Finding

[Tetsu]

EDIT:05-04-2008: I'm sorry for the delays, I really am. I'm starting to turn into what I promised myself what I wouldn't be. In my eyes, there is no excuse for breaking a promise, but for the sake of argument, I've been addicted to MapleStory because it took me forever to be able to play it. Well, here is chapter 10.

Anyway, If I could have your attention please, thank you. I notice the lack of PMs in my inbox. Why do you ask? Either my fanfic sucks beans or I have no readers. I'd really like to know how I'm doing, as this is my first OFFICIAL fanfic I'm posting, so by all means, if you have any suggestions, comments, or even criticism, tell me. I would honestly like to hear from you. Even if you're just saying that it's the worst piece of literature to ever grace the internet.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-Previous update Info-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

I've decided to make my own fanfic. Honestly, I've been thinking about doing this for many years, and I have only recently decided that I know enough about the Pokemon and literary worlds to actually go for it. I'm not Mark Twain or anything, but I can promise I'm going to put my whole heart into it, so whatever comes out of it, it's my own creation and I'm going to be proud of it regardless what the feedback is.

The fanfic is about Malsen, a boy from a town named Mollim, who only wishes to experience the world as it is. Nature as it was intended. However, due to an unexpected twist of fate, he is thrust into the training world.

Anyway, enough of my blathering! Onto the story! I'm going to post the Prologue and Chapter 1 together. I will make it a point to post every Friday, including or not including this Friday due to personal reasons, and I consider myself fairly punctual.

EDIT: I forgot something - Due to this being the first REAL writing project I have ever made, I could really use moral support on it. If you have any question/comment, please PM me on what you think. I'd really appreciate the feedback.

EDIT 03-15-2008: Due to the loss of data since over a week ago, I've re-posted Chapter 2 and posted Chapter 3. I'm not sure If I was supposed to post Chapter 4 yesterday, and if I did, (And if I actually have a fan) let me know, and it will be taken care of.

EDIT: 03-25-2008: Yuck! My first delay. Gotta love Wireless internet's reliability, right? On that note, there's nothing else to say, really. Cept I'm lonely... No, wait. It's just hunger. There... That should suffice as filler, I think.

EDIT: 03-26-2008: Due to complaints of eye strain, I'm going to spend the better part of this hour making it more aesthetically pleasing.
Aesthetically. Gotta love big words.

EDIT: 03-27-2008: I'm posting chapter 5 now, because I already know for a fact I won't be able to tommorow.

EDIT: 04-04-2008: Figured I'd tell you this first: I've always wondered how trainers always know (or almost always) which Pokeball hosts which Pokemon. My conclusion: A symbol appears somewhere on the ball unique to each specie. There, now you know what I meant by 'Burmy's Symbol' in chapter 6. Please, don't ask me why.

I finally figured out why people can go for months at a time without posting anything. At first I thought it was laziness, but it would seem it's only a lack of inspiration. How do I know this? I'm starting to experience this. Right now on my rough copy is a buffer with the words 'UNDER CONSTRUCTION' sitting across the line. I hope I can find a muse for inspiration, cause I really don't want my (only, only 2) fan(s) to miss out on anything.

EDIT: 04-11-2008: Got chapter 7 done. Posting in a few seconds. I've noticed a trend, though. It seems it's starting to go pretty quickly. Usually, at about chapter 7, (good) books usually have only just opened up the storyline. Me, I'm already a little further than that. But, I guess that's just how it goes.

EDIT: 04-19-2008: Shelved. Why? Inspiration. Lack of motivation. Laziness. Don't worry, seeing as posting this fanfic is the only ordered, or more-so, non-chaotic thing I can look forward to in my life right now, I'll probably have something by next Friday, if not earlier. It's not one of those 'Ill-do-it-later' and never do it things. You have my word.

EDIT: 04-21-2008: Lo-and-behold, I have an update. And who'd have thought that all I needed was to beat my high score on Wii bowling. I really don't know how it applies, but somehow it kicked my rear into gear. Next chapter to follow this post.

EDIT: 04-25-2008: Well it's certainly getting actiony from here, at least for a little while. Malsen meets a new friend, and they're escaping from jail! Kinda over-the-top, I know but whatever.

EDIT: 05-03-2008: Delay... Maplestory... Need 941 more green Mushrooms for quest... Gah! I must get back to MS! Tomorow, tomorow! Promise!

 

[Tetsu]

Prologue and Chapter 1: The Forest and the Fat Man

Prologue

A lone figure battles his way through a sandstorm. With his tattered cloak over his head, the teenage boy pushes against the wind, feeling his strength dwindling with each step. He only manages a few more steps before he falls exhausted to his knees. For a moment he remains there, trying to catch his breath. His throat was bone-dry, his heart pounding, and his muscles aching. He knew it wasn't too much longer before he suffocated. Gathering what little power he had left, he moved his trembling hand to his belt, and fumbled with the buckle. Straining for air, he could hardly concentrate, but managed to take it off.

Belt in hand, the boy took a Pokeball from its slot, and pressed the release button. In a blinding flash, Vibrava appeared.
"Vibrava..." the boy gasped, trying to speak between breaths. "Take the belt... Fly as far... Release the... the rest... go... GO!" As he yelled, he felt his throat constrict more. He knew he wasn't long for this world. He placed his belt in a scared Vibrava's mouth, and fell flat. Here, he lay in the sand, feeling himself fade out of existence. His vision slowly tunneled as the warm wind blew across his body.
"If this is death', he thought, "It's really quite peaceful. That ringing... so beautiful."

Chapter 1
The Forest and a Fat Man

It was a warm summer day, sometime in June. A little boy wanders the forest near Mollim, his home. Most boys would usually be traveling on their 16th birthday, as their 13th birthday was the day boys from Ijjimu would become Pokemon trainers. However, Malsen had little to celebrate.
You see, Malsen lived in an orphanage with a dozen other children, as well as the few other people who volunteer to take care of them. Some years back, when he was but a child, a catastrophic earthquake hit near his small village, taking the lives of most of the townsfolk. Some children were orphaned that day. Some innocent lives, lost. Some peoples homes, leveled. Unfortunately, Malsen had to live with all of those.

Malsen's home had been turned into rubble while he was in preschool, with his parents trapped inside. He loved his family and home very much, and they were all he had being only a young boy. Malsen could never forget when Officer Jenny came to take him to the police department. He saw she was very sad. He asked when his mommy and daddy would be taking him home, and he would never forget the look on her face, or the confusion in his heart, when Officer Jenny told him they would not.

Malsen, who had been remembering this while sitting on his favorite bridge, watching the Magikarp swim in a small creek, started to tear up. He wiped his eyes and choked down what felt to be his heart. If any of the other kids had seen him start to cry, he knew he would look like a baby. Fortunately he was probably a mile away from that horrid orphanage, and he knew he wanted more than anything to make the distance more.
The sun was high in the sky, so he figured it must be around lunch. Although hungry, he had decided if it was going to be a can of mixed vegetables added to some chicken ramen noodles again, he'd skip it. Malsen pulled himself up from the side of the bridge, and started to make his way back.

Overhead, two Pachirisu were chasing each other over a Pecha berry, as a Spearow pecked at worms in some soil. Nature watching was this young boy's passion. Not that he would admit it, lest he wanted the other children to treat him like a sissy. He continued along his path passing various Pokemon on his way. A Heracross was scratching his horn on a rock. Some Kakuna hung from a tree (which he carefully avoided). He had even passed an Eevee playing with a leaf.

It wasn't long before Malsen became absorbed in his own thoughts. So much so that he hadn't noticed he crossed back into town, at least not until he almost walked into a road-sign. He knew he was in trouble. After what he said to his den mother before leaving the orphanage, he wouldn't be surprised if his first destination after lunch would be his room. He followed the path he had chiseled into his memory to get to the Orphanage. He passed many fancy houses, and even small apartment buildings. Heck, even that run-down doghouse over there looked better than where he was going, he thought. However, he made it back, quicker than he hoped it seemed.

He could read the faded letters on the sign he knew so well from the front gate, which was no higher than his chest.


TOWNSHIP OF MOLLIM ORPHANAGE
HOPE IS A HOME IN ALL OUR HEARTS


"Right." Said Malsen, looking around. "Seems they don't have anymore hope in stock."
Malsen was, in his mind, mocking the orphanage's appearance. Vines crept up to the windows. Chipped and faded paint fell from the walls. The chimney was missing bricks. A trainer could walk through their lawn and get into a Pokemon battle.

Malsen proceeded to push open the creaky gate, and made his way up the narrow path, which too, was overgrown with grass coming from the cracks. He knew he had to think of a way to avoid Mrs. Momoyo while he still could. Given that he pretty much called her an Ember-breathing Salamence just because he wouldn't do his chores, Malsen decided he didn't want to run into her for at least a day or two.

