(I'm back! Okay, you'll find out the Pokemon right... now! As for SYOTOS, I'm working on it. I've got a lot of homework, okay? –sighs- Oh well, hope you enjoy!
...Actually, I bought Pokemon from Satoshi Tajiri for five bucks on eBay. Seriously. –rolls eyes- I don't own, nor will I ever.)
"Hi!" A cyan little crocodile-like Pokemon waved at me. Silver stared. "That's a Totodile! They weren't kidding; those things are so rare in this region!" It came to me that they might have snuck back into the quarantined Johto to steal this little fellow. And that they probably did.
"Hi. My name's Olivia. Are you okay?" Totodile stared up at me, and stuck his hand in his mouth, blinking cutely. I smirked. "Hey, I don't think that's a good idea, kiddo. What's your name?" He continued to chew on his arm.
"I don't know. But I like you. Your arm looks tasty." I rolled my eyes. "You don't bite people unless I tell you, okay? Can you do that for me?" He considered this, and nodded, proffering a hand to me. "Okay!" I nodded.
"So, you need a name. How about... Leviathan?" His eyes got big. "Can I be a Feraligatr?" He continued to chew on his arm.I got the impression he was a tiny bit... well, retarded.
This notion was furthered when he attempted to chase his tail. Grimwald preened. "I am going to have such fun with this dunce." I sighed, and put my head in my hands.
"Look, let's just go to Vermilion before I kill myself. Okay?" Everyone snickered, as we hurried out of Cerulean. Silver released Feraligatr, and Lev had a grand old time pestering the Big Jaw Pokemon about how hard he could bite.
"I see I'm running a mentor program." Silver observed. I shrugged. "It'll be good experience for Lev." Silver glanced back at Feraligatr, who was getting a murderous glint in his eye.
"...Right. If Feraligatr doesn't kill Lev first." I had nothing to argue against that, and simply chose to run a bit faster.
We quickly rushed down the little transit building between Cerulean and Vermilion.
As we did, trouble began brewing on the SS Anne...
"Sir? Sir, there's been trouble in Cerulean. A Coliseum got blown up." Morgan clapped his hands. "I see. Pictures?" A picture flashed across the screen. Morgan frowned. "Dear god, Livvy. What have you done...?" Tristan's voice fizzled in the intercom.
"Sir? Sir, should I alert the Jennies?" Morgan shook his head. "No, I don't think it will be necessary." "But, but sir—" "Goodbye, Tristan." Morgan ended the conversation, and leaned back in his seat.
"My baby girl, what shall we do with you... you want to set me up, eh? I'm more than willing to play this game, dearest." He leaned closer to the picture. "Amuse me."
Back with the group, there was a slight problem.
"My, my! What a cute Pachirisu! Would you like a Poffin, cutie?!" A woman simpered, pressing Grimwald to her more-than-ample chest. "Fuck yeah, bitches! Feed me!" I was the only one that bothered to listen to his Translator, and sighed, choosing instead to go pry a young girl away from Jack.
Gold, to the amusement of both Silver and Anna, had set up a gambling station with Togetaro. Both were thrilled at the gullible little girls lured in by the ickle-bickle-cutesy-wootsey-Togepi.
Most of my Pokemon, being unevolved and sufficiently cute, were being fawned over. I had no qualms against it, but I really wanted to go see the SS Anne...
I sighed, and stowed my map in my bag, calling to the others. Jack followed me quickly, with Grimwald leaping back up on my shoulder, mimicking the gesture of a Pikachu on the shoulder of a boy I had never—and would never—meet.
Santi and Lev both escaped from the crowd, and followed me. Silver recalled Murkrow, and Gold, quite regretfully, took Togetaro, and also the fifteen thousand Poke-pounds he had won, with him.
Anna, having no cute Pokemon, caught up with us quickly. As I gazed at the docked ship, a man in a dark blue buttoned shirt, and black slacks approached me. He looked antsy, and eager to get out of the situation.
"Hello, ma'am. My name is Tristan. And I was sent here to give you these!" He shoved two pairs of tickets in my hands, and rushed off like he had somewhere important to be. I raised an eyebrow.
Silver said what we all were thinking; "Hey, why did he give us those tickets?" Gold snatched his from me. "I don't know, and I don't care! Sweet ship, here I come!" He raced off. I shrugged, gave a 'what can you do' look to Silver and Anna, and rushed off with Gold.
We handed our tickets to the porter, and he remarked cheerfully, "Don't forget the ball tonight, lassies!" I nodded, unsure of what he was talking about, but sure it sounded like fun.
Once we arrived, I noticed quite a few swank kids and their snooty parents around. I figured this must be an important occasion. All the kids were so dressed up and primped and pimped, (seriously, pedophile fathers. I mean, ten-year-olds in backless, low-cut dresses?! Come on!)
Blushing, we all looked down at our clothes. Our grotty and disgusting clothes that were attracting stares. "Well, we might want to go shopping." I said. Everyone nodded in agreement.
