I decided to post this - for those of you who like OC adventures in Kanto - and those who don't really that much - careful, it's long. I already wrote a lot of it!
"Alright Houndour! We got him!" Shouted Mo and turned to Houndour. But Houndour was dizzily rocking from side to side, looking for somewhere to fall over.
"What's wrong Houndour?" he asked, and he took his Pokedex out. "Nidoran, the poison pin Pokemon. It is small, but its horn is filled with poison. It charges then stabs with the horn to inject poison."
"Oh No! I don't have any antidote with me! What am I going to do? I'll have to get to Viridian city as quickly as possible!" Houndour collapsed, and closed its eyes. "Come on Houndour, I'm sorry! I didn't know!"
Tears were streaming down Mo's face as he picked him up. He pocketed Nidoran's pokeball and started running in the direction of Viridian with the rabbit in his arms. I can't let anything happen to Houndour. I promised the professor I'd take care of him! Now look what I've done!
Obviously, after a couple of miles Mo couldn't run anymore, so he started walking at a brisk pace and put Houndour into his pokeball – it really was easier. He was nearing Viridian, he could already see it! This spurned him on, when out of nowhere jumped a rather tall lad with thick black eyebrows and black hair.
"Stop! You're a new trainer, I can tell! I challenge you to a battle! You have to accept it!"
"I don't have time! My Pokemon is in bad shape and I don't even know where to take it!"
"Aw man! I was hoping to finally have my first battle. Okay, I'll show you where to go. Follow me! The Pokemon Center is this way!"
"Pokemon Center? What's that?"
"It's a place where you can get your Pokemon healed – for free! I've been there quite a lot since I started out."
And so they walked towards the Pokemon Center, exchanging their names and history.
"I'm Raf, and my starter is Bulbasaur! I call him Saurus though, it sounds way cooler. I chose him because the first two gyms have a disadvantage against grass. I go to the Pokemon school here in Viridian, I mean I come from here so that's normal. I still haven't managed to catch anything though and it's been five days now!"
"Hi my name is Mo and I started yesterday. My starter isn't one of the normal ones, it's a Houndour."
"A Houndour? Man I saw one on TV once, that's awesome. You're lucky man!"
"Yeah but we have to get to the Pokemon Center, he's been poisoned by a Nidoran!"
"Ha! I know the feeling. Don't worry about it much, that poison isn't too bad and can be healed really quick. Saurus has been poisoned like six times, I've been trying to get a Nidoran, they're really hard to catch." Relieved at the news that it wasn't a serious poisoning, Mo decided to show off a little.
So he took out the newly used pokeball and said "Alright! Nidoran come out!" and out appeared Nidoran. Raf's jaw seemed to touch the floor.
"How long did you say you've been a trainer? This is your second day and you already got a Nidoran? That is SO unfair!"
Nidoran ran up to Mo and brushed its side on his legs. It obviously liked him, and Mo stroked it. "Yeah, I think I got myself another friend fairly quickly, huh?". Raf was obviously impressed and it made Mo feel better at his utter failure to take care of Houndour.
Soon after, they arrived at the Pokemon Center in Viridian City. Nurse Joy seemed to be busy. "Please boys, be a little patient. I have a very seriously injured Pikachu to heal. It'll be about 15 minutes until your Pokemon are healed. And Raf, you again? You really should take better care of Saurus."
"But I-" She tutted and walked away with the three Pokemon.
"Okay man thanks a lot, I need to call home now. See you soon!" and with that Mo went to call home. "It's a disaster Mum! Houndour already got poisoned once!"
"Don't worry about it kid! I'm shocked you even made it to Viridian so fast. Some of the best future trainers take days! And you've already caught your first Pokemon! Amazing! I can't wait to hear more from your adventure. By the way, I heard there's a day-course at the Viridian Pokemon school tomorrow – maybe you should go? They'll teach you some of the basics you need. Bye bye! Love you". And that was it, until Mo decided to call Professor Oak:
"Hey there professor! I'm in Viridian!"
"Already? Well, that is somewhat astonishing. How's Houndour?" Mo explained what had happened, but Oak didn't seem to be overly worried either. "Oh, hang on, I have what seems to be an important call coming from Ash. Please, he wouldn't put the urgent signal on it if it weren't. All the best of luck my young friend!" With that, Mo got up and walked back to the desk, where Raf was already waiting.
"Your Houndour is beautiful and very rare in these parts Mo! Take good care of it and watch out: there's a gang of Pokemon snatchers who'd be all too pleased to take it away from you! Remember the faces on these wanted postes! Nidoran is fine too, as is Raf's Bulbasaur." She nodded disapprovingly at Raf.
"Thanks Nurse Joy" they both said, and headed out. Raf suggested that Mo stay at his house tonight, and Mo agreed. He wanted to enroll in the school the next day and Raf could show him where it was.
"Oh man yes! You're going to school? I'll finally be the coolest guy there!" finally? Thought Mo, but just went with the flow. He didn't consider himself cool either, certainly not as cool as Garry or even, sadly, Ash.
Raf's parents were most welcoming, claiming that it wasn't often that Raf brought back friends. I couldn't have guessed. They made some delicious food and finally, with both of them being very tired, just went to sleep, even for a short while forgetting all about Pokemon.
They were awoken in the middle of the night by a huge explosion, and looked out of the window. There was a huge hole in the Pokemon Center, but Raf's parents forbade them to check it out. Some gangsters had attacked the center in the middle of the night, but been beaten off. Phew, that was lucky for us then too. That Pokemon must have been really powerful that beat them off! But Mo quickly went back to sleep.
The Pokemon school wasn't that far away from Raf's place, and that morning they both walked to it with a bounce in their step. Mo let Houndour and Nidoran out of their pokeballs, but warned them that they'd be right back in if they set anything on fire or ran away into the road. Houndour was just happy to see Mo again, and seemed to quite like Raf, judging by the ember he fired on him just before the warning had been made. Mo and Raf were chatting about their dreams. Raf seemed pretty set on becoming a gym leader one day or maybe even a part of the elite 4, and Mo explained his dream to be a Pokemon ranger. This just seemed to make Raf even more of a worshiper. Eventually they arrived at the school.
"It's not exactly as I imagined it" admitted Mo. It was a small house with one classroom.
"Well I know it's not exactly impressive, but the teacher is awesome. She's Miss Peggy, and knows everything about Pokemon battling and training." Raf seemed pretty eager to show off his school. Before they arrived, Mo put Houndour and Nidoran back in their pokeballs.
As they walked in through the gates, a rather skinny and obviously immensely rich boy, who had two fat, ugly looking kids at his sides, shouted:
"Hey look! Raf's brought a new boyfriend! What a sissy!" his butch friends sniggered. "I wonder – did you accidentally destroy the Pokemon Center yesterday night?" This was obviously hilarious to all the other kids in the courtyard too.
"Why you little-"
"Children! Behave! Time for class! I will not tolerate such disputes."
Mo was somewhat astonished by the turn of events. Raf really was obviously a bit of a loser, but he didn't mind: he certainly didn't want to have anything to do with that rich kid idiot.
"Who was that?" asked Mo.
"Oh, just the most dirty, arrogant, annoying, evil, scrawny and afraid little git the world has ever seen. He is the bane of my life. I hate Rorie! If it weren't for his protection that he pays for, I would probably have killed him by now". Raf's face was red with rage.
"Well why don't you battle him? It's an easy way of determining who is better."
"Yeah but I don't dare – he'd probably beat me up!" Pathetic, thought Mo, but didn't say it.
