Morning came. I was wide awake, and ready to interrogate Liam; unfortunately, he insisted that what he had to tell me would take a very long time and that we should get our travel out of the way first. Reluctantly, I agreed, and we set out along the path at the same brisk pace we'd had yesterday; Liam's wounds didn't seem to be bothering him at all.
After a long bout of travel and a quick stop for food (during which Liam had released Brunhilda to guard the perimeter, just in case), we came up on our final rest stop in the early afternoon. Liam and I put our things away, gathered a bit of kindling, lit it, then took places across from one another on the log seats by the fire. I stared at him, waiting. After a moment, he spoke.
"What I am about to tell you is something many powerful people in many places do not wish civilians, even those with a trainer's license, to know." Liam sighed, and shook his head. "Despite the fact that this will be hard to believe, I need you to remember the hints I've given you during our short time together, both spoken and seen. I also would like you to promise me, lad, that you won't repeat this to just anyone, not for my safety, but for yours. Do you?"
I gave him a measuring glance, but eventually nodded. He'd been nothing but a friend to me, after all, despite one that kept a lot of secrets. "I do."
"Good. You'll understand why I've asked when we're done." Liam's eyes gained a far-away look, and he leaned back. "I'll have to start with the basics, so you can put it all together. Cal, how does a pokeball work?"
I raised my eyebrows and answered as I was taught in school. "Complex science that breaks a pokemon down into raw data and makes it easy to transport. It also encourages a bond between that pokemon and whoever possesses the ball, to make training easier."
Liam smiled, but shook his head. "No. One more question. What gives pokemon their special powers? How can they, for example, shoot beams of ice or fire, form barriers of light, fly even though they're much too heavy to? How are they different from regular animals?"
"They uh…" I was stumped. How could they do all that? "Crazy biological mechanisms? Weird evolution? I'm sure there's a rational explanation."
Liam laughed, and shook his head again. "No 'rational' explanation for things like that, lad! It's spontaneous manipulation of internal and external energy, the act of creation itself, what many an un-propagandized child would see as less science and more magic."
I scoffed. Magic? That was ridiculous, and I told Liam so. He grinned, and reached out to the flames in front of us. His brow furrowed for a moment, and then, to my shock, the flames shot up and wrapped around his fingers, weaving and flaring but not burning at all. After enjoying my facial expression, Liam waved and the fire vanished. He held up his hand. Not a mark on it, not even any soot.
"If they can do it, so can we, Cal. Life energy is in everything that's alive, and even in some things that aren't. Some may be too stupid to harness it, and pokemon may have a hell of a natural advantage with their massive production of it, but all it takes is hard work, discipline, and a little something to give us the right push. Say, do you still have that powder I gave you?" Liam winked, and my eyes widened.
"What was in that?! What have you done to me! I trusted you!"
He laughed. "Calm down, lad! It didn't hurt you. It's a special mix of mine, one you're not liable to find on your own. I said I'd tell you what was in it one day, and I will, but we've got other things to go through first. I'm sure you've noticed by now that you've been feeling pretty good? A bit stronger, more stable? That's not just the exercise. Were I never to tell you this, though I planned to one day, all it would have done in the long run was improved your senses and maybe saved your life out in the harsh wilds." Liam took a deep breath. "This power has many different names. I prefer 'aura' or just 'life energy', but there's also 'ki', 'nen', 'brio', 'vitality', 'spirit'... It's all the same. You build it up by focus, discipline, strength, and good old practice. That fire trick there? Took me twenty years." He chuckled.
"Twenty years? So you've been using this aura stuff your whole adult life?"
Liam gave me a look like he wasn't sure I was serious. "How old do you think I am, lad?"
"Mid 40s I guess." I shrugged.
"Mid 40s!" Liam laughed. "Still got it, apparently. I'm over 90 years old."
"90?!" I exclaimed. Sure, his face was a little lined, but there was no way he was that old. I decided he must be messing with me.
Liam seemed to sense my disbelief. "Nah, it's true! I understand, I don't look it. But it's one of the many benefits of working hard to grow your aura; more life force, more life. Your body toughens, heals faster, you age slower, move quicker, think easier. If it was up to me I'd have everyone working at it."
"Why doesn't everyone?" I asked. It seemed like a pretty damn good deal to me. Liam sighed.
