" So we have to leave?" Chris asked Kelvin, as the two sat outside the Pokemon Center with Charmeleon and Duskull.
" Yeah. I say we let this town fix itself. We'd just be in the way. We've done all we can. Now we should head out and continue our journey. We've got to stop Team Rocket!" Kelvin said. He stood up and Duskull floated beside him as they walked towards the rubble.
Chris stood up with Charmeleon and they followed the two towards the rubble. Charmeleon had been quiet lately. Chris wondered what was going on in the poor Pokemon's head. As they walked over the rubble of the Museum, Chris noticed something in the rubble. As Chris walked over to it, he noticed that it looked like an armband, but bigger.
Charmeleon walked in front of Chris and picked it up, then handing it to Chris. Chris then slid it on his arm, to see if it really was an armband, and was shocked as it tightened around his arm.
Chris struggled to pull off the band, not making any progress. He stopped, noticing a weird dent in the armband. It looked like a perfect circle, almost like something belonged there. That's weird…
" Is it stuck?"
Chris turned in shock to Charmeleon, who stood there curiously. Did he just talk?... Chris stared at Charmeleon but decided it was just his imagination and went back to messing with the armband.
" I said is it stuck?"
Chris looked again to Charmeleon who eyed him curiously. Charmeleon showed some annoyance in his face as he watched Chris. " Hello? Earth to Chris."
" You can talk?!" Chris asked as he stared in shock. How could Charmeleon talk? There was no way. That Hyper Beam must of hit him harder than he thought.
" You can understand me?!" Charmeleon asked. " Usually we talk to humans but they just don't understand. It's really annoying." Charmeleon said as he walked towards Chris.
" Yeah, I can! But how? All you used to say was your name over and over." Chris said.
" So that's what you humans hear! We can understand English just fine! But we don't know how to speak it very well I suppose." Charmeleon said.
" You talk like a pro! I thought you would talk like a three year old or something!" Chris said as he laughed.
" Very funny." Charmeleon said as he crossed his arms and turned away.
" Aww. Don't be like that, Charmeleon-"
" Nope. Not my name. I want a nickname!" Charmeleon said. " I want it to be original!"
" Alright...I guess that makes sense. I also have to give one to Machop too...how about Nensho for you, it means burning, and Chikara for Machop! It means power!" Chris said as he held up his hand. " They're perfect, right Nensho?"
" Yeah!" Nensho said. "I'm burning with excitement for our next battle! Let's go right now!" Nensho then walked over to Kelvin and Duskull.
" I still don't know why I can understand him now, and couldn't before...what was different? Evolution...Hyper Beam...The armband!" Chris said as he realized the truth. " It must allow me to speak to Pokemon! That's so cool!"
" Hey Chris! You coming?" Kelvin asked. " We're ready whenever you are."
" Yes." Duskull said. " I'd like to leave soon."
Wow...Chris thought. Duskull sure has a deep voice. " Coming!" Chris said as he ran to catch up with his friends.
Side note: Nickname for Charmeleon and Machop were requested so I hope you like them. Also the whole talking Pokemon device will be explained. Enjoy!
A few hours later…
" So you can talk to Pokemon?" Kelvin asked. He pointed to the armband with his left hand. " With that thing?"
" Yup!" Chris said proudly. " This armband let's me talk to Pokemon. I also don't know how, so don't ask."
" Cool. Now I'm jealous!" Kelvin said. " By the way, does Duskull want a nickname?"
" No. I like Duskull." Duskull said. " Tell him it's fine."
" He said it's fine." Chris replied. " Now let's hurry up! We gotta go through soon right?"
" After we travel through the route." Kelvin said. " Oh! Did I tell you why I didn't fight Brock?"
" Maybe because he almost died?!" Chris said, acting like a know-it-all.
" No, stupid. Because I may already have...well...gotten all of the Hoenn Badges…" Kelvin said.
" What?!" Chris replied shocked. " How could you keep that a secret? And why are you in Kanto if not to earn badges?"
" I want to travel and gain a new team of Pokemon! I didn't accept a starter from Professor Birch because I already have a Sceptile! Along with other Pokemon." Kelvin said. " When my cousin sent me Duskull, I believed it was a chance to start over, and with the badges I have now, I can enter any League Tournament!"
" That's amazing! Anyways, it doesn't matter. Let's just go ahead to Mt. Moon!" Chris said as he started to speed up.
Kelvin, Duskull and Nensho also picked up the pace as the team made it's way to !
Absol stood on the base of the mountain, looking at the sky. She was always chased away by humans, being called the Disaster Pokemon. Yet, she had to help them. She hoped no humans would pass, it was already nightfall. If some did happen to pass, she would warn them. They would not want to be near hear if the Disaster struck. She only hoped they would listen to her.
Chris and Kelvin walked towards . They decided to sleep in the cave, more shelter in there. Chris eyes the stars as he walked. He'd always loved to look at them. As they walked, Chris noticed that it wasn't getting darker. Out here, the stars light up the world in a beautiful way.
" Chriiiissss." Nensho complained. " Are we there yet?"
