Prologue-> Chapter 7 archive!
Hello, everybody- and welcome to my fanficiton, The Forgotten Son. I began posting it here in the early summer, and posted chapter 7 back in early August. Since then my topic was deleted, but it would be a waste to re-post each update; so, I'm continuing my fancition as if this were the existing topic and it had never gone on hiatus. For those hoping to read up on it, you can find ana rchive of all the most up-to-date versions of my chapters here. But without furthur ado, chapter 8!
Chapter 8
-----------------------------
A frown had found a resting place on Luke's mouth and he silently trod into the Azalea Town pokecenter. It was late, he knew that, but he didn't bother to check the time as he sat down at an open table, lost in thought. The rockets were out of here, he should be celebrating… but he wasn't.
He felt bad.
He reviewed everything that could happen to cause this feeling, but nothing seemed to be worthy of causing it. There was nothing that should have him down, he thought.
He turned around in his seat, studying the center. It smelled strongly of generic cleaning products. It was brightly lit for so late at night, and the entire downstairs floor was bleak of any living thing save for the nurse who napped comfortably on the counter, arms folded into a pillow for her head.
It had been years since Luke had entered a pokecenter… he didn't even recall when it was, only that the setup was very familiar to him. To most trainers this would be a sin above all others, but Miltank's healing abilities were vast enough to hold them through any injury.
The true reason for his ill mood had by now begun reaching him in the back of his head. He could feel it there, but did not dare to acknowledge it. He didn't want to believe it, but deep down he knew that it was true.
He wanted to be stronger.
He felt ashamed for his weakness. The feeling had never occurred to him; this wasn't something that applied to his ideas. Strength was meaningless to him, right?
But it was there, with little time for contemplation, he silently sunk into slumber.
***
"Hey! Hey!"
Luke grumbled and blinked his eyes open, as if they were made of lead. The dull view of the poke center swam into view and a feeling of numbness faded into his cheek, which he uneasily peeled off the table. He had fallen asleep at his seat.
He looked around again; everything was the same as last night, but there were trainers in various areas and the nurse now seemed more alert. As he completed his check-through, he felt a hand shaking his shoulder vigorously and turned again to see Ken, looking at him eagerly.
"Hey, hey! You finally woke up, huh man?"
"Ken…?" Luke blinked sleepily.
"The one and only, man. I was getting worried; your pokemon found my room in the center last night and I woke up to them being all over the place!"
"My- my pokemon!"
Luke jumped up in a fluster as he recalled his pokemon, which he left unattended when he fell asleep. He leaned over to see them looking at him grumpily, save Woop who grinned as giddily as ever.
"Man, you shoulda put them in their pokeballs before dozing off like that!"
"I, uh… well, they don't have any."
"NO POKEBALLS?!"
Ken jumped forward and shoved his head into Luke's, drawing attention from the entire center. Luke rubbed his hurt forehead in annoyance and added with some anger in his voice;
"No, Ken. No pokeballs."
"Well… why not?"
"It's a different story for each, but only my treecko is technically registered under my care. The others aren't bound by pokeballs."
Ken blinked, then rambled off in his preteen voice. "Well, in Goldenrod City they've got the league records center- I'm sure it would be a piece of cake to gain legal ownership of them there. Then you can give them all pokeballs." He sniffed, and then continued. "I'm on my way there myself. Do you wanna come?"
Luke sighed, then turned to Ken, opening his mouth to decline the offer; but for a brief moment, he was stopped. He made sudden eye contact with Ken, and in his eyes he saw a yearning for adventure and a childish sense of justice.
They were Griffe's eyes. Those same bright eyes that looked over the horizon and starved to see what was on the other side; those eyes that were captivated by pokemon and wanted nothing more than to train them.
Luke was overwhelmed by the similarity, and managed to utter a very quiet "H-how old… are you?"
"Ten." Ken said bluntly, a bit confused by the change of subject.
Ten. He was five years younger then Luke, the exact age difference between him and Griffe. Now more than ever he saw the ghost of Griffe in Ken, but was able to shrug it off mentally to declare "Yeah, I'll come. I'll meet you out front in twenty minutes."
* * *
Luke swayed uneasily in place as he awaited Ken's arrival. When he had agreed to go he felt confident he was doing the right thing, but now he was rather offset by the idea of journeying even farther from home. His pokemon seemed to enjoy the idea of traveling however, talking amongst each other excitedly about the coming departure.
