"What do you think Dad's getting us this year, Isidora?" I asked. Every year our parents would gather up their money for gifts. Sure we had Christmas to look forward to, but this was our family tradition. Our holiday. It didn't have a name, but we made sure to observe it quite faithfully.
"I saw something about the breeder's convention under his desk's keyboard, so… I think its Pokémon Eggs." She replied. If we had a sneak contest, my sister would win every time. There was very little that you can hide from her, and she'd go looking for all kinds of evidence until she found what she wanted. If it was anyone else but my sister telling me this information, I wouldn't be sure if they were telling me the truth.
And I was ecstatic. That meant Pokémon. I was ten at the time, and my sister was just almost twelve later in the month. Sure, she was never really in the mood to have Pokémon to travel with, but I sure did. And now, we'd get our own Pokémon to take care of, and become best friends with… Life was going to rock, I just knew it!
Dad came home a little later in the day. He had two wrapped boxes; one blue, one pink; and set them on the table in the living room. We came running down like small children (which we were, arguably) and lunged at them. We took out two containers-incubators, each with a Pokéball mounted on top. But the most incredible part of the gifts was inside the incubator, in the form of an Egg. Mine was a shade of purple that was on the light side, while my sister had a pink egg with a swirl on top. They were vague looking, and that's probably how my dad wanted them. We would spend a lot of time guessing around, wondering how they would grow up to be, and how we'd be friends. It was nerve wrecking. We hugged Dad tightly, and Mom just looked at the scene happily.
My family spit out their coffee when I showed them my Plain Badge in the morning.
I got back home rather late, and I was too sleepy. I returned Mars right when he got tired from our running (I was even more tired, mind you), and walked towards home just to eat some leftovers and go to sleep in the blink of an eye. Or Mars' Mach Punch. I think Mars was faster.
I woke up late too, and found my parents and sister eating breakfast. I casually sat down, got some waffles out, poured myself a cup of lemonade. I was the weird one who doesn't like coffee, taste or smell.
"You're not taking Mars out, honey? We've been worried since we didn't see you at all yesterday, you know." Mom investigated, while drinking her coffee, copying my dad and Isidora, who both were eyeing me suspiciously. Isidora really liked the idea of growing up, and she drank a lot of coffee to match. I sighed and fished for Mars' Pokéball out of my pocket. I didn't release him just yet. Instead, I drank my cup of lemonade.
And also took a certain Plain Badge out and put it on the table, sliding it to the center with my finger. Cue spit take of three different coffees. Isidora started choking, and Dad had to pat her back for her to calm down. She settled down right afterwards, though, looking mad about something.
"Hey, what are you doing with my Plain Badge? Did you seriously go into my room?" She demanded. Uh-oh. She misunderstood. I had to play this one cool, though.
"What are you talking about? You don't believe that your younger brother can't be as talented as you and win a Gym Badge?" I said smugly.
"Not with just Mars you can't! It took me tenwholetries with Jiggly to beat Whitney, I'll have you know!" My sister argued back. And I beat Whitney on my first try, I thought. My parents just looked at us. I looked at Isidora, and then to my parents. This was the moment of truth. I took out Mars' Pokéball from the table, and threw it.
Mars came out, and was greeted to the wide eyed stares of three people in disbelief. I soon remembered Hitmonchan were taller than Tyrogue, and realized it was impractical to have him sit on the table with Jiggly, so I went to grab an extra chair and placed it next to mine.
My parents were shocked. Isidora even more so. And I played everything cool, like a champ. Hitmonchan let out a 'chan' before sitting down.
"Oh my god. He actually evolved into that." Isidora said. Her eyes widened some more when it hit her. "So that really is your badge!"
"Real and present." I winked.
I finished my breakfast in a classy manner with Mars, while everyone else cleaned up the large amounts of coffee on the table, without a word from any of them.
To my parents, I was going out on a stroll to National Park like usual, just with Isidora. To us, though, we were planning how I should go about during my planned journey on the top floor of the Department Store. I was leaving tomorrow morning.
"So you want to… train Fighting types?" She asked me with great emphasis on the 'Fighting'.
"Yes, and don't try to change my mind. I already went over all the cons… and they don't outweigh the pros here." I said, adamantly. I wasn't going to back down on my choice here. I already went over it with the Blackbelt, and my victory against Whitney only made me surer of it. I was going to help Fighting types reach their potential as a Trainer. On the flip side, they would make me stronger. And uh, less wimpy.
