Sorry that it has been a while since I've uploaded guys. Things have been crazy lately! But I'm back and we're going to get this story rolling so let me know what you think about chapter 3!
CHAPTER 3
Green fields passed in blurs as the bus rolled along the cracked road. Kirt watched the evidence of the wind, as long grass blades bent at its will. They had left Acreage Town far behind them and now they were surrounded by countryside as they approached their next stop. The sun was now a good ways into the sky, signaling that it was morning still, but soon to be noon in the next couple of hours. The trip had so far not felt long at all to Kirt, but Lewis was impatient, and eventually had dozed off, his faced smearing against the glass windows of the bus. Vaporeon slept in a tight circle on Kirt's lap and snored loudly, interrupting any thoughts sifting through Kirt's brain. Asia listened to music on tiny ear buds and Professor Stump spent his time sitting in front of Kirt, writing in a small journal. Kirt had been dying to ask what Stump was writing, because he looked so intrigued, however Kirt assumed that it must be personal, so decided against it. Soon, the bus came to a stop, its wheels screeching in protest. Lewis woke up rather abruptly and almost fell out of his chair, frightening Jolteon, who had also been asleep.
The bus driver turned around in his large chair and said "We're here Professor," Kirt, Lewis, Asia, and Stump made an exodus towards the bus door, their pokémon following at their heels.
"Thanks Marty," Stump said laying some cash on the dashboard as he headed out onto the ground.
"Anytime Professor," Marty said smiling a somewhat toothless grin. The group stood in the dirt and watched as the bus made a u-turn and peeled up the road. Kirt grabbed his navy book bag and slung it over his shoulders before surveying the area.
"That's where we're headed," Stump said pointing at a narrow dirt trail leading past the tree line of a forest in front of them. "This trail will lead us Brookdale, which is the next town on the map."
"Is there a gym leader there?" Lewis asked excitedly.
"As a matter of a fact there is," Asia said. "But we probably won't make it there before tomorrow, so we'll have to camp out."
"Oh," Lewis said, instantly becoming disappointed.
"Cheer up boy!" Stump shouted, grabbing the straps to his backpack. "There's plenty of fun to be had today!" With that encouragement (which Lewis found completely lacking) Stump lead the way around the fields close to them and they began their trek into the forest. Kirt and Lewis quickly became exhausted with the loads they carried on their back, and they longed to take a rest, but Stump would only make short stops to distribute trail mix, which he said should only make them walk faster. After a while, Lewis fell to the rear of the line, and began walking next to Kirt.
"It's weird. I haven't seen any pokémon yet," Lewis said.
"We're probably just making too much noise, it probably scares them off." Kirt suggested.
"Maybe if I go stand in that tall grass over there, then they'll all flock to me," Lewis said.
"Why would that make pokémon come to you?" Kirt asked giving a quizzical look.
"You never know dude," Lewis said vaguely. They walked in silence for a little while more before Stump and Asia stopped ahead and told the boys that they could rest because they had to discuss something up there.
"Finally!" Lewis exclaimed, dropping like a rock onto the dirt path. Kirt slowly made his way onto the ground next to Lewis and lay on his back like a turtle, trying to see the sky through the canopy of foliage.
"Check this out," Lewis said averting Kirt's attention. "My parents got it for me before I left." Lewis explained. In his hand he held a shiny, sleek, blue pokéball, with red accents.
"What he heck is that?" Kirt asked.
"You've never seen a great ball before?" Lewis asked, shocked.
"What makes it so great?" Kirt asked
"See, it's much harder for a pokémon to break out of a great ball when you're trying to catch it. It's tougher to catch a pokémon with just a regular pokéball," Lewis explained.
"Dude, you only have one, what if it doesn't work?" Kirt pointed out. At first Lewis looked confused, as if he hadn't thought about that, but then he clutched the great ball tightly and beamed.
"I'm gonna make it count. I just know that whatever pokémon I catch, it's gonna be awesome, and we're gonna be bros." Lewis said proudly, and Jolteon mewed in agreement from his side. As they were talking, Stump and Asia came up to them carrying a lot of supplies they had pulled from their bag.