The morning lessons were in the classroom and somewhat dull, although Mo hadn't yet really grasped the concept of types, so he was pleased to learn about them all. He made a note of avoiding fighting, ground, rock and especially water types with Houndour, and ground and psychic types with Nidoran. I could easily have beaten Raf yesterday if we'd actually been able to battle. The afternoon lessons were what Mo was looking forward to: 'Present your Pokemon'. Basically, everyone had to introduce their Pokemon to the class. Raf and Mo paired up, and watched as each person showed their Pokemon. None of them were from Pallet Town and therefore none of them had received one of Oak's Pokemon They had had to get them from elsewhere. Raf's Bulbasaur was given to him by his uncle who was a Pokemon salesman, others had been given Pokemon by their siblings or parents. Their were a fair few classic easy-to-train ones: Pidgeys, Rattata, Geodudes, a Zubat and lots of bugs. Then Rorie came and showed off his Abra.
"This beast is a psychic Pokemon. It can teleport anywhere it likes! There are no Pokemon here who could possibly beat its psychic power! My daddy trained it for me a little bit too, so it's easily way more powerful than yours." Everyone clapped, amazed, apart from Mo and Raf. Since Raf had already presented his Pokemon (and gained some respect with his Bulbasaur, it must be said), it was finally Mo's turn.
"Okay, before I let him out, I need everyone to realize that this Pokemon is a fire type who is very young and certainly has never seen as many people as will now surround him."
"You mean we could all get burned?" asked Rorie, laughing.
"Err, yes. But he's a nice Pokemon really." Rorie stopped laughing and hid behind his bodyguards.
"The only fire-type around here is Charmander, boring. We saw him last week" continued Rorie "I don't want to see another"
"Ah! But it isn't a Charmander, nor is it even from this region!" Miss Peggy began to take notice – she had been bored out of her mind until then. And she hated that little know-it-all brat Rorie, so it was nice to see him wrong. "My Pokemon is a Houndour from Johto! Go Houndour!" A collective wow erupted from the class, and Raf started shouting:
"he's my friend he's my friend! I showed him where the Pokemon Center is!".
However, Houndour was terrified of the crowd, but Mo shielded everyone from its ember – which made them even more impressed. Mo hugged Houndour and promised him he'd be OK. Houndour accepted. Soon most kids were stroking him. Miss Peggy gave a slow clap:
"Well well well! That is a most unusual Pokemon you have – especially for a starter. May I ask where you got it from?"
"I'm from Pallet Town, Professor Oak gave it to me! Just like this Pokedex!" The class was beginning to love Mo. He had a Pokedex too! What didn't he have?!
"Interesting. Now kids, this Pokemon evolves into Houndoom, one of the most impressive, in my view, Pokemon in the world. If Mo here takes care of his Houndour, I'm sure he will be very successful. Okay, that's it for today class!" With that, everyone cheered again, lifting Mo up on their shoulders. A bit over the top and unwarranted thought Mo, but he enjoyed the moment, as everyone else did. Everyone else, apart from one, scrawny kid. Rorie shouted out!
"Enough! I challenge you to a battle!" His rage had obviously led to him forgetting the stupidity of what he was saying. How could this poor, dirty pleb scumbag nobody get the love Rorie deserved? How could they love Houndour more than Abra? Abra was way cooler. He could teleport! And, Daddy had taught it Psychic! That could destroy any other Pokemon, Daddy had assured him.
"Pffft. I accept your challenge" figured Mo. He was sick of this little kid. The school cheered.
And so they got onto the school's battle training ground and arranged a one-on-one. Houndour was restless but Mo managed to calm him down.
"Everything's gonna be fine" he whispered to him. I sure hope I'm right! This could get embarrassing. Houndour was starting to trust Mo now, and was eagerly anticipating the match.
"Halt! I shall be referee!" Shouted Miss Peggy, who had heard the challenge being made. Everyone seemed to agree with this decision.
"There will be one Pokemon per trainer, no time limit. Mo, as the challenged trainer, may pick who goes first"
"Please, Rorie, go ahead. Show me what you got!" Mo smirked.
"Abra! Go! Psychic on Houndour!" By now, Rorie had smoke coming out of his ears he was so angry. But nothing happened.
"I said Psychic Abra! Come on!" And yet nothing happened. Abra's eyes were shining blue, but Houndour was unaffected.
"May I remind you, Rorie, that psychic-type moves have no effect on a dark Pokemon?" said Mo smugly. With that, he shouted "Houndour, ember!" the little balls of fire and sparks shot towards and hit Abra square in the face. It erupted into a cloud of smoke, and when it dissipated, Abra was still standing, albeit clearly weakened.
"Abra! Use teleport and land on Houndour's head!" shouted an apparently ingenious Rorie
"Houndour use leer and then ember again!" Abra got caught in Houndour's leer, was too scared to teleport and wasn't braced at all for the impact of ember. As soon as the cloud of smoke dissipated, Abra was lying on the floor.
"Abra is unable to battle. The winner is Mo with Houndour!" Everyone cheered, and Mo the loudest. He had won his first ever trainer battle! "Mo, I want you to know: I think you have a promising career. It's no wonder Professor Oak gave you this Pokemon: you already have a bond with it! Good luck! I think this isn't the last I've heard of you. Goodbye! There is nothing more I can teach you that you mustn't find out for yourself." On that note, Raf came to Mo and expressed his gratitude at finally putting Rorie in his place. And he basked in Mo's sheer brilliance at winning his first battle.
"Hey Raf, I'm going to Pewter City. Wanna come with me?" asked Mo. He'd taken a liking to Raf, and figured he could do with a human companion.
"Do I? I'd love to!" Exclaimed Raf, and put his arm around Mo's shoulder on the way home. And so it came to be that Mo and Raf were on their way to Pewter City together. Mo had made a new good friend and won his first ever battle – the first of many to come!
A certain boy in Viridian was complaining to his father about the loss to Houndour. His father was dressed in black, with a black cap, boots and a big red R on his shirt, and listening intently to what his son had to say. Jack was his name and, although he was unhappy at his son losing his first battle, he was grateful it had happened. Otherwise, he would never have found out about this Houndour, who was obviously a sensationally easy target to steal, and would get him into Giovanni's good books. He knew the Johto Team Rocket was barely starting, and so Pokemon from the region were still rare to come by – even one as common as Houndour. He called his partner:
"Jill! I think I finally have a Pokemon worth our time. Meet me at the usual place in Viridian Forest."
"Hehe, I can't wait to hear what you have for us. See you there!" The line went dead.
So there you go - the first three chapters - if you like it, give me a kind review and I'll post some more. There is more there, but I wanted to make sure some people here liked it before I posted everything!
edit: just noticed there may be one or two spelling mistakes - whoops, not my fault honest! It's the computer wot done it! I'll sort it out tomorrow, right now I'm too tired. I have engineering mathematics to look forward to tomorrow morning and I really should be awake for that! So please, forgive any errors, I'll sort them out. I did proofread, but bear in mind I'm a little tipsy right now.
Chapter 1 – A firey start!
Chapter 3 – Poison Surprise!
Come on, come on. Please let this be it! Suddenly, the ball stopped rocking and gave an audible 'ping'. One morning, a blond 10 year old boy was awoken by what was obviously quite a large crowd outside his bedroom window. Rubbing his blue eyes, he silently cursed them all and sat up in his bed. He looked around his small, simply laid out room. Nothing had changed: the same boring beige curtains, the same boring dark green duvet and the same gray walls with the only added decoration being a simple desk which, as usual, was filled with a chaos of papers, pencils, scissors and empty wrappers of his addiction: chocolate. Above his desk was a framed picture of his parents and himself as a baby. The young boy had no memory of his parents, who had come to Pallet Town a long time ago from their mountainous homeland, Osutaria, and died in a car crash barely a week before his first birthday. As if on cue, his adoptive mother, Mary, called from downstairs.
