getting some pokémon first. But he had to actually be allowed. He couldn't get a trainer card without a parent's signed permission, and without a trainer card, he couldn't legally compete in gym battles. He could still battle regular trainers, but not all of them wanted to wager anything, and if they did, it often wasn't very much (from what he'd heard). And he wasn't quite horrible enough to leave without his own mother's consent.
"So," his mother said as Gold poured himself a bowl of cereal and pulled up a chair, "when do you head out? Do you know the way?"
Gold was about to reply when a lamp sitting on the kitchen counter flashed on and off several times. Someone had rung the doorbell.
'I'll get it.' Gold had a feeling he knew who it was. Scratch that, he was positive.
But when he opened the door, no one was there. Gold furrowed his eyebrows. Maybe some loose pokémon had pressed the button . . . ? He was about to go back inside when what felt a bit like a furry water balloon hit him in the stomach. He would have fallen down had he not been still holding onto the door knob. He certainly got the wind knocked out of him, though. He quickly grabbed the water-balloon-thingy before it fell to the ground, and held it out at arm's length. He realized it was Lyra's marill . . . and then he saw Lyra coming out of the bushes with a big grin on her face. Ha. So he had been right. Gold dropped the marill and watched him run back to his owner. Marill jumped around Lyra's feet, then stopped and pointed at Gold.
"Marill!"
Lyra looked up at Gold. "Did he just say he found you?"
'I don't know. He wasn't talking to me.'
I said I found him!
'Yeah, he says he found me.'
"Well, thanks for the information, Captain Obvious," Lyra addressed Marill, signing so Gold could see what she said. Marill just made a pouting face and placed his stubby arms on his . . . hips, maybe? He was spherical, so it was hard to tell.
"Hi, Mrs. Heart!" Lyra said suddenly, and waved to Gold's mom, who was now standing right behind him. What was it with everyone sneaking up on him today?
"Good morning, Lyra," said Mrs. Heart. "Gold, come inside and finish your breakfast." Gold huffed and walked back to the kitchen. Lyra and Marill followed him in without hesitation. Lyra inviting herself into their house had been an almost daily occurrence for some time now. Not that anyone mind.
She chatted with Mrs. Heart and asked her for her opinion on her outfit (a red shirt with blue overalls and a puffy white hat), while Gold poked at his soggy cereal. He should probably be leaving soon. . . .
"I like the blouse and the hat, but those overalls are awfully short—you wait right there, young man!"
Gold, who had been about to bolt from the kitchen, slumped back in his chair and looked up at her expectantly.
Mrs. Heart hesitated for a moment, and seemed ready to say something, but then she just sighed and fished something out from her pocket.
"Here, I got your Pokégear back from the repair shop," she said, handing it over. Gold had broken it when he had knocked it off his nightstand, tried to pick it up, and managed to step on it instead. Mrs. Heart had not been happy.
Gold smiled sheepishly as he accepted the item and strapped it to his wrist. 'Thanks, Mom,' he said. He had missed playing around with the map application and texting Lyra when he was supposed to be asleep.'I'd better go.'
"Okay, have fun. But be safe! Don't stray from the trail, don't run all the way there and tire yourself out, and especially don't—"
'Thanks, 'bye!' Gold dashed out of the house, not even bothering to close the door behind him. That just left Mrs. Heart, Lyra, and Marill. They stood there rather awkwardly for nearly a full minute until Lyra broke the silence.
"Don't worry, he'll be fine!" she said, flashing her most confident grin.
"Of course he will." But Mrs. Heart's smile was strained at best, and she looked unsure.
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As Silver walked into New Bark Town, he was surprised. He expected the place to be fairly small and town-like, but . . . damn. This was, well, really small and town-like. The place had a lot of dirt paths and small, quaint houses. To be honest, pretty much everything here looked quaint, from the houses to the soft, springy turf, to the trees with their leaves fluttering in the breeze, to the multiple vegetable gardens. It was surrounded by woods that should have given the place a darker feel, but it didn't. The town itself was just too bright and sunny and cheerful and flowery. It didn't look at all like a town that would have a laboratory or anything else remotely cool.
