Chapter 2 - Totally Not Foreshadowing

I wake the next morning feeling miserable; not because my body still aches, but because the whole conversation Cissy and I had over dinner last night is still buzzing around in my head. I cover my face with my pillow. I'm so down right now that I almost don't even want to leave. Then I remember I've been waiting for this day for years and remind myself that I really need to start working on my positivity. I'll figure something out, I tell myself. I can do this, I can do this...

I try to sit up and am rewarded with a prickly tingling sensation in my legs; I guess the aches are still there after all. It doesn't help that Cissy's couch isn't exactly long enough for me; my legs either had to kind of rest up on the arm or hang off the side, neither being very comfortable. The sun is only just rising outside. Not quite as beautiful as a sunset, but still kind of cool in its own right.

I sit on the couch for a moment as I allow my body to wake up a little. The house is eerily silent. It's not a weekend so Cissy's gym should be open soon, which means she should be up and about by now. Maybe she's waking and feeding her Pokémon; I decide to go check the indoor pool. I glance into each room I happen to pass by along the way, but they're all empty. The back door is open though, so I quietly push the sliding glass aside and step outside.

Judging by the position of the sun in the sky I would say it must be around eight, but the weather is already warming up greatly – just another reason I love these islands. The sand under my bare feet is already starting to burn a little bit as I walk the short distance to the pool room. The wall that leads into the ocean is, predictably, closed; after all, Cissy's Pokémon sleep in there and she doesn't like the idea of them getting out – or any wild Pokémon getting in. The door itself is unlocked, but as soon as I try to open it, I'm thrown back as someone on the other side slams it shut on me. Naturally, I trip over my own feet and fall on my rear in the sand.

"Give us a second!" I hear a voice call from beyond the door. Cissy's voice. She was up after all, then. I stand up and brush the sand from my pajamas absentmindedly. Less than a minute later, the door opens. No one's standing there, so I just walk inside.

"Surprise!" Cissy yells. I turn to my left to stare at her, my eyes still half asleep. I open my mouth to point out that it wasn't much of a surprise considering I'd known she was in here but I'm stopped when I notice another person in the room, standing behind Cissy. She looks unusual wearing a simple white shirt and jeans rather than her uniform, though her bubblegum pink hair is still back in her traditional double loops. I recognize her as the Nurse Joy who runs the Pokémon center back in town.

"Is Kabuto okay?" I ask almost involuntarily as the memory of Kabuto finishing my chicken last night shoots to the front of my mind.

"Kabuto is fine," Cissy replies, calmly gesturing to the pool with a wave of her hand. Kabuto is floating on the surface of the pool, staring up at me curiously. I notice Blastoise half sticking out of the pool behind him, also watching me with a hint of a smirk. Then, finally, Seadra, eyes closed and shaking her head, presumably at me. I can't help but notice they look oddly cramped, huddled together in the corner of the pool, in front of that large motorboat I never knew Cissy had.

I turn back to Cissy. "Okay, good, I thought maybe he got sick from my chicken or… something… what?" I demand, stomping my foot as Cissy sighs and hangs her head. Joy steps forward and puts a hand on Cissy's shoulder before addressing me.

"I heard you were going to challenge the Orange League," she says brightly.

"Yep," I reply, unsure what to say. I scratch the back of my head as I sheepishly ask, "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but why are you here?"

"The boat, Rhonda…" Cissy groans.

"The boat…?" I say blankly. Then something clicks in my mind. "Oh! The boat! You don't mean-"

"Yes, Rhonda, I do."

Cissy nearly topples into the pool as I lunge at her, squealing, and wrap my arms around her. "Oh Cissy, thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Cissy puts her arms around me briefly, then grips my shoulders and pushes me off her. "Don't get too excited, now," she says. "I was able to pull a few strings with Joy here to get this boat for you. But! It's just a rental."

"A rental?" I ask.