"There was a time when we did, long ago. Pokemon were wilder, then; still around, of course. But rarely used. They were dangerous, unpredictable; it wasn't until a man, using his skill in imbuing life energy, formed the first crude pokeball out of an apricorn, that humanity considered weaponizing them en masse. As strong as the great warriors of the past were, we humans are not nearly as naturally gifted as pokemon. With such monsters bonded to us we quickly fell into the most terrible war the world had ever seen, before or since. Our great cities were destroyed, artifacts scattered, wild energies from our battles sank into the soil, contaminated the air, the water. Mutating various species. It seemed like it was never going to end, that we'd drive ourselves to extinction and leave a charred husk of a world behind us… Until the Great Ones intervened." Liam took a sip of water and cleared his throat. "The Great Ones, who you may know as Legendaries from the old folk tales, are pokemon only in the sense that the forms they take resemble them. What they actually are, no one is sure. My personal theory is that they're the embodiments of certain types of elemental aura, so incredibly powerful that none can stand against them but themselves. Even now we tell tales of the world being shaped by the struggles between the Legendary beasts. These tales are not entirely false. They smashed the remaining armies of our many nations, scattered our species, and gave us their edict: Humanity was never to cause such destruction again."
We were silent for a few moments while I let that sink in. This all seemed extraordinarily important, why had no one told me before? But… "Why does that keep us from just learning to use our auras?"
Liam's expression darkened. "It doesn't. But it is the opinion of some in our world's governing bodies that this knowledge should be suppressed. They let us stay weak, at the mercy of wild beasts, stop us from expanding, taking the territory that was once ours, making it safe for our children! They throttle our progress, make us suffer, all out of fear that one day we'll overstep and the Great Ones will return! But this is not what humanity is. We were once truly mighty. Our civilization stretched the entirety of the world, we were free to innovate, discover, build without having to live in fear!" The volume of his voice grew steadily as he ranted on; his expression furious. "They force us to be nothing but ignorant peasants! But they'll all see; times are changing, people are learning. My work, the work of my close friends, will not go to waste. We will taste glory again at the top of this existence, as is our right, and if that provokes the Legends then so be it! Better to live one day as a king than an eternity as a slave! MY LOSS WILL NOT BE IN VAIN!" Liam yelled, his eyes wild. Around him the fallen leaves were blown back; the fire flickered and almost went out. I stood and backed up quickly. Liam noticed this, and after a few deep breaths, he seemed to relax. "Sorry lad," He said, his voice a bit weak. "I've long since passed the point at which this fight turned personal. It isn't yours, won't be unless you choose it to, and I shouldn't trouble you with it."
"It's alright, really," I said. "I understand."
"You don't. But that's okay." The rage had completely left Liam's face now, leaving his expression somewhat empty. I walked over and, somewhat hesitantly, put a hand on his shoulder. He gave me a hollow smile. "Thanks. I'll be fine." Liam then stood. "Do you see why you need to keep this a secret? The league'll crack down on you if they catch any hint of this type of stuff, and you'd be hard pressed to get away from them. They let all their top dogs train in aura, plus they've got ridiculously strong pokemon."
"They get to do it and we don't? Hypocrites."
Liam laughed. "Absolutely. They claim to use it for 'justice', but really they're just reaping all the benefits and keeping us in chains."
I glared at the ground in front of me, fuming. If we'd all been taught aura, maybe my mother would have been strong enough to get over my father's loss, or stop it in the first place. Bernard never would have died to that machop, nor would I have been injured. So many people I knew over the years would still be alive… even that kid we found in the forest, if he could have done to the bugs what Liam did to the ariados there wouldn't have been any problems. Though perhaps he had been a bit too young.
"Anyways, that's not all there is to it, but that's enough for tonight. How about you eat then go exercise, Cal, and I'll catch a bit more rest. That ariados venom would have killed a normal man several times over, and even with how durable I am, it still takes its toll."
I nodded and let him leave, before preparing some food for myself. I had a great deal to think about.
Most importantly, how do I use this power?
\-/-\-/-\-/
Bright and early I found myself back on the path with a significantly more sociable Liam. We actually managed to make a bit of small talk, though any time I tried to broach a serious topic he'd change the subject. By mid-day we found ourselves on the outskirts of the forest, Pewter barely visible in the distance. Liam had us stop in a small field and fished through his backpack for a few moments before handing me a few packages of pokemon food and some supplies. I gave him a questioning look.
"This is where we part ways." I opened my mouth to protest, but he held up his hand. "I'm sure you don't want to have to head back into town. If you cut to the east here you should be able to make it to the checkpoint by the entrance to Mt. Moon by nightfall. These supplies are more than enough to get you to Cerulean."
"But we're not done! You haven't even taught me how to use aura yet!"
Liam chuckled. "You're on the path to success now, Cal, but you're not yet ready for that. We'll meet again one day. I'm sure of it. If you've bulked up and learned true discipline, then we'll start, not a moment sooner. Just keep up your exercises, both physical and mental, and you'll get there." He held out his hand. I took it. As expected, Liam pulled me in, but after a quick glance at my eyes he gave me a pat on the shoulder with his other hand and let me go. "You still have that spark, lad. Keep it alive. Let it grow."
"I will. Don't worry."
He gave me a warm smile, and walked off. I watched him go, feeling an odd sense of loss. Sure I'd been alone for my trip to Pallet, but I knew we were meeting back up right after. Now… I wasn't sure when I'd see him again. My mentor was gone, and it was up to me to truly start my journey. I took a deep breath, and began moving through the countryside towards Mt. Moon, which had always loomed in the distance.
