Chapter 14: Pinwheel Forest Entrance
Author's Note: I have a request for the readers. I need to decide the name of the character that is going to bring Plasma down. Will it be Hilda, Touko, or White? I don't plan on finalizing her name until I reach the Castelia arc. But I do need to help from the readers. I started a poll on my profile, please go vote. If you do not have an account just pop the name into a review for me. Which name will receive the Reader's Choice award? (I would like even those who already voted in their reviews to vote again, as I am starting the poll over.)
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"Pinwheel Forest: straight ahead!" Jen jumped about on the path before us while Tim and I just walked. I had removed my new Egg from the pouch and was cradling it in my arms.
Tim glanced around and pointed towards an opening in the fence that lined the path. "Can we take a short side trip and head through there?"
Jen dashed over to the opening and looked to see what was past it.
I shrugged. "Why not? But is there any reason in particular?"
"You'll see!" Tim led the way into the area.
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"So this is the famous Challenge Rock." I said, looking up at the huge stone.
"It's famous?" Jen tilted her head to the side. "It's seems like it's just a piece of rock. Why is it famous?"
"I know it's famous locally because if you strike it with a Fighting Type Pokémon then you can get a Star Piece, which are worth a lot of money. I didn't think it was all THAT famous though." Tim frowned and looked at me.
"It's not really. It's just a joke with my brother. He never had a Fighting-Type so he could never get a Star Piece." I grinned as I explained.
"Hmmmm..." Jen reached down and brought out one of her poke balls. "Emilionia!"
Her Riolu appeared and looked around. When she saw there were no opponents for her to fight, she turned to Jen and put her paws on her hips.
"Emi, could you do me a favor?" Jen asked, giggling as the Pokémon glared. "I want to get a Star Piece for Sophie and myself. Feel up to the Challenge Rock?"
The Riolu tensed at the word challenge and turned to look over the stone.
As the Pokémon sized up her target, I turned to Jen. "You don't have to. I don't actually need a Star Piece."
"Yes you do."
"I do?"
"You mentioned how you don't want to be like your brother, right? Well, then you need a Star Piece from this rock."
Tim and I broke down laughing.
From my poke balls, Avon throws in his opinion. She's weirder than I thought...How is that possible?
I choke on more laughter as Tim gets himself under control.
After the laughter subsided, Tim pulled one of his poke balls out. "Blaze, ready to finally take a swing at the Challenge Rock?"
Blaze leapt out of the poke ball and clear over Emi's head as she returned from the rock. He stuck the rock so exuberantly that chips flew in several directions.
Emi rolled her eyes at the other's enthusiasm. She handed the two Star Pieces over to her trainer and promptly returned to her poke ball.
Jen handed me one of the stones and gave a sad smile. "She's not comfortable being let out for fun. Her previous Trainer was a...not nice person." Her tone was such that it obvious she was making an extreme understatement.
Tim glanced at her. "Did you just self-censor?" He glanced down at his beaming Pokémon. "You want to hold onto that for awhile Blaze?" At the excited look Blaze gave him, he grinned and returned the happy Pokémon to the poke ball.
"Yes. Yes I did." Jen's smile turned into a mischievous grin.
"Oh! We forgot! Tim you have to catch a Tympole!" I suddenly remember. With one hand needed to hold the Egg, I gesture with the one holding my new Star Piece to the grass surrounding us. "Go! Go get a Tympole! Don't take no for an answer!"
"GO! GO!" Jen starts cheering as Tim, laughing, runs off into the grass. She turns and looks at me questioningly. "Why does he need a Tympole?"
"For his team. He wants to become the Champion. I am helping him fashion a team to do that." I shrug my shoulders. "Did you somehow have Emi's name changed before you got her?"
"One, I know you are pretty talented, but are you really qualified to build a Champion's team? And two, yes, it is quite a story. How'd you guess?" Jen sat down to wait for Tim's return.
I plopped down next to her, nestling the Egg in my lap. "I hope you can tell me the story sometime. I just thought that if you needed to censor what you were going to call the previous Trainer, then they would not have given her such a pretty name. But as for my qualification...Does watching the Elite Four spar on a regular basis count as enough?"
