[Pokémon] Cory's Story

Hi, online I go by the name Jennifer. I have been playing pokemon since I got the blue version for Christmas when I was 17. In college, I had a room mate who was so into pokemon, that she had the whole first season on VHS. She got me into a whole lot more of than just the game. I have written a number of different stories on various topics around the internet for the last 6 years. I thought I would go ahead and write a pokemon fanfic about a character that I am making up.

I have done other fiction works over the years, and but this will be my first fanfic on the pokemon series. So, far I have only penned a few pages of this story so this will be the first half of the prelude to this tale. I hope to update this weekly and turn this into a longer story over the course of the Summer and Fall this year.

If you read the story and have any opinions about it or my writing style feel free to leave a comment. I welcome any feed back positive or negative. A writer only really gets better when they learn from their weaknesses. Thanks everyone and I hope you all enjoy the story.

Cory's Story Part 1 (Prelude)

Cory's eyes opened slowly as the smell of the see breeze entered his nostrils in the early hours of the morning. The smell always brought him awake near first light as he heard the wingals crowing outside his window over the open ocean. The boy sat up slowly in bed and emerged from beneath his covers. He sat up and threw them top of them forward exposing the top half if his pajamas. They had long sleeves ending in ribbon cuffs. The zipper ran up the front to just under the boy's chin. There a horsee embroidered on his front chest. The pajamas were a mix of different blues cascading like water. Cory drew in a few breaths of the fresh sea air. He took a moment to acclimate himself against the morning then slipped the covers off the rest of him and slid his pajama feet onto the floor.

The sun was just rising over the horizon out against the fading darkness through his open bedroom window. It was beautiful up here on the coast. Whether it was winter or summer, the temperature didn't vary all that much and he loved it here. It was cool with his window open, but he normally slept with ajar allowing the breezing coming off the sea to great him each morning. Stepping out of bed, the warm layer of air trapped beneath his blankets left his sides. His pajamas offered some warmth, but they made him want to head back into bed. Cory set about starting his day in the normal way. He made his bed back up like always then headed over to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

The boy was 11 this year. His birthday was already 4 weeks past and his journey had still not begun. He wasn't in any hurry. Most trainers started when they were 10, however, his mother worried about him and held him back at home a little longer. He didn't mind so much, school was out for the summer and he had the run of the cove to spend his time. He would be leaving home one day, but today wasn't going to be that day. Cory finished up in the bathroom and headed downstairs as quietly as he could. He made his way past the door that led to his mother's room and made his way into the kitchen. It was a beautiful day out, and a good day for pancakes he thought to himself.

Cory gathered the flour, eggs, sugar, milk, and the big bowl along with some of his own secret ingredient, cinnamon and blue berries. He began forming the batter. He added some butter and salt to the bowl and began to mix it vigorously. Once the batter was ready, he pulled iron skillet from the drawer under the stove and set he burners to the on position. It wasn't long before a golden aroma filled the house. Cory knew that it would do the trick. Nobody in his small family could resist his pancakes. He was an only child, and his father an away, a gym leader in a distant city. He made a good living and returned a few times a year to check on his wife and son. It wasn't that he didn't love his family, it was that they had always had a home here. Even before his father had taken the position as gym leader two years ago.

Isabelle stood in the doorway to the kitchen. She was clad in a pink robe draped over a night gown with matching house slippers. The woman was reaching her middle ages and wore her long blond hair down loosely around her head. She looked over at her son. Cory was small for his age, not that it bothered him. The boy wore his hair long and tied it back in a ponytail most of the time. It wasn't blond like his mother's but bright red like his fathers. However, he had taken his mother's hazel eyes. They were a nice offset to the freckles that generously dotted his face. He never seemed to get older in her eyes. He was still her little boy dressed in his footie pajamas standing in the kitchen.

Still, he was getting older and he wouldn't be that way forever. She knew the time was coming soon. Still, she wanted him to have a child hood before he set out. She kept telling herself, it could wait one more day. But she already knew that it couldn't. Still, Isabelle decided that today would not be it either. It was something she kept putting off.

"Smells good." She commented throwing Cory a quick glance.

"Yours are ready, I will finish cooking mine up." Cory offered gathering a plate that already had a medium stack put on it.

He placed the plate down on the table in front of his mother's spot. She took a seat, the pancakes already had syrup and butter on them. Not too much, but not too stingy either. Cory knew his mother's appetite and preferences by heart now. She lifted a fork and took a deep bite. It was delicious, it always was. She shot Cory a warm smile after swelling the contents of her mouth. He was on his way over to the table with the remaining pancakes to join her.

"Well, at least you won't starve." She smiled looking over at her son.