The walk was uneventful for the first few hours, as fields and trees gave way to rocky craggy Pewter-y goodness. I didn't see anyone else, nor any pokemon, and was beginning to think I would reach the cave with little difficulty. That is, until I was struck in the back by a rock and almost knocked over.
Upon whirling around I saw the culprit; a small, pissed-off looking geodude had risen out of the dirt just behind me and was prying up another rock to throw. Geodude were generally fairly peaceful creatures, but rocky hide or not, anyone will get mad if you step on them, and I was pretty sure I had accidentally done so. I began to turn and run, which is what I'd always had to do in the past, when I remembered… I'm a trainer!
A quick reach to my belt and a flash of light later Machop stood before me, quickly taking in his surroundings. When his eyes fell on the geodude he bared his teeth in an eager grin and shifted into a fighting pose. The geodude responded with a grinding roar, large eyes narrowing.
"This is a perfect chance to try out your Brick Break!" I shouted. Machop nodded, then dashed forward and with a resounding CRACK, struck the geodude directly on the top. Unlike with the wartortle, this hit obviously did some severe damage. The geodude's rocky shell practically shattered, bits of it flying through the air, and its eyes closed as it slumped back. A trickle of blood flowed from the new fissure in its head. I cringed, and Machop backed away, staring at his hand in disbelief.
After a moment's deliberation, I figured that I couldn't just leave the geodude hurt and vulnerable like this. I reached down to my belt and grabbed the empty pokeball. I hesitated before I threw, but another good look at just how damaged the creature was made my mind up for me. There was a flash of light and the geodude was safely in stasis. I'd heard that there was a medical area at the Mt. Moon checkpoint; I'd get it looked at there.
After congratulating Machop on a very well-executed attack, which he seemed happy about despite still seemingly in a bit of shock, we carried on. Machop's presence at my side was enough to discourage any more rock-throwers, though I did notice a few spearow eyeing us from the sky. Spearow can be a bit territorial, but thankfully these ones were distracted by chasing off a large pidgey before they could cause us any trouble. We came upon the checkpoint just as the sun was beginning to set.
\-/-\-/-\-/
The cave entrance was enormous. I'd heard it was even larger inside, but that was hard for me to imagine. Off to the left was a collection of buildings. As I made my way towards them I noticed a smaller building in front with the words 'Check In' lit up above it; I decided it was probably smart to head there first, and so did, Machop trailing behind me.
The inside was surprisingly spacious. There was a desk on the far end labeled 'Receptionist', warmly colored wood paneling on the walls, and tons of comfy looking chairs scattered off to one side. I walked over to the desk and rang the small bell on it.
There was a sudden loud *THUMP* that made me flinch back. A short, brown haired young woman with bright green eyes popped up from behind the desk, holding her head and wincing. "Are you alright?" I asked. "What were you doing under the desk?"
"Ow…" she said. Then she glanced up on me and her demeanor changed entirely; her arms snapped to her sides, and she straightened up. "I wasn't asleep and welcome to the check-in station! What can I do for you?" She gave me an obviously forced grin. I returned one of my own.
"Yes, I'd like to rent a room for the night and get a pokemon checked out, if you could point me to the medical area."
"Yes, yes, of course! Can I see your ID?"
I passed it over and she waved it beneath the desk somewhere, then returned it to me, along with a receipt. "Alright, Mr. Stone, your room is in the second building to the right, 5C. The nurse is stationed at the first building to your left. Have a nice night!" I thanked her and walked out, glancing back as I reached the door to see her wincing and rubbing her head again. I chuckled.
The medical building looked just like all the others on the outside, but inside it was an almost perfect mock-up of a pokecenter lobby. A woman with oddly bright strawberry-blonde hair stood behind the counter, tinkering with the large machine next to her. I walked up and she turned and smiled. "Can I help you, sir?"
"Yeah, I encountered a geodude on the way in and Machop here," I gave him a pat on the shoulder, "roughed it up pretty badly. I was wondering if you could take a look at it."
I held out its pokeball, and the nurse took it and said, "Certainly, sir!" She placed it in one of the slots atop her machine, and it glowed for a moment before spitting out a piece of paper. The nurse picked up the paper, and her smiling expression faded and became one of shock. "What did you do to this pokemon?!"
"Got a little carried away with a brick break, I'm afraid." I said, giving her a guilty smile, one which Machop matched.
"I'll say! You've completely split its shell! Internal damage as well! I'll be up half the night working at this, and you'll need to provide additional care for a week!" She glared at me, and I backed away with my hands held up.
"I'm sorry! It won't happen again." I said, and she grumbled angrily and held out her hand. I gave her my trainer ID, she scanned it, and ordered me to come back early tomorrow. I left in a hurry, so as not to tempt her wrath further, and found where I'd be staying the night easily enough.
