Azure and Pichu have started their Pokemon Journey! With the help of a friend of his mother's, Azure flew from Cerulean City, to Pallet Town - a town famous for being the starting place for some legendary Trainers. Here, Azure plans on finally getting his starter Pokemon and starting his own Pokemon Journey! What kind of adventures await him today?
EPISODE 2
A New Goal
Azure laughed as he ran through the last of the tall grass leading into Pallet Town, the Trainer that had let them down in a field on the other side followed him silently. Azure slowed to a halt, his green eyes widening as he looked around. Pallet Town looked nothing like he thought it would. He expected it to be… bigger, grander. After all, so many great Trainers had started from here! But in reality, from where he stood, it looked smaller then Cerulean City… much smaller. Still, the place was crowded with wannabe trainers, all of them desperate to get one of the three Starter Pokemon.
"Well, that's it kid." The Trainer said, "Good luck tomorrow!"
Azure nodded, "Thanks for the ride!"
The Trainer nodded and walked off into the crowd. Azure sighed and looked back at the town, "Well Pichu… I didn't expect such a great turnout…"
"Piiiii…" Pichu sighed, her ears folding back.
"Don't worry Pichu!" Azure cheered, "We're here nice and early! We'll camp out in front of the Professor's place, and get first dibs!"
"Pi! Pichu!" She pumped her little fist in the air.
Azure smiled and shifted his backpack on his back, before walking into the town. The place was packed! It was like every kid from the Kanto Region had come down here for their chance to start their Pokemon Journey.
…Just remember, Azure, there are hundreds of other children all with the same goal, and there can only be one Pokemon Master, so don't get carried away with yourself. Being the best Pokemon Trainer you can be is also an admirable goal…
Azure could hear his mother's words ring through his mind, and he shook his head. He can't let himself thing that way! These other wannabe trainers don't stand a chance.
Pushing through the crowd, he made his way over towards the Lab. He looked at it in awe… he had never seen such a unique building before! There were several lots around it used to store Pokemon that Trainers had caught, and just seeing the Pokemon frolicking in the fields was getting his blood pumping. Azure walked over towards the old fashioned wooden fence corralling Pokemon in the field. Something immediately caught his eye, and he laughed, running the rest of the way over and leaned against it.
Azure forced himself to turn away from the Tauros. He scooped Pichu back up, and walked over towards the Lab. A large poster was taped on the glass doors leading into the lab. Azure stopped walking in front of it, it was the same poster that was in the flyer he showed his Mom…
Azure looked over the poster, at the picture of the three starter Pokemon…
Charmander…
Bulbasaur…
Squirtle…
He looked behind him at the crowd of people. There were only three starter Pokemon, and all these people wanting to get their hands on one of them…
He plopped himself beside the door and sighed.
"Pi?" Pichu asked.
"We'll wait right here!" Azure nodded, "As long as we wait in line overnight, we can be sure to get one of the first starters!"
"Pichu!" She cheered. She turned around on his shoulder and reached down for his backpack, tugging at the zipper. Azure blinked and gently pulled her off his shoulder, and pulled his backpack off,
"You want something inside?" He asked,
"Chu!" She nodded, her ears going back and her eyes widening.
Azure laughed, "I know what you want. You want your blankie, right?"
"Pichu!" She begged.
Azure nodded and quickly opened the zipper, pulling out the blanket and passing it to the baby Pokemon, "Here ya go pal!"
"Pi, Pichu!" She thanked, wrapping the soft fabric around herself.
Azure closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall of the lab with a sigh. But before he could even relax, an unfamiliar voice spoke up, startling him. He jumped up to his feet with a gasp.
Azure looked up at the woman talking. It was an older woman. Her greying hair still had traces of brown here and there, and her brown eyes were rimmed with deep wrinkles, creased by the large smile on her face.
"No! It's ok!" Azure smiled, rubbing the back of his head switching Pichu to one arm as he did, "I was dozing off! Its my fault Ms!
"So polite!" She smiled, "Oh my! Is that a Pikachu?"
"No ma'am." Azure shook his head, "This is Pichu! She's Pikachu's baby form."
"Pichu!" Pichu greeted.
"A baby Pikachu?" She gasped, placing a hand on her cheek, "Please may I hold it?"
"Uh…" Azure said, holding out Pichu towards her, "Sure!"
The woman's smile broadened, and she gently grabbed Pichu from him, and cradled it in her arms, "Its so cute!" She looked back down at Azure, "You and Pichu remind me of someone… what's your name, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Its Azure Waterflower." He replied,
"Waterflower…" She whispered, her expression falling for a second, but quickly being replaced by a large smile, "Well Azure, you can't expect to wait outside all day! Where are you staying?"
