Harry glanced at Ekans nervously as he ran to the approaching city
Harry glanced at Ekans nervously as he ran to the approaching city. "We're almost there," Harry said happily, glad to be so close to where he could receive help. When no answer came from the purple snake, Harry realized he was unconscious.
This only forced Harry to run faster.
"Stop!" a voice called but Harry kept running, hoping to ignore whoever it was that was calling him so he could get help.
"Ack!" Harry felt the back of his shirt being grabbed and forcing him back. Harry struggled in the air for a moment, not really sure what he was doing in the air because he was so dazed.
"Just what do you think you're doing with that pokemon, young man?" a stern voice demanded.
"Huh?" Once safely put down, Harry turned to the stern looking figure. It was some type of officer with blue hair and blue eyes. Beside her was a red dog with tiger stripes that had its teeth bared. Feeling a little nervous by this new threat and the fact Ekans was completely out cold, Harry decided begging would be better suited at this moment.
"You have to help me! A bunch of Spooow…um Spearow? Yea, Spearow attacked me but Ekans helped protect me."
"Kid," the officer said, pointing at Harry, "that has got to be the most pathetic lie I've ever heard. You couldn't even remember the pokemon's correct name."
"That's not my fault," Harry said angrily. "I'm not from around here and barely know a single pokemon's name! Please, just help Ekans," Harry trailed off, looking at the ground in anger. "It's my fault we had such a stupid argument and how he ended up like this," Harry finished sadly.
The officer's eyes softened. "Being a cop has taught me to read people kid and I can tell you're telling me the truth. Don't worry; I'll take you to the pokemon center right away."
Harry smiled widely. "Thank you so much!"
The officer winked. "Not a problem. Now hop on!" Without giving Harry a chance to think about what was happening, he was pushed onto a motorcycle that took off as soon as they were both on. "By the way, my name is Officer Jenny!"
"Ha… Harry,' Harry said weakly, holding to both Ekans and the motorcycle for dear life as it soon reached the eighties.
"See that big building with the red top?" Jenny shouted over the roar of the wind. When Harry nodded she went on, "That's the pokemon center. It'll fix your Ekans up in no time!"
Not even two minutes later did they burst through the automatic doors and come to a screeching stop right at the desk where a woman with pink hair stood, scowling at their approach.
"Again, Jenny?" she demanded angrily. "This is the hundredth time! Just look at my floors!"
Guiltily, Jenny looked at the scratched up tiles that could show anyone she had done this many times before. "Sorry, Jenny, honest! But those Spearow have attacked again." Jenny indicated to Harry who was clutching Ekans to his chest.
Nurse Joy gasped. "Not another one. Chansey!" she called to a pink balloon. "I need a stretcher for one long pokemon ASAP!"
"Chans!" the pink balloon said before hurrying up to Harry and demanding him to put Ekans onto the stretcher.
"Wait!" Harry called as they took Ekans away. "Can't I come too?"
Nurse Joy laid a hand on Harry' shoulder. "There's nothing you can do right now but wait," she said kindly
"But—!" Harry tried to protest.
"Not another word," Nurse Joy said sternly. "Ekans is in the emergency room where we're doing all we can. Why don't you just go sit on one of those couches and wait?"
Harry nodded glumly and walked over to one of the poofy couches.
"And as for you," Nurse Joy said, pointing a finger at Officer Jenny, "take that bike of yours out of my center immediately!"
Officer Jenny chuckled nervously. "Right away!"
Harry watched Officer Jenny take off until she was out of sight. He sighed worriedly and tapped the couch impatiently. Hoping to pass the time, Harry took out his pokedex and fingered it halfheartedly. He knew a few of the basics about the strange device but not all of its functions.
Wanting to know more about the strange balloon pokemon, Harry point the pokedex at one and nearly jumped when a robotic voice spoke up: Chansey, the egg pokemon. These pokemon are known for delivering happiness. Being compassionate, it shares its eggs with injured people.
Harry blinked at the information he was given. Knowing that Ekans was in the care of those who cared for others brightened his mood a little.
"Chansey?"
Harry looked up and saw one of the Chansey had wandered over to him and was now looking at him curiously.
"Um," Harry said hesitantly. "Hi?"
Chansey peered at him closely before leaping up and down with a shrill, "Chans! Chansey!"
