Chapter Three
Warning: long chapter.
Chapter 3: A great start, then this…
Route 101, Hoenn.
It's most often the first place a new trainer from Hoenn would see. It's not exactly an eyesore, either. The path winds through a long, grassy field dotted with trees and tall grass. The edges of a forest close in on both sides, making it feel like a level from a video game (though I have no idea why anyone would have that feeling). Overall the route is only two miles long, which is why the towns of Oldale and Littleroot have so many residents that know each other quite well. Halfway along the route, just off the path, stood two young trainers who were locked in a Pokemon Battle.
"Go, Zig!"
"Torchic, time for our first battle!"
A pokeball flew into the air; landing in the grass before opening to reveal a small raccoon-like pokemon with spiky fur all colored and shaped into a zigzagging style. Even the pokemon's smile was jagged. Its opponent was the same orange chick that had recently set out with its trainer on a journey. Said trainer was standing next to it, her confident face carrying a slight smirk.
"Alright, let's begin with Scratch!" The small orange pokemon ran forward on its small legs, its jutting feathers that served as arms glowing.
"Zig, counter with Tackle!" Its opponent also ran forward, kicking up dust from the ground as it charged.
"Dodge quickly, then hit it!" The Torchic jumped just in time, landing behind the raccoon before unleashing a quick slice with its "claws".
"Zig! Are you alright?" The pokemon had three thin red cuts gleaming on its side, but was otherwise fine. Its eyes showed it wasn't too pleased, however. Ignoring its trainer, the angered raccoon jumped up and charged Torchic once again. Another command, another set of cuts.
"Torchic, lay off now and just dodge its attacks!"
"Zig, what are you doing? Stop it! Leave it alone!" The pokemon continued charging full-body towards Torchic, only for its attacks to be avoided easily. Finally, Torchic seemed to have become bored and landed on top of the pokemon, delivering one last attack before jumping away again. Zigzagoon staggered, gave a low growl of pain, and collapsed. Its trainer ran forward to comfort his pokemon.
"Are you alright, Zig?" The boy was around thirteen, with light brown hair hidden by a black baseball cap. He wore a gray-tinged green shirt, with baggy blue jeans sagging below his waistline. Hanging from his left shoulder was a torn and beaten red backpack, but it was obviously not originally his. Torchic's form wavered as it melted into a red mist and was pulled into its pokeball. Its trainer knelt by the boy with his Zigzagoon, concern showing slightly on her face.
"Is it okay?"
"Oh, don't worry. A quick stop at the Pokemon Center and he'll be fine. Would you like to come with me?"
"Sure, I was heading towards Oldale anyways." The girl stood, helping the boy to his feet as he continued to carry his injured pokemon. They set off down the dirt path, their clean shoes becoming soiled.
"My name's Jake, by the way. Jake Thompson. I just got Zig from my dad a few days ago; it's his Linoone's baby. I want to be a great Pokemon Trainer like he was, but Zig isn't very strong yet…"
"Hey, don't worry. If your dad is a good trainer, I'm sure you'll get to be as good as him. Oh, and I'm Shana Mallet. My dad's the Gym Leader in Petalburg City, and he's shown me some pretty good strategies. I couldn't use any in our battle, since Torchic doesn't know any attacks besides Scratch and Growl."
"Your dad's the Gym Leader? Wow… my dad has only beaten a couple Gym Leaders. I think he said something about battling the Petalburg Leader, but he couldn't beat him."
"Well, my dad's pretty good, though. It seems to run in the family, though; my cousin from Kanto is one heck of a great trainer. He even challenged the Elite Four, but I don't know if he won or not. That was nearly three years ago…" They continued walking in silence. Zig snuffled and shifted a bit in Jake's arms; it seemed to have fallen asleep now. The ground grew steeper as the path climbed a small hill. When they reached the top, the sky had become darker, and the sunset shone brightly over the town of Oldale. It sprawled ahead of them, buildings numbering around fifty. Among the dull brown rooftops two of them stood out; one red and one blue. These two buildings were situated right next to each other, and both were brightly lit. These, of course, were the town's Pokemon Center and Pokemon Mart.
Aside from these two buildings, the entire town seemed rather dull. Every house was situated on one single street, which was made by the path that Shana and Jake were travelling. The road turned into a square near the middle of town, which was where the two main buildings were. From this square two more roads led off to the north and west, both turning from stone to dirt paths once they left town limits. It was a very peaceful scene.