"Mo! Time for breakfast! Today is an exciting day!"
Not for me, thought Mo sarcastically. He already knew what the ruckus outside was about: all the other 10 year olds in town would be leaving on their journey. "In a minute!" He shouted, so that he could watch from his window as the gathered crowd cheered outside Professor Oak's lab.
The reason for their cheering was quickly evident: Garry Oak had just come outside. I'll be cheering your departure too, he mused, and as he was about to go downstairs, he saw a boy in pajamas running up the street. That'll be Ash. Typical Ash, always late and in a rush. At least he hadn't been nasty to him at school, unlike Garry, who had constantly mocked his poverty and had been insufferable in his boasting at leaving on his traditional adventure. If only I had the money! He sulked down the stairs, but put on his best smile for Mary. She really had tried her hardest to protect Mo from life. So much so that he'd led quite an isolated life from the others, only ever meeting them at school. The only friends he could really count were Professor Oak, who had always been astonishingly kind to him, and the Pokemon he looked after for the professor to make a bit of pocket money. Looked after was exaggerated: he just played with them, was the test subject for Oak to make sure they would be ready for their journey with an unknown child. Mo had quite a few burns where Charmanders had attacked him, although he'd never had any trouble with a Squirtle or Bulbasaur. Which of course meant that Mo's dream was to have a fire Pokemon
"Good morning Mo! How are you feeling today?"
"Oh, great, Mum, really. Absolutely fantastic. I mean, I get to stay here instead of going on a great adventure! What is there NOT to like about today?"
"I'm sorry, but you'll see: everything will work out just fine eventually." She smiled, and Mo noticed, but he couldn't be bothered to follow it up. No doubt she had, like always, found a silver lining to the cloud. He was about to eat his apple when the videophone rang.
"I'll get it!" he said, and jogged to the desk.
"Hey there Mo! It's me!" said Professor Oak's mouth, which was obviously far too close to the camera. He moved back. "Ahem, I was hoping it would be you! I need you to come here as soon as you can. It is a matter of great importance. Tell Mary the time has come, she'll understand."
"But..." It was too late, Oak had hung up. Of course, he understood now: some of the other kids in town must have had the same job as him. Finally, he could earn more money! Not enough to go on his own adventure though...
Doubtlessly Mum's silver lining. Actually, this was great news: he could finally afford to at least own a Pokemon Mary had promised him that he could keep one at home if he looked after it, which included paying for its food and upkeep.
He did as he was told. Told his mother it was time, got dressed and leisurely skipped up the street to the lab. Mo marveled at its sheer hugeness. He always loved coming here: lots of interesting people and, most of all, lots of interesting Pokemon to play with! The gate opened before he could ring the bell – obviously, Oak was keen to see him. Unwilling to let the professor wait much longer and risk the possibility of losing his new-found job, Mo ran up the path and through the door into the professor's living room. In the room were Oak, his adoptive father Dave and an important-looking man Mo had never met before. The important-looking man said to Dave:
"Now if you'll just sign here.... and here... and here... that's me done! It was a pleasure finally meeting Mark and Janet's friends. Really, it was. These papers have been laying here for nearly 10 years!" And with that, he stood up, winked at Mo and walked out. Mark and Janet? What have my parents got to do with this?
"Come here Mo, have a seat. This is important." Once again, Mo did as he was told.
"Who was that man?" Mo asked, and his father and Oak looked at each other with a knowing smile.
"This was Joe, an old friend of me and your parents'" explained Dave. "He has officially recognized your inheritance as transferable."
"My inheritance?" asked Mo, flabbergasted. He didn't know of anything that his parents had left him other than the picture. Everything else had been sold to enable Dave and Mary to look after him. "But what for?" Mo finally asked.
"You see, all parents have to make a testament as soon as they have their child." started Dave "and yours were no different. They started a fund for you when you were born, which has slowly grown over the last ten years. They wanted you to get the money when you were old enough to go on your own adventure, just as they had in their old country. But they wanted you to have yours here".
Mo let these facts sink in. My own adventure?
Oak continued for Dave: "Your parents were good friends of mine, and valued assistants to my work. I was very sad when they were taken from us, and they made me promise to look after you if anything happened to them." Oak paused, before quickly adding "not that their work was particularly dangerous, but they just wanted to be sure. I hope I have helped you in these last couple of years. You have, in fact, helped me by showing such promise in your interactions with Pokemon It seems you have their gift."
"But why didn't you tell me any of this" Mo managed to get out, straining not to explode with rage.
"Simple: we thought it would make a great surprise for today!" Oak beamed. A great surprise?! Are they out of their mind? "Now Mo, it is my understanding that your dream is to, eventually at least, become a Pokemon ranger?"
"The greatest of all time!" He said, his spirits lifted. Slowly, he understood that he too would be leaving to become a trainer and, one day, a ranger. Tears of joy started forming around his eyes, but he managed to stop them from flowing.
"Now, I have something special for you. Not the usual starter Pokemon a young trainer gets. You have vastly more experience than the others in handling Pokemon, and I know you have a special liking for Pokemon who are able to breathe fire." Oak looked at Mo's small scars. Mo started to feel self-conscious, he realized he didn't exactly look the part: old clothes, taken from family friends who didn't need them anymore. Any strain and they'd probably fall apart.
"Mo, you must understand that we have done everything in our power to give you a complete upbringing and turn you into a decent young man. Please, allow us to give you a final bit of help. Come home when the professor has finished with you. There'll be a surprise waiting!" With that, Dave walked out.
Mo looked at Oak, Oak looked at Mo. A short moment passed, until finally Mo could take it no more: "What Pokemon will I be getting then?" he asked. Oak chuckled, stood up and told him to follow. They walked through the room with rows and rows books where the three free famous empty pokeballs were set out on a table, and there were signs of some sort of fire on the floor.
"Trouble with Ash's Pokemon", laughed Oak as he took out a key and opened a locked safe. In it was an unremarkable-looking pokeball. "Now this Pokemon is special. You have to promise to me to take good care of it, no matter what happens. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir". Mo barely managed to whisper.
"This Pokemon does not exist in the Kanto region. It has been imported from Johto, and was one of your father's favorites. I feel it is only appropriate for me to give you this new arrival, who hatched barely a day ago. It seems fate has decided to pair you together. Are you ready?" Oak looked at Mo, who just nodded in disbelief. He couldn't believe this was happening! Before he could gather his thoughts, Oak pressed the pokeball into his hand. "Then press the release button". Oak smiled as Mo squeezed. Come out come out whatever you are...
Mo stared. He hadn't ever seen anything like it, or quite so cute! He knew they would get on fanta-
"AAAARGH!" Mo and Oak shouted at the same time as sparks engulfed them both for a split second. Mo looked at the now black Oak, who looked a the singed Mo.
"Not again! I'll have to get changed for the third time today!" he complained. The Pokemon seemed to ignore the fact that it had just burned them and ran happily around Mo, yapping in what was clearly joy, as well as giving the odd lick and nip where it felt it could get a reaction.
"This is Houndour" explained Oak "a combination dark and fire Pokemon. You may not see it, but this is a fiercely loyal Pokemon once it respects its master. Of course, it doesn't know either of us yet and barely knows humans as a whole, but he is going to be an invaluable companion on your trip".
Yeah, sure. Look at him. Why does professor Oak hate me? Wondered Mo. "Don't worry, everything will be alri-" Little bits of flame engulfed the two once more, and Mo put Houndour back into its Pokeball. "Probably a wise idea for now Mo, wait until you are out of town before letting him out again. He could cause considerable damage to my lab. Let's go to my office."