"Well…" Azure said, looking over at the Pokemon Lab, "I was planning on staying here so I get my first choice of Pokemon!"
"That is ridiculous!" She gasped, she reached down and grabbed Azure's hand, "Come with me!"
"Uh? Where?" Azure asked,
"I'll make you some nice hot tea at my house." She promised, "Oh! My name is Delia Ketchum."
"Nice too meet you Ms. Ketchum!" Azure smiled.
"Pichu pi!" Pichu agreed.
"Awe! Its just so cute!" Ms. Ketchum smiled, nuzzling Pichu's head.
The two fell silent as they walked, Ms. Ketchum seemed lost in thought, and Azure was not sure what to say. Finally, Ms. Ketchum slowed down to a stop.
"Is something wrong?" Azure asked,
"Azure…" She sighed, turning around to look at him, "You really do remind me of…someone."
"Who?" He asked without really thinking.
"My son." She replied, "He was about your age when he left Pallet Town…"
Azure grinned, "Really? That's so cool!"
She looked sadly away, "I wish so."
The way she said that, sent a shiver up Azure's spine. It was so full of grief and loneliness that it almost hurt to hear. Pichu in her arms looked up at her, her ears twitching, before leaning up and licking Ms. Ketchum's face. Ms. Ketchum forced a phony-looking smile, and patted the baby Pokemon.
"Did… something happen to your son?" Azure asked, feeling awkward.
Ms. Ketchum sighed, "Perhaps its best to talk about this inside?"
Azure nodded.
… … …
Before Azure knew it, he found himself sitting on an old-fashioned chair, in the middle of an old-fashioned dining room, in an old, traditional style house, with an old Mr. Mime handing him a steaming cup of tea.
"Thank you!" Azure said, grabbing the cup and taking a sip.
"Thank you for your help, Mimey." Ms. Ketchum smiled as she sat down across from Azure with her own cup.
'Mimey' then went and grabbed an apple from the counter, returning to hand it to Pichu, who was nestled on the couch in the living room, her attention glued to the television. She cheered and grabbed the apple, which was nearly as big as her own head, before turning back to her cartoons.
"Ms. Ketchum…" Azure asked,
"You want to know what happened to my son." She sighed, taking a sip of her tea, "He was around your age, when he left on his own Pokemon Journey. He left Pallet Town with a Pikachu."
She paused and looked away, "I was so worried when he left… I made him promise to call me every now and again… and for awhile he did so. He called to check up on me, and even came home to visit a few times… but as time went on, those calls became less and less. I told myself that he was a busy Pokemon Trainer, and did not have time to call, and as long as he kept sending Pokemon to Professor Oak, I knew he was alright." She looked down at her tea, "But then, several years after he started his Pokemon Journey… he seemed to stop catching Pokemon. I asked Professor Oak about it, and he said not to worry, that my son may just be in an area where there are no Pokemon that he did not already have… I kept a watch on the TV. I had been following the Gym Reports ever since he left, watching the news report every single badge he won… but as the months went by, there was still nothing. No Pokemon coming in, no badges being won…"
"You must have been worried." Azure whispered.
"Yes." She nodded, "I was very worried. Though, I told myself that my son was an adult now, and maybe something had come up? But as time continued to pass without any word… I couldn't help it anymore. I had Mimey take me to Viridian City, and I asked the Gym Leader, an old friend of my son's, to help me look for him. So he closed the Gym down for a bit, and took off to help find him… though, after months of searching, he came back empty handed."
"Did something happen to him?" Azure gasped. Pichu jumped up onto his shoulder from behind, apparently finding this conversation more entertaining then the TV now.
"He said he managed to track down the people who were travelling with my son the last time anyone heard from him. His friends both had to go home. One of them had an emergency at his gym, and had to return. Apparently something happened after that, which caused the other girl to give up her own Pokemon Journey, and return home. Apparently, he told me that she seemed 'hopeless and defeated' when he saw her, but both of his travelling companions refused to tell him anything."
"What could possibly happen to make someone give up on their dream?" Azure gasped.
"I don't know." She shook her head, "I do know that my son did not give up there, and if he did, he did not return home. I became desperate after that, and went to Officer Jenny and filed a 'Missing Persons Case', and she assured me that the Officers in every town would be on the lookout for him." She paused and sighed, before taking another sip of her tea, "Word started to spread, and with the help of the townsfolk, I even opened up a reward for anyone who had tips that could lead us to my son's whereabouts… tips came in daily, but none of them checked out. None of them even formed any sort of pattern… I was beginning to fear the worst, when we finally got a clue. Shortly after word started to spread about my son's disappearance, Professor Oak's lab was broken into, though the Professor later said the break-in was odd. My son's Box was completely emptied, the thieves that broke in stole every single Pokemon he had stored at the lab, disabled the box, and deleted his account, making it so that if he caught a Pokemon, they would not automatically be transferred to the Lab."
