Ah, that was a nice break. Many things happened in the past month: went to some parties, read some good stories, made a new story, got a DeviantART account. But y'all probably don't care as long as you read the story. Here you go, sorry for the wait.
Chapter 32: Money
"Alright then, there's two days left 'till the contest. In that time, we have to somehow train you to be a competitor that won't lose in the first round," Jonathan stated.
"How are we going to do that?" Ember asked.
"Let's see…. There's a section where the trainer has to dress up the pokemon. We'll leave that to Claire," Jonathan said as he looked at a list on a notepad. He scratched out Dress up with his pencil which looked oversized in his hands.
"I didn't know you could write," Ziggy pointed out.
"I can do a lot of things. Now, after dress up comes dancing."
"How'll we do that?" asked Rocky.
"We can go back to the arcade and play that game we all played together. The dance system works almost the same way, only Ziggy'll have to do it alone. You think you can do that?"
"I'm a Zigzagoon. Darting from place to place is what we do best!" she answered.
"Good. Only problem is that we're going to need credits. Lots and lots of credits." Jonathan looked back to his list. "The last thing here is making your attacks look good."
"You mean I have to battle?" Ziggy asked with a hint of fright in her voice.
"No. There's no battling in Pokemon Contests here. You just show off your moves." Ziggy gave a visible sigh. "It's probably best that you train with Claire on this."
"So we need to go to the arcade first?" Rocky asked.
"No, we'll need to get credits first," Ember said, "So how'll we do that, Jonathan?"
Jonathan thought for a while, "... We could meet up with King Krow and ask for some credits from those shiny stealing birds, but it'd feel like we'd be wasting a wish."
"How about that job we did a few days ago?" Rocky asked.
"Jenny took the day off. She's decided to help Claire with her part in the contest, so we won't be able to work for the money," I answered.
"Then what the hell are we going to do?" Ember asked.
Jonathan choked on his own saliva for a while, "Ember, don't say that word!"
"Huh? Why not? You say it all the time!"
"You're too young t-" Jonathan then recalled the fact that Ember was technically older than he was. He didn't usually think much about the fact that he was technically a small child, and thus not allowed to curse. And since he already considered Ember, Rocky, and Ziggy as friends, he didn't think much about cursing in front of them.
"Umm… alright, go ahead and say it. But don't tell anyone I taught you that word!" But then again, I doubt much pokemon would care if he said that. I hope it's just a human thing, seeing as it's their word. Did I just refer to humans as they?!
"So where do we find the credits, Jonathan?" Rocky asked.
Jonathan sat down to think about it. It had been a few weeks since the accident that turned him into a pokemon, so all the things in his apartment had most likely been cleared out. Someone else must've been living there now, so his collection of pennies was probably gone. Dammit, I should've paid a visit while I had a chance. I could've taken back some of my stuff!
Getting back on track, Jonathan continued to try and think of a way to get credits. "I can't think of anything. How about you guys?"
"I can't think of any ideas, sorry," Ember said.
"Neither can I," Rocky replied.
"Nope, me neither," said Ziggy.
"Um, Ziggy, what's that you're holding?" Jonathan asked.
"Oh this? Just something I picked up," she answered showing Jonathan the yellowish sphere she was holding.
"Well wadda ya know, it's a nugget…," it took him a while to process this, "A NUGGET?!?!"
"What, is it dangerous?"
"How the hell did you find something that rare?! One nugget is valuable enough to get us five thousand credits!"
"Um, is that a lot?" Rocky asked.
"Enough so that you can practice fifty times!" They all stared at the yellow rock with newfound interest.
"What's so special about it?" Ember, Rocky, and Ziggy asked at once.
"What?"
"Why's it so special?" Rocky asked, "It looks like any ordinary rock to me. Except shiny yellow."
"Oh. Well, it's very rare. Humans use it to make stuff that shows how much money they have. Like necklaces and jewelry," Jonathan answered.
Ember held out his necklace, "Does that mean people see me as high class because I wear this?"
"No. Your necklace has charcoal. For it to be classified as jewelry, it's gotta be gold, silver, diamond, or any other rare metal."
"Ohhh. Say, aren't we wasting time? What if the arcade closes while we talk?" Ziggy pointed out.
"Relax, we have plenty of time," said the guy who had a panic attack when he was late for his first date. "It's early and the arcade ain't even open yet. Let's go cash in this nugget."
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All four of them stared upwards at the door handle that was out of their reach. "How are we supposed to open the door?" Rocky asked.
"I hadn't thought it out that far…."
Ember was jumping up and down trying to reach the handle. He could, but once caught he would be dangling from it unable to turn. "What are the chances that this would be an old turning knob instead of those newer ones that you just need to push down."
"Indeed. What are the chances." Jonathan sat down to think of a solution, then got back up because the answer was so juvenile. "It's simple, really. We just need to stand on each other's shoulders to reach it.
"Ember, you're the tallest, so you're at the bottom. I go second, then Rocky twists the doorknob. Afterwards, Ziggy holds the door open so we can all enter."
They all nodded then got into position. Ember stood in front of the door and waited for Jonathan to get on. "Jonathan… quit moving so much! I might drop you!"
"It's not my fault, I've got nothing to hold on to! Grab my legs so I don't fall off!"
