"Now, make sure you take a pokemon with you when you go out. Um... the forest near the property line should have some decent starter pokemon." Her mom tossed a coat at her. "And throw that on, too. It's too chilly not to wear one."
"Mom, I'll be fine," Vega laughed.
"And just like tradition..." her oldest brother, Brad, stepped into the kitchen. He handed Vega a single red crystal. "Your First Crystal, for your first partner." Vega nodded, throat tightening up. This was really it.
She was suddenly pulled into a lung-crushing hug. "Just, be safe," her Mom began. Vega nodded into her smothering hair. They separated, smiling at each other. "Oh, and make sure it is something not too scary or dangerous," she said, turning around to face the window. "Something with a good motherly instinct. Maybe it will rub off on you!"
Vega rolled her eyes as she gathered her things. "Yeah yeah I got it Mom," she groaned.
"When you get back I'll have all of your travel supplies ready to go for the night!" Violet called after her daughter as she walked out the door. "I love you!"
Vega shut the front door after that, finally free of the grating sound that was her mother's voice. She breathed a sigh of relief and stepped down from the porch towards the mareep pen.
On her way, she stopped by the stables to see the rapidash, and the newest ponyta foal that had just been hatched. The little thing was only three days old, and just starting to get her feet under her body. Vega scratched her under the nose. "Ta tapon!" it whinnied, nuzzling closer to her hand.
"You're so precious," cooed Vega. "Bye now, I'll come back to visit before I leave!" The fire horse pokemon whinnied their goodbye's at her as she left.
She stopped at the taurus pen and the miltank field as well, before she finally reached the mareep. The electric type pokemon rolled around in the grass, wrestling with each other and nipping at each other's ears. Flaaffy were scattered throughout the pen, trying their best to make the smaller ones behave.
Vega stepped onto the fence and hitched her leg over, hauling herself onto the other side. She sidestepped a pair of mareep who were chasing each other across the pen, and squinted her eyes, searching, until she found what she was looking for.
A flaaffy with a green tail-bulb was scolding one mareep and comforting another at the same time. Vega approached the scene, grinning.
"Jade, what have they gotten into now?" she asked.
The flaaffy stopped what it was doing instantly, and leapt into Vega's arms. "Flaa flaaffy laa!" she squealed, licking the young girl's cheek.
"Yes, yes, I'm glad to see you too!" laughed Vega. She set the electric type down, shocking herself slightly on the statically charged wool. "I need your help, can you come with me?" she asked.
"Flaaffy!" cheered the shiny pokemon, and waddled towards the gate. Vega shook her head, and followed. Instead of opening the gate, she picked up Jade and plopped her over the fence onto the other side. The pokemon gave Vega a grumpy look.
Vega rolled her eyes. "You don't want one of them getting out and causing problems, do you?" she said, gesturing over to the rambunctious mareep. Jade nodded reluctantly. Vega hopped the fence again, and made her way to the forest line.
"I'm going to catch my own pokemon!" Vega explained excitedly to Jade. The flaaffy gave her a look. Vega backtracked: "I love you Jade, but you aren't really my pokemon! Besides, you can't come with me, you have a family to take care of."
Jade sighed heavily but nodded, her ears drooping slightly more as they treaded towards the trees. Vega smiled sadly and scooped her up, without much protest.
"Jade you will always be my first pokemon, whether we can adventure together or not," reassured Vega. "I raised you with Dad from an egg, I don't think you can belong to me much more than that!" She tickled her sides until she bleated, and set her back in the grass.
"Now, let's go find something cool!" cheered Vega!
"Flaaffy!" agreed Jade.
Turned out that finding something cool wasn't as easy as Vega had imagined. Two hours of trekking through the woods later, she hadn't seen a single pokemon that she deemed "awesome enough" to capture.
Giving up was not an option, however. "I can't give up," Vega muttered. "They'll never believe that I can do anything on my own if I can't do this!" The duo stomped off towards the creek once more, becoming more and more desperate.
The creek that flowed west to east had its beginnings in an underground lake beneath the volcanic mountain that capped off the Stone Mountains. The water was very warm, and full of minerals from the mountains it originated from. The bed of the creek was hard and smooth, formed from cooled lava rock and smoothened from thousands of years of erosion. The water was so clear, the bottom could be clearly seen, earning it the nickname "Ebony Creek."
The water in Ebony Creek was good to drink, but not fit for water pokemon, and no plants could root themselves in the rock covering the bottom. Instead, due to these phenomenons, the creek became a bathtub both for local pokemon and people. The clarity and warm temperature of the water attracted pokemon from miles around.
