Lana.
*spin*
- 812
- Posts
- 15
- Years
- Area Unknown
- Seen Jan 4, 2011
Rated: PG-13
Warnings: Language, crime, sexual references/situations, violence, and a few other things I've probably forgotten.
Warnings: Language, crime, sexual references/situations, violence, and a few other things I've probably forgotten.
(Yes, I did make this banner myself. No stealing please.)
AN: Alright, I've been working on this several weeks, and I figured if I was going to post it, it was now or never.
Chapter One
Arceus. When I had volunteered to stay in the back of the moving truck, I hadn't ever imagined it to be this uncomfortable. I had probably had the same box fall on my head three times. I had been thrown against the walls, and I had to stay in the corner in fear the door would slide open of its own will.
Finally, finally, finally, we stopped. Ready to hurl, I stepped out of the truck and took a few moments to stabilize myself. After swallowing down some bile and shaking my head to clear it, I looked around before curling my upper lip in distaste. It was a town, with cute little cottages and a river and a clean, innocent smell.
I despised it. Growing up in Goldenrod City in Johto for thirteen years had branded me as a city girl, through and through. I wanted the exhaust, the noise, the buildings. Where was the concrete sidewalk? And I missed the radio tower already…
I grumbled as my mother came around to the back of the truck to make sure I had gotten out alive.
"May, dear," I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "How was the ride?"
It took every ounce of my willpower to not reply with a sarcastic, "Jim dandy, Mom!"
I settled for, "Fine, Mom."
She didn't seem to believe me, seeing as my face was probably a delicate shade of green, but continued speaking anyways. "Well, May!" she exclaimed, turning towards the woods and inhaling dramatically. "Welcome to Littleroot Town! Sure, it isn't Goldenrod, but at least we can go see your father without taking a boat."
I didn't respond, instead choosing to grab the box with my few personal effects before trooping inside. "I'm going to unpack," I said gruffly.
I heard her sigh, but I couldn't bother to apologize for my behavior. I felt a little bad, actually. It wasn't as if it was her fault. My father couldn't wait for Whitney to move out, no. He had to jump at the new Hoenn job. I scoffed as I trudged up the stairs before turning into the nearest room on the right. I eyed the plain, bare space with mild interest—the movers had already brought up my bed and desk, at least. I tried not to damage anything out of anger as I unpacked. I ignored the Machoke as they each trooped up with a new box. I continued unpacking before finally setting the clock my dad had gotten me as a gift.
Because every girl wants a clock. Dad was lucky that I didn't smash the glass and break the Slakoth hands. I trudged downstairs, hands in my pockets, when my mother looked up from the TV. "May! Your dad's on TV--come look!" She practically got behind me and shoved me towards the television in front of the kitchen table.
"… and that wraps up our report on the Petalburg Gym."
"Oh," my mother sounded defeated. "I guess you missed him… Well! One of dad's friend's lives next door—the Pokémon Professor. Birch, I think it was. Why don't you go introduce yourself?"
I sighed. Did she really think I wanted to go see dad's friends? But I didn't complain; it wasn't as if I had anything else to do. I had no friends in this region, and my brother was somewhere in Kanto by now. He had gone off to New Bark town at ten years old to get his Pokémon and promptly left to conquer all of Johto and the Silver Conference. I had been eight as I watched him finally fall in the quarterfinals. Of course, he visited home for a few days before setting off for Kanto.
I had tried not to hate him and seem appropriately sad he was leaving. But I was only envious; I was stuck in Johto with Mom while Dad was in Hoenn setting up his precious gym.
So, before knocking the door of the Birch residence, I tried to put a decent face on. I knocked twice, and a woman around my mother's age answered with a smile. Great. More happy people.
"Hi! You must be May," she assumed. "Come on in."
I couldn't help but admire the house as I stepped in, noting the worn carpet under the dining room table and the lumpy couch in the living room. It reminded me of back home, where everything was used very thoroughly. I almost didn't notice Mrs. Birch had continued speaking.