Machop and I spent a while exercising in the room, which, like the check-in station, was quite spacious, then meditated. Afterwards I pulled out my pokedex and looked up 'geodude'.
It looked like I had my next team member.
\-/-\-/-\-/
As much information as there had been on machops, it was nothing compared to the virtual encyclopedia on geodudes. I figured it had to do with how much more common they are, found in caves in many regions, not just Kanto. There was way too much for me to go over in one night but I was able to find some quick tips on training (geodude, while hard to damage, are very slow and so until they evolve they shouldn't fight anything quick), their attitudes (docile and not very clever, though they can learn, and are very loyal), their general weaknesses (under no circumstances should they be hit by water; unfortunate, considering I was going to cerulean), how often they need to eat (rarely, they usually can just munch on nearby soil, especially if it's rich in minerals), and how long they live (a geodude only lives 10 or so years, though if evolved all the way into their final form, Golem, they're practically immortal, like Rhydon. Getting that strong is exceptionally rare in the wild, though). Overall, it looked like my new pokemon would be reliable and easy to manage. That was a relief.
After a good night's rest, the bed being significantly more comfortable than the cots in the forest checkpoint shacks, I woke and headed down to the medical building to pick up my geodude. I was greeted by a very tired looking nurse, who handed me my pokeball and a small bottle of lotion. She ordered me to rub the lotion on the geodude's wound once every couple of days until I ran out, as apparently it would encourage regrowth of its shell. I thanked her profusely and headed outside towards a nearby field. I figured I'd meet my new teammate before we headed into the cave.
I released Machop first; he'd slept in his ball last night, due to there only being one bed. I liked him plenty, sure, but not nearly enough to snuggle up with him. We nodded at each other in greeting, and I told him what I planned to do. He took a defensive stance, just in case the geodude was still a little angry about what he'd done to it.
In a flash it was before us, a large crevasse in its head exposing leathery brown skin. It glared at Machop, and glanced over at me. I smiled.
"Hey bud. I caught you to get you healed up, and so I'm your trainer now. We're going to go on a hell of an adventure together, and you're going to be much stronger for it." The geodude's eyes narrowed, and it pointed at Machop with one rough rocky hand. I laughed. "Yeah, you'll get a chance for revenge, don't you worry. But not right now; we've got to get through Mt. Moon first, and I have to put this," I held up the bottle of lotion, "on you to help you regrow your shell. Sound good?"
After a few more wary glances between me and Machop, the geodude shifted its face towards the ground and then back up, which I took as a nod. I walked over, tailed by Machop, and began to spread the lotion onto the exposed skin. It felt just as leathery as it looked, and very warm.
After I'd finished up, I pulled out my pokedex and scanned my geodude. It read:
"Geodude: Male. The Rock Pokemon. Height: 1' Weight: 40lbs
Often mistaken as boulders by passers-by, Geodude are among the most common pokemon to find in hilly or mountainous areas. They usually prefer to keep to themselves, but will throw rocks if they feel threatened.
This geodude is Level 4. He likely knows how to tackle, defense curl, and a rudimentary rock throw."
Below that was some additional tips and a light brown circular symbol with a mountain on it, meant to signify 'rock type'. Only level 4, eh? That explains why he's so small, I thought. I wonder what level Machop is at now? I shot a scan his way, and the pokedex read a level of 16, as well as two newly listed moves: Brick Break and something called Seismic Toss, which I was sure I hadn't seen Liam teach him. Interesting.
I returned Geodude and, Machop at my side, began to walk towards the cave entrance. Almost as an afterthought I pulled out that red cloth Giovanni had given me and tied it around my right arm, just in case I ran into one of his friends. They'd be useful for knowing if I was headed the right way. Like many kids in Pewter I'd grown up hearing stories of those who took a wrong turn in the Mt. Moon caves and ended up starving or dying to the powerful beasts that lived far underground; I had no interest in ending up like them.
\-/-\-/-\-/
I hadn't gone more than a hundred feet into the cave and I was already being swarmed by damn zubat. It had always been said that they were pests but this was ridiculous. At least they weren't particularly strong, and Machop could bat them aside with ease, but the few times they managed to slip by him and get to me those teeth hurt.
The rumors were true, though; it was massive in there. I could barely make out the ceiling, filled with sharp stalactites that I desperately hoped wouldn't fall on us and dotted here and there with sleeping zubat. At least the way forward seemed fairly straight, plus there was plenty of artificial lighting along the walls and in some areas of the floor. I stayed as close to them as I could, determined to avoid as many wild encounters as possible. They didn't seem to like the bright lights.
A couple of hours of walking later the zubat had let up somewhat, though I'd begun to notice lots of odd fungus-ridden crustaceans that I think I remembered seeing at the Pewter gym. A quick scan with my pokedex revealed them as 'paras', a rather weak grass/bug type. They didn't give us any trouble, just skittered out of the way and watched us as we passed with eyes that glowed in the light. It was a bit creepy.