"Alrighty boys, it's close to evening, and there's a campsite close up ahead, so let's get all this tent junk and figure out how to set it up because I threw away the instructions," Stump said looking down at the two. There was a rustle in the leaves and a small pokémon scurried out onto a path that forked from the main one that the group was on.
"Professor, you have to let me catch that pokémon!" Lewis shouted jumping up off the ground with a burst of new found energy.
"Alrighty boy!" Stump shouted, sounding just as excited as Lewis. "Set up the camp, would you?" Stump shouted as he tore down the path with Lewis smiling like a child.
"Got it, sir..." Kirt said sighing and laying his head onto the dirt.
A few minutes later, Kirt and Asia had found their way into a clearing that Kirt guessed was the campsite that Stump had referred to. There was a large round area of dirt with trees overshadowing it and a narrow stream that lay to the left side of the clearing. Kirt stepped forward into the clearing carrying all of the materials for their tent, but quickly dropped them when he heard commotion in the forest behind him. He and Asia spun around searching for the noise, when suddenly it revealed itself. Mike came from the dense woods slapping the air around him that was filled with mosquitoes. He was dressed like an overzealous camper, with a giant rucksack on his back. Dangling from it were various camping and hiking objects. Before Kirt could ask Mike what he was doing, Mike interjected.
"This campsite's mine!"
"I was here first." Kirt said, instantly becoming defensive.
"Guys, there's room for all of us," Asia said trying to prevent a confrontation.
"Hey buddy, I saw it first, the stupid trees were just stopping me from getting here," Mike said
"Isn't there any other campsites?" Kirt asked with a tired sigh. He really didn't feel like putting up with Mike's shenanigans at the moment.
"Of course there are, but this is the nicest." Mike said.
"Really Mike?" Kirt said angrily.
"Hey the best trainer coming out of Acreage Town needs the best stuff, that's just logic." Mike smirked.
"Why is this guy such a jerk?" Asia whispered to Kirt.
"Believe me, I wish I knew," Kirt said through gritted teeth.
"So I guess you need to go now," Mike said nodding in the direction of the dirt path.
"We were here first Mike; can't you just go to another campsite?" Kirt asked. "It's only fair."
"Well I guess if you're not going to leave, then I'll just have to kick you out myself." Mike said still smiling, pulling out a pokéball from somewhere inside the giant rucksack on his back.
"This is just stupid Mike," Kirt said, but he was secretly itching for a battle on the inside.
"Well, we'll see," Mike said, and with that he swept his curly hair out of his eyes and launched his pokéball into the air. Kirt stepped back, as did Asia, and Vaporeon walked into the center of the dirt circle, a determined look on his face. There was a flash of light, and Mike's starter pokémon was now out and facing Vaporeon.
"Bulbasaur was the obvious choice," Mike said. "He's going to crush your little water pokémon."
"Alright, come on, quit the talk," Kirt said, taking a ready stance, as Mike just grinned and leaned back against a tree.
"Bulbasaur, use tackle!" Mike shouted. Bulbasaur used his sturdy back legs and launched himself like a rocket. He collided hard with Vaporeon and next thing Kirt knew, Vaporeon was out of breath and laying at his feet.
"Is this really going to be that easy?" Mike laughed.
"Come on Vaporeon, knocked down, but not knocked out, right?" Kirt looked at it with concern. Vaporeon nodded and got to his feet. Kirt smiled. "Vaporeon use water gun!" A blast of cold water came barreling straight towards Bulbasaur and with deadly accuracy, hit him right in the face. Bulbasaur fell back, looking angrier after Vaporeon's attack.
"Kirt! You can't use water! Vaporeon will have to get close to Bulbasaur if you want to win!" Asia said from the sidelines.
"Hey no helping him!" Mike yelled in protest.
"You're right, you're right," Kirt said, ignoring Mike's protest. He grimaced at his lack of pokémon knowledge. Gotta be smarter than that Kirt.
"Bulbasaur use vine whip!" Mike said. Two green vines came from Bulbasaur's seed pod that was planted on his back. The vines snaked around in the air and then came down fast at Vaporeon. Vaporeon jumped around the first one, but the second came from the other side and slammed into Vaporeon's side, knocking him across the clearing.
