Muscial Inspiration: Up Soundtrack-Married Life by Michael Giacchino
The first view of the boat was more staggering than Aaron had expected. It may not have been a cruise ship, but it was large enough to fill up a significant part of the dock. The deep blue rim of the rails shone against the rising sun and a bright white was painted up to meet them that stretched, though in a more dull hue, to the bottom of the boat. On a closer look, Aaron noticed multiple stories to the boat, all lined with the bold blue borders.
Aaron reached the top of the scaffolding and boarded the boat. After a few more following him stepped on, a loud clanking was heard as the scaffolding was disconnected. What seemed like moments later, the ship gave another deep booming sound from the horn as the boat slowly made its way out of the harbor.
He leaned on the railing. The view of the harbor from a distance would've been natural on any other day, but today it more beautiful than ever. A home that would be worth returning to someday. Aaron took a deep breath of the refreshing ocean air and was filled with anticipation.
Collecting himself, he pondered what to do next. He decided to pull out his ticket from his backpack.
Welcome aboard the S. S. Marie! The ticket read. Please enjoy your stay in room 303.
Well, it was settled. Checking in would be the first order of business. As Aaron made his way to the steps leading to the upper rooms, he felt his head run into someone.
"Hey, watch it!" a voice said. Aaron staggered back, realizing he had been staring at the ticket for too long. Looking up, he saw that he had bumped into one of the guys he had seen pushing one another on the dock. "What, haven't got your sea legs yet?" the guy said jokingly, and continued down the hall to the stairs.
It was meant innocently, but Aaron was disgruntled. Haven't got my sea legs?! Of course he had been out on the ocean with his dad enough times on smaller boats to have no trouble handling the slower rockings of the larger ship. He swore he would've made a comeback at the guy, but held himself back, figuring the guy would probably have a better one anyway. He looked about twenty, but it was hard to tell while Aaron was looking to the floor to hide all the red in his face.
Getting himself together, Aaron moved on down the hallway at a distance from the crowd of other people also going to their rooms. The corridors were also somewhat thin, so he had another excuse to stay back. The sunlight from outside spilled into the hallway from its entrance, but the soft glow of the yellow hall-lights gave off a cozy feeling. After a distance of walking and up a couple flights of stairs, he arrived at his compartment. Aaron slid his ticket into the lock and the door clicked open.
The room itself seemed small and somewhat underwhelming, but Aaron felt much like children do when they enter a hotel room for the first time as a rush of wonder washed over him. He plopped his things down by a small table in the tiny kitchen area and collapsed on the bed. A satisfied sigh came through his lips as he lay there for a while.
Suddenly, a speaker came on in the hallway startling Aaron from his stupor. The friendly voice of the speaker came on.
"This is your captain, George Tiller, speaking, and the crew and I would like to welcome everyone aboard the S. S. Marie. Our journey will consist of a stop due East at the Thumb of Covalos, a great place for all you hikers, and will end in Voleoss City. We've got clear skies and calm waters ahead of us, so the trip will be running us about a day and a quarter, so sit back and enjoy the ride. Amenities include our outdoor lounge area, workout rooms, and our newly renovated open-air battle arena. Lunch will be served from eleven am to one pm. We hope your enjoy your time."
The announcement ended and Aaron's heart calmed as he closed his eyes once again. He thought with half consciousness about what to do next. But suddenly-he remembered.
Aaron sat up from his bed and moved over to his bag. He unzipped the main compartment and removed the dark blue box with the silver ribbon, holding it like a precious gem. Taking it over to the bed to sit, he unwrapped it slowly to preserve the precise work of what was clearly his mother's. After unwrapping the box, a small letter was uncovered. Aaron opened it, once again noting his mother's cursive.
"Maybe you've already guessed what's inside of this box." Aaron chuckled. His parents knew him well.
"But that being so, the real surprise may come when you discover what kind of something you'll find. After all, we couldn't have left the professor's job all to himself. We are so proud of you for having the courage to go on this journey and we wish you the best of luck!
Love, Mom and Dad"
Aaron read over the note a few times, the echoes of his mother's voice reverberating inside his head a soft assurance. But he set the note aside after a minute or so, knowing the real gift was inside. He opened the box.
Resting inside was a familiar red and white sphere-a Pokeball-the icon seen around the world. Its picture had to be the most common logo, connecting to any and all things relating to the fantastic creatures that are Pokemon. Markets, competition halls, healing centers, gyms, even entire businesses had the image tagged onto their name. And yet, for such a commonly seen figure, it was an entirely different feeling to behold the real thing.
Aaron held the ball in his hands, its size reminding him of a baseball. He moved his fingers over the perfectly smooth surface of the ball. The sunlight shining in from the small window in his room bounced off the clear coating of the ball. The red top half of the ball shone against the pure white of the bottom half. And yet, despite its stunning design to Aaron, it was still a machine, he realized. It seemed like a simple one with only one visible white button the front, but his father had explained to him otherwise. The technology used to store such remarkable creatures into a light energy that could be contained within such a proportionally small device was astounding, particularly to his engineer father. But Aaron knew the real wonder was yet to come.
