Sorry for being lazy and not updating at all for more than two months (I never said I'd write in the vacation and get more chapters out. NEVER.). I may have gotten a little bored, and having the entire file for the next chapter randomly deleted didn't really help. I'll try to be a bit more... consistent from now on, but don't expect too much. Also, after re-reading the story to get back into writing, I realised I kinda fucked up in terms of time. Multiple days passed for Juli, while only one did for Jack. This chapter starts in the morning for Juli, so let's just assume it's the same day from both of their perspectives and go on with our lives.
''hello'' = Spoken text
''hello'' = Thought text (always by the current perspective)
(Name) = Change of perspective
''hello'' = First fighter battle commands (Jack/Juli, depends on the current perspective)
''Hello'' = Second fighter battle commands (Whoever Jack/Juli is fighting, depends on the current perspective)
(Juli)
It was early in the morning when I woke up. Well, I honestly didn't really know what time it was, but it felt early so I just went with that. After waking up, I just stayed in bed for what felt like forever. I decided it was time to get up though, after seeing it was already 6 am. Not exactly late, but not early enough for me to avoid any and all encounters with other people. After what had happened the last few days, I didn't really feel like interacting with, well, anyone. I entered the restroom to freshen up a little. I really didn't want to leave this room, but I can't just stay here forever. Plus, Geo - I had decided to call Geodude ''Geo'' because it's more convenient - had waited paitently by the door for such a long time that he fell asleep. It took me half an hour to get ready to go, so it was already half past six.
''Geo, wake up!'' I called out.
Geodude seemed startled, but shrugged it off and pretended nothing happened.
''Shall we get going?''
''Geo!'' He agreed.
I opened the door, and we left quickly yet silently. I gave the key to Nurse Joy without saying anything and left the center without attracting any kind of attention, with Geo still by my side. We made our way out of Mauville and rushed through the route, while avoiding the trainers. At this point, I just wanted to get this whole adventure thing over with. I got into a fight with a few trainers here and there, but we got to Verdanturf within an hour. Geo managed to take them down without too much effort thanks to a few lucky, strong magnitudes, which really helped us get here faster. I entered the Rusturf Tunnel, where a bit of a problem arose. You see, the path was blocked by rocks. REAL rocks, not geodudes. They weren't really that big, but big enough to prevent me from climbing over them.
''So, Geo, you got an idea?''
He shook his head. He walked up to the rock and tried to push it, but to no avail. Hold on a second.
''Geo. You know rock throw, right?''
''Geo!'' He confirmed. Let's hope this works.
''Alright then, use rock throw!''
Geo got his hands under the rock to get a good grip on it and threw it backwards. I saw my life flash by me for a moment as the rock flew past me.
''AAHHH!'' I heard someone scream out in pain behind me.
''Are you alright!?'' I heard someone else say. I held my finger in front of my lips to stop Geo from saying anything.
''OF COURSE I'M NOT! SO STOP STANDING THERE AND GET ME TO THE POKEMON CENTER!''
''Let's go, Geo.'' I whispered to him.
Geo looked a bit confused. I could hear him thinking: ''What about the person that got hit?''
''He'll be fine. Not like we can really help him. So let's get moving.''
Geo followed me, but I could notice how reluctant he was to do so. Although I do feel sorry for the guy we hit, I've used most of my money on food already and I don't have much time to spare. Plus, I just don't feel like doing anything that has to do with other people right now. I encountered no one in the cave. I could tell most people aren't a fan of this cave. Wether it's because of the spooky atmosphere or the constant screaming of whismur in the back, it's not a very pleasant place to be. I was happy to finally be able to get out of here, even though it's not really that long of a cave. I basked in the sunlight for a few moments, then continued walking. I was getting a bit tired already, but not to a point where I had to sit down and rest. I sneaked through the trees and wasn't spotted by any trainers as a result. It was getting late, but I didn't feel like camping out here. I was sure I'd reach Rustboro before nightfall, so I just sped up my pace. I had returned Geo to his ball a while ago. As I entered Rustboro, it felt like something would be happening soon. But I was completely unsure what it was. I hurried over to the center. Let's just hope it doesn't have anything to do with me.
