DISCLAIMER: Pokémon belongs to Nintendo, yada yada yada. You know the drill. Yes, I will keep saying this every chapter. :) I love you guys! And yes, there will be character development on Lucas throughout the story, he isn't just some filler character. Enjoy!
Chapter II
"What do you mean this gym is closed?"
"The leader's been gone for months, miss; we don't know when he'll be coming back."
"This is ridiculous. And you call yourself a trainer?" Elle asked, furious.
"I'm sorry; you'll have to come back some other time."
"Yeah, well maybe I won't come back at all!" the girl said, stomping back to where she had come from.
"Char…"
"Don't worry, we'll just find another gym…I'll need some new Pokémon though. Wanna help me catch some?" Elle said, cracking a grin.
"CHARMANDER!"
"Great! Now…let's see…" the girl mumbled, taking out a huge map from her backpack. "If this is Viridian City, there should be a large grassy meadow near the road to Pokémon League, right on our left here. There's water there also."
Viridian City wasn't exactly a big metropolis. It would have been more appropriate to call it a town due to its sleepiness. The only thing that really stood out was the Pokémon center, smack in the middle. It was big, it was red, and it was empty most of the time. Without a gym leader, what was the point? Only passing trainers ever really stopped there, or bug catchers. Either way, Elle had more important things to do than sightseeing
After jumping over a few fences and struggling with poison ivy, she finally got to the meadow she had seen on the map. A slight breeze was blowing pollen into the air, making Elle sneeze with annoyance. There was a lot of unkempt grass. It seemed to be overthrown by freeloading plants here and there.
"You'd think the Pokémon League would take better care of its roads", Elle muttered, sneezing for the third time in a row. "At least the water's clear."
"Charmander, char!"
"I know, I know, you don't like water, but the next town's gym leader is Brock.
He uses rock type Pokémon, so we could use a water type, right?"
"Char…"
"I'll give it a shot."
Pulling out an old fishing rod from her bag, Elle drew closer to the small pool of water. Putting some bait on the hook, she threw the line into the water and waited. Sitting down on a rock, she couldn't help but yawn. It was going to take some time, but she never expected it to be so long.
"Why am I still here? It's been over an hour!" she complained angrily.
Right at that moment, something tugged on her fishing line.
"A bite? FINALLY!"
She tugged ferociously on the line.
For several minutes.
The line broke.
She threw a rock at the fleeing Pokémon.
Said Pokémon came flying out of the water.
And that is how Elle ended up receiving a Magikarp's flail attack right in between the eyes.
Literally seeing stars, the young girl fell backwards, gripping her reddened face with anger. The stupid fish, unable to return to its water home, splashed helplessly on the sandy ground. As her eyesight slowly returned, Elle couldn't help but let out a cry of victory.
"Magikarp, you're mine!" she yelled, throwing a poke ball at the weakened fish.
She watched anxiously as the ball shook, trying to contain the angry Pokémon. A few moments later, it finally settled, making a soft clicking noise in the process. It was over.
"Yeah! I did it! Charmander, did you see that?"
"Char!" happily screeched the lizard, jumping up and down.
"One down, 149 to go!" Elle cheered, grabbing the Magikarp's poke ball.
Satisfied, Elle returned to Viridian. After healing her newly caught friend, she decided it was time to move north. She crossed town, talked with a bizarre old man who wanted to show her how to catch Pokémon (as if she already didn't know) and finally made it to some kind of gate. Right in front of it was parked a convertible, the same lift Gary had taken earlier in the day.
"If his car's here, he can't be far. Gary's way too snobbish to use his own two legs", Elle spoke to herself, looking about. "Ah, I knew it!"
A bit further on, an unknown trainer was battling Gary, who looked rather confident and relaxed. His adversary was a young man, around their age. He wore a pair of black sweat pants, black and white trainers, a red t-shirt and a white cap with the Pokémon League's logo on it. Gary's Squirtle was locked in a fight with what appeared to be a small Bulbasaur.
"That's the third Trainer from Pallet! Charmander, let's go see" Elle commanded, running off to the battle field.
Unfortunately, the young girl failed at going unnoticed.
"Hey, Elle, wanna join my fan club?" said Gary, grinning at her approach. "I'm just about to wipe the floor with this guy."
"Gary, Gary, he's our man, if he can't do it, no one can!" chanted his annoying cheerleaders. Elle groaned.
"No, thanks. I was just on my way to Viridian Forest. Thought I'd stop by and enjoy your massacre."