"You watch them spar. Often." Jen turns and looks me over. "How do you manage that?"
I lean back against the challenge rock, gently stroking my Egg. "My brother was the previous Champion. As such, the Elite Four often come to visit and spar." I turn my head to face her. "I'm not telling Tim what Pokémon the Four have, just what would be good Pokémon to have in his team."
"Well, that makes sense." We sit in silence for a while. "How long do you think it is going to take Tim?"
"Considering that apparently the last time he was here, they all ran away from him, it might take a while."
"Okay, then. Will you tell me about the Pokémon around here? Any weird things that you have noticed?"
"In other words, you want to hear more of my 'this is weird' rants."
"Yup! Let's start with that Pokémon over there. The one carrying the square log."
"Timburr."
"...There's a lot of Tims around here."
"I noticed that too."
"So, is there anything that you find weird about them?"
I stare at the Pokémon for a few minutes. "The log. They are always carrying square logs. Where do they get them? Why do they carry them? If they're getting them from the forest, then why isn't the forest completely gone? It bothers me. And you are finding this way to amusing."
Jen managed to get the giggles that had started mid-way through my rant under control. "I just find it awesome that you think about such little things. I kinda wish we could ask the Pokémon where they get the logs now." A slightly wistful look crosses her face before disappearing. "Oh! What about that Pokémon there? The small blue one."
"Munchlax. Cute, but not from around here."
"Apatite! Get back here!" The small blue Pokémon turned and jumped up and down when it heard the female voice call out. "Never mind. Apatite, go stand by that big rock and don't move! I'll be there as soon as I can get through these stupid weeds. Dangit, why did I feel the need to doodle in such an annoying area?"
The little Munchlax comes over to where we sat. When he saw my Egg he sat next to me. He started to reach out to touch the Egg, but waited for me to say it was okay. At my nod he gently stroked the Egg while he waited for his Trainer to catch up.
"Oh." I look up to see a girl of around fifteen standing in front of us.
She is about 5' 4" and has short hair that hangs around her ears. Her hair is dyed dark blue and her eyes are such a dark brown that they are almost black. Her skin was tan from what seemed to be a lot of travel. She is wearing a loose midnight blue t-shirt, devoid of any designs, loose, light blue cargo jeans, and worn blue tennis shoes with a worn blue back pack slung over her back. On her left arm was a denim armband with a blue stone attached to it. She was carrying a sketchbook.
"Apatite! I'm sorry-" She started to speak.
"It's okay! It's okay! Your little one asked for permission before he touched the Egg!" Jen waved away the girl's attempt at apologizing. "I'm Jen and this is Sophie."
The girl looked us over. "Tourmaline. I just hope that you two aren't the type of Trainers that insist on battling every Trainer they meet."
"I'd rather not have another battle today." I smiled up at her. "Tourmaline, is that also the name of the stone on your wristband?"
Surprise flickers over her face. "Yeah, it is. I'm surprised you noticed that."
"Sophie notice all sort of little things!" Jen motions at the ground in front of us. "Why don't you sit down? We'll be here for a while and your little Munchlax, Apatite? He seems quite content to pet the Egg. It's so cute!"
Tourmaline sat down and looked at her Pokémon. "He loves Eggs. But usually Trainers won't let him anywhere near them, afraid that he's gonna hurt 'em or something." She looks at me. "Why were you okay with it?"
I smile at her. "I'm training to be a Breeder. I come from a family of Breeders who own a ranch. I'm can tell when a Pokémon is going to harm an Egg. Apatite quite clearly only wanted to admire my Egg. Now if the Egg's parents said they didn't want him touching, then I wouldn't have let him."
"You talk as if you can understand your Pokémon." Tourmaline gave me a scrutinizing look.
"Only because I have a Psychic type that translates for me." Though my smile never falters as I hide my abilities, I am not sure that Tourmaline completely believes me.
Before we can talk about anything else, we hear a triumphant shout.
"I did it!"
