After getting a quick bit to eat, Rice grabbed a few Pokeballs and left the house with her ever-faithful Jolteon.
As she walked towards the edge of town, the 17-year-old girl took the time to breathe in the fresh air, as well as take in the beautiful scenery of Bellio.
It was a quaint town, not too small, but it was no where near an urban jungle. The roads consisted of dirt and each house had a big yard, perfect for the kids who lived in the neighborhood. Trees and bushes scattered the area, giving almost perfect hiding spots for hide-and-seek. Then, of course, there was an army of flowers just about everywhere you turned, creating rainbows of colors along the twisted road.
Rice laughed at her Jolteon who had begun to pounce and frolic in said flowers.
Ever since the Jolteon had been just a baby Eevee he knew he'd always protect Rice. He loved it when she smiled and especially loved to be the one to cause such an expression of happiness. Just as well, he would stop anyone who caused his trainer pain, no matter what it took.
Now, at the edge of the woods, Rice could smell the sweet aroma of pine and maple emanating from the trees.
"Beautiful~" Rice swooned, "I bet there's not a single oak tree anywhere in these woods," she said, giggling at the idiotic pun she just made, when a sudden rustling noise came from some bushes only a few yards away.
"Probably just another Rattata," the girl said to Jolteon.
Boy, was she off.
Just as she finished speaking, an Umbreon jumped out from the brush, causing Rice's mouth to fall open.
"A wild Umbreon?!" she gasped, unable to get her voice above a whisper. She just stared at the rabbit-like creature in a state of ultimate shock. Jolteon gave her a light zap to bring her back down to Earth and back to her senses.
"R-right! Jolt, Thunder!" she stammered.
The yellow electric-type jumped in action, only to be evaded by the swift Umbreon, which bolted back into the woods.
"Quick Jolt, after it!" Rice yelled as she ran into the woods after the rare creature, but after ten minutes of full speed running, the pair collapsed into a small clearing.
"Man… we lost… it," Rice said between gasps for breath.
"Jol… teon," her Pokemon breathed, completely spent from their little expedition.
Suddenly, the Umbreon reappeared in front of the tuckered out pair. Then, after assessing the area, it turned around to face what ever was following it.
"Umbre."
"What is it Umbreon?" a voice asked from behind the brush.
To Rice's surprise, a young boy walked out into the clearing. He wasn't that young though, maybe a year older than her actually, and he was gorgeous. Clad in black jeans and a smooth purple T-shirt, he stood before the exasperated girl. His spiky auburn hair accentuated his bright emerald eyes, which stared back at her with a faint hint of surprise.
"Are you alright?" he asked, breaking the silence.
Rice quickly jumped up and brushed herself off, "Um, yeah…"
The boy held out his hand, "I'm Gary Oak, I'm here with my grandfather on some business."
Rice's jaw dropped in astonishment, "You're Professor Oak's grandson?!"
"Yeah, what of it?" he asked quizzically.
"W-well, I just thought that, uh," the nervous girl stammered, "that you'd be just another kid, and not, um…"
"Not what?"
"No-nothing! Oh jeez, how rude of me, your grandfather is working with my dad on his Pokemon research," she said, still ignoring the hand Gary held out to her.
"Oh, really?" he said surprised, "Then I guess this is a little awkward…"
"What is?"
"My grandfather said that we'd be staying at the ranch for a few days, I think he failed to mention that there was someone else my age that actually lived there."
"WHAT!?" Rice shrieked, much like her mother, "Dad didn't say anything about this! I have to get home and talk to him right now!" She ran from the clearing and back to the ranch, Jolteon at her feet, leaving a terribly confused Gary Oak and Umbreon in her wake.
-0-0-0-
"DADDY!" a frazzled Rice screamed as she ran up to the ranch gate.
"What is it Rissa?" Mr. Slalome said in a panic at his daughter, "What happened?"
"Why didn't you tell me Professor Oak's grandson was my age and that he'd be staying with us in our house?!"
Her father deflated, "Is that all this is about?"
"Daddy, you know I haven't been around people my age since I was four! A little heads up would have been nice!" she wined.
As she finished her little explosion, an old man in a white lab coat walked up behind Mr. Slalome.
"Ah, Jerry, here you are," he said, "I was a little worried when you suddenly ran off like that"
"Oh, I'm so sorry Professor, my daughter was just panicking over nothing."
Rice glared at her father before introducing herself, "Hello, Professor Oak, I'm Rice."
"Heh, so that's your name, is it? Pretty weird name for a girl," a familiar voice said, coming from behind the blonde. She spun around, only to come face to face with Gary Oak… again.