He hadn't seen an instruction booklet when he pulled out the ball, but he reasoned enough that the button on the front would release the Pokemon inside. With anticipation at its peak, Aaron pressed the button lightly and…
…nothing. …Nothing?! But there's only one button to press! Aaron turned it around, confused. What else was there to do? He kept turning it, searching for something on it he might've missed, but discovered nothing more. He rummaged through the box and found the instructions at the bottom, but on seeing them for the first time, he threw them aside. There's no way this can be that complicated!
He kept turning the ball over and over in his hands. He pressed the button again. Harder. It was going in, but why wasn't it doing anything? He tried pushing it quickly in succession. Still nothing. Finally, after many failed attempts, Aaron flopped back onto the bed, letting the ball roll out of his hand onto the covers. He let out a grunt of frustration. Was he going crazy? No, of course not! But he was still befuddled. I bet one last try will work.
He hoisted himself up, rubbed his face, and then moved closer to the edge of the bed.
But as he did so, the Pokeball began to roll off the side. He reached for it and missed and the ball fell to the floor with a thud.
Then everything happened at once. First came a Pop! like the satisfying hit of a home-run shot. Aaron peered down in a flash to retrieve the ball, but was thrown back as a bright white light shot just past his face.
Aaron recoiled backwards onto the bed, rubbing his eyes from the flash. When he finally recovered his focus, he found himself face to face with the very thing he was expecting- a Pokemon. But it was unlike any he'd seen before.
His thoughts quickly dashed from surprised to curious to almost disappointment and back again. It was such an odd species! It had no fur, no legs or arms, and what could hardly be called a face. Instead, the Pokemon peered back at him from a roughly spherical, cyan head only a little larger than his own through a single deep, orange eye. Aaron got off his bed to examine the creature further, approaching it as if it were some exotic animal that could lash out at any second, despite how harmless it appeared. The creature seemed to float all on its own and moved backwards when Aaron got up. Both kept silent.
Upon further inspection, Aaron noticed that the rest of the Pokemon's body was similarly colored and appeared rough like the head. It seemed crude, almost incomplete, just like a cylinder attached to a ball for a head-and what looked like three small claws attached at its rear end. The Pokemon rotated its head and watched Aaron as he investigated his gift.
Suddenly, Aaron realized that he must seem stand-offish to the creature. With that, he reached out a hand to touch the creature. At the first touch, the creature moved away slightly, and Aaron felt guilty.
"Oh… I'm sorry little guy," Aaron said to it. "I don't want to hurt you…" He stared into the Pokemon's deep orange eye once more. Maybe the creature sensed what he was trying to say? Or maybe not… nevertheless, Aaron slowly reached out his hand to feel the creature's body once more. This time, the creature didn't move back and a tenderness was shard between the two.
The Pokemon's body was smooth like iron and seemed hard as rock. It was more than a simple cylinder; it had multiple plains of steel-like body joined together seamlessly.
And for the first time, Aaron realized how alive the being was. He had expected the body to be cold, but instead, he could feel a touch of warmth emanating from within the being. He ran his fingers the length of its body and heard… purring? No, it was more like the sound of the fan of a computer… a satisfied computer. And yet clearly, this Pokemon was alive.
Aaron gave a short burst of excited laughter and looked once more into the Pokemon's eye.
"I guess I should've introduced myself!" he said. "My name's Aaron. And… I guess you don't really speak…" Instead of feeling disappointed, however, Aaron was now smiling at the creature. The Pokemon suddenly made a louder whirring sound, expressing a shared excited feeling of meeting its new owner. Finally, Aaron realized he had no idea what this Pokemon's name was.
He searched around the box for a further note, lifting a few of the wrappings to no avail while the Pokemon looked on expectantly. Aaron then made his way over to where he had tossed the instruction manual and found a small note in his dad's handwriting.
This little guy's name is "Beldum." He's known as the Iron Ball Pokemon. I'm sure you two will get along great! -Dad
"Beldum… I like it," Aaron said, looking at the Pokemon once more. Beldum made a whirring sound again and its eye glowed with joy. Aaron ran his hand once more over Beldum's smooth, plated body. He was filled with wonder at the thought that he finally had his very first Pokemon.
And even if it wasn't what he expected, Aaron was grateful to have a new friend. A friend who would certainly stick with him through his journey. At that, Aaron stood up and put Beldum's Pokeball into his pocket. He walked to the door and opened it. The thoughts of his clumsiness from earlier, faded, and renewed sense of adventure was now present.
"Wanna go exploring?" Aaron asked Beldum politely.
Beldum gladly followed him out.