Not feeling as ready as he'd liked, Malsen pushed open the front mahogany doors, and entered the orphanage. Mollim's orphanage was smaller on the inside than it looked. It gave everyone the feeling that they were about to walk into some above-ground dungeon, but when they passed the doors into the poorly constructed brick building with cracked ceilings, the feeling didn't change much. Malsen couldn't detest this place more. It smelled like Mankey Butt, and was always cold. There were nights he was sure from the building's settling noises, he could imagine it was ready to tip over.

Malsen made his way through the waiting room, where perspective parents would wait in anticipation for a possible adoption. A sign that said CLOSED hung from the receptionist's window, and looked as if it had been there for quite a few days. He opened the door on the other side of the room and entered the hall. He wasn't sure which way to go. At one end of the hall was the safety of the commons room, where the orphans could talk, play, watch T.V. (although, there wasn't anything more than antenna), which he could use to say that he'd been there all day. The volunteer den mothers never looked there, so he couldn't be faulted on running off again.

On the other end, was the rooms. If he went there at least he could be by himself, without having to worry about other kids wanting to talk with him, or just as bad, mock him for whatever reason they came up with today. The only problem was he had to pass right in front of the Staff lounge, and if the door was open, he'd have no choice but to turn back. Given that he'd been neglecting his Pokemon comics lately, he decided to go to his room.

As Malsen came to the staff lounge he began to move quietly. Fortunately, the door was only slightly ajar, and unlikely to give him away by passing it. However, as he did, he began to hear some talking coming from within.
"I'm sorry Mrs. Momoyo there's nothing I can do. The townsfolk think it's an eyesore."
Malsen recognized that voice. It was that fat, lazy, crooked mayor... what's his name.
"But Mr. Vugnum..."
Ah, That was it.
"No 'buts' Mrs. Momoyo. It's simply out of my hands."

Malsen leaned over for a peak through the crack in the door. Mrs. Momoyo was pacing behind her desk, and Malsen spotted him right away. If anyone could give Mr. Vugnum a word, it would be 'dumpy'. Not only did he look like he'd eaten a truck, but he had a gaudy pinstripe suit. A cigar protruded from his mouth, and his pocket watch dangled from his pants pocket because he was using Mrs. Momoyo's desk as a footstool.
"Now," He began, "I'm not entirely heartless." At which Malsen scoffed.
"I do own some empty buildings on the other side of the town that could be used to house your... er... 'precious' gifts from above.
"Oh please. You mean those buildings down by the factory that nobody would buy from you? I suppose you'd want me to pay you for them too!"
Mr. Vugnum replied, in a cool voice, "Awwww... Well.... If you insist."

Malsen could tell that Mrs. Momoyo was losing her patience. He was sure she was about to use her 'I'm-being-polite-but-I-want-to-chew-your-ear-off' voice. She had used that voice just this morning on him, just before he called her names and fled. If anyone ever had that kind of voice, she did.
"Mr. Vugnum. You came to deliver your message. This has been done, so I have nothing more to say to you. Goodbye."
Yup. There it was.
"Now Mrs. Momoyo..."
"I said goodbye."

Malsen heard what sounded like a very relieved creak from a just as uncomfortable chair. After a slight pause, Mr. Vugnum replied. "Very well. It doesn't change the fact that you won't be far behind. Come a few days, you'll be leaving too."

 

[Tetsu]

Chapter 2: Of Plots and PokeGear

Malsen was trying to process what he'd just heard. He didn't have to think too hard to know something bad was going on. The Mayor came only every few months, sometimes not at years at a time, and his visits were always bad news. Malsen wasn't given much time to think about it, as he heard Mr. Vugnum was approaching. He tried to move across the door quietly, but he only got his right foot past the door when...
BAMM!
"Ouch!"

Mr. Vugnum had just accidentally swung open the door, right into the protruding foot of Malsen, who then proceeded to hop on the other.
"Oh... Hello there, er, Mikey, was it?" He said
"Malsen." He returned, with a scowl.
"Ah yes. Right, I remember now." Mr. Vugnum said, before turning and proceeding up the hall.

Malsen doubted he did remember his name, and didn't doubt he'd probably forgotten on his way out.
"How does that guy keep getting elected?" He thought to himself, now just rubbing his ankle.
"Malsen..."
Oh crap... He'd forgotten about Mrs. Momoyo.
"...Come in please."
Malsen proceeded to put his foot down, and entered.

Malsen was no stranger to Mrs. Momoyo's room. A curtain divided her desk and cabinets from her bed and dresser. She figured that there would be no room if she had her own bedroom, like the children, AND an office. Plus she didn't have very much stuff anyway, so it would be a waste of room. Mrs. Momoyo's room reflected her personality to a 'T'. It was very tidy, and actually kind of warm despite it's critical appearance. Mrs. Momoyo was thin, and kind of old in Malsen's opinion, as well as kind of strict. However, he knew that if she didn't care about him and the other children, she wouldn't devote her entire day to them. He felt slightly guilty about his outburst, and was sure she was about to chew him out.
"Please sit down." Mrs. Momoyo asked him, as she to proceeded to her seat.

As he let himself into the plastic-and-metal chair, the kind that always shocks you when you stand up, he started to say something.
"About earlier..."
"That man..." Mrs. Momoyo interrupted, "He's so horrid. He fooled everyone into thinking he cared when he built this orphanage. Just to get elected, I'd bet."
"Um..." Malsen began, not sure what she meant by telling him this. "Well..."
"I can't believe he has the audacity... Eyesore my foot. If anything in this town is an eyesore, it's the very man running it."
Malsen was just plain confused now, but before he could say anything, Mrs. Momoyo started again. "You don't like living here very much do you? I already know what the answer is. Well I tried, but in the end it just wasn't enough. Malsen, I have something I think belongs to you."

Here, Mrs. Momoyo stood and crossed the room to her cabinets. She pulled out a cabinet, and began fingering through some folders, one of which she extracted. She brought the folder back to her desk and returned to her seat. She placed the folder in front of him, and Malsen saw his name on the cover. The second thing he noticed was how thick it was. No WAY he caused that much trouble while he was here... did he?

"I found some things a few days ago you might be interested in." Mrs. Momoyo said as she opened the folder. "In all the confusion of that earthquake so many years ago, this folder got misplaced. I weeded it out of the storage room while I was cleaning, and I think you could find better use for it."
Malsen saw it right away. It explained why the folder was so thick. An old PokeGear lay on a pile of documents. Malsen picked it up for a closer examination. It was well used. It had fading and scratches on it, and looked like it might have fallen off the user's wrist a few times in its day. Malsen turned it over in his hands and saw "Orion" etched in the back of it.

"It's pretty old. I don't think it's working right now. The battery must have dried out by... Oh!"
Mrs. Momoyo was stopped because Malsen opened it, and it sprung to life, the time clearly displayed as 6:14.
"I stand corrected."
"Wha- Um... Why do you think this belongs to me?" Malsen asked, bewildered.
"Orion was your father's nickname, back when he was a trainer before settling down." Mrs. Momoyo began. "That PokeGear was salvaged from your house, and not having anywhere else to put it, it was left here with you. I remember him from when I was a teacher at the local grade school. Even then he would always talk about how he was going to be the next Pokemon Master."

Malsen continued to look through the PokeGear. He flipped through the map, the radio, but when he settled on the 'Phone' icon, nothing was displayed except text stating 'OUT OF SERVICE AREA'.
"The phone says it's 'out of service area'." Malsen said.
"I'm not up on the times as you well know, but I remember hearing at one point that the phone service for PokeGear went out years ago."
"So my father was a trainer", he thought out loud. "Whatever happened to my father's Pokemon?" He asked Mrs. Momoyo.
"Well I'm afraid I don't have any further information on your father's trainer days. However," She said as she opened a drawer, which she extracted a piece of paper from. "I have the address of one of his friends in the area. Perhaps he could enlighten you a bit better? Well, not tonight anyway. Supper will be soon, but at any rate, this... is... his address." Mrs. Momoyo stated as she wrote it down, and handed it to him. "You could probably try to see him tomorrow."

"But Mrs. Momoyo," Malsen began, "I thought you don't want us to wander out from the orphanage?"
"And like I could stop you? Malsen, you're already 16. If this was any other village, you'd already be half-way around the region with your Pokemon. I'm not going to be here forever, and I already know the first chance you got, you'd leave this place. Right now the only thing that's stopping you is that you don't have your first Pokemon."

True, he thought, but he didn't really want to be a trainer anyway. He just wanted to explore the forest around the village, and maybe... No... He didn't yet know what else he wanted. "Anyway, in light of certain... issues that have arose, you may keep that entire folder. I won't be needing it come tomorrow."

As Malsen left to go to his room, he couldn't get the thought of Mrs. Momoyo's face as she said that out of his head. Just what was going on? This was coupled with the shock that he hadn't gotten in any trouble, which he thought would be a definite. "Hi Malsen..." said a soft voice from his right. Malsen recognized that voice.