The two trainers continued walking, passing houses on both sides. Most of them had lights glowing in the windows, through which people could be seen watching TV, eating dinner, and in one house they were circled around a piano, singing joyfully to a song that was muted by the house's walls. Every single family, large or small, was joined by multiple pokemon of different sizes and species.
They reached the Pokemon Center just as the last dregs of light faded from the sky. The glass doors slid open to admit them, a wave of sound greeting them. The inside of the center was composed of one large room, with an escalator at one end to allow people to enter the upper floor. All around the room multiple glass tables sat, most of which had trainers sitting around them in chairs, chatting amiably. A large desk took up one fourth of the room, and behind it sat a nurse with pink hair hanging in curls on each side of her head. Her nurse's gown fell short of her knees, billowing out into a flashy miniskirt. She sat next to a lightly humming machine, reading a book and seeming to be in a peppy mood.
Shana and Jake crossed the room, passing the other trainers. One or two trainers looked up at them, but most seemed too involved in their conversations or (in some cases) Trading Card Duels. As the pair approached the counter, the nurse looked up and smiled.
"Hello, and welcome to our Pokemon Center. Is there anything I can help you with?" She stood to her feet, setting a marker in her book and setting it down. Jake carefully set his sleeping Zigzagoon on the counter as Shana detached Torchic's pokeball from her belt, laying it beside the resting raccoon. The nurse took the pokeball and placed it into a slot on the machine, which began humming louder. She then lifted Zig and set it on top. The pokemon woke up, yawning slightly, before moving a bit and settling down on the machine and resting again. A scanner moved over it a couple times, and the cuts on its side disappeared. The nurse lifted the pokemon again, setting it on the counter. She then removed the pokeball from the slot, placing it beside Zig.
"Thank you for coming, your pokemon are now fully healed." She bowed slightly. "We hope to see you again, have a nice evening. Or would you like to stay the night here? We have free rooming." Jake pulled out Zig's pokeball and returned the pokemon as Shana took Torchic's pokeball from the counter.
"Yes, that would be nice. Do you wanna stay here, Jake?" The boy blushed a bit.
"In the same room!?"
"No, silly. Yes, we'll take two rooms." The nurse reached under the counter and pulled out a scanner.
"Alright, please hold out your Trainer Cards." As Jake reached into his pocket, Shana simply stood there with a questioning look.
"Trainer Cards? What are those?"
"They're a trainer's ID. You can't enter the Pokemon League without one. Did you get your Torchic from Professor Birch? He should have given you one when you received it." Jake produced a small card, about the size of a Credit Card, which had his picture on it, along with an ID number, his name, six squares to the side – one of which had a picture of Zig – and eight small spaces along the bottom. The card's back had multiple lines, as if for holding written data.
"Didn't you get one of these, Shana? I got mine when I registered here." Shana reached into her own bag, looking through one of the smaller pockets on the side. Here she found a Poke'dex, which is an encyclopedia of pokemon that registered any pokemon she saw or caught. She also found a Poke'nav, which was a map, cell phone, and contest info base all in one and beside it, a rectangular Fame Checker, which is kind of self-explanatory. She noticed something poking out of her Poke'dex, and lifted it out.
She flipped the dex open; inside was a small card just like Jake's and a note. She pulled out the note and read it:
Dear Shana;
I hope these will help, I slipped them into your bag when you were becoming acquainted with Torchic. I'm sure your father has told you how to use them, so I will spare you the descriptions. Keep in mind that these are all registered to you, and cannot be replaced. Good luck, and be sure to call your parents when you reach Oldale.
~Professor Birch
PS: That Trainer Card will automatically register every pokemon you catch. All you need do is slide it through the slot on the side of your pokedex, and it'll register. I have already done this with Torchic.
Shana folded the note and tossed it back into the pocket, then picked up her Trainer Card and examined it.
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Shana handed the card to the nurse, who was running a small hand-scanner much like the ones used at a grocery store over Jake's.
"Is this it?" The nurse handed Jake his card, then took Shana's and looked at it for a moment before smiling and running the scanner over it, too.
"Yep, that'll be it." She held out the card again. By now some of the trainers in the room had left for their rooms already, but there were still plenty left.
"You can use rooms 29 and 30; you're lucky you got here; those are our last rooms. Your trainer cards will automatically open the doors now, so they're all you'll need."
"Alright, thanks!" The pair headed up the escalator, finding themselves in a long hallway. On both sides of the hall the white walls broke into multiple doorways, each door having a number on it. They set off down the hall, counting up from 1. They finally reached doors 29 and 30, all the way at the end of the hall. Shana slid her card through a small scanner above the knob of one door; it didn't work.