Vega had counted on this whilst she searched for her starter, but none of the pokemon she had found were quite good enough. Bug pokemon and wild ponyta, a couple of numel and bellsprout and oddish, but nothing extraordinary. And Vega would not settle for anything less.
She eventually decided to sit. Walking had tired both of them out, especially Jade who was not used to so much movement at one time. The flaaffy kneeled next to Vega and lapped up the water from Ebony Creek, dunking her face and ears to cool them off in the breeze.
Vega slipped off her shoes and put her feet in the water, then swung them up beside her on the bank, cooling them off in the wind. The sun cut through the canopy thanks to the creek, and it dried both of them off quickly. She dunked them again, enjoying the weather.
The second time, she swung her legs up on her right, and nearly fell in the water from surprise. Along the bank just in front of her, drinking the crystal clear water, was a vulpix.
She reached behind her and tapped Jade. The flaaffy glanced over towards where Vega gestured, and did a double take. She stomped up in front of her pseudo-trainer, and took a battle stance. The vulpix paid no attention, drinking still out of the creek.
"Flaa!" barked Jade, getting the fire type's attention. It glanced up, yawned, and went back to drinking.
"Ugh!" gaped Vega, scrambling to her feet. "Jade, use... uh, what moves do you know again?"
The flaaffy looked back at her incredulously, sighed, and turned back to the vulpix. She fired a small bolt of lightning from the tip of her green tail at the fire pokemon.
It was a direct hit. The vulpix was knocked to the side, and skid several feet through the grass. It stood up again, and crouched into a fighting stance. "Pix," it growled. The other pokemon bathing in the creek turned towards the battle, interested.
"Thundershock again!" Vega ordered, getting excited. Jade shot another zap at the vulpix, but it leapt to the side, dodging it. It shot a stream of fire out of its mouth, getting a glancing blow on Jade in her side.
"Fla!" she growled angrily, and charged the vulpix.
"No! Wait, what are u doing?" Vega cried. Jade tackled the vulpix in the side, carrying them both into the water.
"I didn't say to do that!" scolded Vega, running to the water's edge. Jade and the fire pokemon were circling each other in the shallow water, each waiting for the other to make a move.
Vega got an idea. "Use thundershock, the water will amplify its power!" Jade nodded, and planted her feet.
"Fee!" she cried, and released a lightning bolt into the water. The current amplified the attack, significantly damaging the vulpix. It began to back away from Jade, downstream.
"Oh no you don't, get ba-" Vega stopped, hearing commotion. The water had not only carried the amplified current to the vulpix, but also to all of the other pokemon enjoying their time in the creek. And the bathing pokemon were now on their feet, angrily stalking towards Vega.
"Oh no..." she whined, and began to stand. The vulpix took off running. "No!" The young trainer began to run after the fire pokemon, and the others took that as their cue to give chase.
Soon, Vega and Jade were no longer chasing the vulpix, they were running from the pack of angry wild pokemon.
Vega, still desperate for her prize, tossed a red crystal in the direction of the vulpix, and turned to climb a tree, helping Jade up the branches. She heard the distinct flashing sound of the crystal making the capture, and this gave her the last bit of motivation she needed to hoist herself up into the tree.
Just in time too. The angry fire, grass, and bug types passed right under their hiding spot, failing to notice Vega and her panting flaaffy.
The pair breathed a sigh of relief, and sat for a few minutes extra in the tree, making sure they were in the clear. Then, they worked their way down, and went to gather their prize.
"We did it!" she cheered, picking up the warm red crystal. "I did it," she said, softer. All by myself.
"Alright, let's see you. Come out!" she said, grinning and holding the crystal in front of her. A flash of light, and her smile immediately faded.
"That's not... a vulpix?" she said, almost pleadingly. Ignoring what she saw in front of her, she desperately scanned the area, looking for any sign of the awesome pokemon she would have to start her journey.
But nothing. Sadly, Vega realized that she had wasted her First Crystal. Striking tears from her eyes, she stalked back over towards her new partner.
Jade was making great conversation with the first addition to Vega's new team. But the young trainer was not in any mood to think anything was cute. "Are you happy?" was the first thing she asked the pathetic pokemon before her.
It cowered down into the grass. "Pie..."
"Why didn't you break the crystal?" she demanded. "If you had done that, at least I could have gone back and told my family that the pokemon I had tried to get was too awesome and strong for me to capture, but no!" She jabbed her finger in the caterpie's face. "You're too weak to even break a crystal without having taken any damage!"
The bug pokemon shank lower into the grass, tears coming into its eyes. But there was no remorse from Vega. "Return," she snapped, and sent it back into the red crystal, making it warm.