Surprised by the excited pokemon, Harry shrank back. What the heck had gotten into it?
"Chansey?" Nurse Joy called, coming over to the two of them. "What on earth are you doing?"
"Chan," Chansey said happily and pointed at Harry. "Chansey sey."
This time Nurse Joy peered at Harry curiously. Feeling a bit annoyed, Harry asked, "What are you doing?"
Nurse Joy laughed in delight. "Sorry, dear, but I knew I recognized you!"
"Do you?" Harry asked hesitantly. "From where?"
"When Professor Oak and Ash Ketchum brought you here, of course!" Joy exclaimed. "Didn't those two even tell you where you had been healed?"
Harry shook his head. "I assumed I had been healed at the lab."
"Yes, Professor Oak had wanted you at the lab when you woke up. You were quite the patient, though."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked curiously.
"Well, how do I put this?" Nurse Joy said thoughtfully. "You healed a lot like a pokemon."
"Excuse me?" Harry asked, not sure if he should be insulted or amused.
"Let me explain," Nurse Joy said carefully. "It is my job to heal pokemon either automatically or within a couple of days."
"What do you mean automatically?" Harry asked.
"See that machine over there with six holes?" Harry saw a large machine that held six holes large enough for pokeballs.
"Yes."
"That is what I use for when a pokemon is tired, has a bodily problem like being poisoned or paralyzed, things like that. That machine is designed to heal them right away. However, there are some cases when the pokemon is so worn out that it takes a couple of days."
"How does that happen?" Harry asked.
"Sometimes battles last far too long," Nurse Joy replied. "You'll see that a lot with the older trainers. Their pokemon are just so darn stubborn they'll just keep battling until the other can no longer stand."
"That's horrible," Harry said, his face wrinkling with disgust.
"It's about pride and hard work," Joy told him a bit tiredly. "Anyway, pokemon have a special energy inside of them. This energy is what helps pokemon use attacks and evolve."
Harry cocked his head, interested in what this 'energy' was. Perhaps it was some type of magic?
"As I was examining you," Nurse Joy continued, "I found that you had that same energy. For a moment, I had thought you had been a Ditto in disguise but another quick examination told me you were in human."
"I'm sorry, Nurse Joy," Harry said, "but what is the point to all this?"
"I was getting to that," Nurse Joy said with a smile. "Humans are not supposed to have this energy. It is that energy alone that allows pokemon to bend the rules of logic, such as control of the elements and stuff like that."
"Oh." Harry was at a loss. "So, does this mean I just healed faster than normal for you?"
"That's it exactly."
They were silent for a few minutes, vaguely hearing Officer Jenny speed away on her motorcycle.
"It would be best if you kept this little fact a secret," Nurse Joy informed. "There are bad people out there that, if they were to find out, would try to use you."
"Team Rocket?" Harry asked, thinking about the vague information Ash had given him.
Nurse Joy seemed to sag. "Yes, them." She sighed. "I can only pray they get stopped soon. Too much trouble and sadness is caused by them." She sighed once more before standing. "I think I'll go see how your Ekans is doing."
"Nurse Joy," Harry called just as she was about to leave. "What you said earlier… What do you mean by pokemon evolving?"
A genuine smile appeared across the Nurses' face. "You really don't know much pokemon, do you?" Harry shook his head. "Just check your pokedex. It'll be a learning experience."
Harry scowled at her retreating back and looked at the complicated device in his hands and reopened it. "Ok," Harry said out loud. "How can I find information?"
As soon as he said that, a whole list appeared on the once blank screen.
Feeling a bit startled and amused, Harry said, "Tell me about evolution."
Evolution is the process in which pokemon change.
Harry rolled his eyes at the lame sentence but continued to read.
Evolution is very much like growing up, but much more abrupt. Pokemon become older, wiser and can have different characteristics or stay the same. For a pokemon to evolve, experience is needed. Experience is gained through battles with wild or trained pokemon.
Pokemon can either evolve once or several times.
Other ways for a pokemon to evolve is through evolution stones. Depending on the pokemon, some have several choices. Eevee is a fine example of stone and experience evolution.
The screen showed pictures of oddly colored stones, which was soon followed by what appeared to be a small fox with five other fox-like creatures.