"Here, lemme try mine." Jake slid his own card through; this time a green light flashed and the door clicked open.
"Pretty convenient, isn't it?"
"Yeah, but how do you know so much about this kind of stuff already?"
"My dad told me; he did a lot of travelling, which I'd also like to do. Actually, to tell you the truth, I should be in Littleroot right now. My dad said I should go to Professor Birch to get my Poke'dex and an official starter."
"Oh, really? I'm sorry then; I didn't mean to hold you up."
"It's alright." They entered the room; it was a pretty basic hotel room, with a single queen-sized bed, a dresser with a television on it, a window with large curtains reaching to the floor, and a small door leading to a bathroom. In one corner of the room a phone sat on a desk, its screen blank (telephones in the Pokemon World have television screens on them so you can see who you're talking to. Convenient.) Jake dropped his bag on the bed, then removed his baseball cap and tossed it on top. He turned to Shana, a somewhat questioning look in his eye.
"Aren't you going to put your stuff away, too?"
"Oh, right." Shana turned and exited the room, moving across the hall to her own room. She slid her card through the scanner, and the lock clicked open. Her room was just like Jake's, except some things were in different locations and one of the curtains over the window had been slightly torn. She dropped her own bag on the bed, then remembered the note. Sitting down at the desk, she lifted the phone off the hook, dialing her home phone number. There were a couple rings on the other line, then a woman's voice answered.
"Hello?"
"Mom? It's Shana."
"Oh, Shana!" The screen flashed on to show a woman in her early forties, with blonde hair reaching past her shoulders. She was smiling rather broadly.
"It's good to see you made it to Oldale so soon."
"Mom, it's an hour walk."
"I know, but you left near seven and everyone knows how hard it can be to find your way in the dark."
"Actually, I made it here before it got too dark. Anyways, is dad there?"
"No, he's left for the gym again. Since its getting to be time for this year's rookies, he's gotta be there to tell them that they can't challenge him until they have at least four badges. You know, league rules and all that. He'll be waiting to see you in Petalburg, though."
"Yeah, I'll be sure to stop by. If I don't get lost, that is."
"Please don't say that." Her mom's face actually looked worried.
"Mom, don't worry about me. As long as I have Torchic, I'll be fine!"
"Well, I guess you're right. Oh, I almost forgot! Professor Birch wanted me to give this to you. It's something he's been testing lately, to see if there's something wrong with it, but he says it's perfectly normal. He figured it would prefer being with a trainer instead of cooped up in a lab, so he wanted you to have it. It's just a Wurmple, but there's something pretty special about it. You'll see when you get it." She held up a pokeball, then set it onto a small receiver next to the phone. A few moments later, the same pokeball materialized next to Shana. She picked it up and pressed the button. The ball opened, and a red beam shot out as usual, but among the red light could be seen multiple sparkles, like glitter. As the mist took form, Shana saw what her mom meant.
It was a pokemon that looked very much like your average caterpillar, but instead of that species' normal color of red, it's entire body was purple. Shana's eyes widened.
"Why is it like that?"
"I'm not too sure, but your father – and also Professor Birch – said that its called a Shiny Pokemon. They are very rare, and there's not really any difference in their abilities. They're just a different color than usual. It's not a random color, either; all pokemon of that species would be that color if they were "shiny". I'm not sure if you remember, but you've seen a shiny pokemon before."
"I have?"
"Joel's Charmander was a shiny, too. Charmander aren't usually yellow; their natural color is orange. His was yellow, don't you remember a few years ago when he, Uncle Joe, and Aunt Diane visited? He brought it with him, and I think he had just gotten it then."
"I remember, but I forgot that Charmander was supposed to be orange." She watched as the Wurmple crawled up the side of the bed, chewing on a piece of scrap paper on the bedside table.
"Mom, I know I haven't ever brought this up before, but what happened to Javin?"
"What?"
"You talking about Joel reminded me. I know Javin went to challenge the Kanto Elite Four, but what happened after that? It was so long ago… I don't think you ever told me." Her mother remained quiet, a look of concern showing once again on her face.