Mo followed, thinking more and more that his journey was going certainly not going to have a dull moment if Houndour was anything to go by. Oak gave him a Pokedex and five pokeballs, and wished him all the best. Mo thanked him, gave him a hug (which surprised Oak somewhat) and ran home. Which wasn't exactly far. He opened the door, and Dave and Mary were sitting in the kitchen, crying and laughing. Mo asked them what was wrong, but they said they were just proud. "We just hope you won't forget us. Here, come with us, you were told there would be a surprise." Firstly, they'd both been sharing a bottle of wine they gave to Mo freely. Secondly, something just wasn't right...
They all walked to Mo's room. On his bed were some brand new clothes: real jeans without holes in them, plenty of underpants and socks, a load of shirts and jumpers, as well as a raincoat. What caught Mo's eyes, however, weren't immediately any of these things. It was the black fingerless gloves that were lying on top of the pile. They seemed old and worn, yet in excellent condition. He tried them on. They felt great!
"These were your father's" said Dave. "He always said he wanted you to have them when you go on your adventure." Mo welled up a little, but was overjoyed. Soon he was packed and ready to leave.
"What Pokemon did you get?" asked Mary.
"A baby Houndour." answered Mo, and took the pokeball out of his pocket. Mary and Dave jumped back, covered their faces in anticipation and screamed "NOOOO!"
"That Professor Oak! Very clever guy, but somewhat silly at times. He was right in telling you it was one of your father's favorites. At least you won't need to spend any money on matches! Not that that's a problem now. Remember: be careful what you spend and you can keep doing this for years! We love you as our own son, you know? And don't forget to come visit from time to time! Change your underwear every day! Eat healthily! Call us as often as you can! Learn everything you can and don't be evil! Most of all though: please, have fun."
"I will, you are my parents now. I will always love you!" Said Mo has he marched off with his rucksack, off into the sunset. And with his head held up high and his hopes equally as elevated, Mo decided he would achieve at least one thing no other had before.
_______________________________________________________
That was Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 coming right up in the same post!
"Come on out Houndour!" he shouted, and sure enough there he appeared in a flash of red. Houndour was obviously happy to see him. So happy, in fact, that he immediately used ember on him. "Ow! No Houndour! You can't do that to everyone! It hurts!". Houndour looked sad, and Mo immediately felt guilty at losing his patience so quickly. Maybe if I just played with him... thought Mo, and picked up a stick. He threw it far away and Houndour immediately ran after it, picked it up, and coughed some flames on it. The stick crumbled apart in ash when Mo tried to pick it up. Houndour then ran back to Mo for more. Not such a good idea – what'll happen when we enter Viridian Forest? It's full of sticks!
"Houndour, I'm sorry but we're going to have to find another game". The Pokemon looked disappointed, and used ember on Mo again. It seemed to snigger, and Mo lost his temper once more: "Stop it stop it stop it stop it! Pah! You're insufferable!" And with that, he put a whimpering Houndour back into its pokeball.
Mo grumbled and mumbled: "Stupid Pokemon, stupid professor Oak, stupid traditional adventure, stupid everything!" when he suddenly stopped. Far across the plain, he could see a huge swarm of flying Pokemon chasing something at high speed.
I wonder what that's all about...Oh well, it's too far away to worry about, and I have my own troubles. He took out the pokeball. Maybe I was a little harsh on him. I'll let him out again. And with that, he pressed the button once more. Houndour was about to fire its embers again but Mo managed to shout "Stop!" at it in time. It didn't fire. Mo was very pleased, and showed it:
"At last! You didn't burn me! Very good! Good Houndour! Come here you..." Mo laughed and stroked Houndour, who seemed to be enjoying the attention. However, it hadn't not fired on Mo because of his order; much rather seen something in the plaoin that attracted its attention. It gave a low yap looking at it, and Mo turned his gaze.
Something was moving in that bush. Out came a rather weak-looking pidgey, and as it saw Mo and Houndour it just stared at them, before fluttering away. Houndour barked after it, but Mo calmed him down. Then Houndour used ember on Mo. Exasperated, Mo put Houndour back into his pokeball again.
As it got dark and clouds started to gather, Mo set up camp. Once he had set up his tent to be fire- and waterproof, he got to work on lighting his camp fire. But it was too windy.
Darn it! I'm going to need Houndour... Okay, no worries, this shouldn't be too difficult. Absolutely untrue to his words, Houndour came out and started running around like a child full of sugar. He obviously felt a bit cramped in the pokeball. He was yapping happily, sniffing about, and generally ignoring Mo's "COME RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW" shouts. Eventually, Mo just shouted, "Houndour, ember on that pile of wood!". Houndour pricked up its ears, looked at mo and the wood, and fired in that general direction. Most of it hit Mo, but some of it reached the wood, and the fire flared up almost instantly. Well, it's a start! Thought Mo, slightly depressed. He decided to put Houndour back into his pokeball again. He made a tin of ravioli that Mary had packed for him. It was far too large for him alone, so he let Houndour out when he was done cooking and gave him a half. Houndour ate his food and had such a huge belly by the end that he could barely move. When he walked, it looked more like he was dragging his fat corpse to wherever he was going.
"Oops, I gave you a bit much there huh? Sorry" Houndour gave a content snort. "Not that you seem to mind." And with that, they went to sleep, and Mo didn't even put Houndour in his pokeball.
That was a mistake: after all, they were inside the tent, and the ravioli had given Houndour some terrible gas. It stinks of death in here, thought Mo when he woke up with tears in his eyes. Houndour didn't seem to mind, and woke Mo up in a flash with a bit of ember. "Hey Houndour, thanks but can you stop doing that? It really isn't nice." Houndour seemed to ignore him. The dog-like Pokemon was more concerned with what seemed to be a new arrival: a Rattata scrounging for food around the tent. Houndour chased it around a bit.
"Hey Houndour! Leave that poor Rattata alone! It hasn't done anything to us!". Eventually Rattata turned around and nipped Houndour on the nose, which caused it to yelp in pain and hide behind Mo.
"Hey! Rattata that was unnecessary too! I don't need a Pokemon with that attitude!".
But it didn't understand him and just scurried away. "Don't worry Houndour, one day you'll be big and tough and you won't need to worry about the likes of him." Mo's words seemed to console Houndour, and he sniffed around in the grass while Mo packed his things. Mo thought about putting Houndour back into its Pokeball, but decided against it, preferring to let Houndour follow him around. They made their way towards Viridian, with Mo wondering what they would do there. It was a rather dull afternoon, and Mo ate an apple as they walked.
Suddenly, right in the middle of the path, they saw an odd-looking Pokemon with large ears and what seemed to be barbs sticking out of it. They froze, and so did the Pokemon. After a short moment, Mo said to Houndour:
"Okay, I think we should catch him. He looks pretty tough too don't you think?" Houndour growled in agreement, and immediately fired ember into the female Nidoran's direction. She got hit by some of them, but Mo was busy yelling at Houndour "What are you doing? Only do something when I tell you too!".
Houndour looked sad, but then barked as the Nidoran made its escape.
"Oh man! Now look what you've done!" Moaned Mo, but secretly, he was happy that his Pokemon hadn't hit him with the ember. "Okay Houndour, let's go looking for some more of those guys!" and so they strayed off the path, with Houndour sniffing around. There were holes everywhere, and as Mo's Pokedex explained: these were the dens of a colony of Nidorans! Soon enough, Houndour started barking down into a hole. Out barged a rather large looking male Nidoran, striking Houndour with its tip, causing him to fly backward.