But there it stood, in stark contrast with its woodsy smelling, annoyingly homey surroundings. The great New Bark Laboratory. He would have three choices of pokémon in there, most likely. Chikorita, cyndaquil, and totodile. These 'starter pokémon' were always easy to raise and train, and they had to be—newbie trainers, in most cases, wouldn't be able to handle them if they weren't. Not that Silver would ever have that problem. He was here for a different reason—fully evolved starters were powerhouses. And there was no way in hell he was going to start off with something like a caterpie.
He slowly crept forward, hidden by the dense trees neighboring the lab. He stepped cautiously out from his hiding place and towards a side window, where hopefully, he would be able to see were the pokémon were kept.
Peering inside, he could see a lot of research equipment, loads of files, and seated on a cluttered desk, three pokéballs. He smirked. Too easy.
"So, this is the famous Elm pokémon lab. . . ."
Suddenly, he heard someone's footsteps behind him. He whirled around, and was greeted by a pair of curious golden eyes.
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Freedom! Gold thought as he ran to the lab. He had been afraid that his dear mother would stall him into oblivion—or at least lateness. But it looked like he would even be a little early, and he was determined to keep it that way. That would give him time to dawdle on the way there, taking in the sights. Yeah, that would be fun. No, wait, he wouldn't do that. He would hurry there, get the egg quickly, and then dawdle.
But, when he was just yards away from the lab, something red hovering near the left-side window caught his eye. He squinted. Was that some sort of pokémon . . . ?
He took a quick detour for a closer look. When he got nearer, he could see it was not a pokémon, but a girl, a few inches taller than he was, and probably a year or so older. She had wine-red hair that reached just past her shoulders, and was wearing dark, boyish-looking clothes. She definitely wasn't from around here; Gold would have recognized her if she were. He took a moment to wonder who she was, and another moment to wonder why she would dress that way. Honestly, from the back, she looked like a dude with long hair. Then she turned swiftly around and—
Huh. What do you know. She was a dude with long hair.
Her—er, his—silver eyes sparked with anger, and he shouted something at him. Gold was pretty sure the he said something like "What are you staring at?" He roughly shoved Gold away from him, causing him to stumble back several steps. With a disdainful look on his face, the guy went back to staring through the window. Gold sent a glare his way before stalking off. On most days, he would've retaliated in some way, but he had more important matters to attend to. Maybe he'd see Rude Guy later and pick a fight. . . .
He entered the lab and found, to his surprise and confusion, his morning chores already being finished by a boy he recognized as Professor Elm's nine-year-old son, Ben.
"Hey Gold!" he called, waving to him. "Someone's coming to pick up their pokémon today, and Dad told me to get these three fed early 'n stuff, and to put them back in their pokéballs."
Ah. That must have been why Rude Guy was here. Gold nodded. 'Where's your dad?' he asked.
"Where's Dad? Um . . . oh, there he is," he said, pointing. Gold turned around to find the Professor walking towards him, clearly in a good mood—probably because he wasn't carrying anything.
"Good morning, Gold! Isn't the weather great? So very fresh," he said, then opened his arms wide, as if he could hug the air. Yep. He was definitely glad to be file, notepad, and phone-less. Ben, looking rather embarrassed by his father's actions, stealthily slipped away. The professor didn't seem to notice, and blithely continued. "You can choose the pokémon you want to take with you, if you want to start right away," he said, as they walked over to the three pokéballs situated on the desk. "Just don't take the chikorita. He's being picked up by someone in an hour or so."
Hm. Rude Guy didn't seem like a chikorita kind of person, but whatever.
Gold contemplated his two choices. For a moment, he considered taking Totodile, but he preferred not to have his ankles chewed on if the pokémon decided to play. So that left Cyndaquil, if she agreed to go. She never struck him as the sort to want to go on anything resembling an adventure, but he could hope, right? He picked up the sphere and released her. She materialized in a flash of light and stared up at him.What's up?
Hi, Cyndaquil. I'm going on an errand and was wondering if you wanted to come. Gold crossed his fingers. He didn't really want to be stuck with an ankle-eating reptile if he didn't have to.