"He won. He was elected Champion, but after that his location has always been kept secret. It's been very hard on your aunt and uncle; they can never know where he is. It is a Champion's duty to continue travelling, to provide an even greater challenge for anyone wishing to challenge him. It's been even harder, though, on your cousin Joel. He stopped challenging gyms and even other trainers, constantly trying to find his brother. He met up with him in Johto, but they were only together for a day or two. Javin went off with a girlfriend of his to find some pokemon called Mee, or something like that, and Joel was forced to stay behind. Joel stopped looking so much, resorting more to training again, but I think he still misses his brother." She glanced at the clock.
"Oh, is it already Eight-Thirty? I'm missing my show! I'll see you when you reach Petalburg, right?"
"Yeah, I'll be sure to call!" The screen went blank again. Shana's mother set the phone back on the hook, then stood up from the desk. She began walking towards the living room, not seeing the three blurs that flew past the window behind her. Had she remained on the phone for a moment longer, she would have been able to tell her daughter that Joel had reached Littleroot.
***\|/***
Route 102, Hoenn.
Shana's feet left slight footprints in the dirt road as she walked towards the city of Petalburg, which could be seen at the very limit of her vision as a thick gray line. It was nearly seven in the morning; she had woken up at six and had breakfast before departing. Jake had left for Littleroot to get an official starter and a poke'dex. He had promised he would beat her to Rustboro City and get his first badge before her, something she had assured him would only happen in his dreams. The route she was now on was much narrower than Route 101, as the edges of the forest closed in near the edge of a wide lake, leaving only ten feet of open space between them. Of course, she was just thinking of how much it would suck if a tree fell over the path when a loud crack sounded.
Shana had never seen a tree fall before, but you can probably guess that that statement wouldn't be true in a few moments. The trunk split right near the bottom, and the tree swayed slightly before leaning precariously towards the path. More loud cracking noises were heard as it fell, dead branches swaying slightly as it crashed to the earth, no more than two yards in front of her. Shana covered her face as some twigs were sent flying. She slowly lowered her arms to view the scene in front of her.
The tree must have been dead for a long time, and alive for much longer before that. It was huge, but its center was completely rotted through. Shana stepped towards it slowly, wondering to herself how in the world she would get past it without having to wade through the lake. Then, of course, she remembered the fire pokemon and bug pokemon she owned. Torchic might have leveled up in that last battle and Wurmple was probably hungry. Hopefully, very hungry. She tossed both pokeballs to the ground, and as always they burst open to release their pokemon.
"Torch?"
"Wurmple… Wuuuurrm." Torchic eyed its trainer questioningly, but Wurmple appeared to have already figured out what to do. Chunks of bark disappeared into its mouth at an alarming rate as it chewed away at the tree.
"Torchic, do you suppose you can use Ember yet?"
"Torch? Torch torch!" Torchic turned towards the tree, took a deep breath, and launched a small fireball at the trunk. Wurmple was a good distance away from the burning spot, and thus was completely fine.
"Good work, this tree will be out of our way in moments!" No problem, right? She burns away the tree, makes it to Petalburg, continues her journey and lives happily ever after, right?
"Ninjask! Jzzzzzk!" Wrong. A loud buzzing noise issued from within the tree, and in moments there were dozens of cicada-looking pokemon buzzing around Torchic and Wurmple.
"What in the world!?" Shana fumbled to pull her poke'dex from her pocket, scanning the pokemon as quickly as she could. After a small "ding!" noise, a mechanic voice buzzed from the machine.
Ninjask
The Ninja Pokemon.
This pokemon moves around at such a high speed that it cannot be seen, even though its buzzing cries can be heard. For this reason, it was long believed to be invisible.
Shana looked at the Ninjask again. They were, indeed, zipping around speedily, but mostly they had now focused on attacking her poor Torchic. They were now completely ignoring Wurmple.
"Hey, leave Torchic alone! Torchic, use Ember!" One of the Ninjask was blasted away by a fireball, but the others continued to attack Torchic.
"Keep trying, Torchic!" More fireballs, more Ninjask flying back to their tree. But there were still dozens more, and Torchic seemed to be tiring quickly. As it was still chewing silently at the tree, Wurmple had been forgotten. Well, that is until a thin jet of sticky film started covering one of the Ninjask at an insane speed. As the motionless pokemon fell to the ground, a small purple blur rammed into it, sending it flying into another. Shana grabbed her chance.
"Torchic, Wurmple, return!" The pokemon both turned into the red mist before being pulled to their pokeballs. Shana ran towards the part of the tree which Torchic had burned, climbing over the charred bits quickly and trying not to burn herself. She didn't stop running until she had reached the fringes of the city and the day had passed noon.