Cory didn't respond verbally. Instead he just shot her a warm smile between bites of his breakfast. They were both in denial about what was coming. However, his mother didn't offer and Cory didn't ask. He knew one day his journey would start. They just couldn't pick a day out. It would be another month before his father got home for his next visit. Maybe he would leave after that week was up. Maybe not, it didn't really bother him. The pair sat and ate breakfast exchanging looks back and forth. The meal concluded with two empty plates and two happily full bellies. Cory went ahead and cleared the dirty dishes from the table depositing them in the sink. They would remain there until later in the evening. His mother and he did dishes once a day.

"Alright, I am off!" Cory shouted as he finished clearing the table.

"Going swimming in your pajamas?" His mother asked shooting him a sly glance.

Cory just laughed slightly under his breath and shook his head. He departed the room and headed back upstairs to change. Isabelle looked out the kitchen window. It was a perfect day. Just, was it the perfect day?

Cory made his way upstairs and headed into his room shutting the door behind him. He reached into his dresser and pulled out the wetsuit. While the temperature around this part of the cost was nice, it was more constant than the other areas off the world. Even in summer, he couldn't stay out at sea more than an hour in normal swim trunks, the water was just too cold. He unzipped his pajamas and began getting dressed. The wetsuit was a one piece with a black and red off set patter that zipped in the back. It covered him completely except for his hands, head and feet. He was in it in less than a minute and began heading outside of the house. He slipped on some sandals and started back down the stairs towards the front door.

Isabelle had just finished straightening the chairs around the table. She looked at Cory as he made his way out the door. The boy opened the front door to the house and set his first foot out the door when his mother shouted at him.

"Don't forget . . . " She was cut off before she finished the sentence.

"I know Mom, don't worry!" Cory replied already out the door.

Isabelle walked over and closed the door behind her son. He was a kind hearted boy, always willing to put somebody else first. However, when it came to the water, he might as well have been born in a barn. She turned her attention to the issues at hand. Cory had pajamas upstairs that needed to be washed and there were a few other tasks that needed doing. Their house was quaint in size. It wasn't too extravagant, but it offered the comforts that the pair needed. She was going to miss him.

Cory made his way down the sidewalk and steps that lead down the hill from their home to the beach and the sea. His initial destination was the small storage shed that marked the back edge of the beach. He stopped a moment and drew in the deep sea breeze letting the smell of it fill his lungs. It was going to be a great day. The boy turned and opened the door to the shed slowly. There was a hook on the outside of the door to keep the wind from blowing it open, but they never locked it. Their nearest neighbor was more than 2 miles away. It was a good 20 miles drive to the nearest town. Whenever they went, Isabelle and her son would make a day of it. But they had gone last week and today was just a day for him to enjoy himself.

Cory reached over and lifted the orange life jacket off of the shelf to his right. He was a very strong swimmer, his father had trained him at a very young age. Still, he was going out by himself, and if something happened he felt better having it than not. He normally only swan without it if his father was home and in the water with him. He slipped the vest around his shoulders and zipped it up in the front. It was bright orange and would be easy to spot against the blue of the water. It was a snug fit, and had a collar behind the rear of it. It made a nice pillow it Cory just wanted to float in the water. Cory tightened the waist belt to snug it up more and finally bucked the strap final strap between his legs to keep the vest down and snug.

The boy slipped out of his sandals and exchanged them for some dive fins. They offered better mobility in the water and with his plans for the day he needed all the help he could get. Finally, he took a swimming mask off the wall and set it on his head letting it rest just above his eyes on his forehead. With everything set, he closed the door to the shed and began the walk across the beach towards the water's edge. It was a tricky business waddling along in fins on land, but he was very adept from all the practice he had made over the years. The journey to the water's edge was short and sweet. Cory waded a few feet into the rolling waves and let the wash up to around his mid-calf area. He took his first breath of the day and pulled the goggles down over his eyes.

"Come on out's Skipper! It's a great day for a swim!" Cory shouted as the red and white ball left his hands splashed gently into the water before releasing the red light.

The Mantine appeared in the water as the ball closed and floated back to Cory. The huge water Pokémon dwarfed the boy considerably. Although his journey had not yet begun, Cory was still a trainer and he already had two Pokémon. The other wasn't kept in a pokeball at the moment. The metapod sat up on his window sill watching outwards as the world went by. Stumpy seemed content to sit and relax, at least for the time being. Skipper on the other hand was as restless as the sea itself. Although Cory hadn't been allowed to own a Pokémon until he was 10, there was no question that the pair would be together. He had raised the Mantine from an egg that his father had brought home when he was 6. Although it wasn't officially his, the pair had been swimming together from that day forward.

It gave his mother a measure of peace to know her son was safe with his Pokémon out in the waves that surrounded them. Cory took a deep breath and dove forward and began making a few strokes towards where the large water Pokémon. A few moments later, he was clinging to its back and the big creature dragged the pair out to see and away from the beach. It was going to be another perfect day after all.

This is where I will end the first part of this story. Part 2 will come in a few days.