- N - = Nicky's part
- J - = my part
Chapter 001 - Meeting of two travellers!
- N -
Dawn in Oreburgh City came in two varieties: on weekends, when the mine was empty, the silence in the mornings was so intense, the proverbial pin drop sounded like a bomb going off; but on weekday mornings, the machinery whirring was loud enough to rattle the floors.
Serena Joy buttered her toast and watched the salt and pepper shakers jump across the breakfast table. Her Audino grabbed a jar of strawberry preserve before it slid to the floor, looking like it was thinking the same thing she was: living next to the Oreburgh Mine wasn't the smartest idea they've had.
Audino pushed the jam back onto the table, muttering angrily about the noise, and jumped off her seat to collect more toast for the growing mountain on the table.
The door to the tiny kitchen opened up to reveal a very tired-looking redhead leaning in the frame. His shirt was on backwards and his pants were undone- it was clear Roark hadn't been thinking too straight when he dressed.
"I hate Mondays," He growled, rubbing his eyes. "Hate, hate, hate..."
"Hate them all you want," Serena rolled her eyes, getting up to fish his glasses from where they hung on his shirt collar and fitting them to his face. "It's like my dad used to say: Get rid of Monday and we'll all just hate Tuesdays,"
"Do they all say that in Unova?" Roark blinked, getting used to the lenses, before noticing his breakfast had already been set on the table. He sat down eagerly and began to demolish the small mountain of toast on his plate.
"Nope, just us Joys," Serena added. When you lived in a family of nurses, a strict work ethic was second nature.
"'pardos,"
Roark's Rampardos stuck his head into the kitchen door, mouth full of Monday mail. Serena rubbed the fossil pokemon's head as she flipped through the letters. Bills, bills, junk, bills...
"Roark?" She turned to her roommate, an odd letter in her hand. It was addressed to one Gym Leader Roark with perfect penmanship, in very professional dark blue pen. There was no return address. "Were you expecting a letter?"
"Let me see that," He picked the letter from her hand, sniffed it tentatively, and smiled.
"Riley."
"Who?"
"Riley. He's a friend of Dad's," Roark explained, opening the envelope with his butter knife. Carefully, he placed the envelope aside and skimmed through the letter. "You met him once, Serena, I think he was in town last year."
"I don't remember him," Serena admitted, flipping the envelope over in her fingers, then sniffing it the way Roark had. It smelt just like a perfectly ordinary piece of paper.
Roark's mood had improved significantly - quickly, he corrected his shirt and checked his pants. His red hardhat was halfway to his head. "You'll like him - he's interested in mythology and... that other thing you studied in college...?"
"Anthropology?"
"Yes. That." Roark beamed. "I gotta go. Get the mine nice and clean if he shows up."
"You mean, he's coming here? Today?" Her jaw was slack. "When?"
"He might, I don't know. He always shows up unannounced. We'll just be extra-careful. " Roark straightened himself in his mining uniform, looking every bit like a proud Gym Leader. "Dress nicely, just in case."
With a quick whistle, he signalled for his Rampardos to follow him out the door. Serena waited for his footsteps to disappear down the hallway before turning to her Audino. The little pink pokemon blinked quizzically, just as stunned as she was.
Suddenly, the noise of the mine was the least of their problems.
- J -
A young woman had just arrived at Oreburgh City accompanied by a Masquerain and a Roserade. She deposited her bag on a bench to wipe the sweat from her forehead.
"Phew... We're finally here, Maki, Dew. We're full of mud... We must go to a hostel to have a shower! Let's go!"
She started to run through the streets when she suddenly crashed with someone.
"OUCH!"
- N -
If Stephanie Brown could hate anything about Sinnoh, it would be the wildlife.
The young woman's legs ran quickly in their Runningshoes, turning her into a blur darting through the pavement of people at the town entrance. Commuters gasped, ducked and held onto their skirts as she zoomed past them all, trying all the while not to cry like a baby.
Behind her were more Bidoof than she had ever seen in her life.
Rodent squirmed in her arms, making little Raticate hissing noises, as if to scare them off. It wasn't working, of course, but she had to give her rat props for trying. They were both bruised and bloody and tired beyond belief - stopping to fight all those stupid beavers would be suicide.
"No! Bad Rodent!" She snapped, trying to stop her rat from moving in case she dropped him. "Just shut up and stop moving, we'll lose them in the city!"