"Hello Ai. How are you?" Malsen addressed to a girl in her nightgown, standing in her bedroom door.
Ai was 15 years old, as well as a soft-spoken, petite girl with (as Malsen thought) unusually big eyes. Of all the children in the orphanage, she was the nicest, and nicest to Malsen. This was because she was the only one that didn't ever actually pick on him. (Not including, of course, the ones that ignore him out-right.) This was possibly testament to the fact that she was very interpersonal, and only spoke to him or the denmothers.

"I'm okay. What's going on? You seem off today. Did you see the Mayor earlier?"
"Oh, I don't know. Mrs. Momoyo and Mr. Vugnum were having a conversation, but I'm not sure what it was about. And afterwards, she gave me this folder with some stuff in it, like my father's PokeGear."

"A PokeGear? Why would you need those? *gasp*! Are you leaving us!? You're going to become a Pokemon trainer, aren't you!" Ai said, looking as if a she saw a Gastly.
"Ai, I can promise you I'm not going to become a Pokemon trainer."
"Well... Oh, Ok. If you promise. Do you want to go to the commons room together?"
"No, I'm going to go to my room. I want to think to myself for a while." He said, starting off.
"O.K." She replied, looking let-down. "If you want company..."

Malsen waved to her half-handedly on his way to his room. When there, he opened his door, to be met with the same sight he saw everyday. If anyone walked into his room on accident they might have thought they'd walked into an alternate reality. Unlike most kids his age, his room seemed to be very non-Pokemon. There was no posters of Pokemon adorning the walls. Instead, bare. Not a single Snorelax bean-bag chair. No Pikachu covers and pillowcases.

Yes, it was a mess like most every other kid's bedroom. Clothes, perfectly cleaned, strewn on the floor. Some of his drawings were on his bed from before he ran away earlier. He didn't consider himself an artist, but in fact he did very fine work. Although he wasn't into battling, or even research, he enjoyed putting the images he remembered from the day to paper. Malsen picked up his clipboard and pencil, and lay on his bed, waiting for supper to be served.

 

[Tetsu]

Chapter 3: The Destination and the Destiny

Malsen entered the lunch room around 7:00. The room was only as large as a small house by itself, and the brick-themed walls remained constant, even here. However, this room was probably the largest. It was here that the collapsible plastic tables lined the wall until it was time to eat. Because it was time for dinner, the 4 folded tables were, of course, set up, and there was a buzz of voices resounding around the room from the other children's conversations. Malsen crossed the front of the room to the corner. It was here that Malsen joined Ai, as she sat staring into space.

"What's on your mind," he asked her, before turning to a plate of meatloaf.
She looked at him, and immediately returned her gaze to whatever particle of air had her interest. Not thinking she was going to say something, Malsen began to open his mouth.
"I l..."
"Malsen?" Ai interrupted. "Do you think I could talk to you about something?"
"Um, yea. Of course."
Ai did not advert her gaze, but she continued regardless.
"I just wanted... We've been friends since we were little kids."
"You have my attention."
"I just wanted to tell you... Something important... For a while now, I wanted to say..."
Whatever it was, Ai didn't get a chance to finish. It was at that point that Mrs. Momoyo called the attention of the children to the front of the room.
"Listen up. This is very important and everyone needs to hear everything I say."

In only the 45 minutes since Malsen saw her last, Mrs. Momoyo looked like she got very disheveled very quickly. Her hair was a mess, and if anything, her face looked older than usual. She stood at the end of the room so she could address everybody, and when the murmur of conversations quieted, she continued.

"I received a visit from Mr. Vugnum earlier today. As you know he is our town's mayor and is also in charge of the building we currently reside in. He came with unfortunate news. He has decided for... his own reasons, that the town of Mollim no longer needs this orphanage here, and has decided to level it in preparations for land development."

Whatever the children were expecting to hear, this wasn't it. Immediately, people starting talking to each other, and from the sound of the voices, there was an amount of distress about their thoughts.
"Did you hear that?-"
"-I'll bet anything that fat mayor-"
"-Where will we go? What-"
Mrs. Momoyo continued. "Hold on everyone, calm down. You're not out of a place to live or anything. I've spent the last half hour or so contacting other towns about this. Fortunately, I've found some vacancy. Tomorrow, at noon, we will be leaving for the Johto region-"

This caused an uproar, and shocked Malsen. He hadn't been counting on hearing that. Leaving his home town? The only place he'd ever lived?
"-to the Johto region!?"
"-over 200 miles away!!"
"Has anyone seen my fork?"

"QUIET!" She exclaimed. Everyone stopped talking immediately, and Mrs. Momoyo continued. "I am sorry, but we have no choice. It's a long distance, yes, but it has to be done. Tomorrow at noon, we will be boarding a bus for Port City Leauweg. Here, a personal friend of mine has agreed to give us a ride on his fishing boat to Kanto's Vermillion city, which may take a day or two. In Vermillion, we will board the monorail into Goldenrod city. Goldenrod City's orphanage has agreed to take us in because of a recent renovation they had which increased their building size. Fortunately, it is now big enough to house us all. Any questions thus far?"

A boy in the front row raised his hand, then asked, "Isn't even a single monorail ticket expensive?"
Mrs. Momoyo returned. "Not that our finances are your business Ryan, but yes. They will take out a bit of our funds. However, because we won't be here anymore, I will just take it out of money set away for future expenses, because obviously, we won't be here in the future."
A girl off to the side named Millie also raised her hand, and asked, "Wouldn't a piddly fishing boat be WAY to small for a group of 12 kids, and 2 adults?"

"No. Mr. Gatees, who owns the boat, has more than enough room for a group of 30 if needed. We were VERY lucky he, and Mrs. Connes of Goldenrod, agreed to help, because both of them are, er, financially secure enough, and agreed to help however they could. Mr. Gatees even hired the busses to pick us up tomorrow at noon, at which time I expect EVERYONE to have all of their belongings packed, and outside their doors."
Mrs. Momoyo paused, waiting for any other questions.

"Now though, it is time to eat, and then it will be bed time immediately after for everyone. I know it's still light, but, we have an early day tomorrow. I will be waking you all at 6:00." At this point, Mrs. Momoyo took her seat, and stared at her dinner, as if eating was the last thing she wanted to do. Malsen and Ai seemed to have agreed with her on this. As the other children began eating, Ai turned to him and began a conversation about it.
"What do you think about this?"
Malsen thought it over for a second, and replied. "I don't. If the orphanage has to be removed, then it must be done." Malsen pulled his plate closer to him, and began eating. Oddly, Malsen's secret wish of the building suddenly and un-expectantly being flattened didn't seem as funny anymore.

"Oh yea. You wanted, to tell me something important. What was it?" He asked.
Ai gasped slightly, and looked at her plate. "I... Never mind... It doesn't matter." She stated, before picking up her fork too.
Malsen looked confused for a moment, but shrugged it off and finished his dinner.

After eating, Malsen and Ai left the room together. The others were still finishing up, so they were the first ones out. They said their goodnights, and returned to their rooms. Upon laying on his bed, Malsen knew he had a lot to think about. He kept thinking about the town, the woods, the orphanage... He wondered what Johto would be like. He had heard it was very lush, and there was a huge patch of woods to the south of Goldenrod. Maybe he could explore it.

Malsen got up, and went to his dresser. Here, he pulled out his father's PokeGear, and flipped it open. The time read 7:22. Returning to his bed, feeling wide awake, he opened up the map of Ijjimu, and began to scroll through the various rotes and cities with the cursor. He watched as the pixelated screen scrolled through various names of towns and routes.

ROUTE 414, ROUTE 413, VOLPATRUO CITY... At the end of the list, he came to the word 'NEXT'. Upon hitting it, the map displayed some bars with miniature maps on it. He found 'Johto', and the map was displayed. It didn't take long for him to find 'ILEX FOREST' followed shortly by 'GOLDENROD CITY'. He could see that they weren't too far away from each other. Maybe he could go everyday? Maybe there were Pokemon he'd never seen before? Try as he might, he couldn't convince himself. He just didn't want to go. As he lay there mulling it over, he knew what he wanted to do.

 

[Tetsu]

Chapter 4: Of Silence and Sounds

Malsen opened his PokeGear. Although the time read 9:14, it seemed like a whole day had passed. Malsen had waited patiently. Now, though, everything had been quiet for a while, and Malsen knew it was time. Earlier while the others returned to their rooms, Malsen had packed up his PokeGear, his clipboard, some clothes, his pillow, and a blanket. However, unlike the children tomorrow, he didn't intend to board any bus, or go to a region miles away that he'd never seen. No, he fully intended to leave. Now. And never look back.