Lewis had found his new pokémon, and he wasn't going to let him escape. He was sneaking through patches of tough grass with Jolteon at his side, and Stump trailing behind.
"Alrighty boy, we've tracked it, now here's your chance," Stump said to Lewis, urging him towards the giant tree that loomed above their prey. The little brown pidgey was pecking at the ground, unsuspecting of anything as Lewis and Jolteon crept along the ground.
"Ok Jolteon, here we go," Lewis said after taking a deep breath. "Use tackle Jolteon!" Jolteon began gaining speed and leapt into the air to take down the pidgey, but the pidgey took off upwards and Jolteon barely missed her attack. They watched as the pidgey flew skywards.
"Aw man," Lewis said, but just at that moment, the pidgey came back downwards and dive bombed Jolteon. Jolteon ducked just in time and dodged the pidgey's sharp talons.
"He's coming back again!" Stump said pointing in the sky. Lewis squinted and searched for the little bird pokémon.
"Jolteon get ready to dodge him again!" Lewis yelled. The pidgey came out of nowhere and then swooped down upon Jolteon. Jolteon ducked once again and hissed as pidgey's talons came close to her face.
"Jolteon, when he comes back, use your electric!" Lewis said. Jolteon focused her eyes upon the incoming pidgey and prepared for the next attack. As the pidgey began closing in, Jolteon sent bolts of lightning out, ripping through the wind like arrows. The pidgey dodged the first two with ease, but the last one struck his right wing. The pidgey, dazed but still determined, charged Jolteon. Jolteon reacted quickly as the pidgey dive-bombed. She lifted up into a show of acrobatics, performing tight rolls and flips in midair, avoiding the pidgey's attack. As Jolteon came down, she saw that she now had the perfect chance: She was in midair above the distracted pidgey who had just missed his attack. Jolteon landed her claws in the pidgey and drug him to the ground before letting go.
"Nice work Jolteon!" Lewis said, ecstatic.
"Now boy, use your pokéball!" Stump said, getting Lewis's attention back.
"Right, please work," Lewis said softly as he released the blue sphere from his hand. The pidgey had gotten up onto its feet, but was still struggling to figure out what had happened. Lewis's throw was a baseball pitch. The great ball soared, and it eventually landed right in front of the pidgey. The ball open and there was the sound of wind rushing. The ball with the pidgey in it lay on the fallen leaves of the forest. The three ran up to it and watched nervously. The ball twitched once, then twice, and then paused. Lewis held his breath and knelt down right in front of it, shaking from excitement and anxiety. The ball twitched one last time and then made the indicating sound that a pokémon had been caught.
"WOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO!" Lewis shouted like a madman and grabbed the ball off of the ground.
"Great job boy," Stump said smiling, "But stop jumping around like that!" he said, laughing at Lewis who was hopping like a gazelle with Jolteon running around his legs.
Kirt ran over to Vaporeon to make sure that he wasn't hurt, but by the time he made it to Vaporeon's side, Vaporeon had already risen to his feet, with a defiant look on his face.
"You ok buddy?" Kirt asked. Vaporeon gave him a look as if to say, shut up and let's do this.
"Oh how precious," Mike said, still smiling creepily. However, Kirt paid him no notice as he worked out a strategy in his head.
"Alright Vaporeon, you'll have to dodge his grass attacks, and maybe water doesn't work well against him, but we sure can distract him." Kirt looked and his eye became wide as he saw the stream right behind Mike and Bulbasaur. "You see what I see?" Kirt said cracking a slight grin. Vaporeon gave a small nod and then began circling around the dirt clearing.
"Alright Bulbasaur, finish him off!" Mike pointed overdramatically at Vaporeon. Bulbasaur once again pulled out his vines and approached the middle of the arena. He gave a left whip, then a right, then another left. He was keeping it up, but Vaporeon was patiently waiting for each opportunity, and he would avoid each vine with little effort. Mike began to look surprised as Vaporeon made his way closer and closer to Bulbasaur. Eventually there was a ceasefire and both pokémon stood within a few feet of each other.