"Eevee," Harry muttered, looking at the brown fox. "Jolteon looks cool," Harry said with a grin, noticing it was next to a 'thunderstone.' A fluffy, red fox was next to a 'firestone' while a mermaid/fox hybrid stood next to a 'waterstone.'
"Weird," Harry muttered before glancing at the next two. Espeon evolves during the day with experience and love while Umbreon evolves at night with love. "I think Umbreon looks cooler than Espeon," Harry muttered randomly. "Certainly a lot of eons."
Harry tapped the screen to make it blank. "Tell me about the pokemon I have," he commanded.
Harry: 15 years old. Birth, year and home unknown.
Trainer Status: Beginner
Badges: 0
Pokemon owned: 1
Ekans: This pokemon sneaks through grass without making a sound and strikes unsuspecting prey from behind.
A true Slytherin, Harry thought amusedly.
Type: Poison
Moves: Wrap, Leer, Poison Sting, Acid
Color: Purple
Length: 6'04"
"Ekans is longer than Ron!" Harry blinked stupidly. Ekans had seemed much shorter than he thought, but remembering how hard it was to carry all of Ekans made Harry realize just how long Ekans really was.
Special Effect/s: Intimidate lowers the opponents attack. Shed skin. Ekans had a 1 in 3 chance of healing from status condition (burn, paralyze, poison ect.)
Nickname: Unknown
"Wow, that's cool," Harry muttered as he stared down at the empty nickname. He hadn't realized pokemon could be given names. Knowing that he could do that made Harry a bit happy. It really would be weird, Harry mused. Calling Ekans by his breed name would be like him calling Ron boy or male.
"I'll ask Ekans when he gets released," Harry muttered to himself as he yawned tiredly, owning then realizing how exhausted he was. Looking around and seeing no one in sight, Harry laid down on the couch, only closing his eyes for a moment before sleep overcame him.
X X X X X X
/Do you smell that?/ a dark figure asked, sniffing the air as he rounded the corner in the pokemon center.
His companion, an equally dark figure sniffed the air as well. I do. /What do you suppose it is?/ she asked.
The Houndoom regarded his female partner, a Mightyena. /I am not sure. I have never smelled this scent before, nor has any type of scent ever sent such pleasure through me./
/And what of me, my dear?/ the Mighteyena questioned somewhat coldly.
/No other creature brings me such comfort and love, my lovely Shadow Claw. And you know what I mean./
/Indeed I do, Shade/ Shadow Claw said evenly. /But I must agree. This strange scent is not bothering the pokemon which causes me concern./
/Beautiful darkling/ Shade whispered soothingly, /we shall find the source of our puzzlement. You know that dark types are more sensitive to change than other types./
/It is times like these I do not envy Absol/ Shadow Claw said, following the scent into the waiting room.
At first glance it was completely empty. Veridian City was usually full when novice trainers were initiated, but it wasn't even close to that time of year. Still, that didn't mean trainers didn't come or trouble as well. That was what Shade and Shadow Claw were here for, since they were the guard dogs.
/I can smell it better than ever in here/ Shade said, trotting gracefully around the room before his head swiveled toward the couch.
/What a small human/ Shadow Claw whispered as she stared at the small figure on the couch. /Poor pup is smaller than his age./
/Never mind that/ Shade said. /The scent is coming off of him./
/He is having a nightmare/ Shadow Claw said, watching the twitching human as he rolled back and forth a few times and hugged himself. /A very bad one and… Shade! The poor dear is bleeding! What on earth happened?/
Shade pushed the humans' dark locks away and sniffed at the pool of blood on his forehead. He gave a low growl of delight.
/Shade!/ Shadow Claw snapped. /This is no time to think of hunting!/
/I am not, woman! /Shade snapped back. /That scent is on this human, right under the blood./
/Is it really?/ The Mightyena licked away the blood, earning a small giggle from the sleeping human.
Shade watched his mate lick the human clean. As the boy tried to roll away from her, Shadow Claw placed a firm paw on him to stop him moving around and she gave his face a small bath.
Scent or no, Shadow Claw was a mother at heart and when she saw a pup hurt, she was there to give them a good bath and some motherly comfort. Licking away the last of the blood, Shadow Claw and Shade could clearly see a lightning shaped scar, looking red and fresh, almost as if it had just happened.
Harry whimpered softly, trying to shy away from the lifeless gaze of Cedric Diggory. The ghosts of his parents hovered around him, frowns upon their faces as they gazed at him with accusing eyes. It almost seemed as if it were he that they were blaming. That couldn't be true. It wasn't his fault that they were dead.