Malsen grabbed his backpack, and left the note he'd written on his bed. He could see from his window it was very close to dark. His heart began to race. Was he actually about to do what he thought he was? Run away, possibly from the only place he'd be safe? Slowly, he slipped out his door, and began to proceed down the hall. As he progressed past other's rooms, he could hear the others, which prompted him to move quietly, as the others could probably hear him, too. Some rooms issued loud snores. Some, whispering of those who shared rooms, possibly of the day's announcement. Some, complete silence.

His mind was racing to keep pace with his heart. What if he got caught? Where would he go? Just what was in that meatloaf that was so invigorating or otherwise, that it, being the only thing he could think of, would fuel a sensible person to do the unthinkable and dangerous?! Why was his shoe untied? Was it going to rain?!? Was he just thinking of random things to keep his mind away from what he was doing???

Malsen slid past Ai's room, and thought he might tell her what was going on. However, if she was asleep, he didn't want to disturb her, and continued on his way. He even walked extra slowly and extra quietly past Mrs. Momoyo's room. Eventually, he found himself at the intersection near the front door. He set his backpack around the corner to catch his breath. Lugging that thing so slowly took his wind from him. Just as he exhaled...
"WHERE are YOU going?"
A jolt ran up Malsen's spine, and he turned to face Millie. Crap! Busted! Her room was only a few feet away, and he prayed Mrs. Momoyo hadn't heard anything. Although Millie was known to everyone as a bully, and would assuredly squeal, he knew she wasn't very bright. Quickly he whispered a response.

"Does it matter? I could ask you the same thing, y'know."
"I am going to the kitchen because I need another plastic bag for packing. Also, I asked you first."
Malsen doubted this. The rest of the kids weren't packing until tomorrow, and given her girth, he was sure she was going to the kitchen for other reasons.

"I'm going to the bathroom. Do I need to tell you why?" Malsen whispered, sarcastically. Hopefully, she hadn't seen his backpack before he put it around the corner. "Just as well, you know we're not allowed in the kitchen after bedtime anyway."
Millie had opened her mouth as to say something, but closed it, and turned to her room. "Whatever. I'm going to bed. See?"
Malsen waited for her to close her door, and for the click of the lock, before returning to his backpack. His heart raced harder than it had earlier when she caught him, and given that Mrs. Momoyo hadn't come out into the hall, she, too, must have been asleep.

Malsen picked up his backpack, and thought that he was pretty swift to have come up with that one. In the event he was actually going to the bathroom, Mrs. Momoyo would have issued discipline to Millie, and not him, for going to the kitchen. Or maybe not. She DID give him his confidential folder earlier, possibly due to the unexpected boot-out. Maybe she would have looked past them both.

Regardless, Malsen continued to the reception room. He knew the front door had been locked, as it always was just before bed, and if he did leave, there would be no way for him to get back in when the door closed. He put his hand on the doorknob, and thought about it for a moment. He decided he was already this far, so he might as well continue. Determined, but none-the-less scared, he pushed open the door.

He was met with a slow wind. It was still warm outside, just not as much. Whatever it was, a fog had managed to form since he'd last looked out his window. The street-light cast an eerie glow through the haze. Malsen knew it would be bright enough to still read his PokeGear, so he flipped it open. 9:22, he thought to himself. I'd better move quickly.

Malsen quickly set off into the dusk. As he reached the creaky gate, he jumped over the 3 foot-high brick wall, so as not to alert anyone to a gate that desperately needed oiling. He rounded the corner of a nearby building, and pulled a cloak from his backpack. He knew that if he were to stay outside in the night, he'd have to keep warm. From there, he continued up the roads he knew so well towards the only place he could think of going, his favorite spot in the woods.

As he continued, it only dawned on him how creepy the Mollim was at night. Given that the sun had only just set in the horizon, it was already cooling quickly. The fog made the town very eerie, and he was hearing noises he'd never heard before. He passed an alley that really gave him a jolt. At the other end where two glowing eyes, and he'd thought he'd almost had a heart attack when a Meowth jumped out from behind them, running up the nearest tree.

Trying to calm himself, he kept his mind on his destination, and what he was going to do tomorrow. Maybe he could look up his father's friend, if only to learn more about him? Perhaps he could set up some kind of camp of sorts. He'd seen a few survival shows on TV. Granted, they didn't have a great picture with them being broadcast for antennae. He had to carefully dodge a group of people who were making a ruckus a few houses away. He didn't want anyone to know he was there.

Eventually, though, he made it to the edge of town. As he looked into the heart of the trees in front of them, he thought for the first time in his life that the woods seemed kinda creepy. Fighting his instinct, he closed his eyes and proceeded forward. Big mistake, because almost immediately he tripped on a root. As he lay there with his face in the ground, he almost dared to think about returning to the orphanage, and finding a way to break in. Honestly, if he was caught, he DID live there. Still though, he got up and brushed himself off, making note to look where he was going. Creepy, or not.

When he got a little deeper in the woods, he began to realize how stupid it was not to have brought a light. Honestly, he had a tiny key ring light sitting on his dresser right now that would have sufficed. Then again, he'd never had any keys before, so he didn't wonder why he'd forgotten it. After progressing along the path he'd created from years of traveling it, he got tired quickly from lugging his back-pack, and took a seat on a fallen log. It was only then did he start to realize how stupid he was for getting himself in the current situation. It was cold... It was dark... It was scary... He kept thinking he heard noises that weren't there...

Wait a minute... Noises! Malsen did hear something! A weird noise coming behind him. Was it a machine or something? No, it couldn't be. It was too soft. He was sure he'd heard it before. It kind of sounded like a musical triangle. Or maybe a bell?
Whatever it was, Malsen turned his body so he could look in the direction it was coming from. Yes, way off in the distance, through an abundance of trees, he could see a tiny dot of light! This struck him as odd, because he was too deep in the woods for normal people, and on top of that, he wasn't near any nearby towns that he could think of. On that note, he flipped open his PokeGear. Yes! He was met with a bright green glow that displayed a pixelated screen he recognized so well. Was it already 11:00? He proceeded to the maps page, and returned it to Ijjimu. While surfing through it, he couldn't find any nearby towns. Or even routes for that matter. Actually, if the distance scale was accurate, he was actually closer to the ocean than any of the former.

"At least now I have some form of light." He said, to no one in particular. He stood and faced the direction of the unknown light source, placed the PokeGear on his wrist, and pointed it in front of him. It was no flashlight, but at least now he could go investigate that sound off the path without worrying about tripping or getting hit in the face with tree branches. Well, he thought, he could. It was a question of if he wanted to investigate it. Ultimately, his curiosity got the better of him, and he proceed to do something he hadn't done in years. He was going to leave the path he made for the unknown.

 

[Sydian]

Ow. My eyes. X.x

It's nice so far, but...it needs to be spaced out. It's easier on the eyes.

Here's some stuff:

Honestly, he had a tiny key ring light sitting on his dresser right now that would have sufficed.

You don't need the word 'honestly'. That makes it not make sense.

Still though, he got up and brushed himself off, making note to look where he was going. Creepy, or not.

Combine these sentences. 'Creepy, or not.' isn't even a sentence in it's own right.

And with this, I leave you. I'll be checking in now and again.

And...nice signature. I think I might go look for one...no, just kidding. ;D

 

[Espreon]

Seems good, but it was just SO sad! But as Silver said please double space it, I couldn't read your 3rd post because my eyes were startin to hurt after readin the 2nd.

 

[Tetsu]

Chapter 5: Poaching and a Problem

Malsen proceeded deeper in the woods, dodging outstretched sticks, and soon found out something very key... He was lost. Big time. He'd never been this deep in here before. Granted, He DID go to the ocean a few times, but that was one way. He'd never gone in either direction from the path he'd made before. In fact, the only reason that path was there was because one day, some-odd years ago, he decided he'd wanted to see the ocean. When Mrs. Momoyo found out, he'd been grounded for a month. Of course after that month was over, he was right back at the ocean the same day.

"Stupid exploration gene. You've gotten me into trouble again." He said out loud. He'd almost expected an answer. At this point, the light was growing larger, and the ringing noise, louder. He'd gathered it would be at least another half hour before he'd made it there. It struck him odd, though, that he couldn't recall seeing any Pokemon yet. Assuredly, there were Pokemon that came out at night, weren't there?

Eventually, after an exhausting search, he'd made it near the light source. He could tell that it was some kind of large camp. There were artificial lights strung about here and there. However, there was something he'd noticed above all else. Whatever the 'jingling' noise he heard, it was gone. Malsen was sure whoever set up the camp wouldn't mind if he hung around. After all, it was dark, he was a kid, and it was the woods.

He entered the main part of the encampment, and began to look around. Malsen didn't see anyone around, though, so he proceeded further. He thought this was very weird. All these tents? These lights? A power generator? And yet no one was around? Very odd. Malsen continued looking through the camp, passing a few smaller tents, until he came to two really large tents. Oddly, they had some kind of lock on them that prevented anyone from unzipping them.