"…we have a son around your age, actually." Suddenly, I was a little more interested. Maybe I wasn't totally hopeless when it came to friends in this town. "His room is upstairs—I'll send him up when he gets back."
I took the stairs two at a time and came up on a room about the size of my new one. There was a bed, PC, game system… I frowned at the Poke Ball lying conspicuously on the desk before heading towards it. I was about to pick it up to examine it when I heard the front door swing shut with a slam. I heard voices—one distinctly male—before footsteps coming up the stairs.
Not wanting to make it look like I had been snooping, I slipped over to the bed before sitting gingerly on the edge, trying not to disturb the room in any way. A figure suddenly appeared in the doorway, and paused before coming into the room. I gave him a quick once-over as I stood, trying to smile.
He was a little taller than I was, and wore matching traveling garb of black and green. I wondered for a moment what color his hair was underneath the white hat…
He gave me a critical eye before seeming to shrug. "I'm guessing you're the new neighbor then, huh?" he assumed. "Dad said you were a Gym Leader's kid, so I kind of figured you'd be a guy…"
I grit my teeth, trying to resist the urge to put my hand on my face in exasperation. So apparently there were sexist pigs even in the nice little towns of Hoenn. It was almost comforting to know it wasn't so different here. "Maybe girls can be just as good as guys, kid," I commented. He probably wasn't any older than I was, but still. Something about him ground my nerves.
He smirked. "If you say so," he shrugged. "But what's your name, anyways?"
I paused. "May. You?"
"Brendan," he nodded to me. He suddenly gave me a curious look. "Hey—do you have any Pokémon?"
I sighed. Mom hadn't let me go off to New Bark town, claiming she needed help around the house for the first year Dad was gone. Then, she claimed she needed the company. And the year next, we started making preparations to move, so of course I had to stay and follow Mom to Hoenn. "Nah. I never really got the chance…"
He seemed thoughtful. "Huh, I guess I could—oh, wait, no," he suddenly broke off from his original thought. "I told Dad I would help him out later." He looked up at me regretfully. "Maybe some other time I can help you catch a Pokémon?"
His earnestness surprised me. He would really go out of his way to help me? I blinked. "Sure," I said.
Brendan smiled and moved to the computer, hooking up a green device to the console. I realized I had been dismissed and headed back downstairs, a little more optimistic. I waved goodbye to Mrs. Birch and was headed back home when I heard a shout from beyond the sign that read "Route 201."
I bit my lip. I knew wild Pokémon were out on the routes, and I had none of my own to fend them off.
But I wasn't going to let someone get hurt because I had been too cowardly. So I ran into the route, through the foliage and into a small clearing. I bit back a yell when I saw a man backed up against the tree, a black Pokémon growling at him, looking ready to pounce.
He suddenly saw me. "Hey! Can you help me!?"
"I don't have any Pokémon!" I called back, feeling incredibly helpless.
"In the briefcase! There should be two Pokémon; pick one and call it out!"
I looked around before finding the open briefcase. Lying on top of a mess of papers were two Poke Balls. I hastily snatched one up and called whatever Pokémon it was out. After the white light had receded, I saw a four-legged, blue Pokémon with a fin sticking out of his head and two orange… things on its cheeks. After looking at it, I figured out something with that type of body had to know Tackle.
"Alright… whatever you are, use Tackle on that… other Pokémon!" I was totally at a loss when it came to these Hoenn Pokémon. The only Pokémon I had ever known were those native to Johto and a few to Kanto.
Thankfully, my Pokémon did know Tackle and immediately launched himself at the attacking Pokémon. The attack landed, and I felt a small rush as the wild Pokémon turned to the both of us, settling into a threatening crouch before throwing himself at my Pokémon.
"Dodge it and use Tackle again!" I cried out, the adrenaline beginning to pump through my body.
I let the two of them have at it for a little while, calling out commands every few seconds, before the attacker finally ran off, tail between its legs. I returned the Pokémon and walked up to the man before handing it back to him.
He sighed in relief before pocketing the ball. "Thanks; I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't shown up."