"It's not my fault," Harry whispered pitifully, trying to urge his ghost like parets to believe him. "I didn't mean… I didn't get you killed!" Harry finally yelled, unable to stand their accusing stares.
"Poor, poor, Harry," a serpentine voice whispered in his ear, causing the teen to jump.
"Voldemort," Harry said, backing away and toward the forms of his parents. But as soon as he was within reach of them, their forms disappeared, their eyes staying for a moment longer.
"Mum?" Harry whispered to the empty spot. "Dad?"
"They are gone," Harry," Voldemort said, watching the small boy in front of him. When Harry didn't answer him, Voldemort spun him around harshly and grabbed his chin roughly. "They are gone, Harry," Voldemort repeated coldly. They have left you, no longer standing the sight of such a miserable and weak child."
Harry jerked his chin away. "Liar," he snarled. "My parents would never hate me, and nothing you say or do can convince me otherwise!"
"Stubborn boy," Voldemort commented uninterestedly. "You mourn for far too long on the dead. And here I thought Severus had problems, still living with the ghost of James Potter in head."
Harry backed up a few steps but otherwise relaxed slightly as the pain from his scar lessened a bit. "I don't mourn for an ungodly amount of time," Harry defended.
"That may have been true once, child," Voldemort responded carelessly. "But re-entry into the wizarding world opened wounds that were never truly opened. You allowed those wounds to be opened, Harry. You accepted that your parents would never come for you at those pitiful relatives of yours."
Voldemort sneered. "Such filthy muggles. They beat you almost into complete submission," Voldemort said with a hint of jealousy. "But through it all you never mourned, you accepted. And now, a wizard of 15, even more pitiful than before for allowing others to bring up the mere memory of your parents and allowing deep wounds to open that should have never been opened."
Harry didn't say a word in his defense.
"How weak you are," Voldemort said thoughtfully.
"I am not weak!" Harry shouted.
"Child, you would last two seconds in a duel with me," Voldemort snarled.
"I beat you last year, didn't I?" Harry goaded.
"Arrogance clouded my mind," Voldemort admitted. "But it shall never happen again."
"Doubt it," Harry said with a sneer of his own. "Your guard will fall, and then Dumbledore will be there to stop you."
Voldemort's hand was wrapped around Harry's throat so quickly he didn't even realize the older wizard had moved.
"Dumbledore is a fool," Voldemort hissed, red eyes glowing with anger. Harry gasped, trying to suck in some oxygen but the spidery fingers only tightened even further. Voldemort took his free hand and traced the lightning bolt shaped scar, earning a silent scream from Harry as blood and tears started to stain his face.
"Is my touch so painful you can't even scream?" Voldemort asked softly. "You claim Dumbledore can stop me, Harry, but he can't. That is why he hasn't." Voldemort leaned close to Harry's face and licked him from the jaw, to the cheek and finally to the scar. "Only you can, but you are too weak."
Voldemort tossed the almost unconscious teen to the ground, allowing him to breathe properly. "And they say you're the chosen one," he said with a sneer before disappearing into the shadow's.
Light filled Harry's vision, even without lifting his eyelids. Groaning softly, Harry let his eyes flutter open. A full set of sharp teeth filled his vision as soon as his eyes were open, causing Harry to start and fall off the couch in a heap.
"Ow," Harry muttered, rubbing his back. Barks made Harry glance back up, seeing some type of black and gray wolf with tribal triangles on its face. "Good dog," Harry said nervously, backing up. Backing up proved to be stupid because he bumped into another dog monster.
"Hound," the creature said, sniffing Harry with interest. Harry stared at the pokemon in front of him. It was all black with a forked tail, silver bracelets around its feet and curved horns.
Feeling a wet tongue tickle the back of his head, Harry let out a small giggle. "I guess you two aren't here to hurt me, huh?"
They both shook their head before going back to sniffing and licking him. Getting a sudden idea, Harry took out his pokedex and pointed it at the two pokemon.
Mightyena, the dark dog pokemon. It will always obey the commands of a skilled trainer. Its behavior arises from its living in packs in ancient times, the pokedex said. Mightyena tend to have a very loyal nature if they recognize that their trainer is very experienced they will obey orders without question. Mightyena live in packs led by a dominant Alpha Male and his mate.