Suddenly, Malsen heard voices approaching. Thinking it might be better not to be seen, he decided to retreat to the woods, at least until he could be sure it was safe to be around here. Quickly, he entered the nearest part of the trees, and lay down behind a bush. He'd hoped the brown of his cloak would blend into the ground. Malsen heard a man speaking.

"-should do it for the night. I need to get some rest."
And then, another man.
"Right. I'll go put this one away."

Malsen watched as a man approached the locked tent. He was dressed fairly oddly. The man had spiked, jet black hair as well as an equally black cloak, with red velvet on the inside. He had on some darkened glasses, that reminded him of a Zubat for some reason. This was all complimented by a black formal suit of sorts, the kind one would wear to a high-class party. Malsen couldn't shake the feeling something was very wrong. This person was definitely not dressed for the setting. As well, he was carrying something under his cloak. Malsen couldn't make out what it was from where he was at, though. The man put his hand over one of the locks, which sprung open, and fell to the ground. Satisfied, the man entered the tent.

Immediately, Malsen had to cover his ears from all the racket. It sounded as if every Pokemon that lived in the woods decided to scream at once. The racket was piercing, causing others to poke their heads out of their tents, complaining.

"Sorry! SORRY!" Yelled the man, as almost stumbled out of the tent. "Completely forgot, Sorry!"
Everyone started yelling at each other at once, only adding to the annoyance of the Pokemon. Malsen thought he'd go nuts if this continued any longer. A man's voice resonated over the other's, as if amplified by a small megaphone. It was a very deep voice, and it was issued by a fairly large man. "Everyone be quiet! If you all stop yelling and go back to your tents, the Pokemon will eventually calm down."

Pokemon? What was this man doing with Pokemon? Was he a trainer or something? Malsen crawled closer to the bush to get a better look, careful not to accidentally flip open his PokeGear. Here, he had a better view of the man, who looked like someone you definably did NOT want to cross. He was Tall, very muscular, had a patch over his left eye, and shared the same clothing scheme as the other man. Something very striking about him though, was what was on his left hand... Or was his left hand. From just above the wrist and below it looked as if the man had some kind of gauntlet on. The kind you'd see a knight wear, except it was definably not some metal he'd seen before.

"You there. Mattson." He started, moving towards the first gentleman. "What do you think you are doing?"
Mattson looked as if he might wet himself. "I- I was just, um, returning... From the woods, sir... More Pokemon. Y-You'd asked us to do a-another round before bed."
"And you didn't think of bringing the cage with you to your tent when you were done, as not to disturb the Pokemon, or more importantly, me?!"

Oh boy. Malsen could feel the bass on that last word. Mattson was in for it now. The large man approached him, and Malsen could almost hear Mattson's knees knocking as the larger man leaned closer. He brought his face next to Mattson's, so that they were almost touching, and looked him directly in the eye. Malsen heard a sickening noise as the big guy cracked his own neck side to side, and spoke in a low growl.

"... ... ...Boo."
This was followed shortly by a thud, caused by Mattson fainting. Malsen would have laughed at the sight if it wouldn't have spelled his very probably doom. The man with the eye patch, without moving from where he was, spoke in a normal voice.
"When I turn around, you all had better not still be there."
Immediately, everyone retreated their heads back into their tents faster than what seemed possible, followed very closely by zipping noises that, combined, could have rivaled a chainsaw in volume. The man then straightened himself, turned so quickly his cape whipped, and proceeded back in the direction he came. Malsen was sure he'd stumbled onto something he shouldn't have. What was with these guys? And could they be? No... There was no way they were.. poaching Pokemon?

Malsen almost felt sorry for the guy. If the man with the gauntlet had been at the orphanage instead of Mrs. Momoyo, he'd really be doing his chores, whether or not he wanted to. Although, it was kind of emasculating for the guy to faint from a quiet 'boo'.

Regardless, the scene that unfolded before him was something he was NOT expecting. Was the real world always like this? Were people who looked as if they could crush a rock with their looks everywhere? Malsen did not know, and he wasn't sure as if he'd wanted to find out.
Malsen began thinking of the sounds he heard in the locked tent. He didn't have to think hard to know what they were. Given the malicious look of the people who were occupying the camp, combined with the sounds from the locked tent that were obviously Pokemon, he could only draw one conclusion. He did not want to be in this camp any longer than he had to be. But, he decided he couldn't leave all those Pokemon behind. He had to find a way into the tent.

Thinking how he could break in, he began to look around. Then, he saw his chance. The lock was still sitting on the ground! None of the group ever locked the tent again! Unfortunately, that wimpy guy was still out cold. He'd decided he'd have to be very quiet to get to release the Pokemon, but with all that screeching, how could he do it without alerting everyone?

 

[Tetsu]

Chapter 6: Commotion and Confrontation

After a short wait, the man who'd been fainted regained himself. He arose, confused, and realized what had happened. He looked around to see if anyone else was out, then looked at his watch. He immediately set off, and entered a nearby tent.

Malsen had been watching carefully, for what seemed like forever. He opened his PokeGear slowly, so as not to shine any extra light, and saw that he'd only been waiting about 15 minutes. After a few more, the light in the tent went out, and Malsen figured that was where the man slept. Shortly after, he could hear light snoring come from inside, and made his attempt.

Malsen rose, and crossed behind the large tent to stay out of view of the camp. Now that he was much closer, he could hear various sounds coming from inside. He now knew that there were Pokemon inside more then before. He'd still hadn't figured out how to keep the Pokemon from alerting everyone else when he entered. He'd needed a distraction, mostly because he hadn't known how many cages were in there, or even how to unlock them if there were.

He began second-guessing himself, and before long , too much time had passed. The sun was barely starting to peak. Malsen then thought of how awake he was for pulling an all-nighter. It must have been from the adrenaline of all that had been happening. Hopefully, everyone else was more tired than he was.

Malsen opened up his backpack and quietly sifted through what he had. Some clothes... His clipboard... Nothing looked as if it was going to be much use. Defeated, he'd returned to the woods. With dawn coming, he new he was vulnerable, and began looking for someplace to think it out further. After a short walk, he came to a cliff face. He'd decided that he could probably keep an eye on the camp from the top of it, and began looking for a way around.

Shortly, he found some places he could use as footholds, and fortunately, the cliff wasn't very high. Probably only 40 feet or so. After a short but exhausting climb, he managed to make it to the top. He had gotten some scratches, and probably made more noise than was wise. As well, his backpack hadn't helped at all. However, he was at the top, and could now see the camp. There was only a few people who had awakened by the time he'd gotten on the top. He shouldn't really see who they were from his vantage point, but he didn't think it important anyway.

He began to think of how he could get in and rescue the Pokemon as he watched the camp slowly come to life. It wasn't long before he'd scrapped as many ideas as he could come up with, many of which were so ridiculous that he could only be thinking of them to keep his mind going. He became frustrated, and soon his mind turned to the camp.

He could see smoke rising up now, and new it was probably about breakfast time. Unfortunately, this only made him realize how hungry he was, and how tired he was getting. He'd began thinking of going to get breakfast, when he saw that thee was some kind of commotion going on in the camp. The people who'd awakened began herding in one direction. A split second later, there was a blinding flash, and explosive noise, and a ton of blue smoke flooding the entire camp.

Malsen ,who'd been sitting on a stump, jumped to his feet. He had no clue what was going on down there. He knew though, that this was his only chance. Dangerous, yes, but he had no choice. Quickly he grabbed his backpack and slid down the side of the cliff face on one of the more shallow parts of the slope. He was able to control his speed, but he did wipeout at the bottom.

He lifted his face from the ground, and sputtered some mud out of his mouth. He could hear weird noises issuing from inside the camp, which he could only barely see right now. He got up, and pulled his blanket from out of his backpack. He used it to cover his mouth and nose, and ran into the smoke cloud.

There was a lot of yelling coming from further up. It almost sounded as if there was some kind of fight going on. Along with the weird noises, yelling, the smoke starting to hurt his eyes, and the fact the Pokemon were screeching again, Malsen was starting to get a headache. However, he pressed on and soon found the opening to the large tent.

Yes! It was still unlocked, so Malsen opened the flaps. Fortunately, the smoke hadn't really leaked into the tent with it having been closed, so he could see clearly. When he'd opened the flap, though, a large cloud of smoke followed him in. The sound gave him a migraine, and he quickly got to work. He immediately went to the closest cage, that held only a Burmy.

There was another explosion, possibly having something to do with all the smoke. He knew he'd have to work quickly. Malsen began looking around the metal cage, and was surprised. The cage had no lock on it, which wouldn't be a problem, but there was also no door! No door, no hinges, no joints. It was literally just a cage! Frantic, Malsen began looking around. He quickly found a stone the size of his fist, and began trying to break away one of the bars. The frightened Caterpie wiggled off to the side of the small cage, as to try from getting in the way.