"Alright then… So you'll have trouble with Morty of Ecruteak… Falkner of Violet… and maybe Bugsy from Azalea. But I guess it's an okay tradeoff for being strong against Jasmine of Olivine and Pryce of Mahogany." She continued thinking. "You know where you can find Fighting Pokémon?" She asked me. I stopped sipping my drink.
I didn't. In fact, I didn't even think about it. Isidora took my lack of movement for a 'no' and sighed.
"Seriously? Geez, you're hopeless." She sighed again, even louder. Then she began to think. She looked at me. "Okay, Machop you can find out in the mountains by Ecruteak, and I've seen some Poliwag in the ponds in Ecruteak too, come to think about it…" She pondered. I looked at her weird.
"Poliwag are Water types, though. Why would I need one of those?" I asked. I mean, was she just joking here? She now was looking at me funny.
"Poliwag stay purely Water type even when they evolve into Poliwhirl. But… With a Water Stone, it gains Fighting as a secondary typing as a Poliwrath. " She winked. I was pleasantly surprised at that. "Chuck of Cianwood beat me too many times to count just with that Poliwrath.
Alright, so Hitmonchan, Machop, and a Poliwrath. Half of my team was right there. They were near Ecruteak, though, and Ecruteak has a Gym for Ghost Pokémon. That meant that's where I should go first even with a complete disadvantage. My other option would be Violet City,I thought.
"Oh wow, your second Badge is going to be pretty tough earn! It's either Violet, or Ecruteak. But Ecruteak is my suggestion, since you can catch more Pokemon there." She exclaimed, looking at me. "You sure you're up for it?"
I was. I'd leave for Ecruteak tomorrow morning.
We spent the rest of the day preparing my bag to leave. She told me that our parents wouldn't be surprised, seeing that Mars had gotten stronger, and so did our resolve to travel. We packed a lot of bottles of water; plenty of healing items, a few revives… I tried packing one lemonade… or three, but my sister hit me on the head when I opened my bag up. Mars laughed.
"No way, just the essentials. Those cans can take up space for three potions, two water bottles, or even an escape rope! So, drink it now, but don't make that mistake like I did. Did you remember how much coffee I brought along just to throw it out a few days later?" She added. She really did know what's best for traveling, I couldn't deny it. Even if it was just learning from her mistakes. I laughed.
I thought about it then. What mistakes would I make? Would I learn from them? I sighed and thought one last thing.
Would someday somebody else learn from me? Would I ever be the teacher for somebody starting out? I guess my sister must have been feeling that her journey was worth it, teaching me what to do and what not to do. I was a little jealous there.
I took one last stroll through National Park later that evening. I walked around with a backpack, getting used to the heavier weight. Had to get used to it now, I thought. I felt a little slower, but I could manage. We got a lot of useful things at the Department Store, all essentials, so I didn't have the option on cutting down. But there was one bigger reason why I wanted to go through the park.
'It was like a scene out of a martial arts movie, with Mars as Jackie Chan. He was beating all the bullies' Pokémon with flash punches. Mars' laughed at the Sentret he sen t flying, as well as the Snubull he sent all the way into the fountain. The Caterpie from before? Somewhere out on Route 34. Yeah, Mars sent it flying all the way through Goldenrod. It was amazing, if I said so myself' I thought.
Yup. That's what I was going to be telling everyone in Goldenrod when I was through with the bullies. No, it wasn't sad that I just practiced my awesome victory speech. That's what I had hoped would happen.
But no, and the universe does like to screw up beautiful plans. Especially screw up mine. The boys that usually spent time in front of the fountain weren't there. I did see, however, a rather large, brown haired woman with a Granbull and Snubull, though, sitting on the fountain. She noticed me.
"Oh, hello! Sorry, but Charles is out sick today, and I guess his friends didn't call you that they cancelled their plans today. So instead, I decided to stay around and give Bumbles a walk here." She gestured at the Snubull by her, who was clearly resting. It woke up after hearing its name, and started barking loudly with anger when it sensed my presence. The woman looked surprised. I wasn't. It was the leader's Snubull. It was the leader that well, led the boys against me. No wonder why the Snubull wasn't particularly friendly towards me. And if anyone but the boy's mother was there, I'd take out Mars to give a fast Mach Punch to its face. Instead, I got blackmail material in the form of naming a Pokémon Bumbles. Which was good enough for me, concerning the circumstances.
The woman soon noticed something, and came to the right conclusion about Bumbles.
"Are you… Sebastian? Because I overheard my son saying that Bumbles doesn't growl like that unless you're around." She explained. Bumbles didn't look very much pleased, and went over to play the Granbull I assumed was the mom's. I guess they were right.