Ken's voice sounded from the corner of Luke's hearing, and he turned to see Ken jogging over. He stopped in front of Luke, out of breathe. "Aw-right! You ready to go?"
Luke nodded solemnly.
Ken grinned from ear to ear, turning around and beckoning Luke and his pokemon to follow him. Off they marched, through Azalea town and through a small building connecting the town to Ilex Forest.
The first thing Luke felt as he stepped into the poorly lit forest was the chilly air. The thick trees seemed to stop all forms of sunlight from entering this domain; continuing through the forest was a difficult task indeed. They took many winding turns and wandered aimlessly, hitting a dead end more than once; oftentimes the same dead end.
It was an admittedly dull trek, as well as time-consuming; the day seemed to pass quickly under those trees, and before they knew it nightfall had come; although to them the light made no difference. They realized it was nightfall finally when they came to a large clearing in the trees, revealing a starlit sky. It was possibly the only source of light in the entire forest, located close to a small wooden shrine to the forest protector.
Without even thinking Luke and Ken sat down and dozed off in the starlight, exhausted from the day's hiking.
* * *
Luke awoke to the sound of his pokemon's feet rustling on the thick grassy floor. As he sluggishly blinked open his eyes he caught view of his pokemon, bustling about each other with Ken's pokemon in some kind of battle royal. Luke was able to discern Ken's pokemon from his and identify each pokemon of his with ease; a brown owl hoot-hoot, a blue tadpole poliwag, and a cyndaquil, which struck an uneasy chord in Luke's mind as he remembered his own cyndaquil, stolen by Griffe so long ago.
For a good few moments Luke was captivated by the furious exchange; pokemon and pokemon attacks went in all directions, yet the field of battle was kept very dense. Luke soon noticed Ken presiding over the battle, watching the scuffle carefully. After a little while he clapped his hands loudly, disrupting the pace.
"That's enough! Good show, guys!"
Luke jumped to his feet. Ken controlled their fighting- could it be he set them up to battle each other? Was he secretly plotting to injure Luke's pokemon?!
"Ken! What are you doing?" He shouted, stomping over to the youth. The anger in his voice made Ken jump up a few feet into the air with a yelp.
"Training!" He gasped, falling back onto his behind. "Just like every day! It's my morning routine!"
"Training?" Luke blinked. "Wait, training? Ken, you know I hate it when my pokemon battle!"
"Doubt it." Ken said, with an 'I got you!' tone in his voice; "When I saw them yesterday they sure looked pretty beat up. Like they had just been battling, even." A toothy grin spread across his face. "I think you've been holding out on me, Luke. Besides, battling is among the greatest of joys to pokemon."
Luke winced as he remembered his night at the well. He regretted the event even more now, and then turned around to face where he thought his house was, sighing. Already he was getting a bit homesick.
"Also, training daily is how your pokemon stay fit and get stronger." Ken said, pushing himself to his feet and patting off his shorts.
Getting stronger. Luke's first reaction was to argue, but then he remembered the night of the well incident, and how he had wanted to get stronger then. He felt somehow, his experiences that day had changed him. But he wasn't sure how. Was he losing himself, or becoming himself again?
"Stronger…" Luke repeated, as if trying the feeling of this word in his mouth. "Yes… maybe it's time I got a little stronger."
* * *
After an intense training session with Ken in the morning and some tips on how to continue he daily routine, Luke and Ken set off for Goldenrod once again. They trekked through the forest hardily, and eventually they found themselves emerging from the forest on the outskirts of Goldenrod City. By now the sun was almost setting, and the sky was an ocean of colors that seemed to be different at each passing minute as the two trainers walked on towards the city.
They didn't hesitate for a moment to go to the city Capitol, which housed not only those in power and many documents of importance but also contained a smaller branch dedicated to trainers. It was here after leaving their pokemon outside by the guard's orders and waiting in line for some time they finally reached the main desk, where Luke presented his dilemma.
"Okay, that's no problem, I'll just check your trainer license and make sure everything's good to go." The lady behind the desk said, typing on her computer. After some time she paused, blinking, then typed again. She was left pausing and blinking again, then slowly looked up. "Uh… according to this, you're dead, Mr. Merluzzi."
"Huh?" Luke was startled for a moment, then recalled that he'd disappeared for five years without being found by any of those search parties. Of course he'd have been declared dead… "Well, as you can see I'm fine and healthy." Luke said.
