A/N: A longer chapter to make up for the last one…And this one is quite sad. I like how it turned out. Oh, and I promise the mysterious boy who appears in this chapter will reveal himself soon…in the next chapter… ;)
Chapter 3: Birds of a feather flock together
Beep, Beep Beep. Beep. Beep.
"…" I rolled on the side. "Shut up…" I muttered under my covers, my voice muffled by them. I hit the alarm clock as it buzzed loudly in my ears. I don't remember setting it up last night…
I pushed my covers on the side, lazily, but I needed to get up after all. I was still tired. I walked slowly to the mirror in my slippers and pyjamas. I gasped. A wide smile formed on my face: my voids weren't there anymore! In place of them, I had my usual golden eyes that I always had.
Maybe…A thought crossed my mind. Maybe it was all just a dream? A very bad dream.
I walked down the stairs and my mom was sitting at the table. She had prepared the breakfast but she wasn't eating…Mom looked very sad.
She looked up at me sadly, letting out a weak "Hi" in the process—she looked as though she hadn't got a lot of sleep, like me—but when she noticed that my voids had disappeared, her face brightened.
"Oh, baby!" she got up. "You look better!" Mom held my shoulders with her hands. I disregarded an act that would usually make me very happy.
"Yeah, but I've made up my mind" I said. "I don't want to hold all of you back. I want you to be happy."
After I changed up, I took my backpack and headed out to Elm's laboratory. I entered the door and closed it behind me. Some scientists looked at me and smiled, apparently unaware of the current situation.
At the back of the lab, Elm was working again on some kind of machine. I walked up to him.
"Prof." I said. He turned around. "Oh, hi Gold. I see that your eyes have returned to normal. That's great." I looked away. "I know. Anyways, I need a Pokémon to go to Cherrygrove…"
"Okay" he said. "I'll give you one just this once." He dug into a pile of different items and pokéballs. In the meanwhile, I saw a strange boy looking inside the window. But when our eyes met, he walked away like nothing happened.
"Gold, I have three Pokémon. You can chose one of your choice."
He held out in his hands three pokéballs, each containing different Pokémon.
"This one is Chikorita, a friendly and cute grass-type." Elm said. Inside the ball was a light green Pokémon. It had red eyes with a leaf on top of its head.
"The next one is Totodile, a water-type. He's very cheerful, loyal and powerful." The Pokémon looked like a miniature reptile, or a small alligator, with blue skin, a yellow stomach and red spikes on its head and tail. He also had a big jaw and teeth.
"Last is…Cyndaquil. The fire-type." Elm looked less enthusiastic than when he presented the first two. "But I suggest that you don't pick this one."
"Why not?" I asked, looking at the ball. It held a small, hedgehog-like creature, with a black and yellow body and a small flame growing on its back. It looked pretty normal.
"Well…It is pretty timid. It doesn't like to play with other Pokémon. It seems a bit unsecure." Prof. Elm explained. I grinned. The first two hadn't appealed to me that much, but the last one…It was perfect for me!
"I'll take Cyndaquil!" I shouted, gripping the pokéball. "Eh?" Elm was surprised. "O-Okay…It's your choice." He smiled. "Do you want to give it a nickname? You won't be able to change it for a while, so choose wisely."
I stroked my cheek, thinking. "Hmm…Okay, well, um…Err…Oh! I know! I'll name it HURRY, as in `Hurry up and kill that stupid Gastly already!'"
Old Elm seemed a little unnerved by my attitude, but I didn't even care. I pushed the button on the ball to let the Pokémon out. It let out a small cry.
"HURRY. We'll be partners from now on. Is that okay with you?" HURRY looked at me and just nodded, but I noticed that its cheeks were becoming a little bit red. He really was shy.
I picked him up in my arms, then said farewell to Prof. Elm. I went to my house, HURRY still in my arms, silent.
"Mom, this is HURRY." I showed him to her. "He's my partner on my quest." She stared at me. "What quest?"
"My quest on finding Gastly…" I shoved my hand in front of my face. "Anyways, goodbye, Mom." Without letting her the chance to answer, I left to avoid seeing her sad, disappointed face.
I sighed deeply as I stepped on Route 29, leaving my comfy and peaceful hometown of New Bark Town. I looked back once, and left.
There was a pleasant breeze on this sunny day; however, I was not able to enjoy it. I walked straight to Cherrygrove City, walking in the tall grass—which reminded me of that damn Gastly—as it was inevitable to get there. No Pokémon attacked me. I wish I had that luck yesterday.
Then, I finally reached the next town. The denizens of Cherrygrove City were peacefully doing their things. They looked like they didn't have a care in the world right now. Slowly, I walked on the trail, next to the small houses, past the Poké Center, and stopped my short trip when the sea came into view.
"Wow…" I whispered. HURRY was next to me, quiet, and he too watched the breathtaking scene we had in front of our eyes. It was calm, peaceful. The small waves crashed rhythmically on the warm sand slowly. Nobody was there in this part of the town except the two of us.
I sat down on the spot. I hugged my knees close to me. There I was. One small boy who wasn't meant to be. A boy that suffered his cruel fate, prematurely, inevitably. That was me. Nothing more.
I was Gold. This is who I always was. And I always will be.
HURRY jumped on my lap. He squeezed himself in the space between my chest and my legs. I looked at him endearingly.
"I guess we're the same, eh?" I said, stroking him under the chin.
That was true. HURRY was the one nobody wanted. He was shy, timid, quiet. He tried his best but didn't really succed. He had less confidence than the other two. That Cyndaquil wasn't bad for that reason: he just wasn't like every other Pokémon. And they hated him for it. Chikorita and Totodile always looked at him from above, smiling at him mockingly, because he was so weak, so not good.
"What kind of trainer would want a Pokémon like that?" everyone would say.
"A fool." That's what they would answer. I must be a fool, then. Because I like him. I didn't care if he was weak or strong, shy or talkative.
We both were alone, and so, we had each other's back. We couldn't let the other down. That's why.
"Thanks, HURRY…"