"Yes. You are going to return it to the Pokémon Center as soon as you catch a Pokémon who can Surf. Understand?"

"I do," I nod.

"Good," Cissy smiles. "Alright, Rhonda. Let's hurry this up; I've got to go open the gym. Get out there and make me proud."

"I will," I smile back at her.

"Good luck, and please be safe!" Nurse Joy adds.

"Thanks, I will," I reply.

"You'd better," Cissy says. "Do you even have any idea how much I'm going to be worrying about you?"

I want to say You don't have to worry about me, I'm not a little kid anymore, I can take care of myself, but after last night I feel they would be empty words. Instead, I say, "I know, that's why I'm going. If I give you a heart attack, I'll be able to move in on the gym."

This time I actually get a chuckle out of Cissy before she hands me a pokéball with an all-too-knowing wink. "For Kabuto." I can only assume it's the same pokéball I've been using for him this entire time now. I can feel my cheeks blush as I take it. "Off with you, now. Go and have a good time."

"Oh, I will!"

Of course, being me, I don't actually leave for another good hour or so, being still in my pajamas and all that. I shower quickly and then pick at some leftover grapefruit as I dress and dry my hair. Then I finish packing away my things and Nurse Joy shows me how to operate the boat. Afterwards, Cissy suggests making a scrapbook of my journey. I really like the idea, so Cissy, Kabuto and I step outside and Joy takes a few pictures of us together. After gluing them to the first page of the book Cissy bought for me and packing the camera, we say another, slightly more emotional goodbye. And finally, I return Kabuto to his pokéball and head out at last.

My first stop is Tangelo Island, directly to the south of Mikan Island, where trainers in the Orange League register. I realize I have no idea where I'm going even with my map, so Cissy has to point me in the direction of the island as I'm heading out, and suggests I buy a compass. I make a mental note to find one somewhere when I arrive.

The journey to Tangelo is what most people would probably consider uneventful. But for me, it's the first step on my Grand Adventure. There isn't a cloud in the sky and the sun is as bright and warm as ever as I steer my boat across the sea, the wind blowing fiercely through my hair. I shield my eyes from the sun with one hand as I look ahead of me and take in my surroundings: ocean on all sides. I can't help but smile as I smell the salty ocean all around me. I can see a few adventurous water Pokémon leaping out of the water a short distance away, then coming back down with a splash. Off to my left I spot a school of Lapras on a seemingly parallel course to my own. And suddenly, the scale of what I'm really doing hits me all at once. This is it. I'm finally out on my own, living my dream. This is what it feels like to be alive.

I'm distracted by an unusually loud cry just off the side of my boat. The Pokémon calling out appears to be a blue duck with a red gem embedded in its forehead; a Golduck. I smile and wave at the Pokémon, who winks back at me and actually gives me a thumbs up at one point. I can't help but keep my eyes on him as we speed along together. I admit I'm really impressed he's able to keep up with my boat, considering I'm probably pushing the machine to its speed limits.

Then suddenly the Golduck lets out a surprised cry and dives underwater. I look back at him, or where he was a second ago, just in time to see a giant shadow pass underneath the boat. Whatever it was – it looks like a giant wing of some kind – causes a huge stir in the waves beneath the boat, making it really difficult to steer. As I struggle to regain control of my boat, I catch the Lapras in the corner of my eye, sharply turning away from my direction and swimming into the distance. Whatever the sea-bird under me is, it sure scares the wild Pokémon… which, of course, only makes me panic. I fumble for Kabuto's pokéball and nearly drop it as another wave rocks the boat.

The shadow is gone as quickly as it came, though. The waves eventually settle enough for me to regain control of my boat and I slow down considerably, just in case whatever it was decides to come back. I drift along at a Slugma's pace for a good ten minutes or so without any other incident. Just as I'm finally beginning to breathe normally again, a large explosion directly ahead of me catches my attention. I look up sharply to see a towering column of water erupting from the ocean. In addition, surrounding the column of water near the base, I can see the heads of three sea serpents… Gyarados. Seconds later the column of water comes back down into the sea, and the three Gyarados dive underwater after it. It's only then that I notice another boat and what looks like a wooden raft, previously hidden by the water tower.

