Chapter 1: Guess Who's Here
The world of Pokemon is a vast and marvelous place. You can see creatures with extraordinary powers just by looking outside your window. Though this place is full of these mysterious and amazing creatures, they are not all good to humans. At age ten, young trainers could start their journey with a starter Pokemon of their respective regions controlled by the regional professors. Though this was seen as a good thing for many generations, many children were injured and hospitalized because of the untamed power of nature. The Pokemon League officials banded together to stop further tragedies after the last major incident and made a new law. Upcoming trainers would have to wait until they were sixteen and enter an academy for three years to acquire a Pokemon license.
A cozy town in the Hoenn Region, surrounded by water and crashing waves on every port and a scorching sun hotter than lava, Lavaridge Town is a town on the top of a mountain to the north of the Hoenn Region and populated by fewer than one hundred people. The biggest attraction to this town is the Fire Gym, run by Mr. Moore, and the hot springs. In a humble house, a boy slept soundly in his bed aside a small green reptilian creature, both sprawled out on the bed. Will Lee was a sixteen-year-old. His hair ended in sharp points, and his skin held the rich tones of a dark oaken wood, with lighter accents on his cheeks. The small green creature was his partner since birth. This Pokemon was a Larvitar which Will nicknamed Broly. As the duo was sleeping, they were suddenly awoken by a woman yelling," Will! GET UP, YOU KNOW WHAT TODAY IS!?" exclaimed his mother, as the two jolted up from the bed only to tumble immediately.
Will's POV
I was having a good dream about becoming a world champ when my mom suddenly had to scream, making me fall out of my dream and my bed.
"Ugh, what the hell? Man, I wanted to stay asleep at least long enough to finish that dream," I said as I got off the floor.
As I got up, I noticed my buddy Broly on his back on the floor, just like me. As I looked at him, I reminisced about how we started.
It was fourteen years ago, and I was two at the time. I remember my dad giggling all day and my mother bouncing her eyes with a mischievous grin. They left briefly, and when they returned, they held an egg in their arms, wrapped in a baby blanket. Cracks began to form, and from it, he emerged. My mother lowered him to me, and I reached out and grabbed his nose. An unbreakable tie was formed between the two of us as Larvitar looked at me.
After reminiscing on how my partner and I first met, I got up and went to pick him up too.
"Jeez, does Mom have to get me up like that every time something happens? A simple knock could have worked, too," I said as I picked up Broly.
"Lar-vitaarr," he groaned as I picked him up.
"Yeah, I know, buddy, but she has a point. We gotta get ready for today, and I still have a few things to pack before we leave."
Today was important because, as of today, I was finally old enough to attend Orsay Academy in the Kalos region. I headed downstairs, yawning as sleep was still trying to take me. When I made it down, I was greeted by the sight of both my parents in the kitchen. My dad was sitting, reading the paper, and my mom was in the kitchen cleaning dishes. "Good morning, you two," I said, walking in with Larvitar. I only let him go midway down the stairs because he is a heavy boy, and I could only hold him for so long.
"Morning? Son, it's almost twelve! That's why I yelled at you. Your flight leaves at six. You only have about five hours to get ready and straighten your things out." My face widened in shock and disappointment, and my father laughed lightheartedly. "He's just like me when I was young. Always waking up late, but remember, son, that you can't do this shit when you get to Kalos. You need to be on your A-game at the academy!" He chuckled as he shook his head. Something about those words grounded me, and whatever anxiety gripped me left.
"You're right, my bad. I'm gonna visit Flannery for a bit 'cause I know we're going on the flight together, so I'mma go check to make sure she's ready". With a nod and a wave, Broly and I darted out. As I left the house, I was greeted by the harsh sun the Hoenn region is known for. I cupped my hands over my eyes as Broly began basking in the heat. I tried to carry him, but he lazily rolled onto the ground. Eventually, after many dragging attempts, I resigned myself to pulling out the wagon—the warm blue plastic made for a delightful Larvitar bed and a lightened burden on my end. Nonetheless, the heat from the sun tag-teamed with the heat from the hot springs to form a claustrophobic blanket of unpleasant warmth. Even for Lavaridge, the temperature was unusual.
We started to walk through Lavaridge, taking in all the sights I'd come to memorize. I'd been here my entire life, so walking there was second nature. I was going to Flannery's on the outskirts of the town, nestled neatly near the gym. I lived relatively close to the middle of town, so it wasn't that far of a trip. I was almost there when something caught my attention—two people dressed in all red with large M's on their clothing. As suspicious as they were, I wasn't going to confront them. They had a bad energy about them, and I didn't have time for it. When I finally reached Flannery's house, I knocked on the door, even though I knew I didn't have to. When the door opened, I was greeted by my surrogate grandpa (functionally, at least). He was an older man with a small gray afro and a small pair of glasses that rested on his nose, right under his blue eyes.
"Ah, Will, I was expecting you a bit earlier! I assume you're here to see my granddaughter," he said with a subtle smile. With a mild adjustment of his glasses, his eyes leaped from my chest to my face.