They were in Oreburgh now, if her map was right - the stupid beavers had followed them all the way through the Oreburgh tunnel and into city limits - didn't those things ever give up? Why did every last stupid wild pokemon want to beat her up so badly?
Her legs were burning with exhaustion when she slammed into what felt like a brick wall.
Brown rubbed the back of her head, vaguely aware of the approaching crowd of Bidoof behind her. In front of her was a young woman with bushy brown hair a well-groomed Masquerain and Roserade beside her.
"Oh, ma'am, I'm so sorry, I'm just being followed and I wasn't looking and-" She stopped, noticing just how strong the woman's pokemon were. Hope glowed in her eyes.
"PLEASE!" She gasped, grabbing the woman's shirt and desperately talking into her face. "YOU'VE GOT STRONG POKEMON!"
She must have looked insane right then - there were twigs in her hair and scratches on her face, plus she hadn't bathed in days. "LISTEN. YOU GOTTA SAVE ME, LADY! THE BEAVERS! THEY WANT MY FLESH!"
"Raticate," Rodent muttered apologetically. Just in case this woman thought he was just as mad as his trainer.
"PLEASE! I'VE BEEN RUNNING NONSTOP FOR THREE HOURS! THEY JUST WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!"
- J -
The lady stared at the teenager (assuming Ms. Brown is a few years younger than Amy), shocked not only because of her impulsiveness but also her wounds. She felt instantly sorry for the girl as she had a thing for younger kids.
"Oh, my...!" She scrapped some dirt from the girl's face. "How could such a cute girl be attacked by pokémon?"
The horde of Bidoofs reached both females. They looked at the teenager angrily but ignored the young woman. Roserade and Masquerain looked at their trainer as the girl stood behind her, hell of scared.
"I hate battling, but if these Bidoofs stay here for longer, not only this girl but also the city would be in troubles." The woman said. "Dew, immobilize them with your grass knot!"
Roserade tied all the Bidoofs up with her roots, but they didn't seem to chill out.
"It seems like they need to chill out..." The purple-eyed woman said, grinning. "Maki, ice beam!"
Masquerain used her ice beam on all the Bidoofs, that ran away from there, freezing to death.
"I feel kind of sorry for those poor things..." The woman said; she turned to the girl. "But at least you're all right!"
She brushed the girl's hair with her hand, and then smiled.
"My name is Amethyst, but you can call me Amy." She said. "What's your name~?"
- N -
"It seems like they need to chill out..."
Still with her butt on the ground, Brown giggled at the pun. For the first time in hours, she was feeling truly safe as the purple-eyed trainer dispatched the beavers and sent them yelping back out of town.
"Woah." She blinked as the Masquerain sent out an ice beam. This trainer was more than strong - she seemed downright capable. While Brown herself had had several trainer battles before, no one had ever fought so effortlessly. This was someone with plenty of experience behind her.
"How did you do that? That was amazing!" Brown gasped as she stood up. Her legs were burning with exhaustion, and the hundred or so scratches she had were finally starting to smart. "Ow, ow, ow, ow..."
Sensing his trainer needed some help, Rodent braced himself against her leg. "Thanks, buddy," She ruffled the rat's fuzzy brown head as she finally straightened her back. She flinched as the older girl brushed the dirt from her brownish-blonde hair, but didn't move. It felt good to finally rest.
"It's really, really really nice to meet you, Miss Amy," Brown grinned and introduced herself the way Gold had taught her: "I'm Stephanie Brown and I'm a Pokedex Holder from Jhoto. Thank you so, so so much for saving me! I really really-"
Her Raticate cleared his throat.
"Right," She sighed, then indicated to her rat, who bowed on cue. "This is Rodent. He's my only Pokemon. We're trying to get into the Sinnoh League."
Feeling slightly proud she opened her jacket, displaying two badges. "I got this one in Viridian in Kanto, and this one's from Canalave when I got here by boat." It felt good showing the badges off, especially since there weren't many trainers she knew who had more than two.
- J -
"Awww, nice to meet you both, Stephanie and Rodent!" Amethyst said, with a warm smile. "These two are Maki and Dew, two of my pokémon."
Roserade and Masquerain nodded.
"I'm also a traveller." Amethyst added. "Although I guess you haven't been to a Pokémon Center for longer than me! My... How can you take all that mud on your clothes?"
Amethyst looked around.
"I hadn't been here in ages, many things have changed." She said. "But! If I'm not wrong, there should be a Pokémon Center over there."
As they start walking, Amethyst giggles at Stephanie's surprised expression.