Jade looked at Vega reproachfully. Thinking about it, she did start to feel bad, but she brushed it off. "It's that thing's fault, not mine," she said, shaking her head.
"Fla," Jade scolded, head butting her leg.
"Don't give me that!" she said, annoyed. "What do I do now? I can't show myself to my brothers with THIS!" She put her face in her hands. "Brad caught a houndour, and Jake caught a riolu! And I caught a caterpie?"
She leaned against a tree and closed her eyes, dreading the looks she would get when she got back home. The sun was setting fast, however, and the forest at night with a tired out flaaffy and a caterpie as her only protection was not a situation she wanted to be in. So, tired and disappointed, she began her walk back home.
The sun had just fallen behind the mountains when Vega broke the tree-line and was in sight of her house. As she made her way around the field, she saw someone light the torch next to the front door. Vega allowed herself a small smile; they wanted to make sure she found her way home. Forever worred about me, she thought.
She walked Jade back to the mareep pen and set
The reception she received when she opened the front door could not have been beat. "Welcome home!" her mother said, pulling her into another lung-crushing hug. The scent of a homemade dinner instantly relaxed her, and she hugged her mother back.
Finally, they separated. Her mother finally got a good look at her, and gasped. "Oh honey, you look dreadful!" She pushed her towards the basement stairs. "Go on downstairs and get cleaned up, hurry now before your dinner gets cold!"
Vega was being herded towards the stairs. She caught a glimpse of her brothers, giving her identical helpless grins. "I guess I'll see you at dinner!" she called, before she was ushered onto the stairs. Laughing to herself, she headed down to her room in the basement.
"Clara, a little light, if you don't mind," she asked the fire type as she neared the bottom of the steps.
"Mar," agreed the old magmar, and she spit an ember into the fireplace in the living space of the basement. "Ma," she snorted, blowing another ember into a small lantern.
"Thank you dear," Vega cooed, and she picked up the lantern and headed back to her bedroom. "Coral, I need you," she called to the wartortle on the rug before opening her door.
Small, with stone walls, and a twin sized bed, the room was perfect for the young trainer. Her washtub was in the corner. Coral headed right over and started filling the tub with warm water.
Vega stripped out of her dirty traveling clothes and threw them into her clothes bin. In the fire light, she checked her body over. No scrapes, only a few bruises from climbing down the tree, she noted. She traced her fingers over her tan skin, and ran them through her long, black hair. She turned sideways, and sighed. I wish I could just take some of my ass, and put it up here! she thought, allowing herself a petty teenage girl moment.
Her curves had always been nothing but a problem. It was easy for her mother to question why she had so many boys chasing after her, yet she never gave any of them a chance. It was easy for Vega to explain that they were after her booty, not her brain. But it was hard for her mother to understand why this was a problem.
"Tortle," announced Coral proudly when she had finished running a bath. Vega sank comfortably into the steaming water, enjoying it for just a moment, before quickly washing herself and putting her last clean set of travel clothes on and heading back upstairs.
Her brothers and father were already eating. Her mom looked at her helplessly. "They were hungry and, well, you can't say no to a man when it comes to food!" Vega eagerly sat down at the table, enjoying her last home cooked meal for what could have been years.
She ate just as fast, if not faster, than her oldest brother. Her father looked at her with pride, her mother with disdain. "Could you at least try to eat like a lady?" was mumbled at least twice every meal, and it was met with smirks from all sides.
But this meal Vega had more on her mind than it just being her last. She was dreading the question that she knew was on everyone's mind. Jake's lucario Ken was sitting at the table eating with them, and he was a constant reminder of her failure, aside from the houndoom at her left eating from a bowl on the floor.
Vega swallowed hard and took a shaky drink of water. Brad took it as his cue: "So, what did you catch?" he asked bluntly. All eyes fixed on her.
She took another drink of water, and her family waited. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She cleared her throat and tried again. "I... uh... well you see-"
"Let's see the beast!" roared Jake, and there were shouts of agreement from around the table. "Yes!" "Of course!" 'Lu lucario!"
Vega closed her eyes and dropped her head in defeat. She reached into her belt, and held up her red crystal. "Come on out."
Light flashed, and the chorus of voices suddenly stopped. She was instantly surrounded in utter silence. Vega kept her eyes and her red face aimed squarely at her hands folded in her lap.
It felt like hours passed, but finally someone spoke. It was Brad. "A caterpie?" he asked, quietly. Vega nodded, ashamed.
But he surprised her. "Dude that's awesome!" he cheered. She looked up, confused. He grinned at her. "I knew you liked a challenge, but raising a bug as your starter? Man, you have guts."