The corridor eventually made a rather hard turn to the right and the path split. The lights continued on both sides so, assuming it didn't matter, I picked the left side and carried on. Another couple of hours of walking later and I was a bit concerned; the lights had tapered off a bit, but so had the ambient noise of the local pokemon. I hadn't even had a zubat attack in half an hour or so.
In the distance, leaning up against the wall, I began to make out a figure wearing dark clothing. I called out to him as I approached, and though I saw him look up, he didn't move. A second figure joined the first, and they began to walk towards me, hands hovering by their pockets. I slowed. Perhaps these guys weren't friendly.
As we got within twenty or so feet of one another, I stopped, and so did they. We eyed each other, them focusing on my machop in particular, who was staring at the pair with narrowed eyes. I spoke. "Hey, I don't want any trouble. I was just going to ask if I was headed the right way to get to Cerulean. Do you know?"
I saw the one on the left's gaze drift to my right arm, and his eyes widened. He nudged his partner and pointed. Their expressions immediately shifted to polite smiles, and they moved their hands down to their sides. "Yeah, sir, you're headed the right way. Just take a right at the next fork and you'll loop towards the exit tunnel. Almost there, just another couple of hours."
I walked past, thanking them. They kept up their smiles the whole time, though it seemed a bit strained. After walking a ways down the corridor I glanced back to see the first guy leaning up against the wall again, and the second guy gone. In the distance, towards where I'd come from, there was movement, and my eyes focused on it. Even from so far I could see that there was an enormous purple snake-like creature moving across the corridor. Had that been behind me?! I turned and quickened my pace, determined to get out of this damn cave with its 8 billion zubats and those creepy uniformed guys. And their snake.
\-/-\-/-\-/
It was mid-afternoon when I exited Mt. Moon, and the light was blinding for a good few moments before my eyes adjusted. The land I saw before me was… beautiful.
Green and lush fields, peppered with many lakes and rivers, went on nearly as far as I could see, and ahead of me, nestled in a valley and next to the sea, was a glittering city. Cerulean. I'd heard tales of how fertile the land was out here, but I had no idea it'd be this nice. Amazing that all this is just a mountain away from Pewter!
A dirt road wound from the mouth of the cave towards the city, and Machop and I walked down it side by side, enjoying the view and the easy downhill slope. For a while things were peaceful, and the sun on our faces combined with the gentle breeze was very pleasant. But, of course, the local wildlife couldn't let things be.
As we passed by a particularly thick patch of brush there was a rustling noise, then a fierce growl. Out from the undergrowth burst the biggest raticate I'd ever seen, brown fur bristling and jagged teeth bared at us. Machop jumped in front of me and prepared to fight, a savage grin on his face.
I figured this would be a perfect time to find out what that new move was; raticate was a normal type, and a rather defenseless one at that. Machop shouldn't have any trouble. I shouted, "Use seismic toss!"
Machop nodded and leaped forward. The raticate, hissing and spitting, leapt towards him as well. Instead of hitting it, as I expected, Machop held out his arms and wrapped them around the flailing beast, ignoring its slashing claws. He then jumped up ridiculously high, a good 16 feet at least, and plummeted to the ground, smashing the raticate into the dirt with a loud *THUMP*. Dust flew up around them, and for a moment I wasn't able to see anything. Then there was a pained screech. The dust cleared, and I saw Machop frantically karate-chopping at the raticate, which had attached itself to his shoulder with glowing white fangs. "Focus energy karate chop! Knock it off of you!" I shouted, and Machop tried, but the damn thing just bit down tighter, causing another screech of pain. It didn't look like I had any other choice, if I wanted Machop to avoid serious injury… "Brick break!"
There was a muted thwack and an audible ripping sound as the raticate was torn from Machop's shoulder and thrown across the road, smashing into a tree. It lay still for a moment, then began to drag itself back into the bushes. Machop, bleeding heavily but still pissed, moved to pursue it. "Wait!" I said. Machop stopped, reluctantly, and turned to look at me. "You won. It's over. Let me heal up that wound, alright?"
Machop bared his teeth and kicked a bit of dirt in the retreating raticate's direction, then sat down. I hurried over and sprayed his injuries with a potion; it took a couple of minutes, but they closed up well enough, leaving another small scar. I decided to have Machop looked at when I got to the Cerulean pokemon center. You never know what kind of diseases a rat could have.
We continued on our way.
\-/-\-/-\-/
Machop and I reached Cerulean at dusk, which was a relief; I didn't want to be walking the countryside at night with crazy creatures like that raticate around. The city itself was similar in size to Viridian, but without walls and much more simply laid out. To the north-east the ocean stretched into the distance; I resolved to check that out in the morning. Directly to the north there was a long bridge leading towards the cape, a popular vacation spot that I'd seen many brochures for back in Pewter. I enjoyed the salty sea air as I walked the darkening streets, and it didn't take long at all to find the PokeCenter, what with its bright red roof.
