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Grovyle42(Griff8416) August 12th, 2007 8:26 AM

Never in the Wrong Time or Wrong Place
 
** Sorry I made a new topic but I couldn't edit the title of the last one.


Rated 14A (or PG-13) - Violence and gore, language, some mature themes, and sexual innuendo.

Genre- Action/Adventure, Drama, some Romance.

You probably already know this but I still have to say:
“Example” is for humans and pokemon speaking their native tongues.
“<Example>” is for Pokemon translated into English.
Example” is for people/pokemon in thought.

I'll add each chapter once I feel it is done to it's best, so don't get too impatient as I have most chapters done and just need some editing.

Chapter List
0.Prologue (1st Rewrite)
1.The Launch of a Journey (1st Rewrite)
2.The Roots of a Friendship (1st Rewrite)
3.Retributions (1st Rewrite)
4.The Revival of a Friendship (1st Rewrite)
5.To Leave the Nest (1st Rewrite)
6.And This is What You Get...
7.On a Wing and a Prayer
8.A Head as Hard as Rock
9.The Breaking Point---(Continued)
10.Nobody Said it was Easy---Continued)
11.Now Isn't Forever---(Continued)
12.Home is Where the Heart Is
13.Isolation
14.Salvation---(Continued)
15.Shock and Terror---(Continued)
16. Exile: Part 1
16. Exile: Part 2
17. Truth or Reconciliation
18.Cutting to the Chase
19.Escape
20.Shock of the Lightning
21.Resolve
22.Training Day
23.Turnabout.
24.Lost and Found---Continued
25.Deserted
26.Fossil Fuels
27.The Meteor Stratagem
28.Magma Rising


PM List:

Tigrerra
Spirit Albarn♫


The prologue is much, much shorter than my usual chapters, since it's only here to set the mood and anticipation for the story. Oh and I know I'm not supposed to call the Prologue "Prologue" but I wanted to put it there for formality. Once I post the first few chapters, the prologue will seem more in place.




Prologue


Everything was a dark green and brown blur in my eyes. The colors moved around in my eyes, I was unable to focus while I sprinted. All that I focused on was running away. I ran through the eerie, misty forest, bounding over roots and branches. There were few beams of light trying to enter the forest, clearly seen in the haze.

I didn’t know WHAT I was running from but I knew that I had to run. I knew I was being chased, I could sense it. Out of the corner of my eye I could see what appeared to be a moving shape… perhaps a figure, running beside me. It blended in with the forest but had a blur of red moving on it as it ran by my side, like there was a piece of the forest running with me. The red was the only way that I knew that it wasn’t part of the underbrush.

The plantlife that I dashed in became denser. I felt myself trip over a hard, unwavering root and fall face first into the bushes and grass. I lay in the ground, expecting the worse. When it didn’t arrive I tried to get up and move forward, but my legs wouldn’t let me. I used my right arm to try and crawl forward, grabbing at plants and weeds to help pull me along.

The dim figure in front of me extended its hand. I tried to grab it but I couldn’t reach. I looked up and saw a beautiful, almost angelic, shape of a girl I knew beside the figure. Behind them shined a blinding light. The girl had brown-red hair and smooth, natural skin. She smiled sweetly at me with an innocent yet beautiful face. I tried to grab for them but the two continued to be forever out of my reach. I tried to get up again but my legs were limp so I fell back to the ground. I moved forwards using only my hands to drag the rest of my body.

I heard whispers and high, raspy shrieks of the unknown creature echoing, coming from all around me. They boomed through the forest as if they were everywhere… but I knew they were only getting closer to me. They gradually grew louder and I struggled, helpless.

I looked down at my left arm and saw a gigantic gash appear down my bicep. The flesh was completely ripped from that part of my upper arm. I could see the insides of my arm: inside the gash were: still pumping veins and arteries, muscles which quivered in contraction, and exposed tissues. The arm stung with a cold numbness, but surprisingly no pain. I was horrified by the grizzly sight; I could feel every muscle in my chest constrict in fear.

Oh, Arceus…my arm… its insides… ” I thought in terror.

I felt as if I should vomit but I couldn’t. IT… did this! The next strike and I was sure I’d be dead.

There was echoing of screeches all around, I saw the glint of a metal blade in the very corner of my eye.

This is it.

Swish!

Pain. A horrible, piercing pain was felt in my head. It was not the dull pain of a headache, but more like someone… or something, slashed me in the head. All I then saw, seconds after, was a blinding light and a neutral sense of purgatory

All I saw was white.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) August 12th, 2007 8:27 AM

I revamped this chapter to fix up any errors. No MAJOR changes this chapter.


The Launch of a Journey


“PIDGEO, PIDGEO, PIDGEO.”

Those are the words that Jeff heard as he awoke in a puzzled daze. Jeff twitched uncomfortably; this wasn’t the soft cot that he fell asleep in. He opened his eyes, revealing his iris to be green with a tint of yellow surrounding the pupils.

There was a bright light shining from the windows piercing into his confused cornea, causing his pupils to constrict in miosis. He squinted and he darted his eyes around. He found himself lying on the cold, wood paneled floor of his room. A sharp pain in the back of his head caused him to cringe.

The pain would return every few seconds along with the obnoxiously loud squawks of the ongoing noise. It was as if this unknown force was mocking him. Jeff lazily rolled from his side onto his back. The pain did not return as he had expected it to, a few seconds later, although the sound “PIDGEO” still loudly hollered.

Jeff jerked his head around, quickly looking around the room. He looked down at his bicep revealing a large healed scar down his arm. “Thank Arceus… it was just a dream.” He wiped the sweat from his brow and quickly scanned the room again… just in case.

He got up onto one knee and his hands. Lying to his right was an opened copy of “Catch-22,” by Joseph Heller, as well as the “Hoenn Edition to the Guide of Starter Pokemon,” by Professor Birch.

As he lazily read the name “Professor Birch” he remembered that the man was the local pokemon professor for his small but lush hometown of Littleroot. He also taught Jeff in high school about the many different aspects of pokemon.

I must have fallen out of bed,” Jeff thought to himself, remaining on one knee.

He looked to the side of his end table and saw that the cause of the pain in his head was brought on by his Pidgeotto alarm clock, which was lying sideways on the floor. The wooden bird extended and contracted, and squawked from its static perch on the clock.

He held the back of his head. His hand brushed through his dark brown hair, which was light and somewhat dense, with the hair overgrowing in the back.

Jeff tried to get his bearings. His eyes darted to the window, which had a leafy tree branch brushing up against the glass. His eyes then looked to the beige wall of his room.

On the wall were two movie posters, tacked to the drywall. One was poster was advertising “Lone Wolf” starring Duke, the Mightyena. The poster showed a grey and black, wolf like pokemon separated from its pack, walking away from them, bearing his teeth with a large snarl on his face.

The poster to the left of it was entitled “The Last Tree”. There was a picture of a Grovyle slumped against a tree, looking off, deeply, into the distance. “Starring ‘Nychus the Grovyle’, A thought provoking, breathtaking ride!” read a review. The Grovyle was a large, green raptor pokemon. He had green leaves protruding his arms and head. Jeff had remembered seeing a picture of a Grovyle in the book by his bed. Those were two of his favorite movies; both were action/dramas.

He idly fondled a long, lance-shaped leaf of the dragon tongue plant beside him as he stared at his wall.

Jeff continued scrolling his eyes along the wall. He stopped at a calendar. He focused in on today’s date circled in red marker.

He blinked in revelation. “Today’s the day I get my first pokemon!” Jeff thought to himself.

He looked at the sideways clock on the ground and his eyes widened.

“Oh crap, I’m REALLY late!” Jeff groaned, frantically sitting upright.

He double checked the clock that lay sideways on the floor.

Oh, never mind. I thought the minute hand was the hour hand again. It’s really just eight fifteen,” Jeff thought to himself, grinning and relieved as he stroked his small, overgrown goatee, which was morning shadow. "I wouldn't have wanted to get an Eevee or something. With plenty of time to spare, I should shave."

Jeff got to his feet and stretched, growling in a low tenor voice, as he did so. He walked up to his wall mirror and admired himself. He was shirtless and wore green plaid PJ pants. He looked in the mirror at his six feet tall, one hundred forty-five pound stature. He had a strong muscular build and a good, sturdy posture.

He walked over to his tidy dresser and began to get changed. Jeff slowly got changed into his favorite set of clothes. This attire was his green T-shirt, a pair of roughed up, blue soccer shorts, holey socks, and sunglasses.

It’s finally happening…I’m going to leave town on my own pokemon journey, like all of my friends before me did.” He thought as he poked his head through his forest green shirt.

Jeff had many friends who are aspiring pokemon masters/coordinators. Most of them have already set out on their journey during high school with their very own pokemon. They had been successful at doing what they do best…fight and show off. Sure they can be jerks but they were his best human friends and they were always fun to be around. Only a few remained with he in high school for an indefinite period of time. He knew that they would eventually all go too.

I should make a good first impression for my first pokemon,” he thought, picking up his electric razor and turning it og

Jeff claimed that the reason that he did not start his pokemon journey when he was ten was because that he thought that most of the kids who set out at that age didn’t last very long as a trainer. The usual reason for this is that the pokemon would mature faster than the kid and in most cases have no respect for some kid. Besides, going out into the world knowing nothing of what’s coming and relying purely on your pokemon will nit only get you hurt but most importantly your pokemon. That opinion led Jeff to decide to learn more about them and how to responsibly care for them, attending Professor Birch’s school lectures. However, there was a different reason that Jeff refused to tell anybody.

I guess I should at least put on deodorant,” he thought to himself, picking up a stick of deodorant. He rubbed the ‘Forest fresh’ deodorant on his underarms and checked the smell.

I’m going to compete in the Hoenn League. I don’t really care if I win the league or not, but I do love battling and it’s an excuse for me to go out on an adventure and make new friends with people and pokemon, as well as meet my old friends. And if I DO win…and she is watching…”

He beamed as he rechecked his wallet.

Although Jeff had a posse of close friends, he had always made himself a bit of a lone wolf in the group. When his group of friends were laughing and playing he would always be a little bit off to the side, calmly relaxing or listening and pondering about whatever was on his mind.

Jeff walked towards the door of his room, but stopped and turned.

“Oops, almost forgot.”

Jeff went over to his wooden desk. The desk consisted of a backpack, a PC, old research papers about pokemon, and a cactus. He picked up his back pack which carried a few potions and antidotes, a great deal of saved up money, a sleeping bag and pillow, one of his Dad’s medical kits and about three weeks worth of light meals to be rationed. He looked to the right of his PC, and picked up this odd twig, which was straight and had a smaller branch coming off of it diagonally, and let it rest in his mouth, habitually.

He would travel with that odd tree twig in his mouth everywhere. Only he and one other knew where it came from…

Jeff exited his room and walked over the dull carpet, turning left to the stairs. He stopped in his tracks when he saw a purple figure standing on the stairs.

“Yo, Tyrogue, I’m finally going,” Jeff smiled to the superpower pokemon, who was the size of a child. Tyrogue smiled and continued walking past Jeff and into his parent’s room to weight lift.

Tyrogue was a pokemon caught by Jeff’s older brother. He decided to leave him here while he traveled to the Johto region. His brother was nine years older than him. He left to start his own journey while Jeff was still in pokemon elementary. He had always admired his older brother and his starter pokemon. He hasn’t seen them in some time. He and Tyrogue had become good friends over the years, and only Tyrogue knew of Jeff's secret.

“Tyrogue!” Jeff called out, “I left the dumbbells in my room, but the barbells are still there, though!” Jeff explained to the pokemon, who decided to go body build.

Jeff walked down the stairs and went towards the vestibule, which was home to shoes and coats. He slipped on a pair of white and green New Balance shoes. He turned and yelled calmly into the kitchen to his mom, Mrs. Growell.

“Hey, Mom! I’m going to Professor Birch’s lab to get my pokemon, I’ll be back…”

“Alright, dear!” She replied from the kitchen. “Won’t you have breakfast?”

"Nah, I'm too excited to eat right now!" Jeff called back. Then, he suddenly remembered two vital members to the Growell family and asked, "Did Dad and Bayleef leave for the hospital yet?"

“Yes, you just missed them!” She shouted back, preoccupied with making coffee.

“Ok…” Jeff replied, somewhat glumly. “Well I’m going now, I’ll come back before I leave town!”

“Bring back a cute pokemon!” Mrs. Growell told Jeff as he entered the cluttered vestibule.

“I have something else in mind,” he muttered to himself, turning the brass doorknob.

He stopped at the doorway, and took a deep breath before walking calmly out the door to his first pokemon.

Careful With That Axe, Pichu! August 12th, 2007 8:39 AM

There's no excuse, you could have asked me to change the title. Please don't do that again.

I'm asumming then the previous topic isn't needed anymore...

Without ppinting out some details I must say I like the way you narrate and the choice of words throught these two chapters. Don't rush the plot too much as you've apparently got what it takes to deepen the character's personalities and the narrative.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) August 12th, 2007 10:12 AM

Duly noted. I didn't know mods could change titles :P

But thanks for the CC.

Astinus August 12th, 2007 12:38 PM

First time I ever read "miosis" in a Pokemon fanfic. xD But as Steven said, you do have good word choices when describing things.

The one thing that bothers me is the random line breaks in your chapters. You place sentences alone in a new paragraph when they could have easily been combined with previous paragraphs.

There's not much else I can say. I figure that others might have a problem with Jeff starting so late, but I really don't care. As long as you finally posted this story. :p I'm going to keep reading this, of course.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) August 12th, 2007 6:39 PM

Thanks, I'll try to combine the sentences more. Yeah, the only reason I have for Jeff starting so late is that he isn't a happy-go-lucky, unexperienced 10 year old. Plus he kind of needed to be mature for reasons we'll find out later *twidles fingers mysteriously*...and I forget what those reasons are.

I'll post the next chapter in...soonish.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) August 16th, 2007 7:42 AM

A much more noticable revamp here. Added more depth and fixed most grammatical errors.


The Roots of a Friendship

1 year ago

The tale of how Jeff got that distinguished twig was a memorable one, especially since the twig was not the only thing he discovered that day. He was out in the forested grasslands outside of Littleroot Town, exploring. He had decided to take a walk to see if he could spot any cool or interesting pokemon.


Jeff was some distance away from the town. He slid his backpack off of his arm and threw it carelessly on the grass. He leaned back against a tree, which stood beside a small, tranquil lakeside, when a Zigzagoon came up to him, curiously. The pokemon was a brown and beige furred large rodent. Its fur appeared to be spiky, although it was really quite soft.

Zigzagoon sniffed around, inspecting his apple. Jeff put a hand up to motion that he was friendly. Ever since Jeff was young he had never felt any particular fear or hostility towards pokemon. Growing up with a family that had a Chikorita, he felt that pokemon were no threat to him. He liked mostly all pokemon as long as they were at least indifferent towards him. He decided to crouch down in front of it and fed the creature some of his apple that he didn’t finish. Zigzagoon began to happily munch on it, but then it looked up as a large shadow was cast over it as well as Jeff’s back. It dropped the piece of apple that was in its mouth and started to panic, running around in zigzags and then out of sight.

“What’s wrong?” Jeff asked, confused.

As Jeff noticed the creature run and the moving shadow behind him, a large chill went down his back. He could hear a swipe as if a sword was being swung in the air. His instincts got the better of him. Jeff speedily stood up and turned around and saw a giant scythe ready to fall towards him. Attached to the scythe were a long green arm and the enraged face of a giant bug pokemon.

The glowering face struck fear into the very soul of Jeff. Chills crept up his spine like a hundred Beedrills were giving him acupuncture with their needles. His green eyes widened and they met with the pokemon’s hazel eyes. He felt adrenaline course through his veins and rush to his head and limbs.

Jeff remembered Professor Birch talking about a pokemon like this in one of his lectures. He recalled him saying something about a blinding fury towards the color red. Of course, Jeff decided to where a red t-shirt for his hike that day, but instead of beating himself up about it, he decided to take action.

As the scythe began to be brought down, Jeff nimbly jumped to his right and he instinctively punched the creature in the face with his right arm. Jeff used his training from when he occasionally sparred with Tyrogue.

“Scyyythe!” It stumbled back a step and then lunged, even angrier, towards Jeff. “THER!!”

The terrifying mantis brought its claw down on Jeff. The blade slashed from Jeff’s left shoulder, cutting diagonally down the bicep, the gash ending above his elbow.

“GRAAAAAAGGHHH” Jeff yelled in blinding pain. He could feel the metal slice through his skin, taking pieces with the blade, and exit. He felt as if someone had poured oil in the cut before throwing a match into the gash. Jeff turned and fell to one knee, saliva spitting from his clenched teeth through the labored growls. His face whitened from the blood loss yet he felt beads of sweat form on his brow. Although his legs were trembling, Jeff took advantage of his adrenaline; he clutched his slashed bicep, turned, and ran behind him.

Jeff hobbled away from the pokemon, who was recovering from the powerful slash. Jeff ran with all of his strength into the forest, hearing the terrorizing cries of the bug pokemon echoing all around him. His speed was fueled by his blistering pain, it acted as the nine-tails whip of a slave driver coercing Jeff onward, for fear of a fate worse than being beaten. He ran over verdant ferns and hopped over roots, clutching his bleeding arm as he went.

Jeff dove behind this huge, lush, towering tree, which had many thick branches attached to it. Jeff was bleeding profusely from his arm. He pressed his back up against the tree and looked over his shoulder to his right. Jeff could hear a rustling above him; he darted his head up and saw leaves move and then nothing. He was positive that Scyther was moving above him, but for all he knew it was just the wind. The giant bug was nowhere to be found. But then Jeff looked to his left and saw the sneering face of the giant green bug right in front of him.

The pokemon grunted in his face and Jeff’s heart sank. The only thing between him and the scythe was a small twig, attached to the tree beside him about at Jeff’s scalp level.

“SYYYTHHHE,” the creature wailed as its scythe began to fall towards Jeff.

“This is it, I’m dead,” Jeff thought as he leaned there, helplessly.

He kept his eyes only on the twig in front of him, trying to face his fate with as much courage as possible. He could see the twinkle of the scythe and it got through about halfway into the twig and then stopped.

Jeff looked towards the creature. Its eyes were wide, jaw open. Jeff looked down, puzzled, and saw a small green lizard, with a sturdy red chest, who had its large, dark green tail embedded into the bug’s abdomen. “Treecko Tree” it said calmly with a high tenor voice. The bug pokemon doubled over while the new pokemon crawled up the massive trunk of the tree that Jeff was leaned against. The tree was staggeringly large; the trunk and canopy were colossal, but the tree itself wasn’t as lush and appeared to be in bad condition.

The Scyther straightened itself, growled, and began to bat its wings, which created a chilling, humming sound. The snarling assailant flew after the lizard up the trunk. The green tree-climber was very quick and adept at scaling the bark. Before the Scyther knew it, its foe had disappeared in the immense canopy.

The bug pokemon continued to fly vertically towards the tree top. Before it could brace itself it saw a big, green tail appear from seemingly nowhere and descend towards its face. The lizard’s mighty tail battered the Scyther backwards. The unexpected ambush caused Scyther’s aerial equilibrium to be compromised. It fell backwards and fell head first towards the ground. The Scyther tried to right itself in the air but it was too late; it hit the ground with a blunt smack. The heroic pokemon jumped from the tree and landed beside it, crossing his arms without a care. Scyther snarled and got to its feet.

The green reptile stared into the pokemon’s eyes, unflinchingly. Scyther raised and swiped its razor arm in a vertical downwards action. The targeted pokemon jumped out of the way to his side. The claw hit the ground but missed its prey. Scyther quickly reared its left arm to its chest before swiping it towards the jumping green and ruby lizard. The wood gecko noticed the blade and quickly bent his head backwards in the air. He narrowly missed a decapitation but he still sustained a minor cut on his green chin. He landed on one knee and paused, taking a moment to wipe the blood from his neck. The now grinning lizard extended a finger and retracted it in a taunting fashion.

His grin became serious when the Scyther drove his claw from the ground and rushed him, on foot. He walked towards his attacker with a calm, collected aura. The Scyther was ready to strike. The wood gecko picked up speed and ducked between the bug's legs. He moved behind it before quickly turning, tail first. The tail struck with great speed and power; it took out the Scyther’s legs, causing it to fall flat on its back. The mystery pokemon then jumped in the air and went into a somersault. He landed with his tail being driven into the Scyther’s face. He moved his tail from the target and saw that the Scyther’s eyes were closed and was definitely knocked out. It then turned around with a satisfied, smug grin and made eye contact with the wounded human.

Jeff stared in a respectful awe at this unlikely hero.

“Why did he save me? He had to know that he was putting his life on the line. Most pokemon would have just went on their way or even helped with the beating! He almost died trying to help. He doesn’t know how much I owe him.”

Jeff’s sight was compromised from the blood lost the entire battle so it wasn’t until the pokemon was still that he got a good glimpse of his savior.

“Treecko… a Treecko?!” He thought, eyes widening in labored joy. He immediately thought of his brother.

He tried to get up to walk over to him, but Jeff was in too much pain. Instead, he walked over to Jeff. Jeff’s face was overwhelmed with the joy of being alive and that of being saved by a Treecko. Jeff managed a shaky smile. With the beam, he outstretched his hand. Treecko grinned and closed his eyes. He turned around and, to Jeff’s surprise and delight, answered the gesture of affection with his tail. This was Treecko’s way of returning the handshake. Jeff’s green-yellow eyes met Treecko’s purely yellow eyes and the two grinned.

“Treecko Tree,” The lizard said as the two shuck hands…err, tails?

Jeff’s light headedness got the better of him. He then fell over on his right side, in pain. Treecko rushed over to his side and saw the open wound. Treecko licked Jeff’s wound, swashed the blood around in his mouth, and then spat it out. Treecko used that method to check if there was poison from Scyther’s attack in Jeff’s bloodstream. At first Jeff was very confused yet, surprisingly, not worried. He then came to understand that Treecko was, in fact caring for him.

“So you’re a Treecko, huh?” Jeff asked him, as he admired the small, green savior. Treecko nodded and spat out the remainder of the blood and indicated that there was no poison present. “Don’t Treecko usually live in packs?” Jeff continued to attempt small talk.

Treecko opened his mouth to respond but then turned away.

What was that about?” Jeff wondered. Jeff thought about what Treecko was like. He imagined him to be by himself, a loner. “Maybe he watched from the tree while other Treecko’s played tag or hide and seek or whatever Treecko’s played. What if he wanted to play and they wouldn’t let him?”

Poor guy.”

Jeff both admired and pitied the Treecko for this thought, mainly because he could relate, despite the fact that Jeff now has many friends. Maybe he wanted friends but his Treecko friends rejected him. Maybe he chose to be alone but couldn’t help wanting at least one good friend. The admiration grew along with the sadness. He stared deeply into the Treecko’s eyes.

A rash thought crossed Jeff’s mind, but he quickly discarded what he thought was a crazy idea. Jeff sighed, wishing that his idea would actually work if he asked.

Treecko patted his shoulder and pointed upwards, indicating that he’d be right back. He climbed up the tree and brought back a vine, a few large leaves, a thorn, and slender strips of birch bark. Treecko hastily tied the vine around Jeff’s left shoulder, just above the wound, in an attempt to cut off the blood circulation in his arm, to staunch the bleeding. Treecko then applied the leaves to the wound, using them as bandages. As soon as the bleeding stopped, Treecko stuck the thorn at the end of the long bark rope; he used that to stitch Jeff’s wound closed.

“Why are you helping me?” Jeff asked as he cringed, looking at Treecko, confused.

“Treecko cko treecko!” Treecko grinned and helped him to his feet.

“I owe you one… big time. I promise I’ll pay you back.”

Treecko grinned and nodded, not expecting him to.

Jeff looked at the twig which was half cut off. It was straight with a diagonal branch coming off of the center side of it. He decided to break it off and take it with him, so that he would never forget the day that a Treecko that did not know Jeff, and that Jeff did not know, saved him.

“No, I swear that I’ll find you again and then make us even!"

Treecko stared into Jeff’s eyes and saw that he was being very sincere. The wood gecko grinned and closed his eyes in thought.

“Thank you for saving me. I hope we’ll meet somewhere again.” Jeff thanked him as he stood, wobbly.

The Treecko nodded, waited until he was sure Jeff could walk, and climbed the epically large tree, which Jeff was backed against, roosting up on a large branch.

As he slowly, and somewhat glumly, went back to the town, he looked back at the Treecko sitting on the branch looking off into the sunset. Jeff was surprised to see that the Treecko had also placed an identical twig from the same tree in his own mouth. Jeff’s heart warmed.

“Perhaps we were not so different after all…”

Astinus August 17th, 2007 9:40 PM

Wow...that ending...I enjoyed it. I liked the entire chapter. Some good life-threatening action and a touching scene between Jeff and a Treecko. And it was a good way to do the flashback to the event, as a chapter unto itself. No annoying interruptions to "present day".

I really have no idea if this review makes any sense. xD I'm tired and in some pain, so my mind is cunfuddled. All you need to know from this is that I liked this chapter and am looking forward to more.

lilninjapig August 17th, 2007 10:17 PM

I also liked this chapter, it seems that the stories about Treecko are the better written onees :)

Grovyle42(Griff8416) August 18th, 2007 7:43 AM

I'm glad you liked it. I'll post the next chapter within the week.

The next chapter is a flashback taking place right after this one...I was skeptical about putting two flashbacks in a row as they may seem to play simalar tunes and slow the ball from rolling forward, but I realized that I needed to put it in so that the actions of the characters in the chapters after were justified.

P.S. Lilninjapig, you don't happen to know where Dachampster is, do you? I need to ask him something pertaining my fic.

Dachampster August 19th, 2007 1:52 PM

Sorry, I was on vacation. This seems a lot like my fanfic.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) August 19th, 2007 8:00 PM

Like I said in my Authors Notes, Rest assured, I wrote all of this before reading the first chapter of your fanfic. I chose to start with Treecko for a long time. I know they seem simalar now but they're going to turn out to be very different.
I'm an honest, just guy and give credit where it's due.

Dachampster August 19th, 2007 10:04 PM

That still doesnt mean that I've not been planning this story for a year, now does it? But still, i want to see what happens next.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) August 20th, 2007 5:12 AM

I never said it didn't. Nevertheless, I couldn't have crawled into your mind a year ago and made our ideas very simalar on purpose.
I wanted to do something different from 'going to the lab, choosing ___, and the pokemon immediatly loves him' because thats not realistic. I wanted there to be an instant bond from the start (That sounds like an adhesive advertisement) and what better way than for one of them to save the other's life?

But ANY ways, I've made my point and I know that my story is a complete product of my...mind? I hope you all continue to Enjoy the story. :) The next chapter will be up soon.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) August 23rd, 2007 6:59 AM

I revamped this chapter too.


Retributions


1 Year Ago, later that night.

The cool, night breeze irritated Jeff’s crudely stitched gash. He poked at it, idly, picking at the dried blood that formed a still trickle down his arm, like sap on a tree trunk.

Jeff slowly limped over the forest bed; sticks broke and leaves crunched beneath his heavy feet. Every so often, he turned his head around, paranoid of more pokemon who didn’t think red was his color. He heard a light scampering in the brush around him.

What if it’s a Caterpie?!” Jeff thought to himself, genuinely nervous. “Their horns are kind of sharp… and what if it… tackles me?” he brooded over, trying to justify his fear.

Arceus! I’ve never been afraid of pokemon before! I never thought that one could or would actually kill me… I never thought that one would help me in that situation, either, though.

Jeff hurried his footsteps. He wanted to leave so much but at the same time he wanted to go back into the pitch black forest. Large branches obstructed his path so he had to step over them. Jeff turned around to look behind him while he walked, but he tripped over a large stick. The injured teen fell and landed on a large root, his wounded arm taking the blunt of the impact.

“HRAAAARGHHH!!” Jeff screamed out in pain. He clutched his arm and rolled onto his other side. Jeff removed his hand from the cut and saw that one of the crude, bark stitches had ripped and began to bleed again.

Damnit… I’m screwed,” he thought hopelessly, looking at the severe gash, tied by white strips of birch bark. He bit his lip looking at the seeping wound. Jeff didn’t know how much blood he could lose. Through the underbrush he could see the familiar, dull, orange gleam of a street light. “You’re almost there…get up, Jeff! Get up!”

He struggled to get to his knee and before the hard part of standing to his feet. He stood and leaned against a tree, panting with indistinguishable grunts. Jeff hobbled towards the lights. He felt weight being lifted onto his shoulders as he painfully stepped onto the comforting asphalt.

I’m home… and out of that forest… thank Arceus.” Jeff his head and looked back into the forest and thought, “…Treecko…”

Jeff noticed a rustling in the bushes. He turned to face the noise in a worried prospect. Suddenly, a brown blur jumped towards him from out of the underbrush. Jeff stepped back in surprise but tripped and landed on his tailbone.

“Argh, what the!?”

“Zig…” the pokemon beamed expectantly.

Jeff looked in confusion wondering if it was the same Zigzagoon from early or if it was just really friendly.

“Have we met?” Jeff asked in inquiry.

The Zigzagoon nodded his head vigorously and rubbed against Jeff’s leg, overjoyed that he was still alive.

“You still hungry? Sure, I’ll leave the whole ‘abandoning me when I was about to die’ incident behind us…” Jeff teased.

Zigzagoon looked down, guiltily.

“Seriously though, it’s no problem, I’ll see if there’s anything left in my bag…” Jeff reassured, grabbing for the strap of his backpack, but he grabbed only cloth from his shirt.

Jeff turned his head to find that his backpack was not on his back. Jeff recalled back to where he dropped his backpack before being attacked by Scyther. He had to run, not bothering with the bag. Then he met Treecko, he remembered.

“Ugh, damnit…sorry bud, I forgot my backpack back at the lake. Now I have to go get it,” Jeff explained to the disappointed pokemon. Jeff was secretly terrified of going back into the forest… but he knew he had to get it.

Zigzagoon nodded and gestured Jeff to follow him back into the forest. Jeff slowly followed Zigzagoon though the under brush. Jeff saw familiar trees and grass patches while they slowly trudged. The trees became more spread out, although there were still large patches of bushes and underbrush to all of their sides. They were very wary of the unknown area. It felt like they would be sucked under the grass at any minute.

There was a noisy crackling of branches coming from the wall of shrubs. The two stepped back, cagey as to what the rustling was coming from. With the noise came gasps and heavy breathing. It became mind-numbingly louder, the anticipation was killing them.

What if it’s Scyther?” Jeff thought, his legs beginning to tingle and gain adrenaline from the idea of the returning dread. The rustling grew louder; so did the panting. Zigzagoon snarled and put on a menacing face for Jeff. He growled but he could feel his small legs trembling in fear; Zigzagoon’s cowardly nature got the better of him and he caved in trepidation and bolted away.

“Coward!” Jeff called to him. “Oh crap… I’m completely alone. I can’t even run straight let alone escape. He left me… and now I’m screwed.” He stepped backwards but his equilibrium was still off from the blood loss. He fell down hard on his tailbone. Jeff could now see bright green moving in the bushes. The petrified teen braced himself and closed his eyes.

He awaited the blade as a doomed king awaited the guillotine. But nothing came; no pain, no “whish”, no Scyther. Jeff opened his eyes and saw the green silhouette of Treecko standing over him, his backpack in hand. The moonlight shined upon the Treecko, illuminating a healed scar down his green collarbone, which Jeff did not notice before.

A wave of relief swept over Jeff, although, he wondered where that Treecko had received that scar. Maybe from a fight… or torture. He wasn’t sure.

“It’s you again!” Jeff exclaimed, overjoyed. “…Nice twig.” Jeff smiled, gesturing to the identical twig in his mouth.

Treecko grinned and handed the backpack to him. “Treecko tree tree cko,” Treecko smiled, dropping the heavy backpack.

“You didn’t have to find me to give this back! I was perfectly capable…” insisted Jeff, before half being interrupted and half knowing that he couldn’t pull off the lie in his situation.

“Treecko cko tree Treecko,” Treecko laughed, mockingly.

“I only fell down once!” Jeff defended his view, even though he fell much more than that. “…But, really, thank you,” Jeff graciously thanked, picking up the backpack with his right hand.

Treecko turned to go back to his massive tree; he began to walk back into the thick brush. Jeff decided he would ask what he had planned to ask on their last encounter.

Jeff called to Treecko before he was camouflaged by the plants, “Hey Treecko…how would you like to come back to my home for some food?”

Treecko pondered for a minute and then his stomach growled loudly. He blushed and nodded, his stomach sealing the deal.

“Hah, great! I’ll lead the way back!” Jeff beamed as they tromped back the way he came. They walked through the underbrush until Jeff tripped over a white spiky rock. He managed to avoid falling on his bad arm this time, but the shock from the fall still sent a wave of pain into his arm. He groaned as he rolled on his back to see what he tripped on. That white spiky rock had angry, red eyes!

“Is that a…Silcoon…or a Cascoon…or something?” Jeff thought out loud, scrambling away from it. Treecko nodded and stepped backwards.

From behind the white, spiky pokemon, who was like a volleyball, appeared a white-bellied bug. Its back was bumpy and colored a bright red. Its beady yellow eyes stared angrily at Jeff. The Wurmple, who was seemingly friends with the Silcoon, began to yell at the two.

Treecko began to yell back at the two bugs pointing at Silcoon and then at Jeff. “Tree tree cko cko treecko!” he retorted, angrily but calmly.

Treecko had obviously struck a nerve with Wurmple. The p*ssed off bug let out a stream of white silk from his mouth. The string shot attack stuck to and wrapped around Treecko’s feet, tripping him backwards to the ground. The wood gecko groaned and then he tried to rip the sticky silk tying his feet. From his mouth, Wurmple shot out a volley of purple pins at Treecko.

Jeff’s eyes widened at the oncoming attack. Without time to think, he jumped in front of the attacking Wurmple and the helpless Treecko. He ripped the silk string from the grass type’s legs and picked him up with one arm. Jeff was aware of the poison pins coming at him from behind him, but he forced himself to protect the helpless Treecko, who was very weak to those poison attacks. Normally Jeff wouldn’t be so brave and reckless as to do this, but this time it was different.

Five purple pins dug into the back of Jeff’s right calf. Jeff let out a throaty growl, falling to his right knee, dropping Treecko. Treecko maneuvered around Jeff and ran at the Wurmple and Silcoon. He whipped his tail around him once, hitting the Wurmple into the forest. The wood gecko then ran towards the sitting Silcoon and kicked it in the face; it sailed into the forest after the red and white bug.

Treecko let out a grunt and ran back to Jeff, who looked at his red, swelling leg.

“Treecko tree tree?” Treecko asked quickly, gesturing to Jeff’s bag.

“Tools? Medicine? Antidote?” Jeff asked him, frantically trying to interpret him. “Yes, I think!” Jeff gave him the go ahead to dump out the bag.

Treecko scrambled through the cluttered items and found only tweezers and water.

“Treecko cko!?!” Treecko reprimanded him for not bringing good medicine.

“Who carries around poison antidotes anymore!?!?” Jeff shot back.

Treecko ignored that and walked up to Jeff’s wounded calf muscle. He used the tweezers to pull out the five needles. With each needle, Jeff grimaced; blood and a foreign yellow substance seeped from the holes.

Treecko indicated that Jeff’s leg was, indeed, poisoned.

“Damn…what can we do? We have no antidotes and we won’t make it to town!” Jeff sputtered with panic in his voice.

Treecko raised a finger, telling Jeff that he had a last chance idea.

Treecko picked up the silk that Wurmple shot, and tied it tightly above Jeff’s knee, cutting off the blood circulation from the leg to the rest of the body.

“Ok, so now the poison will only eat away at my leg!” Jeff grunted, starting to feel the burning poison in his veins. He looked down and saw that his leg was turning a sickly yellow color.

“Treecko tree!” Treecko gestured, pointing at his mouth and pointing to the wound.

Jeff looked at Treecko, skeptically. “Uh, Treecko…contrary to what our mothers tell us, kissing wounds doesn’t actually make them heal faster,” Jeff explained.

Treecko slapped his head and began to make the gesture to his mouth, then Jeff’s leg, then made a passing motion behind him.

“Ohh, you want to get the poison out yourself?! No! Don’t do anything that will involve you getting poisoned instead!" Jeff stubbornly ordered, shutting down Treecko’s idea before he could pitch it. The poison began to slowly burn inside Jeff’s leg, causing the puncture wounds to swell out and ooze.

“Please, quickly think of something else!” Jeff urged, cringing. Treecko rubbed his chin in thought and then raised a finger in enlightenment.

Treecko quickly looked around at the ground for things he could use. He picked up a handful of small, red-speckled green leaves, a very thin, long reed, a wooden bowl from Jeff’s backpack, and a small rock. He threw the leaves into the bowl and began to grind them with the rock. He ground the leaves into a thick, white paste, added more leaves and repeated the process until there was a decent amount of paste in the bowl.

“What is that, some kind of antidote?” Jeff questioned, now beginning to see the bowl in double vision. His sight seemed to begin to amplify the light of the world; the midnight darkness began to seem more like dusk.

Treecko nodded and sucked the liquid into the straw-like reed, which he put in his mouth. He removed the reed from his mouth and put a finger over the end of the straw to ensure that the medicine wouldn’t drip out.

Jeff stared at Treecko nervously, who counted down with his fingers before he drove the reed into where the wounds were. He let go of the top of the reed and began to blow hard into the reed. Jeff grimaced as the substance entered his blood stream. He could feel the crudely made medicine compromise his poison-flooded blood. Treecko took the reed out of his leg and could see a mixture of blood, poison, pus, and medicine drip from the wounds. Lastly, he tied a leaf tightly around the wounds and folded his arms, proudly.

“I really don’t know how to thank you…I owe you two!” Jeff smiled, some color returning to his face. “If you keep saving me I could probably nominate you to get you knighted!” chuckled Jeff, weakly.

“Cko tree” Treecko said as he put up one finger, reminding Jeff that he saved his *ss from Wurmple, so therefore, only one.

Jeff smiled at this as he tried to get to his feet. Treecko held and supported Jeff’s wounded leg as he stood. Jeff fell back against a tree and slumped to the ground, unconscious. After what seemed to Jeff like ages, he awoke and struggled to sit upright. His arm and leg still seared with pain. He quickly looked around him, no Treecko in sight.

“Tree…Treecko?” Jeff called out in a raspy voice; his mouth was very dry.

“Cko? Treecko?” Jeff heard a voice reply from above him. Treecko stared down at Jeff from a branch of the tree, which Jeff slept against. It was still night so Jeff could only see the yellow glint of his eyes. Treecko hopped down the tree and, once again, helped Jeff stand. They began to slowly walk through the forest towards Jeff’s house, into the dark, misting forest. After a painstaking half hour, they finally reached the edge of Littleroot Town.

“Follow my lead,” Jeff advised weakly.

Jeff, followed by Treecko, passed Professor Birch’s lab; all but one light was off and it was closed for the night. They walked down the straight, dirt road towards Jeff’s house. By now the streetlights were off and the streets were deserted.

“Peaceful, isn’t it?” Jeff asked Treecko. Treecko remained silent and looked around, ponderously.

They walked up to a medium sized home with white panels and a black roof. Treecko helped Jeff up the stairs and Jeff withdrew a key from his pocket. He inserted the key stealthily into the slot and slowly clicked it open.

Jeff and Treecko walked quietly straight down the dark hall to his kitchen. Mud and leaves from their feet littered the hallway when they walked to the tiled kitchen. Jeff turned on a light and saw Tyrogue standing on top of the tiled counter, staring accusingly.

“Ty tyrogue rogue ro tyro!” Tyrogue reprimanded Jeff for being so late.

Jeff looked at the time on the stove and it was 2:34 AM.

“Sorry…I got held up,” Jeff explained, brandishing his scarred arm and wounded leg.

Tyrogue looked worried. “It’s nothing, really,” Jeff assured him.

Another pokemon entered from another room, to the left of Jeff and Treecko. The pokemon’s four legs walked from the hardwood floor to the white tile. It had light green skin and a bulb-like head. Protruding from the scalp of the head was a large, dark green broad leaf. The pokemon also had a necklace of buds, from one of the buds came a long green vine, which the pokemon used to scratch its tired eyes with.

“Chiko?” peeped the Chikorita with an obviously female voice. She looked over at Jeff and noticed the grass type in the shadows behind Jeff. Chikorita stared at the wood gecko, intrigued.

Tyrogue also saw Treecko, as well as Chikorita looking at the unfamiliar pokemon, and hopped down from the counter, parallel of Jeff and Treecko, fists raised and ready to fight.

“TYR!” He yelled as if yelling, “INTRUDER!”

Tyrogue ran towards Treecko, fists up. Treecko prepared to defend himself. Chikorita let out a vine whip from the darkness and restrained Tyrogue’s arms before he could attack Treecko.

“Settle down, man. Treecko here saved me twice. I brought him back here as a thanks. Tyrogue, why don’t you make us some sandwiches? You do owe me one after losing that arm wrestle last week…” Jeff grinned.

Chikorita released Tyrogue, who scowled and reluctantly opened the fridge, which was in the right corner of the kitchen, and took out supplies.

Treecko rechecked Jeff’s leg wound to make sure it wasn’t badly infected. As Treecko and Jeff were distracted, Tyrogue slipped a few extremely hot peppers into their sandwiches. He then walked over to the two and handed them a plate with two large sandwiches on it with an impish grin. Jeff thanked Tyrogue and the two dug into the food. To Tyrogue’s dismay, Jeff and Treecko were unmoved by the hot peppers.

“Hey Tyrogue, this is really good! I should beat you in an arm wrestle more often!” Jeff grinned as they finished up the food and left the kitchen.

Chikorita began to laugh at Tyrogue’s failed attempt at the prank. She was answered by a cold glare.

“Hey Treecko, I’m going to go up to the washroom to put some disinfectant on these wounds, feel free to get acquainted with Tyrogue and Chikorita,” Jeff clarified.

Treecko decided to hang about, solitary, in the hallway, deciding to keep to himself rather than branch out to the other two pokemon. Tyrogue walked up to Treecko and outstretched a hand. Treecko stared at the hand and then back up at Tyrogue.

“<Ok…anyways, my name is Tyrogue. It’s nice to meet Jeff’s two time savior,>” Tyrogue kidded himself through his teeth.

“<Uh huh, I’m Treecko,>” he replied, without enthusiasm. Tyrogue was taken aback by this attitude, but he still tried to pretend to be nice.

“<So you really saved Jeff twice, huh? He must really owe you,>” Tyrogue exclaimed, with a hidden agenda.

Chikorita eyed them from the kitchen.

Treecko shook his head. “<Well technically he saved me once so he only…’owes me’ one,>” he explained.

“<I guess he thought that this visit would make up for it, then,>” Tyrogue grinned.

“<What do you mean?>” Treecko questioned.

“<Well you just met Jeff, so you wouldn’t know…>” Tyrogue began, “<Jeff is a very proud guy, he can’t let a good favor towards him go unrewarded. He would feel as if it’s charity, which he finds insulting to receive,>” Tyrogue explained, twisting the truth.

Treecko began to think. “<…I thought he was being generous because he wanted to be friends,>” he said, beginning to question himself.

“<Well you’d think that…but really…no. Trust me, I’ve known Jeff for a long time, he hates owing people and hates even more to be owed,>” Tyrogue bluntly put it. Although Treecko didn’t know it, Tyrogue clearly didn’t want Treecko anywhere near him or Jeff… or Chikorita.

Treecko’s heart sunk. “<I shouldn’t be surprised…no one seems to really want me…>” he apathetically muttered.

Tyrogue patted his back. “<C’mon pal, don’t be so hard on yourself,>” Tyrogue feigned encouragement. “<My advice, get out of here before you accidentally save him again…or vice versa,>” Tyrogue muttered with a proud scowl.

Treecko began to walk towards the door, head dragging slightly. Chikorita glared at Tyrogue, who beamed happily back at her; his plan had worked! Jeff walked down the stairs beside them.

Treecko, hurt, began to exit the front door.

“You’re going now?” Jeff asked glumly.

Treecko nodded and began to walk outside. “Treecko tree,” he sadly thanked Jeff for the food.

“Here, let me walk with you to the edge of the forest,” Jeff offered.

In silence, the two walked down the steps and down the front walkway. The streetlights had been turned off so the road was dark. They turned left at the sidewalk and walked up the incredibly long road which stopped at the forest. All that could be heard was their light footsteps as well as the soft hums of Kricketots and the light wing beats of the occasional Zubat. As soon as they were out of sight, Tyrogue closed the door and smiled with a self-satisfied grin.

Chikorita looked menacingly at Tyrogue. “<That was pretty low, you jerk. What’s your problem with Treecko, anyways?>”

“<The minute I saw him, I hated the ugly *sshole, did you see the way he ignored me?>”

“<I guess I shouldn’t be surprised…his collected solitary attitude must be very threatening to your strong, alpha male masculinity…just like with Jeff and that Alan guy from down the street…>” Chikorita grinned slyly.

“<Cram it, Chikky!>” Tyrogue shot back.

“<Aw, did I strike a nerve?” Chikorita mocked. “<But seriously, why’d you have to go and do that? I liked him; I thought he was cool and cute and handsome and…>” Chikorita gazed off, starry eyed.

“<Well you can forget about the wedding bells, sis, because he ain’t coming back!>” Tyrogue smirked, evilly.

Jeff and Treecko had walked in silence the entire time until they reached the forest edge and stopped.

“We’ll meet again…” Jeff reassured. “I’ll try and meet you at your tree sometime.”

The two locked on each other’s eyes and nodded. Treecko slowly trudged off into the forest and Jeff limped back to his house.

After five minutes of walking, Jeff turned his head back and looked at the forest. He saw a brief flash of light in the forest as he turned his head back forward.

“What was that?!” he asked himself, double taking. “Was that… nah, it couldn’t have been little Treecko. Must’ve been another pokemon… maybe I’m still woozy from the blood loss. Now that I think of it… I’m exhausted.”

He walked up his steps and collapsed on the porch, slumped against the metal railing.

He stared off into space until he saw Professor Birch proudly march by him, a pokeball in hand.

“Hello there, Jeff!” greeted Professor Birch, smugly.

“Hey there, Professssss…” Jeff fell on his back, falling into sleep. When Professor Birch galumphed off, Jeff stared up at the stars and finally fell asleep on the hard, wooded porch.

Tyrogue opened the door and found Jeff wiped out. He dragged Jeff inside and placed him on a couch in the living room, to the left of hallway. Jeff went to the hospital in the morning, as well as to visit that old tree. Little did he know, he would be very disappointed.



4 Months Ago

“I can’t believe it!” Jeff grunted, punching air in a martial arts stance: one foot forward and one foot sideways. “Do you think he just upped and left?”

“Rogue, tyrooo tyrogue!” Tyrogue shrugged and urged Jeff to focus.

Tyrogue, who belonged to Jeff’s family, tutored Jeff in the martial arts as well as training. Every second day they would work out and body build every muscle. Every other day would be for the training of various basic and complex martial arts.
This was in anticipation for beginning his rough journey.

The lights were turned off and it was night time; they were practicing fighting in the dark. This helped to improve the awareness of the senses other than sight. Jeff stepped forwards towards Tyrogue, who aimed a punch for his face. Jeff deflected the punch with his left and landed a punch of his own with his right. Tyrogue was thrown backwards, but used the momentum from the force to land on his hand and bounce back at Jeff, feet first. Jeff flew backwards and landed on the practice mat, in a room similar to a small gym.

Jeff got to his feet and wiped the blood from his lip. He stepped forwards, ready for more. Tyrogue turned on the lights, raised a thumb, and pointed with it behind them, indicating that they should have a break.

“You’re sure growing strong… I wouldn’t be surprised if you evolved soon,” Jeff complimented. He looked down, a lot on his mind. Mostly he thought about how Treecko disappeared or how he was ignoring him. He wondered if he did something wrong when Treecko came to his house. Maybe he simply hated him.

Jeff walked over to the side of the room and poured water on himself.

“I’ve been going to that tree twice a week for the past eight months; he wasn’t there each of the times. I’ve tried everything! I’ve even searched the entire forest with a Pidgey that I borrowed from Professor Birch. Did I say something wrong? Maybe he found a new home or maybe he’s…no! He’s around, he’s just out!” Jeff complained, in denial.