Azure raised an eyebrow, "Was his Pokemon the only ones stolen?"
She shook her head, "That is the odd thing. The thieves then searched the Lab, and stole one of every Pokemon stored there, that was not in my son's box."
"Do you think it was him?" Azure asked,
She shook her head, "My son was so sweet and innocent. He always went through so much trouble to help everyone around him… but this terrible break-in did make me think that something terrible could have happened to my son… the case went from a 'Missing Persons' to a 'Possible Kidnapping Case', but there was still no information… no ties, no proof… Officer Jenny did her best, but in the end - she had to shut down the case. There was just no evidence, and no leads… the case went cold."
"Did you ever see your son again?" Azure asked.
She bit her bottom lip, and Mimey walked over to pat her shoulder. She shook her head, "No."
"I'm so sorry." Azure whispered,
"So you see…" Ms. Ketchum ordered, "You HAVE to make sure to call your Mother, at least once a week! And never forget, even though you are on your own, and travelling the world, she is still your mother, and has a right to know where you are!"
Azure nodded, "I promise, I'll remember to call."
Ms. Ketchum's expression softened, "That's a good boy. Now how about I go make some dinner?"
"Oh!" Azure gasped, "You don't have to do that, Ms!"
"Oh shush." She wagged her finger at him, "I always try and help out new Trainers that come to town. And besides, I made you sit here and listen to my story - the least I could do is make you dinner."
"I was happy to listen." Azure replied, "I mean, I bet its really hard for you, and talking about it will get it off your chest, and make sure the legacy of your son lives on, and the lessons learned from his journey get passed to someone else."
Ms. Ketchum paused, her eyes watering as she looked at Azure. She quickly crossed the table and pulled him into a large hug, "You really do remind me of my boy."
… … …
Azure could not sleep. Ms. Ketchum set up a bed for him on the couch in the living room - and with a stomach full of her delicious cooking, he thought he would fall asleep without any problems. But as the moon hung high overhead, and the sounds of Noctowls hooting outside, Azure found himself wide awake. Pichu was snoring softly from the pillow beside him, curled up in her blanket. He wished he could fall asleep too… tomorrow was going to be a big day! But… he couldn't tell at this moment if he was excited for tomorrow, or worried what happened to Ms. Ketchum's son?
Ms. Ketchum said that the Viridian Gym Leader said that his partner gave up on her journey and went home…
Why would anyone give up like that?
Did Ms. Ketchum's son give up too?
He rolled over and sighed, his mind wandering. He started thinking about his Dad. Did he give up too? Mom never told him much about him… only that he was a Pokemon Trainer who left to continue his journey while he was still just a small child. Azure could not even remember what the guy looked like…
Sighing with defeat, he leaned up, trying not to disturb Pichu. Being a Pokemon Trainer was a common thing… it seemed everyone did it now… but then… how come there were so many adults with ordinary jobs and families? Were they all people who gave up on their journeys? Would he give up?
No!
He would make sure he would defeat that worthless excuse for a father he had, and succeed where he didn't. He would become a Pokemon Master, where his father had not been heard from since he left. Azure was certain it was because he failed, and was too embarrassed to return home because of it… well, when that bastard recognized his son standing on the Victory Platform at the Indigo Plateau… the thought of him squirming with jealousy made Azure smile.
He pushed himself off the couch, and walked over to the window, pushing the blinds aside to look out… the sun would be rising in a few hours…
With a sigh, he laid back down, and closed his eyes.
"Azure! Azure, its time to get up!"
Azure rolled over, "Five more minutes Mom…"
"Mom? Now that's precious. Come on Azure. Its already six am."
Azure's eyes shot open, and he leaned up, Pichu groaned as she was jolted awake by the movement, "S-Six o'clock already? Oh man… I slept in."
"Nonsense. Of course you didn't. The Pokemon Lab does not open until eight." Ms. Ketchum smiled. She had been leaning over him to wake him up, but thankfully leaned back in time for him to jump up, "And I refuse to let you leave without a good breakfast. No point leaving for your Pokemon Journey with an empty stomach!"
Azure smiled and nodded, "Thank you!"
He felt like he was only asleep for a moment. He felt as if he had just leaned back and closed his eyes… but here he was, feeling the warmth of the morning sun wash over his face, while Ms. Ketchum folded up the blankets, and cleaned up the 'bed'. Azure offered to help, but she just pointed him to the table, where there was a delicious spread of pancakes, strawberries, and orange juice.