Her face lit up. Like an adventure? Yeah!
"So you picked the fire-type, Cyndaquil! An excellent choice. Just be sure to keep her out at all times. Your mother will have my head if you don't."
'Right.'
He does love to state the obvious, doesn't he? said Cyndaquil.
What, about Mom having his head?
No, about me being a fire-type. And an excellent choice. Cyndaquil looked quite pleased with herself, as though she had said something very clever.
Gold wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he just turned to the Professor. 'I'll be going, then.'
"Okay. Do you know the way?" Gold nodded. "All right. See you in a few hours."
With one final wave to the Professor, Gold walked out, Cyndaquil skipping along behind him.
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Heaving a sigh of relief after that nosy kid left, Silver slumped against the building. He was fairly well hidden by the decorative bushes next to the lab, so long as he didn't stand up. He was safe for now. He'd just wait for the kid, that professor guy, and a couple of staff to leave, and then he'd make his move. He had been wondering how he would get in until he found out some idiot had left the window unlocked, providing easy access. It would still be risky, but it was well worth it.
Let it never be said that Silver Soul backed down from a little challenge.
He heard the front door open as someone—he was guessing the nosy kid—walked out. Listening carefully, he also heard some girl squealing about the pokémon the kid (apparently named Gold) had with him. He didn't hear a response, but from the gaps in the bushes he could see that Gold character head off towards Route 29. A moment later, the girl skipped away in the opposite direction.
Looking into the lab, Silver saw a laboratory aid enter the building. Grr. Then another. Please leave. And another. Damn you. He gritted his teeth in frustration. This could take a while.
And take a while it did. Silver managed to open the window when there seemed to be no one around, but just when he had done that, another lab aid (more like lab rat, Silver thought) had come into the main room and ruined his opportunity to get inside. Every time there was a chance to make it in, something to that effect happened. The sun was high in the sky by the time Silver had finally stopped hearing multiple footsteps, tapping keyboards, and rustling papers.
He took another peek through the window. No one was in the main part of the building anymore, and all was still. The coast was clear, at least for the time being. It was perfectly possible someone would come back in at the same moment Silver made his move, but this could be his only chance. It was now or never.
With catlike grace, he slid through the open window and into the lab. He walked up to the desk where two pokéballs sat, and grabbed the one closest to him.
He had just made it back to the window when he heard the light creaking of door hinges.
Cursing silently, Silver hoisted himself up through the window and back outside, landing with far less grace than he had going in. But he had made it out unnoticed, and he'd gotten what he had come here for. All he needed to do now was wait for the surrounding area to be clear. Peeking through the window, he watched as a blue-haired girl walked into the lab, probably to get a pokémon. Well, it looked like she would only have one choice. Not that it was his problem.
Oh no. Silver's body was frozen in place as he listened to what was being said inside. Please don't let them notice.
"Thanks for reserving this one for me, Professor Elm. I hope it wasn't too much trouble." Great, now leave, kid.
"Oh, none at all. I always try to be sure the trainer gets the pokémon he or she wants. It avoids the possibility that the trainer would feel as though they had to 'make do' with a substitute, which can obviously hinder the bonding process. We certainly can't have that." Maybe he won't notice until later.
"That's a great point, Professor. So, when were the other two picked up?" Oh no.
"Well actually, there's still one left right here—where'd it go?" No!
"Um, well, Crystal, you should probably being going now. I hate to cut this short, but, um, I have to make a phone call now. Besides, I'm sure your parents are eager to see your new partner!" The man's voice was shaking slightly.
"Oh, that's fine, but are you feeling all right?"
"I'm just fine, just fine! I just really have to make a phone call right away, yes! It's really rather important."
"Oh, sorry! I won't hold you you up any longer. 'Bye, Professor!"
Silver heard the soft footsteps of the girl as she left the building, and the heavier, frantic thuds of the man's shoes as he ran to his desk. There was a short silence.
"Hello? I need the police."
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So where are we going? asked Cyndaquil, as she and Gold made their way down the wooded trail at a light jog.