"But first, a shower!" Gold enthused. We all agreed, and set off for our rooms. Anna and Gold got one, while I shared with Silver. He sat on the bed, as I turned on the shower. "Hey, Liv? You know Gold and I are... well, in a..." "Relationship?" I asked. He nodded.
"Well, yeah. Um, but, it's kinda... illegal now. So, what do I do?" I shrugged. "Well, since we're in public, I guess... just no PDA." He blinked.
"Pokemon Digital Assistant? What?" I rolled my eyes. "No, fuckwit. Public Displays of Affection." He sighed sadly.
"I hate this." I nodded. "I know." His voice trembled a bit, and I knew instinctively that revealing this much emotion to anyone was tough for him.
"I mean, no one's allowed to be themselves anymore! Girls can't be butch, I know... but it's hard for us too, sometimes." I considered this.
It hadn't really occurred to me that some men might hate this. I mean, most of them benefited from a system that praised masculinity.
But then again, some just weren't all that masculine to begin with. I cursed myself for not seeing that before.
"I mean, it's just not fair! For anyone, male or female! And nobody benefits from a system that makes you be someone you're not, right!? So... so..." I called, "So what?"
Silver sighed. "I don't know." All was silent for a minute or two. Then he asked softly,
"Livid, can you promise me... if you ever become Champion, can you make... you know, homosexuality and stuff legal again?" I nodded, and called back, "Promise." He seemed satisfied, and let me finish my shower.
Drying myself off, I grabbed a simple shirt and skirt to go shopping with. Silver took a quick shower, and I pretended not to hear him sniffling over the water. Once he came out, I called for my Pokemon, and we set off.
This place was huge, for the record. It had almost twenty shops. I stopped in the first one I saw that played good music. Most people stared at my Charmander, but said nothing. I chose a silvery ruffled top carefully, and then selected a flare-legged black pant-skirt combo, along with a red tie. The lady at the counter looked at me suspiciously for the tie, but I paid for the stuff, and walked out, Grimwald on my shoulder whispering curses at all the Pachirisu he saw.
I saw Silver, looking confused as to what to buy, in another store close by. I smiled, and walked over. "Want some help?" He jumped. "Uh, yeah. What do I wear?" I snickered to myself. "...I thought you'd never ask."
After much deliberation and coaxing, Silver bought a tight black jacket, a white buttoned shirt, and a plain pair of black slacks. "I feel like a goddamn yuppie." Silver hissed as we left. I shrugged.
"No way, baby, you're gonna look adorable..." Gold caught the stares of an old lady, and quickly finished, "...Anna! You'll look splendid." I breathed an annoyed sigh of relief.
"Seriously, you look great, Silver." Gold said softly, kissing him quickly on the cheek. Silver blushed. Akira, standing by Anna's side, grinned at me. "Isn't my doll gonna look gorgeous?"
Anna had bought a plain white dress with plaid trim, which I suspected was hard for her to do. I said nothing, and looked around. "Why don't we check out the bookstore?" They all shrugged, and nodded.
The place was no bookstore. It was a propaganda machine. The books on the shelf had titles like, "Homosexuality: The Spreading Cancer", "Raising your Son; keeping the boys away from Femininity", "Pokephilia: The sin against our New Order League", and other such savory titles.
I felt incredibly uncomfortable in the store, and quickly dragged the others out. Gold fumed the entire way back to our room. "I don't believe them! It's utter bullshit!" Explotaro nodded in agreement with his trainer. Silver said nothing, but his eyes smoldered.
I shook my head, and clicked my tongue. "It's going to change someday, I promise. Now go get dressed." They split into Gold and Anna's room, while we girls stayed to change. Everyone stayed out, really uncaring about our undressing, except for Akira and Jack, who both locked themselves into the bathroom.
"Why the hell does Jack care? I mean, I get why Akira minds, but Jack?" Anna wondered out loud. I shrugged. "Maybe he's just a prude." Or otherwise. But I refused to think about that.
Once we got dressed, we both recalled our Pokemon, and headed outside to wait for the boys. They came out a couple minutes later, breathing heavily and bright red. "...Sorry, needed a quick makeout before hell-on-earth." Gold explained quickly. We rolled our eyes knowledgably, and set off with an air of superiority.
"Dad? I'm bored." Roger said, leaning against the table. He was annoyed. He'd only had a week on the road before his dad had dragged him to this stupid party. He really hated his dad being the Champion, sometimes.
First, he didn't start until he was almost THIRTEEN. Stupid Dad, insisting he go to Pokemon Tech. No one went to school after ten; wouldn't it have been better to go on a journey like usual? Learn on the road?
He grumped, remembering the embarrassment he'd suffered. He didn't even have a Pokemon until ages ago; and now he had only four! It wasn't fair! Everyone else had a lot!
And he didn't like the ones he'd gotten. Becka and Rukario were awesome, but Karash and Ripper were scary...
He decided as soon as he got away from his dad, he would give them to another trainer.
He didn't like them at all. They were strong, but he wanted something that didn't look at him like he was a piece of meat.