"Alright," Ember said. He then reached up and held Jonathan's legs. Jonathan's legs were pants-like, so his skin folded in Ember's grasp. Of course, when ever one is trying to hold someone's pants to hold them steady, they tend to clutch tightly so as not to let go.
"YEOUCH!!" Jonathan exclaimed as Ember's claws dug into his skin.
"Sorry, Jonathan," Ember said before lightening his grip. It still hurt Jonathan, though.
"My turn!" said Rocky. He climbed on Ember, and then onto Jonathan's head. He too was having trouble standing, but instead of asking Jonathan to hold him, he held on tightly to Jonathan's hair.
"OWOWOWOW!!" Careful!"
"Whoops, sorry. Wow, your hair is thick."
"Yes, yes, that's true. Hey, here's an idea! How about you hold my horns instead of my freaking hair?!" Jonathan said in pain.
"Good idea!" Rocky said cheerfully before doing as told. Once his balance was secured, he reached for the handle to turn the knob. After he twisted it, he signaled Ziggy to push the door open.
As she pushed the door, Rocky forgot that he was supposed to let go. He was pulled forward along with the door. Of course, he had the toes on his feet clasped to Jonathan's hair for balance, so when Rocky went forwards so did he. "Whoa!" they both exclaimed.
On reflex, Jonathan grabbed the feet that were pulling his hair. On instinct, Rocky held on tight to the doorknob for fear of falling down, despite the fact that he was a few feet of the ground The door swung fully open and Jonathan felt himself be lifted off Ember. Gravity pulled him downwards, which caused pain to Rocky's ankles. Surprised by the sudden pain, he released some thunder which shocked both himself and Jonathan. Thus, they both let go and fell to the ground.
The store keeper noticed the ruckus and went to see what was going on. "Huh? How'd these pokemon get in here?" He looked at the Zigzagoon holding the door open, then at the fallen pokemon that were most likely part or a tower. "Hmm, smart pokemon. So what are you four doing here, anyways?"
Jonathan then stood up and faced the man, "Ahem, we came here because we found a nugget. We currently need the five thousand credits for something, so we came to sell it. Of course, you don't understand a single word I'm saying, so I'll just have to show you. Ziggy?
"Yes?"
"Show this man the nugget." Ziggy pulled out the nugget that was held in place by the pink ribbon she wore and showed it to the man.
"Oh! Where did you find that?" he asked. "No matter, I'll be taking it off your hands now."
Jonathan snatched the nugget away from Ziggy before the man could take it and rapidly shook his head, "Oh no, sir. We plan on getting money out of this!"
"Aww, ain't that cute, little Ralts. Now, give me the nugget please?"
Jonathan shook his head again, then pointed at the register. "Oh I see, you want some money! Alright, let me get you some, little guy!"
"Finally," Jonathan said. The man came back and showed Jonathan the money.
"If I give you this, can I have that nugget?" He asked ever so kindly.
"I'm not giving you this nugget for a freaking penny (Worth one credit)!!" Jonathan exclaimed. The man didn't understand his words, but the tone of voice was clear.
"Fine, fine, I'll get you some more." The man then came back with ten credits. Jonathan gave a clear of the throat that signaled 'no freaking way.'
This went on for about five minutes until Jonathan managed to sell the nugget for full price. "Thank you," Jonathan said then turned to leave a man who felt defeated and was thinking, How the hell did that young pokemon know the real price of an object that rare?!
As they were leaving the store, they stopped and looked up at the door. "Are we going to have to go through all that trouble again?" Rocky asked.
"Sadly, yes."
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"Wow, how did you know how much that cost?" Rocky the curious Pichu asked curiously while full of curiosity.
"I found one when I was younger. I went to the same store to cash it in, but only got a few hundred credits out of it. I later learned that it cost thousands, but that storekeeper wouldn't give me any more money," Jonathan answered. "He's a nice man, but tends to swindle people out of as much money as he can. He's been that way for years."
"Um… years?" Ember asked.
"Uh, yeah. Jenny told me."
"Say, Jonathan, how old are you again?"
Jonathan stopped for a while, "Why do you ask that, Ember?"
"Just curious."
"Oh, well I'm… Ziggy, when was the first time we met?"
Ziggy thought about it for a while. "About six weeks."
"There ya go; it's been about six weeks since I hatched from an egg. Now let's go to the arcade!" Jonathan said. He didn't notice, but as they were walking towards the arcade, Ember was looking at him funny.
Why didn't he say 'hatched from my egg?' Ember though.
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Meanwhile, deep in the forest, a blue figure's movements had attracted the attention of an old Persian. The Persian was peaceful, so the blue figure was able to question him without a problem.
"Have thou seen a Spearow take flight through this land? It may have been three fortnights since thou'th has seen it."
"Hmmm, yes I do believe I saw a Spearow fly through here that long ago."
"Doest thou'th knows what became of it?"
"It was killed by a child with a BB gun. Poor thing died in mid-flight and flew into a fuse box."
"Was it carrying any package?"
"Well, if I remember correctly, it did drop something when it fell. I don't remember what, though."
"That is enough, thou hast said quite enough. I thank you for the information. Farewell."
"Farewell to you too, young man."