Tyrogue looked down, guiltily. He was upset at himself for having ruined Jeff’s friendship with the pokemon, as much as he hated that Treecko. Tyrogue gave him a light punch of encouragement with the words. “Tyr-ro-rogue, tyro,” he said, trying to be optimistic.

The two went down to the kitchen to add ice to their cuts. Jeff didn’t mind the pain of the sparring. The pain gave him adrenaline, which kept him wanting to fight more. The training was good for both Tyrogue and Jeff. They entered the kitchen and Jeff opened the freezer, since Tyrogue was much too short. He threw a bag of ice to Tyrogue, who looked at the back. The glass door at the back of the kitchen led to their nature-ridden, small backyard.

“Rogue ty tyro?” Tyrogue asked as he splashed water on his face. Tyrogue held up three pictures that he found strewn on the counter. On them were the three possible starting pokemon for Littleroot Town. On the first picture was the familiar lizard-like face of Treecko. The second had an orange chick-like pokemon known as Torchic. The third was a picture of Mudkip, a blue quadruped mudfish pokemon. Jeff probably would have been able to tell what Tyrogue was saying without the reiteration. This was because he has been around and that they have been such good friends that Tyrogue was pretty much like a human.

“Treecko…” Jeff mumbled, “I don’t know about it, anymore. At this point it could be just about any of them!” he explained, contemplating the options. He hopped up on the counter next to Tyrogue and began to think. He pictured three different scenarios in his mind. In each he thought of leaving the lab with each starter and compared what each one would be like. The Mudkip seemed like it would be the most fun to journey with. Jeff could see it hopping around him, all excited and happy. He then thought of Torchic. He pictured the Torchic being very affectionate towards him. With it Jeff would never feel lonely. But Jeff kept coming around to Treecko. He didn’t imagine Treecko being fun or loving… the wood gecko was just there, walking beside him calmly. He didn’t know why he, or anyone, would choose Treecko over the others… and perhaps they didn’t. But Jeff couldn’t see himself traveling with any pokemon other than Treecko. It just didn’t fit. Jeff may not have much of a choice in the matter anyways… it all depends who gets who first.

Before taking a drink of water, Jeff exclaimed, “I think I know who I want to choose…”

As Jeff downed an entire glass of water in one gulp he noticed something moving outside. Tyrogue saw this too and ran to the door, followed by Jeff. They opened the glass door and looked outside.

“Tyrogue? Ro! Tyyy!” called out the pokemon, calling out for them to show themselves. There was no reply. Jeff saw movement in the tree and then something bound from the branch to over a fence and away. Jeff shoved through Tyrogue and ran over to the wooden fence. He jumped up and supported himself with his arms, looking around the backyard behind him. After scanning the area for minutes, and closing his eyes to hear better, Jeff jumped down and trudged back inside with Tyrogue.

“<It was probably just a Pidgey,>” muttered Tyrogue.

Jeff sensed that something was at the glass door, behind him. But, he quickly turned around, saw nothing and heard a light scampering.

“Yeah, it was probably a Pidgey,” mumbled Jeff, disappointed.

The two wobbled off to their respective beds and fell asleep. Jeff had still dreamed of seeing that Treecko again, but his quest for going out of his way to look for him was over.

The Infinite Devil Machine August 29th, 2007 10:21 PM

Awesome work! I can't wait for the next chapter. Poor Treecko...

Grovyle42(Griff8416) August 30th, 2007 6:51 PM

Chapter 4 dramatically revamped.

The Revival of a Friendship


Light.

A blinding light.

Although the radiance burned my eyes, it was the sweet feeling of being free which overtook me. It was hell in there. It brought back so many bad memories - memories which created the feeling of Carvanhas gnawing at my spine. Internally I was overjoyed to be free. I swore I would never return back in there.

I felt myself land on a spotless, white, human ground which was the shape of squares. I was back inside what they called ‘the laboratory’… I was no stranger to this place. It was like one of the human’s homes except much bigger. Two bursts of light materialized to both of my sides.

“Lunch time, you three,” said the jolly voice which I came to hate.

I stood up and looked around me. To my right was an orange bird-like pokemon with a round head and a puny body in comparison. He had three feathers on his head which resembled a flame. He had an orange body and goldenrod feathers for either arms or wings, either way they were useless. He also had sharp brown claws. That Torchic had an attitude problem which created hostility between us. We got into a few fights where the pokemon to my left always cheered for him.

I looked over to my left and saw the other pokemon who I loathed equally. A sapphire-colored, four-legged pokemon planted its white finned *ss on the inside ground. On his annoyingly enthusiastic face was a large blue fin along with orange whisker-like gills on his cheeks. His beady eyes stared at the Torchic’s. They walked ahead to where there were three red dishes filled with food. The two began to eat.

“Aren’t you hungry?” the voice asked.

I ignored him and looked around the room.

There it was! An open… What did the humans call it? … A window! It was high up on the wall beside a table, but I could make it. It was my portal out of there.

I ran towards it on all fours. I passed by the Torchic, deliberately hitting him in the back the head with my tail, causing him to fall into his dish of food. I made the traditional harmonic taunt, like a juvenile, but my smugness of being free overruled my disdain of immaturity.

“What are you doing?! Come back here!” he called out.

I didn’t turn my head. I jumped out of the building, away from the words, “Arceus, not again!”

The grass felt rejuvenating on my feet. I felt life come back to me as the dawn sunlight hit my skin. I knew they would find me again, but that didn’t stop me.

I ran into the forest, back to my true home.

Quickly... I ran.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Present day

Jeff quickly jogged down his front steps. He took a left turn, jogging down the asphalt, towards Birch’s Pokemon Lab.

Jeff went from a steady jog to a sprint towards the lab, aware of the time. “The early Taillow gets the Wurmple,” he thought to himself, speeding up. A guy on a bike, who had a small, blue, flightless bird hanging onto his shoulder, began to pass Jeff. He smirked at the guy, and began to have a race with him. The guy was unaware of Jeff beginning to surpass him as they neared the lab. The distance to the building shortened as he ran. He was almost there! Jeff looked at the guy, who looked back, and smiled. But then, what appeared to be a Torchic crossed his path.

“Tor-chic, tor-chic, tor-chic,” it chirped obliviously as it walked.

Jeff couldn’t slow down. He hit it and his legs went sailing backwards as he went flying onto the dirt road. He landed with a skid, dirt chalking his face and knees. Jeff lay sideways on the ground and saw the guy and his strange pokemon ride past the lab, dismount their bike, and walk into the forest.

“Ughhh, you ok?” Jeff asked the Torchic who was standing at his feet, pretty PO’d.

“Chic! Tor tor chic! Chic!” it peeped angrily.

“I can only assume that’s something mean,” Jeff said with a half-smile.

Jeff dusted himself off and saw a person jogging towards him. A girl Jeff’s age, whom he recognized, came running up to Torchic.

“Torchic, I told you not to go running ahead of me like that!” she reprimanded it, as she cradled Torchic in her arms.

“Tor…” Torchic said, looking at the ground, ashamed.

“Sorry about that si-…Jeff!? How are you?” The girl asked happily to Jeff.

The wind blew through the girl’s somewhat short brown hair, but it was dyed a reddish-brown color. Jeff stood taller than her, she being about 5’9” in height, with an incredibly cute face. A wave of joy swept over Jeff, seeing as he has had a huge crush on this girl ever since they took a Pokemon Biology class together last year, taught by Professor Birch.

“Hey there…Kristie, I’m fine. It’s no big deal; I shouldn’t have been rushing to the lab so quickly,” Jeff said apologetically but trying to sound as calm and confident as possible. “Speaking of which, you must have been coming back from there. Did you choose Torchic here?” Jeff asked.

“Yes I did. he’s so cute, too,” Kristie replied.

“Yeah, he’s great,” Jeff humored her. He then realized that other trainers must have gone to the lab, too. “Oh, are the other two pokemon still available?” Jeff asked, worried. Jeff thought about if he didn’t get his pokemon today. He would have to wait another month! Then he would have gotten all prepared for nothing.

“Other two? There was only one other pokemon there - a Mudkip, and Alan took that one.”

“What!?! But…hmm, I’m going to find out what’s going on!” Jeff exclaimed before entering the lab.

“Bye, Jeff,” said Kristie politely.

“Catch ya later, Kristie,” Jeff sputtered.

As Kristie went out of earshot Jeff muttered to himself, “Fack! Smooth, Jeff, real smooth…” Jeff mentally beat himself up, kicking a stick that lay on the ground.

He opened the glass door. The spacious one roomed lab had book-crammed shelves lining the walls. There were many complex machines used for physical and genetic examinations. Professor Birch was getting up from his desk, a pokeball in hand, just as he noticed Jeff enter.

“Not now…” the brown haired man of science muttered to himself, frustrated.

“I’m here for my starter…” he asked with Butterfrees in his stomach.

“I’m sorry, Jeff. The Mudkip and Torchic are both gone…” Professor Birch answered guiltily, twiddling his thick beard on his young and rather wide face. He was one of the younger pokemon professors.

“I know, but what about the Treecko?!” he hastily answered.

“He… escaped early this morning. You’re going to have to wait a few more weeks until the new shipment of starters arrived… although I might have a back up Torchic and Mudkip…” explained the professor.

“I really think that we should go get that Treecko. It could be in danger…”

Biting the inside of his cheek, Birch replied with a reluctant nod.

“Are you positive?” Professor Birch asked again. Jeff nodded adamantly, to which he sighed. “Very well. We’ll get the Treecko back and then you can choose from the three.”

Jeff was confused as to why Professor Birch was so skeptical about finding the Treecko.

The two humans left the laboratory and turned right and then walked right again, going into Route 101. Instead of going down the path that led north to Oldale Town, Professor Birch led him north-east into the forest - a familiar path. Hollowed out logs, large jutting out sticks, roots stubbornly refusing to stay under the earth, and fallen leaves littered the forest bed. They walked carefully through the woodlands, passing by curious Zigzagoons and Wurmples. Jeff smiled at the pokemon while walking by them. He carefully traipsed through the rough terrain, all the while keeping a look out for the lost Treecko.

“It’s going to be taxing trying to find the Treecko in all of this foliage. It’ll be like finding a swimming Vaporeon while its acid coat is activated,” Birch mused.

“I’ll be able to spot him…” Jeff said to himself, with assurance.

While walking through the hauntingly familiar terrain, Jeff couldn’t help but think of the Treecko that had saved him. Although he was optimistic, he highly doubted that the Treecko that they were looking for was, indeed, the same one. Jeff was just searching for the silver medal seeing as he wouldn’t settle for bronze.

“Are we wandering aimlessly or do you actually know where we’re going?” he asked Professor Birch.

“I know where we’re going… we’re going where this Treecko always returns to…”

Jeff’s optimism gained at the prospect of going to the old tree. “Maybe it really is the same one…” he thought.

They continued to walk through the dense woods. Light filtered through the branches before hitting the mossy forest bed. Crushing sticks, twigs, and fallen leaves as they went, the two meandered on. After a little more walking, the professor stopped.

“What’s the matter?” he asked Birch.

“We’re almost there…”

Jeff was feeling a sharp solution of excitement and fear whether the Treecko was the same one from his past and whether they were going where he thought they were going.

The underbrush grew thick and climbed above their heads. All that Jeff could see in front of him were plants and the white lab coat of Professor Birch moving through them. The professor disappeared ahead of him. He kept moving forwards until the ocean of underbrush ended and he walked out into a clearing.

There it was.

The massive tree. It looked old and almost as if it was dying. The colossal trunk grew incredibly tall and created an immense canopy with thick branches. Not far away was the lake. Standing just to Jeff’s left was Professor Birch.

“Here it is.”

Jeff’s eyes widened at the sight that he saw.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was home.

I rested on a branch, which was about two and a half stories above the ground as humans would call it, and was leaning against the trunk. One of my legs was outstretched and the other was bent; my arm rested on my bent knee while the other arm was back near my tail, supporting me from falling back. I kept a watchful eye open as I idly chewed on my twig.

This was the only place that I truly felt comfortable. I only hoped that I could make it last.

I heard a rustling in the underbrush down below to my left. I quickly turned my head to see the intruder. Arceus help it if it tries to get near my tree. I saw white appear from the bushes.

It was him - the human who fed us and did tests on other pokemon! He wouldn’t bring me back there if I could help it. He looked up at the tree, probably in search of me. I heard and saw more movement in the bushes behind him but before I could find out what it was, something caught my instincts. I quickly turned my head back forward to find a winged pokemon land on the same branch as I. A golden-brown feathered bird perched on the end of it. His sharp-stick like beak was almost as long as his lengthy neck. The wind brushed by his red crest, blowing it slightly to the side.

“<He may be over twice my size but I’m not about to back down because if that. He doesn’t intimidate me and he’s not going to get away with stepping his dirty talons on my home!>” I thought.

I stood up from my relaxed stance and began to walk towards him on the thick, sturdy branch; the sharp, tiny hooks on my feet dug into the bark for good grip. The bird turned his ugly head towards me and stared in question. My reply was a cold, intimidating glare which pierced into his brown eyes.

“<I won’t forget what one of his kind did to me the day that all of it happened…>”

“<Damned Fearows.>”

“<What do you want?>” he asked me, irked.

“<Get… the… hell… out… of… my… tree… >” I responded. I made sure to carefully put a threatening emphasis on each word.

“<Why should I, you little runt?>” responded the Fearow with a cockiness which I wanted to beat out of him.

“<Get out… or I’ll rip out your feathers and shove them down your big beak,>” I threatened again, still leering dead center into his eyes.

He let out a caw of over-assured mockery. I tightened my fists, bit down on my twig, and readied my tail for a swing. The Fearow flapped his large brown wings and flew over my head to land behind me on the branch, blocking my way back to the trunk. I glowered and assumed a battle stance.

“<Sure you want to do this, puny Treecko?>” he asked.

My anger queued up inside me as I calmly stepped towards him. Without a word I swung my body around 360 degrees, smacking the Fearow across the face. He was undeniably shocked by the action, but he quickly shook it off and, in rage, shot his head forward towards me. I aptly pivoted my body to avoid the beak strike. The Fearow tried to stab at me two more times but to no avail.

I readied myself for another attack but I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I could see a new human-shaped figure standing beside the first one. I turned my head to get a better focus on it. It was undeniably the same human that I had met not too long ago.

“<Jeff?!>” I muttered to myself in shock.

While distracted, the bird caught me off guard. He took the opportunity to land a quick piercing peck on my shoulder. I felt his spear-like beak enter my collar and come out just as fast.

“Tree!” I yelled out as the burning pain over took my shoulder. I stepped back on the branch and prepared to attack but the beak strike came like lightning. Three more hits were landed in my leg, chest, and arm. If it weren’t for me attempting to move away, the chest hit may have been fatal.

“Cko…cko…cko…” I panted through gritted teeth. I ran forwards to jump and attack but found myself hit backwards onto the branch in mid air. I landed on my feet and then it came… the excruciating rain of pecks. They were so fast that I didn’t know where each peck hit, all that I knew was that my body felt like it was on fire.

“NO!” said a voice from the ground below. I opened my eyes and looked down to see many shallow cuts riddling my body along with trickles of blood from each. With each strike I was forced back on the branch, bringing me closer to the end of it. I felt so helpless, so weak.

“<You’re going to die… you’d might as well go out fighting. A soldier’s death is more than honorable,>” I thought to myself when I thought all was lost.

I charged the flying pokemon, expecting the worst. But I stopped; I noticed two hands grab onto the branch, near the trunk. Following the hands was the green clothed body of the human whom I familiarized myself with as Jeff. The Fearow had also stopped the attack and turned sideways to see the human standing on the thick branch, barefoot. He began to slowly approach the angry bird, who began to peck at me again.

“You two, stop! Fearow, cut it out!” I managed to hear him say through my own grunts.

The Fearow was having none of his order. The winged pokemon, whose beak was dripping with my blood, turned and with a lighting fast jolt, hit Jeff in the cheek. He stumbled back and almost lost balance. A decent trickle of both of our bloods seeped from his cheek and dripped down and off of his chin. I could tell that he felt the same searing pain that I was feeling all over.

The bird turned back to me and I raised my arms for protection. Jeff, now in clear rage, grabbed Fearow by the throat and swung him around, throwing him back against the trunk. The injured bird groaned and Jeff walked carefully over to me.

“Treecko? I… hey. We can talk later but we have to get the hell out of this tree!” he advised.

I shook my head and glowered. I still had a fight to finish. I had a gut feeling I could still win. I tried to get past him but he shifted to block me.

“Come on, get on my back and I’ll take you down!”

I let out another grunt and ignored his request. I managed to get around Jeff so I could face Fearow, who was now standing up and then he began to fly towards me. I readied my tail to deflect the bird’s beak but was shocked to see Jeff’s legs step in front of me, blocking my sight of the assailant.

“<Get out of the way!>” I yelled, which must have sounded like “Tree cko cko tree!” to him.

The bird began to peck at Jeff in a fury. I could hear the grizzly yet familiar sounds of the beak entering the flesh.

“Treecko… save yourself… get out of here…” he said through a grimace.

Rage built as it hit me. He still owed me for saving him from the poison. That was the only reason why he was here doing this! I disobeyed his plea and got around him to continue the fight on my own. Through the rain of strikes both of our skins were pierced by the Fearow’s drilling mouth.

The Fearow briefly stopped to catch his breath. “Treecko, if you’re as stubborn as I am, we’re going to be in a lot of trouble! Get on my back already!”

He knew I was, if not more so. I landed a solid whack on the bird beak but it quickly recovered and began to peck at me again. The pain was unbearable now.

Jeff took forceful action; he grabbed me in my weakened state and spun around so his back faced Fearow. He pressed me against his chest; my blood stained his shirt upon a mere touch. I could see the Fearow begin to peck at his back, making him wince and growl.

“Treecko, please… get out of here…” he pleaded through clenched teeth.

“<Do you actually care if I’m ok or do you only care if your pride is free of guilt and shame?>” I asked in a cold, angry manner.

Although he didn’t know what I said, I could tell by his eyes that those words stabbed him deeper than the Fearow’s beak was. Although taken aback, he still begged, “Please, Treecko, I’m doing this because I care about you. If you stay here you’re going to die! I don’t want you to get hurt! COME ON!”

“<He's serious! He's really worried about me… Does this mean Tyrogue was lying? Why would he care about me like this…? I don’t think anyone has before. It just doesn’t make sense!>”

A new respect for this human, Jeff, flooded through me. Nevertheless, I still tried to escape his tight grasp. I couldn’t let him take these blows for the fight I started! What kind of Treecko would I be if I did?

All of a sudden, the light pecks stopped and Jeff relaxed his muscles, giving me a chance to get free. We both turned around to hear a hammering noise. Much to our dismay, the Fearow, with a malicious glint in his eye, was pecking through the branch on which we stood. Already halfway through the wood, he was making short work of the branch. We knew what was coming. Before we had anytime to run, we felt the branch fall from under us.

Without a sound, Jeff grabbed for me in mid air. He managed to get a hold of one of my tails and he pulled me close to him. Jeff curled up to protect me from the blunt of the fall. I couldn’t believe it. Even in this drastic time he was still trying to save me. It overwhelmed me that anyone would do that… especially do that for me.

My tree luckily had a dense and low canopy. Small branches that we hit either broke or brushed by us, slowing our descent. We hit a particularly thick branch - about as thick as his arm. Jeff cried out as it broke on impact with his spine. Almost immediately after, a sharp stick whipped up Jeff’s face, leaving a deep scar which further opened the initial peck wound. We hit many of the softer and weaker branches below, which whisked up around us. The actually relatively short fall seemed like an eternity.

It finally happened. We hit the mossy ground with a thud. I rolled from Jeff’s arms and toppled meters away from him.

“…Ckoooo” I groaned, gasping for breath. I looked up at Jeff and saw that he wasn’t moving. Despite my wounds, I ran over to him and kneeled to his side. I then check his pulse and put my head to his bloodied chest for heart sounds.

“Treecko?” I asked, hoping to Arceus he was alright.

Jeff groaned but through gasps of air insisted, “I’m ok, Treecko-ergh-really…”

I then did something to both our surprise. I licked the bleeding cut on his cheek… not to check for poison, but as a gesture of gratitude and affection. I was shocked that I actually did that. I immediately sheepishly turned away and blushed.

“<He probably thinks I’m some kind of sappy idiot now,>” I thought, scratching the back of my head.

To my shock, with a warm expression, he answered, “Thank you, Treecko.”

I turned back around with a grin, folded my arms, and shook my head. “<Don’t thank me, thank you!>“ I said, which still sounded as “Treecko tree, tree cko!”

Our eyes met. We grinned and I shook his hand with my tail and he shook my tail with his hand. It was reminiscent to when we first met.

“Call it even this time?” Jeff asked with a grin.

With a large smirk I replied with, “Cko.”

The guy came over to us saying, “Thank goodness you two are ok… all things considered.”

“Yeah, thanks Professor Birch…”

Professor Birch. So THAT was his name. Everytime I heard that guy’s voice I was immediately reminded of that damned man-made prison.

“…I- hey… is that Fearow mocking us?” Jeff asked, staring in the sky. Sure enough, the Fearow was using the same immature taunt that I had used upon escaping the lab.

“<Cocky b*stard,>” Jeff and I both said in our native tongues.

“We have to get back to the lab immediately! You two are horribly hurt; I have some potions there!” Professor Birch insisted.

We nodded and helped each other to our feet. I went to walk but I found my legs had failed me; I fell forwards to be land on Jeff’s shoe which he outstretched for me to land on. He then brought his foot up to hand level and then he picked me up in his hands. Cradled in his arms, I grinned and closed my eyes from exhaustion.

They then began to limp back to their hometown.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We had made it through the forest and were now, to my disdain, behind the lab. Jeff’s arm was around Professor Birch’s shoulder to use his body for support as he carried me. They walked around the human made structure and went in the front. Jeff collapsed against the wall and I remained on his lap, unable to move without severe pain.

Professor Birch handed him a clear bottle with a blue cap. “Here, Jeff. To use the potion just hold down the blue button on the top and point it.”

Jeff nodded and looked down at me. “Sorry, Treecko. This is gonna hurt,” he explained remorsefully. He then sprayed the yellow-green liquid on my wounds. My cuts burned but I refused to show any pain. Jeff applied the potion to his own cuts afterwards.

“The potion should heal the cuts, for the most part, in an hour or two. Jeff, you can expect a scar on your face, though,” the professor guy explained.

Jeff slowly got to his feet. Then he said, “Professor… that was quite the adventure, but I think I’m ready to choose my starting pokemon.”

Beginning to quickly go through his desk and then cabinets, he said, “Of course, but first I have a funny story about Treecko here… about how I caught him.”

Jeff leaned in curiously but a knot tied in my stomach. “<No, don’t tell him that!>” I thought angrily.

“… Exactly one year ago today, I found this Treecko walking in the forest… I think he was going back to that tree we were at. Anyways, I was amazed to see a Treecko wandering alone in the forest. So I took out a pokeball to try to battle and catch it but he just stood there, not even trying to put up a fight. So I caught him without even having to send out a pokemon. It’s funny because that doesn’t seem like something that THIS Treecko would ever have done!” Professor Birch chuckled.

“Tree treecko tree cko!” I yelled in protest. Why would he tell him that?!

“So you LET yourself be captured?!” Jeff asked me, visibly angry. “After all that time I tried to find you, you were here all along?! Why!?”

Guiltily, I opened my mouth to defend myself but that damned human cut me off.

“YES! I found an extra Torchic and Mudkip! Now you have all three to choose from…” He trailed off when he noticed I was glaring at him with an angry and upset look.

He threw the two prison cages, which they called pokeballs, on the ground, releasing a different orange Torchic and a new blue Mudkip.

“Toorrrchic tor!” chirped the fire spitting chick cutely.

“Kip mudkip!” barked the enthusiastic and cheerful Mudkip.

They both ran past me and stood in front of Jeff. Each tried to be more appealing than me and the other one. My face grew the familiar indifferent yet disheartened look.

“<This won’t be a new feeling,>” I thought, apathetically on the outside, morosely on the inside. I knew that with those two battling for the spotlight, I’d never get picked… not even by Jeff. It’s happened before and it’ll happen again. I awaited the familiar feeling of being discarded for the cute and the happy.

“<This is all your fault anyways! If you didn’t let yourself be captured just because you listened to some jackass Tyrogue, then Jeff wouldn’t be p*ssed off at you! He might have actually considered taking you if it wasn’t for your idiocy! Instead you’re going to be stuck back here with these clowns, either being stuck in your pokeball or being exiled by the other two pokemon… not that you wanted to be around them. Damn it, Gri… err, I mean Treecko,>” I scolded myself.

With apathy, I said, “<Enjoy your journey, Torchic or Mudkip. Take good care of him…>” In my head I finished the sentence with “<… You idiots.>”

“<Maybe the reason you don’t get picked is because you don’t try.>” So I decided to take a last ditch, futile effort; I walked in front of the other two and looked deep into his eyes before nodding. That’s all I allowed myself to do.

Jeff kneeled down to my eye level, ignoring the other two. “Would you really want to leave your tree and come with me?”

That was a tough question. I stared off into the distance, many conflicting thoughts running through my head. “<Do I stay and pass up the only opportunity that I have? Or do I risk it and leave?>” After several moments I stared at him and nodded.

Jeff smiled. “Then I’ve made my decision. I choose Treecko!” he stated adamantly.

Everyone was surprised. The professor and the other two choices sighed. My jaw dropped in shock. “<Was this guy serious? Does he actually want to choose me… over them?! I can’t believe anyone would! This guy, Jeff, is different,>” I thought in dumbfounded amazement.

After all my hope was lost and then regained into a massive injection of it. Without knowing it, I found myself on Jeff’s shoulder hugging the side of his face. The uncalled for affection, I noticed, was causing him to blush and smirk. I stopped myself, ashamed that I let my weaker emotions get the better of me. I jumped back down to the ground, maintaining my cool, uncaring demeanor.

“<I’m not sure I’ve ever been this happy.>”

“It’s your funeral,” Professor Birch mumbled, just loud enough for us to hear.

“What do you mean?” Jeff shot back, not unkindly.

“Jeff… can I talk to you for a few minutes?”

He nodded and walked to the Professor’s side.

“It’s about that Treecko…” he tried to whisper, but little did they know my ears picked up on the conversation.

“Yeah? What is it?” Jeff whispered back.

“I’ve had that Treecko for twelve months and not one trainer has chosen it. I can’t get more than one starting pokemon of each species until the last of each one has been given to trainer. That’s why, after this guy came along, you’ve never seen anyone else leaving Littleroot Town with one.”

“I still don’t understand. Why wouldn’t anybody take him?”

“You see… this Treecko is incredibly independent and stubborn. No matter who you are, he won’t listen to you unless he respects you. Which few pokemon honestly do so early on in the journey. Most trainers are overwhelmed by pokemon who are like this… even veteran trainers. When the new trainers come to pick one, he doesn’t even try to get picked and he doesn’t exactly flow well with them anyways. I really don’t blame them for not picking him. Are you sure you won’t reconsider?”

I overheard the conversation and the words hit hard. I knew I was constantly a jerk to Professor Birch, but I never thought he’d try so hard to break me and Jeff apart. Jeff turned around and kneeled down to my level. The knot in my stomach returned. “<Here it comes.>”

“So you’re a rebel, huh?” he asked me, to which my eyes turned to the floor. Much to my surprise he said, “I like the sound of that!” I smugly raised my chest up in grin, still twiddling the twig in my mouth with my tongue.

Professor Birch, not caring to whisper anymore, insisted, “Jeff? … Are you sure?”

“I’m positive! You can’t disregard a pokemon just because of their personality… it isn’t fair!” he insisted.

“Very well… but don’t come back here with your tail between your legs if it doesn’t work out, soldier on,” he warned. I wanted to pound him across the face right then. If he made me lose a potential friend than I swore I’d tear this lab inside out the next change I got.

“No problem, Treecko and I will be great journey-partners!” Jeff insisted.

“Anyways, here is your pokedex and five pokeballs…” he said, handing Jeff a red rectangle machine that could be fit into one of their pockets as well as five miniature spheres which were not expanded to their true size. “… And allow me to try and return Treecko to his pokeball.”

There it was. He pointed the ball at me, on the ground. A red light shot from it but I gracefully jumped out of the way in time. He tried to recall me back to the cell again but I dodged and leapt up onto Jeff’s shoulder.

“What’s the problem?” Jeff asked him.

“Treecko never lets me recall him to his pokeball. I think he’s just being difficult for the sake of being difficult!” Professor Birch complained. He couldn’t be further from right. I saw Jeff grin and nod with apparent empathy.

“Hold still,” he whispered to Jeff. He shot the red beam from the center of the device. Jeff sidestepped so that the beam didn’t hit me. The laser instead shot into his eye, causing him to yelp and double over. In anger, I spat the twig from my mouth so that it hit Professor Birch in the face. He stumbled backwards and, with agility and speed, I hit the pokeball from his hand with my tail. I did a somersault and landed on a knee, managing to catch the twig back in my mouth before it hit the floor. I was extremely proud of myself and showed it through a smug grin.

“Why does this Treecko have it in for me so much?! Ever since day one!” he moaned. I simply shrugged and stood up.

“Arrgh, Arceus,” Jeff swore, clutching his left eye. “My eye! You coulda burned my retinas right out!”

“Sorry, Jeff… need some ice?” Professor Birch apologized.

He grinned and shook his head. “Just check if you accidentally captured my optic nerve.” I smirked and the professor chuckled.

“Wow, you’re really fast, Treecko,” Jeff complimented. I nodded in thanks. I also made it appear that I was agreeing with him simply for the fact that Jeff would probably want a pokemon with good self-confidence. I was confident in myself… but I still wasn’t good enough.

Professor Birch took out a piece of paper, took a pen, and began writing on it. He handed it to Jeff, who began to read it. I had a feeling I knew what it said; it disheartened me.

“Yes, I’m positive. You know I know what I’m doing. You’ve taught me for years!” Those words, indeed, reassured my suspicion that the note said, “Are you SURE you want him?”

Pretty soon Jeff was going to start listening to Professor Birch’s advice. It depressed me to think about when that day, or even hour, would come.

“I guess there’s no stopping you then. I’m sure you two will do fine. I’m just worried for you safety,” he insisted, grinning.

“Well, thanks.”

“In case you get curious, Jeff… don’t try that. You probably WILL end up losing your eye. But, if you DO try, make sure you don’t have six pokemon on hand before the league because I don’t want it back here.”

“I never would have guessed,” Jeff sarcastically replied.

I gave the professor a grin, which clearly aggravated him.

“Please, Treecko. Just go into your pokeball…”

I sighed. I knew I couldn’t keep doing this… and if I wanted to travel with Jeff, I’d have to start getting use to the torturous sphere. An aura of defeated sadness surrounded me as I gave in. I hung my head and approached his feet. He pointed the thing at me and I tightly shut my eyes and felt a chill go up my spine; my past memories were haunting me. I awaited to be returned into the depths of the ball but was shocked when Jeff said, “Wait!”

“You want to say something to Treecko before I return him?” the Professor asked.

“Yes…I never actually planned to keep Treecko in his pokeball.” Jeff smiled, rubbing the back of his head.

Treecko and Professor Birch looked at him with a look of disbelief.

“Come again?” Professor Birch asked.

“I remember having a…” Jeff trailed off. “I just can’t do it again…”

“I’m sorry?” he asked Jeff, confused. There was something up with Jeff… I could sense that something haunted him much like something did me.

“Erm, I think I can read Treecko very well and I think he hates being stuck inside it. I feel that he has the same understandable fear as I; I can’t say I’m fond of being in that sort of dependent situation, either. Am I right, Treecko?”

I was surprised but I smiled and nodded, admitting to it. He was exactly right. He smiled in return.

“Therefore, I won’t force you to be confined to a pokeball,” he offered, extending a hand.

“<This is terrific! Things are actually going my way!>”

I took his offer and jumped onto his arm and climbed up to his shoulder. I smirked, internally enjoying the idea.

“You two really are…made for each other.” Professor Birch smiled. “Not one trainer, other than you, Jeff, would have been happy with that Treecko… no offense Treecko, but you know it’s true.”

I grinned and admittedly nodded.

“Also the way you two cared for each other back with Fearow…astounding, you two already have a great bond like a chain!”

We both mildly flushed and nodded. “Let’s just say we’re like old friends,” Jeff smiled at me. I smirked back at the inside joke.

“Thank you so much, Professor. I’ll keep in contact! Let’s go, Treecko,” he said excitedly.

“Treecko tree,” I agreed. “<This is too good to be true!>” I thought. “<I don’t think I could have asked for a better trainer and companion!>”

With me on his shoulder, we began to walk out of the lab.

“<Who knows? This may actually be… fun.>”

“I’ll call you as soon as I get to Oldale Town,” Jeff called back to him. “I have to stop by home first,” he explained.

And so we, the two old friends, walked out of the lab. The setting sun cast orange upon are still bloodied bodies.

“<Fun…>”

Rebellious Treecko August 30th, 2007 8:04 PM

Yeah, I know this isn't much, but...
This chapter does seem a bit rushed, but it holds a lot of detail and emotion as well.

I suppose the Treecko in the story is similar to Ash's Pikachu in some ways. (With the whole Pokeball thing.)
I can't wait for the future chapters.

Gummy August 31st, 2007 9:49 AM

Wow, you really know how to make a cliche sound good. I gues it's your choice of words that's keeping me reading. Keep it up, I'll be back for next update.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) September 2nd, 2007 7:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beret (Post 2826650)
Awesome work! I can't wait for the next chapter. Poor Treecko...

Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eternal Smasher (Post 2829898)
Yeah, I know this isn't much, but...
This chapter does seem a bit rushed, but it holds a lot of detail and emotion as well.

I suppose the Treecko in the story is similar to Ash's Pikachu in some ways. (With the whole Pokeball thing.)
I can't wait for the future chapters.

Thanks for the input. I'm trying to go through and edit my earlier chapters to put more into them. Keep reading and enjoy!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glajummy (Post 2831524)
Wow, you really know how to make a cliche sound good. I gues it's your choice of words that's keeping me reading. Keep it up, I'll be back for next update.

Hey, thanks. The cliche you're referring to is the pokeball thing, right? I'm happy you're enjoyin it.

Gummy September 2nd, 2007 8:40 PM

Hehe, hit the nail right on the head. I'm not usually into trainer-fics likes this so I'm quite suprised that I'm enjoying it so much XD

Grovyle42(Griff8416) September 2nd, 2007 8:57 PM

Well I'm happy I'm doing something right! :p

I'll get to reviewing your fan fic soom. Either here or on SPPF.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) September 8th, 2007 12:25 PM

Revised
To Leave the Nest
The two left Professor Birch’s large laboratory and began to walk down the black tarmac. The four o’clock sun shone bright, casting bright beams on the two travelers’ dried, blood stained faces.

“I still don’t understand…why did you let yourself be captured?” Jeff asked Treecko.

Treecko attempted to explain, using various body gestures. He made a stance with fists raised, like a Tyrogue, and pointed down the street to Jeff’s house.

“Tyrogue?” Jeff asked, to which Treecko nodded. “Tyrogue made you want to be captured? But how and why?”

Treecko pointed at Jeff and then crossed his arms like an ‘X’. He then pointed to himself.

“I… am not…” Treecko shook his head. “I…don’t…” Treecko nodded, indicating that he got that part correct. “I don’t… you… I didn’t like you?!”

Treecko nodded, now climbing completely onto Jeff’s shoulder.

“Damn it, Tyrogue,” Jeff grunted “That’s ridiculous, of course I wanted to be friends with you…I think Tyrogue just doesn’t like…” Jeff tried to think of a way to put it lightly, but couldn’t. “…you.”

The teen bit his lip, worried that his new pokemon might get offended from his blunt remark.

Treecko shrugged. “Cko tree, treecko treecko cko,” he grinned, trying to say, “<I get that a lot; I think many other pokemon are threatened by me.>”

Jeff halted in front of a medium-sized white house. He began to cut across the spacious green lawn towards his home a final time before heading off. While avoiding the jets of a sprinkler, he noticed two neighbors standing on the sidewalk behind him. Although they were talking quietly, Jeff heard them say something along the lines of “Did that kid really choose THAT Treecko? He must have a loose bolt to want to go training with it!”

Treecko grunted without care and Jeff now knew that he had also heard them. He swung around defensively to retort but found himself stopped short when he noticed that he was standing directly over the sprinkler.

“Treecko tree…” mumbled Treecko sarcastically, placing his hands behind his collected head.

“Oh be quiet, you…” Jeff murmured, grumpily yet in good cheer.

The grass lizard took a glance around the suburban neighborhood, still waiting for his companion to trudge his way out of the sprinkler. Jeff, now soaking, walked up the white steps of the front house and onto the veranda, which had several deck chairs sitting on the wooden porch. He opened the white, windowed front door and entered a cramped vestibule littered with shoes and umbrellas. Ahead was the hallway which Treecko recognized as the place where Tyrogue encouraged him to leave.

“Hey mom, I’m back!” Jeff yelled into the house as he entered. “Treecko, this is my home...in the daytime,” Jeff told him, as Treecko jumped down and looked around curiously.

He looked to his left and noticed a spread out living room complimented with two opposite-facing leather couches. Behind the green leather couch was a fireplace, which homed a mantelpiece above it. Parallel to the front door was a hallway that led to the kitchen. To their right were stairs that led to the second floor.

“What took you so long?” his mom asked before turning into the hallway from the kitchen. She was a dyed blonde, brown haired woman walked entered and looked at them.

“That’s no Torchi--” Jeff’s mom stopped mid sentence after closely examining the scratched up and beaten pals.

“My goodness! What happened to you two?!” she asked, frantically digging through a cabinet beside her looking for one of the many first aid kits in the house.

“It’s nothing; we were on the receiving end of a Fearow’s beak--y’know, kind of a male bonding thing,” Jeff replied, calmly.

Mrs. Growell inspected Jeff’s new pokemon and looked less than pleased. The master observer, Treecko, noticed this and clearly was expecting no more than disappointment.

“<So this is what someone’s mother looks like… same expression. Figures,>” thought Treecko.

“Mom, this is Treecko. I decided on traveling with him before I walked out the door today,” Jeff admitted as he introduced them.

“I thought you said that you were getting a Torchic!” Mrs. Growell said, disappointed.

“Mom…never did I ONCE say that I was getting a Torchic! I wanted a Treecko ever since I saw my brother’s, when I was nine,” Jeff replied, truthfully.

He looked at where Treecko was standing and imagined a Torchic standing in his place. Jeff envisioned the Torchic cutely running around in circles before crashing into a wall. He chuckled and didn’t mind the idea of having a Torchic, but for some reason, he still wanted Treecko instead. The grass type sweat dropped and gave him a look, noticing that Jeff was staring at him for the past minute.

“Not even a Mudkip?” she yearned. “Your brother chose a Mudkip!” This snapped Jeff out of his differential thoughts.

“No he didn’t! He chose Treecko…he caught a Mudkip somewhere after saving it… and that was nine years before this guy came along!” Jeff corrected, motioning to Treecko. “I’ve made my choice and I don’t doubt a single thought of it!” Jeff said in irritatation.

To this Treecko smiled smugly. The lizard mumbled to himself, “<Arceus, it sounds like being friends with one’s first pokemon is some sort of right of passage for these humans. And this guy’s mother forgets her own son’s one? I’m really NOT missing out on this whole parent’s thing. I’ll probably be forgotten much quicker than the other Treecko.>”

“Well, Treecko sure is… nice,” his mom lied as she looked at Treecko who lay on Jeff’s shoulder, leaning against his tail and Jeff’s cranium, with his arms behind his head.

Jeff began to get uncomfortable with the disdain towards his friend, so he quickly brought up a question that he was planning to ask anyways. “Is Dad still working at the hospital in Petalburg?” he asked his mom.

“Yes, he is on-call so he and Bayleef will be home later tonight,” his mom replied, walking into the kitchen.

Treecko tilted his head at Jeff upon hearing the odd pokemon’s name.

“You remember Chikorita? She’s now a Bayleef… a grass reptile pokemon, like you. She helps him out at the hospital, healing people’s ailments and wounds,” Jeff explained to Treecko.

Treecko listened, intrigued, and then went back to poking around the living room. Jeff ran up to his room, packed a few more items which he had forgotten earlier, and changed into a dry green t-shirt. He also threw two more shirts into his backpack.

“It never hurts to pack some clean, fresh shirts in case we run into Kristie again,” he thought eagerly.

Tyrogue entered the living room, from a door leading to the kitchen, with a huge scowl on his face. “<You again,>” Tyrogue growled, cracking his knuckles. “<I see you just couldn’t stay away from us.>”

“<That was a pretty low stunt that you pulled last time…>” Treecko began growling in return, maneuvering himself into a defiant stance.

“<Not as low as this!>” Tyrogue roared, swinging his leg sideways, taking out the grass type’s legs.

“<What the hell!?>” Treecko snarled, hitting the hardwood floor.

He quickly recovered from the fall by using his tail’s momentum, and bounded back upwards. He rammed Tyrogue into the wall. Two hanging pictures dropped as a result from the impact. Treecko jumped at the pokemon who was getting up. With a quick exchange from the wood gecko’s tail, Tyrogue was thrown at the wall again. The fighting type slid to the floor, cringing, but managed to stand back up. He slid over the coffee table feet first, his strong legs hitting Treecko in the gut.

“What’s that sound?!” Jeff called down from upstairs.

Tyrogue grabbed the wincing Treecko by the throat and held him off the ground. The grass type was completely vulnerable while Tyrogue delivered solid punches to his face, like a hammer beating in a nail. He cringed in pain and anger, while the cuts on his face reopened and bled. Treecko held on to the scuffle pokemon’s wrist, trying to loosen his grip. Jeff ran back downstairs and saw the green lizard pinned against a doorframe by Tyrogue; Treecko was quickly losing oxygen.

“DAMN IT YOU TWO, BREAK IT UP, NOW!” Jeff yelled as he ran to them and forcefully pried them apart. Using his long arms, he pressed them both against opposite sides of a door frame, making sure they wouldn’t start fighting again.

“What the hell are you two doing? Now is not the time to settle whatever scores you have with each other. It’s a good thing that we’re leaving…Tyrogue, go back to weightlifting or whatever the hell you do. Treecko, let’s go.” Jeff commanded, releasing them to the hardwood floor.

“It’s a good thing he’s not coming with us…” Jeff thought to himself. He imagined if Tyrogue did come along and envisioned himself walking along side one of those cartoon fights with the arms and legs shooting out of a moving cloud of dust and dirt.

Tyrogue grumbled as he sulked upstairs and Treecko was on his knees rubbing his red throat, and panting from the lack of oxygen. After a moment of catching his breath, the wood gecko stood to his feet and charged after Tyrogue, enraged. He lunged up the stairs at the fighting pokemon, who was oblivious to the attack. Before he could hit the pink pokemon, he found himself stopped and now hanging in midair Jeff had grabbed one of his two tails. Treecko swung about helplessly, held up by the teen.

“Treecko…” Jeff glared at him disapprovingly. Treecko ignored him and swung about trying to free himself and attack the clueless Tyrogue.

“Damnit, Treecko, stop it! It’s over!” Jeff urged.

Treecko continued thrashing for thirty seconds, refusing to give in. Jeff stared at him, exasperated. Treecko then stopped reluctantly, giving in, and was limply hanging by his tail. He swung back and forth, looking upset.

“Look, Treecko…” Jeff attempted to comfort him, but the wood gecko folded his arms and looked away with contempt.

“I’m sorry, I know Tyrogue is an ass hole, but you don’t want to stoop to his level,” Jeff explained. Treecko silently stared at the wall, upside down.

“Look, I know that we are just getting to know each other, even though we’ve actually KNOWN each other for a year. But trust me; I just did you a big favor. Are we cool?” Jeff asked Treecko, who still looked angry. Treecko scowled but then nodded grudgingly, still trying to cool down. Jeff let go of his tail and placed him on the stairs; they continued back down to the hallway.

Jeff looked in the mirror in the main hallway at his battered and cut face. “I hope we don’t have too much more friction between us,” Jeff thought unsurely.

“I haven’t even left town yet and I already look like I was in a war… this is going to be a long trip,” Jeff thought out loud. “But, at least I have a cool scar and a cool pokemon!” Jeff turned to Treecko, smiling.

Treecko, who had finally began to cool off, forced a smile and motioned his head towards the door, obviously getting a little impatient.

Jeff nodded. “We should really be heading off before we start bleeding on the carpet,” Jeff told his mom. “I’m gonna go say goodbye to Tyrogue and then we’re off!”

Jeff walked back up the stairs and called out, “Hey Tyrogue…I’m sor…” Jeff stopped in the middle of his sentence as he reached the top of the stairs. He found himself looking at a large brown bodied pokemon with long, flexible, lighter brown, muscular legs. The pokemon’s brown eyes squinted at Jeff, proudly.

“Woah!” Jeff yelped, and hopped backwards onto the stairs in surprise at the new pokemon. Jeff missed a step and found himself slowly falling backwards down the stairs. The pokemon quickly outstretched its foot; it extended and caught him before he hit the stairs. Jeff pulled on the leg to stand himself up. He looked cautiously at the pokemon.

“Ty…rogue?” Jeff asked, inspecting him.

“Lee, hitmonlee,” it replied, correcting him. He spoke proudly in a low, raspy voice.

Treecko turned a head towards the stairs and called up with some concern. “Cko treecko?”

Jeff frantically covered for himself, “I’m fine, Treecko…go see if you can find my…shoe!”

Jeff didn’t want Treecko to feel ashamed and weak compared to the newly evolved pokemon, who the wood gecko wasn’t even fond of. He could imagine the poor guy sulking off, feeling inadequate to the new fighting pokemon. Jeff was worried he may have even started a fight with him to prove himself and Jeff knew that Hitmonlee would be eager to test out his new form. He shuddered at the chaos that would have ensued.

“Congratulations, Tyrogue, but I have to go now. For my sakes, don’t come downstairs until we leave, okay? No offense, but I don’t want you stealing our thunder,” Jeff quietly told him. He wasn’t concerned about himself but Treecko, who had been through a lot that day. This was the last thing that he needed.

Hitmonlee nodded and walked back into the upstairs hallway. Jeff jogged down the stairs to Treecko, who waited eagerly in the vestibule.

“Hey mom, I’ll call you and Dad in the pokemon center in the next town…and something happened to Tyrogue!” Jeff called to her as she entered the hallway.

Treecko smirked at Tyrogue’s apparent misfortune, unknowing of Jeff’s true meaning.

His mom, although she was no stranger to having sons leave for pokemon training, was still quite upset.

“Are you sure you’ll be all right?! Will you call as soon as you can? Will that Treecko be strong enough to protect you from wild ones?” she asked anxiously.

To that question, Treecko growled. Jeff kneeled down and put a hand on his shoulder.

“We’ll be fine, Mom. I’ll be more than okay with Treecko to fight with me. Really.”

She sighed, almost tearfully. “Okay. I’ll miss you. Be careful and have that Treecko take good care of you! Are you sure you have everything you need to survive out there?!”

“I’ll miss you too, and I can take care of myself…just because I can’t make an omelet…” Jeff called out to his mom, and cut himself off as he closed the front door.

“Is she serious? Us…be careful?” Jeff muttered to Treecko, who was on his shoulder as the teen walked down the porch stairs.

The duo were shocked to find a small crowd waiting for them at the front of their house. Treecko was confused at the gathering of humans, but Jeff was only surprised. He had seen the townspeople do a similar thing for Alan yesterday night, but he had thought that was purely Alan-exclusive. He was happy that they were doing this but also quite embarrassed.

“Congratulations or your first pokemon!” they told Jeff, enthusiastically.

“Treecko, huh? Never thought I’d see the day when a trainer from home would choose Treecko over Torchic or Mudkip!” one man in his thirties stated.

“Be safe and put Littleroot on the map!” another woman encouraged.

Jeff and Treecko blushed; Treecko was especially uncomfortable and unfamiliar with the sudden amount of attention that they were receiving. He was always the odd one out. Treecko and Jeff, filled with shock and embarrassment, had trouble speaking when trying to thank the small crowd. Jeff walked to his father, who had black hair and was still in hospital scrubs.

“What are you doing out of work?” Jeff asked him.

“I couldn’t miss my son starting on his own journey…did you pack the medical kits that I took from the hospital?"

Jeff nodded.

Mr. Growell looked at Treecko. “That’s a really cool pokemon you have there!”