"I guess it takes after your son, then." I said with a bitter laugh. That's right. I was going to open up slightly to my enemy's mother. She looked at me confused. Then we looked out to another battle that was going on nearby. And then she looked back at me.
"What do you mean? Does Charles not like you?" She asked sincerely. And I guess I had no reason to believe that she was in on it. The bullying.
"Well, if liking me means leading his friends to beat me up and my Pokémon daily, then no. You son likes me very much." I said sarcastically she thought about my response for a while.
"I'll make sure to talk to him about it. He has to have some sort of issue to do that to others…" She said, now worried. It was expected by this seemingly doting woman. Too bad it was needed. I saw the fight nearby heat up, literally, with a Magmar using Lava Plume on another trainer's Persian.
"Sorry to say, ma'am, but I'll be leaving tomorrow morning. I'm going to travel with my Hitmonchan. So, uh, tell your son that I'll be out of his hair." I explained. She looked sad that she wouldn't be able to make up for my bullying.
"Oh my… I wish you have a healthy journey then. I apologize for Charles an-"She was cut off by a frantic Persian, whose tail was clamped tightly by Bumbles jaws. She screamed for Bumbles to get off, to no avail.
That was my chance. Even if I couldn't get revenge out on the Charles, or the rest of them before I left, I could at least give this one last impression. I took out my Pokéball, and was about to send out Mars to give an accurate Mach Punch to knock out the Snubull. But the Magmar was too fast and quickly took it out with a Flamethrower. Did I mention it was a clean cut, too? Only knocked Bumbles out, and the matched continued. The leader's mom went to pick up the fainted Pokémon.
"Oh dear… This is why you shouldn't be mischievous like that, Bumbles!" She lightly scolded it, before being returned into the Pokéball. There went my opportunity. Maybe revenge was just not meant to be in my case. Not really the greatest feeling in the world, where you couldn't give payback, but I'd deal with it. I've dealt with everything pretty nicely so far, right?
"Sorry, but I better take him out to the Pokémon Center. I don't think my son would appreciate me letting him get beaten like that." She said softly. I guess she must have felt guilty. She then returned her Granbull, who had been sleeping, even during the commotion.
"Oh, it's okay. I need to finish getting everything ready for tomorrow." I replied, and she took that as a cue to leave. Sure, I had to cross out 'revenge' out from my 'getting ready' list, but whatever. I won't count it as regret before I leave. I was going to count it as my first lesson, first moral, if you will. I took out a journal, a new one I bought while my sister left to look for clothes. Not for me, mind you. She was still a 13 year old, young and still self-centered.
"Alright, moral learned. Number one: Don't plan revenge. The universe does it for you." I said out loud, writing it into my Journal. I had a few pages for the morals I'd learn over my journey. This way, I can teach somebody who'd listen. It'd be something nice to think about while out on the road.
I got home much earlier than yesterday, that's for sure. And I came back to see a surprise gift on the counter. It was for me, from my parents. It wasn't wrapped, but it looked like they had planned to. In plain sight was a new Pokégear, shiny and blue, just waiting for the user to input their information, and register other's phone numbers. Soon, a Jigglypuff was soon thrown at my face, drawing me away from my present.
"No! You weren't supposed to see that!" Isidora yelled at me. I took Jiggly off of my face, and threw her back at Isidora, where she landed softly, and slightly mad from the sudden scene game of catch, yelling a few "Puff Puff!'" at us. Isidora then began apologizing fast, and rocked her Normal type Pokémon. Funny, too, since the same puffball beat so many Gym Leaders last year. I was kinda sad when she felt like the family pet, alongside the rest of Isidora's Pokémon when quit training. She only had four, though.
"Well, I'm sorry I looked at something out in the open in my own house." I groaned. I know it should have been a surprise, but come on. A puffball like Jiggly hurt more than you'd think. Balloon Pokémon my foot. Or maybe I needed to work out more, I'm not sure.
"Mom and Dad got this for you in the morning, and I was in charge of wrapping it… They'll like kill me for ruining the present!" She moaned.
"I didn't see a thing." I said. I mean, I should be grateful that I'm getting the Pokégear, I wanted one since it came out in a new design. I shouldn't ruin the moments of the day right before I left.
That night, my parents came home with groceries, goods, and other things they usually did on Sundays. My parents had normal positions in Silph. Co, and managed normal hours and normal pay. They gave me a box during dinner wrapped by a certain sister, andwhatdoyouknow, it had the Pokégear. I had to look surprised and happy. I ruined the surprised part, but I over did the happy. After all, I got a new Pokégear! My parents gave me a sheet of paper with the numbers I should know, in the case I lost my Pokégear. I dreaded the thought of that happening, but still, I thanked then.