The lobby was fairly big; lots of places to sit, magazines to read, and a big board with various papers and posters on it. I walked over to check it out. There were fliers for 'Sensational Sisters' shows, whatever that was, a few notes from people who needed odd jobs done, a large advertisement for a very expensive bike shop, and a small notice for a daily pokemon tournament being held on the northern bridge. The prize, apparently, was a golden nugget worth $5000; selling it would keep me going for quite a while. I definitely wanted to win that if I could.
After checking in and getting Machop looked over real quick, we headed up to our room. It was much more luxurious than the ones in Pewter and Viridian. The bed was larger, with several smaller ones scattered about; there was also a huge fish tank with very thick glass, probably for water pokemon, against one wall. I released my geodude onto one of the beds. He glanced around curiously, but eventually settled in and closed his eyes. After Machop and I did some quick exercises and stretches, we started up with some meditation and dozed off.
The next morning I awoke to a rough growl, similar to stones grinding together. I opened my eyes to see Machop and my geodude staring at one another, postures threatening. I sighed. "Guys, no fighting in the room. Machop, you know better. Geodude, he's your teammate, he's not going to just attack you." Machop looked suitably ashamed, but my geodude just grunted and glanced away. Just then, I had a thought. "Do either of you two want nicknames? I don't mind just calling you Machop and Geodude, but I can call you something else if you'd like."
Machop shook his head violently no, as I'd expected he would; machop as a species hate names and titles unless they feel they've earned them. Geodude, however, glanced my way and grunted, which I assumed meant 'yes'.
I began to list some names off the top of my head: Brutus, Boulder, Wrecker, Crag, Stoney… Geodude didn't seem impressed with any of them. Finally, after many increasingly desperate tries, I said, "Destroyer? Eh, bit of a mouthful… Destro?" My geodude grunted again and lightly bashed his fists against the floor, seemingly pleased. I smiled. "Destro it is, then." I held up a pokeball, returned the newly-named Destro, and turned to Machop. "You ready to explore the city, bud? See the ocean?"
Machop shot me an excited grin, and we headed out. I was pretty excited, too. I'd never seen the ocean up close.
\-/-\-/-\-/
All the stories I'd read about the sea, the tales I'd been told by my mother when she was still somewhat coping and travelers passing through Pewter, didn't at all prepare me for the experience of actually being there. A soft, salty breeze brushed across my face as I stood on the docks and stared out at the water, stretching as far as the horizon and beyond. Machop stood next to me, reflected light causing his eyes to practically sparkle.
I wondered what could be living in the lightless depths, a place unexplored and mysterious to us… I thought about the family I'd never met, living far across the waves in Hoenn, and hoped they were doing well… I also, desperately, wanted to go swimming.
Unfortunately there didn't seem to be any place to do that along the docks. The shore was rocky and often blocked off with concrete slabs, and the water directly below looked murky and had bits of trash from the city floating in it. Not to mention all the boats. There were hundreds of them slicing through the waves; yachts, speed boats, and even a few enormous cargo ships, decks stacked with huge metal boxes full of who knows what. If I were to be hit by one of those during my swim, well, there'd probably not be much left of me. I knew there were plenty of nice beaches up on the cape, though, and so after a few stops to browse interesting looking shops Machop and I made our way north towards the bridge.
Before it was even in sight, however, a commanding female voice shouted "Halt!" I turned, and immediately came face to face with the biggest dog I'd ever seen. Its head was at my chest level, and its bright orange striped fur seemed to smolder. Neither Machop nor I had heard it approach, though as he noticed how close it was he sprang between me and the dog, holding out his arms and bracing himself for a sudden impact. It growled, a deep, menacing sound.
"Trainer!" The voice shouted again, and I glanced behind the terrifying canine to see an attractive teal-haired woman wearing an oddly tight-fitted police uniform and flanked by two grim faced men holding batons. "Identify yourself and state your business here!"
I stumbled back and pulled out my trainer ID, eyes once again locked on the huge dog, which I now recognized as an arcanine. It was obviously well trained, considering how it held back and waited for further instruction despite being challenged by Machop, and I couldn't help but recognize how elegant and, well, badass it looked. I decided that I definitely wanted one.
I held out my ID towards the woman, reluctant to move past that arcanine. She walked up with quick, confident steps, and snatched it out of my hand, glancing at it, and back at me a few more times than I felt was necessary.
"My name's Calvin Stone," I said, "from Pewter. I'm just passing through, and was about to head north to see the cape. Is there a problem?"
The woman gave me a hard stare. I kept eye contact, just like Liam had taught me, and noticed hers were a beautiful shade of honey brown. Eventually, she nodded, and handed me back my ID. "Rocko! Back down, he's clear," she yelled, and the arcanine stopped baring its fangs and retreated back to the two men, where it sat and watched us. "Sorry about that. There was a burglary nearby just now, and when we saw you with a pokemon out, I jumped to conclusions. I'm Jenny." She held out her hand, and I shook it with a smile.