Treecko nervously chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, but smiled with pride.

“He sure is!” Jeff proudly told him. “Mom, doesn’t seem to like him much.”

“She chose a Torchic back when she was a trainer,” he replied.

“Oh yeah… is Blaziken still helping Uncle Erikk on the SWAT team?”

“Yup, he is,” Mr. Growell answered.

Behind Jeff's father stood a large, light green dinosaur pokemon. It was Bayleef. It was much larger than it was when it was a Chikorita. It now had a much longer head leaf and a necklace of green flower buds. Bayleef walked up to Treecko and handed him a flower with one of her vine whips.

“Treecko, tree.” Treecko nodded, in thanks, although he was quite confused as to why she was giving him a flower. Bayleef blushed a little bit and then backed up behind Jeff’s dad’s legs.

“Th-thank you, all…f-for this great sendoff party…thing. I will do a great job with Treecko by my side!” Jeff announced to them, trying not to stammer from modesty.

The crowd applauded and the two blushed as they moved past the crowd and up the north road.

Jeff and Treecko, feeling homesick already, set off into the forest, leaving their respective homes behind.

------

The duo, walking side by side, left the gates of Littleroot Town.
They walked up to a sign on the left side of the road by the forest. The sign was illuminated dimly by the setting sun, casting and orange glow on it.

“Route 101—Oldale Town,” Jeff stated as he read the sign aloud.

“Well…” Jeff looked to Treecko. “We’ve got to start somewhere.” Treecko nodded and they continued on down the rugged dirt path.

Jeff walked, swatting flies away, who were buzzing around him like it was their last supper. “It’s a good thing that this route is pretty short, these bugs are annoying the hell out of me.” Treecko chuckled at Jeff’s annoyance.

“Oh sure, laugh it up. What’s annoying for me is a nice, light snack for you.” Jeff retorted, teasingly.

Jeff looked at his first pokemon and had an idealistic feeling by looking at him that they’ll have an unbreakable bond. He watched Treecko look at the flower given to him by Bayleef.

“I wonder if he knows Bay has a crush on him,” the teen thought to himself. Jeff watched Treecko carelessly flick the flower into the forest before yawning, much to his embarrassment. “I guess not,” he pondered with a chuckle.

The wood gecko pokemon blushed, aware that Jeff noticed him yawn.

“If you’re tired you can ride on my shoulder if you want, Treecko,” Jeff suggested.

Treecko gave an adamant denial, wiping away all signs that he was exhausted.

Jeff grinned and the two continued walking along the forest path. The sun set behind the horizon to their left, causing the sky to grow dark. An eerie dark blue cast itself on the trees and the ground.

Treecko ran ahead and leapt on top of a boulder, looking ahead. Jeff caught up with the lizard and stood beside the boulder.

“What’s up, buddy? Do you see something ahead?” Jeff asked with curiousity as well as some unease.

“Treecko!” he agreed.

“A pokemon?” the teen asked his companion with a nervous pitch to his voice. Jeff was clearly worried that it might be a Scyther. Without really knowing it, Jeff began scrolling his fingers along the large scar on his left arm.

Treecko seemed to sense his unease, but didn’t bother to comfort him. He merely shook his head.

“Then what?” Jeff questioned again. “Do you think the town is that way?”

The wood gecko nodded and leapt forward off the boulder.

“Hold up,” the human urged. Treecko looked back with a mild hint of irritation. The night wind rustled the leaves of the forest as the two stared onwards.

“…I’m pretty sure we have to go right!” Jeff looked in the direction in which he was pointing. Treecko shook his head and insisted that it was north.

“I’m telling you it is right,” Jeff claimed, becoming hardheaded and disagreeable.

“Cko,” Treecko insisted.

“Right,” countered the teen.

Becoming more agitated with his human, Treecko growled, “Cko!”

“Right!”

“CKO!”

“RIGHT!”

“CKO!!!”

The two argued, getting a little closer and more hostile each time they spoke. They were practically spitting in each other’s faces by the time Jeff stopped it.

“Okay, that’s enough! We’ll settle this with ‘Rock, paper, scissors’!” he declared.

Treecko nodded and the two readied their hands.

“Rock…Paper…Scissors!” Jeff threw down his hand flat, indicating paper.

Treecko threw down his tail onto Jeff’s hand, slamming it into the dirt.

Jeff fell to the ground with the unexpected action, cringing and letting out a sharp exhale. He withdrew is dirt covered, aching hand from the ground. “Ok…we’ll go your way!” Jeff angrily told him through his gritting teeth. “I guess rock beats paper, too,” Jeff mumbled as they began walking.

“And for future reference, ‘Rock paper scissors’ is NOT ‘knucklebones’!” Jeff stated, still sore about losing.

Treecko looked back, grinned, and stuck out his tongue in a mocking fashion.

Jeff grinned and lightly pushed Treecko with the outside of his foot, coercing. “That’s it! Let’s race!”

His starter pokemon accepted his challenge with a cocky grin.

“Ready? GO!” Jeff yelled, charging forward.

The two sprinted with everything they had along the dirt path. Treecko ran on all fours, which admittedly surprised Jeff as he had only seen him walk on his hind legs. Jeff was forced to jump over fallen branches and logs to avoid tripping. His little green friend was in the lead but he managed to catch up with him. Treecko noticed and bolted onward.

The two noticed that the path began to lead to a small town of about ten buildings.

“I guess I owe a certain reptile an apology,” the teen thought to himself, grinning as he sprinted towards the center. Jeff noticed a few people staring at the odd sight, but he shrugged it off. The dirt path became cleaner as they entered Oldale Town. He was just behind Treecko, who dashed for the door.

The automatic doors the center opened and he noticed Treecko leap over something for apparently no reason. Then Jeff heard memorable, disconcerting words.

“Tor-chic, tor-chic, tor-chic,” peeped the orange obstacle from earlier that day.

“Oh crap! I can’t stop with this much speed,” Jeff thought to himself as he noticed the Torchic walk obliviously towards him. He tried to slow down but it was hopeless. The fire-type starter caused Jeff to go flying inside the center. He crashed into a girl, causing her to fall beside him.

Unbeknownst to Jeff, he nearly caused a purple rodent known as Rattata to faint, having missed crushing it by mere inches. The Torchic started chirping furiously at Jeff once again. A few people couldn’t help but laugh at the chaos while a few others merely ignored it. Treecko had a small grin on his face as he approached the groaning teen.

Jeff got to a knee and surveyed the damage. He noticed that the girl he knocked down was none other than Kristie.

A knot tied in his stomach as he helped her up frantically. “Sorry! Crap! Are you okay?” he asked, clumsily.

“Yeah, I’m ok,” Kristie replied with a faint giggle.

“You sure?” Jeff again asked, placing the twig in his mouth after losing it in the fall.

“Wow, Jeff…you look awful!” Kristie said, noticing the cuts on his face.

“Well thanks, I try my best.” Jeff joked.

Kristie chuckled politely as she got up. Jeff blushed and mentally beat himself up, which created a self-loathing face. He turned his head away to Treecko, who folded his arms and shifted his own twig in his mouth, smugly.
As he turned away he slapped his hand to his head and started muttering to himself, “Real freaking smooth, Jeff.” He placed his head against the metal doorframe of the pokemon center in frustration with himself, waiting for the blush to die down.

Treecko walked up to Jeff, followed by a still angry Torchic. Treecko was confused by his friend’s odd, new behavior around this girl, but then he shrugged it off and jumped up onto Jeff’s shoulder.

Jeff turned around, smiling, “Oh yeah, Kristie, this is my new pal, Treecko.”

“Tree,” Treecko said, acknowledging this apparent acquaintance of Jeff’s out of the corner of his eye.

“Wow, he’s so cool!” Kristie said enthusiastically. “So I guess there was a third pokemon after all.”

“Yup!” Jeff said cheerfully.

“<Hey, well if it isn’t my old pal, Treeckie?>” the Torchic said imposingly.

“<What do you want, Ares?>” Treecko retorted sharply. “And it’s just ‘Treecko’, got it?>”

“<Whatever you say, best buddy,>” responded the Torchic known as Ares, sarcastically. “<Do you know any moves besides that pathetic pound attack yet?>”

Treecko put his hands behind his head dismissively. “<If my attack is so weak then what does that say about you when I beat you senseless with it back in the lab?>”

The Torchic growled. “<If you’re so much better than me, then why do I know a new attack and you don’t?!>” Ares chirped in anger,

“<I’m better than you because I have arms,>” the grass type said with a collected sense of confidence which immediately struck a nerve with the Torchic.

“<You won’t for long!!>” Ares trilled, running a Treecko.

“Torch!” Kristie stated, picking up Ares. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Torch?” both Treecko and Jeff muttered, slightly amused by the lack of creativity. The only difference was that Jeff added, “I like it!”

Treecko sighed and crawled onto the male human’s shoulder. Jeff patted the grass starter’s back as he stood to look at Kristie.

“Hey, Jeff, how about a pokemon battle so we can show off our pokemon to each other!” Kristie abruptly said.

Jeff paused for a second and then said, “Yeah, sure. Are you up for a battle, Treecko?”

Treecko nodded confidently and exasperatedly said, “Treecko tree cko cko tree!” as if saying, “<You should know by now you don’t have to ask me if I want to battle. I live for battles!>”

“Ok, let’s battle over to the left of the pokemon center,” Kristie instructed, walking out of the building.

“Got it,” he replied, walking over and placing his backpack by a tree in the said location.

The trainers and pokemon went to their respective sides. Jeff scanned Torchic with his pokedex. The dex proclaimed in a robotic voice, “Torchic, the Chick pokemon. If attacked, it strikes back by spitting balls of fire it forms in its stomach. A Torchic dislikes darkness because it can't see its surroundings.”

“It may have the type advantage, but we can beat it, no problem,” Jeff said, reassuring Treecko.

“Let’s get this started!” Kristie called out. “Torch! Charge him!”

“Toooooor” he said, his voice getting shriller as the chick rushed towards Treecko in a rage.

“Treecko, use Leer!” Treecko dug his feet into the earth and stared menacingly at the oncoming pokemon. As the Torchic came closer he made eye contact with the lizard and he couldn’t take his eyes off of Treecko’s. Ares, distracted from his running by the gaze of Treecko, tripped over itself, and fell face first into the dirt.

“Tor!” said Ares in shock as he drew his beak out of the mud.

“Torch, quickly, get up!” Kristie called out to Ares.

“Treecko, jump up over that Torchic and use pound!” Jeff commanded.

Treecko began to run towards Ares and then he leaped into the air.
When Ares looked up he could see Treecko’s silhouette jumping in the bright moonlight.

“TOR!” the Torchic moaned as the large, muscular tail of Treecko slammed it further into the mud.

“<Direct Hit,>” Treecko called to Jeff, smugly, raising one fist up in a victory pose while using the other to place his tree twig in his mouth, before folding his arms.

Jeff stood, dumbfounded. “Did I just understand what I think I understood?” he asked himself, dazedly.

Treecko looked at Jeff for direction, “<Jeff, the battle’s not over yet! Come on! What’s our next move?!>” Treecko shouted from what should have been “Cko tree treecko, tree! Treecko! Cko cko?!”

While Jeff stared in amazement at Treecko, Ares rose behind the idle gecko.

“Torch, use scratch!” commanded Kristie.

Jeff snapped out of it, while Ares began to raise his talons. “Treecko, heads up! Dodge, right!” Jeff heeded.

It was too little too late; when Treecko jumped, Ares’s claws slashed into his right arm, leaving three bloody claw marks.

“Trrrrr,” Treecko grunted, clutching his searing cuts while landing on one knee.

“Hang in there, pal,” Jeff yelled. “Treecko, run up that tree to your left!”

Treecko jutted his head to his left, looking it up and down. He nodded and jumped onto the trunk. His hand’s adept grip allowed him to scale the tree like an Aipom. Treecko climbed and disappeared into the darkness of the canopy.

The Torchic quickly looked up, turning his head every which way, frantically. Ares, having very poor night vision, and Treecko, having excellent hiding skills, made it so that Ares could not spot the well camouflaged Treecko in the dark night.

“Torch, use ember upwards like a flare!” said Kristie to her daunted pokemon.

“Chic, chic, chic, chic, chic!” The Torchic spat many balls of fire from his mouth upwards, illuminating the tree branches in a blinding orange light.

“Ok, Treecko…NOW!” The small, hidden figure jumped down from atop an orange-lit branch and landed behind Ares, who still spat flames. Treecko maneuvered his body towards the right, powering up his tail before he swung it with a massive force. The muscular tail hit Ares smack across the face.

“TORR,” Ares screamed as he went flying a few meters off to the left, still spitting ember fireballs as it landed. Ares groaned, a gentle flame still burning inside his mouth.

“Torch! Are you alright?!” Kristie yelled, concerned. She ran over to her exhausted pokemon and cradled it in her arms.

“Torrrr,” he said weakly.

“Wow, that was a great battle, Jeff,” Kristie smiled, standing up with Ares in her arms.

“You handled yourself much better than I did out there. I was just lucky,” Jeff reassured her, modestly. Treecko strutted triumphantly over to Jeff, with a proud grin plastered on his face.

“<Are you kidding? We wiped the floor with them.>” Treecko grunted, proudly crossing his arms.

Jeff shot a glare at Treecko, pretending not to hear that. “Ok, let’s go back to the pokemon center and get our pokemon healed up, then we should call it a night and rest at the center until sunrise.”

“Sounds good,” Kristie agreed.

The four entered walked by the white exterior of the red-roofed pokemon center. They went through the automatic doors and stepped onto the unnaturally clean, white tiled center. They walked to the counter ahead of them.

A cheerful looking women with pink hair appeared behind it. “How may I help you today?” she asked with cheer.

“Can you heal my Treecko, please?”

“But of course! We’ll take your Treecko and he should be fine in no time! I’m Nurse Joy by the way!” She said happily.

Treecko shook his head in disagreement saying, “<It’s just a flesh wound.>” Nurse Joy ignored him and picked up Treecko, who sighed as he was taken to the backroom.

“Thank you, and nice to meet you, I’m Jeff,” Jeff said, before walking over to the video phone in the corner of the Pokemon center. He lightly pressed the numbers on the machine shaped like a TV and called up Professor Birch.

“Hello?” The professor asked with yawn. Jeff saw the brown haired professor stretching as he appeared to be waking up from a sleep.

“Sorry for waking you, Professor. I assumed that you would be uplate examining some nocturnal species of pokemon again,” Jeff greeted him with awkwardness.

“Actually I was,” he explained. Just then, a brown, owl-like pokemon hopped on one leg onto Professor Birch’s shoulder. Its menacingly red eyes stared at Jeff. “Hoothoot here used its hypnosis on me as part of an analysis.”

The brown bird remained staring at Jeff, who was more than a little creeped out by the way it looked at him.

“That’s great to hear. If you hurry, you may catch up with Kristie,” Birch advised him.

“Actually she’s here with me right now,” Jeff said happily. “We just battled and I came out the winner.”

“Good work, Jeff. I knew from the start you and Treecko would make a great team.” Birch smiled as the Hoothoot jumped from his shoulder.

“If you say so, Professor,” Jeff teased. “I have to go now, I’ll talk to you once I catch my next pokemon,” Jeff said before turning off the phone.

Jeff turned away from the blank screen and walked over the white tiled floor to Nurse Joy. Beside her stood Kristie, who held Torchic. Treecko walked over the floor and crawled up and onto Jeff’s shoulder. Both pokemon were looking as good as before the battle.

“Thank you,” Jeff and Kristie replied.

Jeff turned to Kristie, summing up his courage, and stammered, “Hey…how would you like to travel together at least until the next city?”

“Petalburg?” Kristie asked as she held Torchic, “Sure, why not!”

A wave of relief swept over him. “Great, let’s head out now, then!” Jeff said enthusiastically.

“Ok, I’m much too excited after that pokemon battle to rest anyways,” Kristie agreed.

“<Great, now I have to be with Ares again. I was happy when I was rid of him forever. At least that damn Mudkip isn’t here too,>” thought the grass type to himself. He looked over to Ares only to get a menacing gaze from the fire type.

“Let’s go,” Jeff said to Treecko who was relaxing on his shoulder.
----

Jeff, Kristie, Treecko, and Torchic walked through the glass automatic doors and turned west. They carefully treaded over the field, which still housed burning blades of grass from the battle. Jeff stomped out a light flame which doubled as a small lamp. The group walked into an open field, heading westward towards Petalburg City.

“So Jeff, I see you didn’t decide to keep your Treecko inside a pokeball, either,” Kristie exclaimed, practically skipping through the dark field.

“Yeah, we decided that it would be better if Treecko stayed out of a pokeball,” Jeff responded.

“I did the same thing with Torchic; I couldn’t bare the thought of not having him with me at all times. He’s so warm and cuddly,” Kristie smiled, cuddling Torchic lightly. She started to go on a rant about how great her Torchic was. Treecko rolled his eyes and Jeff feigned interest.

“Torchic is so cute, kind of like a Piplup…except more so.”

“A Piplup? What’s that?” Jeff questioned upon hearing the pokemon’s name.

“Oh, it’s a small, blue penguin pokemon. They’re mainly Sinnoh pokemon,” Kristie informed before ranting about Torchics.

Jeff let out an informed grunt, remembering back to when he was running to Professor Birch’s lab. He remembered seeing a blue, Torchic-like pokemon riding with the man who he was racing. “So THAT was a Piplup?” Jeff mumbled to himself; Kristie’s harangue was now white noise to him.

“Torchic is also really sweet and fun to hold. More over, Torch has really ticklish spot behind his ears and…” Kristie rambled, being sucked into her own little Torchic-filled world.

“<Wake me when it’s over,>” Treecko said, closing his eyes.

“You got it, Gex,” Jeff muttered to him, teasingly.

Treecko opened one eye, bothered by the poor nickname. “<Treecko’s fine, thanks.>” Then he closed it again.

After a few minutes of walking, Kristie finally finished with, “And that’s why my Torchic is great.” By then they were half way to Petalburg.

“Wow,” Jeff remarked. “That’s a lot of great things about Torchics,” he pointed out with unnoticeable sarcasm.

“<And don’t you forget it, bub,>” murmured Ares, sassily.

Jeff started to have a stare down with Ares. The Torchic turned its head, noticing something.

“What, Torch, do you see something?” Kristie asked, alerted to her pokemon struggling in her arms.

“<A Marill,>” he chirped while it hopped to the ground. The gang looked over at a small, somewhat foggy pond. Ripples emerged towards the edge of the pond. From the center of the ripples emerged two large blue ears with red encasing the insides. The ears twitched as the rest of the body ascended from the water. The Marill’s body was like a blue beach ball with a white stomach. Marill had endearing eyes and a cute smile. It had a very peculiar tail; the tail was crooked in places and at the very end was a large blue ball.

“OH, I want it!” Kristie squealed, yearningly.

“Hey Treecko, you won’t want to miss this battle.” Jeff nudged him with his shoulder.

Treecko awoke from sleep and yawned. “<I might if I can have a few more minutes of rest…>” he replied, irritated from the awakening.

“Torch, use scratch on it!” ordered Kristie to her pokemon.

“<Fine,>” answered Ares. He rushed forward on the damp grass towards the aqua mouse pokemon.

Treecko and Jeff took a seat on the dirt path, watching the battle taking place near the pond to the right of the road. Jeff scanned the Marill with his pokedex.

The Marill rolled backwards from the scratch and landed upright. It retaliated with a powerful blast of water emitted from the Marill’s mouth. The jet hit Ares dead center, sending him flying backwards into the dirt, turning to mud while he slid over it. Ares groaned while getting up, drenched and muddy.

“<I HATE water,>” growled Ares, angrily shaking off the water.

“Torch, Ember,” Kristie commanded.

“Tor, tor, tor, tor, tor.” Ares shot small pellets of orange flame from its mouth. The Marill dodged the attack and the ember hit an unsuspecting pokemon, who was just emerging from the pond. The orange pokemon stumbled backwards. The hit pokemon rolled forwards on his hard, orange shell. Above the pokemon’s angered eyes were three sharp, orange horns. Using his six small legs and his two large, orange and beige pincers, he got back onto his feet. The pokemon slapped its fish like tail in the ground, while the blue moonlight reflected off of his wet orange exoskeleton.

Jeff scanned the pokemon with his pokedex. “Corphish, the Ruffian Pokemon: Once it grips prey with its large pincers, it will never let go, no matter what. It is a hardy Pokémon that can thrive in any environment,” finished the monotonous robotic gadget.

“That can’t be good,” Jeff mumbled to himself, worried for Kristie’s Torchic as the ruffian pokemon angrily approached it.

“Corphish! Cor!” it angrily said to Ares.

Ares responded with a comment that undoubtedly struck a nerve with the Corphish. He was about to hit Torchic with a crabhammer attack, when Treecko caught his pincer with his hand.

“<One battle at a time,>” Treecko advised it, preparing to fight.

“<Stay out of this, Twig boy,>” the Corphish growled, quickly retracting his claw from Treecko’s hands.

Treecko let out a huff and dug his feet into the mud while the Corphish assumed a fighting stance.

“Ok, Treecko! Use your p-” Jeff called, but was cut off when Treecko attacked without him.

The large tail of Treecko caught the Corphish off guard, causing the hit to send it sprawling.

Nearby, Ares dodged Marill’s water gun attacks and hit it with a tackle. Marill hit the ground hard and tried to use its tail to get itself up, but collapsed. Kristie threw a pokeball and a red beam engulfed the Marill. The pokeball containing Marill rumbled once, and then blipped, indicating that Marill had been caught.

“Yes!” shouted Kristie.

“<Too easy!>” boasted her Torchic.

Meanwhile, Treecko used pound after pound on Corphish’s tough shell. The attacks were not doing much damage against its thick shell. Corphish used a bubblebeam, shooting many translucent bubbles out of its pincer, which exploded on contact with Treecko.

“<Errrgh,>” Treecko grunted, holding his bruising chest.

Corphish came in with a crabhammer. Treecko jumped up and Corphish missed him and drove his claw into the ground. The impact caused an eruption of soil to fire upwards. Treecko used this to his advantage. He came bursting through the wall of airborne dirt and back flipped, using pound in an uppercut like motion. Corphish was knocked onto his back.

Jeff took the pokeball from his pocket and pressed the middle button, making it bigger. Jeff threw the pokeball with might and precision. The Corphish got itself upright, but the pokeball hit it square in the forehead. Corphish was sucked into the pokeball. The pokeball wiggled three…four…five…six times, before the button finally flashed a red color and stopped moving.

“All right! A Corphish! Nice fighting, Treecko,” Jeff remarked.

Treecko nodded. Kristie and Jeff approached each other and congratulated one another on their catches.

Jeff pointed his pokeball at the ground. “Come on out, Corphish!”

“Corphish, Cor” He enthusiastically smiled as he exited the pokeball.

“Welcome to the team, Corphish,” Jeff warmly told him, crouching down and extending an arm. Corphish smiled.

“<Nice to meet you,>” replied Corphish, shaking Jeff’s hand with his claw. “<My hobbies include being rejected by females, being alone on Saturday nights, and, like now, making jokes when I’m insecure,>” Corphish grinned, trying to lighten the mood.

“I know you’ve already met Treecko,” Jeff remarked. Corphish turned to Treecko and said, “<Hello again.>” Treecko sighed, not liking the idea of having a team member.

“Anything wrong, Treecko?” Jeff asked the less than amused grass type.

“<I can work perfectly fine on my own without help of a teammate. I work better solo and unhindered by others.>”

“Tell that to yourself when you’re surrounded by a group of fire type pokemon,” Jeff retorted, sticking up for Corphish.

Treecko crossed his arms and his face turned to an apathetic look but Jeff could tell by his eyes that he was still bothered.

Kristie decided to wait until they reached the Petalburg pokemon centre to bring out Marill, due to its wounds. The two trainers wandered along the dirt path. Corphish walked up by Jeff while Treecko was walking far up, alone.

“<What’s with Reptar up there?>” Corphish asked Jeff, motioning to Treecko.

“It’s nothing personal,” Jeff insisted. “He just doesn’t really like being with others, I guess. I don’t really understand him, myself.”

“<Oh…>” Corphish said, giving a stare at Treecko. “<Why aren’t I in my pokeball?>” he asked his new acquaintance.

“I dunno.” Jeff shrugged. “Treecko said he didn’t like being in pokeballs so I let him out with me. I wasn’t sure if you were like that too.”

“<I don’t see what he thinks is so bad about it. It’s just kinda like sleeping,>” exclaimed the water type.

“Why? Do you want to be in your pokeball?” the teen asked.

“<Nah. Not right now, at least. I’d rather stay out here and talk.>”

The human nodded and looked over at Kristie with a smile.

Corphish noticed his face and smirked, merrily.

“Hey, I think we’re almost there,” Jeff stated, as he could see the tips of the buildings over the tree line.

Jeff decided to catch up with Treecko and maybe talk to him about whether he was alright with Corphish. In the process, however, he accidentally stepped on Treecko’s tail. The wood gecko emitted a yelp of pain, before quickly swinging around and taking out Jeff’s legs with his tail. The human fell with a thud as Kristie and Ares watched on in confusion.

“Sorry, Treecko,” Jeff said with a smirk.

“<Yeah, I’m sure you are!>” answered the lizard, leaping onto Jeff’s chest.

“Really, pal!” Jeff insisted.

Treecko grinned and took a glob of mud from the ground.

“Uh… what are you doing with that?” Jeff questioned warily, still on the ground.

The wood gecko simply approached the human’s head and threw the glob of mud precisely at Jeff’s face.

The teen brought his hands to his face and wiped the mud from his face “Okay, you asked for it!” Jeff grinned. He tackled Treecko and the two began to playfully fight each other on the ground.

“I hope you’re prepared for the dreaded ‘Tickle attack’!” Jeff laughed, pinning Treecko in the mud. Treecko actually laughed, landing a hit on Jeff’s face, knocking him off of him. Corphish decided to take part in the merriment and tackled Jeff, knocking them farther in the mud. The three rolled over laughing, as they wrestled.

“…Guys,” Kristie thought to herself, shaking her head. Ares merely glared at Treecko.

Two young boys approached Jeff and Kristie. One had a yellow baseball cap and had brown hair. The other boy looked younger and wore an orange t-shirt and blue shorts.

“Do you two want to battle in a double battle?” the one with the cap asked. Jeff stopped wrestling and stood up, brushing himself off. Kristie looked at her Marill’s pokeball and then her Torchic, who took quite a beating in the earlier battle, with worry.

Jeff noticed this and stepped up. “I’ll take both of you two on,” said Jeff with confidence.

“Ok, but don’t get mad when you lose,” said the other boy.

“That shouldn’t be a problem. Go Treecko and Corphish,” Jeff ordered.

Treecko glared at Jeff, taken aback that Jeff thought he needed Corphish’s help to beat two little kids.

“<Let’s give’em hell,>” Corphish battle cried to Treecko, who ignored him in displeasure.

“Go Lotad!” said the boy with the cap.

“Go Taillow!” said the younger trainer.

A blue bodied pokemon, who had a green, dish-like lily pad on its head appeared next to a dark blue feathered bird. The bird also had a red and white pattern on its chest and neck.

“Taillow, use a quick attack on Corphish!” the boy with the cap commanded.

“Lotad, use astonish on Treecko,” the younger kid told his pokemon.

Taillow took to the air and came zooming towards Corphish, who clicked his pincers eagerly. Lotad jumped right in front of Treecko, attempting to surprise him. Treecko didn’t give an inch of ground; he didn’t even blink.

“<That was pretty pathetic,>” muttered Treecko.

Jeff yelled, “Corphish, on my signal, harden. And Treecko use Leer and then pound on Lotad!”

Treecko stared down the small pokemon, causing it to back off, frightened. He then jumped upwards and slammed his tail down onto the Lotad’s rain dish. This caused a rough head injury, knocking it out.

“<That was too easy,>” Treecko thought, as the boy called back his Lotad.

Taillow came closer and closer to Corphish. As soon as the bird was a foot away from Corphish, Jeff yelled out, “NOW.” Corphish hardened his shell causing severe recoil damage on Taillow when it hit Corphish.

“Taillow, you ok? Use Peck!” yelled the boy as Taillow got up, shaking its head.

“Corphish, Crabhammer from the side!” Corphish swung his huge pincer, hitting the bird far into the forest.

“Taillow!” yelled the boy, running after his fallen pokemon.

“<This battle couldn’t be more won,>” exclaimed Corphish happily.

“Great job, Jeff,” congratulated Kristie. “That was great!”

Jeff blushed at her compliment. Corphish looked at him and grinned, seeing sparks fly between the two new trainers. Treecko still didn’t see what Corphish could see.

“<No need to be modest, Jeff, we did great!>” Treecko smirked. That was Treecko’s way of comprehending Jeff’s behavior, which caused the teen to blush further.

Corphish smiled at Treecko’s naivety and tried to pull his leg. “<Hey pal, did you hear the story of that Cyndaquil named ‘Nye’ and his girlfriend, a Flareon named ‘Eve’?>”

Treecko looked at Corphish with an unamused stare. “<Yeah, I also heard that Torchic just wrote ‘gullible’ on the back of your shell…I was in a clan, you know, I’ve seen all the pranks and dumb jokes.>”

“<Can’t blame a ‘phish for trying, can ya?>” Corphish grinned. When Treecko turned his head, Corphish quickly tried to check the back of his shell to see if anything was written on it. To his relief, there wasn’t.

“<So if you were in a clan how’d you end up here?>” asked Corphish, curiously.

He wanted to say, “<None of your business, you annoying lump of Gyarados food.>” but Treecko restrained himself, knowing it would be an Ares-like thing to say. Instead, Treecko dozed off for a moment and then replied insincerely, “<I’ll talk to you some other time…>”

“<Wow, you’ve managed to guess the last lines said by a girl Corphish on every single one of my dates!>” Corphish half joked, straying away from an awkward silence.

They both forced grins and walked to Jeff’s side.

“Shall we go into Petalburg City now?” asked Jeff, staring at the tall, flashy, unwelcoming city.

The group nodded and walked into the streets of neon signs and office buildings.

The Infinite Devil Machine September 8th, 2007 4:54 PM

Awesome! I like the new team addition of Corphish. He has a great personality.

Gummy September 8th, 2007 8:07 PM

I guess I'll review you the same way you did me:

Plot: Not much to say in this area, as you seem to be following the same plot as the R/S/E games. That's okay, though, since Jeff's still at the beginning of his journey. Guess I gotta wait 'til later for the real plot twist.

Description: I wasn't really "wowed" in this area. I have absolutely no idea what Kristie looks like (unless you described her in a previous chapter O.o). Also, you failed to tell use how Oldale Town looks. I haven't played any GBA Pokemon game in years and I really have no idea on how any of those towns look. This however, only goes for the surroundings. When it comes to describing battles, you get an A.

Charatcers: This is where you excel. You create personalities for characters in a way that I don't even have to read "Insert Text" yelled (insert name) to know who's talking. And I must say, I love that Corphish XD

Other: Although I believed it was mentioned at SPPF, when stating nubers below 100, they should be spelled out. Also, although it may only pertain to me, "Ok" should be spelled "Okay".

Grovyle42(Griff8416) September 9th, 2007 6:51 AM

Thanks you two for reading and reviewing.

I did describe Kristie in a previous chapter. :P I believe it was early on in "The revival of a friendship".
There will be a plot twist or two, soon. And I'll be working on my description, it's quite hard to remember to write about what you see in your head.

Is the number rule exepmt when saying "Route 101" or something of the like?

Gummy September 9th, 2007 10:35 AM

Oh, stupid bad memory...

If the sign actually says, "Route 101", then it's okay to use the actual numbers.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) September 9th, 2007 11:53 AM

No worries, and ok thanks.

Maze September 10th, 2007 9:44 PM

I have to say, this fic has impressed me with the power of the characters' relationships. You've done so well conveying the bond between treecko and Jeff because their "owe you for this one" scenes are so intense. They've been through a lot already and their friendship is strong, it's admirable, they're made for each other. The gameboy plot...I wasn't even bothered by it because of your strong characters. The battle choreography is nice and well thought out, too. I'm diggin' this fic, Griff! i'll be back for chapter six.

I tried to read at serebii, but that forum is down so often.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) September 12th, 2007 6:32 PM

Hey Maze, I'm glad you like it so far. I'm straying away from the gameboy plot as it goes on. I appreciate the review and you can expect me to read and review your fic on Serebii...if that website doesn't implode on itself.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) September 15th, 2007 8:07 AM

Chapter 6

I still didn't get a beta for this chapter. I'm going to contact him early this week so that will give him some time to beta it.

None of the following events is based on personal, real life experiences, in case any of you were going to ask (This would make more sense after you read the chapter)

I described all of the newly introduced pokemon and I think I got rid of all the numerals (Excluding the '102' in 'Route 102')

And, as always, read, review, and most importantly...enjoy.


And This is What You Get…

The two travelers and their pokemon walked into the brightly lit city, the night highlighting the neon. They turned to their right. It was about two AM when they walked into the pokemon centre of Petalburg city, which had a blinding, white light emitted from its internal heart. Petalburg City was a huge place in comparison to Littleroot or Oldale Town. It was complimented with a few skyscrapers, many high rises, and company buildings. The three pokemon looked around. Corphish and Ares were in awe at the massive city. Treecko, however, didn’t care too much, though he was a little curious.

The first thing Jeff did when he entered was ask Nurse Joy to heal his pokemon. He handed Corphish to Nurse Joy for healing. Treecko denied the offer to be healed; he insisted that he was fine, patting his bruised, red belly.

“But Treecko!” Jeff complained.

A firm stare was retutned to the teen. Jeff rolled his eyes. “Have it your way, then.”

“I really think that I should have a look at-…” She, too, was answered with the same stare. “Err… okay then.”

Jeff noticed a picture on the wall with over twenty different deep pink-haired girls who looked exactly the same, standing in front of a medical university. They were all Nurse Joys, which surprised Jeff a lot.

He motioned to the picture with his index finger. “So are all of those nurses your sisters?”

“Yes, as well as cousins and second cousins,” Nurse Joy replied. Jeff nodded, intrigued at the odd similarities. He would ask more about it, bue the teen considered that to be out of line.

“Nurse Joy…can I talk to you in private for a second?”

“Of course! right this way,” she replied with a motherly smile. They walked with Corphish, into the back room of the center. Corphish was placed in a large glass recovery tank to help heal his wounds. The tank stood in the middle of the tiled room and it was situated above the floor on a plaster pedestal. Jutting out of the sides of the tank were large plastic hoses that led down into the tiled floor. Nurse Joy opened the door on the front side of the tank and put Corphish in it. A yellow liquid began to fill the tank through the pumps.

“What is that?” Jeff looked with some worry as Corphish was submerged in the liquid.

“That’s a state of the art Osmotic Facilitation Submerger; it's a machine for specifically healing water-type pokemon. Your Corphish is one of our first official patients to undergo the treatment and he should come out fully healed and completely revitalized.”

“Uhh… He- he is?” the teen nervously asked.

“Don’t worry. It’s been proven completely safe,” Nurse Joy reassured.

Jeff let out a short sigh of relief. Trusting the nurse, he nodded.

“I have kind of a weird question to ask you… ” Jeff shifted slightly in his spot. “How come I can suddenly understand what my Treecko and Corphish… and even my… friend’s Torchic are saying? Am I going crazy or do I have some sort of special gift? And how come, with my family’s pokemon, I could never understand them?”

“Oh, no need to worry; it’s fairly common with trainers, although it is rather rare with beginner trainers, which you are, correct?”

“Yeah, I am. But why can I?” Jeff asked with high curiosity.

“If you have a genuine bond with your very first pokemon, and you really, truly care for them, a little switch will flip on in the ‘Broca’s Area’ of your brain that will allow you to understand pokespeech. It’s quite bizarre, really. Neurologists have studied this factor and have discovered only a little about the reason for this. Usually it takes awhile for this skill, or bond rather, to develop, especially in beginner trainers who just start and have a shaky relationship with their pokemon, but in your case it seems it has happened pretty quickly! You should consider yourself lucky.”

Lucky.

The concept of luck was foreign to Jeff, especially since he almost always seemed to have less luck than he would like.

“Well, I guess Treecko and I have been through a lot together,” he smiled, his confidence building.

“It really shows, too. I can tell by looking at the two of you that it’s like you’ve been friends since childhood... Erm, where is your Treecko, exactly?” the Nurse Joy asked.

Jeff leaned back and peered out the door leading from the main lobby to the back room. He saw Treecko resting lazily on the front counter with his hands behind his head. Jeff quickly turned his head around when a sharp ‘BING’ was emitted from the revitalization tank that Corphish was in. The fluid from the tank was now gone. The door of the glass tank opened and Corphish launched himself out of it with great force. Corphish tackled into Jeff, causing him to fly backwards to the ground. Jeff hit his head on the base of the wall.

“DAHH,” cried out Jeff from the shock of the blow. Corphish danced, or at least tried to dance, around on the teen’s stomach.

“Well, you sure are a lively pokemon,” Jeff told him, as he rubbed the back of his aching head. Corphish swung his claws up to the right twice, up to the left twice, and then forwards in a series of bizarre double uppercut-like movements, and then repeated the movement. Jeff was initially very confused and admittedly a little intimidated.

“What exactly are you doing?” he asked the hard-shelled pokemon.

“<Dancing!>” Corphish replied, pointing up at wall speakers where the radio played dull easy listening music.

“… I see… I didn’t know that this was energetic dancing music,” Jeff joked.

“<It is if you pretend that there’s an awesome guitar solo alongside it!>”

The human chuckled to himself as he looked at the pokemon. “If only your dancing skills were as good as your imagination.”

Corphish began to impersonate a soap opera star; he walked forward on Jeff’s chest, slapped a wet claw across Jeff’s face, and stomped out of the room and into the lobby.

“So I guess that medicine causes pokemon to turn into the equivalent of drunk?” Jeff, who rubbed his red and wet cheek, said to the stunned Nurse Joy. “Actually, maybe that was just Corphish…” he added rather sheepishly.

He followed Corphish out the door, walked over to the video phone, carefully pushed each number key with the same degree of force, and phoned Professor Birch, like he said he would.

“Hey, Jeff?” Kristie called over to him from the door of the pokemon center. Jeff nodded in acknowledgement. “I’m going to go for a walk with Torch.” She called to him.

Okay, Kristie." He paused. "Be careful," he added, but he was too late to the draw, because by the time he got the words out she had already left the center with Ares.

“Damnit,” Jeff muttered, turning his head back towards the video phone. He noticed that the previously dark screen had lit up to reveal the interior of an office. Professor Birch had finally picked up the phone; he had obviously been fast asleep.

“Do you realize it’s a little past midnight?” the professor stated in a tired daze.

“Sorry, Professor. I assumed you were up late studying nocturnal pokemon again. It’s me, Jeff. I’m in Petalburg City now,” he greeted.

“Is that so? You’ve caught your first pokemon, then?”

“Yeah, a Corphish! He’s pretty awesome,” Jeff responded. Upon hearing his name, Corphish came running over to the video phone. Freshly healed, he heartily introduced himself.

“Wow. That’s great, Jeff. I actually got off the phone awhile ago with Alan… you know, one of your friends? He said he was in Petalburg too,” Birch said enthusiastically.

Alan was an old rival of Jeff’s. The two would always compete against each other in sports, games, and now pokemon. The tension between them was high…for Jeff, at least. He didn’t really care for Alan’s alpha male tendencies. After a game of pictionary went awry, specifically the two coming to blows while the rest of their friends sat back and laughed, the two hadn’t seen each other in some time.

“Really…” Jeff said to himself. “I’ll have to find him to challenge him to a battle.”

“Well, I’m right here,” A strong, deep voice said from behind him. Jeff turned around and it was Alan, grinning. Alan brushed a hand through his short blond hair. He was six foot two, standing a little higher than Jeff on the levelled tile floor. He was of middle weight and good muscular build. He smiled a large, competitive smile, and had a light sun tan.

“I’ve got to go professor. Bye,” Jeff quickly said as he hung up. He turned around and walked up to Alan, followed by Treecko and Corphish.

“Alan…” Jeff nodded, somewhat coldly.

“Jeff…” Alan nodded in return.

Jeff faked a grin and grunted out his nose.

“So how about it? Want to battle?” Jeff asked.

“Sure, I wouldn’t mind beating you again!”

“Then let’s take this out back behind the center,” Jeff told him with a determined tone as he went through the pokemon center door. When Jeff walked behind Alan, he clenched his fists and hit them together in an angry, taunting way.

“This is the chance I need. My luck is up and my pokemon are in great shape. I can get two birds with one stone; I can beat Alan, and as soon as I do so, I’ll have enough confidence to tell Kristie how I feel about her! Maybe if she sees how good of a battler I am, she’ll ask me out before I get a chance to,” Jeff pondered to himself with optimism, smiling as he walked.

They circled around the side of the building which was off from the city, slightly. Behind the pokemon center was a long patch of grass.

“Okay,” Alan began. “Let’s get a two on two battle started!”

“Typical… Alan trying to call the shots,” Jeff whispered to himself. “Why not three on three?” he asked in defiance, just to spite Alan.

“Do you even have three pokemon?”

Jeff shot a glare into his deep, blue eyes. “Do you?”

“Maybe.” he grinned, enlarging a red and white pokeball in his hand. “Choose your two pokemon!”

“Rip ‘em apart, Corphish!” Jeff ordered with fervor.

“<Could I BE anymore ready for battle?>” Corphish yelled, merrily. Jeff sighed as he awaited Alan’s choice.

“Go! Dustox!” Alan called. A purple bodied moth pokemon appeared on the field.

“DUSS,” it hissed. It flapped its green wings which had red circular patterns on each wing to stay airborne. It had yellow antennae and spotted, malicious-looking yellow eyes.

“Use confusion,” Alan ordered. Dustox’s eyes began to glow a purple color; it flapped its wings and a wall-like, rippling, purple wave engulfed Corphish. He looked down and saw his body glow a purple aura as well. Corphish, against his will, was lifted off of the ground by Dustox’s psychic powers.

“<H-hey, Dus…t-t-tox…look a…f-flame! Bet…ter go fly innn…to it!>” Corphish struggled to mock, as his body was being overwhelmed with an invisible force.

“Corphish, regain control and use bubblebeam!” Corphish struggled and tried to point its pincer towards Dustox. After much strength, the water managed to point his pincer towards Dustox’s general direction; the scattershot could take care of the rest.

“<Take THIS!>” Corphish cried as he fired a burst of bubble beam. The bubbles exploded on the flying bug, causing Dustox to fall backwards and lose its concentration. This allowed Corphish to fall to the ground, unrestrained by the psychic attack.

“Now fire bubblebeam while running towards it, Corphish,” instructed Jeff.

Corphish began to scuttle quickly; he opened his claws again and released translucent, blue orbs from them, causing Dustox to be distracted with dodging the bubbles. The Dustox swerved back and forth, not paying attention to the closing in Ruffian pokemon. When Corphish was in the range of using a close quarters attack, Jeff yelled, “Okay! Crabhammer!”

Corphish jumped up and swung his pincer, knocking the moth pokemon out of the sky, making it fall heavily to the ground. Its fragile body remained still and unable to continue.

“Return Dustox,” Alan huffed grumpily. “Good try.”

By now a decent sized amount of spectators had gathered to the sidelines to watch.

Alan enlarged another pokeball. “Now go, Mudkip!”

A quadruped blue pokemon appeared on the grass. The Mudkip had a large, white tailfin. Its large round head had another big, blue fin on its forehead as well as large, orange whiskers on its cheeks. Its cute stature didn’t mean that it was a pushover.

“Okay, Corphish,” Jeff waited and thought for a moment, “don’t give it time to breathe; use a vicegrip on Mudkip’s tail!”

“<You got it,>” answered Corphish. He scuttled towards the Mudkip and rammed it from the side. While it was briefly stunned, the shellfish pokemon landed a direct clamp on the Mudkip’s tail.

“Kip!” Mudkip yelled in pain, as its tail and hind legs was held off of the ground by Corphish.

“Mudkip! Use mud slap!” Mudkip used its forelegs, which were still in the ground, to dig up mud, which got in Corphish’s eyes. Although blinded, Corphish still kept up the grip.

Corphish wandered around aimlessly, holding Mudkip with one claw and trying to wipe the mud from his eyes with the other.

“No!” Jeff exclaimed in frustration. “Return, Corphish… Good job.” Corphish dropped Mudkip to the ground and stumbled over to Jeff’s voice.

“Okay, Treecko, You know what to do! Don’t let up!”

“<Gotcha,>” the eager Treecko said, placing the twig in his mouth.

“Mudkip, mud slap again!” Mudkip began to spit brown globs of digested mud from its mouth.

“Treecko, use pound!” Treecko spun around, easily batting the balls of mud out of the air with his tail. The mud splattered into countless small fragments which exploded every which way. He repeated the process with each mud glob.

“Now! Quick Attack, left!” Treecko ran up along Mudkip’s right side and lunged towards him causing a great hit, which knocked Mudkip back against a tree.

Just then, Kristie came back from her walk and entered the surrounding crowd. “What’s going on here?” she asked the man next to her.

"A pokemon battle! It's really intense. They're both down to their final pokemon!" he replied, earnestly watching the fight.

"Is that... Jeff?!" she asked, shocked. "Who's he battling?" She tried to identify the character who commanded the Mudkip while shaded over the by night shade.

Mudkip used tackle, hitting Treecko in the chest, hard. Treecko was hit to the ground. He clutched his chest but quickly shook it off, trying not to show weakness.

“Get your bearings, pal!” Jeff encouraged his pained friend. Treecko got up on one knee, panting.

Mudkip began to spit globs of mud from its mouth at Treecko. Treecko jumped and ducked from the projectiles gracefully, but he was caught off guard; a ball of mud hit him square in his mouth. Treecko fell backwards to the ground and grunted out his nose, unable to speak due to the mud filling his mouth. Treecko began to gag and spatter mud from his mouth; he was choking.

“Treecko, no! Are you okay?” Jeff called out, troubled.

Treecko nodded and got to one knee, still spitting out more mud. Treecko struggled to breathe and his face was turning red. Suddenly, the corners of his mouth started to glow from behind the glob of mud.

“What is that?” Jeff consulted his pokedex.

“Bullet Seed, a special move that can be learned by Treecko,” it buzzed, spewing information.

Treecko moved the twig he kept in his mouth and moved it to the side, making room. “Cko, cko, cko, cko, cko, cko!” he spat while he shot out glowing white seeds and the remaining mud from his mouth. The attack hit Mudkip, seriously hurting it, but Treecko was also blown back two feet by the recoil of the surprising, new attack.

“Mudkip, let’s finish this! Tackle!” Alan commanded.

“Treecko, quick! Get up!” Treecko rolled over and climbed up on his knee as the mudfish pokemon quickly approached from behind him.

“Treecko, look out!” Jeff called out. As the Mudkip jumped to hit Treecko in the back, he nimbly sidestepped to the right and stuck out his left arm. He clothes lined Mudkip right in the face, causing it to fall on it back. It spat out a blood stained tooth in defeat.

“Good effort, Mudkip,” Alan said as he recalled the water starter pokemon.

“Awesome job, Treecko!” he complimented when Treecko walked to his side.

“<Ugh, it tastes like Mudkips,>” Treecko complained, spitting out mud from his mouth.

“Well, I guess you won that battle, Jeff.” Alan said, walking up to Jeff.

“I guess I di… ” Jeff was distracted as Kristie came running towards him as if ready to hug him. Jeff was confused by the action but he wasn’t complaining; he outstretched his arms, overjoyed to return the gesture. But instead of coming up to him, Kristie ran right by him and started to run to Alan. They embraced.

“Alan! I knew I’d meet up with you eventually. I’ve missed you!” Kristie said affectionately.

“I’ve missed you too, Kristie! Let’s travel together from now on! It was a mistake leaving two days before you did!”

Jeff could feel a searing pain in the pit of his chest and head. His jaw was left hanging wide open and felt as if everybody except for him, Kristie, and Alan completely disappeared.

Corphish noticed this, quickly walked up to Jeff and tugged on his leg, trying to comfort him.

“<Jeff, you did a good job with that battle!>” Treecko congratulated.

Jeff remained staring at the now kissing pair.

Treecko looked at Jeff’s dumbstruck face. “<What’s wrong, Jeff? … Jeff?>”

Corphish gave Treecko a look that said, “<Leave the guy alone.>”

Treecko stared at the couple blankly, still not understanding what was going on.