"Haha, as you can see, I don't take my pokémon in their pokéballs. If I could, I would carry my whole team out of their pokéballs!" She said. "I don't care if people look at me, I just can't take the idea of shutting these creatures in these tiny balls... My Glaceon, Mawile and Togekiss are hurt from some battles, and Dragonite is too big, that's why they're in their pokéballs now."
Amethyst patted Roserade's head, friendly.
"Anyway." She said, more seriously. "How do you plan on winning the Pokémon League with only one pokémon? I'm not doubting Rodent's skills, but the E4 members are very strong... Don't you think you could try to catch more pokémon? I'm not a big fan of capturing pokémon, but trainers who live to battle like you need them, so..."
- N -
Brown waved meekly at the two pokemon. Maki and Dew seemed gentle enough, but she kept her distance anyway. Even trained pokemon tended to act unpredictably around her. Gold's own Typhlosion still enjoyed pouncing on her every so often, but the rest of the pokemon in his house tended to simply ignore her.
"H-hi, Maki, hi, Dew." She stammered. "It's r-really nice to meet you."
Rodent sniffed the Roserade curiously, before extending a tiny hand to shake. Brown smiled – if Rodent could be friendly, then so could she.
"A pokemon center? Ohhh… I could really really really use a shower. And some antiseptic." She smiled tiredly, and checked her cuts. "Ow. Actually, I think I use more potions than Rodent here does!"
The purple-eyed woman had a world-traveller look to her, as if she'd been to many places and knew them all by heart. Brown found herself wondering how long Amy had been a trainer. She seemed very experienced. Hadn't Professor Oak told her there were other Pokedex Holders along with Gold, Emerald and Kris? Silver had one, and so did his friend Blue… and so did Ruby and Sapphire in Hoenn. There were four, maybe more, in Kanto… but how many else were there?
Maybe Amy was one? She seemed strong enough, and just the kind Oak would have trusted.
She stopped thinking (and walking, too!) the moment she heard Amy had more than two pokemon. An entire team full of very, very very strong pokemon. She wasn't sure what a Glaceon and a Togekiss once, but Ruby had warned her to watch out for Mawiles. She gulped.
"Maybe… maybe it's best they stay put in their balls for a little while… At least until I leave" She said, trying not to sound rude. "I met a Dragonite once, and it tried to eat me."
She scratched the back of her head.
"Pokemon… don't really like me, Miss Amy," She admitted. "Professor Oak calls it 'The Brown Effect' – wild pokemon are attracted to me, but they always seem to want to beat me up for some reason. Even the ones with trainers still like attacking me – the ones that don't just ignore me.
"Rodent's the only pokemon that really trusts me. He's very helpful when we need to protect ourselves. Don't get me wrong – I do want more teammates, but when I've tried catching more, they all just jump on me once they get out of the ball." She shrugged. "No one knows why pokemon act like that around me. Maybe it's destiny or something?"
The Raticate crawled up her back and sat on her shoulders. Instinctively, Brown scratched him between his ears, and heard him purr with pleasure.
"To be honest, I don't want to be the champion or anything. This was all a friend of mine's idea – this guy, Gold, right? He takes care of me, since my parents are travellers, kind of like you. My parents invited me to come and watch them in the league this year, but Gold insisted I try to get into the league and take them on instead of just watching. He says that I don't assert myself enough, or something like that…" She shrugged.
"I've already beaten Byron in Canalave, since Rodent had a type advantage." Rodent squeaked proudly, setting part of his fur on fire. "His dad was Gold's Typhlosion, so he knows Flame Wheel. It wasn't easy, but I really want to prove I can be a good trainer. Plus, Byron says his son's a pussy. How hard can he be?"
She laughed. "I want to be a good trainer, not just for Rodent, but for Gold – he's done a lot for me. And some of the dexholders seem to think I'll chicken out and give up. Gold has a friend, Kris? She's worried I won't be able to beat them all… and her apprentice seems to think I'm a wimp. " She crossed her arms, remembering Emerald teasing her. He was never mean, but still she wanted to prove him wrong.
- J -
Amethyst noticed that Brown was staring at her as they walked. She smiled when the young girl showed her pokédex, as Amethyst had another one herself!
"I'm so glad to meet one of the new Dexholders." Amethyst thought. "And she seems to be very proud of it! I'd better not tell her yet I'm also a Dexholder, I don't want her to feel intimidated."