We're going to someone's house to pick up an egg. Then I'm going to take it back to the Professor so he can examine it, Gold replied. We have to travel several miles to get there, fend off wild pokémon along the way, and get the egg safely to the lab. You ready for this?
Yeah!
So for the next hour or so, the duo ran down the narrow trails, admired the scenery, and valiantly fought off any enemies they came across (but mostly just chased around several sentret and scared any nearby pidgey). They also passed through Cherrygrove City and made their way north, but not before some creepy old man gave Gold a pair of running shoes (the locals just looked on knowingly) and insisted on showing him around.
I had literally no idea what that guy was saying, Gold remarked after they had gotten away and out of sight. His beard covered almost his entire mouth.
Cyndaquil, who was still in a good mood from the some-battling-but-mostly-chasing they had done earlier (and didn't seem nearly as disturbed by the stranger as Gold did), cheerfully replied, I couldn't understand him, either. Ooh, look! Is that the place? she asked, looking towards a wooden house half-hidden by the trees.
I think so. Come on, let's see who can get there first!
Hey, no fair!Gold, wait for me!
In the end, Gold just put Cyndaquil on his shoulder and gave her ride the rest of the way.
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Mr. Pokémon looked at the clock. "I suppose he'll be arriving any minute now –Gold, I think his name was. Professor Elm called me when he sent him off, and that was a few hours ago." He turned to the man sitting across from him. "Anyway, thanks again for dropping by, Sam. It's good to know you're doing well. Oh, and how's the arthritis? You were stiff as a board last time I saw you."
Sam smiled. "I haven't had a single ache at all this year. Of course, with the summer humidity coming up, that's bound to change. But I'll enjoy the break while I can. Anyway," he said, looking slyly up at Mr. Pokémon, "got any threes?"
Mr. Pokémon's face fell. "Bah! That's the fourth time in a row you've guessed it right! I can't win in any sort of cards, can I?" Mr. Pokémon threw his hands up in mock despair. "That's it, I call the next game! We're playing chess this time, and it will end in your utter defeat! Professor Samuel Oak, prepare for the end!" He pointed dramatically at his friend before shuffling the cards together and tossing them onto an empty chair.
Before he could get the chessboard off the shelf, he heard someone knock.
"Ah, that must be him. Come on in, the door's open!"
Silence.
"I said, come in." After several moments of no response, he walked to the door and opened it himself, muttering something about prank callers. The door swung open to reveal a somewhat impatient-looking teen with a cyndaquil on his shoulder. The kid looked slightly startled for a second at Mr. Pokémon's sudden appearance, but quickly straightened himself out and typed something on his Pokégear. He held it up.
Are you Mr. Pokémon?
"Yes, that I am!" he replied, silently puzzling over the boy's silence. Laryngitis, maybe? Social awkwardness taken to the extreme? "And you must be Gold." Nod. "Well, come right in, no need to be shy." He smiled in a friendly way, hoping to set the kid's nerves at rest. And maybe make him stop staring at him like he was trying to x-ray his head.
He went over to a glass case where he had put the egg, and carefully picked it up and walked back to where Gold was standing. Sam was now introducing himself, while Gold was giving him a stare similar to the one he had bestowed on Mr. Pokémon just a minute ago.
"Oh! What's this? A rare pokémon!" Sam was saying. "I heard Professor let you borrow it to help you get here." He scrutinized the cyndaquil for a moment. "Well, I must say, it seems to be quite attached to you already. You don't often see that these days, unfortunately. You know, you ought to consider taking the gym challenge. It might be just up your alley."
Gold had been listening quietly to Oak's remarks, and actually grinning for the first time. The cyndaquil didn't seem to be paying any attention to either human, and was rubbing its head on Gold's temple.
"Well, Gold m'boy, here it is," Mr. Pokémon announced. "A friend of mine from Ecruteak gave it to me. I bet you can't this kind of egg in Johto. I thought Professor Elm might be able to tell what this is. 'He's the best when it comes to the research of pokémon evolution.' That's a quote from my friend here," he said, gesturing to Professor Oak. "You are returning to Professor Elm right away, I presume?"