Tim comes running up, completely out of breathe. Panting, he holds up a poke ball. "I...finally...managed to...catch a Tympole!"
"Congratulations! Have you decided what to name it?" I make grabby hands at him. "I want to see!"
Breathlessly laughing, he lets the newly caught Pokémon out. "No, I haven't decided on his name yet."
"Hey, little guy, want some berries?" Jen held a handful of Oran berries out to the small Pokémon. "You should call him Mit."
"Why Mit?" I shoot a glance her way.
"Because it's Tim backwards." She remained focused on the Pokémon as he munched happily on the berries.
As he regained his energy, the Tympole started to hop up and down.
Tourmaline watched for a few seconds. "He's a little hopper ain't he?"
"Hopper! That's it!" Tim knelt down next to the Pokémon. "How do you like the name Hopper?"
Hopper jumped up and down with happiness over his new name.
Tim turned to Tourmaline. "Thanks. I was pretty stumped on what would be a good name. I'm Tim by the way."
"Well, that explains why Jen was talking about Tim backwards. Tourmaline." She shakes hands with Tim before glancing over to the forest. "I suppose I should be getting through there."
"Oh, you're heading through the forest as well?" I hand Jen the Egg while I stand up and brush the dirt off my clothes.
"If there's a way for you to bypass the forest, I suggest you take it. I can't find the way through to save my life. And the road? There are some weirdly dressed people hanging out on it." Tourmaline made a face as she considered the forest.
"It's not that bad." Tim protested.
"Yeah." Jen agreed with Tim, both of them looking rather confused over the girl's dislike of the forest.
"Have both of you been through it?" Tourmaline asked.
They both nodded.
"Jen, how many times did you get lost?" I piped up.
"Umm..." Jen's blush answered the question.
"And Tim, you probably had your sister's help, right?"
"Well, yeah. But that's what the Rangers are in the forest for." Tim looks over at Tourmaline. "My sister is a Ranger-in-Training and she should be back at work. If you want, I can introduce you to her. She knows the forest better than even her mentor. She may decide that it's easier to just lead all of us through as one group though."
Tourmaline was silent, considering the offer. She gave Tim a look over while fingering something hidden by her shirt. "Alright. That would be a big help. My Pokémon are getting sick of me wandering in circles."
"I wonder if there are Rangers who could lead us through the city." I mumbled to the Egg in my arms. The other three Trainers glance at me, not fully catching what I had said. I look up with a bright smile. "Well, shall we get going? And Tim, shouldn't you call Maria?"
"Oh! Right! Hopper, do you want to stay out and walk with us for now?" The small Pokémon happily bumped against his leg as he pulled out his Xtransceiver. "Alrighty then. Hey, Maria! Guess where I am?"
"Pinwheel Forest. I'll be at the entrance in five minutes. Meet me there." And the call ended.
We stood and blinked for a few seconds of silence. Then the four of us and the Pokémon started running to the entrance so as to make it in five minutes.
A grin spread across my face. "This is gonna be fun."
"I regret greatly introducing you to my family. I may just fly over the forest and meet you all at Castelia." Tim grimaces, remembering how well Maria and I had gotten along.
"Wait, you can fly there? May I ask why you are bothering to walk through the forest at all?" Tourmaline confusion was clear in her voice.
"Because there is something I need to see in the forest and my brother kinda tricked Tim into keeping an eye on me." I jokingly explain.
"I am not keeping an eye on you!" Tim protested.
Tourmaline glanced down at me. "I think she meant that part as a joke, boy. By the way, just how old are you kid? You look like you're five, but you act like you're around fifteen."
"I'm ten."
"You are really mature for your age."
"Thanks. By the way, do you mind if I call you T? Tourmaline is kind of a mouthful."
"Sure, whatever."
We reach the entrance to the forest and catch our breath.
Jen stares at me. "Wait, I'm confused."
I tilt my head to look up at her; swiftly running my hands over the Egg to make sure it is all right. "About what?"
"Do you really look like you're five? Cause I always thought that you were ten."
WEIRD! My three oldest Eevees yell from their poke balls as I break down laughing.