Morgan frowned. "Be patient. You'll get to socialize in a bit, Roger." He sighed, and hugged Rukario, who nuzzled his trainer in response. "Don't worry, master! I'm sure we'll have fun!" Roger smiled at his Riolu.
"I'm sure I will, with you by my side, Rukario!" The two hugged in a display of sheer cuteness so sappy it made Morgan's teeth throb in pain.
I burst into the room, Jack striding behind me. I didn't notice Morgan's eyes widen in shock, nor did I see Roger's face light up.
All I saw was the food.
I practically inhaled the entire table, shoving five different flavors of croissants in my mouth, all the while washing this down with coffee; not the crappy coffee-mix, but pure coffee.
I was in heaven.
"...Okay. I didn't think girls ate that much." Roger told his father. His mother fidgeted in her seat, and said nothing, just as usual. But his father ignored him, and instead stared at the girl. "...Roger, wouldn't you like to battle her? Provide some entertainment for the Champion and his friends?" Roger shrugged.
"I'll go ask her, okay?" He set off, Rukario trotting by his side. Morgan smirked into his coffee.
"Hey! Miss!" A boy with long dark brown hair set in a pretty sweeping style rushed up to me. "My name's Roger Kent! Wanna fight me?" I grumbled. "Zip it, I'm eating—wait, what?" I gazed at him.
He couldn't be more than twelve, but he seemed to... look like me, just a bit. And did he say his name was Kent? "...I'm Olivia Kent. And... Yeah, I guess I'll fight you." He nodded, and even though I was ravenous, the way his face lit up made me cheerful.
We both faced each other on the dance floor that had been converted into a battlefield for the ball. I saw my friends watch with amazement.
"...She's starting to look like a true trainer. A real one, not one of the League clones." Silver said softly. Gold leaned back, and smiled. "She's a good kid, isn't she?"
Roger nodded to Rukario, who jumped out. Jack shook his head, and I shrugged. Better off, I guess. "Leviathan, go!" The Totodile launched himself at his opponent.
"Bubblebeam!" Roger thought quickly. "Aura Sphere!" Lev dodged, with only a bit nicking his tail. Rukario got pushed back by the stream of bubbles, and I quickly ordered a Water Gun.
However, Lev unleashed an Ice Beam. "Where is your god NOW!?" He cackled. I blinked. "Someone's bipolar." Lev looked back at me, and rolled his eyes, blinking cutely and chewing on his arm again. I couldn't help but smile.
Roger frowned. "Rukario, be careful! Use Mach Punch, please!" It struck Lev, and he howled in pain. "Bite down!" I ordered. He did so, sending Rukario into a howl of fury. I smirked.
"Aura Sphere!" I knew at close range, it would hurt quite a bit. "Lev! Use Crunch!" He bit down, and as Aura Sphere pushed him back, he took Rukario with him.
Rukario and Lev both tried to stand up, but both failed. "Sorry mommy, I didn't bite him hard enough..." I patted Lev on the head. "It's okay. You tried your best, and I'm sure you'll get even better, right?" He nodded, and I recalled him.
"Sorry, master." Rukario said sadly. Roger smiled. "Don't worry, when you're a Lucario, you'll beat everyone, right?" Rukario nodded, and smiled as Roger recalled him.
"Okay! Becka! Are you ready!?" I stared at the Charmander. She seemed happy and well-adjusted enough for me to think this kid would be a decent trainer.
"Santi, come here for a sec." I used the Pokedex to check his level. I blinked. "Level 15? Why didn't you say something?" Santi shrugged. "Uh, you never asked." I stopped.
"Shit, you're right." I wanted to throttle him, but he was right. "Just go, and use Ember!" Everyone gasped. A Charmander? How could that be?
Roger seemed surprised, too. But his Charmander had TMs on his side; "Dragon Claw!" I gaped, as Santi got slashed with a glowing blue claw.
"Dammit, Tail Whip! Slap her!" Santi whipped a flaming tail in Becka's face, causing her to howl and step back. "No! Use Dragonbreath!" Santi got struck with the beam of light, and I grunted.
If, and I did mean if, he could evolve right now, that would be nice. And I had an idea. "Santi! Quick, use Ember with all your might!" He spewed flames, and I practically saw him grow stronger and more powerful. "Now! Dragon Claw, Becka!" I screamed out one last attack.
"Santi, SLASH!" He did so, and as the two attacks collided, a white light filled the room. When it faded, I looked at Santi, and gasped. He'd evolved into a Charmeleon. "You did it!" I screamed, pausing the battle so I could run and hug him. "I did it! I did it!" Jack, looking forlorn on the sidelines, recalled Mew's words. He hung his head sadly.
"...I have to get stronger." He promised himself. "I will!" I squealed with delight as we both recalled our Pokemon; in the clash, Becka had fainted.
"Good job! Say, how many Pokemon do you have, Olivia?" I told Roger, "Four. You?"
He nodded. "Four! Okay, here's my next one! Ripper!" I gaped.
"...Dude, that's a goddamn Aerodactyl." I said. Roger nodded. "Yup! Dad revived his fossil for me." I then decided I was screwed.