"And she's so cute, too!" her mother chimed in, holding out her hand. The green pokemon inched its way to her, and she scratched its head. "Aw! Maybe some of her sweet nature will rub off on you!"
Jake and her dad nodded approvingly as well. Vega looked around, confused. "But... it's so weak!"
"She," her mother corrected. "And strength isn't everything. There is more to life than being tough."
Vega started to argue, but was interrupted. "There are other ways to be strong, besides having physical strength," Jake said softly. She looked back at her caterpie. "Intelligence, stealth, agility, all of these things and more make great fighters. Fighting type pokemon use their physical strength, yes. But don't base your opinion of a pokemon on what it doesn't have when compared to another that is completely different. Base your opinion on what it does have, and how it can grow."
"Yeah, I guess I didn't think of it that way," she said, face burning again. Her brother always knew what he was talking about. He knew just what to say to make her rethink her own views. To make her feel sheepish.
"Well, what's her name?"
"Huh?" Vega asked, lost in thought.
Her mother gave her a look. "Her name," she repeated. "Surely you named her?"
Vega swallowed. "Um... I was going to..."
She got looks from all around the table. She swallowed again. It feels like I'm in court, she thought.
"What about..." her mom began.
"No!" Vega blurted. Her mother narrowed her eyes. "I mean, no, um," she backtracked. "I want to name her myself. Come here... you," she said lamely. The caterpie eyed her, fearful, but inched closer.
The circumstances of this whole thing were so... wrong, she thought. I was supposed to catch a vulpix. And when I didn't I could have at least caught something cool... and I got a bug. And then I forgot to name it... and I treated it- her- wrong. So unlucky... just my luck, she thought. The bug had reached her arm. She reached out to scratch her. Her skin was soft and fuzzy.
Then, she got a great idea. "I'll call you Lucky," she announced, petting her partner more. She nuzzled up to Vega's palm, eyes closed in happiness.
Maybe her new name will give her something to strive towards, Vega thought comically.
After dinner, it was time to say goodbye. A bag with some clothes, basic survival supplies, some more red capture crystals, and a few other things, was slung on her back. She had on her thick hiking boots and her warm fur jacket. A sleeping bag was strapped to the outside of the bag, and strapped around her middle as well.
She stood near her front door, facing her family, ready to say her goodbyes. She knew that she would receive gifts from each of them, and she was trying to decide where she would fit them in her over-stuffed bag.
"The first, is from me," said her mother, keeping with tradition. She reached into her pocket, and pulled out a small pouch. She passed it to her daughter. "Gold coins, should last you about a year," she said to Vega's confused expression. She pulled her into one last giant hug. "No argument, accept the gift." All Vega could do was nod.
"And dear, don't forget to grab the torch from the wall as you leave," she said, smiling sadly.
"From me," Jake began. He pulled out a crystal from his belt.
Vega gasped. "A yellow crystal? But how..."
Jake held up his hand. "Don't ask questions. Let's just say it cost me a pretty penny at the black market. It isn't the purple one that I wanted to get you, but it's second best, and I hope that enough..."
Vega embraced him. "It's more than enough brother, thank you."
"And, from me," Brad said, his gift already out. An old roll of parchment was in his hands. He opened it, to reveal a detailed map of Rudan.
He shrugged. "The psychic who sold it to me said it is enchanted, but only if you are lost, whatever that means. Anyway, I haven't found anything special about it, but I figure you will need one to get wherever you're going." Vega nodded, and hugged him as well.
"And, last but not least," her father chuckled. She smiled, and turned to him. He held up something strange; an egg.
"An egg?" Vega questioned. "But how can I..."
"It will be good for you to have some real responsibility aside from loafing around on the road. Hatching an egg will be an excellent goal and motivator for you in these first few weeks," he said. His voice was powerful, and ended whatever argument she had in her throat.
"Plus, it will help with your motherly instinct!" her mother added. Vega suppressed a groan. She hugged her father, hesitantly.
"Don't worry, I think you'll like what's inside," he whispered so her mother couldn't hear. Vega allowed herself a small smile, but composed herself before she pulled away. She took the egg carefully, cradling it in her palms.
She bowed forward, completing the ceremony. "Thank you for these gifts that I will cherish on my leaving day. I will see you in the future when I shall be a better person and shall have started my own life."
She thought she saw her father wink at her before she turned. According to tradition, she was no longer allowed to look back. She opened the door, and, grabbing the torch from its mount outside, headed out into the night.
Don't forget to review and let me know what you think of this newest story! Thanks for reading!