(Jack)
''Nincada, you can stop now!'' I yelled out. I saw Nincada lie down with a relieved look on his face. The others had stopped training a while ago. Gaudeo was just sitting around, while Zigzagoon had been scavenging the forest for items. Nincada, however, had wanted to keep going. He was really working hard to get stronger and I was already seeing the results. His attacks are now able to deal clearly visible damage to other pokemon and he was now able to take down weaker pokemon with ease. Zigzagoon and Gaudeo had also improved, of course, but not to such an extent. They were both still stronger than Nincada, but he was a lot closer than before in terms of strength.
''So, want to get going?''
Nincada, Zigzagoon and Gaudeo nodded, so I returned them to their balls as we left the forest. It was getting late, so most trainers had already left. We were able to quickly make our way into Rustboro thanks to that. My pokemon weren't as healthy as they could be, so I started jogging towards the pokemon center. I slowed down when I saw the door, but just before I was able to enter it, I bumped into someone headfirst. I fell to the ground and so did the other person. I rubbed my head to decrease the pain, which wasn't really that bad. I realised I still had to worry about the other person, who had fallen to the ground with an ''Ow!''. It was a girl, around my age. I got up quickly.
''Are you alright?'' I asked, extending my hand. She grabbed it and I pulled her up. She took a deep breath, then said:
''I'm fine... I think.'' Doesn't help me too much now, does it?
I looked at her a bit more attentively, noticing a bit of a red spot on her neck. It was pretty big, reaching all the way across her neck. If I looked really well, I could even see fingermarks. They seemed to be marks made by choking. They were fading a little, but still visible. It must've happened one, maybe two days ago. She didn't look very happy about it, so I decided to 'help' her out.
''You don't look too good though. I'm going into the center to get myself a place to stay for the night, how about you stay with me? It's the only compensation I can think of right now.'' I said to her.
She thought about it for a second, then said:
''Well, I do need a place to stay. But I'll be leaving first thing in the morning.''
''That's fine. I just wanted to apologise by doing this.'' I answered.
''Well, alrighty then. Let's get along!'' She put out her hand, which I shook. I opened the door and motioned for her to go first, which she did. I entered the center after her, then took the lead again. I walked over to Nurse Joy and the girl followed me. While walking there, I said:
''I'm Jack, by the way. Pleasure to meet you.''
She didn't answer immediatly. She was spacing out a little, but snapped out of it after a bit.
''Ah, I'm Juli.'' She blurted out, then started spacing out again. Meanwhile, we had reached the counter where Nurse Joy was sitting.
''Can we have a room for two with separate beds, please?'' I asked her.
''Sure, room 20. Here's the key!'' She said, in the usual perky demeanor you'd expect from her.
''Thank you.'' I said, as I grabbed the key.
''Let's go,'' I said to Juli, motioning her to come with me.''I want to get to the room quickly.''
I started walking upstairs and she followed me without saying anything. Once inside the room, I practically jumped onto my bed. I was pretty tired, having been awake for such a long time. She seemed sleepy as well, but kept standing. I don't think much of what happened to her today has even come through to her. I spoke up:
''So, are you a trainer as well?'' No reaction. ''Hellooooo?'' I said, as I waved my hand in front of her face.
''Huh? Oh, I'm sorry. Did you say something?''
''Are you a trainer too?'' She thought about this for a bit.
''Yeah... I guess I am.'' You guess you are?
''When did you leave your home?'' I asked.
''A few days ago. Three, to be more exact.'' She sat down on her bed.
''Then we're both rookies! How many pokemon have you caught?''
''I've only caught one.'' She seemed to be cheering up a little.
''Which pokemon is it?''
''It's a geodude. Nothing special, really.''
''Geodudes aren't really that easy to catch. Especially not for newer trainers, like you and me.'' I could see a smile slowly creep up onto her face.
''Then I must've been lucky, huh.''