Corphish turned to Treecko, gestured at Jeff and then to the kissing couple, and said “<Okay, class! This is what happens when one human in in love with another human, but doesn’t know that the human they’re in love with is going out with someone else; I saw it happen on an episode of Friends!>”

Treecko ignored him and looked up at the human. Jeff slowly walked towards the couple who were now one, his fist clenched. Jeff cringed while he walked as the two still were kissing. He raised his right arm and fist and drew it back.

“<Let him have it, Jeff!>” Corphish called to him. Jeff didn’t hear or chose not to.

He was going to wait until Kristie retracted from the embrace to punch Alan. The kiss seemed like an infinity to him. Finally, Kristie pulled back from Alan for a moment to gaze into his blue eyes. This opened a clear pathway for his fist. He tried to move his arm but it was frozen in place. He looked at his reared back, right arm; it was trembling. Jeff tried with all of his might to punch Alan but he found himself unable to carry on with the attack.

“<Wow, a real life human battle! Maybe we can yell commands to him like he does to us!>” Corphish said with some happy anticipation to Treecko.

“<Corphish, what’s wrong with Jeff? Why hasn’t he punched Alan by now?>” Treecko asked his new teammate, who was still wiping mud off of his face.

“<Beats me. Do you think he doesn’t want to hurt Alan? Or that he feels bad about doing it? Maybe he’s waiting for us to tell him one of his attacks,>” he replied.

“<Doubt it. He seems pretty angry.>”

Jeff tried to force his fist upon Alan, again, but his arm stayed immobile. Alan and Kristie turned to look at him.

“Jeff…what are you doing?” asked Alan in confusion. Jeff was overwhelmed with rage as Alan spoke, but he still couldn’t punch him. He turned away and stormed through the crowd, pushing people as he went. He tramped into the middle of the road, nearly being hit by a taxi, and towards the archway, which led back into route 102.

Treecko turned to Corphish “<You stay here with them.>” gesturing to Kristie, Alan, and Torchic.

“<Shouldn’t someone who actually knows what’s going on talk to Jeff, instead?>” insisted Corphish.

“<Look, I can talk some sense into him. The last thing that he needs is a sarcastic one liner or a reference to a TV show,>” Treecko retorted.

“<Fine,>” he muttered while Treecko ran into the forest. “<Settle down, Paoulo and Rachel…>” Corphish grumbled to the couple.

Ares blinked and stared at Corphish, confused.

“<What? Does nobody watch TV?>” Corphish said in frustration.

Treecko took off after Jeff. The teen ran into the forest, leaned up against a secluded tree. Treecko, being as fast as he was, managed to catch up with him. Treecko climbed up on Jeff’s shoulder and patted him on the back, comfortingly. Jeff got up, sweating from the running and veins pulsing in his head from anger. He turned around and punched the tree behind him. He groaned from pain as he stared at his bleeding knuckle.

“<Are you okay?>” asked Treecko.

“I’ve been better,” Jeff retorted, angrily clenching his fists.

“<I’m sure this must be hell, but there will be other girls. Hell, I haven’t found someone who I loved as much as you liked her. You should consider yourself lucky.>”

“That’s because you’re the only one of your species in this general area! You don’t have to compete for women!” Jeff snapped back. A brief quiet ensued.

“<Well…actua…>” Treecko began, breaking the silence.

“No, look…I’m sorry,” Jeff apologized, interrupting him. He dug his forehead in his hands, trying to keep himself together. They sat in silence for several minutes.

Jeff, calming down, told Treecko, “Come on; let’s go back to the pokemon centre for some sleep. I have a lot of thinking to do.” Treecko looked into Jeff’s green, glazed over and reddened eyes, and nodded silently. Jeff stood up and began to slowly pace back towards the city that reunited two lovers: his most hated friend and his favorite acquaintance. He would never forgive the vile city for arranging that fateful meeting.

They walked under a large archway that said “Welcome to Petalburg, the city where dreams come true!” They entered the neon-lit street, turned right and went into the pokemon center. Jeff and Treecko found Corphish resting on a couch inside the pokemon centre. The two collapsed on the couch with the shellfish. All three of them were very tired. The two pokemon slept soundly. Before Jeff succumbed to sleep he made a huge decision.

--------------------------------------------------

The next day, Jeff woke up and walked over to Kristie, who sat on a couch next to Alan in the pokemon center. She stood up and met with him. He was unable to look her in the eyes when talking to her. He explained to her, “Kristie, I’ve decided to continue the rest of my journey alone.”

Kristie replied, confused, “Jeff, are you sure? You could always come along with me and Ala...”

Jeff cut her off with a quick, but stubborn, “I’m positive!” He couldn’t bear to hear her utter that name. “I’m sorry, I have to go…goodbye,” he quickly spat out as he and his pokemon turned to exit the pokemon center.

“Later, Jeff,” Alan called to him. Jeff shot him a piercing, dagger-like glare, but he knew that if he looked at him too long he might lose it. He had to bite his lip to keep himself from going off on a yelling and cursing spree on Alan. He struggled even to stop himself from saying something vile and offensive to him. He shakily reached for the door.

Kristie said words that made him stop dead in his tracks when he opened the glass door.

“I’m going to miss you, Jeff.”

Jeff shut his eyes, nodded, and quickly left the house of healing, repentantly leaving his deepest crush behind him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Infinite Devil Machine September 15th, 2007 10:11 AM

I really liked this one. The battle scenes could have been written better, but they weren't the bulk of the chapter anyway. Treecko and Corphish seem to be friendlier to each other. You gotta love Jeff beating his rival and then losing the girl. Kinda makes this fic title wrong, huh? :p

Grovyle42(Griff8416) September 15th, 2007 6:47 PM

Cool, I'm glad you liked it. hah, and yeah, this does kind of change the aspect of the fic name :P

The Infinite Devil Machine September 15th, 2007 6:55 PM

I was thinking that instead of comparing Petalburg to Manhattan, you could have compared it to Saffron or Goldenrod? Any big events happening next chapter?

Grovyle42(Griff8416) September 15th, 2007 7:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beret (Post 2890424)
I was thinking that instead of comparing Petalburg to Manhattan, you could have compared it to Saffron or Goldenrod? Any big events happening next chapter?

THAT'S what I was going to do. I was going to say Something like "a Saffron City on the coast" but I forgot and I said Manhattan.

A semi big event is happening next chapter. After it's some character developing/interactions.

The Infinite Devil Machine September 15th, 2007 7:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 2890443)
THAT'S what I was going to do. I was going to say Something like "a Saffron City on the coast" but I forgot and I said Manhattan.

A semi big event is happening next chapter. After it's some character developing/interactions.

I'd much rather prefer more character development to an Evolution/Capture. Take your time.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) September 15th, 2007 7:19 PM

Ok, well something from columns A AND B happen next chapter. :rambo:

The Infinite Devil Machine September 15th, 2007 9:39 PM

It's just a shame you couldn't fit a Mudkip joke in there.

e.g.

Jeff: You chose Mudkip as your starter?

Alan: Yes, I love the little guy!

Jeff, Yeah, I heard you liked Mudkips.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) September 16th, 2007 5:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beret (Post 2890678)
It's just a shame you couldn't fit a Mudkip joke in there.

e.g.

Jeff: You chose Mudkip as your starter?

Alan: Yes, I love the little guy!

Jeff, Yeah, I heard you liked Mudkips.

I actually struggled not to. It probably would have been Corphish making the crack. I was worried it might have been overdone/distasteful. :laugh:

Gummy September 16th, 2007 10:30 AM

Aww, I kinda feel bad for Jeff... But he needs to suck it up and be a man! The descriptions were better in this chapter but unless Jeff is spending a little more time in Petalburg, you should decribe the city a little more. Also, you forgot to describe Alan's clothes (I think). Overall, though, it was a great chapter. Keep up the good work and I can't wait to see when Jeff and Alan meet again!

Rebellious Treecko September 16th, 2007 1:52 PM

Wow, big events here.

Spoiler:
Mainly, the chapter seemed a bit like "Odd Pokemon Out", except with humans. :P

I felt really bad for Jeff, he must've had a hard time there.
Are Jeff and Kristie going to meet again later in the story?


Spoiler:
I also noticed that the small relationship between Corpish and Treecko reminds me of the anime. *cough*

Grovyle42(Griff8416) September 16th, 2007 5:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glajummy (Post 2893386)
Aww, I kinda feel bad for Jeff... But he needs to suck it up and be a man! The descriptions were better in this chapter but unless Jeff is spending a little more time in Petalburg, you should decribe the city a little more. Also, you forgot to describe Alan's clothes (I think). Overall, though, it was a great chapter. Keep up the good work and I can't wait to see when Jeff and Alan meet again!

Oh didn't I mention that Alan was a nudist (J/K!) Yeah, that was my fault. You'll see the after effects from the event next chapter (obviously :P )



Quote:

Originally Posted by Eternal Smasher (Post 2894721)
Wow, big events here.

Spoiler:
Mainly, the chapter seemed a bit like "Odd Pokemon Out", except with humans. :P

I felt really bad for Jeff, he must've had a hard time there.
Are Jeff and Kristie going to meet again later in the story?

Yeah, this will be significant later on. And yes, The two will be meeting later on, other wise that would be a cheap way to get rid of a character :P

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eternal Smasher (Post 2894721)
Spoiler:
I also noticed that the small relationship between Corpish and Treecko reminds me of the anime. *cough*

Really?

I was worried about using Corphish and Treecko and ____, because I knew that they were both Ash's pokemon in the show. I didn't start watching advanced gen until the middle of the Advanced Battle season, so I wasn't aware of much of a relationship between them. :/ Is the relationship between them friendly or kind of pissed off at each other? Because I'm going for them being pissed off at each other at this point. I didn't even watch "Tree's a Crowd" yet (Le gasp! Don't shoot me during one of our Treecko club meetings, please :( )

diamondpearl876 September 22nd, 2007 8:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 2895543)
Oh didn't I mention that Alan was a nudist (J/K!) Yeah, that was my fault. You'll see the after effects from the event next chapter (obviously :P )





Yeah, this will be significant later on. And yes, The two will be meeting later on, other wise that would be a cheap way to get rid of a character :P



Really?

I was worried about using Corphish and Treecko and ____, because I knew that they were both Ash's pokemon in the show. I didn't start watching advanced gen until the middle of the Advanced Battle season, so I wasn't aware of much of a relationship between them. :/ Is the relationship between them friendly or kind of pissed off at each other? Because I'm going for them being pissed off at each other at this point. I didn't even watch "Tree's a Crowd" yet (Le gasp! Don't shoot me during one of our Treecko club meetings, please :( )

...Ash's Pokemon, and every other Pokemon that belongs to a trainer for that matter, is like a robot. They have no personality whatsoever. THEY ARE ROBOTS TRYING TO TAKE OVER YOUR FRIDGE! Seriously, the only ones I've seen with a personality besides the "omg i love everybody and everything and i always want to make things right!!" is Charizard and Sceptile. I may have forgotten one or two, but for the most part, everyone else is the same.

Just wanted to make that comment. Anyway, I'm waiting for the awesome chapter I beta'd'd'd'd.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) September 23rd, 2007 4:31 AM

^Well its good to know that mine are different in that aspect. But still, whats the Treecko/Corphish relationship that was mentioned?

And it was a very good beta at that ^_^

diamondpearl876 September 23rd, 2007 5:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 2919160)
^Well its good to know that mine are different in that aspect. But still, whats the Treecko/Corphish relationship that was mentioned?

And it was a very good beta at that ^_^

I don't know. I never saw Treecko/Grovyle/Sceptile interact with the little thing. o_O

Alter Ego September 23rd, 2007 10:09 AM

Nyu, I've been meaning to do this one for quite a while but couldn't find the time. Somme commas will be mentioned, but I will try not to tread on your sensibilities too much. ;3 Also, hope you meant what you said about encouraging constructive criticism because my reviews tend to end up containing a lot of criticism. x3 Oh, and just as a note: most of the comments are from my own subjective point of view and you are by no means obligated to agree with me on all of them. Style is a subjective thing, after all, and you're the author here. :3

Prologue: Okay, it's brief and suitably vague; both good qualities in a prologue. The chase scene opening is a classic and you've made it work for you. The only issue I have here is that part of your grammatical decisions are kind of interfering with the mood:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 2745176)
Everything was a dark green and brown blur in my eyes. I ran through the eerie, misty forest, bounding over roots and branches. There were few beams of light trying to enter the forest; they were clearly seen in the haze.

Okay, this is a chase/escape scene so it should have that hectic feel to it. In this context, I found the 'they were' here a bit odd. I mean sure, it's grammatically correct but in this case you could have just gone with "There were few beams of light trying to enter the forest, clearly visible in the haze"; it's basically saying the same thing but without the semi-colon speed bump. If you feel like going extreme wing with it you could also replace the first full stop with an 'as'.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 2745176)
I knew I was being chased, I could sense it. Beside me was a moving shape…maybe a figure. It blended in with the forest but had blur of red with it, as it ran by my side, as if a piece of the forest was running with me.

No comma needed after "blur of red with it"; I'm picking on the commas in this chapter because commas can slow down a passage a lot.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 2745176)
I heard whispers and high, raspy shrieks of a creature surrounding me. They gradually grew louder and I struggled, helpless.

Small note: how can one creature surround anyone? o.O

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 2745176)
I looked down at my left arm and saw a gigantic gash appear down my left bicep. It didn’t bleed but I could see the insides of my arm, revealing veins, muscle, and tissue. I, horrified, continued to try to stand up and run.

You could just replace the comma after "arm" and the "revealing" with a colon since you're essentially listing the insides of the arm you mentioned. Also, the double commas around "horrified" seem a bit like overpunctuating to me; you could just go with "Horrified, I continued...".


Like I said, it's a good prologue overall and certainly established my interest in finding out what the heck is going on. The first person perspective was also a good call since adds nicely to the chase feel and obscures the runner's identity even better than a third person narrative would. :3


Chapter 1:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 2745176)
He held the back of his head. His hand going through his dark brown hair, which is light and somewhat dense; reminiscent of Paul McCartney’s hair in his early years, with the hair overgrowing in the back.

First off, that should be "was" rather than "is" since this is a past tense narrative. Also, what about the hair is "light", precisely? It obviously can't be the color since you already stated that it was dark; so do you mean like...weight or something? o.O Either way, it's "Resemblant to" but "Reminiscent of", careful with those. :3 Also, I'm not too wild about real life references in description (Seeing as how it would be a bit of a stretch to expect some people to know what Paul McCartney's hair looks like); some kind of description of the hairstyle would have been preferable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 2745176)
His eyes darted to the window, which had a leafy tree branch brushing up against the glass. His eyes then looked to the beige wall of his room.

Style warning: you usually don't want two adjacent sentences to start with the same phrase since it does get that repetitive tone. You've already proven that you've got the vocabulary to avoid such things.
Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 2745176)
He idly fondled a long, lance-shaped leaf of the dragon tongue plant, beside him, as he stared at his wall.

There's really no call for either comma here. Yes, yes, I know...I should cut down on the comma remarks but I just couldn't help myself on this one. xP
Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 2745176)
Jeff continued scrolling his eyes along the wall. He stopped at a calendar. He focused in on his birthday, which was a few weeks away. Jeff would become 17, shortly. A square on the calendar caught Jeff’s eye. It was today’s date circled in red marker.

Jeff blinked in revelation. “Today’s the day I get my first pokemon!” Jeff thought to himself.

Okay...there's just too much Jeff in this passage. Again, to avoid a repetitive tone try to cut down to only one mention of his name per sentence, using more alternative expressions. Again, you have the vocabulary so use it. ;3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 2745176)
Jeff has many friends who are aspiring pokemon masters/coordinators. Most of them have already set out on their journey during high school with their very own pokemon. They have been successful at doing what they do best…fight and show off.

Again, you have a random splash of present tense in a past tense narrative, which isn't too cool.
Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 2745176)
Jeff comes off as modest, but really he is an incredibly proud and stubborn individual and would not do anything that would compromise his pride. If Jeff was at a huge disadvantage in a game and was offered some help or a bonus, he would turn it down without thinking twice.

Although Jeff has a posse of close friends, he has always made himself a bit of an odd man out and a lone wolf in the group. When his group of friends are laughing and playing he would always be a little bit off to the side, calmly relaxing and pondering about whatever is in his mind. They didn't seem to mind his lonerish ways, though.

If this were in a character profile it would be awesome, but in a fanfic this sort of sticks out and not really in a good way. Your narrative was nice and flowing thus far, so this chunk of description just came as a bit of a letdown to me. :\


Other than that...well, there's not much happening in this chapter but the dream thing and the mention of hospital (not to mention the twig) was enough to keep the plot hook in. Also, props for word choices and explaining the age thing. ;3

Chapter 2: Okay, I've got to admit: I didn't expect a flashback at this point, but it was a pleasant surprise and explains his habit. (Aaand acts as a dead giveaway of his starter, as if the twig wasn't enough of a hint. xD) Anyway, good to see a little life-threatening scenario to counter-balance the rather passive nature of the last chapter. It's hardly a new thing in the pokémon franchise but it was well played so I'm not complaining. ^-^ Just a small point, though:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 2745176)
Jeff began to think, “Perhaps we were not so different after all…”

I really don't think that the "Jeff began to think" bit is necessary here; touchy little phrases like that should be given their space. ;3


Chapter 3:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 2745176)
The moonlight shone upon the Treecko, illuminating a healed scar down his green collarbone, which Jeff did not notice before.

That should be 'shone' in this instance. Shined is only used when the verb is there are as a synonym for polish, e.g. "He stopped and shined his nifty gym badges". ^^

Anyways, nice to see a little conflict introduced to the growing friendship between Jeff and Treecko (and a very realistic reaction from Tyrogue's point of view, seeing as how he - the alpha male, as Chikorita very aptly put it - was essentially being upstaged by a stranger.). Got to feel bad for Treecko at the end there, but it adds interest to the future development of their relationship. Also, does Jeff understand Tyrogue or not? Because with that last sentence it almost seemed like he comprehended the words themselves. o.O Regardless, you did a good job on this one; very revealing about their shared past without going completely overboard with it. ^^

Chapter 4: Aww...Jeff's being all protective about Treecko this time around. Heh, those two really need to stop taking nasty hits for each other before someone loses an eye. And speaking of eyes...gawd, I loved that pokeball capture beam bit. They should really put security labels on those. xD

Chapter 5: Yeah, seconding Glajummy's bit on Kristie. Maybe you should consider relocating that description, seeing as how we now have more than one reader who forgot about it? I mean, in chapter 4 the description has sort of been crammed in just before the really big self-sacrifice scene with Treecko and Jeff so it sort of fades into the background. Personally, I would have liked to have seen a bit of tension from the side of the fresh catch (I mean, Corpish seems to be taking this very calmly. It's like he's been caught before and knows the drill. o.O), but that's just me. Love the way Treecko and Jeff argue even though they're friends and...aww, let's face it: I just love Treecko as a character. His interjections are hilarious. xD The battle scenes were well done; you kept stuck to the low level and limited movepool jazz without making it a boring slapfight, though I hope that Treecko will get his loss sometime too. :3

Chapter 6: Eww...Alan's a nakey! O=

...

Sorry, I just couldn't resist. Aaaanyway...win the battle and lose the girl...now that's got to sting. I don't know if I've mentioned it earlier in this review, but you really play your cliches well; as a reader I don't even notice them unless I look close. At any rate, the fight scenes are still going fine, but I've got to point out that you're brushing awfully close to the anime approach in handling Corpish and Treecko battle wise (Corpish tossing Bubblebeams and Crabhammers left and right and now Treecko's Bullet Seed). Please, pretty please don't make your battles go the way of the anime? I'd really like to see some battle style of your own design and not something from Satoshi. Other than that, it's a nice and enjoyable chapter. :3


Now to round this off with a few things about the fic in general: I have to agree that the characters are what keep this fic alive. Really, you deserve an extra pat for the most palpable effort you've put into their personalities. You should work on describing the setting a bit more, though. My main concern, however, is plot development: thus far the big incentive to come back has been to find out about the characters' histories, but obviously there's only so much of that you can do before things get repetitive. Is there anything in the way of bigger conflicts or villains on the horizon? A good, solid quest of some sort would be nice. :3

Anyways, I'm enjoying this fic thus far, so keep at it. Also, sorry for the somewhat superficial treatment that some chapters got, but if I sat down to really write my full, uncensored comments on each and every chapter you'd never see the end of it. Hope some of this was a bit clearer than mud. xD

Grovyle42(Griff8416) September 23rd, 2007 3:02 PM

On a Wing and a Prayer

The trio left the pokemon center, leaving behind Kristie, Alan, and Torchic. Corphish nested on Jeff’s backpack, while Treecko walked along side them. While they were walking on the long, populous street, Jeff felt as if every person that they passed knew about what happened and was mocking him. He avoided all glances and eyes. They walked by skyscraper after skyscraper, high rise apartment after high rise apartment. To their left, the roads sloped down, creating a hill that led to the commercial docks of Petalburg. The city was scattered with large office buildings and businesses, reminiscent to a Saffron City by the sea. They continued to solemnly walk along the seemingly endless street. They passed a gym, to their right, whose sign said “Under Construction!” There were large yellow cranes lifting big planks of wood into the half made gym.

Jeff turned and walked towards the active construction site. He approached a Machoke wearing a yellow hard hat. The worker pokemon, who carried a large, metal girder over his shoulder, had a purple-gray skin tone and housed massive muscles. He looked very similar to a human except he had three crests on his head.

“Excuse me,” Jeff piped up to get the superpower pokemon’s attention. “What’s going on here?” he asked, pointing to the gym.

“<If you’re a trainer you’re out of luck, kid. This gym is undergoing renovations. The next closest gym is the one in Rustboro; through Petalburg Forest. If you like swimming then you could try the gym in Dewford, which is right across the sea and down the road. I recommend swimming; it will give you more exercise!>” the Machoke told him.

“Thanks, I’ll try Rustboro and then Dewford. Hang in there… I know I need to,” Jeff answered with sadness.

Machoke sweat dropped and continued moving the girder.

Past the gym they could see the gates of the town, leading towards the beach and Petalburg Forest. The trio made it past the gates and out of the city; they were now faced by a large beach and calm blue shores in front of them. They looked on and saw people relaxing; there were people sunbathing, humans swam along side water pokemon, a game of beach volley ball was going on with humans and pokemon. Jeff looked at them enviously.

They’re all so happy and without worry… ” Jeff thought before turning his head.

To their right was a dirt path leading to a dense forest. They followed the pathways until they reached the massive woodland.

“This must be Petalburg Forest,” Jeff said glumly, peering into the darkness. “Let’s go.”

The trio entered the forest. Murky roots and vines littered the base of the trees. The thick, tree canopies made it impossible for light to enter. It was as if the sun dared not enter the woods. Mist fogged them from any long range sight. The situation suited Jeff’s mood.

They walked through the wooded area. Around them they could hear the trills of birds and the hisses of bug pokemon. Above flew a beautiful, elegant airborne bug. The patterns on its wings were dazzling. Treecko remained calm, but kept up his guard. Who knows what pokemon were hostile and what pokemon weren’t? Corphish rode on Jeff’s back, merrily enjoying the view; it was very rare that he got to be this high up.

“<Giddy up, Jeff!>” Corphish cried, poking Jeff’s head with his claw.

“Y’know, Corphish…its not exactly EASY carrying you and this hiking pack, among other things. How much do you weigh?!” Jeff groaned.

“<I’ll have you know that I’m a very nice size for a Corphish of my stature!>” Corphish shot in reply.

Jeff raised an arm in an ‘L’ shape, indicating them to stop.

“Ok, its lunch time,” he said in a disheartened, monotone voice.

Corphish jumped off of his backpack and landed on the ground. Jeff zipped open the backpack and took out three sandwiches. Corphish shoveled the entire sandwich in his mouth and his face lit up.

“<Yes! I get caught by a trainer who gives us REAL food as opposed to that lame, store bought riceballs!>”

Treecko wandered off from them while he ate. He didn’t linger far, but just enough so that he was away from the crowd. He looked up and noticed a red and white pattern moving from tree to tree in the air. Whatever it was seemed curious about the food. Meanwhile, Corphish was hopping around as if in an action movie. He opened his claws and shot bubblebeams at the treetops. He fired with both his claws and shot in all directions.
“<Take this! And this!>” Corphish yelled as he aimed at the high tree branches above.
The bubbles exploded on contact with the limbs of the tree. He did a barrel roll in the grass and fired at the top of the tree that Treecko was looking at.

“<Could I be anymore awesome?>” he said cockily. Just then, a red and white pattern emerged from the darkness and the floating chips of bark, which were ripped from the trees during the bubble attacks. Surrounding the outlined figure was a series of dark, hazy blue feathers. It appeared injured from the attack. It fell from its perch but righted itself in the air. It circled the trio in a hunter-like fashion. Jeff recognized the pokemon as a Taillow, like the one that he battled against before Petalburg…when times were simpler. Jeff was impressed by the forked tail of the pokemon; it was much longer than the one he had seen before. The angered Taillow squawked for the aid of his comrades. Three Taillows appeared from the misty forest and descended upon the three intruders.

“<Corphish, you idiot!>” scolded Treecko. Treecko threw the remainder of his sandwich with striking dexterity at the lead Taillow and hit him in his face. The Taillow managed to stay afloat, but was obviously enraged. Treecko assumed a battle stance and awaited the oncoming enemies.

“<Hey! I didn’t know that this birdbrain would sit around WAITING for me to attack him! Nice throw by the way, Babe Ruth, that Taillow is still picking ham out of his beak!>”

“Corphish, return!” Jeff frantically called, shooting the pokeball.

“<What are you doing!? We need Corphish’s help to fight…as big of an idiot as he is! Although, I think I can take all four of them, solo!>” insisted Treecko confidently.

“No! We’re running!” Jeff ordered adamantly. He scooped up Treecko and began running before Treecko could make a move. They took off into the forest, pursued by the small flock of angry Taillow.

“<Jeff what are you doing? We’ve never run from a fight and there are only four of them! You could catch one!>” Treecko protested, as they continued to be chased by Taillows.

Jeff ignored him and held him tightly, running with all of his strength.

“<What the hell are you doing? Let me down, now!>”

“No way!”

“<I swear to Arceus, Jeff, if you don’t stop running…>” Treecko threatened, wedging out of Jeff’s grip.

“What are going to do? Shout at me?”

Treecko had had enough; he pounded Jeff across the face with his tail, causing them both to fall into the mud.

“What the hell was that?!” shot Jeff, with a large, red, tail imprint across his mug.

“<THAT’S what I’m going to do! Now you better get up and help me battle, or else I’ll do it solo!>”

“No, I’m not letting myself force you or Corphish battle for my personal gain again! I don’t want to put you guys in danger,” Jeff angrily yelled.

“<Don’t give me that crap! We chose to come with you and battle along side you! If we don’t fight we’re going to be bird food, so STOP feeling sorry for yourself and DO something! We care about you enough that we’ll battle to save you, so give us a chance, or you might as well paint targets on our heads,>” Treecko yelled, angrily.

Jeff sat there in shock for a moment. He looked up at the descending Taillow.

“Treecko, it’s not that simple!” he yelled in retort.

Treecko huffed, annoyed and insulted by the ‘retreat order’.

“<I’ll do this myself…>” he growled, walking past the dumbstruck Jeff.

Treecko stood in front of the diving Taillow, making himself the target for attack. Unflinchingly, he spat many light green, high powered seeds at the flock, it hit the lead Taillow that Corphish hit, and scattered the rest of the Taillow. The injured Taillow let out a cry and began to fly in a downward spiral. He landed in front of them, skidding in the dirt until he reached a halt.

“<There, my work’s done, so do your job!>”

Jeff raised a pokeball-wielding hand and reared it back. He noticed his arm began to shake again. Treecko looked up and noticed this as well.

“<Jeff, throw the ball!>”

“I… can’t. I can’t take another pokemon away from its home!”

“<Jeff, if you don’t catch that Taillow right now… he’s going to wake up, call for help, and then we’ll be up to out necks in Taillows! So throw that damned ball!>”

Jeff still stalled. He looked up at his hand, and then down at the Taillow who tried to support itself on one wing. He took pity on the sad sight and slightly lowered the ball. Taillow opened his mouth in the preparation of a shrill peep. Treecko noticed this, sighed, and took matters into his own hands. He whacked the ball from Jeff’s hands and then batted the ball again, before it could hit the ground. The ball rolled quickly and hit the Taillow before he could let out a chirp. Taillow was engulfed in a red light and sucked into the ball. The ball wriggled and rolled about the forest floor, refusing to lock. It was obvious that the Taillow really wanted out. After much struggle, Taillow gave in and the ball locked shut.

Treecko picked up the ball and threw it to Jeff. “<Now was that so hard?>” Treecko spat in a dislike of the human’s attitude.

Jeff pined and sat on the earth, cross-legged. He looked somberly at Taillow’s pokeball before releasing it. The blue feathered bird appeared on the grass in front of them.

“Hello, Taillow, sorry about that,” Jeff greeted the irritated bird pokemon.

“<I have a name you know, stupid human!>” Taillow shot back, not expecting Jeff to understand him.

“You have a name?” Jeff asked the irked bird, confused by the response.

The Taillow’s eyes widened and he became flushed. “<You…understood me, human?>” he asked awkwardly.

“Yeah, I did.”

“<Every human I’ve seen was unable to understand their pokemon, though,>” he explained.

“I guess I’m luc… different,” Jeff corrected himself in reply.

“<Well you shouldn’t expect that every single pokemon’s name is their species name. It’s just…how you humans would say… ‘Straight up ig’nant’,>” replied the Taillow, making quotation signs with his wings. “<How would you like it if I called you ‘human’ everytime I address you? It’s kind of insulting!>”

“I’m sorry. What is your name?” Jeff answered warmly.

“<My friends called me Daedalus…but I guess I’m stuck with you now.>”

Jeff crouched to his level and extended a hand, “I’m Jeff, nice to meet you, Daedalus.”

Daedalus rolled his eyes and reluctantly shook the hand with his wing in retort. Jeff shot a glare at Treecko. “Well, Daedalus, I plan to make this journey as painless as possible for you.”

“<Bloody fantastic!>” thought the defeated Taillow. “<I’ve been captured by a human; I really let my boys down. Now who will lead them and guide them when things get rough? I can’t believe this!>” He held his face with his wing in pure frustration. “<The only bright side is that I can tell the human exactly how I feel and he won’t pretend to listen and then make me do a loop-dee-loop.>”

After awhile of being perched on Jeff’s shoulder as they walked, Daedalus asked, “<Aren’t you going to put me back in my pokeball or something?>”

“Not unless you want to…>” Jeff replied.

“<You put the orange bugger, who hit me, back in his pokeball,>”

“Yeah, I didn’t really think you two would ‘hit it off’ so well…” Jeff attempted the joke; but the delivery was poor due to his saddened voice. “I hate to ask but can you show us the way out?”

Daedalus reluctantly nodded and pointed his wing from his collarbone perch. Jeff and Treecko followed the unhappy guide’s directions.

Daedalus began to think, “<isn’t this poetic? I’m being forced to show the human the way out of my home so that he can take me with him! This human called ‘Jeff’ seems rather depressed, too.>”

They walked for ten minutes before the light of day could be seen in the distance. Something moving in the dark popped out in front of them. Jeff and Taillow jumped back at the action of the figure. They carefully inspected the human. A boy about Jeff’s age and height stood before them. Covering his blond, curly hair was a large, sun hat. Beneath his hat was a boyish face that had a large grin spread across it. He had a green bandana tied around his neck. There was a single pokeball attached to his belt, which divided a white t-shirt and green soccer shorts. He blocked their path with a large, staff-like stick.

“Can I help you?” Jeff asked the stranger in irritation.

“No… but I can help you… battle me,” the guy said with an all-knowing voice, guised with a crooked smile.

“I’d rather not; I just want to get by,” replied Jeff, trying to move by the stick. The teen raised the stick, stopping him.

“You will get by me once you fight me in a pokemon battle,” he explained, the smile still glued in the same spot.

“Look! I’m not in the mood to battle, so just let me by!”

“That’s exactly the problem,” the mysterious guy grinned. He took the pokeball from his belt and threw it on the ground in front of him. What appeared in the darkness was an intense flare of light. Jeff and Daedalus squinted since their eyes weren’t used to the luminosity, but Treecko gazed straight into the beam, unbothered by it. The light dissipated and a ball, the size of a beach ball, appeared on the ground; it span around in circles. The ball was a tan color and it had brick-like scales on its stiff back. The sphere stopped rolling and the pokemon came from out of its folded position. The pokemon had a white underbelly, a strong tail and legs, which had sharp claws for digging, and a cute shrew-like face with beady black eyes.

“If you can beat Deyja, my Sandshrew, with any of your three pokemon, then you can go on your way.”

“I’m thrilled that you want to battle me, but I’m sorry; I’m not fighting you!”

“I’m afraid that’s not up to you.” With a smile, he pointed his finger, “Deyja, use scratch on Daedalus!”

Jeff’s eyes widened at the command. “How does he know his name?” thought Jeff to himself.

"<Jeff?!>" chirped a worried Daedalus, who was perched on Jeff's shoulder. He quickly darted his head at him.

The Sandshrew lunged at Jeff, who leaned back in an attempt to dodge. Deyja jumped on Jeff’s chest, which acted as a platform as he leaned back. He scrambled up the green shirt and jumped, head butting Daedalus from the perch. Daedalus fell to the ground, followed by Deyja, who jumped on his wings, pinning him down. Deyja began to scratch at Daedalus; dark blue feathers, with tints of crimson, shot up after each swipe.

Jeff looked on, dumbstruck and pathetic, at the mouse pokemon who was tearing his new teammate apart. Daedalus lay there, twitching and wincing, helplessly. Jeff could see his contempt, it was like he was thinking, “<Oh great, I’m just another pawn in this guy’s game of chess.>”

“<Jeff, are you going to just watch this?!>”

Jeff ignored Treecko and looked on. He whimpered, “Dae…Daedalus…” The Taillow’s wide eyes began to close as he slipped away. Jeff ran over to Daedalus, nudged the Sandshrew off of him, and picked him up. He clutched the bird tightly to his chest; Daedalus’ blood soaked his green shirt. Daedalus opened one eye and looked at Jeff.

"<What...>" he began weakly, and then continued, "<kind of trainer are you?>" Jeff only gulped in response

“So, will you fight me with your Corphish or should I sic Deyja on your Treecko before you finally decide to battle?”

Jeff's stomach churned in self loathing, while he looked at the badly wounded Daedalus. How come he kept letting his pokemon down? “I guess I have no choice. Why are you doing this and how do you know I have a Corphish?” Jeff grilled, cradling the wounded Taillow.

The guy remained silent. He just tipped his hat and continued to grin.

Jeff gently placed Daedalus and his backpack on the ground next to him

“Treecko, give Daedalus a potion! Come on out, Corphish; I guess we have to battle.”

Corphish emerged from the red beam and stood, facing the Sandshrew.

“<Somebody call PBS because Hammie the Hamster escaped and now he’s a hardass!>” Corphish taunted his opponent.

“Corphish… uhh… use… erm… ” Jeff acted as if this was his first battle and he had never seen a Corphish in his life; too much was racing in his mind.

“<Jeff, you must be a Russian dictator…because you are STALIN’.>”

Right as Corphish finished the joke he found himself being blindsided by Deyja. Corphish was knocked sideways and stopped at the base of a tree. He groaned and got to his many feet using his claw. Corphish raised his pincers in front of him.

“You’ve got to take control, man! Your pokemon need you just as much as you need your pokemon!” advised the odd stranger. “Now I’ll give you one moment before Deyja uses swift!”

The Sandshrew reared back his head.

“Corphish use… use… ” Jeff stammered. He had no confidence in what move he should make. What if he said the wrong move and Corphish was left vulnerable? What if he made a decision that killed Corphish?!

Deyja jerked his head forward, spitting out many shiny, star-like blades. The stars cut into Corphish’s sides before disintegrating into sparkling dust. The volley worsened and Corphish struggled to stand.

“Corppy, no!” Jeff called, returning Corphish to the security of his pokeball.

“So now your Treecko…I hope you’ve learned something from your Corphish’s defeat,” the sagely guy scolded.

Treecko stepped forward, towards the Sandshrew. He moved the twig from one side of his mouth to the other, hoping that Jeff would come to his senses.

“Deyja, use dig!” The mole pokemon dug fiercely in the earth with his sharp talons. In a matter of seconds he was completely underground. Treecko looked around him; he was on his sharpest guard.

“Now, use sand tomb!”

Treecko could feel the earth become soft beneath his feet. He tried to jump but a pair of claws grabbed his left foot and dragged it down, under the mud. With one foot completely submerged, Treecko could not free his foot. He angrily looked around him in anticipation for the next attack.

“<Jeff, I could really use your help here… or are you a coward?>” Treecko growled.

Jeff stared on as his friend was helpless. “I can’t let him get hurt! But, what can I do? I’m just a failure. This creep is playing for keeps and if I lose my best friend then what do I have? Think, Jeff, think! How can you help?

Jeff’s train of thought was distracted when soil exploded from behind Treecko. In the wave of earth was Sandshrew about to attack with razor sharp claws. Jeff knew that he had to help. He subconsciously pushed his love and confidence issues to the side of his mind and before he realized it, he felt words leave his throat and his tongue sound out words!

“TREECKO, BEHIND YOU!!! USE BULLET SEED!!” Jeff yelled in a furious fervor, spitting wildly as he roared.

Treecko jutted his head behind and saw the beige figure lunging at him. He spat out an intense spray of light green bullets. They hit Deyja, throwing him backwards.

“Keep at it! Don’t let up!”

Treecko continued firing, without stopping even to gasp for air. The light green seeds created dirt clouds around the Sandshrew, The smoke created a mask over the battlefield. When the dust cleared, Deyja was crawling back to the outsider, badly injured.

“Congratulations, Jeff; you pulled yourself together and managed to defeat Deyja. My name is Chad, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you, Chad,” beamed Jeff. He walked over to Treecko, kneeled down and hugged him.

“<I’m happy you’re back to your fighting self, too, but what have I told you about hugging in public…or private for that matter?!>” Treecko grumbled uncomfortably.

“Sorry, I’ll have to watch that,” he smiled in reply.

“<And while you’re at it…want to get my leg out of the ground?>”

Jeff nodded and began digging at the dirt around Treecko’s leg. After a large pull Jeff got Treecko out. Treecko dusted his leg off and folded his arms. They turned around to talk to Chad, but he had completely disappeared from sight.

“What a weird guy…”

Daedalus hopped over to the two; he had completely recovered with the potion. He hopped onto Jeff’s shoulder and Jeff grabbed the bag before they headed towards the exit. When they left the woods the light burned their eyes.

“I think we should stop a few minutes so that we can adjust to the light. I think I’ll heal Corphish while I’m at it.”

“<Doesn’t he have a name?>” Daedalus chirped.

“He wouldn’t tell me. Treecko wouldn’t tell me his either,” answered Jeff suspiciously, as he released Corphish. Jeff applied the potion to Corphish’s cuts. “Oh yeah, Corppy, this is Daedalus; he was the Taillow you hit while you were being ‘John McClaine'.”

Daedalus nodded in acknowledgement.

“Careful, Daedalus, he jokes…”

“Cor, corphish cor, corphish, phish?” he said to Daedalus. This translated to, “<Could you be anymore of a bird!?>”

Treecko sighed, “<That catch phrase will never get old,>” he muttered sarcastically.

“<What’d you say?>” Corphish became irked at Treecko.

“<I said your jokes are old and repetitive,>” Treecko smirked, confidently.

“<What the hell is your problem?>” Corphish spat, taking offense to the insult of his pride and joy.

“<My problem is that your damn antics almost caused Daedalus and his buddies to kill us!>” Treecko quickly retorted, scowling.

“<Aw, what’s wrong? Did you hear a tree fall in the forest?>” mocked Corphish.

“Hey you two!” Jeff tried to interrupt but they ignored him.

“<Didn’t you say you were too pathetic during mating season to get a female Corphish?>” Treecko growled, stepping forward. His smug grin stayed on his face while he approached his orange rival.

“<Listen, salad ass! That’s a completely different subject!>” Corphish shot back, clicking his claws together, preparing to fight.

“<Settle down you two, NOW!>” Daedalus twittered with annoyance.

Treecko and Corphish shot him a cold glare. They stepped forward and Corphish threw the first punch, hitting Treecko in the jaw. Treecko stumbled back but quickly recovered and tackled Corphish backwards into the dirt. Jeff ran over to the two rolling around on the ground and tried to pry them apart but he ended up a claw and tail in the face and legs. The simultaneous blows sent him flat on his back.

“What the HELL, guys!” Jeff shouted as the two began to fight on top of Jeff’s chest. Treecko swung around, slamming his tail hard into Corphish. Corphish flew backwards, hitting Jeff in the face, before sprawling down the hill. Treecko jumped down the hill after him.

Jeff put his shirt to his bleeding lip as he got up and looked at Taillow. “Welcome to the family, Daedalus,” Jeff growled, “Now let’s go get those idiots back!” Daedalus nodded and flew after Jeff, who began to slowly traverse down the hill.

Corphish and Treecko found themselves tumbling over dirt and on the riverside. One of them would get up to run but the other would drag them back to the ground and they would keep fighting. The cycle continued; they became slowly more bruised and beaten. Over the sand they rolled until they were past a sign that showed a picture of a man and pokemon crossing a line with a red X drawn over them.

They panted heavily, still throwing punches at the other, until they were under a tree with a large branch reaching over them. They stopped, stood up, and panted with a scowl imprinted on both of their faces. They were being watched. Treecko stepped backwards onto a hidden noose in the sand. The rope shot upwards, snagging Treecko’s tails and one of his legs. He dangled upside down from the tree, and Corphish walked beneath him and began to laugh hysterically.

"<What's the big idea?!>" Treecko growled.

“<Not so cool now, are ya?>” mocked Corphish.

“Treecko cko cko!” Treecko grunted and swore at Corphish, swinging around to try to get free.

“<Maybe I’ll use you as a piñata!>” Corphish continued laughing.

Treecko struggled and then glared at Corphish. He opened his mouth and fired a bullet seed down, causing Corphish to jump backwards. When Corphish dodged, he activated a trap oh his own; a net came shooting up from the hidden sand, ensnaring Corphish. Treecko grinned at Corphish, who got his comeuppance.

“<So now I’m trapped too, congratulations,>” Corphish scowled. “<I might have gotten you down too, if you begged.>”

“<Oh yeah?>”
“<Yeah, ‘Tree Hugger’!>”

“<Why don’t I swing over there and pound you into Corphish soup?>” Treecko shouted back from the suspended rope.

“<Well, Tarzan, in that cozy rope I’d like to see you tr…>” Corphish was cut off and knocked out by a speedy blunt blow to the head.

Treecko looked around and struggled, confused since he didn’t deliver the blow. He looked at the branch above and saw a purple fist come towards him. The blow smashed him down the face. The beaten up wood gecko, too, hung there unconscious.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Jeff ran down to the beach where they fell. Daedalus perched on his shoulder as they stepped in the sand. In the sand they could see small blood spatters and sand sifted in a struggle. Jeff noticed the sign and asked, “Do you think they went in there?”

The Taillow nodded and they slowly traipsed through the sand. Jeff lifted up his foot and began to place it back in the settled sand.

“TAILL!” Daedalus trilled, outstretching his wing, warning him not to place his foot down.

Jeff froze and retracted his foot, carefully placing it in his old footprint. Jeff kneeled down and touched the snare trap in the ground.

“<Look over there,>” Taillow pointed, “<drag marks!>”

“<There’s something that lives here who is very protective of its territory. I don’t think he wants uninvited visitors,>” warned Daedalus, “<You follow your footsteps back to the other side of the sign. I’ll scout around from the air; I think he has them…>”

Jeff nodded and did as told, while Daedalus took flight.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Treecko briefly opened his eyes. He found himself lying next to an unconscious Corphish; both were being dragged in a net over the ground and through the forest. The pain in his head worsened as they went along. He looked up and saw a large, purple blur clutching the net. He weakly tried to resist but then a small rock, lying on the path, collided with his head. A searing pain in Treecko’s head caused him to fall back into unconsciousness.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Awhile later, Treecko felt an annoying prodding at his head. He opened his eyes and saw a dim orange outline hovering over him. He got up and looked around; beside him was Corphish and on all sides were wooden bamboo bars, creating a dome cage in the middle of the forest. On the other side of the bars was a small wooden shack made of bamboo in the shape of a box.

“<What the…>” Treecko groaned, rubbing his swollen, bleeding head.

“<They don’t have room service, I’ve checked,>” grumbled Corphish, who stood beside Treecko, shaking on the bars.

Treecko jumped upwards, slamming his tail on the roof, trying to break it. Corphish flew up with Treecko, as he jumped. The bar remained sturdy. Treecko landed gracefully and Corphish fell onto his head, his horns digging into the dirt.

“<I’ve also tried that, Twig Boy,>” Corphish growled “<We’re not moving an inch. Oh, and F-Y-I; my claw and your hand are tied together, so don’t go prancing around like you’re starring in ‘Rent’,>”

Treecko looked down and saw rope tying his right hand tied to Corphish’s left claw.

“<Terrific…>” mumbled Treecko grumpily.

“<A little help?>” Corphish asked, struggling to get his horns from the ground.

Treecko coolly unleashed his frustration and swung Corphish out of the ground with his arm and tail. Corphish hit the side of the cage and slumped to the ground.

“<I said ‘give me help’, not ‘give me hell’!>” Corphish angrily held his head, threatening Treecko with his claws.

Treecko ignored him. “<These bars really won’t budge,>” exclaimed Treecko, ponderously.

“<I KNOW! Why don’t you hit me against the bars HARDER?!>” Corphish sarcastically suggested.

Treecko ignored him and angrily placed his hands to his thighs, “<This is just like a pokeball.>” he shuddered.

“<Except there’s no refund if we break it…and you’re here,>” Corphish joked but then went back to anger. Corphish poked Treecko’s chest with his claw, “<This is all your fault!>”

“<Back off, pal! You’re as much to blame as I am!>” Treecko grunted, wiping blood from his mouth.

“<Could this be anymore your fault?>” Corphish shot back.

Treecko snarled and held his arm up against the cage wall, causing Corphish to dangle off of the ground. Treecko reared his fist back, ready to punch him. Corphish clamped his claw around Treecko’s neck in retaliation.

A deep voice came from beside them, on the other side of the cage.

“<What’s wrong? You two thieves not getting along? Well you’d better suck it up and get used to being cell mates!>” chuckled a massive purple pokemon. He had large ears, and massive claws, tail, and stature. There were large purple spines running down his back and his nose was home to a horn bigger than Corphish’s head.

“<That’s a Nidoking!>” whispered Corphish to Treecko.

“<You’ve got it all wrong, we’re not thieves.>” Treecko attempted to explain to the angered land owner.

“<And if we were, we’d probably rather be doing the 'two claw discount' at the Pottery Barn,>” Corphish joked.

Treecko glared at Corphish, “<You don’t get to talk anymore!>”

Nidoking frowned and crossed his arms. “<My ass! You expect me to believe a story from a pokemon known as ‘the ruffian pokemon’?>”

“<Really, we’re telling the truth…>” Treecko insisted.

“<Cram it, lizard lips! You’re pretty shifty yourself, what with that twig in your mouth; you look like a juvenile delinquent!>” Nidoking interrupted.

“<Shifty, huh?>” Treecko grinned to himself, taking it as a compliment. Corphish rolled his eyes.

“<Give us freedom or give us d…>” Corphish began to intone, but Treecko shoved his head into the dirt before he could finish that sentence.

Nidoking walked up to the bamboo cage and leaned up against the bars, peering in like a scientist to lab rats. “<You think you can live in my territory and expect to get away with it?!>”

Treecko remained silent and stared frigidly through the wooden barriers into the brown eyes of the Nidoking. The Nidoking stared tauntingly back at him. Treecko’s collected rage surged into the glare that was direct at their captor. Nidoking actually stepped backwards when Treecko concentrated the defiant stare. His yellow, squinting, enraged eyes said with the gaze “<We ain’t done, pal.>”

When Nidoking retracted from the stare, he chuckled at himself for having been intimidated. “<What are you afraid of? After all, look at the size of them…and they are in a cage, what could they possibly do?>” the Nidoking thought.