"That sounds cool," Harry said, smiling a bit as he was licked by the large dog. He pointed to the more demonic looking one.
Houndoom, a dark type pokemon. The pungent-smelling flame that shoots from its mouth results from toxins burning in its body. If you are burned by the flamesit shoots from its mouth, the pain will never go away. In a Houndoom pack, the one with its horns raked sharply towards the back serves a leadership role. These Pokémon choose their leader by fighting amongst themselves.
"You seem like the type of thing I would never want to mess with," Harry said, addressing the proud looking Houndoom.
The Mightyena nipped her friend playfully, earning a small yip from the larger pokemon. Picking himself up off the ground, Harry looked around, wondering what he should do next. He was very worried about Ekans.
Eye wandering over to some machines in the corner, Harry noticed that they were phones with a screen. "Their technology is very advance," Harry muttered, sitting in front of on of the phones and searched his backpack for Professor Oak's phone number.
Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.
Harry waited patiently for the old professor to pick up the phone and was surprised to see Ash popped up on the screen.
"Harry?" Ash asked in surprise before a large grin appeared on his face. "Harry! It's good to see you! Are you in Veridian City already?"
"Yea," Harry said quietly. "I'm here."
Ash quickly turned solemn. "Are you alright? Nothing happened, did it?"
"Ekans got attacked by a bunch of Spearow," Harry muttered angrily. "We got into a fight and got separated for a while before catching up with each other. That's when those blasted birds attacked."
"Lowsy Spearow," Ash muttered, rubbing his head. "Look, Harry. Nurse Joy should take good care of Ekans. And as for the Spearow, they did the same thing to me and Pikachu. Actually, if it hadn't been for them, we wouldn't have been friends."
"Really?" Harry asked, looking back at Ash. "You both weren't too hurt?"
Ash shook his head. "Nope. That's also when Misty joined with us. I kind of fried her bike by accident. See, a huge storm had come and I had already stolen her bike since Pikachu was too weak to fight. I was ready to face the Spearow all on my own but Pikachu rushed to my side and unleashed a powerful lightning bolt."
"The same thing happened to me! Well, except for the lightning bit. Ekans used some attack called Acid and I managed to call up wild magic."
"Woah." Ash leaned closer on the screen. "That's so cool. But Ekans really learned that attack so early? He's got a lot of potential. Is there anything else?"
Harry nodded. "I saw something," he admitted. "Some type of bird flew over us. It was so beautiful. Now that I think about it, I think it was that bird Professor Oak showed us. The one with rainbow feathers."
"Ho-Oh?!" Ash cried out excitedly, earning a small bark from the two dark type pokemon at Harry's feet. "Oh, who are your friends?" Ash asked interestedly.
"I don't know," Harry answered honestly. "I fell asleep on the couch, waiting Ekans and woke up to these two licking me."
Ash chuckled. "That's a way to wake up."
Harry laughed a little at that. "Certainly not the best way. The two looked like demons when I woke up. I've never seen anything like them."
"Well, you'll meet many new and odd pokemon out there. And more dark types like these two."
"Like Umbreon?" Harry asked.
Ash looked surprised. "You know about Umbreon?"
"I wanted to know more information on pokemon and my pokedex told me about Eevee and its evolutions," Harry said. "I think I liked Jolteon and Umbreon the best."
Ash grinned. "Professor Oak would be so proud to hear you using his creation to learn so much already. After all, you don't know anything about this world and are already doing alright."
Harry felt his shoulders droop. "I'm not doing so well, especially since Ekans is hurt."
"Harry," Ash said firmly, startling the green eyed youth. "I'm not going to lie. You and Ekans will get hurt on this journey. The best thing you can do is to not worry about that and train to become stronger. You don't want to get hurt anymore, right? Or Ekans?" Harry shook his head. "Then train hard and the two of you will be fine."
Harry smiled. "Thanks, Ash."
Ash grinned back. "No problem. Now, I gotta go. Will you be ok?"
Harry nodded. "Yea, I will."
As the screen went black, Harry scratched the two dog pokemon and stared off into space. He had a lot of thinking to do.
"Hey, Ash?" a girl called. As turned around and grinned at Misty. "Who was that?"
"It was Harry. He's already in Veridian City. He had a little… trouble."