"Heh, sorry, but I'm gonna win. Watch and learn, little girl. Now, Squirtle, water gun attack!" Gary yelled.
"Bulbasaur, dodge it! Then, use leech seed!" rapidly said the other trainer.
The boy's Bulbasaur was amazingly quick. Dodging Squirtle's water gun as if it were a mere fountain, it used its vines to immobilize the little turtle. Then, it spat a barrage of seeds onto Gary's Pokémon. Elle gasped when she saw miniature plants start to grow on top of Squirtle's head.
"Squirtle, rapid spin, get out of Bulbasaur's grip!" commanded Gary.
The water creature began twirling at incredible speed, its head, arms and legs retreating into its shell. The challenger's Pokémon was forced to release Squirtle, its vines not being strong enough to stop it.
"Now, Squirtle, withdraw!"
"Bulbasaur, tackle it against the tree!"
The small dinosaur Pokémon rammed its head against Squirtle's shell, sending it flying through the air. Inevitably, the shell, along with what was inside it, hit the tree trunk with a massive impact, forcing the water Pokémon out of its hiding place. Gary had a confused look on his face.
"Bulbasaur", calmly stated the third Pallet Town trainer, "razor leaf, now!"
"Squirtle, don't let it hit you! Bubble!"
Gary stared at his Pokémon in horror: due to leech seed, it couldn't move. All its power had been absorbed during the fight. Squirtle took Bulbasaur's razor leaf head on, making it faint on the spot. Everyone stood there. Not a sound escaped anyone's lips, until the sappy cheerleaders began to cry.
"Gary, Gary, he's our man, if he can't do it, that loser can" they sobbed.
"Oh, shut up, will you?" Elle snapped.
"I'm sorry Gary, I didn't want to hurt your Pokémon" the winner said, a sad look on his face. "You'll have to take it to the Pokémon center. "
"…come back" was all Gary said, making his friend return inside its poke ball. His face was blank.
"Well, that was interesting, right Charmander?" smirked Elle.
"Charmander char!" it replied, waging its tail.
Turning to the anonymous trainer, the young girl stretched out her arm in hopes of a hand shake. The boy, surprised at first, responded and gave her a warm smile.
"You're really good", she smiled. "I don't remember seeing you in Pallet a lot, though. I'm Elle, what's your name? "
"I'm Lucas. I was born in Pallet, but I've actually been travelling with my father for the last few years. As an artist, he wanted to sketch live Pokémon. It was incredible, to tell you the truth. I only came back because I wanted to become a trainer myself!"
"I see. Well, it's a good thing you did. Gary deserved his loss."
Gary gave her a rotten look.
"Hey, which side are you on?" he spat.
"The winning side, of course" she answered contemptuously.
Returning to Lucas, she couldn't help but notice that he had the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen. A light blush appeared on her cheeks.
"So, where are you headed now?" Elle asked.
"Same place you're going: the forest. I want to challenge Brock!"
"Great! Wanna go together?"
"With a girl as sweet as you, why not?" said Lucas, kissing her hand, his eyes never straying from her gaze.
Gary, who had been watching the whole scene, started stamping his foot on the ground, frowning. His face was slowly turning red from frustration. Why wasn't he the center of attention anymore?
"Hey, Lucas, you might want to watch what you're doing, that girl's already taken."
"I am NOT" barked Elle. "Where did you get that idea from?"
"That's right, I forgot: you left Ashy-boy behind. What a shame."
"Ash is my friend, Gary. Get it through your thick skull. Why are you complaining anyways?"
"Not complaining, just thought I'd save the guy some trouble. Tomboys don't make nice girlfriends."
"Jealous?" Elle tried, grinning evilly.
"You know you love me. I'm just that great."
"As much as I adore our little conversation, Gary, I'd rather win badges than watch you kiss my ass. Lucas, let's go!"
Without further ado, Elle grabbed the blonde and merrily ran off into the forest's resting house. Gary Oak stood there, watching them leave, a pensive look on his face. Why wasn't she reacting like she always did? He didn't want to admit it, but it was seriously bothering him. Was it to impress Lucas? She didn't even know him. How…
"Garyyy, do we need to go into the forest? It's filled with bugs!" asked one of the cheerleaders.
"I'm scared."
"I don't want to mess up my makeup!" cried another one.
Gary sighed, interrupting his thinking.
"We'll go around it. Who needs them anyways?"