Mo shouted "Now Houndour, Ember!" and Houndour fired a volley at the Nidoran. It was a direct hit which caused it to fly back and land on its stomach, and Mo basked in the awesomeness of what had just happened. I can't lose this one! "Go pokeball!" The pokeball bounced off the top of the Nidoran, who was clearly weakened, and opened, sucking the Pokemon inside. The next seconds were tense, as the ball rocked from side to side, Nidoran not willing to give up its freedom.
-----------------------------------------------------------------"Mo! Time for breakfast! Today is an exciting day!"
Not for me, thought Mo sarcastically. He already knew what the ruckus outside was about: all the other 10 year olds in town would be leaving on their journey. "In a minute!" He shouted, so that he could watch from his window as the gathered crowd cheered outside Professor Oak's lab.
The reason for their cheering was quickly evident: Garry Oak had just come outside. I'll be cheering your departure too, he mused, and as he was about to go downstairs, he saw a boy in pajamas running up the street. That'll be Ash. Typical Ash, always late and in a rush. At least he hadn't been nasty to him at school, unlike Garry, who had constantly mocked his poverty and had been insufferable in his boasting at leaving on his traditional adventure. If only I had the money! He sulked down the stairs, but put on his best smile for Mary. She really had tried her hardest to protect Mo from life. So much so that he'd led quite an isolated life from the others, only ever meeting them at school. The only friends he could really count were Professor Oak, who had always been astonishingly kind to him, and the Pokemon he looked after for the professor to make a bit of pocket money. Looked after was exaggerated: he just played with them, was the test subject for Oak to make sure they would be ready for their journey with an unknown child. Mo had quite a few burns where Charmanders had attacked him, although he'd never had any trouble with a Squirtle or Bulbasaur. Which of course meant that Mo's dream was to have a fire Pokemon
"Good morning Mo! How are you feeling today?"
"Oh, great, Mum, really. Absolutely fantastic. I mean, I get to stay here instead of going on a great adventure! What is there NOT to like about today?"
"I'm sorry, but you'll see: everything will work out just fine eventually." She smiled, and Mo noticed, but he couldn't be bothered to follow it up. No doubt she had, like always, found a silver lining to the cloud. He was about to eat his apple when the videophone rang.
"I'll get it!" he said, and jogged to the desk.
"Hey there Mo! It's me!" said Professor Oak's mouth, which was obviously far too close to the camera. He moved back. "Ahem, I was hoping it would be you! I need you to come here as soon as you can. It is a matter of great importance. Tell Mary the time has come, she'll understand."
"But..." It was too late, Oak had hung up. Of course, he understood now: some of the other kids in town must have had the same job as him. Finally, he could earn more money! Not enough to go on his own adventure though...
Doubtlessly Mum's silver lining. Actually, this was great news: he could finally afford to at least own a Pokemon Mary had promised him that he could keep one at home if he looked after it, which included paying for its food and upkeep.
He did as he was told. Told his mother it was time, got dressed and leisurely skipped up the street to the lab. Mo marveled at its sheer hugeness. He always loved coming here: lots of interesting people and, most of all, lots of interesting Pokemon to play with! The gate opened before he could ring the bell – obviously, Oak was keen to see him. Unwilling to let the professor wait much longer and risk the possibility of losing his new-found job, Mo ran up the path and through the door into the professor's living room. In the room were Oak, his adoptive father Dave and an important-looking man Mo had never met before. The important-looking man said to Dave:
"Now if you'll just sign here.... and here... and here... that's me done! It was a pleasure finally meeting Mark and Janet's friends. Really, it was. These papers have been laying here for nearly 10 years!" And with that, he stood up, winked at Mo and walked out. Mark and Janet? What have my parents got to do with this?
"Come here Mo, have a seat. This is important." Once again, Mo did as he was told.
"Who was that man?" Mo asked, and his father and Oak looked at each other with a knowing smile.
"This was Joe, an old friend of me and your parents'" explained Dave. "He has officially recognized your inheritance as transferable."
"My inheritance?" asked Mo, flabbergasted. He didn't know of anything that his parents had left him other than the picture. Everything else had been sold to enable Dave and Mary to look after him. "But what for?" Mo finally asked.
"You see, all parents have to make a testament as soon as they have their child." started Dave "and yours were no different. They started a fund for you when you were born, which has slowly grown over the last ten years. They wanted you to get the money when you were old enough to go on your own adventure, just as they had in their old country. But they wanted you to have yours here".
Mo let these facts sink in. My own adventure?
Oak continued for Dave: "Your parents were good friends of mine, and valued assistants to my work. I was very sad when they were taken from us, and they made me promise to look after you if anything happened to them." Oak paused, before quickly adding "not that their work was particularly dangerous, but they just wanted to be sure. I hope I have helped you in these last couple of years. You have, in fact, helped me by showing such promise in your interactions with Pokemon It seems you have their gift."
"But why didn't you tell me any of this" Mo managed to get out, straining not to explode with rage.
"Simple: we thought it would make a great surprise for today!" Oak beamed. A great surprise?! Are they out of their mind? "Now Mo, it is my understanding that your dream is to, eventually at least, become a Pokemon ranger?"
"The greatest of all time!" He said, his spirits lifted. Slowly, he understood that he too would be leaving to become a trainer and, one day, a ranger. Tears of joy started forming around his eyes, but he managed to stop them from flowing.
"Now, I have something special for you. Not the usual starter Pokemon a young trainer gets. You have vastly more experience than the others in handling Pokemon, and I know you have a special liking for Pokemon who are able to breathe fire." Oak looked at Mo's small scars. Mo started to feel self-conscious, he realized he didn't exactly look the part: old clothes, taken from family friends who didn't need them anymore. Any strain and they'd probably fall apart.
"Mo, you must understand that we have done everything in our power to give you a complete upbringing and turn you into a decent young man. Please, allow us to give you a final bit of help. Come home when the professor has finished with you. There'll be a surprise waiting!" With that, Dave walked out.
Mo looked at Oak, Oak looked at Mo. A short moment passed, until finally Mo could take it no more: "What Pokemon will I be getting then?" he asked. Oak chuckled, stood up and told him to follow. They walked through the room with rows and rows books where the three free famous empty pokeballs were set out on a table, and there were signs of some sort of fire on the floor.
"Trouble with Ash's Pokemon", laughed Oak as he took out a key and opened a locked safe. In it was an unremarkable-looking pokeball. "Now this Pokemon is special. You have to promise to me to take good care of it, no matter what happens. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir". Mo barely managed to whisper.
"This Pokemon does not exist in the Kanto region. It has been imported from Johto, and was one of your father's favorites. I feel it is only appropriate for me to give you this new arrival, who hatched barely a day ago. It seems fate has decided to pair you together. Are you ready?" Oak looked at Mo, who just nodded in disbelief. He couldn't believe this was happening! Before he could gather his thoughts, Oak pressed the pokeball into his hand. "Then press the release button". Oak smiled as Mo squeezed. Come out come out whatever you are...
Mo stared. He hadn't ever seen anything like it, or quite so cute! He knew they would get on fanta-
"AAAARGH!" Mo and Oak shouted at the same time as sparks engulfed them both for a split second. Mo looked at the now black Oak, who looked a the singed Mo.
"Not again! I'll have to get changed for the third time today!" he complained. The Pokemon seemed to ignore the fact that it had just burned them and ran happily around Mo, yapping in what was clearly joy, as well as giving the odd lick and nip where it felt it could get a reaction.
"This is Houndour" explained Oak "a combination dark and fire Pokemon. You may not see it, but this is a fiercely loyal Pokemon once it respects its master. Of course, it doesn't know either of us yet and barely knows humans as a whole, but he is going to be an invaluable companion on your trip".