Concerned, Misty leaned closer to Ash to hear more. "Trouble? What kind of trouble?"
Ash laughed a little. "Ran into that Spearow flock that chased me all those years ago."
"And made you steal my bike," Misty commented dryly.
"Are you still complaining about that old thing?"
"Well, you certainly haven't given me a new one."
Ash could only groan.
"There you are," Nurse Joy said kindly, finding Harry sitting with the two dark types by his feet. "You Ekans is doing much better."
Harry gave a large grin. "That's good. There's no serious damage, is there?"
"No, no. Everything's taken care of. The only problem was with his throat."
Worried, Harry asked, "What's wrong with his throat?"
"Ekans learned Acid extremely early. His throat wasn't prepared for the attack and he accidentally burned himself. No need to worry, its all fixed up. I'm just feeding him and giving him some extra medicine. Further testing should take at least an hour, so you have plenty of time to look around town."
"May I see Ekans first?" Harry asked.
"Of course you may. And as for you two," Nurse Joy said, addressing Mightyena and Houndoom. "Where have you two been? I've been searching high and low for you!"
Giving a pitiful whine, the two dogs jumped to their feet and raced to the back.
Nurse Joy tsked. "Those two, always skiving off their duties. Though I'm a bit surprise they like you so much," she told Harry. "They've never been very kind to strangers."
"I suppose I've just had a bit of experience with dogs," Harry told her.
"Perhaps. Well, Ekans is in the back. Go ahead through that door."
Going through the door Nurse Joy pointed at, Harry smiled at Ekans as he devoured food in a bowl in front of him. "Ekans."
Ekans looked up. 'Harry!' he greeted happily, gulping down the food. 'I feel so much better now because of you. Are we leaving now?'
'No. Nurse Joy wants to run a few more tests on you, so it should be another hour.'
'Oh,' was Ekans glum response.
'Ekans?' Harry said hesitantly. 'I was thinking, would you like a name? I found out pokemon could be given names, though it was a bit dull of me to think otherwise. I suppose me calling you Ekans is like you calling me boy or human.'
'A name? As long as it isn't stupid. I had a brother named squiggly.'
Harry scrunched up his face. 'How stupid. A name is who you are. Human parents don't call their children bouncy or something completely repulsive. And when I think of names, I don't think of a nickname.'
'That is good then. What shall be my name?' Ekans asked excitedly.
'I'm not sure,' Harry admitted.
'You said you come from another world,' Ekans commented. 'Perhaps you have creatures that resemble me?'
Harry laughed. 'In my world, you would be a rattle snake. There are others like viper or pythons.'
'I do not think that would be good for a name.'
'I guess you're right. How about Shane, then?'
'Shane?'
'It begins with S and isn't some weird nickname.'
'Shane,' Ekans mumbled, tasting the word in his mouth. 'I like it.'
'I'm glad you do.'
The two talked for a bit more before Nurse Joy came in and ushered him out, telling him that she needed to finish with treating Shane's throat. With nothing better to do, Harry decided to look around the small town.
In all honesty, the town didn't have much to offer. It had a lot of houses, but nothing really interesting.
"Hey, kid."
Blinking, Harry looked at a man standing in front of a store beckoning him over. "Yea?"
"I see you're a new trainer," the man said cheerfully.
Harry shuffled his feet. "I guess so."
"You guess so?" the man laughed. Upon closer inspection on the name tag, Harry read that his name was Max. "You must be new if you have that kind of attitude. Do you have any idea what you're doing?"
"Truthfully, no," Harry replied. "I don't know the first thing about pokemon. My… hometown didn't have pokemon."
"Didn't have pokemon? Well, that's something I've never heard. C'mon in, kid. You'll be needing a few supplies if you want to make it through the forest."
"You just want to make a profit," Harry said bluntly. "I'm not going to waste my money on stuff I don't need."
"Hey, hey," Max said. "Don't be like that. I ain't gonna rip you off. How about this, just hear what I have to say and I'll even give you a free potion, even you buy nothing."
Harry paused at that. He would need the potion eventually, and listening to the man might prove helpful. "Alright then," he amended.
Max grinned and beckoned him inside the small shop. Looking around curiously, Harry saw pokeballs lining a few shelves as well as spray bottles with different colors. A few colored discs puzzled Harry but he didn't comment on them.