Isidora tapped my shoulder, and gave me a small blue bag. It was small enough to fit in my normal backpack and not take up any room, but it was bigger than my pocket. I opened the top.
I found my Plain Badge, and two Pokéballs. One black with blue spots, one green with red stripes.
"These are…?" I asked, holding the Pokéballs. I knew it was my badge, but the pokéballs…?
"A Heavy and Lure Ball. I still had them from when Kurt gave me them. I figured that they've done enough time collecting dust in my shelf, so consider them a little gift." She winked. This was really a going away party. I was really leaving Goldenrod City.
"Thanks. I really mean it." I said softly. And I couldn't have been any more grateful that night. I let Mars out of his Pokéball and let him sleep in my room, next to me. When he was a Tyrogue, he felt like a small child. But now, I guess were going to be companions throughout this journey. Oddly enough, I slept pretty nicely that night. I guess I had just passed the age where you couldn't sleep the night before you actually traveled as an actual Trainer.
That morning went as usual. Ate breakfast my parents, took a shower, brushed me teeth, etc. Next though, broke my habit. I checked all my supplies just to make sure. I tied the smaller bag Isidora gave me on the side of my normal backpack. I'd use it to store my badges. All eight of them would eventually stay in that little bag. Then I'd take on the Pokémon League eventually, right? I'd make sure to.
When Isidora left on her journey, I was waiting for her to come back and tell me how the Pokémon League went, how she felt, what she learned from it… I wanted to feel the experience radiating from her.
I was disappointed when this wasn't the case. And so I was going to have cover that part by myself with my own team.
I gave my goodbyes, hugs, and kisses to my family. They wished me the best, and I didn't want to disappoint them. And so I left behind a crying mother, a sentimental father, and a hopeful sister. I hoped myself that I can come back accomplished.
We passed Goldenrod City, Mars and I, pretty slowly. It was the last time I'd visit in a while, I though. First we passed the Bike Shop .I thought about having a bicycle to cut my traveling time shorter, but I decided against it. Was I really going to cut my training time too? Spending more time walking and training on the road with Fighting type Pokémon seemed more reasonable. So I walked by it without looking back.
I looked out to the Radio Tower in the distance, right next to the Global Terminal. The Radio Tower was a nice place to visit, but my Pokégear came with a built-in radio, so I wouldn't miss much of the music they played. As for the Global Terminal, would I really have a reason to go there in the future? Maybe arrange some battles, sure. Other than that… not really. I looked once more, before finishing my trek to Route 35. I walked passed every day to reach National Park, but there was never anything too interesting that's I'd miss. So I passed it without thinking too much. Mars let a yawn a few times, too. He didn't think much of this Route either, I supposed.
National Park was pretty nice today. I don't know who won yesterday's Bug Catching Contest, but when remembering the Scyther… I decided to wipe it out from my memory completely. Mars looked particularly happy walking here. It was here that we could say faced our biggest struggles. The bullies wouldn't come out until later on in the day, but even if they did bother us, Mars would give them seconds thought about it. That's right. Mars was strong now. Maybe not the strongest, but he packed more punches than before.
"Hey, Mars, you think we'll be battling the boys and their Pokémon anytime soon?" I asked him. I didn't expect much of an answer, honestly.
"Mon." He shook his head. Well, that meant he didn't know, didn't really mind, or just didn't care altogether. We continued our stroll. Or actually, our exit. I looked at the fountain again. I always thought it'd be nice to have a battle with the fountain there. A good one too, not a one sided gang up. I sighed, thinking that day would be far away, but I kept walking side by side with Mars.
"Route 36… Mars, no turning back now, now let's start our journey." I said. Mars looked at me and grinned. We'd keep going along the very same path of trees I told the Blackbelt to follow yesterday.
To the north, Route 37, and then Ecruteak City.
To catch a Pokémon.
Alright, that's it for the (boring) home chapter. Next chapter, we actually move forward! But he will come back to Goldenrod, so don't think it's out of our system just yet. Major thanks to RuningWitSizorz for reviewing the fic so far, and I'll be really happy to see some more reviews too, since they do make feel motivated to get chapters done.
P.S.: I'm looking for a Beta Reader to help me eye any errors, inconsistencies and the like, so please PM me if interested! Reading chapters earlier to find mistakes? Nice trade off, right? ;D