Yeah, sure. Look at him. Why does professor Oak hate me? Wondered Mo. "Don't worry, everything will be alri-" Little bits of flame engulfed the two once more, and Mo put Houndour back into its Pokeball. "Probably a wise idea for now Mo, wait until you are out of town before letting him out again. He could cause considerable damage to my lab. Let's go to my office."
Mo followed, thinking more and more that his journey was going certainly not going to have a dull moment if Houndour was anything to go by. Oak gave him a Pokedex and five pokeballs, and wished him all the best. Mo thanked him, gave him a hug (which surprised Oak somewhat) and ran home. Which wasn't exactly far. He opened the door, and Dave and Mary were sitting in the kitchen, crying and laughing. Mo asked them what was wrong, but they said they were just proud. "We just hope you won't forget us. Here, come with us, you were told there would be a surprise." Firstly, they'd both been sharing a bottle of wine they gave to Mo freely. Secondly, something just wasn't right...
They all walked to Mo's room. On his bed were some brand new clothes: real jeans without holes in them, plenty of underpants and socks, a load of shirts and jumpers, as well as a raincoat. What caught Mo's eyes, however, weren't immediately any of these things. It was the black fingerless gloves that were lying on top of the pile. They seemed old and worn, yet in excellent condition. He tried them on. They felt great!
"These were your father's" said Dave. "He always said he wanted you to have them when you go on your adventure." Mo welled up a little, but was overjoyed. Soon he was packed and ready to leave.
"What Pokemon did you get?" asked Mary.
"A baby Houndour." answered Mo, and took the pokeball out of his pocket. Mary and Dave jumped back, covered their faces in anticipation and screamed "NOOOO!"
"That Professor Oak! Very clever guy, but somewhat silly at times. He was right in telling you it was one of your father's favorites. At least you won't need to spend any money on matches! Not that that's a problem now. Remember: be careful what you spend and you can keep doing this for years! We love you as our own son, you know? And don't forget to come visit from time to time! Change your underwear every day! Eat healthily! Call us as often as you can! Learn everything you can and don't be evil! Most of all though: please, have fun."
"I will, you are my parents now. I will always love you!" Said Mo has he marched off with his rucksack, off into the sunset. And with his head held up high and his hopes equally as elevated, Mo decided he would achieve at least one thing no other had before.
_______________________________________________________
That was Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 coming right up in the same post!
Chapter 2 – The beginning of a bond
After walking for an hour and being well outside the town's limits, Mo decided to let his Houndour out.
"Come on out Houndour!" he shouted, and sure enough there he appeared in a flash of red. Houndour was obviously happy to see him. So happy, in fact, that he immediately used ember on him. "Ow! No Houndour! You can't do that to everyone! It hurts!". Houndour looked sad, and Mo immediately felt guilty at losing his patience so quickly. Maybe if I just played with him... thought Mo, and picked up a stick. He threw it far away and Houndour immediately ran after it, picked it up, and coughed some flames on it. The stick crumbled apart in ash when Mo tried to pick it up. Houndour then ran back to Mo for more. Not such a good idea – what'll happen when we enter Viridian Forest? It's full of sticks!
"Houndour, I'm sorry but we're going to have to find another game". The Pokemon looked disappointed, and used ember on Mo again. It seemed to snigger, and Mo lost his temper once more: "Stop it stop it stop it stop it! Pah! You're insufferable!" And with that, he put a whimpering Houndour back into its pokeball.
Mo grumbled and mumbled: "Stupid Pokemon, stupid professor Oak, stupid traditional adventure, stupid everything!" when he suddenly stopped. Far across the plain, he could see a huge swarm of flying Pokemon chasing something at high speed.
I wonder what that's all about...Oh well, it's too far away to worry about, and I have my own troubles. He took out the pokeball. Maybe I was a little harsh on him. I'll let him out again. And with that, he pressed the button once more. Houndour was about to fire its embers again but Mo managed to shout "Stop!" at it in time. It didn't fire. Mo was very pleased, and showed it:
"At last! You didn't burn me! Very good! Good Houndour! Come here you..." Mo laughed and stroked Houndour, who seemed to be enjoying the attention. However, it hadn't not fired on Mo because of his order; much rather seen something in the plaoin that attracted its attention. It gave a low yap looking at it, and Mo turned his gaze.
Something was moving in that bush. Out came a rather weak-looking pidgey, and as it saw Mo and Houndour it just stared at them, before fluttering away. Houndour barked after it, but Mo calmed him down. Then Houndour used ember on Mo. Exasperated, Mo put Houndour back into his pokeball again.
As it got dark and clouds started to gather, Mo set up camp. Once he had set up his tent to be fire- and waterproof, he got to work on lighting his camp fire. But it was too windy.
Darn it! I'm going to need Houndour... Okay, no worries, this shouldn't be too difficult. Absolutely untrue to his words, Houndour came out and started running around like a child full of sugar. He obviously felt a bit cramped in the pokeball. He was yapping happily, sniffing about, and generally ignoring Mo's "COME RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW" shouts. Eventually, Mo just shouted, "Houndour, ember on that pile of wood!". Houndour pricked up its ears, looked at mo and the wood, and fired in that general direction. Most of it hit Mo, but some of it reached the wood, and the fire flared up almost instantly. Well, it's a start! Thought Mo, slightly depressed. He decided to put Houndour back into his pokeball again. He made a tin of ravioli that Mary had packed for him. It was far too large for him alone, so he let Houndour out when he was done cooking and gave him a half. Houndour ate his food and had such a huge belly by the end that he could barely move. When he walked, it looked more like he was dragging his fat corpse to wherever he was going.
"Oops, I gave you a bit much there huh? Sorry" Houndour gave a content snort. "Not that you seem to mind." And with that, they went to sleep, and Mo didn't even put Houndour in his pokeball.
That was a mistake: after all, they were inside the tent, and the ravioli had given Houndour some terrible gas. It stinks of death in here, thought Mo when he woke up with tears in his eyes. Houndour didn't seem to mind, and woke Mo up in a flash with a bit of ember. "Hey Houndour, thanks but can you stop doing that? It really isn't nice." Houndour seemed to ignore him. The dog-like Pokemon was more concerned with what seemed to be a new arrival: a Rattata scrounging for food around the tent. Houndour chased it around a bit.
"Hey Houndour! Leave that poor Rattata alone! It hasn't done anything to us!". Eventually Rattata turned around and nipped Houndour on the nose, which caused it to yelp in pain and hide behind Mo.
"Hey! Rattata that was unnecessary too! I don't need a Pokemon with that attitude!".
But it didn't understand him and just scurried away. "Don't worry Houndour, one day you'll be big and tough and you won't need to worry about the likes of him." Mo's words seemed to console Houndour, and he sniffed around in the grass while Mo packed his things. Mo thought about putting Houndour back into its Pokeball, but decided against it, preferring to let Houndour follow him around. They made their way towards Viridian, with Mo wondering what they would do there. It was a rather dull afternoon, and Mo ate an apple as they walked.
Suddenly, right in the middle of the path, they saw an odd-looking Pokemon with large ears and what seemed to be barbs sticking out of it. They froze, and so did the Pokemon. After a short moment, Mo said to Houndour:
"Okay, I think we should catch him. He looks pretty tough too don't you think?" Houndour growled in agreement, and immediately fired ember into the female Nidoran's direction. She got hit by some of them, but Mo was busy yelling at Houndour "What are you doing? Only do something when I tell you too!".
Houndour looked sad, but then barked as the Nidoran made its escape.