After a few minutes, he'd made a crack in the metal. At this pace, he figured he'd be able to release all the Pokemon in say, oh, 50 years. Disheartened, he pulled the bar back from the cage, frantically trying to figure out a faster way. He'd pulled out the Burmy, knowing it couldn't get itself out. He could see this was not going his way at all. The scuffle outside, the screaming Pokemon, and the door-less cages were bad enough. But now he'd have to get all the rest of the Pokemon out, faster than humanly possible, while toting around a helpless Burmy.

He looked around, and he saw them on one of the tables. It was against his ethics, and knowing hat he Burmy would almost literally be in the same situation if he did it... But he had no choice. He crossed to the Pokeballs, and picked one up. He looked at the Burmy he was holding, and became confused. If he captured this Pokemon, he'd literally now be a trainer, something he didn't want, and would be forcing this helpless Burmy into captivity. On the other hand, he could always release it, and he didn't even know what kind of life it faced if he'd left it behind.

He looked into its eyes, and somehow... Somehow, he knew the Burmy did not want to stay. Not being able to watch himself, he closed his eyes, and lightly pressed the Pokeball to the Burmy's forehead. He figured if he was going to do this, he'd at least make it as humane as possible. He felt the Pokeball pop open, and the Burmy's weight vanished from his arms.

Odd... Malsen knew Pokeballs, one of which was resting gently in his hand, usually wiggled when a trainer was trying to catch a Pokemon. Maybe he was wrong? In only a moment, the release mechanism turned red, and then white again, and the Burmy symbol appeared on it.

Well that was it. Malsen looked around, and figured he'd only had few thousand more to go. However, before he had a chance to even grab another Pokeball, there was another explosion outside, this time a lot closer. The shock wave sent him back onto the floor, the Pokeball still in hand. Immediately, a huge billow of smoke came through, and a dark figure came through the door. Malsen (who's tail bone felt as if someone took a hammer to it) looked up, and couldn't see who it was.

He panicked, and was about to run, but the man put something he couldn't see in front of his face. It looked like it might have been a weapon of some sort... Maybe a knife? He couldn't tell. That was when the man spoke.

"I can only assume you are not with this group based on how you are dressed. You, are in my way. This is your only warning, leave now."

Malsen, who sounded a lot braver than he was feeling, spoke. "I-I won't. These Pokemon need help." Malsen swallowed, and began to shake. He was worried he'd just signed his death wish.

However, the man put away whatever weapon he had, and spoke again. "If that is your intention, then we are not enemies, boy. I have come to release these Pokemon myself, and can do it far faster than you could. Leave, and I will take care of it."

Malsen did not need telling twice. Despite his aching bum, he got up, and fled, hoping only that what the man had said was true. He cut through the smoke, and immediately turned so as not to enter the camp. After a short bit of running, he was out of the smoke cloud again, and could see clearly.

He turned, and saw the giant tent collapse, and virtually every Pokemon he could have imagined lived in the woods fleeing it all at once. Stantler, Pidgey, Butterfree. Hundreds and hundreds of Pokemon, all at once left in every direction. Quickly, he turned to run but as he did, he saw stars, and everything went black.

 

[Tetsu]

Chapter 7: The Start of a Long Stay

"Who do you think he is, sir?"
"No Clue. Where did you find him again?"
"Camp 4, near Mollim."
"Yea, that's the one."
"From the looks of him, he's probably homeless."
"Maybe, but he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. When he comes to, question him. You passed that course already, rookie?"
"Yessir."
"Good. It's on you then. I have to relieve #116."

Malsen wasn't sure what was happening. He couldn't see straight, wasn't sure of whos voice he was hearing, and he seemed to be laying down. As he heard footsteps fading, he pushed himself up. As soon as he did, he got a massive headache, crumpling him back onto the bed he was on. The room started spinning, and the pain was intense. Before he could stop himself...
*BLOOOORRRRK!*

"Oh great! He wakes up and now I get to play Good Cop, Bad Cop, and Janitor! Thanks alot kid!"

When Malsen regained himself, his headache had subsided a bit, and he could see clearly again. He squinted because his eyes hurt, but he could make out that he was in some kind of jail cell. The walls were painted white over concrete, and the bed he was on seemed to be supported by being chained to the wall. The most striking part of the cell's appearence, though, was that insted of bars, there was some kind of electrical field. A lone guard paced the outside of the cell, whom Malsen recognized as Mattson, from the camp.

"Flipping great. At least you didn't get in on the bed. You had better not be sick or something. If my boss finds out it was from when I knocked you out at camp, I'm in for it."
Well, that'd explain the headache, Malsen thought to himself. He sat up on his bed and began to fully take in the room he was in. The lighting was flourescent, and it didn't help his headache at all.

A short while later, Malsen began thinking of what was going on. His headache had subsided, and a Janitor had already cleaned his mess. Mattson was sitting at the table outside the cell reading the newspaper.
Malsen didn't know where he was, or why he was even where he was. He knew only one thing: He was bored. An hour had already passed, and he knew that if something didn't happen soon, he was going to lose his marbles. He had already cheked the place out to the best of his ability. From the vantage point he had, he could see that he had a second cell next to his, and both were in a remarkably small room. There couldn't be more than 30 feet from his wall to the wall outside the bars, and probably only twice that leangth-wise.
At one end of the 'corridor' Mattson was in, was a large steel door with a mesh-net window. Mattson himself was sitting at a small plastic table which had his backpack, and a neighboring rucksack he could only assume was Mattson's. Other than that, the only thing of note was the words 'CELL 3C - 3D' painted on the wall.

Malsen didn't have to wait much longer for somethign to happen, as the metal door swung open. Malsen, who was pretending to be asleep, didn't see who came in, but heard an exchange.
"Here's Jonic. Commisioner is done with him." Said a gruff voice Malsen didn't recognize.
"Whatever." Replied Mattson.
Malsen heard Mattson set his paper down and get up, as well as what sounded like a generator powering down, which he could only assume meant the other cell had been opened. This was followed by footsteps, and a thud that sounded like someone had been dropped on the floor.
"Wuss." Said the first voice. "You act like we wailed on you too hard."
"If my mother..." Said a younger-sounding voice, probably more Malsen's age.
"If she what? Find's out we beat the tar out of you? If you recall she's the reason you're even in here right now. Somehow, I don't think she could really help you right now. You'd best start re-thinking your position. If you don't change your attitude, I can guarantee you're going to be well-aged before you see the outside of this building again."

Malsen heard the generator start humming again, accompanying his own.
"8:12. Mattson, you're supposed to be stationed in the basement store-room right now. Where's your replacement?" The man asked.
"Good question." I was wondering that myself.
"I'll radio him. Sledge! Where the hell are you?"
"Pitts here. Sledge is a little, er, un-available at the moment."
"Explain."
"Well sir... We'll there's only one way to say it, he's on the pot. Something he ate didn't agree with him."
"Perfect. Well, tell him to take somethign to settle his stomache and get up here as soon as he can. If he's just goofing around, though, I'll be breaking fingers. Mattson, get to the store-room. Its contents are to important to be waiting for him."
"What of the prisoners?"
"What are they gonna do, escape? Don't question me just go!"
"Gah! Yessir!"

Malsen heard the door open, and then close again. Due to the silence, Malsen gathered they both had left. Now what was going on? Another prisoner? Malsen really hoped the guy was alright. If the othe guy's voice was any indicator of his strength, he could really do some damage.
Malsen heard the other prisoner get up and spit, followed by the creak of the bed in the next cell. Malsen couldn't see through walls, so he wasn't sure how ruffled the guy looked. Fortunatly, he couldn't have been too badly off, because he began to speak.
"Wittiker. You're on my list now."
Malsen heard him spit again, and could only assume 'Wittiker' was someone's name, probably the other guy.

"You. Neighbor. Are you sleeping in there?"
Malsen wasn't sure if he should answer. But he decided the least, well most, he could do was be friendly to him.
"No, I'm up." He replied, and sat up.
"What do they got on you?"
His voice was drawling, and slightly blanded like he was chewing on something.
"Good question. Best I can gather they knocked me out and dragged me here. From camp, uh what was it... Camp 4, I think they called it."
"Ah. So you're the Mu, er, person they caught sneaking around. Was it you who caused all that commotion there?"
"No. Wrong-place-wrong time, heh."
"In the middle of a forest miles from the nearest city?"
"Er..."

Malsen thought it best to change the subject. True, he didn't cause all the smoke and explosions, but he did try to free the Pokemon in the tent.
"Um, you don't sound so well. Did they really attack you?"
Jonic didn't say anything for a moment, but replied.
"Maybe it's better we talk face to face, huh?"
Malsen didn't expect what he saw next. Bricks from the wall dividing the cells began falling one by one, as if they were being pushed out from the other side. Soon there was a hole big enough for a child to fit through. What didn't make sence though, was that Malsen was sure the wall was solid concrete. Soon after, a solid form ducked through.
"Name's Jonic." He said simply.