"No problem, officer. You're just doing your job."
She smiled back. It was a nice smile. "Yep. I'm glad you understand. There's been a lot of this kind of thing recently, and we're always on the lookout for leads. If you see anything suspicious, come by the station and tell me, okay?"
I agreed, and the officers, along with Rocko, walked off. Machop relaxed, but he still watched them leave with suspicious eyes. I watched as well. I definitely need an arcanine.
\-/-\-/-\-/
There was a small crowd standing off to one side at the entrance of the bridge, next to a cordoned-off sandy area with chairs set up around it. Curious, I headed over to see what was going on.
A few people gave Machop wary looks and stepped away as I approached, and I was able to see a table with a few pieces of paper on it, as well as a slim, smiling man wearing a black shirt and holding a pen. He gave my pokemon an interested glance, and turned to grin at me. "Here to sign up, kid?"
I blinked at him. "For what?"
"The tournament, of course!" He pointed at the sandy enclosure and I almost facepalmed. Of course that was what this was!
"I didn't know it was happening today!"
The man laughed. "It happens every day! Now," he held out the pen. "Gonna sign up?"
I nodded, and wrote my name down. "You need my trainer ID?" I asked. He shook his head.
"Nah kid, I care about talent, not who has money to pay off the league. Good to know you have one, though." He gave me a good natured wink, and I smiled. This guy seemed pretty nice. "Tournament starts in…" he looked at his watch. "Half an hour. Shouldn't take long, not too many contestants today. You're welcome to wait on the bleachers, Mr. Stone, and good luck!" I thanked him and went to sit down. Machop, who had been listening in, was pacing back and forth with an excited expression.
It wasn't long before the crowd had taken their seats, and contestants were called over to the desk. The man had been right, there really weren't many people entered; only four of us in total, and the others looked quite young. But hey, it meant a better chance to win that nugget, so I wasn't complaining.
"This will be a one-on-one tournament," the man said, looking at each of us in turn. "If at any time your pokemon is severely disabled, or returned, you lose. Try not to do too much damage, though, alright? There's only so much a potion can heal." We all agreed, though one of the other contestants, a short blonde girl who couldn't have been older than 13, looked a bit worried.
We drew numbers from a hat to decide who we'd face first. I ended up paired with an arrogant looking teen, who immediately gave me a sneer and pulled a scratched-up pokeball from his pocket. His sneer faded a bit as his eyes brushed over Machop, and I shot him a grin.
"Okay, first up… Stone and Hawkins! Please enter the ring and release-" the man glanced at Machop, "Get your pokemon in place!"
The onlookers cheered as 'Hawkins' and I took our places across from one another, and Machop entered the arena, practically vibrating in anticipation. Hawkins scowled at me, and threw his pokeball. In a red flash, there stood a small, round, pink… jigglypuff? Couldn't have called that one, I thought.
The black-shirted man raised his arm. "Three, two, one…" He jerked it down. "Begin!"
Hawkins and I shouted at the same time. "Sing!" "Punt it!" Machop sprang forward, but just before he reached the creature, the most soothing sound I'd ever heard filled the air. Machop paused, leg held in mid-air, and I began to feel warm and drowsy, as well as at peace for the first time since I could remember. It was like a mother's lullaby, not that my mother ever-
That thought snapped me out of it. I shook my head and shouted, "Machop, do it!" He responded instantly, his foot shooting forward and into the pink puffball, which, with a high pitched "oomph!", was thrown full force into one of the poles holding the rope around the arena. It slunk to the ground, obviously unconscious.
All around us people seemed to be shaking off the effects of the song, though a few were fast asleep. I received a groggy round of applause for my victory, and the scowling Hawkins returned his pokemon and stalked off without saying a word. Followed by a proud and beaming machop, I went and took a seat in the bleachers.
Next was a round between Dane (a chubby, friendly looking dude) and Evans (The little blonde). They each released their pokemon; Dane had an odd fanged bell-shaped plant pokemon that I knew was a weepinbell, and Evans released a rather vicious looking pidgeotto, which gave a terrible caw as it took to the air. It glared down at Dane's pokemon, and I winced. This was going to be rough.
I wasn't wrong. Despite the weepinbell giving an admirable performance, whipping the Pidgeotto several times with its vines and blasting it with a face full of paralyzing powder, it couldn't stand up to those talons. It took two solid slashes before the plant fell back, body leaking a pale green fluid. Dane recalled it immediately and rushed off, no doubt to get it looked over. Evans called over her bird and tended to its wounds, spraying several potions and a paralyze heal over it.