" You should stop complaining, Nensho. You are the one who doesn't like their Pokeball." Chris laughed. " Chikara is probably living it up in there."
" We are nearing the mountain." Duskull said. " But I sense a Pokemon ahead."
" I think I see it." Kelvin said. " I think it's an Absol." Kelvin said as they kept walking.
" Hear me, humans! You cannot go any further." Absol said.
" Why?" Chris asked. Chris stepped forward a bit. " We have to pass so we can get to Cerulean City."
" There is a meteor shower tonight. A lot of them hit the mountain, causing damage. If you were to pass, you would no doubt be harmed." Absol said. " I will protect you at any cost, even if I must battle you."
" A battle? Sure!" Chris said.
" Wait, Chris." Kelvin said. Kelvin grabbed his Pokeball and sent out Mudkip, who cheered in joy. " I haven't battled with Mudkip before. Let me handle this."
" Yeah!" Mudkip said in a cute voice. Mudkip walked over to Absol and prepared to battle.
" If I must…" Absol said sadly. " Double Team!" Absol separated into multiple copies and surrounded Mudkip. " Slash!" Absol said as she launched herself at Mudkip and slashed him with her claw.
Mudkip cried out in pain as he was sent flying and landed in the dirt. " Mudkip use water gun!" Kelvin shouted. Mudkip stood up and shot a stream of water at Absol, but it hit a fake. Absol then ran towards Mudkip and slashed it, ending the battle.
Mudkip walked over to Kelvin with his head down. " I'm sorry…" He said. Kelvin seemed to understand and rubbed his Pokemon's head. " It's alright." Kelvin said. " You tried your best."
" I'm sorry." Absol said. Absol walked back towards the mountain. " I think the showers are over. Luckily, they were mainly on the other side of the mountain."
" I saw." Chris said as he, Kelvin, Nensho and Duskull walked behind Absol. " I felt...something. There was something weird about one of those meteors…"
" It happens often." Absol said as they reached the entrance to the cave. Absol hopped above the entrance and prepared to leave. " I'll go now. No more disasters...so no reason to stay."
" Wait." Kelvin said as he stepped forward. " I can't understand you, but Chris said that you were trying to protect us. You don't even know us."
Kelvin grabbed a Pokeball and held it out towards Absol. " I want you to join me. A Pokemon like you deserves a trainer that will care for her." Kelvin lay the Pokeball on the ground and backed away. " It's your choice."
Absol smiled and walked over to the Pokeball. She was unbearably happy. Someone would finally care for her. Absol looked at Chris and then to Kelvin. " Tell him I said thank you." Absol then hit the button of the Pokeball and went inside in a flash of red light.
" She accepted?" Kelvin asked happily.
" Yes. And she said thank you." Chris replied.
Kelvin nudged Duskull and Mudkip and pointed to the Pokeball. " You guys see that? That's our new teammate!"
Duskull and Mudkip cheered with joy at their new friend and jumped on Kelvin's shoulders as the group walked into the mountain.
For the adventure to continue!
" I think we should have brought more light…" Kelvin said as the group walked through the mountain.
" Why need more light?" Chris laughed. " We've got Nensho!"
" Yeah!" Nensho said as he sent out an Ember. " My tail lights everything up!"
" Remember, Nensho. He can't understand you like I can." Chris reminded.
" That sucks." Nensho said as he went back to walking. Nensho thought he saw something in the corner. Nensho walked to look, but saw nothing and decided it was nothing.
" Hi!" A man said as he walked up to the group, a Monferno by his side. " My name is Howard. I'm a Treasure Hunter." The man had blonde hair and wore a brown hat.
" Hi!" Kelvin said as he walked over to the man. " I'm Kelvin and this is Duskull." Kelvin said as he pointed to Duskull.
" And I'm Chris and this is Nensho." Chris said as he walked over to the man.
" I may be mistaken…" The man said. " But isn't that a Charmeleon?"
" Yeah…" Chris said. " But I nicknamed him."
" That's nice." Howard said. " Anyway, I wanted to request help from you two. I come to this cave a lot, searching for rare gems. Though, I only have my partner, Monferno with me. It is challenging for just the two of us, so I was wondering if you could assist me?"
Kelvin looked to Chris for an answer and Chris just smiled. " Of course we can!" Chris said. " We've got time, and we'd love to help."
" Thank you so much!" Howard said. He turned and walked towards a turn in the cave. " I think we should start on a side trail. If we go deep enough, we might find something." Howard waved his hand toward the tunnel and walked in, with Monferno behind him.
" Let's go." Chris said as he and Charmeleon walked into the tunnel, Kelvin and Duskull followed. As they walked, Monferno's light led them in the dark. They walked quietly for a little while before walking into a cavern.
Howard stopped and his jaw dropped as he stared in awe. Chris and Kelvin walked into the cavern and noticed what Howard was looking at. The cavern was full of gems. They lined the walls, the floor, the ceiling, everywhere.
" I can't believe it…" Howard said. Howard smirked, the others didn't notice. " No way something like this could be found so easily. It must be our lucky day guys."