I kick my own boat into super speed again, and then lean against the side boat as I try to make sense of what I just saw. Lost in thought, I distractedly look ahead and my concentration is broken as I realize that both the other boat and the raft are both gone, and I'm coming up on my destination. I push the Gyarados out of my mind and focus on bringing the boat in for docking, hoping they don't suddenly burst out of the water underneath me.

Thankfully, Tangelo has a large port so there's no shortage of space. Unfortunately, this costs money, of which I'm currently lacking. I have to spend nearly everything I'm currently carrying just to tie up my little motorboat, but I don't really have a choice. Oh well. I'll be winning money in no time, and at least Cissy thought to supply me with some extra fuel, so I won't have to worry about that for a little while.

After asking directions, I manage to find a log cabin on a hill, the Pokémon Center of the island and the location of the Orange League registrations. The Pokémon Center itself is rather beautiful; there's even a pool out back for trainers and Pokémon to relax in. I can't help but wonder why any trainers would use it when there's a beach just a few minutes' walk away from here. I wander over to the nurse on duty, very similar to the one I'd just left on Mikan Island except this one in her work uniform, and request the registration information. She hands me a form and tells me to fill it out and return it to her. As I'm sitting out by the pool filling out the forms, I happen to overhear a few people discussing something about a Gyarados. I pause in my forms and look up at the three teenagers; a blonde boy in red swim trunks, a black-haired boy in a green swimsuit, and a blonde girl in a navy blue bikini.

"Excuse me," I say. "Are you referring to those Gyarados and that giant tower of water just off the coast a half hour ago?"

The teens look at me as if I'm wearing a hockey mask and wielding an ax. I follow the girl's eyes which seem to be looking over me… or at my forehead. Oh yeah, I still have that bandage. I recline a bit more in my chair and cross my legs. The blonde boy finally answers me. "Yes," he says.

Then, the girl: "Did you see the sea monster too?" she asked timidly.

"Sea monster?" I reply. "The Gyarados?"

"No, there was a monster! It attacked my daddy! He sent out his Gyarados to scare it away but then they were stolen!" the girl cried.

"Stolen?" I say stupidly. Something tells me I should leave this alone. So, of course, I have to ask: "Who stole them? How?"

"Daddy says it was the man in the lab coat," she girl replied. "D-do you know him?"

"No," I reply. I try to think but I'm pretty sure I would remember seeing a man in a lab coat. It's not exactly typical clothing for the weather. I hadn't seen any other people on the boat or the raft either, though I wasn't exactly that close…

"Come on Dena," the black-haired boy says, taking the girl by the wrist and pulling her into the Pokémon Center. "You know what dad said about talking to strangers."

The girl called Dena looks back at me sharply… angrily? Yes, obvious anger there… why? Is she somehow blaming this on me now? Or maybe she's just mad that I'd gotten her to talk and now she's going to be in trouble. That's probably it, I reason. I roll my eyes and return to my registration forms.

"You going to take on Drake?" a voice behind me says. Nurse Joy began entering my registration information into her computer while I turn to face the speaker. It was a girl, probably older than me, with pale red hair, a strapless yellow top that clung to her upper body making me blush with jealousy, simple blue jeans, and some kind of golden metallic rings banded around her left upper arm. She had one hand on her hip and the other clutching a pokéball at her side.

"Eventually, yes," I reply.

"How many badges have you gotten so far?" she asks with a smirk.

"None," I reply fiercely. "I'm only just a beginner trainer. But how many do you have then?"

"None," she says. "Since we're both rookies, how about a battle?"