The young woman giggled as she saw Dew and Maki salute Ms. Brown and her chubby Raticate.
"It's okay!" Amethyst said. "I haven't trained my pokémon to be fighters, in fact, we only battle when we have to. But if you feel more comfortable this way, I'll keep it like this!"
When they stopped walking, Amethyst put her hands on her hips and looked at Stephanie and Rodent as they examinated her and her pokémon as well.
"It's strange." Amethyst said. "I never heard of a phenomenon like that… I mean, it's not like you seem to be a dangerous person, so I don't know why would most pokémon attack you."
"Hahaha!" Amethyst smiled as she remembered Gold. "Yeah, I know that hot-head. He's two years younger than me, but he's so clever!" She stared at Rodent. "So, he managed to breed a Rattata with his Typhlosion. Awesome! He isn't the Breeder for anything, is he?"
Amethyst looked around, southward.
"Yeah… I met Byron's son eight years ago." She said. "It was for a very short time, so I'm sure he won't recognize me. Well, I don't really remember him very well either…"
She patted Brown's shoulder, as sign of support.
"Don't worry, I know those persons you mentioned, and well, Crystal tends to worry too much, to be honest." Amethyst said. "As for Emerald… Hehe, I would have never figured you had met my brother before~! Yeah, he's kind of a pain in the neck, but he's a pretty cool guy after all, and he's matured a lot. Now, he's travelling through Kanto."
Suddenly, Amethyst flinched, as she remembered something.
"We shouldn't be talking here!" She exclaimed. "We must go to a Pokémon Center to give you proper medicine and a shower! Let's go~!"
- N -
"Oh wow! You know Gold too? How?" Brown clapped her hands happily. Gold had told her his breeding skills were renowned, but she had no idea he was this famous. "I bet he flirted with you, didn't he?" She laughed. "He's such a player."
She followed Amy's gaze to the south, wondering which one of the tall industrial buildings was the Gym. "What was Roark like when you met him, Miss Amy? Is he scary? I remember Byron was scary!"
Rodent shivered, as they both recalled nearly losing to the gym leader's Bronzong. Kris had taught her about how some pokemon concentrated their energy at special areas, but it had taken a lot of luck to attack the Bronzong at just the right spot.
"But you're right – Kris worries a lot about things. Gold told me she panics when things don't go according to plan." She laughed. "And Emerald's really cool! He tried to teach me how to battle and surprise the opponent. He kept saying that even if we were disadvantaged, we could still plan and come out on top.
"We saw him off when he went to Kanto. It got lonely around Oak's lab when he left and…"
She stopped.
"Wait – did you say Emerald was your b-brother?" Her mouth was wide open now, and Rodent bristled his fur in surprise. "Really, really?" She looked the older trainer up and down. "You look so so so different from him! Come to think of it, he's mentioned you once or twice! He told me about the time he went to Iron Island with you! I saw it on the boat while coming into Canalave – it's so big and dangerous! Weren't you scared?"
She was so excited, she barely noticed the Pokemon Center in front of her – and the glass door. Bonking, hard, into the large glass entrance, Brown staggered back several steps, visibly shaken.
"I… usually don't see where I'm going." She groggily admitted to the older trainer, Rodent still squeaking loudly on her shoulders.
When you lived in a house full of rock pokemon, it was hard to keep everything clean.
Serena Joy had given up trying to sweep the floor – every time, she finished with the living room, another geodude would hop by and dirty it up again. Or an Onyx would put his head through the window to stop her attempts at changing the curtains.
Once she's given up dusting, mopping or sweeping, she'd discovered the apartment didn't have a vacuum cleaner. ("Everyone should have a vacuum cleaner. Why doesn't he vacuum? How does he even live?") A quick call to her assorted cousins at the Pokemon Center had fixed that – now all she needed to do was pick it up.
She waited in the Center lobby for someone to return with a vacuum, all the while glaring at people who asked her to heal their teams.
"Do I LOOK like a Nurse Joy?" She spat at the fifth trainer who came up to her with a tray of pokeballs. "Am I, like, am I wearing the stupid paper hat? Do I have a Chansey? Welcome to the Pokemon Center, we heal your pokemon to full health? Huh? Punk? Huh?"
Her Audino merely looked at them apologetically. "Audino," It sweatdropped.
A shadow fell over her – no doubt another trainer. "Before you ask: NO! I WILL NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, HEAL YOUR STUPID POKEMON!" Without turning around, she flapped a hand at the trainer. "BEAT IT!"