All of a sudden, before I could reply, we heard a rustle and yips. The man suddenly looked worried again. "Maybe we should head back to my lab."
I felt inclined to agree, so we both went back to town. Branching off from the main town there was a well-worn path that I assumed led to the lab. Sure enough, we came to an older-looking building, made of simple stone and wood. But, despite the outside's outdated appearance, the interior looked like it had stepped out of a science magazine. Computers, monitors, and machines I had never heard of all beeped and blinked with multicolor lights as aides ran around in a rush, their arms full of papers and folders. Though they all seemed incredibly busy, they each nodded to the man in respect, and some gave jovial greetings. I realized this must be Professor Birch.
Professor Birch led me through the maze of halls and doors into one somewhat secluded from the rest of the building. There, he seemed to sigh. "Finally. Peace and quiet." He turned to me. "May, thank you for saving me, really. I wish I could offer better thanks, but I'm not sure…"
I had an idea what he could do to repay me, but I held my tongue and just stared at the Poke Ball that he still held. With another sigh, Professor Birch put the Poke Ball into the briefcase. "Between my son and all of the aids, it seems I can't get away from questions and just get a moment of peace."
I felt for him. People could be annoying, for sure. I'm sure it didn't help that in the one place Birch was able to escape, he had been attacked by wild Pokémon. I shrugged and made my way to the door. "Thanks for showing me the lab, Professor. I'll just head on home now."
Birch suddenly looked up. "Could you do me a favor, May? Drop this briefcase off on the shelf near the front door. I have a habit of leaving it in the lab if I don't put it there…"
I nodded and took the case into my hands before slipping out the door. After a few moments thinking, I remembered the way out. As I began to put the case on the shelf, I hesitated. I knew that the Pokémon I had used earlier was in here… and it had been amazing, that feeling. The Pokémon and I had been… connected, almost. It had understood my fervor for the battle and lived it out for me.
But I sighed and put up the briefcase before stepping out the door and heading back home. My mother looked up from the TV as I shut the front door behind me. That was all she did these days…
"Hey, sweetie, ready for some dinner?"
For once, my smile was genuine. Sad, maybe, but sincere as I sat across the table from her. I tucked into my ravioli as she spoke, taking large bites—I hadn't realized how hungry I was. "So, sweetie," she talked over my loud munching. "I was thinking we could go and see your father tomorrow."
I about choked on my milk. Go see Dad? "Does he know about this?"
"Well… no. I thought we could surprise him, you know?"
I blinked, and suddenly a memory flashed back to me from last year, when Mom and I were still in Johto.
"Hey Dad!" I said earnestly, smiling at the phone's monitor.
He didn't smile like he used to. It was strained, as if he didn't want to talk to me.
I ignored this as I continued to speak. "How's training and everything going?"
"Great, sweetheart."
"So I was thinking maybe I could ask Jason to send over Pidgeot and I could come visit you, you know?" I said earnestly, sure he would love the chance to just talk with me like we used to, face-to-face.
My father's smile suddenly evaporated. "Look, sweetie, I don't think it would be best if you came down right now. Things are busy, and I don't know how long it will take before the final touches with construction are done. It would be best if you waited until you and your Mom moved down, so you could both come together."
"But, Dad, why—"
He suddenly looked up from the phone. "Look, May, I'm sorry, but I gotta get back to the Gym. I'll talk to you later."
And just like that, he had hung up. I sat speechless. My father, my idol, had just shut down his twelve-year old daughter down. My knuckles went white as I clenched my hands into fists. Why? was all I could think. Why was he forbidding me to see him? Why did he seem so distant and strained? And why had he seemed relieved as he hung up?
So I said nothing to my mother. "Sounds great, Mom. I'm sure he'll be very surprised…"
She had no idea.
AN: So ends chapter one. Any sort of constructive criticism is appreciated; don't be afraid to be brutal. I may grimace, but I have to learn somehow. Good reviews would be the best birthday present, so no sugarcoating please.
I intend to update when this story is about to get knocked off the first page (though if it starts to be a while, I'll update before that).
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