"Eat up." Ms. Ketchum smiled, "And if you wanted to be first in line, you should leave shortly after."
Azure sat down at the table and started shoving food into his mouth, "Thanks so much!"
Ms. Ketchum chuckled as she put the blanket away in a closet, "The way you eat even reminds me of my son…"
Azure finished the last pancake, and wiped his face, before turning back to Ms. Ketchum, "I promise Ms! I will look for your son!"
Ms. Ketchum looked slightly taken back. She smiled and nodded, "Thank you… but its been over ten years since he disappeared… I doubt you'll find him."
Azure frowned, he stood up and clenched his fist, "I promise you! I will find your son, and become the best trainer the Indigo Plateau has ever seen!"
"Those are pretty bold goals." Ms. Ketchum smiled, "Just promise me you won't get caught up in them?"
Azure walked back to the couch and pulled his backpack onto his back, "I won't! But I'll hold true to my promise Ms! I will do whatever I can to try and track down your son!"
Ms. Ketchum smiled and wrapped her arms around herself, "Thank you, Azure. That means a lot."
Azure nodded, and held his arm out for Pichu to climb up. The little electric mouse finished her meal, and pounced onto Azure's arm, climbing up until she rested on his shoulder.
"Thanks for the meal!" Azure said,
"It was my pleasure!" She smiled, "But wait… you're not going on your Quest like that, are you?"
"Like what?" Azure asked, looking down at his outfit…
He had chosen something simple after all… plain blue jeans, black and red runners, and a signature black shirt, with a small picture of the Cascade Badge at the top left hand side of his shirt. He thought he had chosen something light and easy to travel in…
"Where is your jacket?" She pointed out.
Azure smiled, "In my bag."
"And what about a hat? No Pokemon Trainer should be without one." She said.
"I don't need one." Azure shrugged,
"Yes you do young man!" Ms. Ketchum folded her arms, "What will cover your head from the sun as you travel? What about heat stroke? What if it rains?"
"My jacket has a hood." Azure shrugged.
"Nonsense!" She sighed.
She turned around, "Wait here for a second."
"O…k…" Azure tilted his head, wondering what the heck was going on. She did not offer an explanation, and just hurried up the stairs. He had not seen the upstairs of the house, and thought it was rude to follow her up, since she asked him to wait there.
A few seconds later, she returned with something bundled up in an old blanket. She stopped in front of Azure and slowly unwrapped it. Azure watched as something revealed itself from the blanket… a very old, and very worn out hat.
It was red and white in colour, and the symbol that had once been on the front was mostly faded, and there was a small hole in the top corner where the red and white fabric met, but the way Ms. Ketchum was looking at it, showed that she cared about it an awful lot. She looked up from the hat, at Azure and smiled, before reaching over and placing it gently on his head. Azure gasped. It smelt heavily of campfire.
"Pi?" Pichu asked, tilting her head and placing her paws on the top of the hat, her little nose twitching as she sniffed it.
"That hat used to belong to my son." She smiled.
"Ma'am…" Azure gasped, "I can't take this…"
"No!" Ms. Ketchum shook her head, "You can… maybe, it will lead you back to its original owner some day, and help you on your journey?"
Azure smiled. He felt a cocktail of different feelings all at once. He felt proud that she would give him such a treasured thing, and he felt nervous, and suddenly overwhelmed, and responsible.
"I will find him." Azure nodded, "And when I do, I'll give him back his hat, and tell him to come home!"
"Pi! Pichu!" Pichu nodded.
"Yes!" Ms. Ketchum cheered, "I have faith in you! Now come on, you should get moving if you want to make it to the Lab first!"
"Oh? Right!" Azure gasped, he turned and started to run for the exit, "Thank you Ms. Ketchum!"
"Bye now!" She smiled, and waved him off.
Azure walked out the front door, and waved back at her, before taking off down the street, running towards the Pokemon Lab, beaming a large smile as he ran.
Today was finally the day he would get his Starter Pokemon, and start on his Pokemon Journey! He was so excited!
Next Time:
Next time:
Azure and Pichu have finally arrived in Pallet Town, and are only one day away, from starting their Pokemon Journey! What starter will Azure choose?
But what's this? The competition does not seem to friendly. Can Azure deal with the other wannabe-trainers in time to get his starter pokemon? Or will Azure have to sit out on the most important year of his life?
AN: Sorry this took so long, I really struggled on the formatting for this chapter... nothing seemed to want to format right, and I ended up having to write the whole thing in HTML instead of Rich Text... anyone who knows HTML knows how annoying that would be XD