I gaze at her suspiciously. She looks even older than me, and yet she's just starting…? Well, I guess it's plausible, I think to myself. I'm not exactly the youngest person here, either…

"Let me finish my registration and then we'll go at it," I answer. The girl crosses her arms with a smirk and leans up against the wall while waiting for me to finish my registration.

Afterwards, the girl and I walk down to the beach. She introduces herself as Heather and tells me she only has one Pokémon. This of course is fine by me, since I only have one as well. We pick a spot a fair distance from any beachgoers but close enough to the shore for our Pokémon to use the water if we need to.

Since we both only have one Pokémon, Heather says it's irrelevant who sends out first and tosses her pokéball out immediately after, releasing her Poliwag. I reach for Kabuto's pokéball, which I keep in the small pocket of my jeans for now, but hesitate before throwing it out, and instead look around the area, suddenly nervous. There are a lot of people around… and then it really hits me how rare Kabuto are and how dangerous it is to be flaunting him this way. Maybe I had made a mistake jumping into this with just Kabuto after all.

Heather and her Poliwag are staring at me impatiently. The little squirt even has the nerve to shoot some bubbles at me. I'm just about to make an excuse and make a run for it, but then I catch her eyes and realize it's too late now. I sigh and throw out Kabuto's ball.

Naturally, Heather seems taken back by my Pokémon choice, but much to my own surprise, she regains her composure pretty quickly, though she still doesn't say anything. I guess she's waiting for me to make the first move, though whether to be polite or sneaky or just because she doesn't know what to expect, I don't know. But honestly, neither do I. Sure, I've had mock battles with Cissy before, but I'm pretty convinced now that they weren't real.

That wasn't so horrible, I think to myself as I look around, realizing my Kabuto is still there in front of me. Heather hasn't jumped at him and no one else seems to have noticed him yet – I'm sure if anyone had they'd at least be over watching the battle. Of course, as soon as I think that, someone comes running up to us loudly, pointing and screaming and just generally drawing attention to us. I begin to panic and raise the ball in my hand to return Kabuto.

"Are we going to battle or not?" Heather asks. Her Poliwag makes a sound as it hops back and forth on its feet, looking ready to pounce. I sigh and lower the ball.

"Aqua Jet," I call, giving in. A torrent of water erupts from underneath my Kabuto, who shoots forward like a bullet. The Poliwag is tossed backwards from the impact, but otherwise appears undamaged.

"Water Gun," Heather orders. Her Poliwag starts sniping at my fleeing fossil, eventually shooting him down, showering me in sand as he crashes. Great, now I have to shower and change again.

"Um, Mud Shot!" I order, now just a little bit annoyed. Kabuto gets up and turns around, then obediently fires a glob of mud towards his foe.

"Another Water Gun!" Heather shouts almost immediately. Again the Poliwag sprays a stream of water, this time in one burst, effectively halting Kabuto's attack. I frown as I take in what I know about the situation. So far, Mud Shot is useless and Aqua Jet didn't seem to hurt the Poliwag at all. Meanwhile Poliwag's Water Gun could really do a number on my Kabuto, being half rock-type… though I could turn her own tactic against her with Mud Shot to block that. I really doubt Poliwag's Bubble attack will be much of a threat either. But still, I can't order a close range attack, Kabuto is really too slow for that and then Mud Shot wouldn't be able to deflect any incoming water… And I don't know what else Poliwag can do. I really should have studied more.

Meanwhile, I notice Kabuto seems to be struggling to stand on his tiny claws. I glance over at the Poliwag and curse when I see the swirl pattern on its stomach spinning and I realize I was so focused on my own thoughts that I must have missed Heather's command. I had no idea what it was doing, though I could take a guess.

"Now, Water Gun again!" Heather cries.

"Block it with Mud Shot!" I counter as per my plan. This completely backfires though – for some reason, Kabuto doesn't attack, he simply takes the water blast and is thrown aside. It's only when his red eyes light up that I realize they'd been closed – he'd been asleep. Which means the Poliwag must have used Hypnosis.