The lady shook her head, "Must be some glitch in the system. I'll fix that up."
There was some typing, and then she sat back, victorious. "Congratulation, Mr. Merluzzi. You now have legal ownership of your pokemon, and can put them in a pokeball any time you wish to register them onto your team."
Luke gave a small smile, leaving with Ken. "Thanks!" He called.
Luke and Ken stepped out of the room, worn from their journey. They were now in a hallway, with a white marble floor and white painted walls with large imposing doors on either side, all the way to the end. They warily marched down the hall, checking the sign on each door as they passed it.
A certain sign caught Luke's attention, however, causing him to stop and stare for a bit. Ken continued for a few moments before stopping and turning to see what was keeping Luke.
"Luke?" He called.
There was a short pause.
"Luke, come on." Ken grumbled, annoyance creeping into his tone.
"I- I have to see something." Luke said, grabbing the door handle and slowly pushing it open.
Ken sighed as the two entered the room labeled "Death Records."
It was a decently large room, with computers lined up along the walls. A few were occupied, but there were many open. Luke rushed to the nearest one, opening up a search. His curiosity had gotten the better of him; was his father alive?
Slowly, almost scared, he slowly typed in 'Merluzzi' and then with some hesitation hit enter.
A few dozen names matched his search and were compiled into a long list, the most recently born at the top and oldest at the bottom. At the top Luke saw Griffe, then his own name, then his mother, and then his father- Luigi Merluzzi. Ken had meanwhile, wandered off, walking in circles around the room impatiently.
Luke clicked on his father, and on screen came a photo of him, and stating "Declared deceased after missing for five years" under the photo.
Luke frowned. His father must have gone missing soon after Luke, and after so long… it made sense that he be declared dead. But for Luke, it wasn't very good proof. His father would know how not to be found.
He clicked 'back,' returning to the list of Merluzzis. Curiosity seeped into his mind again; what did the system say about the rest of his family?
He clicked on his mother's name, coming with her photo and stating "Not deceased." Satisfied, Luke hit 'back' then checked his own name, showing no image of him but stating "Not deceased."
He clicked 'back,' then clicked on Griffe's name. The page displayed his picture, and stated, to Luke's infinite surprise, "Not deceased."
----------------------------
End Chapter 8
Hello, everybody- and welcome to my fanficiton, The Forgotten Son. I began posting it here in the early summer, and posted chapter 7 back in early August. Since then my topic was deleted, but it would be a waste to re-post each update; so, I'm continuing my fancition as if this were the existing topic and it had never gone on hiatus. For those hoping to read up on it, you can find ana rchive of all the most up-to-date versions of my chapters here. But without furthur ado, chapter 8!
Chapter 8
-----------------------------
A frown had found a resting place on Luke's mouth and he silently trod into the Azalea Town pokecenter. It was late, he knew that, but he didn't bother to check the time as he sat down at an open table, lost in thought. The rockets were out of here, he should be celebrating… but he wasn't.
He felt bad.
He reviewed everything that could happen to cause this feeling, but nothing seemed to be worthy of causing it. There was nothing that should have him down, he thought.
He turned around in his seat, studying the center. It smelled strongly of generic cleaning products. It was brightly lit for so late at night, and the entire downstairs floor was bleak of any living thing save for the nurse who napped comfortably on the counter, arms folded into a pillow for her head.
It had been years since Luke had entered a pokecenter… he didn't even recall when it was, only that the setup was very familiar to him. To most trainers this would be a sin above all others, but Miltank's healing abilities were vast enough to hold them through any injury.
The true reason for his ill mood had by now begun reaching him in the back of his head. He could feel it there, but did not dare to acknowledge it. He didn't want to believe it, but deep down he knew that it was true.
He wanted to be stronger.
He felt ashamed for his weakness. The feeling had never occurred to him; this wasn't something that applied to his ideas. Strength was meaningless to him, right?
But it was there, with little time for contemplation, he silently sunk into slumber.
***
"Hey! Hey!"
Luke grumbled and blinked his eyes open, as if they were made of lead. The dull view of the poke center swam into view and a feeling of numbness faded into his cheek, which he uneasily peeled off the table. He had fallen asleep at his seat.
He looked around again; everything was the same as last night, but there were trainers in various areas and the nurse now seemed more alert. As he completed his check-through, he felt a hand shaking his shoulder vigorously and turned again to see Ken, looking at him eagerly.
"Hey, hey! You finally woke up, huh man?"