"Oh man! Now look what you've done!" Moaned Mo, but secretly, he was happy that his Pokemon hadn't hit him with the ember. "Okay Houndour, let's go looking for some more of those guys!" and so they strayed off the path, with Houndour sniffing around. There were holes everywhere, and as Mo's Pokedex explained: these were the dens of a colony of Nidorans! Soon enough, Houndour started barking down into a hole. Out barged a rather large looking male Nidoran, striking Houndour with its tip, causing him to fly backward.
Mo shouted "Now Houndour, Ember!" and Houndour fired a volley at the Nidoran. It was a direct hit which caused it to fly back and land on its stomach, and Mo basked in the awesomeness of what had just happened. I can't lose this one! "Go pokeball!" The pokeball bounced off the top of the Nidoran, who was clearly weakened, and opened, sucking the Pokemon inside. The next seconds were tense, as the ball rocked from side to side, Nidoran not willing to give up its freedom.
Chapter 3 – Poison Surprise!
"Alright Houndour! We got him!" Shouted Mo and turned to Houndour. But Houndour was dizzily rocking from side to side, looking for somewhere to fall over.
"What's wrong Houndour?" he asked, and he took his Pokedex out. "Nidoran, the poison pin Pokemon. It is small, but its horn is filled with poison. It charges then stabs with the horn to inject poison."
"Oh No! I don't have any antidote with me! What am I going to do? I'll have to get to Viridian city as quickly as possible!" Houndour collapsed, and closed its eyes. "Come on Houndour, I'm sorry! I didn't know!"
Tears were streaming down Mo's face as he picked him up. He pocketed Nidoran's pokeball and started running in the direction of Viridian with the rabbit in his arms. I can't let anything happen to Houndour. I promised the professor I'd take care of him! Now look what I've done!
Obviously, after a couple of miles Mo couldn't run anymore, so he started walking at a brisk pace and put Houndour into his pokeball – it really was easier. He was nearing Viridian, he could already see it! This spurned him on, when out of nowhere jumped a rather tall lad with thick black eyebrows and black hair.
"Stop! You're a new trainer, I can tell! I challenge you to a battle! You have to accept it!"
"I don't have time! My Pokemon is in bad shape and I don't even know where to take it!"
"Aw man! I was hoping to finally have my first battle. Okay, I'll show you where to go. Follow me! The Pokemon Center is this way!"
"Pokemon Center? What's that?"
"It's a place where you can get your Pokemon healed – for free! I've been there quite a lot since I started out."
And so they walked towards the Pokemon Center, exchanging their names and history.
"I'm Raf, and my starter is Bulbasaur! I call him Saurus though, it sounds way cooler. I chose him because the first two gyms have a disadvantage against grass. I go to the Pokemon school here in Viridian, I mean I come from here so that's normal. I still haven't managed to catch anything though and it's been five days now!"
"Hi my name is Mo and I started yesterday. My starter isn't one of the normal ones, it's a Houndour."
"A Houndour? Man I saw one on TV once, that's awesome. You're lucky man!"
"Yeah but we have to get to the Pokemon Center, he's been poisoned by a Nidoran!"
"Ha! I know the feeling. Don't worry about it much, that poison isn't too bad and can be healed really quick. Saurus has been poisoned like six times, I've been trying to get a Nidoran, they're really hard to catch." Relieved at the news that it wasn't a serious poisoning, Mo decided to show off a little.
So he took out the newly used pokeball and said "Alright! Nidoran come out!" and out appeared Nidoran. Raf's jaw seemed to touch the floor.
"How long did you say you've been a trainer? This is your second day and you already got a Nidoran? That is SO unfair!"
Nidoran ran up to Mo and brushed its side on his legs. It obviously liked him, and Mo stroked it. "Yeah, I think I got myself another friend fairly quickly, huh?". Raf was obviously impressed and it made Mo feel better at his utter failure to take care of Houndour.
Soon after, they arrived at the Pokemon Center in Viridian City. Nurse Joy seemed to be busy. "Please boys, be a little patient. I have a very seriously injured Pikachu to heal. It'll be about 15 minutes until your Pokemon are healed. And Raf, you again? You really should take better care of Saurus."
"But I-" She tutted and walked away with the three Pokemon.
"Okay man thanks a lot, I need to call home now. See you soon!" and with that Mo went to call home. "It's a disaster Mum! Houndour already got poisoned once!"
"Don't worry about it kid! I'm shocked you even made it to Viridian so fast. Some of the best future trainers take days! And you've already caught your first Pokemon! Amazing! I can't wait to hear more from your adventure. By the way, I heard there's a day-course at the Viridian Pokemon school tomorrow – maybe you should go? They'll teach you some of the basics you need. Bye bye! Love you". And that was it, until Mo decided to call Professor Oak:
"Hey there professor! I'm in Viridian!"
"Already? Well, that is somewhat astonishing. How's Houndour?" Mo explained what had happened, but Oak didn't seem to be overly worried either. "Oh, hang on, I have what seems to be an important call coming from Ash. Please, he wouldn't put the urgent signal on it if it weren't. All the best of luck my young friend!" With that, Mo got up and walked back to the desk, where Raf was already waiting.
"Your Houndour is beautiful and very rare in these parts Mo! Take good care of it and watch out: there's a gang of Pokemon snatchers who'd be all too pleased to take it away from you! Remember the faces on these wanted postes! Nidoran is fine too, as is Raf's Bulbasaur." She nodded disapprovingly at Raf.
"Thanks Nurse Joy" they both said, and headed out. Raf suggested that Mo stay at his house tonight, and Mo agreed. He wanted to enroll in the school the next day and Raf could show him where it was.
"Oh man yes! You're going to school? I'll finally be the coolest guy there!" finally? Thought Mo, but just went with the flow. He didn't consider himself cool either, certainly not as cool as Garry or even, sadly, Ash.
Raf's parents were most welcoming, claiming that it wasn't often that Raf brought back friends. I couldn't have guessed. They made some delicious food and finally, with both of them being very tired, just went to sleep, even for a short while forgetting all about Pokemon.
They were awoken in the middle of the night by a huge explosion, and looked out of the window. There was a huge hole in the Pokemon Center, but Raf's parents forbade them to check it out. Some gangsters had attacked the center in the middle of the night, but been beaten off. Phew, that was lucky for us then too. That Pokemon must have been really powerful that beat them off! But Mo quickly went back to sleep.
The Pokemon school wasn't that far away from Raf's place, and that morning they both walked to it with a bounce in their step. Mo let Houndour and Nidoran out of their pokeballs, but warned them that they'd be right back in if they set anything on fire or ran away into the road. Houndour was just happy to see Mo again, and seemed to quite like Raf, judging by the ember he fired on him just before the warning had been made. Mo and Raf were chatting about their dreams. Raf seemed pretty set on becoming a gym leader one day or maybe even a part of the elite 4, and Mo explained his dream to be a Pokemon ranger. This just seemed to make Raf even more of a worshiper. Eventually they arrived at the school.
"It's not exactly as I imagined it" admitted Mo. It was a small house with one classroom.
"Well I know it's not exactly impressive, but the teacher is awesome. She's Miss Peggy, and knows everything about Pokemon battling and training." Raf seemed pretty eager to show off his school. Before they arrived, Mo put Houndour and Nidoran back in their pokeballs.
As they walked in through the gates, a rather skinny and obviously immensely rich boy, who had two fat, ugly looking kids at his sides, shouted:
"Hey look! Raf's brought a new boyfriend! What a sissy!" his butch friends sniggered. "I wonder – did you accidentally destroy the Pokemon Center yesterday night?" This was obviously hilarious to all the other kids in the courtyard too.
"Why you little-"
"Children! Behave! Time for class! I will not tolerate such disputes."