“<You two thugs stay put until I get back…as if you have much choice!>” Nidoking continued to snigger as he stomped off into the forest.

“<What was that?!>” accused Corphish, spitting out dirt.

“<That was ‘saving us before you could put that idea into his head’!” Treecko spat, annoyed.

Treecko rubbed his raw ankle and left tail. He then folded his arms and turned to Corphish, “<What the hell do we do?>”

“<Well I’ve got to call in sick to work and then we can order a pizza, maybe have ourselves a nice night of talking about our feelings,>” Corphish kidded.

“<I’m being serious! This is exactly why we’re in this mess in the first place and why Nidoking won’t believe our story! Your jokes have gotten us in all this crap. Now we’ve been captured and we may never see Jeff or that Taillow again!>” Treecko yelled, walking towards Corphish, menacingly.

“<Hey,>” Corphish chuckled, nervously, “<what happened to your ‘as cool as a cucumber’ attitude?>”

Before Treecko stepped closer, they stopped seeing that a shadow cascaded on the ground of the cage. They looked up and saw Daedalus roosted on one of the bars of the dome cage overhead. He was perched directly above Corphish.

“<G’day, mates! Here’s ‘that Taillow’ you’ve been talking about,>” he chirped, grinning.

“<Oh, please don’t!>” Corphish begged “<I just got my shell ‘Squirtle-waxed’ at the salon, yesterday!>”

“<Took you long enough,>” Treecko grinned “<Where’s Jeff?>”

“<I told him to stay back at the beach, the ground is laced with traps everywhere!>” Taillow replied, “<Hell, there’s probably surface to air missiles around here!>”

“<Well we sure didn’t notice!>” Corphish spat, sarcastically.

“<How do you expect to get us out of here?>” Treecko asked.

“<Can’t peck through it…I have no idea,>” Daedalus shrugged, apologetically.

“<Think, you bird brain! You’re a leader so lead!>” Corphish coerced Taillow, who perched on the wooden cage.

“<Don’t rush me; I’m not good in these situations!>” Taillow shot back.

“<Or what? Will you go all ‘Alfred Hitchcock’ on our hides?>” Corphish spat in return.

“<Damn it, Corphish, piss off; he’s trying to help!>” Treecko glared at him.

Daedalus raised a wing with an idea, “<Howabou…>” he was suddenly cut short. Daedalus gasped as he was grabbed by a giant, purple hand, which appeared out of nowhere. Nidoking walked out from underbrush with a triumphant grin. He squeezed Daedalus, winding him, and then slammed him into the ground, as if scoring a touchdown of a football game. Daedalus lay in the dirt, unconscious.

Nidoking lifted the cage slightly and kicked Daedalus under it. Treecko and Corphish looked on, shocked, at the body of their only hope.

“<I’m sorry, was I interrupting?>” Nidoking asked, spitting out poison pins to the ground, triumphantly.

“<Look!>” Corphish began to explain, “<we weren’t here to take over your home or steal anything, we were fighting and we rolled onto your territory!>”

“<That’s too bad…trespassing in my territory; punishable by thrashing!>” he chuckled. “<I think you two have had enough time to think about what you’ve done…the pain begins.>”

Nidoking walked towards the cage, fist raised. Treecko whispered to Corphish, “<Listen, he’s beyond reason now. We have to work together to attack him at just the right time…on my signal…open fire at his face.>”

Nidoking began to swing his tail at the cage.

“<NOW!>” Treecko yelled. They shot bullet seed and bubblebeam through the bars of the cage. The projectiles hit Nidoking in the face, knocking him off balance. His tail’s path was changed so that it struck the cage just above their heads. They ducked as the upper half of the cage was shattered into splinters.

“<Argh, my eye!>” Nidoking yelled, holding his bleeding right eye and stumbling backwards, blinded. A slow trickle of scarlet blood leaked from the covered eye.

Treecko boosted Corphish out of the cage before jumping out himself. Treecko then passed Daedalus over the broken bars to Corphish on the other side. Treecko jumped over and landed beside Corphish. Nidoking stumbled towards the three and he fell to the ground in between them, separating Treecko and Corphish from Daedalus. Nidoking tried to stand up, in between them and Daedalus. Treecko and Corphish ran at Nidoking and clothes-lined him, using their rope-tied arms. Nidoking fell back to the dirt, holding his neck while the duo made it to Daedalus. They put his wings around their shoulders, supporting him as they began to run.

“<Wake up, pal, we need your eyes,>” Treecko muttered to Daedalus.

“<Hey, buddy,>” Corphish smiled at Treecko, “<I guess now that we’re outta there this makes you a ‘FREEcko’…>” Corphish found his own joke very funny as they continued running.

“<I’ll put the whole ‘salad ass’ thing behind us if you never say that again…buddy,>” Treecko grinned.

Daedalus slowly came out of the daze as they ran through the forest.

“<Trap ahead, two meters,>” murmured Taillow, weakly.

They dodged the pitfall and followed Daedalus’ navigation.

“<Left, straight, keep going, trap, trap, right, straight,>” Daedalus spat out directions as he struggled to stay conscious.

They exited the forest and saw the sign on the beach. They crossed the invisible line and saw Jeff pacing back and forth. They ran up to him and embraced him, after placing Daedalus in the sand. Jeff quickly dropped to the ground to check Daedalus’ wounds. Daedalus spat out a bit of blood and muttered “<How you doin’?>” in a state of shock.

“What happened!?” Jeff asked, concerned. He examined the three bloodied pokemon. He immediately dropped his backpack and shoveled through the bag for potions.

“<If I have to tell this story one more time…>” Corphish joked.

Treecko eyed Corphish, warily. He was unamused by the joke but decided to let it pass.

“<Daedalus is in need of professional medical attention, but Corphish and I could use some basic first aid…oh and can you untie us while you’re at it? I’m beginning to smell like seafood.>”

Jeff took out a knife and cut the rope binding Treecko and Corphish together. He then looked at the two and asked, “are you guys cool?”

Corphish and Treecko’s rivalry lit again. They began to stare into the other’s eyes. The stare down lasted for a minute before the two simultaneously grinned and shook hands.

Jeff beamed, happy the two reconciled. “Good, because that was pretty dumb crap you guys pulled back there, you could have gotten the other killed!” Jeff reprimanded them for their behavior.

They looked down, ashamed, and apologized to the other. Jeff dressed their wounds with a potion and small bandages, which were just big enough to staunch the flow of blood. Jeff perked up, “Let’s head into town before whatever it was that took you guys comes back! And seriously…what happened?”

They nodded and followed Jeff up the hill and back onto the road, outside Petalburg Forest. Jeff cradled the injured Daedalus in his arms, while the four crossed the bridge over the sparkling water. Corphish filled in Jeff on what had happened. To which Jeff replied, "that must have been quite the fun."

"<Yeah, being trapped, beaten, beaten some more, and perhaps a third time is just like going to Six Flags over Celadon,>" Corphish weakly smiled.

As they walked over the bridge, the sun began to set behind the four, creating an orange shimmer in the waves. Treecko and Corphish stared at each other as they walked, side by side. They’re eyes met and they grinned, achieving a brand new respect for the other. What started as a shaky acquaintanceship would soon become a powerful, bonded comradeship.

********************************

Author’s notes:

-This chapter is the first official beta’d chapter. Beta’d by diamondpearl876 (Who did a very good job at that)

-Now at this point I know it seems like I’m just making Ash’s Advanced Generation team, but that’s simply not the case. I’m simply using those who best help the plot (Most of them happen to be my favorites). So far, I like how it’s working out. And don’t worry, the next pokemon will not be a Torkoal, a…Donphan, or anything like that. :P

-A few new recurring supporting characters are introduced.

-I’ve decided against ending on cliffhangers often so that when I DO end with cliffhangers, it will really grab people by the nose and hit them in the arse (or so the saying goes) :P

This was a pretty fun chapter to right because I love working with my characters and giving them dynamics and fun interactions. That’s one of the main reasons I write.

Anyways, Read. Review. Enjoy

Cheers, Griff4815

diamondpearl876 September 23rd, 2007 3:40 PM

Aw, fk. I noticed more mistakes as I was reading again. BLAH! Oh well. They're minor ones.

Anyway, I really like this chapter. I'm glad to see to added things I suggested, too.

When I was betaing (that's not even a word) this, I thought that Taillow's buddies would come in and save the day, followed by a sad good-bye. Ha. Well, I was surprised, and what you did was better and included character development, so kudos to you.

Question: Is Jeff's pokemon team going to consist entirely of boys? XD All three of them are so far, I believe, unless I'm an idiot and missed something.

I'm also interested to hear more about this Chad guy, and why Treecko/Corphish won't give their names out to Jeff. c:

Keep it up!

Grovyle42(Griff8416) September 24th, 2007 5:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alter Ego (Post 2920528)
Small note: how can one creature surround anyone? o.O

I meant that the shrieks were surrounding the him, not the creature XD. I should have made that clearer.

I'm planning to rewrite the earlier chapters again, now that I have a better sense of grammar and description. I plan on fixing the commas, semi colons, word repititions, descriptions, and so on.

That was a really helpful review, Alterego, I appreciate it. I'm glad you liked the parts mentioned and I'll definately take this review into consideration while rewriting/future chapters. I have somethings up my sleeve for the plot. Don't be afraid to go uncensored with your future reviews.

(PS I have a grammar beta now (Diamondpearl876) so that should help a lot). I actually plan on revamping a lot from chapter 4.

I'm happy you liked the characters, a lot of people have been commenting on them. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by diamondpearl876 (Post 2922220)
Aw, fk. I noticed more mistakes as I was reading again. BLAH! Oh well. They're minor ones.

Anyway, I really like this chapter. I'm glad to see to added things I suggested, too.

When I was betaing (that's not even a word) this, I thought that Taillow's buddies would come in and save the day, followed by a sad good-bye. Ha. Well, I was surprised, and what you did was better and included character development, so kudos to you.

Question: Is Jeff's pokemon team going to consist entirely of boys? XD All three of them are so far, I believe, unless I'm an idiot and missed something.

I'm also interested to hear more about this Chad guy, and why Treecko/Corphish won't give their names out to Jeff. c:

Keep it up!

That Taillow rescue squadron never crossed my mind actually...hmm.

Jeff's team will consist of males for awhile but not always...I have a reason for this.

I'm glad you're intrigued for more. :)

Thanks for the reviews, you two.

Gummy September 24th, 2007 7:55 PM

First of all, I'm angry that this chapter is so similar to me next one >.> I wanted to take my anger out on the review, but the beta-reading was too good. Nice job, both of you.

Quote:

“<Argh, my eye!>” Nidoking yelled, holding his bleeding right eye and stumbling backwards, blinded. A slow trickle of scarlet blood leaked from the covered eye.
I recently learned that eyes don't actually "bleed", they just excrete liquid. This isn't a real mistake because a "bloody eye" is a common term.


Quote:

Right as Corphish finished the joke he found himself being blindsided by Deyja. Corphish was knocked sideways and stopped at the base of a tree. He groaned and got to his many feet using his claw. Corphish raised his pincers in front of him.
Haha... I love Corphish. Can't wait to see his personality after evolution.


Quote:

Jeff took out a knife and cut the rope binding Treecko and Corphish together. He then looked at the two and asked, “Are you guys cool?”
"a" became "A"... I think that's right.


Quote:

“<Oh yeah?>”
“<Yeah, ‘Tree Hugger’!>”
You forgot to press enter twice here.

Zylasn September 25th, 2007 7:39 AM

I decided to take a look, and my, what an interesting story! :t253:

Grovyle42(Griff8416) September 25th, 2007 2:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrovyleMan (Post 2926881)
I decided to take a look, and my, what an interesting story! :t253:

Thanks, I'm glad you like it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glajummy (Post 2926264)
First of all, I'm angry that this chapter is so similar to me next one >.> I wanted to take my anger out on the review, but the beta-reading was too good. Nice job, both of you.



I recently learned that eyes don't actually "bleed", they just excrete liquid. This isn't a real mistake because a "bloody eye" is a common term.




Haha... I love Corphish. Can't wait to see his personality after evolution.




"a" became "A"... I think that's right.




You forgot to press enter twice here.

Well thanks for not taking it out on the review xD.
I'm sure that your next chapter will dwarf this one, so I hope you don't go out of your way to change it. I'm excited to see how its simalar.

As for the eye thing, I didn't want to go into TOO much detail xD thats my defense.

I also like Corphish, he's very fun to write.

The Infinite Devil Machine September 25th, 2007 2:42 PM

I kinda knew that Jeff would catch a Tailow, and Daedalus looks to be an interesting new addition to the story.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) September 25th, 2007 2:53 PM

^ Let's hope that he will :P

Grovyle42(Griff8416) September 30th, 2007 4:09 PM

A Head as Hard as Rock


Jeff and the trio of pokemon neared the large city of Rustboro. They stepped off of the wooden bridge and onto the more secure, solid grassland. Ahead of them was what appeared to be two trainers in the midst of battle, along with a crowd of five people watching. Corphish ran ahead to join the spectators, while Treecko walked to the right to get a better look at the battle. The onlookers cheered and hollered for the girl to win. They all watched the battle intently. Jeff remained standing with Daedalus in his folded arms; his wings were slumped over Jeff’s hands to weakly hang on. Jeff walked to his right, under the shade of a tree.

On the battle field was a confident-looking woman dressed in a red and white-laced jogging outfit. She had short brown hair which flowed smoothly in the river breeze. The pokemon in front of her was a brick red fox pokemon. Its fur was magnificently beautiful. It had six puffy, orange, tails that it swung around in preparation for her trainer’s orders. Facing the two was a person and pokemon that seemed strikingly familiar to Jeff.

The male human was wearing a white t-shirt and blue shorts that didn’t go past his knees. He had a strong but slender face, his eyes covered by sunglasses. He brushed a hand through his very short, almost buzzed head of dark brown hair, in frustration. His pokemon was a blue and white bird, but it could not fly. The pokemon’s yellow feet were shaking. The blue penguin’s chest was a light blue with the false impression that the pokemon was wearing a cape, which was made up of blue fur that hung down its back. He had a bruise on his large blue head. There were white splotches of fur around the water pokemon’s sad, beady, black eyes. Beside them were a grey bike and a blue helmet sprawled in the grass.

It hit Jeff who these two were. Jeff recalled back to when he ran to the lab to get his pokemon, he saw this guy riding on a bike through town with that pokemon. He also remembered that Kristie referred to that pokemon as a Piplup. His eyes drifted from the battle to the grass. He went from remembering the Piplup to remembering Kristie. All he could picture then was Kristie and Alan making out in front of him. He shut his eyes and could feel a hot wave of sweat creep around his spine. With his eyes closed the thought of them kissing continued and became more intense. He dropped one arm, almost causing Daedalus to fall from his arm, and clenched his fist. A bead of sweat dropped from his arm and onto his fist, which shook with rage. He widened his eyes and tried to concentrate on the fight to take his mind from his thoughts.

“Ok, Vulpix, use swift!” yelled the girl to her fox pokemon.

The pokemon opened its mouth wide and let out a cute “VUULLL” as it began to unleash the sharp energy stars at the poor Piplup. The Piplup covered his face with his hands. The stars cut through his skin but dissipated before they could damage any internal organs. The bleeding Piplup fell to the ground. The guy, who seemed only a little older than Jeff, rushed over to it with his bag in hand.

“Come on, Piplup, I know you can do it!” encouraged the man, half-heartedly.

“Pip… ” whimpered Piplup, shaking his head.

Daedalus opened his eyes and groaned.

“Take it easy, buddy,” advised Jeff in a low, reassuring tone.

They both watched the battle, or massacre, from many meters away.

“I believe in you, Piplup! We can win!” the man continued to urge.

Piplup looked up at the man and blinked, giving in. The guy gave his Piplup a large potion to drink. The defeated pokemon struggled to get to his feet. Moments later, Piplup was brought to the ground again, by another barrage of stars.

“Piplup, just hang in there a little more. You can do it!”

The Piplup was given another potion and he got to his feet. He was taken down in the same fashion and brought back up in the same fashion.

Jeff and Daedalus both looked at the pushy trainer in contempt.

“That’s pathetic…” whispered Jeff through a grimace.

“<I hope you don’t mean the pokemon…he’s doing everything he can out there.>”

“I mean the human. He put his friend up against a much tougher foe, who’s clearly beating the crap out of that poor Piplup. Each time the Piplup is knocked down he urges him to keep going. The Piplup clearly doesn’t want to battle and that guy acts as if it’s a game and those phrases, which are supposed to mean something, are just passwords that keep the pokemon battling. His Piplup probably knows that those words are lies, but he will still battle for him because he’s his trainer and his friend.”

“<Or maybe he’s too afraid of the human to do otherwise. He was probably taken from his home and doesn’t know what to do so he just does what his trainer wants so he can stick around.>”

“Perhaps he just wants to THINK that his trainer is being sincere. Also, when the Piplup is knocked out he just keeps pumping him full of potions and revives. It’s like he doesn’t care how much the pokemon is getting hurt and he just keeps setting Piplup up so that he gets hurt more, in the false hope that he may WIN that time around.”

“<Do all trainers do that? Do you, Jeff?>”

“No!” Jeff quickly shot back, offended.

Daedalus let out a heavy sigh of relief, but as he sighed he cringed. The aches from the encounter were still present and unyielding. They continued to watch the Piplup fall to the ground. The water pokemon began to edge away from the Vulpix; he didn’t dare turn his back to the pokemon. His wings were quivering and laced with cuts. His pseudo-cape was matted with so much dirt that barely any of its original color was showing.

“<So this is the breaking point where a Piplup will swallow its pride and back down…>” Daedalus said somberly, with a groan.

“That trainer is more a pure idiot than he is stubborn! Although Piplup’s not seriously injured, the he must be going through a seemingly infinite time of pain…all so that he can see his trainer be happy.” Jeff was now panting as a product of the zealous rant.

The Piplup tried to crawl away from the battle; tears were streaming down his face from the overwhelming situation. The girl, the Vulpix, and the crowd dispersed, acknowledging the fact that the fight was over.

In a serious, profound tone, Daedalus added, “<What’s worse is that the Piplup is only young… too young for treatment like this. They think that they can justify using pokemon to fight their battles with the fact that they have a bond. The pokemon are too loyal and the humans too ignorant.>”

The words that Daedalus had just uttered hit Jeff like stone in his gut. He leaned over, wary of the fragile Taillow, and picked up a stone. He tightly grasped it before throwing it. With a roar, he heaved it towards the river. Jeff was so angry because he knew Daedalus was right.

Jeff brushed his hand through his hair and looked at Daedalus, who looked at him with confusion. “… You’re right; we can’t even fight our own battles on a personal level… we have to use our pokemon instead! It’s times like these that I’m ashamed of being a human.” Jeff began to remember when he beat Alan in a pokemon battle but couldn’t punch him, personally. He bit his cheek and tightened his fist. Man, did he want to slug him across his lying face. Meanwhile, Daedalus looked up at Jeff with a serious face. An ounce of respect he gained for Jeff could be seen through his eyes. Corphish and Treecko walked back to Jeff when the onlookers dispersed.

“<Well that was a disappointment… they didn’t even sell nachos for the battle!>” Corphish scoffed.

“<I could have done better than that Piplup, and I’m a grass type!>” Treecko confidently sighed.

Jeff and Daedalus both shot them subconscious glares in unison. Daedalus clawed his way up onto Jeff’s shoulder. They watched the guy sit his Piplup upright; he gave him a final potion and sat beside him.

“We have to try harder next time! We can’t beat gyms like that!”

The Piplup shook tears from his eyes looked at the ground in shame.

“I know that you can do it but you’re not fighting to your full potential! I want you to try harder next time for me! You were doing it all wrong; you had to do it like I did, like we practiced! That’s the only way that we can become stronger and win!” provoked the biker.

“<Jeff… can I?>” asked Daedalus in a determined rage. He dug his claws sharply into Jeff’s shoulder. Jeff instantly knew what he was talking about. He was surprised by the fact that Daedalus asked permission first.

“Of course you can,” Jeff replied with a malicious grin on his face. He ignored the pain of the digging claws.

Daedalus jumped from the shoulder perch and began to fly. His anger and the pain that he was already in served as a fuel for his flight. Daedalus flapped his wings and shot towards the man. He began to claw and peck at the guy’s face. The Piplup looked up and cracked a smile.

“ARH, get it off me, GET IT OFF,” the guy yelled, flailing wildly.

Treecko and Corphish looked at each other in bewilderment.

“<Now that it’s brought up… that human’s face DOES kind of look like a bird house!>” giggled Corphish.

Treecko decided not to intervene in anyway. He walked over to the tree that Jeff watched the battle from and sat against it, using his tail as a pillow.

“<This is even better than that last battle!>” Corphish added, hopping around Jeff.

After his share of venting anger, Daedalus flew back to Jeff, landing on his hand. As soon as he landed he collapsed in Jeff’s hands, the wounds from Nidoking paying their toll.

The guy ran over to Jeff, holding his bleeding cheek.

“HEY! What the hell was that?! Your damn Taillow just attacked me!!”

“Oh, sorry, he does that when he sees something that strikes him the wrong way. I’m Jeff, by the way.”

“Yeah, ok, I’m Blane…”

“Blane?!” Jeff asked with intent. “I remember hearing on the TV that you had the most fearsome Magmar in all of Kanto! I thought you were older… and less of a jerk.”

“No… NO, NOT the gym leader, it’s B-L-A-N-E, no ‘I’! You should keep that thing on a tighter leash!”

“That ‘thing’ is my friend, Daedalus, and I think you do enough of that for the both of us!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you are more concerned about winning a battle than your own pokemon. If I were like you, then I’d probably be sending my Treecko against a fire type when he already has a serious burn, just so I’d win!”

“You just mind your own business and keep Day… Dahh… WHATEVER! Keep your Taillow away from me!” With that he returned his Piplup to his pokeball and walked away from them.

“Let’s go into the city… I guess,” remarked Jeff. Treecko jumped onto Jeff’s shoulder and Corphish, to Jeff’s annoyance, vicegripped Jeff’s pant leg in an attempt to climb onto his backpack. He slowly made it up further, clamping onto Jeff’s waist like he was scaling a mountain, before reaching the backpack.

“<Real smooth there, Corppy,>” mentioned Treecko, eying the puncture holes in Jeff’s shorts and shirt.

“<Oh shut up, ninja boy! We couldn’t ALL make the gymnastics team… as much as I would have liked to… >” Corphish retorted, the last part in a mumble.

“<Ninja boy? Your nicknames are slipping as much as you are!>” taunted Treecko from Jeff’s shoulder.

Corphish tried to hit Treecko from Jeff’s shoulder but felt himself slide backwards off the backpack. He clamped the very end of the bag and he dangled, refusing to let go.

“Settle down you two, or do you want to end up back in a cage like last time?”

They sighed while they began to enter the large city of Rustboro. Around them were many high rises and office buildings but it was nowhere near as energetic and yet, to Jeff, as gloomy as Petalburg City. One building that towered over all others was a grey skyscraper that said “Devon Corp.” on the very top. Jeff followed the building from roof to base with his eyes and at the bottom there was an ambulance, four police cars, and police tape sealing off the entrance.


Jeff walked on the paved sidewalk towards a white building with a red shingle roofing, which was undoubtedly a pokemon center. The building looked no different from the pokemon center in Oldale and Petalberg. It was like all the centers in this general area had the exact same blueprints. Across the street from the Pokemon center was a large building labeled “Gym”. Beside it was an equally large building. The sign on the large grassy grounds of the building read “Rustboro Pokemon Academy”. The field must have been used for practicing and working with pokemon. Jeff walked through the sliding door and up to the counter.

“How may I help you?” the pleasant and calm voice of Nurse Joy asked.

“My pokemon need healing. They all have blunt impact wounds and Treecko and Corphish have rope burns on their arms,” Jeff explained to Nurse Joy.

“A trainer battle?” Nurse Joy questioned Jeff, taking Daedalus into the back room followed by Treecko and Corphish.

Jeff quickly answered, “No, a bad run in with a Nidoking.”

Nurse Joy nodded and closed the door behind her. Jeff sat down on a red couch. He noticed a woman with long brown hair with pink bows eying him. He glanced over to her and noticed that she was dressed like a schoolteacher. She put a coffee mug to her fair-skinned face and took a sip. She abruptly stood up and walked out of the pokemon center.

“Good news!” a cheery female voice affirmed. “Treecko and Corphish are all ok and should be in traveling shape! But, your Taillow has some internal bleeding so he will need to remain immobile with us for no more than a day,” explained Nurse Joy.

“In-internal bleeding?! Where?! Will he be ok?! Can I see him?!” Jeff anxiously asked.

“Yes you can see him. There’s no need to worry, I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

“<Fine? He was squeezed like an orange and slammed halfway into the ground… I’m surprised that he made it this far,>” Treecko muttered to Corphish.

Jeff’s chest tightened with the comment. Some things are better left unheard.

Jeff followed Nurse Joy into the door beside the counter, which turned into a hallway with four doors. They entered the first door on the right, which red ICU. Jeff remembered ‘take your kid to work day’ with his dad; ICU meant Intensive Care Unit. It must have been bad.

They opened the door and Jeff saw four beds. The closest one had a Mudkip, surrounded by two large, pink, balloon-esque pokemon. Both had egg pouches on their chests along with stubby arms and feet. The two Chanseys wore nurses’ hats. They were seen removing a large piece of glass from the Mudkip’s face, just beside the orange whiskers. Jeff turned his head and quickly walked over to Daedalus, who lay two beds away from the gruesome scene. Daedalus had his wing in a sling and bandages ties across his chest, concealing his red and white feathers on his chest.

“He seems to have dislodged his wing while flying… it was already tender from the injury, so that must have set it off.”

Jeff ran over to his bed and kneeled down beside him. “Are you ok?! Are you in a lot of pain? Do you need morphine?”

“<I’m fine... stop looking at me like that, Jeff!>”

“You sure you’re ok?”

“<Yeah… but thanks for asking.>”

“Your Taillow could use a lot of rest. We’re lucky he’s as hardy as he is or else he may not have made it.”

Jeff’s heart sunk.

MAY NOT HAVE MADE IT?!

“I KNEW I shouldn’t have let him fly ahead of me! I could have made it by those traps and saved them easily,” Jeff moaned in thought.

Nurse Joy led them out of the room and back to the lobby.

Jeff put Treecko on top of his backpack to relax and held Corphish with his two hands. He didn’t realize that his hands were trembling. “What now?” he asked his two pokemon.

“<Now we do the hokey-pokey and we turn ourselves around! We go win your badge, dummy!>”

“<Yeah, that IS why we came here isn’t it?>” Treecko added.

“You guys fight… so that I can have a badge? I don’t think so.”

“<You know that a badge reflects just as much on the pokemon as it does the trainer. The trainer just wears it since us pokemon don’t have shirts!>”

“<I’m actually agreeing with Corppy here. We want to win!>”

“Are…are you guys sure? It’s dangerous,” Jeff asked again.

“<We’re positive, damn it! We know what we’re getting into; you’re not conscripting us and sending us off to war!>” Treecko insisted.

“Thanks… really.” Jeff smiled, touched that his pokemon would battle despite the fact that he wasn’t doing it himself.

“<Ok ok, settle down. Besides, I’m fighting first!>”

“<My leafy *ss you are! I don’t think you can take a gym battle!>” scoffed Treecko.

“<I can take you!>” Corphish threatened through a grin.

“Ok, enough! We’ll see when we get there!”

Corphish scowled at Treecko, who coerced him through a triumphant, confident grin.

Jeff turned around to Nurse Joy, who was handling a Sandshrew.

“Excuse me, if Daedalus… the Taillow, wakes up, can you tell him that I’m out buying him some medicine?” Jeff pleaded.

“Of course I will,” Nurse Joy responded

“Thank you.”

It’s best if Daedalus doesn’t know that I’m out fighting in a gym. After that conversation we had I can’t face him if he knows I was trying to get a gym badge. Plus this way he thinks I’m doing things for others instead of selfishly getting a badge. I will give him medicine… except it will only be from my medical kit,” thought Jeff to himself.

Jeff turned to his two pokemon and suggested, “Let’s get this done.”

The two nodded and followed him out of the pokemon center. Conveniently the gym was right across the street from the center, so they crossed the road. There was not much traffic seeing as the sun was setting and people were already home from their jobs. The gym was about the size of a warehouse. There were two boulders on both sides of the glass door. Jeff opened the door and to his left was a bored-looking man sitting behind a counter. He was munching on a donut and watching a pokemon football game of the TV beside him.

“And the Pinsirs have taken the lead against their arch nemeses the Heracrosses!” roared the sports announcer.

The man looked up at Jeff and asked in a gruff voice, “You here for a gym battle?”

Jeff looked unsurely at his companions who proceeded to lightly punch the backs of his legs.

“Err…yeah! I’m here for a…gym battle,” he stammered.

“Oook, go through the door on your right and I’ll buzz in Roxanne,” the guard instructed.

Jeff followed the order and walked from the main entrance, through a door, to the arena field. Jeff was in awe at the sight he saw; the field was the size of a football field. There were rocks ranging from massive boulders to pebbles strewn about the field. The terrain was hard and there were protrusions of land mass coming from the field which created slopes, as if an earthquake had hit it. The ceiling was high, so that flying pokemon could still move freely… although no good trainer in the right mind would put their flying pokemon up against rock types.

A woman appeared from behind Jeff and poked him on the shoulder. Jeff turned around and it was the brunette who looked like a school teacher. She had a serious yet welcoming expression.

“… Hi,” Jeff greeted with a puzzled tone.

“Hello, I saw you in the pokemon center earlier. You must be here to battle me,” deduced the woman in a sweet voice.

“You’re Roxanne?!”

“Yes I am. I’m also one of the teachers on the Rustboro Pokemon Academy. What is your name?”

“I’m Jeff… Jeff Growell. It’s nice to meet you. I… guess I’m ruuhhh… ready.” Jeff replied in uncertainty.

“<Arceus… man up, Jeff…>” muttered Treecko under his breath. Jeff still heard and shot Treecko a glare.

“You seem hesitant… but you are a new trainer, most new trainers are either over-confident, over-worried, or overwhelmed. But all want to battle as much as the next. Is something troubling you?” she asked in a soothing voice.

“I uh… it’s… no, it’s nothing. I only have two pokemon and I think the rules usually call for three on three battles.”

“I was only planning on using two pokemon anyways,” Roxanne, the rock-type gym leader, explained.

“But what if we come to a draw?” Jeff inquired, somewhat confused.

Roxanne grinned as if she had a hidden agenda. “We’ll just see if it comes to that. Feel free to choose your first pokemon while I go to my side of the arena,” Roxanne suggested, starting to traipse along the rocky field.

“Ok, I choose Corphish!” said Jeff, the one decision that he didn’t second guess.

Corphish hopped about with excitement. Treecko, hurt, darted his head at Jeff and opened his mouth to protest but he stopped himself. Instead he closed his mouth and walked away from them to lean on a rock.

“<No need to be a sore loser but why would he choose HIM before me?>” thought Treecko.

Reaching her side of the field she turned her head and informed, “By the way, it will be two rounds on a one on one battle.”

Jeff nodded and she withdrew a pokeball from a briefcase which lay beside a large rock.

“You’re up, Aaron!” she called, throwing a pokeball onto the rocky terrain.

What appeared was not what Jeff had expected. A small, metal-backed quadruped formed from the red light. It shook small steel spikes which obtruded from its back, as if brandishing them. Dispersed, black spots could be seen on the tough shell of the pokemon. He identified it as an Aron, who was, in addition to rock, steel-typed. He had scene one of these creatures from his pokemon biology class. Professor Birch had brought one in to show an example of what a mix of an endoskeleton and exoskeleton of a pokemon was like.

“Aaron, harden your shell please!” Roxanne advised her pokemon.

The armor pokemon dug its feet into the ground and a crackling noise could be heard from the Aron’s stiffening shell and muscles.

“Corphish… you use… do a... try a Crabhammer!” Jeff managed to spatter out in an incoherent order.

Corphish caught the gist of the command and ran towards Aaron with his claw swinging in a downward cut.

“<You’re going to be in a world pain from my claaaaa…>” Corphish trailed off in a wince as soon as his claw hit the iron shell. The claw hit a dull metal spike on the Aron’s back.

“<OW OW OW OW!>” yelled Corphish, hopping around sucking his claw with his mouth. “<IT’S KIND OF LIKE SPARRING WITH A BRICK WALL HERE, JEFF!>”

“Sorry, I’m sorry!” Jeff quickly answered. “Use your bubblebeam?” he asked, giving an insecure suggestion of Corphish’s defense tactic.

“Aaron, quickly use headbutt!”

The Aron tucked in its head and began to charge at Corphish, who was still shaking off the pain in his claw. Aaron struck Corphish’s side with its head. The impact actually created sparks from the friction of the two colliding shells. Corphish flew backwards into a rock which was his size.

“Again!” Roxanne commanded with a serene voice.

The Iron Armor pokemon continued running, head down, in a charge towards Corphish.

Jeff struggled to order a defense command in time. “Corphish, hurry…uh, try a… I know!” But it was too late. Aron rammed him into the rock with a sickening crack. The force from the two tough objects shot Corphish upwards. The ruffian pokemon landed back on the rock and slumped to the ground. Jeff dashed over to Corphish and gently placed him in his arms.

“Oh… Arceus! Say something, Corppy!”

Corphish managed to strike a faint grin. “<You know how much I hate being stuck between a rock and a hard place…>”

“So your Corphish can no longer battle… good effort, though. Aaron, come back!” Roxanne called.

“I’m sorry,” Jeff said, picking up Corphish and bringing him back to his side of the field.

“<Oh, get over it! It’s not YOUR fault Corphish lost! You have nothing to be sorry for!>” Treecko prodded, annoyed at Jeff’s constant behavior.

Jeff glared at Treecko and pointed a thumb towards the field. “You’re up, Treecko. It’s all riding on you.”

The lizard stepped forward to the left of a large rock, flicked his twig up before catching it in his mouth, and struck a confident pose. As Treecko did this cocky gesture, a fresh pokeball was released onto the field.

“Slate! Go for it!” the gym leader called, releasing her second pokeball onto the ground.

Slate appeared to be a small boulder with two arms and a broad face. It tucked its arms to its chest and rolled forward, going faster. What the rock pokemon known as Geodude was famous for was its attack ‘rollout’. The Geodude rolled along the ground, picking up both dirt and speed.

“Slate, keep using rollout!” Roxanne encouraged the boulder pokemon. Geodude kept rolling forward towards Treecko, constantly gaining momentum.

Treecko saw a window of opportunity. He decided to back up against a large boulder. Treecko outstretched his arms and dug his feet into the ground, waiting for the enemy to take the offensive in the fight. Slate came towards the wood gecko who had a plan, who now had his tail firmly against the boulder. The Geodude rapidly neared Treecko.

Jeff yelled, “Treecko what the hell are you doing?! If you don’t want to battle then don’t leave yourself wide open; come back here!”

Jeff could no longer see Treecko behind the boulder, but he had a feeling that Treecko was giving him a defiant look. Jeff could see the Geodude become ever closer to the Treecko and the boulder. When it was three feet away Treecko jumped and Slate rammed right into the boulder. A dirt cloud erupted around the boulder hindering all vision. The smoke began to dissipate and Geodude could be seen no longer rolling and fallen on its back, stunned. Treecko landed on the top of the boulder above Slate.

Jeff decided to do something; Treecko was making him look like an incompetent idiot. “Now try a bullet seed!” he yelled.

Treecko glanced back and opened his mouth to fire. Nothing came out except for air! Treecko was surprised at the lack of Bullet Seeds coming from him.

“Treecko, what’s wrong?” Jeff called to him.

Treecko desperately tried again; this time it worked. Geodude tried to get back up but he was bombarded with bright green energy bullets pelting him into the ground. Dust and rock fragments shot up around Geodude. The smoke cleared; Geodude’s unconscious body could be seen lodged halfway into the ground. The boulder pokemon snorted in defeat.

“Good try, Slate!” remarked Roxanne before recalling it, leaving a crater beside the boulder.

“<Alright!>” said Jeff and Treecko in unison. “What happened there, Treecko?”

“<I… don’t know,>” he answered, lost in deep thought. Treecko glanced at Corphish who drank a potion down whole in one gulp.

Jeff and Roxanne met at the center of the arena.

“It’s a draw… so now what?”

“I overheard you talking to Nurse Joy in the pokemon center. You said that your pokemon had a run in with a Nidoking?”

“Yeah… they were captured by him but managed to escape… why?”

“That Nidoking has been causing problems for the people and pokemon native to Rustboro and its surrounding areas. Just recently he stole two fossils from the Devon Corporation.”

Jeff tilted his head in response to hearing the name of the company. Then he remembered the massive building with the police tape around it.

“The Devon Corporation is a company local to this city that creates many futuristic technologies… one of which includes a fossil reviver. The Nidoking broke into the company late one night, knocked out the guards and stole two ancient pokemon fossils from the lab.”

“Ok… why are you telling me this?”

“I want you to defeat… or even distract the Nidoking long enough for me and a small team of others to go into his territory and take the fossils back. If you can do that and make it out in one piece… you can not only have the badge but Rustboro City will be in your debt.”

Jeff was shocked. “Debt? I’ll do it… but I don’t want any debt or anything… even the badge...”

“Leave at nine-o-clock sharp! I’ll send the team in fifteen minutes after and I’ll meet you under the bridge on the far side of the river.”

“Yeah, ok.”

Jeff picked up Corphish and, with Treecko, walked from the rocky arena and past the sleeping security guard at the main desk. He lay strewn amongst donuts and many copies of ‘sports illustrated’. They opened the front door and headed off back towards the pokemon centre. On the way Jeff couldn’t help but wonder why she chose him to do this mission.

Why did she choose me? I’m an awful trainer… I can’t even keep my own pokemon from being taken and beaten up,” he couldn’t help but ponder. More thoughts crossed his mind. “What if I can’t hold him off? What if Treecko or Corphish end up like Daedalus or worse?! Why can’t they distract him instead of us?!”

They crossed the black asphalt road. Street lights began to turn on when the sun set completely into the west. The traffic was now nonexistent, which was strange given the size of the city. Jeff, Corphish and Treecko walked into the pokemon center. Jeff greeted the cheerful Nurse Joy. He was worried that she’d think that he was a horrible person for letting his pokemon get hurt so much. Jeff sheepishly muttered, “I think Corphish needs another check up.”

“Of course, Jeff!” Nurse Joy smiled. She took Corphish and his pokeball, and went into the back room. She opened the door to the room and Daedalus instantly flew out of the room and flew over to Jeff. He chirped ecstatically; he was happy to be away from the aid station, landing on Jeff’s shoulder.

“Hey! I’m glad you’re alright, buddy! Your wing must be ok!” Jeff greeted with relief. Daedalus shrugged at Jeff’s gesture of friendliness. Daedalus’ coldness towards him was still fresh and Jeff couldn’t help but feel more rejected. “Right… ok, I gotcha. Anyways, you know that Nidoking?”

He nodded and chirped with an angry trill.

“Good, because we’re going to pay him a visit very soon!” Jeff fueled on the Taillow’s revenge lust.

“All done!” Nurse Joy stated cheerily. She handed back Corphish’s pokeball, which Jeff opened on the ground. "Remember to get your Taillow to stay off of his wing for awhile."

Jeff looked at Daedalus, whose face became disconcerted at the thought of being landlocked.

Jeff winked at him and lied, “Sure, I’ll get right on that!”

“Saddle up, you three, we’re going to take down the king,” Jeff explained, trying to boost the anticipation. Jeff was not prepared for anything of this caliber. He couldn’t even command a simple trainer battle. How could he possibly pull off something like this? He felt as in he was getting a stomach ulcer. One thing Jeff knew for sure was that fear was contagious, so he swallowed his own and forced an adrenaline filled grin.

He bent down to quickly pick up Corphish, as well as to let Treecko climb up his back. Jeff cringed as Treecko scaled his back and set up camp on his right shoulder, opposite to Daedalus. “You know, Treecko, those mini needle-hook things on your palms and soles really do hurt!” Jeff complained.

Treecko patted Jeff’s cheek with his hook-laden hand, causing Jeff to shout out in pain. Jeff scowled at Treecko, who gave a calm grin which lightly said, “Deal with it!”

“Let’s go!” Jeff crankily ordered.

He pressed his hands on the glass door. When Jeff opened the doors a night breeze swept into the Pokemon Center. They inhaled and smelled a sea breeze with a mixture of car exhaust which blew by their heads. Treecko jumped down from Jeff’s shoulder; the breeze seemed to stimulate Treecko’s urge to battle. He walked ahead of the three, eager to get the show on the road.

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t get your tails in a twist,” Jeff muttered, his mood worsening, not liking to be rushed.

Jeff caught up to Treecko and they walked past the tall office buildings and out of the streetlight lit city. They retraced their steps, walking over the wet grass and reaching a large, wooden bridge. Treecko ran ahead of Jeff and the others, stopping on the other side and chilling out against a sign post. Jeff admired the calm river which they walked over. The full moon reflected in the flowing water, casting a blue light on Jeff, Corphish, and Daedalus. They finally made it across the bridge and they walked down a hill to the right of the bridge. They walked by the riverside beach and stopped at the sign that Nidoking had created.

“Here we are…what are we supposed to do now?” Jeff thought out loud.

Daedalus raised his wing with a triumphant look.

“<Either you have a plan or you just telepathically won a game of chess with an Alakazam,>” Corphish pointed out.

“<I do! We’re going to set up an ambush right over there in the middle of the beach over there.>” Daedalus pointed his wing at the trap filled beach. “<We’ll set up bait somewhere where there are no traps. I’ll hide in a tree; Corphish, you hide in the river and barrage him with bubble beam when he’s caught off guard. Jeff, you can help fight if you want, but watch out for his poison spikes and his tail.>”

“<That’s a great plan, General Patton, but what’s the bait?>” Corphish asked. Daedalus stared at Treecko, followed by Corphish and Jeff.

“<Heh, no deal. This plan is Tauros crap. I’m not going along with this.>” Treecko scoffed with a cool defiance.

“Fine, I’LL be the bait,” Jeff sighed in irritation. “You do what Taillow told me to do.”

“<No way, I don’t need someone telling me what to do; I know my strengths and you should just let me fight Nidoking on my own,>” Treecko insisted.

Jeff shot him a cold, disapproving look. “We’re doing Daedalus’ plan,” he angrily claimed.

“<Fine, you guys do your thing, I’ll do mine.>”

“I see what Professor Birch means with his stubbornness and independence,” Jeff muttered to himself as Treecko walked away from them. Treecko’s adept hearing picked up on the comment. Offended, he indignantly sighed and climbed up a nearby tree to avoid the traps.

“<Jeff, you get to your place. I’ll guide you to make sure you don’t step on any traps.>”

Jeff, with Taillow on his shoulder, carefully treaded over the sand to avoid the traps. Corphish dove underwater in the river until all but his eyes and horns were submerged. Treecko watched the three in action, skeptical of their over-thought plan.

Jeff sat down in a trap free, sanded area. Taillow pecked him in the leg, sharply.

“Ach, damn it!” He cried out, clutching his bleeding leg.

“<We have to make your performance realistic,>” Daedalus reassured. “<Also, that’s for Treecko bullet seeding me in Petalburg Forest,>” he grinned before taking off to perch in a dark tree crown.

The waiting game had begun. Corphish exhaled bubbles from his mouth for amusement.

Pretty soon they could hear the loud stomps breaking branches in the nearby forest. The group became nervous in anticipation of the oncoming giant. They stayed in their places as the stomps became louder. There was still only darkness in the forest. Soon they could see the glint of Nidoking’s purple horn in the moonlight. His body became visible as he stepped out of the forest and onto the sand. He had a large black eye patch covering his right eye.

“<Well, well, well. An injured human in MY territory, you must have hit your leg on one of my traps!>” he growled, walking closer to Jeff. He walked up to him and grabbed Jeff up by the collar. The Nidoking held Jeff over his head. “I am DAGGERBACK THE OPPRESSOR… AND YOU SHALL PAY!”

“<What a coincidence! ‘The’ is his middle name and ‘Oppressor’ was his last name… it fits perfectly!>” Corphish thought while he treaded in the water.

“<NOW!>” Daedalus trilled in a battle cry. He swooped out from behind the shaded tree branched and began to peck at the back of Nidoking’s head, leaving bleeding cuts. Nidoking roared, threw Jeff off to the side, turned around, and began to swat at Daedalus. Corphish burst from the river water and unleashed a volley of bubbles at the Nidoking who called himself Daggerback. The bubbles hit Nidoking, distracting him from Daedalus. He roared as they burst on his gigantic chest. He whacked away Daedalus with one arm and began to charge full speed at Corphish. Corphish continued to fire his bubble beams at him. Daggerback endured the bubbles and picked up Corphish in one hand, beginning to squeeze with all his might.

“<That’s a mighty fine hand shake you got ther---AHHH!!>” Corphish tried to joke but had to let out a scream when he felt his shell beginning to crack under the pressure of Daggerback’s palm.

Nidoking, with Corphish still in hand, ran back from the river, dropped Corphish and swung his tail. With expert precision, Nidoking whacked Corphish with his tail and he hit the Taillow out of the air. Corphish’s hard shell knocked Daedalus out on impact. Daedalus fell from the air and landed on his bad wing. Jeff got to his feet and prepared a battle stance.

Treecko, who watched the plan go to hell, decided it was his time to intervene. He jumped from tree branch to tree branch until he was above Nidoking, who approached Jeff, cracking his knuckles. Treecko jumped down in front of Nidoking.

“Nice eye patch, pal. Wasn’t that Corphish and me’s handy work?>” Treecko mocked.

“<YOU! I shall take BOTH of your eyes!>” he bellowed.

“<Come here and try!>” he taunted, folding his arms.

‘Daggerback the Oppressor’ roared and charged at Treecko, horn lowered like a Tauros. Treecko ran to Nidoking’s right side, knowing that his vision was gone for that side. He jumped up onto Nidoking and crawled between his ears and on his head, looking downwards and firing an array of glowing green seed onto Nidoking’s face. Daggerback’s charge was forced into the sand by the sudden pressure on his head. As the beast skidded forwards in the sand, Treecko jumped from his head and landed triumphantly in front of him. Just to be sure he was down, Treecko unloaded another mouthful of bright green seeds into Daggerback’s head.

“<That was for putting me in a cage,>” Treecko spat, coldly.

He held up Nidoking’s bleeding and battered head by the horn and indicated that he was definitely unconscious. Jeff had helped up Daedalus and Corphish. They walked to Treecko’s side and stared in awe at the finally downed beast.

Jeff looked at Treecko who stared back at him with a cool, smug grin that made Jeff want to punch him.

“Oh, shut up!” Jeff shot at him, sore about being wrong.

“<What are we going to do with Patchy here?>” Corphish asked, pointing weakly to the body.

“Corphish has a good point, he’s heavier than me and those poisonous horns are going to be a pain in the *ss if we have to carry him. Where would we even carry him?” Jeff asked Daedalus.

Daedalus put his wing to his chin in thought. He stared out into the river and saw a couple rowing a boat. The Taillow snapped two of his feathers together, indicating an idea.

“<I’ve got it! We’ll use that boat, that way we can send him down river so he’ll be out of here, in the country, and we won’t have to drag him anywhere. Corphish, do your thing; besides, you are the ruffian pokemon!>” Daedalus suggested.

Corphish dove into the water and swam towards the boat. The couple looked worried as three orange horns in the water drew close to them. His pincers grabbed the side of the small boat.

The couple looked at him warily and the man began to reach for his pokeballs. “<I’m sorry, we’re going to have to commandeer your love boat,>” Corphish said uncomfortably. He then had made a facial gesture that said, “Oh, wow, surprise!” in a mock-shocked smile, as if he was going to his own surprise party but already knew of it before hand.

“<Have a wonderful evening, you two,>” he smiled before flipping the boat over.

The couple screamed as they fell into the water and swam to the opposite shore. Corphish proceeded to drag the capsized rowboat to the coast. The two continued to scream and cuss at the mischievous Corphish, who was now in stitches while he pulled the boat. They stomped soaking wet back towards Rustboro City, most likely to report the misdeed.