''I think luck doesn't have anything to do with being a trainer. It's far more skill than luck.''
''Thanks for trying to help me out, but the injury really isn't much. I'm fine, really!''
''Don't worry about it! People should support eachother during the hard times. Plus, it's nice to have company!'' She smiled after I said this.
''I'm going to sleep. Good night!'' She said, far more cheerful than at the beginning of the conversation.
''Good night, Juli.'' I said, softly yet still hearable. She fell asleep almost immediatly. I stayed awake to search for a place to sell my winnings and fell asleep shortly after I was done.
(Juli)
I woke up at 8 am. Far too late for me, but I think the sleep did wonders. I felt far, far better than I did yesterday. I felt as if I could actually face the next day. I looked to my right and saw an empty bed standing there. The blanket was lying down on a big pile at the end of the bed, as if someone had gotten up hastily. I tried to remember what happened yesterday and recalled meeting this person named Jack. Wait... Jack? As in, Norman's son?
''Jack! You there?'' I said, quite loudly.
''Yeah, what's up?'' I heard his voice from the kitchen. (Yes, the room has a kitchen. Deal with it.) I tried to come up with a way to ask him about being Norman's son without needing to explain further, but couldn't come up with anything on the fly.
''I was just wondering if you were still there.''
''Yep, still here.'' He said. I could hear a slight sense of snarkiness in his voice, but ignored it.
''What are you doing in the kitchen anyway?''
''I'm making breakfast. Do you like porridge?''
''Not really.''
''That's too bad then, 'cause I've only got porridge.''
He returned to the room I was in with two bowls filled with porridge in his hands.
''Here you go,'' He said as he put it down on the bedside table. ''Enjoy!''
''Thanks, I guess.''
''Want anything to drink?''
''Water, please.''
''Modest, are we?''
''Well, you can't drink much of anything after eating porridge. I mean, it's porridge.''
''True.'' He said, agreeing with me. He went into the kitchen and came back with two glasses of water shortly after. ''So, what are you planning to do today?''
''I don't feel like exploring any further, so I think I'll just stay in Rustboro.'' I answered as I sat up.
''Good thing I reserved this room for two nights then!''
''You did?'' He nodded. ''Why?''
''Well, I've got some more business in Rustboro, so I was planning to stay here for another day.''
''What business?''
''You'd like to know, wouldn't you? But I'm not telling~.'' He said, playfully.
''Come on, Jack. Don't keep me hanging like that!''
''I've just got some stuff to sell.'' Come on, Jack. Come on.
''Stuff?''
''Pearls. I went diving recently and found 'em. Got really lucky as well, since they're quite rare.'' He looked proud while saying this.
''What are the net proceeds?'' I asked, getting a bit more serious after hearing about the pearls.
''I think we're looking at, say, 200.000.'' He whispered
''Are you serious!?'' I basically yelled this out loud. Two-hundred-fucking-thousand!
''Shhhh. They might get stolen.''
''That's a lot of money... Like, a ton!'' Like, you can't even imagine!
''I know! It's why I kept this room for an extra day. I'll look everywhere in town to make the most out of them.'' Only a day for that? That's not much.
''Want me to help out? I think we can only sell 'em all in a day if we split up and search apart from eachother.''
''Do you really expect me to give these pearls, that have such high value, to someone I just met yesterday? I trust you, sure. But not enough to entrust you with this.'' Fuck.
''Don't worry, I understand. And honestly, I was just planning to sell them, get more for them than you and keep the extra.'' I said, trying to calm him down a little.
''We think alike, it seems. Though there's no way you'd sell them for more than me.'' He said, competitively.
''You think so?''
''Anything you can do, I can do better.''
''There's no way in hell you'd beat me.'' I said, trying to assert dominance. I've always been good at selling things for more than they're worth.
''I'd love to duke it out, but I still don't trust you enough to give any pearls to you. I also don't have the time. As they say, time is money!''
''Well, alright. I'm just going to stay in bed.'' For as long as possible too.
''I'll see you tonight, then. I'll bring home something to eat.''