"Right," Max started proudly, "you'll be heading into the Veridian Forest soon. That's mostly inhabited by bug and poisonous types. You'll need a few antidotes if you want to survive."
"What do the antidotes cure against?" Harry asked, looking at the yellow spray bottle.
Max grinned. "You weren't kidding when you said you knew nothing." Not letting Harry say anything about that, he continued. "Now I promised not to rip you off, so three should be good. Just avoid any poisonous attacks or defeat the pokemon quickly and you won't even need one."
Checking his pokedex to make sure the man wasn't lying; Harry agreed to buy three antidotes. "What are those?" he asked, pointing at the other spray bottles.
"Some are full heals but they're a bit pricy. They heal any status problem. Since you're a starter and all, you'd best save up until you can afford the more pricy items."
Harry frowned a bit. "I know how to buy items because my pokedex works like a credit card, but how does money get transported back to it?"
"That would have to be the worst part about being a trainer," Max said. "Whenever a battle starts, your pokedex should be activated to record the events. If you win, you get the other trainers money. If you lose, half of your money gets taken away."
"That's a high risk," Harry said with a scowl. "What happens if you run out of money?"
"Then you're broke!" Max said with a laugh. "Now, how about a few pokeballs as well to capture some pokemon?"
"No thanks," Harry said. "I don't need any."
Tilting his head in thought, Max asked, "You came from Oak, right?"
Harry nodded. "Yea, he told me a few basics. Why?"
"Well, how many pokemon do you have?"
"One."
"One? Just one?" Max started laughing. You're the first kid since Ash Ketchum to reach this town without capturing a single pokemon!"
"Ash didn't capture anything either?" Harry asked. "He seemed like the type of guy to capture any pokemon he met."
"He does… Wait a sec. Do you mean to tell me you've met Ash Ketchum?"
"Well, yes," Harry said, confused as to why this man was acting like a love sick puppy.
"Kid, do you even know who he is? He's the champion," Max hissed in a dreamy voice.
Bored with where this was going, Harry said, "Well, I thank you for your help, but I really do need to get back to the pokemon center."
Ignoring the man's protests, Harry mentally rolled his eyes. Honestly, it's just like the stupid Boy-Who-Lived crap.
Making sure his three antidotes and free potion were secure, Harry made his way back to the pokemon center. The only problem was that a huge group of people had formed in front of the door.
How annoying, Harry thought, trying to push his way through the crowd. "Excuse me," he muttered. Annoyed that the group didn't even move for courtesy's sake, Harry ended up running into someone.
"Watch it!" the kid snarled.
"You watch it," Harry snapped back. "Who the heck doesn't move out of the way when someone's trying to get inside a building? Who even stands in front of a door?"
"We do," the boy snarled. "I'd suggest you apologize, filth."
"With that kind of attitude, I'd have to say hell no." Done with the boy, Harry tried to get inside the pokemon center but was pulled back out by the same kid. "Do you mind?" Harry drawled. "I'm trying to get in."
"And I ain't letting you."
Harry regarded the boy in front of him. He had to be the same age as him with light brown hair. Hazel eyes glared at him as his white hand fumbled with a pokeball.
"You're obviously not from around from these parts and must not know me," the boy said arrogantly. "Where do you even come from with a weird accent like that? Anyway, I am Ryan Hertz, son of Charles Hertz who works with Silph Co. and helps produce Master Balls."
Harry noticed some of the jealous looks the other kids gave Ryan. "Harry Potter," he returned. "And I'm sorry to say that I've never heard of such a place."
The kids roared with laughter.
"Have you been living under a rock?" Ryan asked, completely incredulous. "But that isn't what I wasn't to know. I challenge you to a battle for insulting me."
"No," Harry said coldly, narrowing his eyes at the spoiled brat. Great, a Malfoy wannabe. "I will not battle anyone," he continued, his tone icy. "Ekans is still getting treatment because of his burns and scratches."
Ryan sneered. "Wait a second. Professor Oak mentioned you. He told me and two others yesterday that there was another kid he gave a pokemon too and that we might meet up." Ryan snorted. "Though I can't say I'm impressed."
"I can say the same thing," Harry said, annoyed. This kid was annoying, but he wasn't like Malfoy who knew how to push the right buttons.
Red in the face, Ryan said stiffly, "So what pokemon did Professor Oak give you?"