" Exactly." Kelvin said. " Absol, go!" Kelvin released his white Pokemon and faced Howard. " Tell us the truth. You didn't need us to find the cave. What do you really want?!"
Howard smirked and turned around. " So you've figured it out, huh kid? I led you two here to take care of the guardians of these jewels."
" And why would we do that?" Kelvin said. Absol growled and prepared to attack. " You lied to us!"
" Why?" Howard said as he laughed. " Because they are already here. Watching us. And they will attack you, just like me. So either fight back…" Howard put his finger across his neck to show his point. " End of your journey."
" You jerk!" Chris said. Chris clenched his fist and glared at Howard. " We trusted you!" Chris turned to Monferno. " What about you? Did you know about this?"
" Yes." Monferno said. Monferno glared at Chris. " But I do not care. Howard is my trainer. I will not disobey him."
" Fine." Chris said. Chris turned and looked into the shadows. " After we handle this, you're next. Now come out!"
Suddenly, eyes appeared in the shadows as Chris spoke. They seemed to glow like gems and slowly, they stepped out. " What are they?" Chris asked.
" Sableye. Hoenn Region Pokemon. Love gems more than anything. They must be the guardians. It all makes sense." Kelvin said. " Chris. Try talking to them. See if you can reason with them."
" Gotcha." Chris said as he put a thumbs-up. " Sableye! We don't want to fight you. I can understand you. Just talk to me."
" L-leave." Sableye said. Sableye made no movement but continued to speak. " Leave now. A-all gems belong to S-Sableye. LEAVE!" Sableye shouted as he jumped towards Chris, swiping at him.
Chris backed up, but Sableye's claw cut his shirt a bit. " Fine! If I have to! Nensho!"
" You got it!" Nensho shouted as he jumped in front of Chris. " Sorry, Sableye but you can't attack him."
Why is only one attacking… Kelvin thought as he watched the other Sableye. " Absol, keep watch alright?"
" Absol." The Pokemon said as she nodded. She eyed the Sableye but she was just as confused as Kelvin. They should have all attacked. Unless…
" Nensho, Dragon Rage!" Chris shouted.
Nensho shot the blue blast from it's mouth toward Sableye who was hit and knocked into a wall. Sableye didn't move and Nensho moved forward to investigate. A shadow moved across the floor as Sableye sprung up from the shadow and uppercut Nensho.
" That was Shadow Sneak!" Kelvin shouted. " Be careful, Chris. The darkness gives Sableye the advantage!"
" Got it!" Chris said. Chris looked for Sableye and noticed it breathing heavily. " Now Nensho! Ember!"
Nensho shot the stream of fire at Sableye who couldn't dodge in time and collapsed. The other Sableye noticed and ran off into the cave, fleeing from danger.
I knew it! Absol thought. That Sableye was the strongest one. He was defeated so the others were scared. They were lost without a leader.
" Now you're gems are mine!" Howard said as he scooped up his bag of gems. Howard walked toward the exit. " Bye now! Nice working with you!"
Sableye jumped towards Howard and aimed a claw for Howard's neck. " Absol!" Kelvin shouted. Absol jumped in front of Sableye and slashed it, causing the exhausted Pokemon to collapse.
" Why would you save me?" Howard asked, confused. Howard remembered what he had done to them. " I lied and misled you. Why did you help me?!" Howard shouted.
" Because we aren't like you." Kelvin said. Kelvin rubbed Absol's head and looked back to Howard. " We help people."
" Yeah." Chris said as he walked up to Kelvin with his arms behind his head. " That's not cool."
" Maybe...you're right. Maybe. For now, I'll leave the gems. See you again, Chris, Kelvin!" Howard said as he bended his hat and ran off into the tunnel with Monferno behind him.
" So what now?" Kelvin asked Chris as he returned Absol to her Pokeball. Duskull floated beside Kelvin as he faced Chris. " We leave?"
Chris looked back towards Sableye and shook his head. Chris reached out his hand to Kelvin. " Got an Oran Berry?"
Kelvin handed an Oran Berry to Chris, who walked over to Sableye and fed it to him. Sableye looked at Chris and then ate the berry slowly.
Suddenly, Kelvin noticed a new item in his bag with a note attached. Kelvin noticed the item was an armband like Chris'! The note read " I'm sorry for the trouble I have caused. I hope you all can forgive me, though I cannot promise to change my ways. Hopefully soon though! This is an item that I stole from another region. It is forgotten now but I thought you could make use of it!" - Howard.
Kelvin put on the armband and smiled. He decided to wait before telling Chris about it. It would be a surprise for a better time.
Sableye then stood up happily and smiled at Chris, before running off after it's friends. " Nice move." Kelvin said as he smiled. " You must really care about Pokemon."
" Sure do." Chris said. " Humans and Pokemon alike, I hate seeing people hurt."
" So now what?" Kelvin asked as they started to walk through the tunnel, towards the main cave.
Chris and Nensho followed, smiling as they walked with their hands behind their heads. Kelvin noticed. " Like trainer, like Pokemon." He said.
" Cerulean! Next is Cerulean!" Chris said as everyone smiled and kept walking towards the light ahead, the exit.
And the journey continues!