" Gary!" Professor Oak exclaimed angrily, "That's no way to treat people who are giving us an experience such this! It's not every day that I'm able to get this close to so many Pokemon eggs and newborns!
"Oh no, don't worry about it Professor, there's actually a stor-," Rice began.
"ERICA!!!"
Rice jumped at the sound of her infuriated mother, "Arceus, that woman has powerful lungs!" This statement coming from the fact that her mother was on the far side of the field yet her voice carried all the way to where the four of them stood.
"You might wanna head over there Rissa, she sounds pretty angry this time," her father grumbled.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm goin'," Rice said as she hopped into one of the stakes of the fence. She whistled towards the barn, calling a Rapidash to her. It slowed as it reached the fence, allowing her to slide onto its back. The blonde held out an arm to her Jolteon, letting it jump up in her arms and nestle into her lap.
"Let's go!" she said as she nudged her feet into the fiery horse's sides. They took off; kicking up enough dust to cover the all three of the people that still stood by the fence.
She looked back and laughed at the sight of Professor Oak, her father, and Gary Oak trying to get the dirt off there faces. She may get in trouble for that later, but hell if it wasn't funny now.
-0-0-0-
"What exploded mom?"
Mrs. Slalome glowered at her daughter, "You left this place a mess when you left this morning! I've been cleaning all morning while you were out frolicking around with your Pokemon and now all that's left is your hell-hole of a room, NOW GO FIX IT!"
Rice ran as fast as she could up the stairs quicker than a Pichu with its tail on fire. She knew better than to mess with her mother when she went on one of her OCD rages.
When she reached her room, Rice couldn't help but agree with her mother, her room was a total dump. Clothes were strewn on every form of furniture, wrappers and plates of unfinished food was left piled on her desk, even her books had been left scattered on the floor like pieces of junk.
"How in the name of Lugia did I let it get this bad?" she mumbled to herself, "Guess I better get started."
Before she began, Rice decided she might as well change into something a little more comfortable for cleaning. Thus, she now adorned shorts, a tank top, and had pulled her hair back into a small yet taught ponyta-tail.
Soon after starting to clean the treacherous room, Rice settled into a comfortable rhythm until it was almost entirely clean. All that was left was under her bed, and, from what she had found in the rest of her room, Rice was a little bit scared of what could be growing under there. But she sucked it up and began digging trough what was mostly trash.
After much work, only one item remained under the bed. It looked like some sort of book, or binder, maybe even a photo album! But of course, it was in the far back corner under the bed, making Rice have to crawl to get it.
Being that her upper body was wedged under her bed, Rice didn't notice Gary walk through the door she had left wide open. The boy wondered what she could be doing to cause her to be so far under there, but he didn't mind. The shorts she wore gave him a pretty nice view so he wasn't about to complain.
Quietly, he tiptoed over and crouched down next to her, "What in Lugia's name are you doing?" he questioned. Rice jumped, hitting her head on one of the wooden support beams holding up her mattress. She quickly wiggled out from under the bed, clutching the book in one hand and her aching skull in the other.
"The hell?!" she growled, "You ever heard of knocking!"
Gary just laughed at her as he stood, extending an arm to help her up. Once again, his hand was ignored and she got up by herself.
"I was told to come and tell you that dinner will be ready soon," he grinned, then he noticed the item she carried under her arm, "What's that?"
Rice held up the book, finally realizing what it was, "It's an old photo album," she sat down and began flipping through the pages. Curiously, Gary sat beside her as she flipped through the pages.
"Wow, I haven't seen these pictures in ages," Rice said nostalgically, "Aww, this is when I got Jolteon, he was such a cute Eevee."
Turning the page again, the blonde froze. She looked up at Gary to see if he was seeing the same thing that she was. Sure enough, his mouth had dropped open and his face was contorted into a state of mass confusion.
Rice picked up the picture to get a closer look and to see if it was just a trick of the light. But trickery it was not, she, quite clearly, saw herself at age four playing in the garden right outside of Bellio with a very young Gary Oak.
The pair sat there until their silence was abruptly demolished by the almost shrill voice of Rice's mother calling them down for dinner.
After a quick glance at each other, the two teens walked down stairs without a word, towards what was about to be a very awkward dinner.
A/N: Ok, I'm so sorry it took so long to upload this chapter! I got so distracted by just about anything that could distract me. BUT! I should have the 3rd chapter up later today, and if not today, then tomorrow, so please just bear with my slowness. :3
Thanks you guys!