''So it's already set in stone that I'm staying here for the night?''
''Free lodging, free food. Why would you NOT want to stay here?''
''You've got a point. A good one at that, too.''
''Well, I'm out. See ya.'' He said as he opened the door and stepped outside the room.
''Bye!'' I answered just before he closed the door. I laid down on the bed, feeling pretty good about myself. I'd really like to keep traveling with Jack. Not because of his money, but because it'd be really nice to travel with him.
''Ah!'' It suddenly ocurred to me... I had forgotten to ask Jack about being Norman's son.
(Jack)
I left the center. Although Juli is a pretty nice girl, I can't trust her enough to give her any of the pearls to sell, nor tell her the truth about how I got the pearls. Since I díd steal them. They didn't need 'em anyway. I followed the instructions on my pokenav to the place I'd looked up yesterday. I had come up with a way to make more money off of these pearls, which weren't really worth much. I told Juli they were worth around 200.000, but they were probably worth only half. But that's not enough for me. I found a house with a sign in front of it saying:
''The jeweller's. Buy your jewelry here, for the lowest prices in all of Rustboro!''
I opened the door and walked in. The man sitting at the counter turned over to me, after hearing the bell.
''Ah!'' I saw him cheer up a little, as he excitedly walked up to me. He grabbed my hand with both of his and shook it. ''You must be the person who had those pearls! Come right on in. You can sit down over there, at the table.'' I happily complied, not really wanting to stand any longer. He sat down on the opposite side of the table
''Yep, that's me. Pleasure to meet you.'' I said.
''Likewise.''
''So, let's get down to business.''
''What have you got?'' His tone got serious in an instant. I let my bag slide off my back and opened it. I took out one of the pearls. I had polished this one extremely well. Só well, it was glowing. The man picked up the pearl and studied it attentively. He looked up to me for a moment, not bothering to move his head at all.
''Where did you get these?''
''Near Petalburg. I heard the sea there was swarming with clamperl, but I encountered something even more valuable while diving.''
''What?''
''An underground cave. I found these pearls in holes around there, belonging to an ancient, long extinct type of clamperl. I found some fossils as well, but I've already donated those to a research facility in Kanto.''
''So you're saying they're worth more than a normal pearl?''
''Far more.''
''Give me some proof.'' He said, a little agitated. He must be thinking I'm trying to scam him. I am, but I've come prepared.
''Alright.'' I showed him my pokenav, on which I had a picture of a fossil belonging to an omanyte. I had taken this a while back when I went on an excursion to Kanto. I took a gamble and hoped he didn't know about the fossils found in Kanto.
''How many of these have you got?'' He bought my story!
''Twenty.''
''I'll give you 4.000 a piece.''
''4.000? I don't think you quite realise the rarity of these pearls. These twenty may be the only pearls there are of this type. If you miss out on 'em now, you'll never get another chance to get your hands on 'em. They'll be gone forever.''
''6.000.'' He offered.
''12.000.'' I tried to get him to believe their value is higher.
''9.000.'' And it worked.
''10.000, no less.''
''Deal.'' He stuck out his hand. I shook it, putting the final nail on this poor, stupid man's coffin. I win, as always. The man handed over the money and I handed the bag with pearls over to him. I walked over to the door, but the man stopped me.
''Wait!''
''What's up?''
''There are only 19 here.''
''Really?'' He nodded. ''Alright, sorry.'' I took 10.000 out of the pile of cash I had gotten and gave it back to him. ''Have a nice day further.''
''You too.'' He answered.
How did I make a mistake like that? Surely, I didn't count 'em wrongly? Then, suddenly, it dawned on me. Juli. Juli! JULI! I was pretty mad at this point. It was currently 5 pm. I promised her I'd take care of dinner for the day, and I have to make a reasonable detour to get to the café where I ordered it to be ready by 5:30. But when I'm back at the center, I'm giving Juli HELL.
(Juli)
I was walking back to the center, with the 6.000 I made tucked deeply into my pocket. It was currently 6 o' clock. Jack should be coming home at around 7. I can't wait until Jack sees all this poké. The look on his face will be priceless, as he admits defeat. I smiled widely while trying to imagine the expression he'd make.