 

[Tetsu]

Chapter 8: A Punk and a Plan

Jonic was a kid probably not much older then Malsen. He might have been an inch shorter, though. He had punk-styled clothing on, complete with leather finger-less gloves, and decorative chains hanging from his pockets. His shirt was red and sleevless, and he had rediculously spiked, silver hair. His lip was split, and he was sporting bruises on his arms. His clothes, slightly torn.

"What can I call you?" Jonic asked.
"Call me? Oh, my name is Malsen."
They took a brief moment to shake hands, and Malsen continued.
"Er, how did you do that?"
"Do what?" Jonic replied, as he sat on a pile of bricks. "Oh, the wall. I, er, I talked to someone who... Um, built a secret passage?"

Malsen could tell he was lying, but as to why he didn't know. He figured he'd just change the subject back to what it was.
"So they get rough on you in this place?"
"Sometimes. They're jerks but they only show their teeth if you have something they need. Honestly, if you didn't steal anything from them, you won't have to worry about then. Unless you did steal something. Did you?"
"No. I already told you I was in the wrong... Never mind. When will they let me out?"
"Malsen, was it? Malsen, I'm afraid this isn't jail. This is a criminal empire. Don't be surprised if they intend to keep us locked up here indefinitely."

Instantly, Malsen's mind began to race, which only aggravated his headache further. If what Jonic said was true, he was in deeper trouble than he thought. Sure, he knew they were criminals, but a criminal empire?
"When you say 'criminal empire', you mean like, Team Rocket, or Galactic?"
"Not really. These guys are much worse. Rocket has a strong leader and solid caste system, but their foot-soldiers tend to be bumbling dolts. Aqua and Magma actually fight for their own morals, and don't really see beyond themselves. Galactic are, well, lets go with 'unique'. The Nomek Syndicate is not like those 'teams', they actually know what they're doing AND they're evil, which makes them dangerous."
"That makes me feel so much better."

Jonic paused for a moment, and started a new topic.
"So, Malsen. What's your story?"
"Uh. Do you really want to hear it? I don't have much of a life."
"Well, we're caught in a cell-block. Passing stories is the only thing to do to pass the time. Well, I intend to plan an escape while you tell me if that's ok." He said, standing up.

Malsen laughed slightly, and figured it wouldn't hurt to have a friend if he was going to be in a cage. Jonic walked around the cell stopping to stare at seemingly inconspicuous items while Malsen told him how he came from Mollim, his parents having passed away when he was young, how the orphanage was being shut down, and how he came to be in the camp in the forest.
Jonic replied where appropriate to remind Malsen he was, indeed, listening, even though he continued to pace around the cell.
"How sad... Ai, that's a pretty name... That sounds kinda rash... A ringing noise? Odd... Yeah, Mattson is kinda a wuss..."
When Malsen got to the part with the explosions and smoke, he caught Jonic's attention even further. He had explained the smoke to him and Jonic looked as if he knew something.
"Have you heard of any kind of smoke like that before, Jonic?"
"Er... No, no I haven't... Uh... Maybe it was a smoke bomb that someone invented for private use? Anyway, go on."

Malsen had the feeling again that Jonic knew more than he was letting on, but he continued anyway.
"Well I got into the tent, and I saw zounds of Pokemon in cages, and I knew I had to get them all out. But it would have taken me forever, right? So anyway there I was trying to help a Burmy, and I could feel the explosions getting closer, so I had no choice but...
"Wait a minute, you saw the cages?"
"Yeah, now that you mention it they're really weird. no door, hinges, nothing. Must have been collapsible or something, but I still haven't figured out how they work."
Malsen was really getting into his story. He was really glad he had someone to tell such an exciting tale to, and even better, a tale that had happened to him.

Jonic stared at Malsen for a moment, before quietly speaking in a curious tone. "Proceed"
"Anyway, there I am with a Burmy I had caught, which goes against every one of my morals by the way, and I didn't even get the chance to free anything else because this guy busts into the tent wearing, like, a cloak or something. The smoke was covering him so I can only assume he was the one doing it and he did whatever to make the smoke just outside the door, cause it followed him in. Anyway, I could only see his silhouette.
So the explosion knocks me on my..."

"Malsen!" Jonic said sharply.
"Yeah?"
He chuckled a little while he said. "I agree, this story is pretty exciting, but just remember to breath."
"Sorry, it's just that I haven't had a lot of people who would listen to me. It's kinda cool to have someone who actually wants to heat about your day."
"I can appreciate that. I've had some ignorance in my life to. Anyway, go on."
"Well this guy, I could tell it was a guy cause of his voice, he points something at me, but I'm sure it wasn't a gun, and he starts going on about how I need to get out of his way, and he tells me he can open these cages faster than I can. Well, I ran out of the tent, and I see it collapse with all the Pokemon just exploding out of there like there was no tomorrow. All of them at once just fleeing in every direction. I have never seen something so cool and so, er, confusing as that in my entire life... I wonder how he did it... Well anyway, was seen, knocked out, and here I am."

Jonic stood where he was and looked at Malsen curiously. Malsen then began to speak.
"Uh... So, what's your story."
Jonic stalled for a moment, whipped around and walked to the cage.
"Sorry, no time."
"What? What do you mean 'no time'?"
"I mean there isn't time to go into it. I've decided Malsen, you're coming with me."
"What? Coming with you? Where? You know where in a cell, right?"
"We're escaping."

 

[Tetsu]

Chapter 9: Escape and Escapade

"Uh... Care to explain?" Malsen asked, confused.
"We're going to get out of this cell, and eventually, out of the building" Jonic replied, as if the notion of escaping from a cell was the likes of going for a walk.
"Well, it's not as if we can just walk out of here. If you hadn't noticed these cells have bars made out of pure energy."
Jonic stooped to pick up two bricks, and replied, "Not for long, it won't." Then, he took one of the bricks, and used it to smash the other one into smaller ones.
"Well, what about the guard? I'm sure he'll have some qualms about us leaving if he gets back before we leave." Malsen said, standing up and moving to the front of the cell with Jonic.
"The guard won't be back for quite a while, I imagine." Jonic replied, slyly, as he handed Malsen one of the brick pieces.
"Why is that?"
"Because I'm the one who slipped the laxative into his tea." He said with a smile.

Both of them couldn't help but have a laugh at this. Jonic then proceeded to inform Malsen of his intentions. "Okay, do you see that box with the wires coming out the top on the wall to our right? The one covered in the plastic dome?"
Malsen looked in the direction indicated, and nodded to indicate that he indeed saw the said box.
"That's the power generator for the cells. Pulling on either of the two handles powers-down the these electric bars."
"So that's our target then?" Malsen asked.
"In a sense, yes. However, we cannot penetrate the plastic dome around it with these rocks alone. No, our goal is to somehow get our gear from the top of that table into this cell. Be careful with your aim, though. Touching the bars will cause you to fly back into the opposite wall, and as you can see, there isn't much space between the bars to aim. We should have enough bricks here to make it, though."

Malsen looked at his backpack, and the neighboring rucksack on the plastic table, and noted the legs were collapsible. He then realized what Jonic intended to do. He was going to try and cause the table to fall into a slope, rolling the backpack and rucksack closer to the cells. After that, though, he had no idea.

Jonic took aim, and tried to throw his rock at the leg of the table. Unfortunately, he missed. He and Malsen took turns breaking bricks, and attempting to hit the table, but they continued to miss their mark, until only one broken brick was left.
"Crud," Jonic started. "We each have only one throw. We're going to have to make these count." Jonic concentrated, and pelted his stone at the leg again. It did hit, but unfortunately, it did not fall. Then it was Malsen's turn. "I guess it's up to you."
Malsen looked at the table, and began to think. His gaze wandered around the room, and when he thought all was lost, it finally hit him.
"Of course!" He said. "Why didn't I think of it earlier?"

Malsen the squinted, and took aim. He knew he had only one shot at this. If he failed, then the guard would eventually come in to take his post, and would realize they were trying to escape. From there, Malsen did not want to find out what would happen.
He exhaled, and hoped as he felt the stone leave his fingers to his intended target.

BULLSEYE! A perfect hit! The stone nailed the chain of the over-hanging fluorescent light, which then bounced off the wall, broke one of it's lines, and crashed into the table just as sparks flew from the dying tube.
Almost one cue, the table collapsed, and the two bags fell open, allowing a few Pokeballs to roll up to the bars.
"Nice one Malsen. I can't believe I didn't think of that!" Jonic exclaimed, as he carefully reached through the bars, and grabbed one of the Pokeballs. While he had his hand through, he pressed the release mechanism, and a Hitmonchan appeared.
"Hitmonchan! I need you to destroy the plastic around that fuse box over there."