"Ken…?" Luke blinked sleepily.
"The one and only, man. I was getting worried; your pokemon found my room in the center last night and I woke up to them being all over the place!"
"My- my pokemon!"
Luke jumped up in a fluster as he recalled his pokemon, which he left unattended when he fell asleep. He leaned over to see them looking at him grumpily, save Woop who grinned as giddily as ever.
"Man, you shoulda put them in their pokeballs before dozing off like that!"
"I, uh… well, they don't have any."
"NO POKEBALLS?!"
Ken jumped forward and shoved his head into Luke's, drawing attention from the entire center. Luke rubbed his hurt forehead in annoyance and added with some anger in his voice;
"No, Ken. No pokeballs."
"Well… why not?"
"It's a different story for each, but only my treecko is technically registered under my care. The others aren't bound by pokeballs."
Ken blinked, then rambled off in his preteen voice. "Well, in Goldenrod City they've got the league records center- I'm sure it would be a piece of cake to gain legal ownership of them there. Then you can give them all pokeballs." He sniffed, and then continued. "I'm on my way there myself. Do you wanna come?"
Luke sighed, then turned to Ken, opening his mouth to decline the offer; but for a brief moment, he was stopped. He made sudden eye contact with Ken, and in his eyes he saw a yearning for adventure and a childish sense of justice.
They were Griffe's eyes. Those same bright eyes that looked over the horizon and starved to see what was on the other side; those eyes that were captivated by pokemon and wanted nothing more than to train them.
Luke was overwhelmed by the similarity, and managed to utter a very quiet "H-how old… are you?"
"Ten." Ken said bluntly, a bit confused by the change of subject.
Ten. He was five years younger then Luke, the exact age difference between him and Griffe. Now more than ever he saw the ghost of Griffe in Ken, but was able to shrug it off mentally to declare "Yeah, I'll come. I'll meet you out front in twenty minutes."
* * *
Luke swayed uneasily in place as he awaited Ken's arrival. When he had agreed to go he felt confident he was doing the right thing, but now he was rather offset by the idea of journeying even farther from home. His pokemon seemed to enjoy the idea of traveling however, talking amongst each other excitedly about the coming departure.
Ken's voice sounded from the corner of Luke's hearing, and he turned to see Ken jogging over. He stopped in front of Luke, out of breathe. "Aw-right! You ready to go?"
Luke nodded solemnly.
Ken grinned from ear to ear, turning around and beckoning Luke and his pokemon to follow him. Off they marched, through Azalea town and through a small building connecting the town to Ilex Forest.
The first thing Luke felt as he stepped into the poorly lit forest was the chilly air. The thick trees seemed to stop all forms of sunlight from entering this domain; continuing through the forest was a difficult task indeed. They took many winding turns and wandered aimlessly, hitting a dead end more than once; oftentimes the same dead end.
It was an admittedly dull trek, as well as time-consuming; the day seemed to pass quickly under those trees, and before they knew it nightfall had come; although to them the light made no difference. They realized it was nightfall finally when they came to a large clearing in the trees, revealing a starlit sky. It was possibly the only source of light in the entire forest, located close to a small wooden shrine to the forest protector.
Without even thinking Luke and Ken sat down and dozed off in the starlight, exhausted from the day's hiking.
* * *
Luke awoke to the sound of his pokemon's feet rustling on the thick grassy floor. As he sluggishly blinked open his eyes he caught view of his pokemon, bustling about each other with Ken's pokemon in some kind of battle royal. Luke was able to discern Ken's pokemon from his and identify each pokemon of his with ease; a brown owl hoot-hoot, a blue tadpole poliwag, and a cyndaquil, which struck an uneasy chord in Luke's mind as he remembered his own cyndaquil, stolen by Griffe so long ago.
For a good few moments Luke was captivated by the furious exchange; pokemon and pokemon attacks went in all directions, yet the field of battle was kept very dense. Luke soon noticed Ken presiding over the battle, watching the scuffle carefully. After a little while he clapped his hands loudly, disrupting the pace.
"That's enough! Good show, guys!"
Luke jumped to his feet. Ken controlled their fighting- could it be he set them up to battle each other? Was he secretly plotting to injure Luke's pokemon?!
"Ken! What are you doing?" He shouted, stomping over to the youth. The anger in his voice made Ken jump up a few feet into the air with a yelp.
"Training!" He gasped, falling back onto his behind. "Just like every day! It's my morning routine!"