I also realized too late that I could see Kabuto's eyes… which means he was flat on his back, flailing to right himself. Heather orders yet another Water Gun as I struggle to think of some way to help Kabuto flip over but it's too late. He looks really worn out after that last attack, but at least it flipped him back onto his feet.

I try to order another Aqua Jet but am met with the same results as before. It's almost as if it's absorbing the water, I think to myself. Oh, wait!

"Use Absorb!" I bellow. Heather looks up at me in surprise. I guess she wasn't expecting a grass-type attack from Kabuto. Thankfully, she seems too stunned to order a counter attack as Kabuto begins draining energy from the Poliwag with short bursts of green light. The water-type quickly wears down and, much to my relief, Kabuto looks a bit better as he continues draining energy. The Poliwag finally gets him to stop by shooting more water at him, but by then it's too late. Kabuto is looking much less tired and the Poliwag is barely standing.

And that's when I made my fatal mistake.

I caught Heather's laugh far too late after I call the final Aqua Jet, figuring by now the power behind it will be enough to win. Kabuto successfully lands the attack but just like the first two times, the Poliwag is only knocked over and actually gets back up looking healthier than it had beforehand.

"Wait, what the –" I choke out before I'm cut off. Heather's Poliwag shoots out a final blast of water into my fleeing Kabuto and again he crashes to the sand, showering me and just about everyone around me in it – which, much to my horror, now looks like the entire population of the island. I hadn't even noticed the ring of people come up and surround us, all to watch my Kabuto.

And we'd gotten completely thrashed.

I literally dive at my unconscious Kabuto before anyone else could try to, and pet his shell absentmindedly. Heather likewise pats her Poliwag before scooping him up and walking up towards me. "Good game," she says.

"You too," I manage to reply, though my eyes are too busy watching the crowd around us.

"I thought you'd had it won when you ordered that Absorb," Heather confesses. "I'm going to guess you didn't know about my Poliwag's Water Absorb."

No, I had not. That explained why Aqua Jet was worthless. What a stupid mistake…

"Where did you get a Kabuto, anyway?" Heather asks when I don't answer. I notice several people in the crowd step up and offer their interest as well.

"He crawled up onto the beach in my backyard," I answer with a shrug, wishing I had something – anything – else to talk about. I return my Kabuto to his pokéball, whispering "I'm sorry…" I could swear I see the red of Kabuto's eye before he vanishes, but then again maybe it was just the light of the pokéball.

The crowd begins to leave once Kabuto is no longer in sight and I breathe a sigh of relief. Heather offers me her hand and helps me to my feet and says, "Let's go get him healed."

We slip down a side street about halfway back to the Pokémon Center making small talk. I tell Heather about my scrapbook and decide to get a picture of her, my first ever trainer opponent, despite my loss. I make to pull out my camera, but decide we should wait until we leave the alley where the light is better when I realize our mistake. Too late, of course. A man steps out from the shadows in front of us, blocking the path. I gasp, but even before I turn around I know in my gut what I'm going to see, and am only mildly surprised when I notice two more men blocking off our exit that way instead of one. The one in our path forwards pulls my attention back to him with his voice.

"A Kabuto, eh?"

A/N: Not much really to say again other than I have a lot of free time and have been filling it both with reading fanfiction and as a result of that, writing more of my own. So yeah... two chapters in just over a month (three if you count my other story's latest). ...I really need to pick up on that.

So, I'm still working on the backbone of this story. I have the core plot, of course, but there's room for filler. So, tell me, what is something you'd like to see in a Pokemon fanfiction? Feel free to toss me some ideas (not characters right now, though I may end up allowing those at some point down the line too) and if I like them I'll see if I can work them in somewhere.

Anyways, thanks for reading and thanks as always to my reviewers.