Through his laughter, Corphish managed to ask him the familiar rhetorical question “<Could I BE anymore awesome?!>”

Jeff helped him drag it ashore. He dragged it onto the sand and tipped it over to pour the water out. Jeff and Treecko pulled the unconscious Nidoking into the boat, cautious of his poison-laced horns. When he was resting fully in the boat, Jeff pushed the boat off into the tame current of the calmed river. They watched the Nidoking disappear into the fog capped rivers.

“<Goodbye, Purplebeard! Good luck finding the Black Pearl!>” Corphish called after him.

Jeff took out a blue, spray-on potion bottle and sprayed Corphish and Daedalus’ wounds with it.

“There, the wounds should fully heal in about twenty minutes.” Jeff informed, picking them up. “Let’s rest for about ten minutes to let the potion take affect.”

They sat and waited in the night. Tensions were high, wounds were deep, and time ate away at their sanity.

Much to their surprise and relief, pattering of many feet could be heard coming from the forest. A team of Roxanne and five others appeared from the darkness; in the same direction that Nidoking came. They were all dressed in black. Roxanne stepped forward; she had a scowl on her face.

“Jeff… I’m sorry.”

Jeff eyed her precariously.

“Your struggle has been in vain. We infiltrated his home but the fossils were not found. We looked high and low… and nothing. You got rid of Nidoking?”

Jeff nodded. “Yes, he’s floating on a boat down the river.”

“Darn… well, you did what I asked of you…you’re more than worthy of this badge.”

She handed him a shiny badge which was shaped like two golden chevrons.

“Thanks anyways,” Roxanne mumbled before turning away. The team walked up the hill and began to cross the bridge back to Rustboro City.

As soon as they were gone Jeff began to stare at the badge in his hand. He grimaced and placed the badge in his white and green New Balance shoe. Not his badge case. Not his shirt. Not his backpack. It was in his shoe.

The pokemon got to their feet.

“<Ya think we’ll see Patchy again?>” Corphish asked the group.

“<Given our luck I wouldn’t be surprised. He doesn’t seem like one who will let go of a grudge quickly,>” Daedalus stated. “<Where are we headed now?>”

“Dewford Island, I guess. We have to go back through Petalburg Forest to get to some Mr. Briney’s house. I hear he ferries people across the water.”

“<Petalburg Forest…>” Daedalus said, ominously, “<Let’s go!>”

Jeff walked with the pokemon that gave him so much, yet he returned so little.

Charity.”

-------------------------------------

AN:

A lot of stuff happened in this chapter, I hope not an overwhelming amount.

Blane (the guy with the Piplup) is kind of a reference to Ash. I just wanted to show a more realistic...I dunno version of what could pontentially happen with the typical trainer.

First gym battle... woohoo.

Beta'd by Diamondpearl876. Thanls BTW.

I hope all who read it enjoyed the chapter.

diamondpearl876 September 30th, 2007 5:25 PM

I don't think there was an overwhelming amount of events here. =P

I liked this chapter like all of the other ones; I guess that shouldn't be too surprising.

You did really well with the description of Piplup and making the reader feel sorry for it (in my opinion, at least). I'd kick that trainer's ass and leave. XD

Anyway, thanks for letting me beta this chapter as well, and keep it up!

Grovyle42(Griff8416) October 1st, 2007 5:49 AM

Well thats good to hear. Thanks for the beta and review and don't worry about it, you can beta as many chapters as you want :P

Gummy October 1st, 2007 3:01 PM

That was a great chapter, and it's obvious you're getting better in description. I like the leader personality you gave to Daedalus and I hope you stick with it.

One problem, though...

Quote:

the field was the size of a football field.
GREATLY contradicts with...

Quote:

The gym was about the size of a warehouse.
and...

Quote:

Roxanne suggested, starting to traipse along the rocky field.
That's a pretty amazing feat. It'd take me about 15 minutes (probably more) to walk that distance. There are a few other thing that don't fit with the whole "size of a football field thing". You may want to change that...

Can't wait until the next update!

Grovyle42(Griff8416) October 1st, 2007 4:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glajummy (Post 2952012)
That was a great chapter, and it's obvious you're getting better in description. I like the leader personality you gave to Daedalus and I hope you stick with it.

One problem, though...



GREATLY contradicts with...



and...



That's a pretty amazing feat. It'd take me about 15 minutes (probably more) to walk that distance. There are a few other thing that don't fit with the whole "size of a football field thing". You may want to change that...

Can't wait until the next update!

Heh, ah yeah that was my fault. I couldn't really make up my mind between the two and I couldn't really have her walking for that long of the chapter as I wanted to get to the battle.

I'm happy you like Daedalus' personality and thanks for noticing improvement.


EDIT: I rewrote the Prologue.

firelight_fox October 4th, 2007 5:52 AM

Dude this is laugh out loud funny keep it up.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) October 4th, 2007 3:59 PM

Cool, thanks. I'm happy you like it. :P

Grovyle42(Griff8416) October 7th, 2007 3:42 PM

Pre chapter authors notes.

A few things.
-It's not exactly a happy chapter.
-It's from Treecko's POV
-It has a song in it, which is "Talk" by Coldplay. If you want to read the chapter without being interrupted by the lyrics then simply don't read the centered text. It would help if you knew the song but it's not necessary as the lyrics are still there without the lyrics. If you want to here the music then by all means go ahead and find the song it whatever means you want.


The Breaking Point

We, the gang of four, started to walk up the hill, away from the river where we… I defeated Daggerback, and back onto the pathways. Jeff and I stood at opposite ends of the line; he was at the front and I was in the back. The apprehension was still hot between us. The midnight bode a soothing wind.

I saw Daedalus poke Corphish on the shell and he whispered something inaudible to him.

“<Hey, Corppy, do you feel a tension here?>”

“<Yeah I do. I think that Nidoking dislocated a bone in my shell,>” Corphish whispered back.

“<No, I mean between Jeff and Treecko, ever since I made that plan they’ve been pretty pissed at each other.>”

I didn’t know or care what those two were talking about, but I could only assume it was about me. I shot a bright green, seed-shaped projectile from behind Daedalus and hit my target, Jeff, in the back. Jeff cried out and whirled around glaring at me. I grinned rebelliously and shifted the twig in my mouth as if nothing happened. Daedalus decided to cover for me, for reasons which fail me, and told him, “<It was a bug.>”

Jeff turned around, grumbling. Corphish looked at me. “<You know, I really don’t see it!>” Corphish whispered back to Taillow, sarcastically. “<Actually, ever since the Petalburg incident, Jeff has been more irritable; he has been giving Treeck an especially hard time.>”

“<The... ‘Petalburg incident’?>”

“<Yeah, before we got to Petalburg Forest, we were traveling with a human girl, who Jeff had a huge crush on. When we got to Petalburg City Jeff met his most FAVORITE of his bestest of best friends. Although Jeff beat him in a battle, the girl went for Jeff’s rival. His heart was broken and here we are!>”

“<But why does he go off on Treecko?>”

“<I think they’re both having bad days.>”

They finished what ever it was that they were talking about when Jeff turned around and asked, “What are you two whispering about back there?”

“<Oh, we were seeing how low we could talk without being heard…you lose, Featherhead!>” Corphish answered, turning to Daedalus.

We reentered the dark Petalburg Forest. Mist encased the trunks of the trees as well as the underbrush, creating an eerie feel in the darkness.

“Dae, get up here! You’re on point!” Jeff called behind him. “You know these woods like the back of your hand…claw…wing? Don’t you?”

Daedalus chirped and flew up on top of Jeff’s head. Daedalus outstretched his wing, pointing to the quickest route out of here, like a compass. Jeff followed the direction of the dark blue wing until he would shift it, pointing to another direction, in which case Jeff would change directions.

“It’s a good thing we have Daedalus here as a guide,” Jeff stated aloud.

“<Yeah, otherwise you’d never get out of here alone,>” I mocked him, half kidding and half annoyed from earlier.

“Watch it, PAL, unless you want me to set you up with a lifetime contract as a mascot for a car insurance dealership,” Jeff retorted with seriousness.

A silence ensued as everyone kept to themselves.

“<We’re about at the halfway point. I say we should take a break, we’re all pretty beat,>” Daedalus suggested.

“Yeah, ok, good idea,” responded Jeff, sitting against a poplar tree with Taillow still on his head.

Corphish lay down near Jeff and I leaned against a medium sized tree trunk of a large oak, a couple yards away from them.

After a long silence, Daedalus piped up and asked morosely, “<Hey… Jeff? Do you mind if I… say goodbye to my friends? They’re probably worried about me… and I have to break it to them that I’m not going to be leading them anymore.>”

I carefully inspected Jeff’s face. I could see a large weight sunk in Jeff’s heart as a revelation struck him. He had probably realized that he had taken these pokemon away from their homes to fight for him. He had already had a rough time feeling comfortable with us battling for him… he didn’t even THINK about the fact that we had past lives before he came along. By his long pause I guessed that he became very disgusted with himself.

“<…Jeff?>”

Jeff awoke from his deep trance and answered with empathy, “Oh…yeah of course, Daedalus.” He went back to his thoughts.

Daedalus flapped his wings to try and take off from Jeff’s head. He got airborne but found himself being held back by something. Daedalus’ sharp talons were tangled in Jeff’s dense, dark brown hair.

“<Erg, Jeff my feet are stuck!>” Daedalus informed him, trying to fly with all of his might out.

“Ow, ow, OW! I’ve noticed, Daedalus,” Jeff groaned while his hair was pulled.

“<Hey, Corppy, wanna give us a hand?>” Daedalus chirped in irritation.

“<Hah! And miss this? Yeah, OKAY!>” Corphish laughed, mocking the situation.

“Damn it, Corphish,” Jeff growled. Daedalus began pecking at the roots of Jeff’s hairs to try and cut them, but his feet were tangled in too well.

“<Jeff, why don’t you ask Treecko for help?>” the Taillow trilled in question, flapping frantically.

“I don’t think so, we don’t need his –ow- help, just keep –ow- trying!” he adamantly replied, not realizing that his voice carried in the forest.

I turned my eyes towards them. Their eyes met with mine. I pretended that I was unaltered by the words, but really, the words sunk pretty deeply. I know Jeff was stubborn but he should know that I’d be always willing to help him. I let the words slide off my back as much as I could. I closely eyed the twig that was resting in my mouth. I took it out and inspected it before closing my eyes. What was wrong with Jeff? How can a girl change someone so much? I want him to be like he was when we first met… when he actually seemed to enjoy my company. When will he be normal?

I thought about when we were traveling from Littleroot to Petalburg. Those were awesome but that damned city changed it. I let out a sharp grunt from my nostrils and turned my eyes back.

“<Could you talk any louder?>” Corphish whispered to Jeff.

Daedalus gave a nod to me, in indication to help them. I responded with a disagreeing shake of the head. He pressed his wings together in a pleading manner. I turned away, uninterested.

“<Corphish, get over here!>” Daedalus chirped. Corphish scuttled up onto Jeff’s right shoulder. The Taillow continued to quietly peep instructions, “<Put one of your legs in Jeff’s ear so he won’t hear us.>”

“<Ew, no! I don’t know where that ear has been!>” Corphish complained.

“<Oh just do it, you yellow-belly!>” Daedalus coerced, irritated.

“<Fine, but I’ll have you know that my underbelly is a very pretty, pale, ‘yellow mist’ color, thank you very much!>” Corphish scoffed, putting an orange leg in Jeff’s ear.

“Hey, Corphish, get your foot out of my ear!” Jeff told him.

“<Sorry, I thought your earlobe was a shoe horn,>” Corphish replied, keeping his foot in there. Then he ordered, “<Quick, Featherhead, say what you’re going to say!>”

“<Go over to Treecko and tell him to help us and say I’ll give him my next meal in return.>”

“Corphish, if your foot gets stuck in there too…”

I briefly glanced over to watch the ridiculous antics of Corphish and Daedalus. Normally I might have been slightly amused by this scene… but not now. I was too busy thinking about how Jeff changed and what I could do to get him back to normal. I shut my eyes again. I felt a familiar sensation in my tail.

It’s going to rain soon.

My tail always did that. Whenever it was about to rain I got that preemptive feeling. It was both a blessing and a curse. I was able to prepare for the upcoming weather but the anticipation for the rain dampened my spirits before the actual showers could dampen my twig.

“<Fine,>” Corphish said before being picked up and placed on the ground by Jeff. Corphish heard the unmistakable scuttle of Corphish coming towards me, I had my eyes closed. I didn’t bother listening to the two pokemon’s conversation.

“<Hey Gr…>” Corphish began to greet me. I immediately shot open my eyes and gave him a glare that chilled Corphish to his soul. He knew not to ever call me that and I wasn’t going to let him forget it. Corphish, who now feared for his life, hastily corrected himself. “<…eecko. Grieco. Richard Grieco was great in 21 Jump Street, wasn’t he?>” he said in a very unsmooth manner.

“<What do you want, Corphish?>” I asked him, exasperated.

“<Can you please help Daedalus out of Jeff’s hair; he says he’ll give you his next meal.>”

“<Why should I?>” I sassily responded.

Corphish blinked twice “<…for the reason I JUST told you.>” Annoyed, I closed my eyes and continued to chew on my twig. Corphish began to walk back to Daedalus and Jeff. He stopped upon my words, “<Fine.>” Before he knew it, he felt my green tail hit him in the back. Corphish went flying towards Daedalus. He hit the bird pokemon and the scalp of Jeff’s head. The Taillow went sailing out of Jeff’s hair, taking several strands of hair with him. Corphish landed upside down, Jeff was knocked over, but Daedalus managed to recover from the hit in the air and remain airborne.

“<Thanks, T-cko,>” Daedalus called, before flying off to say farewell to his friends.

“ARGH, DAMNIT!” Jeff shouted, holding his aching head.

Corphish looked up at Jeff with an innocent face before glaring at me. I let out a snort with a smug grin.

Jeff scowled at me. I knew this smug grin pissed him off to no end. I could tell that he wanted to drive his knee into my head, but he always forgave it. It was frustratingly cool AND lovable.

The pain had set off Jeff’s last nerve. Jeff countered the pain with a sharp yell, “What the hell was that, Treecko?!”

“<What? They said ‘free Daedalus’ so I did,>” I replied, hiding a malicious smile.

“You didn’t have to hit Corphish into us!”

“<Well apparently I did!>”

“That’s it, Treecko! I respect your love of independence and your loner tendencies, but this is ridiculous! You have to draw the line somewhere; you can’t go around doing WHATEVER you want!”

“<And why not? Don’t we all have a right to? I mean, you can go around catching us pokemon on a whim! We’re entitled to at least some freedom or else we’d might as well be caged animals!>” I shot back in a way that I knew would burden his conscience.

I watched as those words hit Jeff’s already heavy guilt, hard. He began to speak in a quieter, more empathetic tone. “I see what you’re saying Treecko, but just tone it down a little, please?”

“<Maybe, maybe not,>” I replied. I was now being difficult purely for the sake of being difficult. I really shouldn’t have been but I had to prove my point.

“Treecko…when I lose my patience…my hand tends to reach for one of my empty pokeballs, and when I get one of those in my hand I automatically point it at the nearest pokemon…” Jeff explained in a soft, but threatening, tone.

A chill went up my spine. Was he serious? He wouldn’t do that after all of this… would he? “<You wouldn’t!>” I answered with a hurt scowl.

He knows how much I hate that damned prison, to even BLUFF using that is too far! As long as the thing remained in his hands the chills remained to go through my body.

Jeff nodded, strongly, and enlarged the red and white pokeball, not daring to show weakness in what I initially thought was his bluff.

I retorted with fervor, “<You can confine me to that pokeball…but that would make you a hypocrite and a liar. You’d also have to face the lonesome road, without your beloved Kristie, who is probably asleep next to Alan right now, so I hope you’re ready to fayeayeay...>” I then trailed off. Before I could finish the word “face”, I had realized what I had been saying.

Man, I’m an idiot…

The Kristie incident was still fresh in his mind and I tossed it about as if were a pinecone. I studied Jeff’s appalled and betrayed expression. I knew that I had crossed the line.

Meanwhile, Corphish was shifting in his spot, frantically jutting his head between the two arguers, uncomfortably. “<Oh… my… Arceus! I think there’s a Golem crushing me because I couldn’t be any more stuck between a rock and a hard place!>”

I really didn’t mean to say that.

I walked apologetically towards him. I stumbled backwards in shock when he lightly smacked me up the side of my twig-loving head. It was just hard enought to get the point across. I withstood the anger-induced blow and bit my lip. I saw his hand shaking while he retracted it. My mouth was left hanging open while I fingered the red hand mark.

Did he just… hit me?

Although I was mentally hurt by the action, I knew I deserved it and more. But still… he HIT me. JEFF hit me. Tears began to fill my eyes but none made it past the ducts… I wouldn’t let them. With a new sense of fear I backed away from him. I looked at Corphish who didn’t even make a joke to break the tension; all he did was stare in shock. I jutted my head around.

What should I do?

Should I run? Run away from the situation and come back when things have cooled?

Should I approach Jeff? What if he struck me again?

Should I retaliate? I couldn’t do that. Not even if I wanted to.

Would he apologize? Did he feel bad about hitting me? Would he do it again? Did he still value me as a friend?


I held my reddened face and turned around, trying to collect myself.

I took a hard swallow and turned back around. I would do my first line of defense. If this didn’t work… then I don’t know what’s next. My usually calm words shook as I spoke in an unthreatening way. “<Jeff…look, I’m…>” I attempted to apologize, but he cut me off.

“No! You’re right!” he retorted.

I almost flinched; worried that he’d strike me again. My heart was racing and my feelings were almost pouring out of my throat.

“You were right about Daedalus’ plan, you were right about Kristie, you’re right about being alone! So you made your point. Now go bugger off you stubborn, little, smug reptile! Go be…free!” he said with frustration. Jeff turned away from us and lay sideways on the forest bed.

It was like I had been kicked in the teeth. I stood there, devastated. Did he really want me gone? I think the slap confirmed that. I walked towards him a step but then stopped. My face scrunched when I turned defiantly towards the forest.

I knew this journey was too good to be true.

I didn’t want to lose a friend over me being as stubborn as a Tauros… as well as acting like an overall prick. I walked six feet into the forest and slumped sadly behind a tree. I’d might as well go to sleep. Maybe this would blow over later.

For lack of anybody else, I tightly squeezed my tail for warmth. Thoughts burdened my brain and heart as I went to sleep.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Screams.

I opened my eyes to hear screams and battle yells coming from below me, all around. I looked upwards; I could only look upwards. I saw the dizzying trunk of a massive tree tower, as if a ladder to the moon and stars. Large, lush branches jutted out from the trunk, making an immense canopy.

I couldn’t move; it was as if I was tied to the branch I was on. I could see fellow Treeckos jumping down on branches and crawling on all fours towards and past me, as if I wasn’t there. Below I could hear the yells of humans and Treeckos alike. Preceding the cries of my brethren was an electrostatic zap, while the familiar thumps of our tails and the slices of blades came before the human’s yells.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see a bright orange gleam in the night. I tried to move but still couldn’t.

“<They’ve got the head Sceptile!>” I heard the sharp cry of a Grovyle yell.

I took notice of the raspy, nasally cry of a Sceptile, although I could not see him, “<Velox! You’re in charge! You and the rest defend that tree with your lives! Don’t let these filthy brutes take our home!>” The voice called as it slowly got farther away. The Grovyle let out a massive, frustrated howl and the cries of humans became more frequent.

This all seemed so familiar. I needed to help them.

I could see smoke rise from beneath me. I could see the fire grow higher. I struggled to move. I cringed and tried to call out while the heat from the burning element numbed my skin. It was torturous. I felt as if I should dead any second, but it just didn’t come fast enough. I squirmed in my place when I knew the bottom of the branch I was on began to burn. Sweat dropped from my body. I knew the fire would touch me at any second.

Why wasn’t anyone helping me?

It was like the walls of a room were closing in on a pokemon with claustrophobia. The anticipation wrenched my insides around until what was left must have only been a jumble of organs tied together like a ball of yarn.

I had to get out of here. Something was going to happen…I could feel it.

I heard a familiar, deep, human’s voice. “But why are you helping me? You don't know me!”

Where have I heard that before? The voice continued, but in a different tone as if it was said at a different occasion. “You didn’t have to find me to give this back! I was perfectly capable…”

The voice became faster and more frequent in its intervals.

“Ok, so now the poison will only eat away at my leg.”

“If you’re as stubborn as I am, we’re going to be in big trouble.”

The voice became more rapid, harsher, and it boomed from all around me.

“All that time I waited for you and you just let yourself be captured?”

“Damnit, Treecko, stop it! It’s over!”

“Oh sure, laugh it up.”

“Ok…we’ll go your way.”

“Tell that to yourself when you’re surrounded by a group of fire type pokemon.”

“You say that because you’re the only one of your species in this general area! You don’t have to compete for women! You probably take and leave as you please...like Alan would.”

“Now I see what Professor Birch means with his stubbornness and independence.”

“Oh, shut up.”

The voices engulfed me and repeated themselves with overwhelming tempo, gradually getting louder.

They stopped.

The last thing said was a booming sentence. “Now go bugger off you stubborn, little, smug reptile! Go be…free!”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My eyes shot open. I felt either dried tears or perhaps dew crusted on the corners of my eyes. Chances were that it was the former option.

Jeff had woken me up with a soft nudge. I must have shifted several feet away from where I fell asleep, in my sleep. Jeff looked at me with sympathetic eyes. He must have known that I had a rough sleep so he decided to spare me the nightmare.

I have to get out of here.

I looked upwards and saw a different tree. The darkness of the sky competed with the coming sunrise. Right now the darkness was still winning as everything was still black. I got to my feet and walked over to Jeff and the sleeping Corphish. It had seemed that Taillow was still gone. If he was ever coming back was beyond me. Jeff was crouched over a small fire, boiling an insta-heat cup of noodles. He didn’t acknowledge me; he had the white vines of a white, music emitting device in his ear. I lightly pulled the things out of his ear. The sad sounding song from the earphones began to play loudly on the ground; I had no idea how to stop them so I continued saying what I was trying to say.

“<…Jeff? I need to talk to you,>” I said with remorseful quietness.

He remained silent, facing away from me.

Oh, brother I can’t I can’t get through.


“<Jeff, please hear me out…>” I continued, talking over the song.

All he did was lower his head and prod at the scorching coals of the fire.

I’ve been trying hard to reach you ‘cause I don’t know what to do.


I backed away from him and sighed. The clouds smothered over the pink sunrise. A light shower began to pour. The dispersed rain droplets hit around our campsite.

I’m sorry.

Oh, brother I can’t believe it’s true.


This is it.

I tried to move around Corphish, but I accidentally kicked one of his pincers. He woke up with a jolt.

“<Is it time for Baywatch?!>” he yelled in a nonsensical manner. He looked around and sighed, “<Oh… what are you doing, T-Cko?>”

“<I’m leaving,>” I replied, firmly.

I’m so scared about the future and I want to talk to you.


“<Shouldn’t I at least call our divorce lawyer first?>”

Not amused, I began to turn to walk into the dark forest. I looked back at Jeff. Jeff turned an eye to the action.

I had screwed up.

Oh, I want to talk to you.

“You’re leaving? But…but…” Jeff stammered.

“<You did tell me to leave, didn’t you?>”

Jeff was at a loss for words. Rain became more frequent and the drops bigger.

“I can’t understand…” he replied in pure shock.

You can take a picture of something you see.


“<I’ll be fine. You don’t deserve the pain that I was inflicting upon you. I’m sorry… goodbye, Jeff.>”

“I don’t know what you’re saying!” he tried to explain, beginning to panic.

“<YOU DID TELL ME TO… >” I attempted to reiterate.

Obviously picking up on the fact that I was reiterating my earlier words, he yelled in frustration, “I MEAN I DON’T UNDERSTAND YOU! ALL I HEAR IS TREE CKO CKO TREE TREECKO!” He collapsed to his knees and held his forehead in what must have been head splitting frustration.

I could see what was the remainder of Jeff’s soul shatter.

My jaw dropped.

…He can’t hear me? But why?! I wasn’t saying anything complex! Was it because I…

In the future, where will I be?


I stared in shock at my former pal. I wanted to go and comfort him… try to help him… be with him… but I could already feel my legs running in the other direction.

Why did you do that? Because he hit you. He told you to leave!

You can climb a ladder up to the sun.


I couldn’t handle what I had just put my friend through, so I ran.

Just keep running.

Or write a song nobody has sung or do…something that’s never been done.


“<Wait, T-cko! Come back! Treecko!>” Corphish began to run after me.

I could also hear the heavy steps of Jeff.

“<Treecko, please! Come back!>”

Don’t look back.

I couldn’t let myself look back even if I wanted to. The unmistakable pounding of Jeff’s feet in the grass grew louder and closer. Corphish lagged far behind. Jeff was running along right beside me. He leapt over a large root protruding from the forest bed. He let out a pained grown before falling flat on his face; he had been running so fast to keep up with me that the speed that he fell with gave him no time to brace the impact. He went from standing to prone in a matter of seconds. I stopped running and slowly neared my friend. He was sprawled on his stomach so that his face was buried in his arms and moss. I noticed that his shoe was one meter behind him. His sock was soaked with ruby blood. In the center of the fresh blood was a golden badge; the sharp chevron of the award was lodged in and jutting out his right foot. The badge, shining in the moonlight, dug deep into his sole… but I think that it was the least of his worries.

Should I help him? Does he want my help? Is he ok?

Are you lost or incomplete?


I ran. Like a coward I ran from my friend. I ran and hid behind a tree many meters away. I looked back at Jeff, who still had his face buried in his arms. I watched Jeff, who lay there in his sorrow, probably wondering ‘where did it all go wrong?’.

You’re pathetic, Treecko. You’re no friend of Jeff. You don’t deserve to have friends.

Do you feel like a puzzle? You can’t find your missing piece.


I tightly shut my eyes and stayed pressed against a tree. I used my eyelids as a dam for all the emotions that were building up inside. Corphish had caught up to Jeff and began to inspect him.

“<Jeff? Jeff?>”

I turned and saw a tear glint in Jeff’s darkened head. It was the only thing I could see from his shadow covered face.

The guilt and sadness that flooded me grew unbearable.

Tell me how…do you feel?


I watched the twig drop from his mouth to the ground, followed by a tear. A gust of wind blew through the forest. Corphish tried to encourage Jeff and ask where I went but Jeff either ignored or couldn’t comprehend him. He was lost in his own thoughts, unable to get out. Corphish walked away from Jeff to continue to follow me.

You’re leaving Jeff all alone. Abandoned.

Well, I feel like they’re talking in a language I don’t speak.


Nothing you can say can change it. Because of you nothing would be the same.

Nothing.

You destroyed him.


And they’re talking it to me.


Watching Jeff made my eyes begin to water. It was my fault that he was like this. That guilt and anger at myself created a massive ball that swelled in my head like a tumor. Why? Why did I have to be so stubborn?

Come on! Are you a Chikorita or are you a Treecko?! So calm down! Calm…Calm. Besides he’s a just a human. Why are you so sad about leaving a filthy, two faced, evil human?! They’re all alike. You’ve seen it before!

Never. Never in my life had I cried. I wasn’t about to let myself breakdown now. My vision of him on the ground began to distort and blur. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat but I found myself choking on it, gasping for air and words. I never thought that withholding emotions would ever have to be this hard. I wanted to call out to him but I knew the action would be futile.


I began to run again. Corphish spotted me and raced to follow.

“<Treeck! Come back here… NOW!>”

I continued to run. I jumped aptly over roots and ducked under branches. I refused to look back, as I would only remember what it was that I was leaving behind.

So you can take a picture of something you see.


Why I ran I didn’t even know anymore. All that I knew was that I couldn’t go back. Corphish closely followed me, I could tell by the rapid sounds of legs on the ground.

Go back, pal. Don’t do what I did.

In the future where will I be?


“<You’d better slow down, you bastard! You can’t just leave!>”

I couldn’t even speak to defend myself; all I did was continue to dash.

You can climb a ladder up to the sun.


I knew I was far ahead of Corppy. He would hold this against me, but that was the least of my worries.

All of a sudden I could feel wet, ball-like projectiles hit the back of my legs; the orbs exploded and threw me into a roll. I spiraled onto the ground.

Or write a song nobody has sung or do… something that’s never been done. Do… something that’s never been done.


I rolled over to get up but Corphish jumped on my chest. My jaw seared with pain when I felt his damp claw smash across my face. On the side of my face that was forced in the mud, I could feel a tear try to escape my eye. I quickly blinked it back.

You’re right Corphish; I’m not holding this against you. I shouldn’t leave. But I have to.

So you don’t know where you’re going and you want to talk?


“<Corphish, I…>”

THUD THUD.

Corphish brought his claws against my face two more times. My head was driven further into the mud. Although the rain fell hard on my face, I knew that two tears had poured from my eyes. I quickly shut my eyes and clenched my teeth.

Weak.

Yellow-belly.

Pathetic.

A disgrace.


Those tears were not from the pain or the fact that Corphish was hitting me. They were from the fact that I knew I was doing the wrong thing, I was leaving Jeff because after all that I did I couldn’t go back. I was running from my problems and leaving my best friend by himself. I allowed for three seconds of weakness.

And you feel like you’re going where you’ve been before?


I stared at the twig in my mouth and subconsciously allowed two more tears to flow from my eyes. Keeping my eyes shut, I growled and continued to stick my finger in hole of the leaking dam. If I let this trickle of emotions to continue, the dam would explode, and I would be engulfed... never to resurface to normalcy.

“<What the hell do you think you’re doing?>” Corphish yelled at me, rain dripping off his shell and onto my face. He clamped his claws on my shoulder, keeping my head in the muddy ground.

“<I… I’m leaving,>” I explained.

“<You can’t leave; we both know it! So swallow your pride, Kristie!>”

“<What?!>”

“<Yeah that's right, you stubborn wood gecko, you’re no better than her! Right now you’re the most important thing to him and you’re about to take that away with one action!>”

The words had hit hard, but I knew he was right.

“<I’m worse than her; she didn’t even know that Jeff liked her, but I know that we are… were best friends. I can’t go back after what happened.>”

“<Yes you can! GO BACK YOU COWARD… or are your tails too far between your legs to do so!?>”

You’ll tell anyone who’ll listen but you feel ignored.


“<I CAN’T!>” I yelled, shoving him off of me. His claws tore the flesh on my shoulders as he was pushed off. I began to run away from Corphish again.

He didn’t have any idea how hard this was… but it was something I had to do…for Jeff’s sake. The reasons clouded my head like an electrical storm, zapping all light and clouding good judgment.

I tore the twig from my mouth and placed the mouthpiece in the mud covered ground; it stuck upwards like a beacon. I stared at the accessory that I carried with me for years. I remembered the day I had taken it… and every day up to today. Every argument, every laugh, and every moment. One final tear escaped my guard, although my face remained unaltered and serious. It trickled off of my nose and landed beside the twig. Corphish began to catch up with me so I ran off. And with the twig, I left my heart and soul with it.

Emptiness… more empty than I had previously felt. When the leak in the dam stopped, so did the river which flowed. It was barren.

I have to get out of here.

Nothing’s really making any sense at all?

Let’s talk

Let’s talk…

Let’s talk

Let’s talk…


---------------------------------------

Daedalus soared in the cool breeze, pivoting around trees. The rain drops hit his feathers and rolled off. He didn’t seem to mind the rain so much as the his mission. He took a hard left and landed in a large oak canopy. Five Taillows swarmed onto the branches around him, creating a circle.

“<Daedalus? Is it really you?!>” one of the Taillows chirped in excitement.

“<We were sure that damned human had you!>” trilled another.

Daedalus cleared his throat before replying. “<Yes, Gallus, it’s really me,>” he replied in a forced smile through his sadness. His grin faded before his next words. “<The human… Jeff… DID get me, Ornithos. That’s why I’m here.>”

This statement caused a storm of chirps to be unleashed.

“<Please! Please settle down!>”

“<You’re not actually going! You’re here to hide, right?!>” the Taillow named Gallus squawked in hope and denial.

Daedalus looked guiltily down at his claws. Rain dripped off his head and slid down to his beak. The face said it all.

“<I’m sorry.>”

“<But you can’t leave! You’re our best friend and the only one who knows what the hell to do!>” another Taillow tweeted in protest.

“<What if the Spearows come back?!>” asked Ornithos.

“<Struthios will make a great leader in my place! You guys are all tough… you can fight them off with no problem. I’ve seen you do it before. You were all brave and we came out triumphant… thanks to looking out for one another…>” Daedalus encouraged, but his voice began to be interrupted by tears. Fortunately the rain also washed away his tears but still he turned his head away.

“<Besides, I promise I’ll come back whenever I can. The human I’m with is actually very nice and he lets us do whatever we want; he’s not controlling and doesn’t make us battle until we drop. I can assure that if I wanted to come back to visit, he’d let me and he’d probably come, too! I’m sure he’d want to meet all of you!>” Daedalus reassured through his tears.

Sadness filled the tree canopy. The rain seemed to pour heavier on them.

“<I wish you didn’t have to go,>” quietly chirped Struthios.

“<Don’t be afraid, I’ll return. If the Spearows overrun you or if you guys want company… come and find us. We won’t be far.>”

“<Goodbye, Daedalus. You’ll always be the best leader we’ve ever had.>”

They all exchanged in a large final embrace before Daedalus turned his back to them.

“<I’ll be back…>” Daedalus quietly whispered. Daedalus flapped his wings and jumped from the large branch. He began to fly away into the rain.

“<Ok, boys!>” ordered Struthios. The five Taillows put their wings to their foreheads in a salute and, in unison, chirped, “TAAIIIILLLOOOW.”

Daedalus looked back at the final salute while flying, tears leaving his eyes and streaming in the wind. He left his friends behind him.

“<I promise… I’ll be back.>”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Corphish panted to keep up with me, the long-legged wood gecko. All of a sudden, I stopped dead in my tracks. A faint flap of wings was heard. It became louder. I guessed that it was Daedalus coming back from his friends. Only the red and white of Daedalus’ chest could be seen moving in the rainy, night sky. The red and white stopped moving and sat on a branch above us.

“<Corppy? T-cko? What’s going on? I got back to where we set up camp; you two were gone and Jeff wasn’t talking! He seemed really torn up about something,>” chirped Daedalus in an accusing manner.

“<I’m leaving!>” I replied.

“<What?>” he trilled in disbelief.

“<Treeck and Jeff had a bit of a disagreement. Some words were exchanged and some lovable Corphishes were made very uncomfortable. Now T-cko here wants to pack up his tail and leave!>”

“<That’s ridiculous, Treecko! You can’t just leave us over one argument! It couldn’t have been that bad!>” Daedalus insisted.

I gave him a look. “<Last night he told me to leave. And, today, when I told him I was leaving… something happened to him… he can't understand us anymore...>”

“<Ok, so he was PMSing, everyone has bad days! It happens!>”

“<I’m going. It’s best that I respect at least ONE of his commands,>” I muttered, heavy heartedly.

“<If you aren’t going to stay for Jeff, at least stay… for the kids!>” coerced Corphish. He put on a sad face, and placed his claw around Daedalus’ shoulder.

I put on a solemn grin, closed my eyes, and shook my head.

“<Tell Jeff…I’m sorry,>” I told them, when I pushed by them they both looked at each other and nodded.

“<If you’re leaving, I’m leaving!>” Corphish blurted, walking to my side.

“<I’m not staying here alone with him! No offense to Jeff.>”

“<What? You guys can’t leave!>”

“<And why not?! You get to!>” Daedalus had a point there.

“<If you leave, Jeff is going to be there all alone, and especially after that Kristie incident. That will be overwhelming for him. Who knows what he might do?>” Corphish added.

“<You two take care of him!>”

“<Look, Treeck!>" Corphish began, "<You were there from the start! You were his first pokemon, his first friend on this travel. You were always there for him. You battled for him. You bled for him. He bled for you! You were there when Kristie broke his heart. Afterwards you were the one who tried to pick up the pieces. We STILL need you to pick up the pieces. HE needs you. You and we all know that he doesn’t want you gone.>”

Daedalus looked shocked at Corphish’s strong words. He decided to follow up. “<As much as you think you can’t go back, you CAN! We all can have fresh starts. Just explain the situation to him and I know he’ll understand. In fact, when you go back he’ll be so happy to see you; you probably won’t even need to talk to him! So come back with us!>”

“<I CAN’T!>” I roared in defiance.

It wasn’t that simple! I couldn’t just go back and act like nothing happened!

“<Why? Why can’t you go back when you have every reason to?! Is it that you don’t want to go back with your tail between your legs? Or do you WANT to be alone?!>” coerced Daedalus.

“<Well I… yes... I DO want to be alone! Jeff slapped me for Arceus’ sakes! I know I deserved it, but I still can’t believe he actually went through with it! I mean, he hit ME, his best friend and first pokemon! I don’t even think he feels bad about it!>”

“<Look, he was angry! It was an impulse! Of course he feels bad about it!>” the two pokemon chimed in together.

“<It’s not that he hurt me… well it’s not that I was hurt. It IS that HE hurt me. But, it’s also that he scolded me with the strike… you just don’t… I don’t know!>” Treecko tried to explain his point of view in a volley of clumsy stammers.

“<Just come back with us!>” Daedalus pleaded.

I sighed and looked off into the dawn through the beautiful, lush trees. “<… I can’t face him.>”

Corphish was becoming annoyed. “<Look, Treeck! We can either do this the easy way or the hard way!>”

They just weren’t listening!

I shot him a glare. “<… Do it the hard way.>”

With those words, I started to try to run, but found myself pinned on the ground in seconds flat. I tried to struggle to get free, but Corphish had clamped down on my tail and Daedalus had wrapped his talons around my hands.

“<Now we’re going home whether you like it or not!>”

Corphish led the way back. Daedalus had lifted me off the ground; my hands were still in his talons. Corphish still clamped my tail, making sure I didn’t try anything else. Unable to do anything, I felt ridiculous. I tried to wiggle my hands free from the claws but it was pointless. Although he had trouble flying my weight, Daedalus had excellent grip and he wasn’t about to let go.

Why don’t I just do things the easy way? Why must it always be the hard way?

We could see the smoke from the campfire. Jeff was in a squatting position, looking into the burning coals of the fire. Before Jeff knew we were behind him and that I was being forced against my will to come back, Daedalus released me from his hold, dropping me to the ground. Corphish was still skeptical of freeing me, but he did so with a whisper. “<Try anything… and next time I’ll clamp your big head instead…>” He made a snapping motion with his claws. I shot him a cold look and began to near the sulking human.

I approached Jeff and crawled onto his shoulder, just to show that I wasn’t completely angry at him. He looked up with a sleep deprived face and nodded. “Hi, Treecko.”

I walked up to him and placed a hand on his back. I said, “<Hi Jeff,>” but I could see in his eyes that all he heard was pokespeech. Dismayed, I just patted his back.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking… I still can’t understand you… or what you’re saying, but you can understand me.”

Corphish and Daedalus gathered around, also. Jeff let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what you and Taillow said; about being taken away from those who you care about to travel and fight; when I don’t even do the fighting myself. It’s unfair to you guys and it makes me seem like I have superiority over you. I’m not better than you guys! I want to make it clear that I value each of you as equal to me; I mean you’re all intelligent creatures, capable of feelings and speech! Well now the bounds are off; Daedalus, you can go back and lead your friends. Corphish, you can go back to you lake and woo female Corphish with your… dancing. And Treecko, pal, you can go back to your tree. None of you should feel pressured to be here. I thank all of you for sticking around as long as you have,” he exclaimed with a shaky sadness.

We were all shocked by the offer. Corphish broke the long pause with a joke. “<Why would go back there when I could get rejected by new and different Corphish? At least then it would not be as awkward as it would if I had to ask the same girls, again.>”

Jeff looked at Corphish. I think he got the gist from the light-heartedness that Corphish was saying that he was staying.

The Taillow was currently fence sitting. The indecision tore at him. He finally gave a definite chirp. “<I appreciate the offer, Jeff, but I think I’ll stay with you.>”

Jeff blinked, unsure what he had said. Only time would tell him.

Jeff was silent for a minute and then looked at me. Our eyes locked as we tried to read what the other was thinking. The deep exchange lasted many moments. Both of us waited for the other to say something, since my answer depended on what Jeff said, but I didn’t know what he was waiting for. Jeff gulped and broke the silence, “What about you, Treecko? Do you want to stick around or do you want to take the lone road?” Jeff subconsciously stopped breathing while he nervously awaited my answer.

A small wave of optimistic relief hit me. Still, something ate away at me. I breathed a sigh and answered, “<Jeff…you couldn’t pry me away from here if you tried. Besides, what’s the point of being alone if you’re by yourself?>”

To reiterate that I was staying, I playfully punched and proceeded to hug his head. Something that I was sure I would never do again. Daedalus and Corphish joined in the hug.

He beamed and hugged us tightly back. I felt two drops of water hit my shoulder. I wasn’t sure if they were his tears or rain… but I was sheltered from the rain.

“You guys are great friends, you know that?” The other two grinned modestly, while I nodded and placed my slender arms behind my head.

“<I’d hate to break this up, but what do you say we get moving?>” Daedalus told us. Jeff got to his feet with me still on his shoulder. I jumped back onto the ground. I felt like things still weren’t right between Jeff and me. I had a feeling he felt the same way.

“But what about your flock, Daedalus?” Jeff asked morosely, not expecting a response he could comprehend.

“<I’ve got a new flock now…>” he replied in profound thought. After staring off for awhile, he shook his head and continued to talk. “<Right-o, Jeff, I’m going to talk to my flock one last time. I’ll meet you on the outside of Petalburg Forest!>” The Taillow twittered before flying into the dawn sky.

“<Hey Daedalus? I need a favor… which I’ll return someday… in fact you can have the next meal you offered to me back,>” I explained with a hint of guilt in my voice.

“<Sure, T-Cko, what is it?>”

“<I need you to go get my…>” I told him but was interrupted by a human’s words which struck worry into my stomach.

“Treecko… what happened to your twig?”

As calmly as I could I made gestures saying that I was running and then I fell and it must have fell out. “Treecko cko tree tree?” I asked, motioning for Corphish to agree with me. Corppy quickly nodded. Daedalus nodded at me, knowing what I was going to ask, and took to the air. We watched the tiny swallow pokemon fly off. Jeff looked at us frantically.

“What’s going on?! Where’s he going?! Is Daedalus leaving?!” Jeff grilled, wide eyed.

Corppy looked at him and shuck his head, confirming, “<No.>” Corphish pointed at me, placed a crude stick in his mouth, and then pointed at Daedalus, who was getting further and further away.

In relief, with Corphish now on his backpack and me walking behind him, Jeff began to walk through the forest in the direction that Daedalus had previously pointed him towards.

I was relieved that he was willing to take me back. I didn’t show any of my emotions though; he knew how I felt so I’m not going to show it in a public display of affection! … Or did he know how I felt?! He still couldn’t understand me! Was that permanent?! What if he thinks I’m still angry? Well I kind of am… but still! DOES he want me back or does he just feel obliged to take me along?

As those thoughts raced through my apathetic mind, we walked through the dimly-lit forest of Petalburg. I watched branches shift over head and thought. I thought about that dream I had. I thought about how I almost threw all of this away. I thought about what I was leaving behind. I thought about the risk that I was taking. Most importantly, I thought about whether or not to stay.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

...continued in next post.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) October 7th, 2007 3:42 PM

...continued
-------------------------------------------------------------------------


Daedalus rocketed around trees, flying as fast as he could. He flew through the forest and began to circle around the area where he had met up with Treecko and Corphish. He landed on the earth and examined the terrain.

“<Hmm, tracks are leading from that direction… it’s probably around there. How am I supposed to find a single twig in the whole bloody forest?>”

The Taillow began to walk and he closely scanned the ground.

“<Most of all of the twigs have been washed away in the storm!>” He continued to follow the water flooded footprints and drag marks. Up ahead, he saw a twig jutting straight out of the ground. It had the same straight main stem with a second, smaller branch coming out of the middle, diagonally. Daedalus went to inspect it closer. There was dried, brown blood encrusted on the part where Treecko’s mouth would go.

“<Taurus’ eye!>” Daedalus grinned, picking the twig up in a claw before flying towards his flock’s roost.

“<I really don’t see what’s so big about this twig…>” thought Daedalus while he swerved around branches.

Daedalus hastily flew towards the tree where he last saw his flock. He landed on a thick branch and looked around the tree. It was barren. Daedalus let out a sigh and he hung his head.

“<I’m gonna miss this place.>”

Just then a dark blue and white wing came from behind him and covered his face.

“<Guess who?>” a playful trill asked.

Daedalus playfully thrust his head backwards colliding heads with the familiar voice. His head was released from feathery blindfold.

Without turning around, Daedalus grinned and replied. “<Hello, Struthios. Your guard is down as usual.>”

The Taillow flew in front of him and smiled, rubbing his own face. “<Or YOUR guard is always UP as usual.>”

They grinned and slapped wings together in a high-five like fashion.

“<It’s good to see you Struthios, where are the others?>”

“<I sent them out on border patrol. We recently had a Spearow infiltrate out lines.>”

“<Good thinking! See? I knew you’d be a good leader!>” Daedalus insisted, patting his buddy’s shoulder. “<I… I’m sorry about earlier. I was too abrupt and I was a bit too emotional, forgive me; it wasn’t very leader-like and I didn’t want to leave you guys like that.>”

“<It’s ok, Daedalus. We all felt the same way... I speak for all of us when I say we’re really sorry we turned tail when you got hit by that lizard’s attack. It wasn’t very comrade-like of us,>” replied Daedalus’ close friend.

“<No! It’s ok. You guys have saved me from life or death situations, you don’t have to be sorry for me getting captured by a human!>”

Struthios sadly looked at the branch below. “<How bad is it REALLY?>” he said with a grimace, expecting the worst.

“<It’s actually much better than I thought. The human is nice, although he seems as depressed as a Staraptor on rainy day. The pokemon are friendly… I guess.>”

“<Really?! Don’t you remember what happened over at Route 101?! All of the pokemon, including Spearows, came either here or Route 103! The over-population caused us to watch our territories all day and all night!>”

“<Yeah, I know. But Jeff, the human, isn’t like those ones. He cares about us, believe it or not!>”

“<It’s going to be hard without you. We’re all going to miss you. You were our best leader,>” Struthios began to snivel.

“<Now you’re their best leader.>” Daedalus lightly gave an encouraging punch with his wing. “<Struthios, you’ve always been one of my best soldiers. I know you’ll do great and I promise you I will be back soon!>”

“<Thanks, Daedalus. Come back very soon. I’ll tell the others you were here.>”

Daedalus nodded and they exchanged an informal wing shake and a grin.

“<One more thing Daedalus… what’s with the twig in your claw?>”

Daedalus replied with a smirk, “<If I see any Spearows, I’ll beat them with it for you.>”

Struthios gave him a laugh and waved him off. “<Don’t forget what you said, Daedalus!>”

Daedalus nodded and took flight.

“<I won’t.>”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Many minutes later, I heard Jeff cry out, “We’re out!” I saw the seemingly infinite ocean of tree canopy end and I could finally see the blue sky. It’s not that I don’t like tree canopies, but I wanted to get out of that forest… for now.

We sat near the edge of the forest, waiting for Dae. I spotted a small, wooden house and dock. It stood over the water on four sturdy stilts. It must have been that Briney-guy’s house. From behind us, we heard a loud, continuous trill, from that of a Taillow. Jeff raised his elbow for Daedalus to land on. He flapped his wings to force himself to a slow before perching on Jeff’s arm; his claws dug softly into Jeff’s arm, who seemed to be unaffected by the action. The twig in beak, Daedalus passed the twig to me. Although it helped… I still didn’t feel whole.

“<Thanks. We’re even now.>”

“<No problem, Treeck,>” he replied.

“<It’s about time, Featherhead!>” Corphish stated, with an impatient irritation.

“<I’m glad to see you, too, Corppy. Now, let’s get going! So where are we going and why?>”

Corphish paused about the answer and replied, “<If I told you… I’d have to kill you!>” He didn’t want to be the one to break the news that we were going to the gym.

The two others rode on Jeff, down a tarmac pathway, which led to the beach. I still walked beside them, wary and uncomfortable. Since it was the break of dawn the beach was basically deserted, with the exception of the occasional jogger and pokemon who strolled in the sand. His feet sunk into the sand with each stride when he walked towards the dock. I watched the blue-green waves splash up against the stilts of the dock, creating a calming ocean mist. He walked, with heavy steps, up the wooden steps to the dock. Jeff walked up to the door and knocked.