Mo was somewhat astonished by the turn of events. Raf really was obviously a bit of a loser, but he didn't mind: he certainly didn't want to have anything to do with that rich kid idiot.
"Who was that?" asked Mo.
"Oh, just the most dirty, arrogant, annoying, evil, scrawny and afraid little git the world has ever seen. He is the bane of my life. I hate Rorie! If it weren't for his protection that he pays for, I would probably have killed him by now". Raf's face was red with rage.
"Well why don't you battle him? It's an easy way of determining who is better."
"Yeah but I don't dare – he'd probably beat me up!" Pathetic, thought Mo, but didn't say it.
The morning lessons were in the classroom and somewhat dull, although Mo hadn't yet really grasped the concept of types, so he was pleased to learn about them all. He made a note of avoiding fighting, ground, rock and especially water types with Houndour, and ground and psychic types with Nidoran. I could easily have beaten Raf yesterday if we'd actually been able to battle. The afternoon lessons were what Mo was looking forward to: 'Present your Pokemon'. Basically, everyone had to introduce their Pokemon to the class. Raf and Mo paired up, and watched as each person showed their Pokemon. None of them were from Pallet Town and therefore none of them had received one of Oak's Pokemon They had had to get them from elsewhere. Raf's Bulbasaur was given to him by his uncle who was a Pokemon salesman, others had been given Pokemon by their siblings or parents. Their were a fair few classic easy-to-train ones: Pidgeys, Rattata, Geodudes, a Zubat and lots of bugs. Then Rorie came and showed off his Abra.
"This beast is a psychic Pokemon. It can teleport anywhere it likes! There are no Pokemon here who could possibly beat its psychic power! My daddy trained it for me a little bit too, so it's easily way more powerful than yours." Everyone clapped, amazed, apart from Mo and Raf. Since Raf had already presented his Pokemon (and gained some respect with his Bulbasaur, it must be said), it was finally Mo's turn.
"Okay, before I let him out, I need everyone to realize that this Pokemon is a fire type who is very young and certainly has never seen as many people as will now surround him."
"You mean we could all get burned?" asked Rorie, laughing.
"Err, yes. But he's a nice Pokemon really." Rorie stopped laughing and hid behind his bodyguards.
"The only fire-type around here is Charmander, boring. We saw him last week" continued Rorie "I don't want to see another"
"Ah! But it isn't a Charmander, nor is it even from this region!" Miss Peggy began to take notice – she had been bored out of her mind until then. And she hated that little know-it-all brat Rorie, so it was nice to see him wrong. "My Pokemon is a Houndour from Johto! Go Houndour!" A collective wow erupted from the class, and Raf started shouting:
"he's my friend he's my friend! I showed him where the Pokemon Center is!".
However, Houndour was terrified of the crowd, but Mo shielded everyone from its ember – which made them even more impressed. Mo hugged Houndour and promised him he'd be OK. Houndour accepted. Soon most kids were stroking him. Miss Peggy gave a slow clap:
"Well well well! That is a most unusual Pokemon you have – especially for a starter. May I ask where you got it from?"
"I'm from Pallet Town, Professor Oak gave it to me! Just like this Pokedex!" The class was beginning to love Mo. He had a Pokedex too! What didn't he have?!
"Interesting. Now kids, this Pokemon evolves into Houndoom, one of the most impressive, in my view, Pokemon in the world. If Mo here takes care of his Houndour, I'm sure he will be very successful. Okay, that's it for today class!" With that, everyone cheered again, lifting Mo up on their shoulders. A bit over the top and unwarranted thought Mo, but he enjoyed the moment, as everyone else did. Everyone else, apart from one, scrawny kid. Rorie shouted out!
"Enough! I challenge you to a battle!" His rage had obviously led to him forgetting the stupidity of what he was saying. How could this poor, dirty pleb scumbag nobody get the love Rorie deserved? How could they love Houndour more than Abra? Abra was way cooler. He could teleport! And, Daddy had taught it Psychic! That could destroy any other Pokemon, Daddy had assured him.
"Pffft. I accept your challenge" figured Mo. He was sick of this little kid. The school cheered.
And so they got onto the school's battle training ground and arranged a one-on-one. Houndour was restless but Mo managed to calm him down.
"Everything's gonna be fine" he whispered to him. I sure hope I'm right! This could get embarrassing. Houndour was starting to trust Mo now, and was eagerly anticipating the match.
"Halt! I shall be referee!" Shouted Miss Peggy, who had heard the challenge being made. Everyone seemed to agree with this decision.
"There will be one Pokemon per trainer, no time limit. Mo, as the challenged trainer, may pick who goes first"
"Please, Rorie, go ahead. Show me what you got!" Mo smirked.
"Abra! Go! Psychic on Houndour!" By now, Rorie had smoke coming out of his ears he was so angry. But nothing happened.
"I said Psychic Abra! Come on!" And yet nothing happened. Abra's eyes were shining blue, but Houndour was unaffected.
"May I remind you, Rorie, that psychic-type moves have no effect on a dark Pokemon?" said Mo smugly. With that, he shouted "Houndour, ember!" the little balls of fire and sparks shot towards and hit Abra square in the face. It erupted into a cloud of smoke, and when it dissipated, Abra was still standing, albeit clearly weakened.
"Abra! Use teleport and land on Houndour's head!" shouted an apparently ingenious Rorie
"Houndour use leer and then ember again!" Abra got caught in Houndour's leer, was too scared to teleport and wasn't braced at all for the impact of ember. As soon as the cloud of smoke dissipated, Abra was lying on the floor.
"Abra is unable to battle. The winner is Mo with Houndour!" Everyone cheered, and Mo the loudest. He had won his first ever trainer battle! "Mo, I want you to know: I think you have a promising career. It's no wonder Professor Oak gave you this Pokemon: you already have a bond with it! Good luck! I think this isn't the last I've heard of you. Goodbye! There is nothing more I can teach you that you mustn't find out for yourself." On that note, Raf came to Mo and expressed his gratitude at finally putting Rorie in his place. And he basked in Mo's sheer brilliance at winning his first battle.
"Hey Raf, I'm going to Pewter City. Wanna come with me?" asked Mo. He'd taken a liking to Raf, and figured he could do with a human companion.
"Do I? I'd love to!" Exclaimed Raf, and put his arm around Mo's shoulder on the way home. And so it came to be that Mo and Raf were on their way to Pewter City together. Mo had made a new good friend and won his first ever battle – the first of many to come!
A certain boy in Viridian was complaining to his father about the loss to Houndour. His father was dressed in black, with a black cap, boots and a big red R on his shirt, and listening intently to what his son had to say. Jack was his name and, although he was unhappy at his son losing his first battle, he was grateful it had happened. Otherwise, he would never have found out about this Houndour, who was obviously a sensationally easy target to steal, and would get him into Giovanni's good books. He knew the Johto Team Rocket was barely starting, and so Pokemon from the region were still rare to come by – even one as common as Houndour. He called his partner:
"Jill! I think I finally have a Pokemon worth our time. Meet me at the usual place in Viridian Forest."
"Hehe, I can't wait to hear what you have for us. See you there!" The line went dead.
So there you go - the first three chapters - if you like it, give me a kind review and I'll post some more. There is more there, but I wanted to make sure some people here liked it before I posted everything!
edit: just noticed there may be one or two spelling mistakes - whoops, not my fault honest! It's the computer wot done it! I'll sort it out tomorrow, right now I'm too tired. I have engineering mathematics to look forward to tomorrow morning and I really should be awake for that! So please, forgive any errors, I'll sort them out. I did proofread, but bear in mind I'm a little tipsy right now.
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