"Training?" Luke blinked. "Wait, training? Ken, you know I hate it when my pokemon battle!"
"Doubt it." Ken said, with an 'I got you!' tone in his voice; "When I saw them yesterday they sure looked pretty beat up. Like they had just been battling, even." A toothy grin spread across his face. "I think you've been holding out on me, Luke. Besides, battling is among the greatest of joys to pokemon."
Luke winced as he remembered his night at the well. He regretted the event even more now, and then turned around to face where he thought his house was, sighing. Already he was getting a bit homesick.
"Also, training daily is how your pokemon stay fit and get stronger." Ken said, pushing himself to his feet and patting off his shorts.
Getting stronger. Luke's first reaction was to argue, but then he remembered the night of the well incident, and how he had wanted to get stronger then. He felt somehow, his experiences that day had changed him. But he wasn't sure how. Was he losing himself, or becoming himself again?
"Stronger…" Luke repeated, as if trying the feeling of this word in his mouth. "Yes… maybe it's time I got a little stronger."
* * *
After an intense training session with Ken in the morning and some tips on how to continue he daily routine, Luke and Ken set off for Goldenrod once again. They trekked through the forest hardily, and eventually they found themselves emerging from the forest on the outskirts of Goldenrod City. By now the sun was almost setting, and the sky was an ocean of colors that seemed to be different at each passing minute as the two trainers walked on towards the city.
They didn't hesitate for a moment to go to the city Capitol, which housed not only those in power and many documents of importance but also contained a smaller branch dedicated to trainers. It was here after leaving their pokemon outside by the guard's orders and waiting in line for some time they finally reached the main desk, where Luke presented his dilemma.
"Okay, that's no problem, I'll just check your trainer license and make sure everything's good to go." The lady behind the desk said, typing on her computer. After some time she paused, blinking, then typed again. She was left pausing and blinking again, then slowly looked up. "Uh… according to this, you're dead, Mr. Merluzzi."
"Huh?" Luke was startled for a moment, then recalled that he'd disappeared for five years without being found by any of those search parties. Of course he'd have been declared dead… "Well, as you can see I'm fine and healthy." Luke said.
The lady shook her head, "Must be some glitch in the system. I'll fix that up."
There was some typing, and then she sat back, victorious. "Congratulation, Mr. Merluzzi. You now have legal ownership of your pokemon, and can put them in a pokeball any time you wish to register them onto your team."
Luke gave a small smile, leaving with Ken. "Thanks!" He called.
Luke and Ken stepped out of the room, worn from their journey. They were now in a hallway, with a white marble floor and white painted walls with large imposing doors on either side, all the way to the end. They warily marched down the hall, checking the sign on each door as they passed it.
A certain sign caught Luke's attention, however, causing him to stop and stare for a bit. Ken continued for a few moments before stopping and turning to see what was keeping Luke.
"Luke?" He called.
There was a short pause.
"Luke, come on." Ken grumbled, annoyance creeping into his tone.
"I- I have to see something." Luke said, grabbing the door handle and slowly pushing it open.
Ken sighed as the two entered the room labeled "Death Records."
It was a decently large room, with computers lined up along the walls. A few were occupied, but there were many open. Luke rushed to the nearest one, opening up a search. His curiosity had gotten the better of him; was his father alive?
Slowly, almost scared, he slowly typed in 'Merluzzi' and then with some hesitation hit enter.
A few dozen names matched his search and were compiled into a long list, the most recently born at the top and oldest at the bottom. At the top Luke saw Griffe, then his own name, then his mother, and then his father- Luigi Merluzzi. Ken had meanwhile, wandered off, walking in circles around the room impatiently.
Luke clicked on his father, and on screen came a photo of him, and stating "Declared deceased after missing for five years" under the photo.
Luke frowned. His father must have gone missing soon after Luke, and after so long… it made sense that he be declared dead. But for Luke, it wasn't very good proof. His father would know how not to be found.
He clicked 'back,' returning to the list of Merluzzis. Curiosity seeped into his mind again; what did the system say about the rest of his family?
He clicked on his mother's name, coming with her photo and stating "Not deceased." Satisfied, Luke hit 'back' then checked his own name, showing no image of him but stating "Not deceased."
He clicked 'back,' then clicked on Griffe's name. The page displayed his picture, and stated, to Luke's infinite surprise, "Not deceased."
----------------------------
End Chapter 8
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