(Jack)
''Damn Juli,'' I muttered inwardly. ''The losses I'll make because of this... I can't even imagine it. I'm sure she'll be sitting on the bed in front of the door and will boast about how much she earned the moment I come in. How much did she get for that pearl, 5.000? Basically nothing. That's 5.000 less poké! Then again, I did earn 190.000 thousand still. And it'll prove my superiority, which I have yet to do. Guess I should stop overreacting so much.
(Juli)
I was sitting on the bed, right in front of the door. Jack should be entering the room shortly. I heard a key entering a lock and the moment Jack entered the room, I said:
''6.000.''
''10.000.'' He answered, as he nonchalantly walked over to the table and started putting dinner on the table. 10.000! HOW!? He seemed to take a lot of pleasure in the surprised look on my face.
''No way. You couldn't have possibly earned 10.000 per pearl. These things are normally worth a little less than 4.000! I pulled out every trick in the book to highten the price to 6.000, so how could you possibly have gotten 10.000 a piece!''
''Mad skills. I don't appreciate the fact that you'd taken one of the pearls though.''
''You forgot it, actually. I didn't know where you'd gone, so I just took it for myself. You know what they say: Finders keepers, losers weepers.'' I took a sip from the glass of water I'd readied.
''Well, I still made around 190.000 from 'em. I don't think I lost.'' He retorted. I almost spit out the water after hearing this.
''Damn, Jack. What kind of magic did you use?''
''A healthy mix of negotiation, storytelling and lying.''
''Well, I admit defeat. I never expected you to almost triple the normal price on the pearls.'' After I said this, he looked at me with a face saying, ''Naturally. How could I not beat you in every way?'' It kinda pissed me off, but he still did earn far more than me. I got up and sat down at the table. We ate silently for a bit. Jack suddenly spoke up:
''Hey, Juli, I've been thinking. Although it wasn't very long, I've enjoyed having a human companion around.'' Human companion? Really? ''I was wondering if you'd like to continue traveling together?'' I'd like to, but I have other things to do.
''I'd love to, but I'm sorry. I'm really only out here to, well, run an errand. I have to go to Littleroot for it.''
''Littleroot? I came from over there. And I wouldn't mind accompanying you there until you're done.'' So his name is Jack... And he's from Littleroot? He might actually be the person I'm looking for.
''Umm, Jack, I'm sorry to change the subject, but do you know someone called Norman?''
''Norman? Never heard of him.''
''Ohhh.'' I was, honestly, a bit disappointed.
''Hold on, Norman?'' I was positively surprised by this... ''You mean the normal type gym leader?'' but quickly disappointed again. ''Why do you ask?''
''I have to go to Littleroot to meet up with some guy named Jack, who's also Norman's son, and get him to go on an adventure.''
''I only just moved into Littleroot a few days ago, but I didn't meet anyone named Jack.'' He paused for a bit. ''Aside from myself, of course.''
''Damn. So I've got to make my way there anyway?''
''I don't think so. How about this: I come with you and you can just say I'm Jack. I mean, you wouldn't be lying.''
''But, what about Jack?''
''Fuck Jack, he can go die in a fire or something.'' Jack said.
''But-''
''No buts! Now let's go to sleep, since we're leaving early tomorrow morning.''
''Sir, yes sir!'' I answered, before really letting it get through to me.
''Well then, I'll be going to sleep. I'll see you in the morning.'' He said, as he put out the lights. Who goes to bed right after eating dinner? I wondered. Well, who cares. I'm going to sleep as well.
''Good night, Jack.'' I said.
''Good night.'' He answered. We laid in bed silently, until we had both fallen asleep.
It felt like there were as many perspective swaps as days it took for me to get this chapter out. The two and a half month of releasing nothing were divided like this:
-2 days for writing the chapter.
-The rest for doing absolutely nothing.
Beautifully divided, don't you think? And as always, thanks for reading!