Gold nodded, then turned to leave. Professor Oak suddenly thought of something.
"Oh, Gold, wait there just a second," said Oak, reaching in his pocket and pulling out an orange-red device. "I want you to take this with you."
When he looked up, he saw that Gold had completely ignored him and was still heading outside. Hmm. Either he had spoken far more quietly than he'd thought, or the boy was just terribly hard of hearing.
. . . Oh.
Oak quickly strode over to Gold before he could leave and tapped him on the shoulder. Gold turned around and looked at him questionably. This was awkward.
"Um, I hope you don't mind me asking, Gold, but are you, ah, deaf?" He wondered if that sounded rude.
Gold apparently didn't think so, and simply nodded.
Well, that certainly explained the whole not responding to Mr. Pokémon's invitation to come in, the muteness, and the staring. "Ah, well, that explains things." Odd, that sounded much better in his head. "Anyway, I wanted you to have this." He handed him the device.
Gold took the item with the hand that was not cradling the egg, and his eyes widened when he realized what it was. Oak waited until the boy looked up again before continuing.
"From the look on your face, I'm guessing you already know that this is the latest version of the Pokédex. I often give these to trainers I see potential in. Use it well."
Gold looked at the Professor in awe and mouthed a 'thank you'. The cyndaquil perched on his shoulder, on the other hand, just stared at him in boredom.
"You're most welcome. Now off you trot! You don't want to keep Professor Elm waiting."
After Gold had bounded out of the house, Mr. Pokémon released a sigh.
"I feel as though I ought to be more observant. This reminds of the time when I was showing a new colleague some photos I had taken, and only realized she was blind five minutes later. . . ."
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That was so funny! Did you see the looks on their faces? Does that happen to you all the time? They had just left the house, and Cyndaquil was in stitches, but Gold was too busy admiring his new Pokédex to really care.
Well, it hasn't happened in a while, seeing as I almost never leave town. But I don't see what's so funny about it. It's just really awkward. A lot of times, people get all uncomfortable and then make up an excuse to leave. But anyway, just look what I got! Professor Oak doesn't give these things to just anyone, you know. I can't wait to show Mom and Lyra!
Yeah, yeah, whatever. You can put me down now. You never know when a challenger will appear, and it is my sworn duty to defend our precious cargo.
Gold laughed and placed her back on the ground. Wait, ourcargo? I'm the one carrying it.
Well, I'm the one protecting it. Be happy!
It wasn't long before they were in Cherrygrove again. The city, if one could really call it that, was small, so it didn't take long to pass through. The two were just heading back through Route 29 when Gold felt his Pokégear vibrate.
Hang on a second. I got a text. It was from Professor Elm, which was a little strange. Elm almost never texted him, except when he asked him to work overtime because an aid was out sick, or something similar to that. Gold wondered why the Professor couldn't just wait til he got back to the lab. Then he read the message, and he felt his fingers tense and his pulse quicken just a little.
What is it? asked Cyndaquil. Gold was staring at the thing on his wrist as though it could attack him at any second.
I'm . . . not sure. It's from the Professor. He says there's an emergency and wants us to get back as fast as we can. It looks really urgent.
Cyndaquil didn't hesitate for a moment. Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!
Right! And they were off and running back to New Bark.
It was barely a minute later when he suddenly found himself slamming hard into something very solid and human-like. Gold fell flat on his back, completely winded, bu hurriedly lurched to his feet and checked the egg for signs of damage. He didn't find any. Gold looked up at what he had run into, and his eyes widened in recognition.
It was the red-haired boy from earlier. And from the look in his eyes, he was ready for a fight.
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A/N And that's it for Chapter Two! I hope you liked reading it. I certainly had a lot of fun writing it. :) If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, feel free to review or send me a PM, even if it's just something like 'kewl chapter,' or 'I'd like to see this happen . . .' or 'this story sucks so bad plz nver write again.' Oh, and by the way, Reader, you look really great today. Yeah, I'm talking to YOU. :D Have a great day!