An awkward silence looms over Alistair, Cathie and Kei as they walk down the gravely, forest road. It's still smoldering hot outside, humid and almost unbearable, but the overhanging tree branches give the travelers a bit of shade. Cathie looks up at the sky; there's not a cloud in sight. Too bad her Wartortle, Raini, didn't know Rain Dance. Alistair, on the other hand, is silently asking himself if it would always be this awkward around his female companions. Unfortunately for him, he never was popular with the ladies, so he had no clue how he should act. Not to mention he'd always been a bit antisocial. He glances at his new partner Bulbasaur, who he'd received from Professor Birch just an hour earlier. It was glancing nervously at the elder, darker skinned girl, Kei. She had barely said anything since she arrived. Her huge red Afro hung low on her face and covered her eyes, so he couldn't see her facial expression or where she was looking. It was a bit unnerving.
"Hey, kid. Take a picture, it'll last longer." Kei suddenly drawls, and he realizes he was staring. The ground suddenly becomes very interesting as his face heats up. She chuckles.
.:.
"So, Cathie and Kei. Please meet Alistair. He is the mission I had messaged you both about."
"Really?" Cathie asks. "What are we doing?"
"You'll both be teaching him, Kei more so, but you can teach him a bit too, Cathie." Birch smiles. "That Bulbasaur is his first Pokémon, and he's pledged to take good care of it as he travels."
"So we're taking him to see Hoenn?" Kei suddenly asks.
"Exactly. If you chose to accept, I've talked to all of your caretakers and they have allowed you to tour Hoenn, what youngsters call a Pokémon Journey." Birch smiles. "I've given you all Pokédexes as well, and hopefully you'll fill it."
"Can I collect gym badges as well?!" Cathie asks.
"If you're up to it. So? What do you say?"
.:.
Obviously, they all agreed, not knowing what would befall them or whom they would meet, where they would go. Or how awkward the first few miles would be.
"I'm supposed to teach you, right? What do you already know?" Kei pipes up again.
"Um..." Alistair stalls a bit. "I know what Pokémon are. And that they know four moves. And you can carry up to six... Though I've never known anyone to carry all six..."
"And?" Kei drawls.
"That Pokémon evolve and that some moves can effect Pokémon by paralyzing or poisoning them." Cathie says.
"And?"
"That you have to have eight badges to go to the Pokémon League." They both say.
"And?"
They're both silent, racking their brains for more information.
"Holy Miltank." Kei sighs, pinching where the bridge of her nose would be. "Ok. Let's start with type trumping. Pokémon are different types, ya?"
They nod, and she turns to walk backwards.
"Well, some types are more effective then others. For example, water would trump fire, because water puts out fire. But fire would trump grass, because fire burns grass." She puts her hands behind her head. "There are 18 types, I think."
"Ok." They say, looking at each other's Pokémon.
"What Pokémon do you have, Kei?" Cathie asks. She smirks.
"That's for me to know." She says. "Anyway. You know about Pokécenters and Pokémarts, right?"
"Yeah." Cathie says. "You buy things at Marts and heal your Pokémon for free at Centers."
"Good." Kei smiles and looks over her shoulder.
"There's Oldale town." She says, trotting up. It's not very big, from the hill they were on they could see the whole town. It was a quaint, old fashioned little town, with a few houses, maybe six or seven, and two odd looking buildings- one with a blue roof and one with a red roof.
"There's a Pokémart now." Kei says, starting towards the white and blue building. It's a quiet, small town, no children running about or cars zooming past. Just peace and quiet. It bothered Cathie to no end.
Alistair enters the shop first, internally dying to get out of the heat. Inside, the shelves are lined with food, merchandise, potions, anything a Pokémon trainer would need. Alistair heads toward the food while Cathie looks at the accessories with Raini. While they are distracted, Kei heads to the front counter. Flipping out her gym badge case, she quickly flashes the amount of badges she had and stuffs it back in her bag. The workers nod at each other and pull out a large basket of higher-level items. Hoping she could gather her spoils before the others came back, she quickly grabs some full restores, max revives, escape ropes, full heals, hyper potions, ultra balls, and max repels, among other things, but Alistair spots her and toddles up. She stuffs it all in her bag and pulls out her wallet before he arrives. Shelling out some ten thousand PoKé bills, she pays and quietly turns to find some provisions. Alistair stares in shock.
"Wh-"
"I'll explain later." She cuts in sharply. "Did you have anything in mind for some food? Or, better yet, go pick out some potions and pokéballs for you and Cathie, you'll need 'em."
He nods and heads to the counter.
"Badges?" A worker asks.
"I... Don't have any yet..." He admits sheepishly. The workers look at each other, almost amusedly, and the first one pulls out a basket of weak potions and regular, red and white Pokéballs.
"Take your pick." The other snorts. Alistair stares at the mediocre merchandise, then manages a weak smile despite his disbelief.
"Isn't... There more...?" He asks.
"Not until you get more badges, there's not." The first worker says. "You've got ONE barely level 5 Pokémon with you, you won't be needing Max Potions and Ultra balls just yet."
"How do you know this is my only Pokémon?!" Alistair snaps in disbelief.
"You've got a sense about ya that screams 'I'm a rookie!'" The second chortles. "Your clothes and shoes aren't that worn. Plus, I can only see one Pokéball on your belt."