"You know what to do Vaporeon!" Kirt said. Vaporeon performed a quick, simple series of movements and it was as if part of the river came to life. A wave of gushing stream water swept in between the pokémon like a wall and Vaporeon sent it straight to Bulbasaur. The wall exploded and water came collapsing all over Bulbasaur drenching him, and even getting on Mike too. The water didn't really hurt Bulbasaur, but it had its desired effect. Bulbasaur was extremely disoriented and laid in the puddle of water, not hearing Mike's orders.
"You got this Vaporeon," Kirt said. Vaporeon preformed a take down in one swift motion. He hit Bulbasaur like a raging bull and within those seconds, they had won. Mike didn't have anything to say as he looked over his fainted Bulbasaur, in fact he looked as though he might faint too. Mike picked up Bulbasaur gently and rushed out of the clearing without a word.
"Yes!" Kirt said catching Vaporeon as he jumped into his arms. Kirt held Vaporeon and looked down at him. "You did awesome man."
"That was amazing Kirt," Asia said. "And you had a type disadvantage and everything, and the whole thing with the stream—that was amazing!"
"Well it was Vaporeon, not me," Kirt said. "Anyways, we should probably get this tent up."
Soon, the others came into the clearing, and the group collectively got everything set up for camp. They sat around the campfire and talked about the events of the day. Stump spoke proudly about Lewis' capture and Asia relayed the story of Kirt's battle. Lewis sneered at the part about Mike, but the group sat and laughed together as night grew darker. Their pokémon became exhausted from playing around the camp, and eventually, they all knew it was time to turn in for the night. The group climbed into their tents, Stump, Lewis, and Kirt all crammed into one and Asia with her own. They didn't have trouble falling asleep, even with Stump's monstrous snores, but as Kirt fell into a deep slumber, he also fell deep into the recesses of his mind.
Kirt was treading water. It was dark everywhere and he felt exposed and in the open. He called out for someone's name, but he couldn't hear his own voice. In an instant a ship's deck began rising from the water, and Kirt was standing on the main deck of an enormous vessel. People emerged from thin air around him, and were hastily scurrying to and fro. He had no idea what was happening, but there was an aura of panic. He noticed a dot coming closer from the vast ocean. Another ship revealed itself, shrouded in black mist. He turned back around to see his own ship, and saw that it was covered in flames. Men in suits were coming aboard from everywhere, and screams along with the hiss of flames were all that could be heard. Kirt looked frantically around for something to make sense, but his attention was drawn immediately to the flames. There were two figures in the flames, more like silhouettes, but they were standing side by side and looking directly at Kirt. These figures retreated into the raging inferno, and another figure took their place. This next figure was tall and it also stared at Kirt. It was a man, who raised a hand, and then laughed evilly. The man disappeared into the fire, like the last two figures, and one last figure came out afterward. This figure was not a human being, but looked strange, and alien. It stood taller than the rest, almost as tall as the flickering embers themselves. This figure was still and its eyes began to glow a faint purple.
"Kirt..." the figure said eerily. As soon as the figure uttered Kirt's name, the entire ship collapsed underneath the ocean, and Kirt became trapped under the inky black waves.
Kirt next found himself in a garden. It was beautiful and it was night. The stars lit up the sky and grass tickled around Kirt's ankles. Kirt noticed that there was someone on there knees in the center of the garden. The person was crying, and then in front of them Kirt noticed two weathered headstones jutting from the earth. The person turned around quickly and Kirt's heart jumped. It was Mike.
"Kirt..." the creepy voice called out this time.
Kirt woke up abruptly in a cold sweat. It's just a dream. Kirt thought to himself. He looked around. It was early, but he was alone in the tent. He heard the others talking outside the tent. Kirt quickly got up and got dressed, knowing that they were leaving early to make it to Brookdale within a reasonable amount of time. Kirt pulled on a white tee shirt and unzipped the tent, walking outside. He ignored the others as he made his way directly to the stream to wash his face. He stopped and stared at the rippling surface as he bent down at the edge of the river. His grey eyes looked back at him from the surface of the water.
It's just a dream.
So things are starting to pick up eh? First battle? First wild pokemon caught? Even though Lewis used a great ball...who uses a great ball on a pidgey? Oh well...they have a lot to learn. Until next time!