"Ekans."
Ryan blinked before snorting, the other kids doing so as well. "He gave you such a common pokemon? And you got it hurt so badly that you can't even battle with it? How pathetic."
"Don't you dare talk about Ekans that way," Harry snarled, teeth practically bared.
Ryan smirked, quite badly, mind you, and tossed the pokeball he had been fingering. With a burst of white light, a pokemon that Harry recognized appeared.
"Bulba!" the green pokemon greeted.
"Now this is a pokemon," Ryan said importantly. "A grass and a poison type, far more superior than the other two choices."
Harry narrowed his eyes, wandering if he should just punch the annoying kid.
"This kid insulted me," Ryan said to Bulbasaur.
Unable to help himself, Harry burst out laughing. He laughed so hard that his eyes became a little watery.
"What's so funny?" Ryan demanded.
"You are," Harry said with a full grin. "Do you know how childish you sound? He insulted me! Blah, blah, blah," Harry imitated in a high pitched voice.
Growling, Ryan said, "Bulbasaur, Leech Seed him."
Incredulous, Harry jumped out of the way as two seeds sailed past him. "Seeds?" he questioned quietly to himself. He stared at the seeds, watching in amazement as vines sprouted from it and grasped at nothing. He was so into staring at the seeds that he barely heard Ryan command Bulbasaur to Leech Seed again.
Eyes widening, Harry saw the seeds coming straight at him, right about to hit his face. Just before it could, a steady stream of fire, mere inches away from his face, destroyed the seed.
"Doom," Houndoom, growled, slinking his way in front of Harry.
"Good to see you again," Harry said, petting the demon dog.
"You have a Houndoom?" Ryan asked, jealousy lacing his words.
"He's not mine," Harry told the boy. "But he does seem to like me."
As if to prove he did, Houndoom stood on his hind legs and smothered Harry with wet kisses.
"Just because you have that beast doesn't mean I'm not done with you!"
Bemused, because he's had so much worse thrown at him, Harry watched the kid order his pokemon to Tackle the Houndoom.
"Are you kids crazy!?" a loud voice shrieked, causing the group to flinch.
"Are you battling in front of my center?" Nurse Joy demanded. "Take it somewhere else! And as for you," she said, pointing at Houndoom, get back to your job. And I just healed your pokemon," Nurse Joy all but snarled at Ryan. "Don't you dare let the poor thing get hurt so quickly."
"Right," Ryan said sourly. "This isn't over," he muttered to Harry as he and the group pf other kids walked away.
Nurse Joy frowned at the retreating group. "Troublesome group, those kids. Come along, Harry. Ekans is waiting for you."
"Shane," Harry said immediately. "His name is Shane."
"Ah, so you named him, did you? Not many give their pokemon names anymore. And yours isn't something silly, but a real name. You wouldn't believe how many Blaze's I've had to treat."
"I'll assume they were fire types," Harry said, grinning a little.
"That they were. Here you are. Now get out of here before my two dogs skip off of work again."
Taking the pokeball, Harry nodded in thanks. "I suppose I'll see you again someday."
With his goodbye, Harry walked outside and released Shane quickly. He didn't like the though of keeping the purple snake locked in such a small device.
'Freedom again,' Shane said happily. 'Ah, there you are Harry. Did something happen while you were gone?'
'Quite a bit. Some stupid and the rest even stupider.'
'This should be interesting.'
In the shadows, Shadow Claw and Shade watched the young human walk towards the outskirts of town, hissing of all things to his pokemon.
/What an odd human/ Shade said. But much kinder than most of his kind.
/Indeed/ Shadow Claw agreed. We never did find out why he smelled so pleasantly.
/Perhaps another pokemon will find out. A dark type for sure./
/What makes you so certain?/ Shadow Claw questioned, curious.
/Because he smelled of darkness/ Shade said simply. /His scent is not normal./
/Only time can tell what will happen/ Shadow Claw whispered.
/And let's hope it's a good thing./
X X X X X X X
There, that's that. Not much, but the next chapter involves run for your lives scenes. Yes! Harry shall endure the Veridian Forest and all its little monsters. And what's this? Harry has found a rival?
Next chapter: Harry could only stare in shock as the small, spiky being snarled at the large bee. Its hind leg, which was purple and slightly puffy, hindered its movements as its green fur stood on end.