Humiliated, he grabs some Pokéballs, a few potions and pays. He couldn't believe how hurt he was. It wasn't really a big deal he was a rookie. It was just how they treated him, as if he were the lowest of the low. It stung a bit, and certainly didn't make him want to hand over money to them.
Cathie watched her male companion as he argued with the clerks, and felt a bit bad for him. Despite her Pokémon being at least 5 levels above his, she felt the same. In addition she only had one Pokémon. Quietly, she follows after Kei as they leave the store, the wheels in her head turning.
"Kei?" She asks after a short silence. "I want to catch more Pokémon."
Kei's head turns slightly, as it she were looking at the burgundy-haired girl. After another short silence, Kei's lips part.
"Do you also want more Pokémon, Alistair?" She asks. He shakes his head.
"Not as much... Right now I want to level up Bulbasaur." He grins some. "Once I do that, I can catch more."
She chuckles a bit.
"Cathie?"
"Yes?"
"Why do you want to catch more Pokémon?"
The question puzzles the girl.
"Uh... Because... There's strength in numbers...?" She says.
"And, Alistair, why do you want to level up Bulbasaur?" Kei addresses the goldenrod-haired boy.
"So we can win battles!" He answers more confidently.
"ERRRRN." Kei suddenly makes a buzzer noise. "You're both walking right into newbie traps." She turns to look back at the road in front of them.
"What...?" Alistair squints at the redheaded girl.
"Cathie. You're more on the right path then Alistair... But for the wrong reason. Pick your Pokémon carefully, and remember, they're not a team. They're family the moment you catch them." She smiles a little, though the younger travelers can't see it. "If you catch too many in the beginning, you might neglect some and love others too much."
Cathie looks at Raini in surprise. She had never thought of it that way.
"And Alistair. Having Pokémon isn't about winning battles or leveling up your Pokémon as far as they go." She says, then falls silent. After a few seconds, he gets a bit angry.
"What's it about then?!" He asks. She stops suddenly and he bumps into her. She turns and pulls out a Pokéball.
"I want you to battle me, right here, and then tell me what you think it's about." She says. He stands back.
"But-but-" He stammers, and she crosses her arms.
"You can't back down." She says, tossing the Pokéball into the air. A flash of red light appears, followed by a small, bronze creature with brown, curly ears and a long tail with a lightning bolt at the end. A Raichu. It smirks a bit at the Bulbasaur, who backs up.
"Ok, Bulbasaur." Alistair says. "Ready?"
The frog-like creature shakes it's head.
"Start the match, Cathie." Kei says, and Cathie blinks out of her shocked trance.
"Ah, uh, St-start?" She says, and Alistair jumps on the opportunity.
"Bulbasaur, tackle!" He says. Bulbasaur starts to run forward, and slams into the Raichu. But it doesn't budge.
"Raichu." Kei says quietly. "Iron tail."
"No!" Alistair yells as the bolt-shaped tail gleams silver, and comes down on the Bulbasaur like a guillotine. Immediately the green Pokémon faints, and he stares in horror.
"Hey." Kei says, and he looks at her. "Take this."
A small, starlike object is lobbed at him, and he fumbles to catch it.
"Press that to the crown of his head." Kei motions to the Bulbasaur, which the Raichu was supporting softly. Alistair rushes over and carefully lifts his Pokémon to his lap, then presses the diamond-shaped glass to it's head. It absorbs into the Pokémon's skin, and it's eyes open.
"Now come those potions you bought. One should suffice." Kei sits next to Raichu, and motions for Cathie to sit as well. The wine-haired girl drops to her knees and crawls over, watching intently as Alistair nurses Bulbasaur back to health.
There's a long, painful silence.
"You understand now?" Kei asks quietly.
"...I think so." Alistair whispers.
"Keep that in mind." She says, and glances at the sky.
"Let's get to Petalburg tomorrow, it's getting late." With that, she stands and heads toward the Pokécenter. Cathie gets up as the red, afro-laden girl slips inside the red building, then helps Alistair to his feet.
"She... She's kind of harsh, isn't she...?" She murmurs.
"Confusing, too." Alistair grumbles.
"But she's taught us a lot ALREADY... So I guess we can't complain." Cathie says, and trots up to the automatic doors. With a whoosh, they open and release the smell of detergent and antibiotics mixed with the smell of fresh vegetable stew into her face. Near the back of the center, Kei's sitting at a table with a big bowl. She notices them and waves them over. Quickly, Cathie enters and joins her, but Alistair lingers at the doormat. His eyes trail over the two girls at the table, down to his Bulbasaur, looking up at him with big, smiling eyes. He turns to look at the road back to New Bark Town, and pauses to consider, well, everything.
He could go back and live a peaceful life with his new Bulbasaur. He could never again need to wonder what his new 'teacher' meant. Life would be small town battles and sleepy summer days.
But...
He looks back at the girls, and a smile crosses his face. He didn't know where it came from. Maybe excitement. The idea of traveling the continent, and maybe the world... no.
It was more then that.
He had to know what Kei meant.
Quietly, he steps forward into the center, Bulbasaur following. The doors slide shut behind him, kicking up a small cloud of dust into the warm, evening air.