"It seems only yesterday that I could throw you. I still probably could!" he laughed. A part of me felt threatened.
"Yeah, I wanted to make sure she was ready and packed before we left. Plus, I wanted to hang out 'til we left. Maybe get a little training in at the gym." Broly looked up from his plastic cart when he heard "training" and started lazily mean-mugging me.
"Well, you two are old enough to take care of yourselves. I'm going to go on and head down to the gym. I have a couple of scheduled battles for the day. You guys have fun and don't do anything I wouldn't. Or do! I'll see you guys when you come to the gym," he said, waving until he knew he was out of sight.
As I waved him off, I began to look around the house, meandering through the open rooms. I had been here many times in the past. Everything about it reeked of traditional Johtonian architecture and design. Architecture in Hoenn generally has a hodge-podge of different cultural influences, but their house firmly asserted its cultural origins. Broly followed me inside, and he began his normal inside ritual of begging to be held, being way too heavy to be carried, and being dropped.
As I kept walking, I finally made it to my target, a red door with a Magcargo poster on the front of it. I knocked, fighting the urge to bust open the door. I wasn't allowed here for a week the last time I did that. I did a sort of rhythmic knock to let her know it was me, and as soon as I finished my door jingle, I busted the door open anyway, barely managing to hold my grip on Broly. She was toned, tan, and she radiated a fierce energy. She stood shorter than me, with spiky red hair loosely tied with a blue band. Her bangs bounced over her right eye with every sporadic movement, which meant every action for her. She wore blue sweatpants and a black crop top with a fire symbol emblazoned on the chest.
When she saw it was me, she immediately drowned my vision in wispy red hairs, hugging me tightly. "What's up!" she yelled, nearly cracking my spine in her embrace. Still in my arms, Broly got caught between us, quietly squirming. As she let go, a Larvitar-shaped imprint was left on her stomach.
"Relax, Flannery, and I saw you like three days ago. Bitch, I'm not gonna disappear," I said, lightheaded from her embrace.
"I know. I just don't care. It's been three days in which I didn't get to see my best *fwend* and my battle partner. You know what that does to a woman. It was so boring just fighting the grunt trainers in Grandpa's gym."
"Yeah, I know, I know, but with us heading to the academy, I needed to make sure I was ready and had everything I needed. I'm sorry," I said, sitting down on her hammock, Flannery's room wasn't like any girls' room I had seen before. Then, again, I'd never been in any other woman's room. Upon reflecting, I hadn't been in any bedrooms besides mine, hers, and my parents.
Her room didn't quite match the house. It had firm wooden walls, a latched window, and a thick, hinged door. Her grandpa put a lot of effort into making her comfortable before she moved in with him. The walls were adorned with postcards and posters of fire types in their native habitat.
"So what's the move for today? You got a game plan?" She climbed onto her canopy bed only to hang from the top. She pointed at me after intense thinking (or the blood rushing to her head).
"Game? Yeah, I have an idea. You, me, Broly, Mag. A spar. Special rules that I didn't come up with in the past few seconds. What do you say?"
"You know what? That sounds pretty…heat!" I said, a maniacal grin forming. She was not happy with me. I shot finger guns at her, which did not help my case.
It'd been about four and a half hours since we entered the gym, and we were both a bit exhausted from the training. The gym doubled as a sauna, a shrine dedicated to passionate training, and in that heated training, I nearly passed the fuck out. As we were walking back towards Flannery's house, we agreed to meet up before we headed to the airport. I went home to get a quick shower and finish my last-minute packing, and I waved her off as I ran back home with Broly trailing behind me.
As Broly and I made it back home, I opened the door to both my parents on the couch, ready to leave for the trip to Slateport Airport. "Well, look who finally decided to show up!" my mom said, giggling at my sweaty, disheveled appearance. "Yeah, sorry, Flannery and I got a little distracted with training. I'm gonna go ahead and hop in the shower real quick, and we can leave. Flannery and her grandpa should be here by the time I get out." I said, dashing to the shower. "Alright, son. Just remember we are on a time crunch," my father chimed in.
After a quick shower for me and a shallow bath for Broly, I changed into my normal streetwear, a black and red hoodie with black pants and a pair of red and black shoes, and made sure my hair was in its normal spiked way. After getting ready and getting my backpack, I went back downstairs to see my parents talking to Flannery. As they heard me come down, they all turned to me as Flannery.
"Well, look who finally showed up; come on, Slowpoke, we gotta go!" she said, dragging me to the car. The drive to the airport flew by before I knew it. As we made it there, Flannery and I said goodbye to my parents and her grandpa as I had to return Broly to his Pokeball.
"Well, guys, this is it"
Dread surrounded my words. This would be the first time I'd be away from my parents for more than a couple of days, and that was when I was sleeping over at Flannery's house.
"You two be safe, " my mom said as she hugged both of us, then my dad and Mr. Moore.
"We will," Flannery said as we started walking to the plane.
With a teary goodbye, the plane's door closed.
Alright, guys hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I've attempted to make fanfics like this in the past but always stopped before committing, so this is my first official fanfic. Leave a review, follow, and/or favorite if you enjoyed it.