“Hello? Is this Mr. Briney’s house?” Jeff said in an uncertain, deep voice.

“Why yes it is.” An older man in a yellow fisherman’s cap and overcoat carefully opened the door, inspecting the visitors. “I suppose you are here to be ferried across to Dewford or the beach at Slateport?”

“Yeah, I am. I’ve got money if you need it,” Jeff suggested, fiddling with the twig in the corner of his mouth.

“Oh no, that’s ok. I transport people and pokemon just for the sheer pleasure of sailing across the deep blue sea,” The man said merrily.

“I’d really feel a lot better if I paid you,” Jeff insisted.

“Really, it’s ok,” Mr. Briney said as a white bird, with blue stripes on its wings, landed on his shoulder. “Peeko and I do this not-for-profit,” he smiled, scratching the beady-eyed Wingull behind its ears.

The stubborn idiot.

“<Let it go, Jeff.>” I looked to him. “<And if you can’t do that, then slip it in the cabin of the boat as we leave.>” I knew that he hated receiving charity; I did too. Unfortunately all that he heard was “Treecko cko, tree.” That could have meant anything in his ears. I bit my lip in frustration.

Mr. Briney locked the door to his house and walked along the wooden log deck. At the end of the dock was a medium sized, white schooner; it had a long, blue stripe going along the side of it. I noticed Jeff quickly slide a few bills into Mr. Briney’s mailbox. Typical Jeff. I grinned to myself and waited for him to get on the boat.

Once we were on the wobbly boat, the other two climbed off of Jeff; I wandered to the aft of the ship, Corphish leaned against Jeff, who leaned against the metal guard rail surrounding the ship, and Daedalus took a perch on the front rail of the bow, as if making sure the direction of the boat was safe.

We sat in silence; the boat took off for Dewford City.

I rubbed the red mark on my face from when Jeff had hit me. The action replayed over and over in my mind: his hand striking me up the left side of face and the events following. I winced when I felt the mark. Or was it even there? No matter, the scar ran deeper than the few skin cells that the smack caused to ache. A chill went down my spine and I looked back at Jeff. I couldn’t help but wonder if our friendship was meant to last.

Because of you nothing would be the same.

Nothing.

Rebellious Treecko October 7th, 2007 5:03 PM

Best chapter yet.
 
Wow, that chapter was so long...and emotional. I love these kinds of stories.

I personaly think that kind of chapter would be better suted for the end...as a climactic twist, but I still loved it.

Spoiler:
I actually cried a little reading the chapter. Poor Treecko...and Jeff.


Spoiler:
I also have a good imaginaiton, so I can "put myself into the story", like I'm really there, watching the whole thing if you know what I mean. :P

The Infinite Devil Machine October 7th, 2007 9:29 PM

I loved this chappy. It was really emotionally charged and it felt much more substantial than any other chapter you've written so far. Good job!

diamondpearl876 October 8th, 2007 12:12 PM

Okay, here is the review that you have been asking for for days! I said ten pages but I don't think that's going to work out, buddy. XD And I want a large chocolate chip cookie and a good review response for this, damnit!

Anyway, to begin, because I'm cool like that, I do have to say you've improved greatly since your first few chapters. When you asked me to beta the first chapter (I don't know if you ever got around to changing it, but whatever), I thought that I was reading a story written by an entirely different author because there was that big of a difference. The characters have always been magnificent, but your description has improved greatly, and so has your grammar, and you've managed to collect quite a few awesome fans on here and over at Serebii, aka the place that never loads. XP

And, to get this out of the way, I still noticed some errors. I’m not sure if I missed them in the beta or if you added them in at the last minute. You can slap me later . . .

Quote:

I know Jeff was stubborn but he should know that I’d be always willing to help him.
"Know" should be "knew".

Quote:

Corphish blinked twice “<…for the reason I JUST told you.>”
Period after "twice", "for" should be capitalized.

Quote:

He knows how much I hate that damned prison, to even BLUFF using that is too far!
"Knows" should be "knew".

Quote:

If this didn’t work… then I don’t know what’s next.
"Don't" should be "didn't", and "what's" should be "what would happen" or something.

Quote:

I know Jeff was stubborn but he should know that I’d be always willing to help him.
“I knew Jeff was stubborn” and “he should’ve known”.

Quote:

Corphish heard the unmistakable scuttle of Corphish coming towards me, I had my eyes closed.
I think the first “Corphish” should be “I”. >> Comma would also be better off as a semi-colon.


I must say this was a very well-written chapter. It was powerful and shows that not every trainer and their pokemon get along (which is rare to see), and when I was reading it the very first time, before you added anything we discussed, I seriously could not get my eyes away from the computer screen. The emotions from Treecko and everyone else were captured well, and some unexpected twists were added. Many things that happened were pretty realistic, which was good as well. I guess now would be a good time to point out some of my favorite lines/moments:

Quote:

What was wrong with Jeff? How can a girl change someone so much? I want him to be like he was when we first met… when he actually seemed to enjoy my company. When will he be normal?
This line struck me on a more personal note, because I can’t tell you how many people I know have changed because some girl/guy had transformed them into something nobody really liked. It goes along with the “realistic” things I mentioned earlier.

Quote:

I knew this journey was too good to be true.
This was a more powerful line that made me feel bad for Treecko; something great happened in his life and it was taken away before he fully got to enjoy it. Struck me on a personal note too..

Quote:

Obviously picking up on the fact that I was reiterating my earlier words, he yelled in frustration, “I MEAN I DON’T UNDERSTAND YOU! ALL I HEAR IS TREE CKO CKO TREE TREECKO!” He collapsed to his knees and held his forehead in what must have been head splitting frustration.
The best twist in the entire chapter. XP This is going to make it so much more difficult for the four of them on their journey, and I can’t wait to see how you’ll have them deal with it, as well as whether or not Jeff’s ability to understand pokespeech is going to come back.

Quote:

“<It’s not that he hurt me… well it’s not that I was hurt. It IS that HE hurt me. But, it’s also that he scolded me with the strike… you just don’t… I don’t know!>” Treecko tried to explain his point of view in a volley of clumsy stammers.
A nice example of just being so damn confused and being at a loss of words when everything is going wrong.

Yupyup. XP I liked the entire chapter, but those were my favorites I suppose. I also have a question: Does Daedalus know that Jeff received his first badge yet? I just remembered Jeff didn’t want him to find out they went to the gym, and I’ve seen the badge mentioned, but not whether or not Daedalus knows yet.

Another thing you put into this chapter was the song. Have you noticed how totally ironic it is? O_o It’s called “Talk”, and Jeff lost his ability to talk with his Pokemon. I don’t think that was intentional but it worked. XD Anyway, I liked the lyrics a lot; they fit well into the chapter. I also liked how they didn’t come out of nowhere and you brought the iPod into the picture.

As far as length goes, I don’t think I’ve seen a chapter on PC go past one page in a very long time. So, kudos on that. There’s a whopping 25 and a half pages. O_O

Unfortunately, there’s still some things you could work on. Your least favorite part of the review. =[ No review is really a review without pointing these things out . . . I have noticed that you change from past tense to present tense a lot, but it doesn’t really distract from the story . . . Those commas and semi-colons are your worst enemy, too. Your repetition issue has improved, though, and there’s very few issues with that now. :o

Time to wrap this up, damnit. XD I had a fun time being your beta for this, and I’m glad to see that you’re dedicated in making this fic be the best it can be. So, keep it up and I look forward to your next chapter! =)

Grovyle42(Griff8416) October 8th, 2007 4:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eternal Smasher (Post 2976852)
Wow, that chapter was so long...and emotional. I love these kinds of stories.

I personaly think that kind of chapter would be better suted for the end...as a climactic twist, but I still loved it.

Spoiler:
I actually cried a little reading the chapter. Poor Treecko...and Jeff.


Spoiler:
I also have a good imaginaiton, so I can "put myself into the story", like I'm really there, watching the whole thing if you know what I mean. :P

Thanks! I'm really happy you liked it. Yeah I tried to put as much emotion into the chapter as I could. I'm flattered that it was tear-worthy. I also have a good imagination, but I wish mine was as deep as yours... maybe I'm just not trying hard enough. :p Anyways, I really appreciate the read and review. Thanks. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beret (Post 2977659)
I loved this chappy. It was really emotionally charged and it felt much more substantial than any other chapter you've written so far. Good job!

Thanks again! I'll try to live up to its standards.

Quote:

Originally Posted by diamondpearl876 (Post 2979717)
Okay, here is the review that you have been asking for for days! I said ten pages but I don't think that's going to work out, buddy. XD And I want a large chocolate chip cookie and a good review response for this, damnit!

Anyway, to begin, because I'm cool like that, I do have to say you've improved greatly since your first few chapters. When you asked me to beta the first chapter (I don't know if you ever got around to changing it, but whatever), I thought that I was reading a story written by an entirely different author because there was that big of a difference. The characters have always been magnificent, but your description has improved greatly, and so has your grammar, and you've managed to collect quite a few awesome fans on here and over at Serebii, aka the place that never loads. XP

I thought it was 10 words... hmm. I'll AIM you the chocolate chip cookie and the review response will follow.

I'm very happy to know that I have improved so much since my start. I'm considering rewriting my first chapters completely. Thanks for the comment of the characters and for noticing the improvements.

Quote:

Originally Posted by diamondpearl876 (Post 2979717)
And, to get this out of the way, I still noticed some errors. I’m not sure if I missed them in the beta or if you added them in at the last minute. You can slap me later . . .



"Know" should be "knew".



Period after "twice", "for" should be capitalized.



"Knows" should be "knew".



"Don't" should be "didn't", and "what's" should be "what would happen" or something.



“I knew Jeff was stubborn” and “he should’ve known”.



I think the first “Corphish” should be “I”. >> Comma would also be better off as a semi-colon.

Thanks for the point outs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by diamondpearl876 (Post 2979717)
I must say this was a very well-written chapter. It was powerful and shows that not every trainer and their pokemon get along (which is rare to see), and when I was reading it the very first time, before you added anything we discussed, I seriously could not get my eyes away from the computer screen. The emotions from Treecko and everyone else were captured well, and some unexpected twists were added. Many things that happened were pretty realistic, which was good as well. I guess now would be a good time to point out some of my favorite lines/moments:

I'm happy that I managed to pull something original off and that I managed to enthrall you as much as I did.



Quote:

Originally Posted by diamondpearl876 (Post 2979717)
This line struck me on a more personal note, because I can’t tell you how many people I know have changed because some girl/guy had transformed them into something nobody really liked. It goes along with the “realistic” things I mentioned earlier.



This was a more powerful line that made me feel bad for Treecko; something great happened in his life and it was taken away before he fully got to enjoy it. Struck me on a personal note too..

The two lines were also two of my favorite lines.

The best twist in the entire chapter. XP This is going to make it so much more difficult for the four of them on their journey, and I can’t wait to see how you’ll have them deal with it, as well as whether or not Jeff’s ability to understand pokespeech is going to come back.



A nice example of just being so damn confused and being at a loss of words when everything is going wrong.



Quote:

Originally Posted by diamondpearl876 (Post 2979717)
Yupyup. XP I liked the entire chapter, but those were my favorites I suppose. I also have a question: Does Daedalus know that Jeff received his first badge yet? I just remembered Jeff didn’t want him to find out they went to the gym, and I’ve seen the badge mentioned, but not whether or not Daedalus knows yet.

No, Daedalus still doesn't know. Unless he saw the badge sticking out of Jeff's foot.

Quote:

Originally Posted by diamondpearl876 (Post 2979717)
Another thing you put into this chapter was the song. Have you noticed how totally ironic it is? O_o It’s called “Talk”, and Jeff lost his ability to talk with his Pokemon. I don’t think that was intentional but it worked. XD Anyway, I liked the lyrics a lot; they fit well into the chapter. I also liked how they didn’t come out of nowhere and you brought the iPod into the picture.

I actually DIDN'T notice the irony until you just mentioned it (with the exception of one of the lines). It took a bit of effort to find the right song. Yeah if there's ever a song there's usually going to be a ways for it be.

Quote:

Originally Posted by diamondpearl876 (Post 2979717)
As far as length goes, I don’t think I’ve seen a chapter on PC go past one page in a very long time. So, kudos on that. There’s a whopping 25 and a half pages. O_O

Unfortunately, there’s still some things you could work on. Your least favorite part of the review. =[ No review is really a review without pointing these things out . . . I have noticed that you change from past tense to present tense a lot, but it doesn’t really distract from the story . . . Those commas and semi-colons are your worst enemy, too. Your repetition issue has improved, though, and there’s very few issues with that now. :o

I actually like constructive crit. Haha, the comma axe needs to be sharpened, i agree. I'll work on those things.

Quote:

Originally Posted by diamondpearl876 (Post 2979717)
Time to wrap this up, damnit. XD I had a fun time being your beta for this, and I’m glad to see that you’re dedicated in making this fic be the best it can be. So, keep it up and I look forward to your next chapter! =)

Thanks for the extra long review and I hope that ypu'll keep betaing.

The Infinite Devil Machine October 15th, 2007 8:55 PM

The new banner is awesome!

Grovyle42(Griff8416) October 16th, 2007 7:22 AM

Thanks, I like it too :)

Chapter 10 up and I also revamped chapter 1 and 2

Nobody Said It Was Easy

The ocean breeze blew around the sides of the water-bound vessel. Corphish was contently hanging over the side of the rails, watching the waves go by. Jeff was lying asleep on his back while Daedalus was slumbering on the resting human’s chest. Treecko was hanging on the rails of the boat’s bow. His liquid-barren eyes were fixed on the horizon, he seemed to be locked and lost in thought, as if his mind were a maze and he was at the dead center of it..

The ruffian pokemon was the only one of the gang who got a decent sleep last night, when Jeff was up moping, Treecko having nightmares, and Daedalus bidding farewell to his comrades. Refreshed, Corphish walked along the deck and opened Jeff’s backpack. He bottom upped the bag, releasing its contents on the ground. He looked at the scattered items and inspected each item carefully.

“<Food… food?>” he mumbled, searching though the contents for sustenance. He noticed one and a half potions, a day’s set of human clothes, five red and white spheres for capturing pokemon, a small metal pot used for cooking, a pokedex, and sunglasses which were surprisingly unbroken from the journey. He looked inside the pot to find only stew remains crusted on the bottom. Unfortunately, his claws were too thick to reach the scraps. He next eyed the potions and thought, “<Too bitter!>”

He continued to rummage through the bag, murmuring, “<Food food food food food.>” Under a green t-shirt he uncovered a plate of four sandwiches spilling out into the bottom of the bag. “<FOOD!>” Corphish took out the crushed sandwiches and placed them carefully on the green shirt which was now slathered with mustard. Corphish created a loud hammering with his claws on the deck in happiness of finding food.

Corphish hammered on Jeff and Daedalus’ heads with his claws to awaken them. They groaned from the rude awakening and held their heads with their hands and wings, respectably. Corphish raced over to Treecko to hit him to get his attention. Corphish began to swing his claw but Treecko turned around from his perch, caught the oncoming claw, and kicked Corphish to the side with a quick exchange from his flexible, green foot. Corphish skidded and hit the guard rail. Treecko shot him a look that simply said, “<Don’t do that again.>”

“<Thank you for that wake up call, Corppy, we appreciate it,>” groaned Daedalus, half sarcastically.

“What’s this about?” Jeff asked, still expecting to get an answer.

“Taiii! Looow taiiiloww low!” was the reply he received.

Jeff sighed as the grim reality returned; he couldn’t understand his pokemon. What had happened? He knew that creating bonds with your pokemon would make you understand them… Nurse Joy said he was lucky that he could understand them so quickly. Did fate take it back because of what he did to Treecko? Or did that part of his brain shut itself off because of the bonds that he had broken? Either way, he felt that he was to blame.

He shook himself out of his thoughts to see Daedalus staring at him blankly while vigorously pointing the food that Corphish had taken out using his wing and talon. Jeff nodded and went over to the picnic that was set up unfortunately on one of his favorite shirts. Corphish and Daedalus munched merrily on the two of the four sandwiches. Instead of complaining about his shirt, Jeff decided to take the “if you can’t beat ‘em then join ‘em” approach. He picked up a sandwich and began to satisfy his stomach, which was planning to implode on itself if it was not soon fed. He noticed the sandwich-less Treecko, leaning on the guard rail and staring into the horizon. Jeff put on a smile and warmly asked, “Hey, Treecko! There’s an extra sandwich here… why don’t you come and join us?”

Treecko briefly glanced at Jeff but then remained silent and continued to stare off.

Disconcerted, but not giving up, Jeff tried again. “Come on Treeck, it’s a good sandwich and you must be hungry!”

Treecko continued to look into the distance, not acknowledging Jeff’s heeds.

I guess some things never change,” Jeff thought, shaking his head.

The trio went back to eating their food. For a moment, Jeff closed his eyes. He imagined what it would have been like if Treecko actually came over and began to eat with them. He thought of what it would be like if Treecko never second guessed Jeff’s decisions and if he talked with others instead of having his thoughts be his company. Jeff tried as he may, but he couldn’t see Treecko… THIS Treecko… doing any such thing. He sighed and began to hate himself for thinking of wanting Treecko to change.

You can’t change who people or pokemon are and you shouldn’t, you selfish Weavile,” he thought, dismally. Corphish finished his sandwich before reaching for what would have been Treecko’s.

“Corphish… that’s Treecko’s food; you can’t eat that,” Jeff admonished him before he could bite down on the sandwich.

“<Why not? He doesn’t want it!>” Corphish explained. Jeff got the gist of what the Corphish said because he already knew the logical answer.

Jeff looked at the detached wood gecko and sighed. He looked back down to find the sandwich in Corphish’s mouth. Corphish smiled nervously, showing the remaining contents in his maw. Disgusted, Jeff and Daedalus turned away from the sight. Rummaging through the pile of his personal items which were strewn carelessly in a heap on the deck, Jeff found a zip lock bag filled full of mildly salted sunflower seeds.

Treecko was now standing on the side of the boat, mouth open. His abdominal muscles and his jaws flexed, as if he was trying to regurgitate something.

Jeff noticed this and quickly asked, “Treecko? Are you alright?!”

Treecko gave a quick nod and continued to frantically do what ever it was he was doing.

“Are you sure?! Are you choking?! You sick?!”

Treecko kept quickly trying to spit out whatever it was that he was trying to spit. It was no good. He dashed full speed over to Jeff and ripped the bag of seeds from his hand.

“What the-”

Treecko opened the bag and poured every single seed down his throat. He tried spitting again but it was no good. He fell to his hands and knees and coughed up some of the remaining sunflower seeds onto the deck.

“Treecko, what’s wrong with you?” Jeff asked, kneeling down beside him.

Treecko turned his head to Jeff in pure rage. He then jumped to his feet and jutted his head around in every direction, flexing his stomach and mouth.

What the hell is wrong with him?” Jeff thought to himself.

“<He looks like he’s been bitten by a Chimchar infected with the rage virus…>” Corphish half joked to Daedalus.

A wary Jeff began to approach Treecko. Treecko had a sneer of self-malice on. He tried to do what ever it was he was doing. In a frustrated rage, he pounded the side of the guard rail with his tail. The metal bar was badly bent as a result from the attack. Jeff backed off but then went in again. Treecko contracted his chest and yelled out the sharp, piercing yell.

“TREEEEEEEEEEECKOOOOO!!” With that battle cry, Treecko unleashed a furious barrage of bright green seeds from his mouth. Treecko held his ground but his head was forced around by the terrifying volley. The attack went beyond his control. The seeds were shot all around the boat. They ricocheted off the sides, the white floor, and the cabin. Corphish and Daedalus dove for cover. Jeff braced himself but remained standing. One rogue seed broke through the glass in the cabin and almost hit Mr. Briney in the head.

“Holy jumpin’ Moses!” Mr. Briney cried out from the cabin, hitting the floor. “Are we under attack?!” The unmanned boat took a sharp turn, but the sea captain stood back up and righted its course.

The sharp turn caused Jeff to stumble, but the wood gecko remained standing, stoically. Veins were pulsating in Treecko’s head; his eyes were wide and eyebrows creased in a passionate frenzy. The bullet seed’s line of fire raked along on boat until it finally made its way to Jeff. Treecko was so intent on the attack itself that he didn’t know what he was firing at. The seeds punched into him like a pistol firing acorns. He held his ground the best that he could but the attack was too strong to withstand. He flew backwards and his head collided with the metal rail.

Treecko didn’t notice; he just kept firing until he was physically exhausted. No more seeds were spat and Treecko collapsed to his knees. Treecko’s head was slumped downwards; he was panting and sweat soaked his face. Jeff slumped, motionless, against the guard rail; a steady flow of blood dripped from the side of his forehead. The crimson fluid dripped around his ear before following his sideburns down to his neck, starting to stain his green shirt.

“What in the blazes was that?!” a gruff voice called up from the captain’s cabin.

“<Treecko! What the bloody hell is wrong with you?! Why did you do that?!>” Corphish yelled, scuttling to the front of Treecko.

The exhausted yet infuriated wood gecko said nothing and continued panting.

“<Jeff? Jeff? Can you hear me? Jeff?>” Daedalus began talking to the limp figure of the human. “<Guys? Get over here! Jeff’s out!>”

Before turning to help Daedalus, Corphish landed a final stare upon Treecko’s eyes. Treecko’s mouth was left open and eyes almost fully opened in shock. Treecko continued to kneel on his hands and knees. Treecko didn’t walk over to help the others, but instead he walked over to the broken metal bar that he created from earlier. He stared at it and glowered, while clenching his teeth.

“TREEECKO!!!” wailed the wood gecko. He raised his tail and slammed it onto the same rail, bending it more. He continued to pound the metal bar. With each hit he grimaced.

Thwak!

A low pitched, chiming echo rang out after the impact of Treecko’s tail with the bar.

Thwak!

Thwak!

Thwak!


Treecko’s tail was now badly bruised. With the next hit the tail opened a bad cut from the friction. Beads of sweat were dripping off the stick in his gritted teeth. Before Treecko could deal more damage to the ship or himself, Daedalus wrapped his wing around Treecko. The grass type tried to resist but was too exhausted from all of his attacks. Daedalus fell backwards with Treecko to the ground.

“<Treecko! Why are you acting like this? Jeff’s hurt; we need your help to stop the bleeding!>” Daedalus urged.

He didn’t reply; Treecko just looked up at the sky.

“<Fine, just hold this cloth against the cut!>” Daedalus said, taking a cloth from Jeff’s bag which was dampened by the sea breeze.

Treecko reluctantly took the damp, white cloth from Daedalus and, only for a moment, looked at Jeff to find where the cut was. He pressed it against the bleeding gash and looked away. He leaned on the body by his hand, where he was holding the cloth, as if he was leaning on a pole. Treecko avoided all eyes and looked off into the sky. It was as if he didn’t care.

The Wingull named Peeko flew up from the cabin to inspect what was going to. She flew onto the guard rail and chirped, “<What happened? Did you kill him?!>”

“<Not US,>” Corphish scowled at Treecko.

“<I think he’ll be ok, we just need a potion… see if you can get one, please!>” Daedalus suggested.

“<Of course,>” replied Peeko, flying towards the cabin.

“<Oh, and… one more thing.>” The Taillow flew next to Peeko, stared at her before a wink, and asked, “<How YOU doin’?>”

The Wingull giggled and flew back into the cabin to get the requested item. After a few moments, it returned with a potion in its beak. She blushed when she landed next to Daedalus with the potion. Corphish clamped down on the button which sprayed the serum onto the gash. He held down on the button for too long so the entire potion was sprayed into Jeff’s head and hair. His limp face was unaffected by the accident.

“<Oh crap, will his entire face like… mutate and he’ll turn into a zombie alien?>” Corphish asked, worried that he had sprayed too much.

“<He won’t turn into a zombie because he’s not dead! Right, Treeck?>” Daedalus retorted with encouragement before looking over to see the out of place Treecko.

Treecko was off doing what he did; he sat alone, eyes closed but not asleep.

“<… Oh, forget it!>” Daedalus gave up. “<Since Treeck is off being Treeck, the three of us are going to need to work together to tie this bandage from the aid kit around Jeff’s head… I still don’t know what the hell got into T-cko.>”

“<And damned if he’ll tell us,>” Corphish added, getting a good grip on the unraveled bandage but was careful not to slice it with his sharp claws. Daedalus and Peeko both took opposite sides of the bandage in their beaks. Corphish pressed the bandage to the potion-soaked wound while the two bird pokemon flew around in opposite circles, tying the bandage around Jeff’s forehead. They released the ends of the bandage when the two pieces met. Daedalus then craftily made a strong knot using his beak and talons.

“<Somebody went to Taillow-Scouts Camp!>” Corphish joked.

“<In wars you have to know how to adapt with what ever you have,>” Daedalus grinned, obviously impressing Peeko.

“<Oh yeah! I know what you mean. This one time I was in a fight with another Corphish over this girl and he called me a female Growlithe so I threw sand in his face and ran… because that’s EXACTLY the same…>” Corphish grinned at himself, realizing the ridiculous story.

Jeff’s eyes twitched and he let out a groan. He stirred in his spot.

“<He’s waking up!>” Daedalus exclaimed.

“<Or MAYBE… he’s just DREAMING of waking up!>” Corphish said profoundly.

Treecko, who was on the other side of the boat, opened his eye halfway to inspect the occurrence.

“Errrrghhh… what…happened?” Jeff mumbled, almost inaudibly.

The three pokemon gathered around him looked at each other, confused as to what to say without incriminating Treecko. Peeko decided to fly back into the cabin to tell the captain that everyone was alright.

He put a hand to his bandaged head and winced. Daedalus and Corphish helped him to a sitting position, resting against the guard rail. Jeff eyed the metal rail and saw a brick red liquid crusting on the rail; the liquid he saw was his own drying blood.

“The last thing… I remember… are bright green bullets going… around the boat… Treecko?” Jeff looked at the large-tailed lizard, who was no longer glancing at him but was sitting up, hand back, in a relaxed position. Jeff tried to stand to walk over to Treecko but fell to the deck in wobbly daze. Jeff grunted on impact and immediately tried to drag himself over to Treecko in a crawl; his foot still ached from the badge being lodged in it. After ocean spray splashing over the side of the boat soaked him, Jeff made it to Treecko.

“Treecko? What happened there?” Jeff asked with confusion and as much warmth as possible.

Treecko, again, chose not to answer his master… no, not master…friend. …Friend? Was that right?

“<Why should I even bother explaining myself to him? It’s not like he really wants me around, nor do I really want to be here… I guess. Besides, it’s my problem, not his, and why should I waste my breath on someone who can’t understand me?>” Treecko thought while closing his eyes.

“Treecko I know I can’t understand you but you have to at least try to explain what happened. Tell Corphish or Daedalus or something! Come on Treecko!” Jeff pleaded.

“Tree… cko,” Treecko replied with an intimidating, cold tenor.

Daedalus whispered to Corphish, “<Did he just tell him to ‘piss off’?>”

“<Yeah, he did. It’s a damn good thing that Jeff can’t understand us.>”

Jeff stepped back and tried again. “Treeck! Give me something! You can’t keep isolating yourself and what you’re thinking… it’s not healthy!”

Treecko pierced a cold, aloof look into Jeff’s pupils. With a serious, take no crap tone, he replied, “<Don’t-tell-me-what-I-can’t-do.>”

Treecko turned his head in an attempt to shoo them away from him. Jeff opened his mouth to protest but Corphish clamped down on Jeff’s shirt, urging him away from the disobedient grass type. Jeff shut his eyes, nodded, and followed Corphish and Daedalus from the bow to the port of the boat where Jeff’s bag was. They all parked their rears next to the guard rail. Corphish and Daedalus began to converse but Jeff just stared at Treecko.

Where did it all go wrong?” Jeff mentally asked himself. He responded to his own question, “With one flick of the wrist and one twist of the tongue…”

A large land mass appeared in front of the boat. Jeff tried to sit up to get a better look but he fell back against the rails. The water that he had been staring at had formed into green land. He didn’t know why but it felt very familiar. Jeff prodded Corphish and Daedalus and pointed out the terrain. Treecko was aware of the earthy island so he did not bother opening his eyes.

“Land ho!” called out Mr. Briney. “I love saying that,” he chuckled to himself.

Jeff looked at the large piece of land. He scanned it from left to right. He saw a dense forest with towering trees coming from behind it. Next to that was a massive city with smog clouds overhead. On the other side of the disgusting city was more forest and shores which didn’t seem to end. Something wasn’t right to Jeff.

“THAT’S Dewford Island?! I thought it was small and clean!”

“No no! That’s not Dewford Island, that’s Petalburg City!”

“Petalburg?” Jeff’s heart sank and the memories hit him hard. He shook the image of Kristie and Alan from his mind and quickly followed up with, “Wh-why are we going to Petalburg? I thought you said we were going to Dewford!”

“We are, but I need to re-supply fuel at the Petalburg docks first! We’ve been ferrying people left and right over here so I doubt we can make another trip. Didn’t I mention that?” asked Mr. Briney, stroking his long white beard. “Also, that Treecko of yours busted the main controls of the ship with its bullet seed.”

“Sorry… and no you didn’t mention that…” Jeff grumbled. “It’s ok, I guess. How long will we have to sit in the city?”

“To get those parts fixed? I’d say two or three days tops. Sorry, lad, it looks like I’m your only way to Dewford, too.”

“Two…two to three days… in THERE?” Jeff gulped.

“I can probably find you a decent hotel to stay at.”

“Thanks for the offer… I think I’d rather camp out in Route 102.”

“Suit yourself,” Mr. Briney answered, steering the boat towards an open pier. The side of the boat scraped against the wall of the jetty. The captain tied the boat securely to a pole on the wharf. “I’ll be here helping the mechanics tomorrow and hopefully not the next,” he explained.

“Ok… we’re really sorry for all of the trouble,” stated Jeff. “If you want I can pay for most of…” Jeff’s voice was drowned out by the sounds of the chopping rotors of two helicopters flying over head in close quarters. He looked up to try and see the two helicopters but they were obscured by the blinding rays on the noon sun behind them. He squinted his green eyes and thought he saw three helicopters but only heard two, followed by a deep rumbling noise. He turned his head away in order to get his sight back. His pupils enlarged and the world became a little darker; it was fitting given the city that they were in.

“So I’ll see you in two to three days. I’ll check in the day after tomorrow to see if it’s finished,” Jeff told Mr. Briney before walking off the deck, followed by the pokemon. “Daedalus, Corphish, Treecko… stay close. We don’t want to be separated.”

Daedalus perched on his shoulder, intimidated by the large city. Corphish and Treecko followed behind Jeff’s footsteps. He walked up a north street which head directly from the docks to the pokemon center and to the right of the center was the exit. His eyes remained facing right; he stared at the long metal fence that separated the city from Route 102. The large inclined slope of the road paid its toll on Jeff’s cut foot. He winced as he could feel the cut reopen and blood stain his sock. Luckily the badge was now in his left shoe so that it wouldn’t cause anymore damage to the right one.

For ten minutes they continued to climb the seemingly infinite tarmac hill. They reached the gates of the city and made a hard right into the warm, welcoming forested path of Route 102. Jeff let out a sigh of relief. They walked a good deal into the forest until they saw a small grassy area suitable to set up camp in. Jeff plopped his backpack on the ground and took a tent from his bag.

“Hey, Corppy, do you want to help me pitch this?”

“<Sure, but my fastball has sucked the past few months. I think I threw out my shoulder!>”

Daedalus sighed and took a perch in a low branch of a tree. He jutted his head to a rustling noise behind him. The high bushes moved but they went back to stillness after whatever it was passed by. Treecko, who was parked on a high tree branch, opened up his eyes when he sensed something. He immediately jumped to a lower branch and then the ground. Treecko warily scanned his peripheral vision as well as his centered sight. The rustling surrounded the campsite, accompanied by a long, tedious hissing. Daedalus turned around to inspect the other side of the area. He froze when the noise became more vigorous and louder behind him. Treecko ran as fast as he could towards him, but Daedalus’ instincts told him not to wait. With a mighty beat of his wing, the Taillow took off from the branch and glimpsed behind him to see that he was narrowly missed by the large mouth of a pokemon.

The pokemon attacking was a long, primarily, serpent-like pokemon. It retracted its black and purple head. It slithered out from the underbrush. On its neck was a purple pattern like a lightning bolt. Along its head and back were gold hexagonal gems. The pokemon opened its yellow-jawed mouth to reveal a red, forked tongue and two red teeth; the teeth appeared to be broken, but they were still a force to be trifled with. As it slithered out its tail was revealed; it had a purple ring at the base before the tail turned into a sharp, deadly red blade like a sword.

Daedalus landed in front of the wood gecko. Treecko stared into the Seviper’s eyes. Suddenly something struck his memory.

“<You!>” Treecko growled through his teeth. He shoved Daedalus to the ground in an attempt to get past him. Treecko walked towards the massive snake with virtually no fear. Treecko felt scar tissue on his left collarbone.

The Seviper’s eyes opened wide as he too remembered the Treecko. “<Well… if it issssssn’t the helplessssssss little bug! You got lucky lassssst time but it won’t be sssssso now!>”

Treecko glared with a look that could kill. He clenched his left fist as well as his teeth and raised his right hand. With that hand he pulled his index finger towards him repeatedly, motioning for his foe to “try him”.

Daedalus got up and begged, “<Please Treeck, don’t do it! He’s huge!>” Treecko ignored him, dug his feet in, and jerked back his mouth.

“<Dae, it could be Lugia and he wouldn’t move a muscle!>” Corphish advised the bird.

Treecko prepared to fire his bullet seed and Seviper quickly slithered towards him. Jeff and the duo looked on with worry. Treecko thrust his head forward expecting a bullet seed attack to fire. But nothing, virtually nothing, came out. Treecko was shocked and aggravated. He tried once more. The same result.

“<Why the hell does this keep happening?! What is wrong with you, you weakling!>” were thoughts that flowed through Treecko’s mind. Jeff rushed to Treecko’s aid as the Seviper neared; Jeff was followed by Corphish and Daedalus. Treecko decided to switch to close quarters combat. He charged at Seviper, unaware that Jeff was closing in on them. Seviper raised his dagger-like tail, preparing to stab and Treecko raised his own tail, ready to slam. They both attacked at the same time.

Jeff was in the way.

Without meaning to, Treecko’s pound attack hit Jeff in the right knee, creating a “thuhk” sound. Seviper’s tail also entered the unknown obstacle. The sword-like tail penetrated the muscle in Jeff’s upper right leg. Jeff’s right leg was held up in the air not only by the tail holding it up, but by the fact that Jeff couldn’t extend his leg. His face went pale and the two pokemon looked at the damage that they caused. Jeff, in shock, balanced on his left foot, seemingly laughing the pain away with adrenaline. Treecko was in as much shock as Jeff, but he was not laughing. Treecko stood fixated at the mangled leg. Seviper couldn’t care less; with a flick of the tail, the sword effortlessly slid from the wound and Jeff was thrown onto his back.

Jeff landed in the dirt. He groaned with a smile and bit down hard on the twig in his mouth. Jeff looked down at his leg and noticed two things. One was that he was bleeding badly from the wound that Seviper inflicted, and two, the kneecap on the same leg was shoved over to the right of its original position by two inches. The grizzly scene was disturbing but Jeff was surprisingly unaltered by it.

Seviper continued to try and strike Treecko; he swung his blood-laced tail in a stabbing fashion. Treecko sidestepped each blow while backpedaling. The fight edged away from Jeff and more towards the forest. Corphish and Daedalus ran up to Jeff.

“Don’t worry guys. I’m fine! …I’m just bleeding a little and my kneecap is… out of place,” Jeff reassured through gritted teeth.

Corphish placed a claw under Jeff’s dislocated knee to support it. This gave Jeff some relief but wincing waves of pain continued in pumps, as did the spurts of blood coming from Jeff’s leg. The Seviper began to slither slowly into the forest.

“<Treeck! Get over here! We need your hands to stop the bleeding!>” Daedalus ordered.

Treecko looked at the three and then back at the Seviper who was slinking away, probably to create an ambush. Treecko took off after Seviper. Friends were not Treecko’s top priority right now, revenge was.

“<Jeff’ll be ok with those two. I know he will. I have to hunt down and get that damned, slithery b*stard. I’ll make sure he pays for last time. I’ll get that dishonorable coward… no matter what. That was the worst day of my life… before yesterday. He’ll pay with his life.>” Treecko thought while growling. He ran into the forest. It didn’t even cross his mind how Jeff was.

“<DAMN IT, Treeck!>” Daedalus yelled, flying after him. “<Corphish! Stay with Jeff! Don’t relocate the knee cap! Just try to stop the bleeding!>”

Treecko, with rage and impervious determination, quickly followed the snake pokemon into the forest. The Seviper turned around. Treecko leapt off of the ground and jumped onto a tree trunk to his left. He bounced off of that, roared with a high battle cry, and landed a solid kick down Seviper’s head. When the Seviper’s head was forced down by the foot, Treecko jumped off of his head, ricocheted off another tree trunk to his right, and flipped in the air; Treecko’s tail hit Seviper right in the face. The blow was increased by the momentum of the fall. Treecko landed on his feet, panting through clenched teeth and a sweating face. There was so much fury in his eyes that they looked like they would shoot real daggers. The vengeful look of anger remained imprinted on his face.

“<You’re pissssssing me off!>” hissed Seviper in anger. He thrust his head at Treecko, who flew back from the hit. Seviper then whipped his tail around in a straight motion. The blade sliced with great force up Treecko’s right shoulder, causing small droplets of blood to leave the wound with the tail. The wood gecko pokemon was thrown against the tree behind him; it was the tree that he was roosting on when Seviper first appeared. Treecko hit the tree with such force so that a sickening crack was made on impact.

“<Those hitssss were nothing compared to the onessss that you delivered when we firsssssst fought! You are losing your touch, lone little Treecko.>”

“Tree,” Treecko grimaced, holding his badly bleeding shoulder. The Seviper smirked and then wrapped its body around Treecko as well as the tree; he squeezed the tree and the lizard tightly. Treecko groaned as the pressure from Seviper’s strong muscles were put on his bleeding shoulder and bruised ribs. The hold crushed Treecko into the trunk making him unable to move his arms, legs, or tail. Seviper put his sharp tail to Treecko’s neck.

“<Well, well, well…issssn’t thissss jussst like old timessssss, little Treecko? Thisssss time you won’t get away.>”

Through Treecko’s pain, he managed to slip out one taunt. “<I’d tell you to -errggh- bite me…but I forgot… you can’t.>”

“<Cocky little ssssslime!>” Seviper hissed, squeezing Treecko harder. He attempted to free himself from the bind but it was too tight. Treecko felt as if every bone in his body would be crushed into dust. He tried with all of his might to move but this caused tremendous agony. The muscles of the snake’s body tightened, driving Treecko into the bark of the tree. He wished that all the pain would end, but he wouldn’t let himself die… he needed to settle his scores. It felt like his body was becoming part of the tree trunk now; the bind grew relentlessly tighter. There was no greater discomfort for Treecko; he would rather be caught on fire than go through another second of this. “<As much as I admire your sssspirit, you cannot esssssscape, tough one!>”

Treecko saw Daedalus flying towards him. He shook his head at the bird, insisting that he’d be alright. Seviper continued to squeeze the life from Treecko. The air had left Treecko’s lungs so he couldn’t protest. All he did was let out a short, stressed cry of pain. Daedalus flew at full speed into Seviper’s unaware head.

The snake cried out from the deep peck to his face. The grip tying Treecko slightly loosened. Daedalus continued to peck and scratch at the snakes face, who winced and tried to bite back. Seviper’s bind loosened as he was distracted by the attack from Daedalus. It was just enough for Treecko to regain his breath, but not enough for him to free himself. Treecko wanted to aid the battle but with his bullet seed out of commission and his tail stuck behind him, he could only watch and wait.

Weak, helpless, and useless.

Those were the only words that could describe what Treecko was feeling, other than the immense pain that was caused from the bind. A shiver crept up and down his breaking spine. Treecko shut his eyes, grimaced, and turned his head away.

He began to think, “He was right. This IS just like last time… except I could actually do something about it, then. No… that’s not true, either. I got lucky last time. I couldn’t do anything to free myself then and not now either. You’re a weak, pathetic Caterpie who has to rely on others and luck to save his sorry excuse for a tail. You need to be stronger if you ever want to show your face again.”

Treecko squirmed in discomfort.

You CAN’T show your face again. You left Jeff when he needed you. Not for the first time and not for the last time. You’ve been kidding yourself you selfish b*stard.”

Daedalus landed a quick beak strike into Seviper’s neck, sending a shock down his nerves. Seviper’s tail twitched and loosened. Treecko leapt out of the wrapping attack and grabbed a hold of Seviper’s tail. He shoved the bladed tail into the heart of the tree.

“<That should hold him here until I get back,>” Treecko spat, walking away from the tree before collapsing onto the trunk of another tree. Daedalus flew over to Treecko.

“<’Until you get back’? Are you serious? You can’t even walk!>” Daedalus asked as Seviper tried to snap at the two pokemon. They were just out of his reach.

Treecko weakly moaned, tightly clutching his severely hurt right shoulder. Daedalus made Treecko put his left hand around his back as they walked back towards Jeff and Corphish.

“<The rebel and the loner… two of the leader’s greatest banes. They refuse to get caught up in the group mentality and they fail to follow instructions. Because of this they will often be the one who needs the leader to get his tail out of a jam in times like these. I have problems too! I didn’t want to be a leader, but I HAD to be! The situation arose and I was put in charge. Now I had these five other Taillow’s looking to me for guidance and strategies! I didn’t know what to say at first but then I realized that I had to lead them. I stepped up and ever since being caught, I’ve felt like I’ve let them down. Sure, I’m no longer leading them so you’d think there’d be a great burden lifted off of my chest… but it’s still there and it’s heavier than ever. I wasn’t a leader… yet now I know what it feels like when one sends his men to their deaths.>”

Treecko let out a groan of pain.

“<Let me ask you this, Treecko; what’s inside that thick head of yours? What are your loves, fears, goals? More importantly, why are you acting like this?>”

Treeck grunted and muttered to himself, “<It’s none of your damn business.>”

Treecko didn’t answer after that but followed his feet limping in the dirt. He lifted his head up and then stared at the light shining through the canopies.

“<Did you say something?>” Daedalus asked, but not without warmth.

“<You don’t even know me! You don’t know what’s inside me!>” Treecko sharply retorted.

“<That’s exactly my point! You have to open up!>”

Treecko defiantly turned his head away from the conversation.

“<What? Too cool to talk? Pride and stubbornness come hand in hand, I hope you know, but being a loner doesn’t help you one bit! The three combine and turn you into...you. Maybe that’s why you and Jeff are always clashing!>”

Treecko continued to look away and a silence ensued. Daedalus knew that, try as he might, he couldn’t change Treecko. Admittedly, he felt guilty.

Breaking the long pause, Treecko quietly declared, “<You shouldn’t have interfered; I was fine without your help.>”

“<Oh yeah, he was BEGGING for mercy!>” Daedalus rolled his eyes.

Treecko kicked a large, outgrowing root in anger, cringing with the action.

Daedalus only shook his head in exasperation. “<I wonder if Jeff’s ok…>” thought Daedalus aloud.

They arrived at the site where Jeff was lying on the ground. Corphish was lying over an unconscious Jeff, his claw pressed against the bloody wound. Treecko opened his eyes and looked upon the sight. His mouth slackened as he stared. Treecko ignored his own pain and gazed at the wounds that he both directly and indirectly inflicted. The wood gecko folded his arms and shuddered.

“<I caused that?! Oh, Arceus! I can’t do anything right! I can’t defend myself against that damned Seviper! I keep messing Jeff up!>” Treecko’s thoughts were interrupted when he collapsed to a knee.

“<What I wouldn’t give for House M.D. right now!>” Corphish scowled. “<He lost too much blood! He’s unconscious! I’m not sure how much more blood he can lose!>”

Daedalus placed Treecko on Jeff’s stomach. The Taillow and Corphish both grabbed Jeff’s hands and tried to pull them. They pulled Jeff centimeter by centimeter, no matter how hard it was.

Treecko grimaced in pain and thought.

“<You did a real friggin’ great job again, Treecko! Why can’t you be more like them!? Actually HELPING Jeff! You hurt Jeff in battle! You went after Seviper instead of helping… and LOST! You couldn’t do a thing to save yourself so you had to let Daedalus come to your rescue! Now you can’t even help them drag Jeff back to the pokemon center, YOU’RE the one being dragged! You’re a pathetic excuse for a Treecko!>” he thought in disgust.

Treecko was also losing a lot of blood. He fainted while on Jeff’s chest. Right before Treecko was completely out, he managed to whisper the following word.

“<Weak…>”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Daedalus and Corphish continued to drag the bodies of the two with their beak and pincers, respectably.

“<Hey, Corppy? What do you think is wrong with Treecko?>”

“<Well first of all he’s unconscious from the nasty gash on his shoulder and his ribs may be broken from the squeezing!>” Corphish answered with sarcasm.

“<You know what I mean!>”

“<Well… here’s how I see it! Back when Jeff told him to take a hike, Treecko cared way too much and took it much too personally. That escapade almost made him leave Jeff alone forever. I don’t think Treecko had ever cared that much in his life… to my knowledge… so he noticed this and saw where it almost got him. Now, I think he’s over compensating by not caring at all. He doesn’t want to ‘over-care’ and have something like that happen again. Now by not caring at all he’s driving himself into a similar hell.>”

“<I don’t know Corppy… I mean, I agree with you up until the part where you say he’s trying too hard not to care. The Treecko that we have now, it… doesn’t seem unnatural for him. It feels like he’s back to normal…except he doesn’t value Jeff as a friend. I mean, his need to prove that he’s not weak, him being alone, the uncaring, calm attitude.>”

“<You have a point there, Inspector Daedalus. Let’s say ‘he cared too much, now he’s back to normal… but he’s a royal jackass’.>”

“<It’s a deal… hey! We’re almost at the gate!>” Daedalus exclaimed.

Past the gate was a guy in a blue uniform. The guy wore a black hat and a badge on his sleeve. He seemed to be writing a ticket for an improperly parked car. The man noticed, out of the corner of his eye, the pokemon dragging the other two with all of their might. The guy came running over to check out the situation. He withdrew a flashlight and shone it on the bodies.

“What’s going on here?” he asked in a confused but calmed voice.

“<We need help!>” Corphish answered, flailing his claws upwards.

The police officer understood that the pokemon were probably Jeff’s. He answered, “Ok, I’ll take the guy; you two carry the Treecko in!”

They nodded and took Treecko off of Jeff’s chest. The officer dragged Jeff into the pokemon center by his shoulders, aware of his dislocated knee. He was followed by Corphish and Daedalus with Treecko.

“Excuse me Nurse Joy? We have two badly wounded here! We need stretchers and then you should bring them to the ER room!” advised the police officer of the PCPD.

“Of course, officer, what… my goodness! Is that Jeff?!” Nurse Joy exclaimed in surprise. All Nurse Joys were very good with placing faces. They had to be, given their not-so-diverse family.

Two pink, egg-bearing Chanseys came out from the back hallway carrying two stretchers. Nurse Joy took Jeff by the arms and the police officer took him by the legs; they carefully lifted him up onto the stretcher while the Chanseys did likewise with Treecko. The two stretchers, pink pokemon, and Nurse Joy disappeared into the door in the back of the lobby, undoubtedly to the ER.

The officer kneeled down and asked Daedalus and Corphish, “Do you need me to watch you guys while they’re in there?”

Daedalus shook his head and pounded his chest with his wing saying, “<I think I can take care of Corphish here!>”

“<Yeah! He knows to read my favorite book ‘Goodnight Moon’ at bedtime. I sleep like a Togepi each time.>”

The police officer nodded and left the Pokemon center to go back to his patrol duty. The two attempted to wait in the lobby but they found themselves too nervous to wait. They agreed that they would see how their friends were doing. The two pokemon quickly ran to the door at the back of the lobby. The door was ajar so it slid open with a light push and the two entered the hallway. There were three doors on each side of the hall with a final room at the end of the hall. Corphish opened the door to his right. The door squeaked open and high, raspy yells followed. The door opened to show the light green body of a Scyther strapped to a hospital bed tossing around violently. A Chansey was struggling to put a sedative into his IV line.