"Jen, you are the first person to EVER get my age right the first time. Even my family acknowledges that I look young for my age. Of course, they all look younger than they are as well." I manage to get out after getting my laughter under control.
"I know that I would have assumed she was five if I hadn't asked her age." A voice speaks from the entrance. Maria Adams steps forward into the sunlight, wearing her official Ranger uniform. "You trying to start a harem Tim?"
"Maria!" Tim shouted, blushing furiously.
"Maria! Maria, look! It's Avon and Dusk's first Egg!" I carefully hold the Egg out so that she could see. "We found it this morning!"
"Congratulations! Now, come on. We need to get to where my mentor is." She quickly led us into Pinwheel Forest. "By the way Sophie, you're still helping Tim pick his team right?"
"Yup! He just got his fourth Pokémon for the team."
"Would a Deino by a good choice for the team?"
"Yeah. I was planning on having him add one to the team, but their territory is much closer to the Elite Four, so it would be awhile."
"Great!" Maria stood around and shoved a poke ball at her brother. "He can take this pest off my hands then. He's a Deino that was released into this forest. He has been setting all the trees on fire and the Panpours have been forced to work so much that they are all exhausted. I had to catch him just to stop the fires. Please. Just get him out of the forest." She took a deep breath. "His name is Ramoth, by the way."
She turned and continued leading us further in.
Tim stood for a moment stunned by what had just happened. "I'm going to owe her for this, aren't I?"
"It sounded more like she would owe you." Jen replied. Tourmaline nodded her agreement.
"You are totally going to owe her." I walked past him to catch up with Maria.
"That's what I thought." Tim sighed.
As the others caught up, Tourmaline spoke up. "Wait, why would he owe her, if it is beneficial to her that he takes the Pokémon?"
"One, because I am his older sister and two, because the Pokémon is going to help him become Champion." Maria replied without even glancing back.
"And you also gave it a cool name." I threw in.
"Yup. He probably would have called it Blacky or something."
"I would not have!" Tim protested then sighed. "The two of you are ganging up on me. That's not fair."
"It's completely fair, Tim. They're girls, they can do that." A voice called from up ahead.
A man in the male Ranger uniform stood with his rope hooked over his pouch. The way his hand rested over his pouch seemed protective, like he had something important in it.
"It's been awhile, Ranger Lumtol. It's good to see you again." Time greeted the man.
"You too. I wish I could help Maria take you through the forest, but there seems to be trouble on the road and I want to check on whether they need help or not. But first!" Lumtol turned towards us girls. "What are your names girls?"
"This is Sophie, I'm Jen, and this is Tourmaline!" Jen said in her chirping voice.
The two Rangers stared at her for a minute before Maria finally turned to her brother and pointed at Jen.
Before a word left her open mouth, Tim answered her question. "Yes, Jen really did just chirp."
Lumtol plastered a smile across his face. "Okay then! Nice to meet you all. You kids be careful. The forest has many hidden dangers." He put a hand on Maria's shoulder. "You have what you need, right?"
"Yup. Go take care of the road. I'll keep an eye on the forest and call you if I need back up." Maria sent him on his way with a grin.
"Oh! One last thing. Tim, Ramoth seems to favor using Incinerate. Be careful with him." Lumtol threw over his shoulder as he left.
Tim looked at the poke ball he still held in his hand. "Oh boy. This guy's going to be trouble."
His sister grinned. "Most likely. Come on. It's getting late and I know a good place to set up camp."
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Author's Note: The Rant about Timburr was totally not my fault! Blame it all on my Beta Reader! He planted the idea! I would like to thank him for the help he gave figuring out Lumtol's name as well of all the other stuff. My Beta Reader is awesome. Thank you for your help MorohtarSingod! I will be working on the next chapter as a birthday present for my Beta reader, so it will also be up as soon as it can be Beta'd. Then I will be writing 'The Silver Silence' next, unless inspiration strikes for my Sherlock story. Or my third Pokémon story. Whichever story inspiration decides to fuel first. Tell me what you think of this chapter!
I am not a writer! I am puppet controlled by fictional characters!