Knowing Machop's weakness to 'flying type' creatures (though I was still unsure exactly why they hurt fighting types so much) I turned to see if he was up for it. His determined expression and bright eyes answered my question before I could ask. I smiled warmly at him and leaned over to whisper in the small hole that served as his ear. "Make sure to get its wing, bud. If it's crippled on the ground, you can finish it off easily." Machop nodded at me, and we got up to take our positions.
"Alright folks!" the black-shirted man announced. "This is our finals match today, Stone versus Evans! Let's make it a good one! Contestants, are you ready?" We all nodded, except the pidgeotto, who screeched a challenge. It was obviously still up for battling, though it seemed a little tired. "Good! Three, two, one… Begin!"
"Wing attack!" Evans yelled. I said nothing, just watched as Machop's arm began to glow with yellow energy, his eyes locked on the pidgeotto barreling through the air towards him with its wings outstretched. There was a SMACK as they impacted, and Machop was bashed into the ground with a cry of pain. The pidgeotto swooped back up and seemed to be awaiting further instructions. Evans noticed and shouted "Gust!" but that brief pause allowed Machop to get his legs back under him and launch himself aside, causing the mini-tornado of air to miss him and dissipate harmlessly. He stood and prepared another chop, flickering with his pale yellow aura, but was obviously pretty beaten up; somehow that one direct hit had done serious damage. Evans seemed to notice this too. "Air slash!"
The pidgeotto angled down, sharp talons held out in a threatening pose, and hurtled towards Machop with its beak open in a vicious cry. Machop took a deep breath, and I held mine. The second and a half it took for the bird to meet him felt like an eternity. This time, however, instead of a SMACK, there was a CRACK and the bird was bashed into the sand, where it skidded a few feet and hopped up, left wing held awkwardly. "Hit it!" I yelled, and Machop rushed forward, only slightly slowed by a weak gust from the pidgeotto's right wing, and smashed the bird in the plumage with his fist. It let out a strangled cry, fell back, and disappeared in a flash of red light. Evans stood, holding her pokeball, and seemingly hyperventilating. I called out congratulations to Machop and recalled him, vowing to get him healed as soon as possible, before hurrying over to her.
"Hey, you okay?" I asked, and reached out a hand to steady her. It looked like she was about to faint. After holding her in place for a few moments, though, she took a final, deep breath, and a single tear ran down her face.
"It's not my pokemon, it's my brother's, he's going to kill me now that I got her hurt. I just…" she sniffed, a second tear joining the first. "I just wanted to win that nugget and buy us some nice things!"
I felt awful, and briefly wondered if I had been too heartless to have Machop target the bird's wing… But no, it had been necessary. Machop would have been seriously hurt otherwise. There was something I could do, however. I fished through my bag for a moment and pulled out a bright orange spray bottle. I handed it to Evans.
"Here," I said, "this is a Super Potion. I bought it earlier today. It won't heal the pidgeotto's wing completely, but it'll do a pretty good job. Use this, then have your brother check it into a pokecenter; if it's not so bad, maybe you won't get in too much trouble."
She gave me muffled thanks, as she was covering most of her face to try to hide her tears, and hurried off in the direction of the city. After watching her leave, I turned, and saw the black-shirted man standing there, smiling at me. "That was a nice thing you did."
"Ah, it was nothing." I said, embarrassed. In reality it wasn't; that potion had cost quite a bit, though now that I'd won that nugget… "So do I win?"
The man laughed. "You do! Here you are." He pulled a beautiful golden orb from his pocket, and held it out to me. I took it; not too heavy, but very smooth. "Tell the guy at the mart Johnny sent ya, he'll give you a good price." I thanked him profusely, still staring at the exceptionally valuable orb, and had just turned to leave, when he said, "wait." I looked back. "I've got an offer to extend to you, if you're interested. A way to make a bit more money, and to serve a good cause."
An offer? Well, he seemed like a pretty nice guy, and he had just handed me a ridiculously valuable piece of gold. I figured I'd hear him out. "What is it?"
"I'm part of an organization called Rocket. We're a close-knit group that've been growing pretty rapidly in the past few years; we do activism, public service, charity work, armed escorts, all sorts of things. I watched you handle your machop rather skillfully today, and was impressed by you assisting that young girl. I'd like to offer you a place with us. If you keep up that kind of initiative, you could rise pretty high!"
"Rocket, eh?" I was sure I'd heard that name before, somewhere… but for the life of me I couldn't place it. "I'm just starting my travels, Johnny. I really can't commit to anything right now. But thank you."
Johnny laughed. "Don't worry about that! We'd hardly expect anything full-time from you, just helping out our guys if you happen to be in their area for some extra cash. Listen, you don't have to make up your mind right now. Take this," he held out a card with an address scribbled on it, and I took it. "We're having an orientation meeting tomorrow night at 7. I invite you to come by, see what we're about. You can decide then."
I nodded. "Alright, man. I'll be there." We shook hands, and I headed back towards the center. The trip to the cape would have to wait; My friend needed healing.