Obviously, the rucksack and contents were Jonic's, because the Hitmonchan moved to the fuse-box without question. He aimed, and with a shattering punch, he destroyed not only the plastic, but the fuse-box as well. The power in the cell, including the energy-bars, failed and flickered out. Fortunately, the EXIT sign was still displaying light above the door.

The duo acted quickly. They gathered their belongings, and Hitmonchan returned to his Pokeball.
"We have to move fast. Each room has it's own power, so the power in this room is the only one that'd have gone out. The sensors will have picked it up immediately. We need to go, now!" Jonic said, as he pulled on Malsen's arm towards the door.
They exited into the hallway outside the cells. Malsen could see that the white-paint-over-concrete theme continued as they ran through towards a T-bone intersection. Jonic led Malsen through the corridors, turning every so often with a "left here" or "don't turn, dead end." Malsen followed him, and as odd as it was, it seemed Jonic knew exactly where he was going. True, they two had really only just met, and Malsen had more than once gotten the feeling that Jonic was hiding something from him, but just the same, he felt for some reason that he could be trusted.

"Where are we going? To find a window or door?" Malsen asked, while trying to keep his breath.
"No. We are too many floors up to find a safe exit, and we would assuredly be caught if we tried to make our way to the docks. No, our best bet is to hide out in the building until we see a chance to escape."
"Did you say docks?"
"Didn't I tell you? The Nomek HQ is on an island out in the middle of the ocean."
"The ocean? Are you serious?"
"What would I gain from lying?"

Malsen, who had seen a few spy shows couldn't help but ask something that had caught his attention. "Why aren't we using the vents? Isn't that what people usually do if they, you know, don't want to be found?"
"I had thought of that, too. But look at it this way, if I had thought of it, what makes you think they wouldn't?"
"True..." Malsen said, before stopping abruptly.
Jonic was caught off guard, having gained a few steps before realizing he wasn't being followed anymore. He turned to Malsen.

"What's wrong?"
"Jonic... Are you leading me somewhere, or are we going somewhere?"
"What do you mean?"
"I can't shake the feeling you know something that I don't, and I'm willing to trust you, but I have to know."
Jonic thought about it for a second, but before he could open his mouth to reply, a screeching klaxon sound resonated through the halls, and some domed red lights began flashing.
"No time!" Jonic said hastily, and once again grabbed Malsen's arm. "They know we're gone!"
Not one to argue with the obvious, he took off down the hall, with Jonic at his side. They continued on, with Malsen still not knowing where they were going, or even, fully knowing what was happening.

 

[BakingBluePotatoe]

EeEeEe~kk they're escaping? What guts they have =3

 

[Tetsu]

Chapter 10: The Hidden Room

The duo raced down more winding corridors, trying to escape the inevitable capture. Now, instead of keeping out of sight, they are being hunted. Jonic broke left, followed almost immediately by a right.
"... Jonic! What's with this... This maze?"
"Nomek isn't inept when it comes to managing themselves. These corridors are designed like this only on the floor with the holding cells, to confuse anyone that manages to escape."
"What?! In that case, how are we supposed to get out?"

"Like this..." Jonic stated simply, as he grabbed Malsen, and pushed him into a wall. Malsen was caught off guard, but more so by the fact that the wall literally flipped around, and he found himself in a large, empty, and very old looking room. Malsen stepped off to the side, when Jonic came charging through the wall.
"I apologize for that push. Unfortunately, that wall needs a bit of force to get through."
"No it's alright. Where are we now?" Malsen asked.
"I'm not sure of what it would be called. It's some kind of ambush hall, I think."

Jonic sat down and opened his rucksack. He began pulling out his Pokeballs and belongings. Not one to see a break, Malsen sat down too, and pulled his PokeGear out of his pocket. In the rush, he hadn't had any chance to take a look at it. Jonic continued to extract various things. Clothing, a tent, some pieces of technology...
It had just occurred to Malsen that he was in a room, alone, with Jonic, alone, who happened to be someone he didn't actually know, beyond the fact that he was also in a cell with him. Again, alone... Maybe he was a thief? He could have stolen from this Nomek Syndicate. He WAS pulling a lot of stuff out of his rucksack... Malsen decided that he wanted to continue trusting Jonic, but now he was a little uneasy, and thought it best to watch what anything he would say or do around him.

Jonic looked up from his rucksack and noticed Malsen flipping open his PokeGear while he pulled out the Burmy Pokeball out of his backpack.
"Mark 1? Isn't that a little archaic?" He asked
"Come again?"
"Your PokeGear. It's older than dirt. There's been at least three more models, not including the multitude of upgrades for each of them. I think I have an extra Mark 3 in here you can have."
"Er... No, that's ok. It was my dad's."
"Oh... Hold on then... Here." Jonic replied, and handed Malsen what looked like a plastic cracker.

"What is this?" He asked.
"It's a card. It contains data used to modify the software on PokeGear. This one has a few User-created programs as well as a radio distributed by the Johto region. That's useless here, of course. There's a slot just below the hinge on the back."
Receiving a card from the Johto region didn't really improve Malsen's thoughts on Jonic, but he took it anyway out of curiosity. He turned the PokeGear in his hand, and sure enough, there was a slot that seemed to just fit the card. He inserted the card into the slot and... It vanished! There was an odd light emanating from it, and it simply vanished!

"What happened to it?" Malsen asked, surprised.
"Well it's Silph-Tech enabled, you didn't honestly think it would stay there, did you?" "Yes... Actually... What's Silph-Tech?"
Jonic stalled, slightly caught off guard. "Uh... You don't know about Silph Co.?"
Malsen shook his head slightly. "No. I don't."
"Huh... I figured you might have missed out on a few things not being a trainer and all... But I assumed... Well, anyway. Silph Co. is a huge company in the Kanto region. They specialize in unique technology that powers Pokeballs, PokeDex. and over-all Pokemon realted tech. This includes the technology that gives cards inserted into your PokeGear to just vanish."

Malsen had always wondered how Pokeballs got their capturing abilities. Granted, though, he was being wary of anything that Jonic said. Still curious, he pressed on about Silph Co. "Well what about in the past? How did they catch Pokemon if they didn't have electronics? Why only Silph Co?"
Jonic replied, "I said technology, not electronics. There IS a difference. In definition, technology is the branch of knowledge used to advance life, society, and the environment. Something doesn't have to be electronic to be technology. If I recall correctly, Silph Co. used to have competition until some major breakthrough. Now, only a small handful of people outside the company know how to manufacture said technology."

Malsen tried to absorb this new information. It sounded... Off, but he had heard of weirder things. He sat there for a second, and then flipped open his PokeGear. Of course, it immediately opened to the time screen he was getting accustomed to. Apparently, it was a lot later than he thought it was. If the clock was correct, it was already pushing 11PM.
"I had no idea it was so late already...11PM... Where'd the time go?"
He continued flipping through the PokeGear's new screens. There wasn't a lot, but he did have some interesting things. He had screens titled "FRIENDSHIP CHECKER", "DOWSING MACHINE", "MARKING MAP","COLOR CHANGER" and he already had the "RADIO" in the first place.

Jonic began checking out his Pokemon. In total, he released a Hitmonchan, a Crobat, a Chansey, a Lapras, a Shedinja, and a Shinx. He also pulled out a jar of Pokemon food, and began handing out some to each of them. "You guys will have to keep it down a notch. We're in hiding right now."
"Oh Jeez! I can't believe I forgot!" Malsen exclaimed, as he grabbed Burmy's Pokeball. He quickly pressed the release, and picked up the Burmy. "Oh man. I wasn't counting on this capture. This poor Burmy hasn't been out of his Pokeball all day!"

Malsen felt horrible. He despised keeping wildlife locked up, and people who didn't take care of their Pokemon. In less than 24 hours he had turned into what he hated most.
"Here." Malsen said, as he turned out his backpack. "This Burmy really needs to be fed, and I don't have any money to buy any from you. Would you be willing to take any of this stuff as collateral?"
Jonic looked at Malsen's belongings scattered on the floor, and moved to take some of the food from the jar he had. "You must really care about your Pokemon. Here, free of charge."
He handed the food to Malsen. "Um... Thank you." Malsen said, as he took it, and began cradling the Burmy while he fed it. "Er... My stuff. You didn't want it because it wasn't valuable? I promise to pay you back later."
"No, it's not the monetary value of your things. I can't help but respect someone who's willing to give up their few possessions to care for their Pokemon.

Malsen was shocked to hear that. Maybe he had Jonic pegged all wrong? Maybe he wasn't being fair in quickly discriminating him? He couldn't help but feel a little guilty while he began rocking the Burmy. Why he was doing that, he wasn't sure. He'd certainly never held a baby before. But whatever reason, it must have been soothing, as the baby Burmy soon fell asleep.