“<Heh, sorry…wrong room.>” Daedalus grinned nervously. Corphish followed up by closing the door.

Corphish then tried the door across from the previous one. He opened it and saw Treecko lying belly-down on a bed in the center of the room. His chest was bandaged horizontally and his right shoulder had more bandages slung diagonally to meet the dressings on his chest. There were three beads attached to his thigh, chest, and shoulder. Attached to these beads were wires which led to a large machine. Nurse Joy was standing at the machine which housed a screen and many buttons.

“<Poor Treeck…>” Daedalus said aloud. “<I’m sure if Jeff was able to, he’d be in there right next to him.>”

“<Speaking of Jeff, let’s see how he’s doing…>” suggested Corphish.

They tried the second room on the left and opened it to see a Chansey standing over him. He had a plasma-filled IV line going into his arm. There were four empty syrettes on the table beside him. His wound was bandaged and the Chansey was, just as they entered, popping the kneecap back into place. The result was a sickening crack. Both Corphish and Daedalus cringed and turned away as the Chansey performed the procedure with a creepy smile.

“<Well there goes MY lunch! Want to go back to the lobby?>” Corphish asked, his shell a fine beige color.

“<My thoughts exactly…>”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Continued...

Grovyle42(Griff8416) October 16th, 2007 7:23 AM

...continued

-------------------------------------------------------

An eyelid opened.

Jeff stared upwards to the blindingly clean, white ceiling of the recovery room. He lay on an equally white bed. He looked down at his leg; there was a white bandage wrapped around an apparently stitched cut. His kneecap was also back where it should have been and there were no signs of swelling. Jeff cautiously began to bend his knee. Much to his joy, he felt virtually no pain or irritation, the worst was that his knee was a little weak. Nevertheless, the cut still ached when he extended his leg. Jeff reached over to the end table to read his medical chart.

Twelve milligrams of morphine given at eight twenty-three PM,” read the chart.

Twelve MGs?! Man, with that dosage I should be out for hours if not dead! By the feel of my cut… they aren’t doing a damn thing! And the half-life of morphine is six or so hours and it’s only…” Jeff looked at the clock on the wall across from him. “…Eight forty-two!” Jeff thought in surprise.

Jeff continued reading the folder. “The patient in the bed to the right of him is his Treecko. Condition: Stable but should not move.”

Upon reading that, Jeff turned his head sharp to the right, expecting to see Treecko. All that Jeff saw was a mess of bed sheets and three drops of blood leading away from the bed.

“Tree…Treecko?” Jeff called out.

He slung his legs over the side of the bed and ripped the IV from his vein. He grimaced from the pain in his leg but at least that distracted him from extraction of the IV line. A small drop of blood trickled from the vein where his IV was. Jeff let it flow and shakily stood out of bed.

If I know Treecko, he wasn’t discharged!” Jeff thought, clutching his leg, careful of ripping his stitches.

He began to weight bear using his left leg. He hobbled his way out of the recovery room and found himself in the eight door hallway along with a sleeping Daedalus and Corphish.

“What the? You’re not supposed to be in here!” Jeff stated, confused at their presence. The two pokemon stretched and groaned.

“<Couldn’t open the doorway out,>” Corphish shrugged, attempting to explain.

“Nevermind, I have to get out of here! Did you see Treecko come by here?” Jeff growled, limping down the hallway to the doorway out.

They both shook their heads.

“Right… asleep. You guys stay in the lobby until I get back!” Jeff stated, turning around and hobbling out the door.

“<What’s with him?>” Daedalus asked.

“<Maybe they made him watch the tape of when they popped his knee back into place in slow motion… or even worse…>” Corphish gasped. “… What if they made him watch ‘BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE’!?>”

Daedalus sighed and led Corphish out into the lobby.

Jeff burst out of the front door of the center and turned left, into Route 102. Three pedestrians looked with surprise at the dazed patient but decided to let Jeff continue. Luckily for Jeff, Nurse Joy was not in the lobby and therefore, could not stop him. The sun setting cast an orange light on the ground. Jeff walked as fast as he could without hurting his leg. He went along the orange, dirt path into the forest. He quickly turned his head around in all directions, still dazed from unconsciousness.

“Treecko?” he murmured in hope.

The most that he saw was a purple-furred Rattata with large fangs cross his path. Jeff continued to walk. He was only about thirty meters away from the center.

Where is he? What if he’s hurt? What if I never see him again?! What if a pokemon attacks him or he tries to fight Seviper again and… NO! He’s a big pokemon! He can take care of himself! I still have to find him, though… Arceus, let him be alright! I need to find Treecko… I can’t let him leave again… not because of me!”

Jeff stopped in his tracks when he saw what was ahead of him. He walked forwards to see bandages unraveled on the ground. Jeff kneeled with his good knee and picked up the bandages.

“Tr… Treecko…” Jeff whispered, placing the bandages back on the ground. “He must be around here.”

He closed his eyes and listened carefully.

Wind blowing… leaves rustling in them… but something else.

Jeff perked up his ears and listened closer. He heard the distant yet unmistakable sound of his Treecko. Jeff ran diagonally to his right. He didn’t care about his leg anymore; he just had to get there. He ran through brush and forest.

The sounds were getting closer. Treecko sounded like he was in pain.

Jeff kept running faster. He made his way to a clearing. There was a cliff a little over twice Jeff’s size ahead of him in the grass. At the base of the cliff was a foot high rock. Jeff stopped running to catch his breath. At the top of the cliff he saw Treecko’s outline. Jeff was about to call out but then he saw the wood gecko jump off in a flip. Jeff’s relief turned to pure shock. Treecko did multiple somersaults in the air before whacking his tail against the rock. He cried out in pain with the hit but he landed with his feet on the ground. Treecko climbed back up the cliff and jumped off; this time he jumped in a backwards somersault. He slammed his tail into the rock below only to have a similar result. He grimaced and climbed back up to repeat the process.

Jeff inspected Treecko’s body; his shoulder wound bled and there were bruises all over his body, especially the tail. Seeing Treecko that way broke Jeff’s heart. Treecko jumped again and pounded his tail into the rock.

Why is Treecko doing this to himself? Is he training? Is he trying to break the rock? Is it because it’s said that Treecko’s tails can sometimes break through rock? Is this a way of self torture? Why? Why is he doing this?” Jeff thought, hiding behind a bush. One thing that he noticed about Treecko was that his twig was not in his mouth but, upon Jeff’s further inspection, it lay propped up against the target rock.

The stubborn lizard scaled the cliff before repeating the process. He hit the rock and unleashed a pained cry. Treecko climbed up and continued the heartbreaking perpetual motion, each resulted with a piercing and suffering yell as well as horrible, beaten up bruises and cuts. Jeff doubted he would last four more tries. He couldn’t help but let a whimper escape his throat.

Why? Why is he doing this to himself?! HE didn’t do anything wrong! It’s ME, it’s MY fault! I should be throwing myself on that stone, not him! Why does he feel that he’s to blame?! I wish that we could switch bodies so that I could take in all the pain that he’s receiving!” Jeff thought between controlled sobs.

Jeff could no longer watch. He ran into the clearing. “Stop! Treecko! NO! Enough! Please!” While Jeff ran, he felt his own stitches tear from his skin. He let out a cry and felt a pour of blood soak his bandage. He stumbled to the grass and landed with a painful thud. Jeff inspected the blades of grass in front of his eyes. A shadow cast over them. He looked up to see a green hand outstretched before him. The pained human looked up at Treecko’s bruised and scraped face. The pokemon’s face did not grin any smug grin, nor did it frown. His face was that of determined seriousness and apathy. Jeff looked at his face with nervousness and pity.

“Treecko… why are you doing this?”

Treecko didn’t respond. Instead he turned around and walked back to the rock. The wood gecko picked up the twig and walked back to Jeff. The human got onto his knees. Treecko slowly approached Jeff and extended his hand. He grabbed Jeff’s left hand and brought it towards him, outstretching it. Without a word, Treecko took his twig and placed it in Jeff’s empty palm. With both of his hands he closed Jeff’s hand until the hand firmly grasped the stick.

“Treecko cko tree.”

Treecko hugged the kneeling Jeff one last time before turning away. It lasted for four seconds, but to Jeff it seemed like no time had passed. Treecko walked away from him and climbed over the rock and up the cliff. Where Jeff expected him to jump again, he didn’t. The wood gecko had just disappeared over the plateau.

What had happened?

Jeff remained kneeling, still, and seemingly wasn’t breathing.

Treecko was gone.

He remained in a shocked, statue-like position. He spilled no tears, he vented no anger, and he made no sound.

The orange light disappeared and night overtook. The beats of wings were heard above Jeff. Daedalus swooned down and landed in front of Jeff.

“<CORPHISH! DOWN HERE; I FOUND HIM!>” Daedalus yelled into the forest.

Shortly after the yell, Corphish came scuttling out of the forest with Jeff’s backpack in claw.

“<We were looking everywhere for you! I managed to get your backpack near where that Seviper was,>” Corphish explained.

Jeff remained staring at his hand.

“<Jeff?>” Daedalus asked.

After a long pause, Jeff answered in an apathetic melancholy, “Treecko left.”

Jeff could see the shock in their eyes although he couldn’t comprehend the barrage of words coming from them. They continued to blabber indistinctly. The white noise didn’t affect Jeff. The searing pain in his leg was no longer bothersome.

After they finally quieted, Jeff said with as little emotion as possible, “We should get some sleep.”

The pokemon didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t like they could protest so they agreed with sorrow. Jeff lay down on his back and stared up into the stars.

I don’t think he’s coming back… why? Why did I have to hit him? Why did I have to ask to travel with Kristie? Why can’t I get over her? It wasn’t his fault that he brought it up…I was egging him on!” Again, tears began to fill Jeff’s eyes and tightness arose in his throat. “Stop crying!” he ordered himself.

Why? Why should I stop!? I’m the reason he left! I’m the reason why he’ll never be happy!” Jeff rubbed his eyelids and held back the feelings with great struggle. “No, do not be weak! You can’t let the others see you like this! …Oh Arceus, I wish Treeck was here!”

Suddenly, Jeff felt a tugging on his shoe. He quickly wiped all emotion from his vacant face and raised his head to find Corphish at his feet with Daedalus behind him. They both looked deeply upset.

“Corphish cor cor,” said the Corphish, sadly.

“You two can’t sleep?” Jeff asked with emptiness.

They shook their heads in agreement.

“Want me to sing or something?”

They looked at one another and nodded. Jeff remembered a song that he sang or listened to whenever he was down. It was a song by the band Oasis. He didn’t think it would help him at all, but his pokemon deserved to sleep. The pokemon rested their heads on both of Jeff’s sides, trying to get comfortable.

Jeff began to sing the lullaby to his two grieved pokemon.

“Hold up.
Hold on.
Don’t be scared.
You'll never change what's been and gone.”

Despite his blankness, Jeff managed to get every key right. His deep voice could not mimic the lead singer’s exactly but it was close enough. He knew the song like the back of his hand.

“May your smile.
Shine on.
Don't be scared.
Your destiny may keep you warm.”

Jeff almost whispered each word. He was singing it with a soothing voice, prolonging each verse. He didn’t know how much of the song he could actually handle, though. The duo’s spirits began to calm. Fortunately, the soothing song apparently worked also for pokemon.

“'Cause all of the stars
are fading away.
Just try not to worry
you’ll see them some day.
Take what you need
and be on your way
and stop crying your heart out.”

Jeff’s voice began to shake but he tried to keep it bottled up inside. Depression was poisonous and it infected those around. Why should more of his friends have to suffer for his own faults?

“Get up.
Come on.
Why're you scared?
You'll never change what's been and gone.”

Their creased eyes began to close as they nestled against Jeff’s warm t-shirt. The feeling of helping them sleep created a warm feeling in Jeff’s frigid heart but the two feelings clashed.

“'Cause all of the stars
are fading away.
Just try not to worry
you’ll see them some day.
Take what you need
and be on your way
and stop crying your heart out.”

Jeff paused. He looked at the two pokemon and noticed that they were sound asleep. Although his audience was at rest, he continued to sing… just for himself. It was worth a try. He was unaware that he was being watched.

“'Cause all of the stars
are fading away.
Just try not to worry
you’ll see them some day.
Take what you need
and be on your way
and stop crying your heart out.”

A pair of yellow eyes watched from behind a tree. They gleamed in the moonlight except when, with each blink, they disappeared completely. Jeff still did not spot his watcher. He was as content as he could possibly be to sing to himself in an attempt to help him through this tough time.

“We're all of us stars
we’re fading away.
Just try not to worry
you’ll see us some day.
Just take what you need
and be on your way
and stop crying your heart out.
Stop crying your heart out.
Stop crying your heart out.”

Jeff’s voice began to crack and trail off. He scratched his eye and lay on his back. He quickly shut his eyes in an attempt to escape.

The hiding figure took a long, hard, quivering sigh. The pair of yellow eyes turned around and began to walk back into the forest. The green body moved away from the clearing. The dark green tail bobbed side to side with each step.

“<Take good care of yourself and the others Jeff. I might be back. I don’t blame you for holding it against me… I hold it against me, too.>”

He made no noise as he calmly crept away. The figure’s reddish-pink underbelly stood out in the green surroundings. He stopped and turned around. His cool, collected, yellow eyes looked back at his best friend a final time. He shut his shimmering eyes and turned his head forward, disappearing into the darkness of the forest.

In his mind, Treecko said, “<Goodbye, Jeff… although you don’t know it… this time… I really am sorry.>”

Jeff, before shutting his eyes completely, looked up at the tree tops and the starry night sky; the full moon cast a blue light on the clearing. Jeff examined the two close to identical twigs in his hands before shutting his eyes.

"<Jeff, you will always be my brother.>"

He whispered, “Treecko…

He’s really gone.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N:

I don't think this was as gripping as the last chapter.
I also didn't expect it to be take up 2 posts again. xD It was only one in the original cut.

The lullaby was "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" by Oasis.

Jeff may make a catch next chapter!

I revamped Chapters 1 and 2

The Infinite Devil Machine October 16th, 2007 3:04 PM

Wow....Compared to the first few chapters, the improvement is HUGE. The tension between Treecko and Jeff seems really real. A capture, next chappy? Sounds interesting...:)

Grovyle42(Griff8416) October 16th, 2007 5:19 PM

Thanks for reviewing :P

Sorry for the length.

Astinus October 17th, 2007 8:45 PM

Chapter Three review
 
I’m reviewing here because SPPf is being a pain, even at one in the morning. ;>_> So I figured why not just finish reviewing here, since I can get on at all times of the day.

Quote:

He poked at it, idly, picking at the dried blood that formed a still trickle down his arm; like sap on a tree trunk.
The semicolon isn’t needed. The words after it are actually a fragment if left on their own, so just replace the semicolon with a comma.

Quote:

Jeff slowly limped over the forest bed, sticks broke and leaves crunched beneath his heavy feet. Every so often, he turned his head around; paranoid of more pokemon who didn’t think red was his color.
Here’s where it gets confusing. @[email protected] The first sentence, you can replace the comma with a semicolon because the two sentences are related, but can stand on their own. The second sentence is the one where you don’t need the semicolon, so you make that one into a comma. (If you give me a few days, I’ll write up a guide for semicolons. They’re very hard to explain quickly.)

Quote:

"Ugh, damnit…sorry bud, I forgot my backpack back at the lake. Now I have to go get it." Jeff explained to the disappointed pokemon.
Full stop after "it" should be a comma.

Quote:

"It’s you again!" Jeff exclaimed, overjoyed. "…Nice twig." Jeff smiled, gesturing to the identical twig in his mouth.
Corrections in bold.

Quote:

"Treecko Tree Tree Cko," Treecko smiled, dropping the heavy backpack.
Comma after "cko" should be a full stop.

Quote:

"Treecko Cko Tree Treecko" Treecko laughed, mockingly.
Forgot to place the full stop in the quotation marks.

Quote:

Treecko turned to go back to his massive tree, he began to walk back into the thick brush.
Split this one sentence into two by changing the comma after "tree" to a full stop. Or you could keep it as one, but change in to "…back to his massive tree, walking back into the thick brush". Either or.

Quote:

Jeff called to Treecko before he was camouflaged by the plants, "hey Treecko…how would you like to come back to my home for some food?"
Capitalize "hey".

Quote:

Jeff looked at Treecko, skeptically,
Comma after "skeptically" should be a full stop.

Quote:

"Cko Tree" Treecko said as he put up one finger
Missed that full stop again after "tree".

Quote:

"Tree…Treecko?" Jeff called out in a raspy voice, his mouth was very dry.
Again, you could split up this sentence. Either have "his mouth was very dry" on it’s own, or make it "his mouth dry" and keep it as one sentence.

Quote:

After a painstaking half hour, they finally reached the edge of Littleroot Town.
Correction in bold.

Quote:

Treecko shook his head,
Comma should be a full stop.

Quote:

"<I guess he thought that this visit would make up for it, then,>" Tyrogue grinned.
Comma after "then" should be a full stop.

Quote:

Treecko began to think,
Comma should be a full stop.

Quote:

smiled Tyrogue.
Since this isn’t a dialogue tag, it goes as it’s own sentence. Just switch the two words around.

Quote:

Treecko’s heart sunk,
Comma should be a full stop.

Quote:

Tyrogue patted his back, "<c’mon pal, don’t be so hard on yourself,>"
Comma after "back" should be a full stop, and capitalize "C’mon".

Quote:

"Here, let me walk with you to the edge of the forest." Jeff offered.
Full stop after "forest" should be a comma.

Quote:

Chikorita mocked
Missed the full stop at the end of this sentence.

Quote:

"<Pah, right! Think what you like but I hope to Arceus that I'm [b]never[b] like him
Tags got mucked up. o.o

Quote:

Jeff reassured
Missed the full stop at the end of this sentence.

I’m impressed with how developed the characters are becoming. Tyogre definitely showed a lot of development in this chapter. He went from just one casually mentioned Pokémon in a beginning chapter to a solid character. I hope to see more of him as I continue to catch up reading.

Just one last grammar thing: You tend to repeat the names of the characters in narration. Don’t be afraid to use pronouns or other descriptive epithets for the characters. For example, call Treecko "the wood gecko", or something to that affect. (Of course, I’m still playing catch up. So if you changed this in later chapters, feel free to ignore me. xD)

Grovyle42(Griff8416) October 18th, 2007 11:50 AM

Thanks for reviewing, :D

I'm actually about to rewrite this chapter so this helps a lot :).

Astinus October 18th, 2007 9:36 PM

*dives behind couch* Are you planning on rewriting the other earlier chapters? It might be a good idea to do so, especially if you want to keep the quality the same and get rid of all those grammar errors.

Speaking of which...

Chapter Four

Quote:

"Chic! Tor Tor Chic! Chic!" It peeped angrily.
Same dialogue problem. "It" should be lowercased.

Quote:

"I can only assume that’s something mean" Jeff said with a half-smile.
Missing the comma after "mean".

Quote:

As Jeff dusted himself off and saw a person jogging towards him.
Sentence fragment. Just get rid of the "as" and you’ll be all set.

Quote:

Jeff the feeling remained while they neared closer and closer.
xD "Jeff the feeling"…

Quote:

"I can relate" Jeff thought to himself.
Missing the comma after "relate".

Quote:

Jeff looked up and saw that Treecko began to take quite a beating from the large, jagged, beak of the Fearow.
No comma needed after "jagged".

Quote:

Treecko was backed away from the trunk and Fearow was blocking it’s way to the main trunk, while laying a barrage of pecks on Treecko.
Wrong "its". Without the apostrophe, that would be the possessive.

Quote:

"Cko, cko, cko, cko" Treecko would wince in pain with each beak strike.
Missing the exclamation point after that last "cko".

Quote:

Just then, Fearow started to Drill peck the branch in front of it.
"Peck" should be capitalized.

Quote:

"Call it even, this time?" Jeff asked, "Cko!" Treecko replied, agreeing with a large smirk.
Full stop after "asked", and Treecko’s dialogue should be in its own paragraph.

Quote:

I don’t get any more sets of starters for another month, you should probably wait that long." Professor Birch remarked.
Comma after "long".

Quote:

Jeff’s jaw dropped, "that was the day I met Treecko! That flash of light was Treecko being caught in a pokeball?!"
Full stop after "dropped" and capitalize "that".

Quote:

Jeff quickly turned to Treecko, "All that time I waited for you and you just let yourself be captured?"
Full stop after "Treecko".

Quote:

The professor beamed, "I remember I do still have an extra Torchic and a Mudkip in my desk!"
Full stop after "beamed".

Quote:

"Gotcha," Jeff replied and then frowned, "…why do you dislike Treecko so much?"
Full stop after "frowned".

Quote:

"You had extras of Mudkip and Torchic" Jeff pointed out.
Missed the comma after "Torchic".

Quote:

Jeff smiled back "Therefore, I won’t force you to be kept in a pokeball!" He offered, sticking out his arm.
Missed the full stop after "back" and the "he" should be lowercased.

Quote:

"You two really are…made for each other" Professor Birch smiled.
Missed the full stop after "other".

Quote:

They blushed a little and Jeff added "Let’s just say that we’re like old friends."
Missed the comma after "added".

Quote:

"Well let’s go Treecko," Jeff began to turn around.
Full stop after "Treecko".

Quote:

"Treecko, Tree" Treecko replied, relieved that he has a good trainer and friend.
Missed the comma after "tree".

The biggest problem that I saw with this chapter was Birch’s characterization. He’s shown to be a caring man that cares for Pokémon. He doesn’t seem like the one that would point out a Pokémon’s flaws and force it into a Pokeball. I dunno. It just seemed odd to see him written like that.

It’s fine that you’re taking your time getting the journey started in favor of your characters. They feel like real people/Pokémon that I can meet on the street.

-

Chapter Five

Quote:

Jeff grunted
Missed the full stop.

Quote:

Treecko shrugged, "Treecko cko tree, treecko treecko cko," he grinned, trying to say, "<I get that a lot; I think many other pokemon are threatened by me.>"
Full stop after "shrugged" and the last "cko", then capitalize "he" before "grinned".

Quote:

"Hey mom, I’m back!"
Capitalize "mom".

o_o; I decided to just stop pointing out the dialogue errors. I’m sure that after four and a half-chapters of pointing out dialogue errors, it got annoying. Just if you want to catch them, go back and read through your chapters again.

Quote:

She was a dyed blonde, brown haired woman walked entered and looked at them.
You might want to reword this sentence. "Dyed blonde" makes me think that her skin is blond, and you have one too many verbs in the second half of the sentence.

Your description skills could be improved. When you described Corphish, it came out like a list. Instead, you should try to incorporate the description into the narration, like you did with "the moonlight reflected off its wet orange shell". And you really didn’t describe any of the surroundings that well. Describing the setting can set a mood for the story. Just take your time on that.

So far, you just seem to be following the plot for the games. I’m just waiting to see if you deviate from that at any point. Again, I’ll wait to see when I catch up to where you are currently in chapters.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) October 19th, 2007 3:20 PM

*Cocks Shotgun*

Just Kidding. :P Thanks for the reviews of chapters 4 and 5. I DO plan to rewrite most of the chapters, and I plan to rewrite chapter 4 from a different perspective/POV.

Mako64 October 20th, 2007 4:49 AM

You've done a pretty good job on the storyboard.
You have to be a mega Treeko fan.

Dachampster October 20th, 2007 6:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 2745181)
He looked in the mirror at his six feet tall, one hundred twenty-five pound stature. Jeff had a strong muscular build and a good, sturdy posture.

125 pounds?! 6 feet?! Muscular?! Nobody at six feet weighs less than 150, unless they were thin and wiry. Maybe you shiould fix that.
Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 2761594)
“No, I PROMISE that I’ll find you again and then make us even! I’ll take this twig as a symbol of what will hopefully be our future friendship. I swear on this, and my life that I’ll repay you, Treecko!”

Do people even say that?

Grovyle42(Griff8416) October 20th, 2007 6:40 AM

Thanks, both of you for the comments.

Yeah I kind of got the weight proportions mixed up there :P That's been mentioned earlier (i don't know if it was here or at serebii)

And people do say that during corny speeches (I put a warning up about the occasional cornyness!) Ahem, looking back on that quote...I think I should change it a little xD

*Edit* Fixed it to make it a little better. xD

Astinus October 20th, 2007 9:27 PM

Chapter Six

Loving the explanation for Jeff’s ability to understand the Pokémon. It’s so much better than "He iz spechul!!11eleventy".

And oh gods… Corphish is awesome. XD I love the little guy. *huggles her Corphish plushie*

I’m unsure what to say about the "Manhattan" reference. I mean, it would be nice to compare the cities of the Pokémon world to each other, but you do have other real-world references in your fic. I guess you could just leave it.

"Petalburg City: The place where dreams come true"… Yeah right for poor Jeff. Still, at least his journey is looking up for beating Alan in a Pokémon battle, even though he lost the girl.

Still saw some issues with semicolons and dialogue.

Chapter Seven

Your description of scenery improved in this chapter. I would have preferred if you had left out the line about how the misty forest suited Jeff’s mindset, but that’s just me and my love of symbolism.

I do have to wonder how Corphish knows so much about the human world. I have my thoughts, given how accepting he was of being captured…

One of the problems with your description is the fact that it’s so list-like. It’s boring for the readers to read constant lists one time of a character’s clothes, so that’s why readers forget what they’re wearing or what they look like. You could just place in little reminders into the narration: "He tugged on the sleeve of her green shirt". Just like that, and we’re reminded that the character in question is wearing a green shirt.

Quote:

Jeff ran over to Daedalus, nudged the Sandshrew off of him, and picked him up.
It’s a word choice matter here. "Nudged" seems like too weak of a verb here. I picture Jeff just lightly shoving the Sandshrew out of the way. I would have used something like "kicked". But I’m just a violent person.

Ah, speaking of violence…Nidoking’s eye wouldn’t start to bleed if it was hit. It’s just one of those things that I learned.

During the escape scene, there were a few instances where it read as if Treecko and Corphish weren’t tied together anymore. But they actually were. It’s the small details that escape the eyes when writing.

And I love the fact that Daedalus has a real "leader" personality. Makes him better than a Pokebot.

Chapter Eight

The conversation between Jeff and Daedalus is my favorite part of this chapter. It’s an awesome way to slip in a revelation for the both of them about life.

I had to double-take at Aaron the Aron. XD Thought it was a typo, but realised that it’s just a really awesome nickname.

I’m waiting to see if there will be a time where one of Treecko’s plans will go awry, hurting his self-confidence.

Chapter Nine

>.> Okay. I felt a tear in my eyes while reading this chapter. And poor Jeff, unable to hear his Pokémon now. That was actually the best part of the chapter because of all the raw emotions. Really awesome. This chapter was so emotionally-packed. Your characters are definitely the best part about this fic. (The song I was listening to during this chapter was "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word". It fits. XP)

Chapter Ten

"Holy jumpin’ Moses" is now my new catch phrase. *is still giggling at it* And Daedalus used Joey’s pick-up line! Oh good gods…this chapter is just full of awesome lines.

And the creepy Chansey that popped Jeff’s knee cap in? A brilliant touch.

The Pokémon seem to be stealing the spotlight from Jeff in this story. Their personalities keep getting developed, and Jeff just keeps getting wounded. At least you’re safe from Pokebots in your story.

But Jeff gets his time to show his side. He’s done a lot of growing up since he left Littleroot.

And yes, you have improved from previous chapters. Awesome job there, Griff.

Now that I’ve caught up, I’ll go back to reviewing the way I did for the first few chapters.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) October 21st, 2007 5:47 AM

Yay, thank you for reading and the great reviews. ^ ^

I plan on revamping upto and including chapter seven. (I also plan to do some grammar edits for the rest.) :P

I wish I could, but I can't take credit for "holy jumpin' moses", it was something my grade 8/9 math teacher always used to say during his wild stories. :P

I'm glad you like it so far. I'll keep all of those things in mind while reediting.

(And dang, that song you listened to would have helped me and Diamondpearl876 while choosing a chapter name. xD)

PS, I thought I changed Manhattan to Saffron. I guess not :p

diamondpearl876 October 21st, 2007 6:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 2999391)
Yay, thank you for reading and the great reviews. ^ ^

I plan on revamping upto and including chapter seven. (I also plan to do some grammar edits for the rest.) :P

I wish I could, but I can't take credit for "holy jumpin' moses", it was something my grade 8/9 math teacher always used to say during his wild stories. :P

I'm glad you like it so far. I'll keep all of those things in mind while reediting.

(And dang, that song you listened to would have helped me and Diamondpearl876 while choosing a chapter name. xD)

Yes it would have helped. >> We spent like 2hours just to find the right title. XD *shot*

Grovyle42(Griff8416) October 22nd, 2007 1:02 PM

This chapter is running a little late. It should be up by Thursday at the VERY latest.

Meanwhile, I strongly advise you read PKMN Breeder Jack's fic , Pokemon Crusade: Rebirth of Terror. It is an extremely intense, well written fic with a great plot and characters. Enjoy.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) October 27th, 2007 8:05 PM

-FINALLY finished. I revamped the ending to this chapter as me and my beta (Diamondpearl876) thought some one was developed too drastically.

-After mind numbing time of choosing a chapter title, I was listening through my playlist and happened to come across the Eiffel 65 song and the lyrics, I felt had to do with the chapter, very much.


Now Isn't Forever

“Hey! I’m home!” a smug but deep, calmed voice rang out. It sounded as if it belonged to one of those hardcore surfers who constantly said “radical” and “bodacious”. A door could be heard closing as well as two pairs of footsteps.

I quickly stood up from my desk where I was drawing a picture of a Geodude for school. My body was not that of my regular maturity. I looked in the mirror and saw that I was my nine year old self. It didn’t cross my mind that I should be sixteen… or was it seventeen now? I ran out of my room and pedaled down the stairs. I stopped on the landing to see my brother to my left. He was much taller than I; he was tall enough so that our heads were level when I was three stairs off of the floor. He was an almost fanatic bodybuilder, which was obvious from his suntanned, muscular arms. He smiled at me and took off his shoes. I scanned his belt, which separated his beige Beastie Boys t-shirt from his baggy olive pants and noticed a red and white sphere known as a ‘pokeball’ on it. I could see something green behind his short, dark brown hair that was gelled up. It was his seventeenth birthday, so he used this milestone as an opportunity to get his first pokemon.

“Hey, Jeffrey,” my brother, Keanu, said with a mellow tone. “Is Mom home?”

“Yeah, she’s out back with Chikorita… did you get a pokemon?!” I asked with eagerness.

“Yeah… Jeffrey, this is Sawyer, my new friend.” From behind Keanu’s head jumped down a light green lizard with two green tails and a red underbelly. The lizard pokemon grinned at me. It was the coolest pokemon I had ever seen!

“Awesome! That’s so cool! Why did you call it Sawyer, Keanu? Why not something like Leafy or Rex?” I asked. My creative vocabulary was lacking considerably at that age. The Treecko gave a hurt look.

“First of all, Sawyer’s a HE not an IT. Remember that knowing your pokemon’s gender is important when forming a bond for when you get your first pokemon. I mean, how would you feel to be called an IT?”

I looked at the ground in shame. “Sorry, Sawyer,” I apologized. The wood gecko nodded, accepting my request for forgiveness.

“Anyways, my favorite book was ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’ and Sawyer means, I think, either wood or woodcutter or something and a Treecko IS a WOOD gecko pokemon,” Keanu replied proudly. “Also, both of those are crap names for Sawyer here.”

The Treecko chuckled and began to curiously look around the hallway. I stared in awe at the miraculous pokemon. I couldn’t help but feel jealous.

“Well, I’m going to say goodbye to her and then I’m finally off,” stated Keanu.

“’Off’? You mean you’re leaving?!” I asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, I finally have my first pokemon and I’ve gotten all I could from Professor Birch’s classes, so I have no reason not to!” he explained while disappearing into the kitchen.

I sat on the steps and placed my head in my hands. I couldn’t believe that he was actually leaving! It just didn’t seem fair. Why did my brother, who I idolized, have to leave me here alone?! Did he even think about what he was leaving behind? I knew it was selfish of me and I wouldn’t be able to change his mind but I was sad and frustrated.

I let out a soft sob through hands which covered my face. I remained there in the dark of my hands for a few minutes. All of a sudden I felt a warm, comforting hand on my shoulder. I turned an eye and saw that it was Sawyer! I quickly turned my head away and wiped the tears from my face before looking back. Sawyer let out an all-knowing grin and continued to pat my shoulder.

“Thanks, Sawyer,” I smiled. “You’re a great pokemon.”

The Treecko blushed and scratched the back of his head. Keanu came back in the hallway, now carrying a massive hiking backpack.

“You ready, Sawyer?” Keanu asked him, smiling.

It seemed like he was TOO eager to leave.

Sawyer nodded, gave me final pat on the shoulder and leaped from the stairs to Keanu’s shoulder.

“See you around, Jeffrey; we’ll be back sometime…”

“Bye, Keanu. Bye, Sawyer. I’ll see you later. Oh… and it’s ‘Jeff’!” I replied with a hint of contempt.

Keanu and I shook hands and he opened the door. I made eye contact with the yellow eyes lizard before the door created a sight barrier between us. Once they were out of sight, I quickly ran upstairs and jumped face down on my bed. I let out a few uncontrolled weeps before collecting myself in my sheets.

I can’t believe he’s gone.

I wiped the tears from my eyes and looked up at my white ceiling. I started to think about Sawyer, the Treecko.

Ever since I’ve set my eyes on that pokemon I’ve decided that that would be my first pokemon, no matter what.

I don’t care how much the Treecko hates me; I’m going to make sure to love it and care for it as much as possible! Eventually we’re going to become best friends and we’ll battle together, play together, and travel together, just like Keanu and Sawyer! I promise that we’re going to become best of friends and NOTHING will be able to drive us apart. Nothing.

…Nothing.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeff’s eyes shot open. He blinked back glazed eyes. He looked down to find Corphish and Daedalus sprawled on his chest. Jeff looked to the right side of his head, expecting Treecko to be sleeping beside him. He let out a sad sigh and looked upwards.

It’s funny how things turned out…”

Jeff felt a heavy, warm breeze blowing onto his left side. It felt kind of dewy. Jeff closed his eyes. The moist wind continued at a continuous pace every four seconds. Irritated and dazed, Jeff opened his eyes and turned his head to his right side.

He noticed a large boulder like form beside him. The rock was almost shaped like a face. It appeared to have eyes, a large mouth, and a nose. On the top of the boulder was a large, oddly shaped, pointed crest. On the side, going from the apparent mouth, past the pseudo-left eye was a very deep, gray slash mark, as if somebody cut the rock like King Arthur and Excalibur. Jeff tried to look around the weird rock and found out that attached to the boulder was more boulders. The boulders created a chain, going around in a circle around the group. The stones became smaller as they went along. Jeff was surprisingly passive to the situation.

Was there a crazy avalanche or something?” Jeff thought, staring at the linked rock formation.

He turned his head back towards the largest rock. He noticed that the rock, that he thought was an eye, fluttered, revealing a white, glossy interior. Jeff looked back up at the dawn sky. The fact suddenly sunk in. He darted his head towards the face that he thought was a rock and quickly sat up. He scooted away from his head, backing against the tail that was coiled around the campsite.

“Is th-that a pok… kemon?”

The pokemon opened its mouth and yawned in a bass, throaty groan. The yawn was so powerful that Jeff’s hair was blown towards the pokemon on the inhale, but then his whole body was pushed back with the mightier exhale. Corphish and Daedalus were both awoken by Jeff’s moving. They stared at the giant sleeping pokemon and jumped to Jeff’s side.

“<An Onix!>” Corphish exclaimed.

“<What’s it doing all the way over here?!>”

“Ok, guys? Climb on my back and we might be able to get over the end of its tail without waking it.”

It was too late. The Onix lifted up its scarred head, let out a roar and extended its tail; it was like it was stretching. It rose like a tree and towered over the three. It peered down at the travelers and nodded.

“<Please don’t eat me! I’m very sharp and I taste of feet!>” Corphish pleaded.

Onix licked his lips and grinned. “<Don’t worry little Corphish, I do not eat other pokemon.>”

Corphish let out a sigh of relief.

“<Where exactly am I? I’ve been lost since yesterday,>” Onix asked, looking around him.

“<You’re about a kilometer east of Petalburg City,>” Daedalus informed.

“<What?! They airlifted me to the MAINLAND?!>” the large Onix roared.

Jeff stepped back; he was sure the Onix would attack them.

“<They? Who’s they?>” Daedalus continued to grill.

“<The humans of Dewford Island! I remember something hit my scar and then I woke up, suspended by two helicopters over the water. I was sure I would die.>”

“<So the humans knocked you out and dumped you here?>” Daedalus asked with contempt in his voice.

“<No. The human’s didn’t knock me out… they just took me here. I don’t remember what happened in between,” explained the Onix.

“<What happened before that?>”

“<I’d… rather not talk about it… >” the massive rock snake mumbled, looking away.

“<Well my name is Daedalus!>” the flying type introduced himself in merriment. “<That is Corppy, and the human is Jeff. Don’t worry, Jeff isn’t one of the bad humans.>”

“<It’s nice to meet you all. I was called by my c… my name was… just call me Atlas,>” the Onix struggled to mumble in a sulking bass.

“<Nice to meet you, Atlas. That scar on your face looks pretty fresh and… REALLY deep! You should have that bandaged or something. How did you get it?>” Daedalus asked.

Atlas pretended not to hear him and he looked around the sky and the surrounding scenery. “<You don’t happen to know how to get back to Dewford… do you?>”

“<The way we’re getting there is by ferry… although I don’t know why we’re bothering to go there,>” Daedalus informed him.

Jeff, frustrated for being left out of the pokespeech, hopped over Atlas’ tail and sulked towards the tree line on the edge on the clearing. He sat down in the grass and looked into the forest.

The Onix noticed this and asked, “<What’s wrong with your human… Jeff?>”

A wave of solemn feelings returned to the party.

“<I am sorry, did I say something wrong?>” Atlas asked, puzzled and embarrassed.

“<No, it’s not your fault. We’ve… recently had a Treecko, Jeff’s best friend, leave…>” Daedalus enlightened the rock snake pokemon.

“<The green, selfish b*stard,>” Corphish muttered to himself.

“<I think I should say something to him,>” the Onix told them. “<Hey, Jeff!>”

Jeff didn’t turn or reply. For all he knew, Atlas was talking to the others.

“<Can he understand me?>”

“<Maybe if you scared us half to death two days before tonight,>” Corphish told him.

Atlas tilted his head in confusion. “<I don’t understand…>”

“<You seem like a good guy, and, no offense, but it doesn’t look like you’d have anyone to tell…>”

The Onix let out a grunt from his nose. The exhale was so powerful that Daedalus had to dig his talons into the earth to keep from being blown back. Corphish, however, went somersaulting behind him.

“<…Sorry,>” Atlas apologized, scratching the back of his head with his tail, sheepishly. Daedalus nodded and began to explain what had happened with Jeff.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Continued next post...

Grovyle42(Griff8416) October 27th, 2007 8:13 PM

Continued....

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Jeff was still sitting and thinking. He began to remember far back as well as the days which seemed so long ago but were really only less than a week.

He thought of the day he first met Treecko. He was being chased by a Scyther and, out of nowhere, the pokemon jumped out and saved him from death. The heroic Treecko had beaten up the assailant and even brought him his backpack after Jeff forgot it. He invited the wood gecko back to his house in gratitude, but Tyrogue must have said something to make Treecko want to leave. Jeff had thought that Treecko had abandoned him, until one year later when he went to get his first pokemon and he saw the green pokemon fighting. Jeff saved Treecko much like Treecko had saved him and they had been friends and travel partners ever since. But then Jeff remembered what happened in Petalburg and how he was afterwards. He got mad at Treecko when he shouldn’t have; his pokemon was only trying to help although he didn’t know how. Jeff chose not to think about the events following his first gym battle. Instead he went back to remembering the fun times: having a race with Treecko, play fighting with him, joking, and laughing. The times were short but the memories stuck with him and would stay forever.

Jeff put a hand to his face and rubbed his sleep-deprived, unblinking eyes. When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see Atlas’ head lying on the ground next to him. The Onix looked at Jeff and smiled warmly before letting out a soft grumble of questioning warmth.

“You’re wondering what’s wrong?” Jeff asked the gigantic serpent.

Atlas nodded in reply, even though he already knew the answer.

“Well… I’m sorry; I don’t even know your name… anyways I… a good friend of mine… my best friend, Treecko… he left. We had an argument, but ever since, he has been acting much different. The whole thing was my fault so I can understand why he was upset. But he was acting very weird… scary… I’m worried about him, but I want him to be happy,” Jeff explained, as if talking to a psychiatrist. He didn’t know why he was telling this to a pokemon that was a stranger to him. He felt comfortable around this Onix; he felt like they could relate to each other, There was something about him that felt so familiar…

Atlas knew he couldn’t respond with comprehensible words so he kept his head at ground level and lightly nuzzled Jeff’s side, comfortingly. He was almost knocked over by the rock snake’s head but he managed to stay upright and able to pet the Onix back.

“Thanks…” Jeff answered with some surprise, comforted by the normally terrifying pokemon.

Jeff paused before he looked at Atlas and asked, “That’s a pretty bad scar; how did you get it?”

He uncomfortably pulled his head away from Jeff, his head now rearing up high above the ground. Atlas began to stare over the tree canopies, into the pink, dawn sky.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you,” Jeff sheepishly apologized.

The towering Onix looked down at him, smiled, and shook his head in reassurance. Using Atlas’ body as support, Jeff struggled to stand; his right leg and foot still ached from the cuts. Atlas watched Jeff turn and walk over the grass back to the other two pokemon.

In an almost inaudible whisper, Jeff said, “Let’s get going.”

Corphish and Daedalus let out remarks of protest.

“You guys are going to have to learn English because I still can’t understand what you’re saying,” he muttered, beginning to get a headache.

Corphish picked up a twig in his claws and put it in his mouth. Following that, he pointed out into the forest and began to frantically hop around.

“What about Treecko?” Jeff asked, in which the duo replied with a nod. “He made his choice. It’s because I didn’t respect his wishes that we’re in this frigged up mess! So it’s about time I just… let him… go… if it’s what makes him happy. As long as Treecko’s happy, that’s all that I care about… he deserves at least that,” he exclaimed, lying to himself.

“<But he’s NOT happy!>” Corphish yelled, stepping forwards. Daedalus put his wing on the water pokemon’s shoulder to calm him down.

“So, let’s go… lead the way, Dae…” Jeff sighed as if he was holding all his air in his lungs until that point.

Daedalus looked at Corphish before nodding and flying ahead. Jeff and Corphish began to follow. Jeff turned around and looked at Atlas.

“Thank you, Onix,” Jeff said with mild gratitude before turning back around. He began to walk away from him.

Atlas’ head sunk and he let out a series of low bellows and growls, to which Corphish turned around and began to reply. They got into a conversation.

Jeff slowed in his tracks to turn around. “What are you doing, Corphish? Come on.”

“Corp corphish, phish phish cor corphish!” he responded to Jeff, seemingly trying to explain something.

“What are you two talking about? What does he want?”

Corphish ran up to Jeff, jumped, and snatched a pokeball from his belt, careful not to hit the center button. He then motioned with the pokeball towards Atlas.

“You want me to catch him?!” Jeff asked, almost upset.

Corphish nodded vigorously.

“I don’t want to catch that Onix!” he yelled.

Atlas’ eyes widened. He turned his rocky head down, feeling hurt and unwanted.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that, big guy. I mean I don’t want to have to take another pokemon unwillingly from their home. It’s bad enough that I did that with three already. I couldn’t live with myself if I did that again.”

Atlas roared in protest and shook his head.

“I’m sorry, Onix. But you don’t want to come with us,” insisted Jeff.

The rock snake nodded his head in persistence and neared Jeff.

“Trust me; I bring bad luck to everyone around me.” With that, Jeff turned around and began to follow the troubled Daedalus. He heard the noisy slithering of Atlas behind him. Jeff stopped in his tracks and turned again to face the gigantic pokemon trailing their footsteps.

“Do you actually want to come or are you feeling bad for me?” Jeff questioned. He stared into the Onix’s warm but hard, staring eyes and he immediately got his answer. “Why would you want to come with me? I’m sure you could have it so much better… Treecko did.”

Atlas looked off into the distance before he lowered his head to Jeff’s level and brushed it against him affectionately.

“Nothing I say is going to make you leave… is it?” Jeff questioned.

Atlas gave a smug grin and shook his head. Something in Atlas’ smile immediately reminded him of Treecko. He felt a little warm, but the memory also hurt to think of him.

“Would you be genuinely happy to come?” Jeff asked, insecurely.

The Onix rolled his eyes and nodded in a persistent agreement.

If this will make him happy… maybe I SHOULD let him come along. If I couldn’t make Treecko happy, I should at least try to make this Onix content. Still… why would he want to come with me?”

Jeff left his thoughts and answered, “Sure… we’d love to have you with us, Onix. Just know that you can leave anytime that you want. No pressure. No guilt. No problem.”

Atlas was overjoyed; he beamed and let out a joyous roar. Jeff took the pokeball from Corphish and held it in front of him, awaiting the Onix to make it official. The rock snake leaned forwards and tapped his head on the pokeball. He was engulfed in a red beam and went into the pokeball without a struggle. The sphere clicked shut. Without a second thought, Jeff immediately released Atlas from the ball. He towered over the three.

“Now let’s go,” said Jeff impatiently.

They nodded and moved around the cliff base and up a hill. Atlas was very careful not to accidentally slither on one of his comrades. They went past the plateau and into the forest. Daedalus flew ahead while Jeff and Corphish rode on Atlas’ back.

“You sure you don’t mind us using you as a train?” Jeff asked the Onix. He shook his head and grinned, squeezing through trees and bushes, following Daedalus. They entered a familiar clearing; it was where they were attacked by Seviper. Daedalus cautiously scouted ahead. He looked at the tree where Seviper was. He saw that the pokemon had disappeared. The tiny swallow also noticed that the tail looked like it was ripped from the bark where it was planted by Treecko. There were small blood spatters on the bark and the grass surrounding the tree.

“This is where Seviper attacked us… and where Treecko tried to save me,” Jeff remarked glumly.

Corphish looked at Daedalus. “<It’s a good thing he doesn’t know what really happened.>”

Daedalus nodded and urged them to turn east, away from the clearing.

“<What do you mean?>” Atlas asked in a throaty grumble.

“<Treecko actually chased after Seviper to fight him instead of trying to save Jeff. I don’t know why he did that, either. He should have known better,>” Daedalus informed.

“<Maybe he had a good reason…>” the giant serpent mused.

“<Either way, it looks like Treecko came back and finished what he started… and I don’t think he left the number of his insurance company,>” Corphish ruminated, inspecting the damage.

Atlas turned and followed Daedalus through the forest. Corphish and the Taillow struck up a conversation about Piplups.

“<What’s the deal with them? Are they a fish or a bird?>” Corphish asked, almost frustrated.

“<They’re obviously birds, numbskull!>” Daedalus retorted, somewhat offended.

“<Sure they LOOK like birds, but they can swim, can’t fly, and can shoot water from their mouths!>”

“<What about Peeko? She can swim and shoot water!>” he confidently stated.

“<But she can fly! Piplups can’t!>”

Daedalus sighed at the hopeless conversation and changed the subject. “<Speaking of Peeko… I wonder how SHE’S doin’!>” Daedalus grinned, thinking about the Wingull they had met earlier.

“<Keep your dirty wings off of her!>” Corphish shot.

“<Are you saying that she’s out of my league?>” Daedalus asked as he grinned competitively.

“<Yes, what if I am?>”

“<So you’re saying YOU’RE in HER league?>”

“<Hah! NO! Could she BE any more out of my league?>”

“<So, you’re saying we’re in the same league?>”

“<No! You’re a stud compared to me. But still not good enough for Peeko!>”

Daedalus paused and flew on. “<We’re getting kind of into an uncomfortable discussion here…>”

Corphish looked around, uncomfortably. “<SO… food! What’s the deal with THAT?!>”

The contented Atlas remained silent the whole time and smiled. Jeff shifted uncomfortably on the rocky transport. Although he couldn’t get comfy he was happily shocked that the Onix’s body was actually quite warm as opposed to what he thought would have been stone cold. Atlas continued to slither around trees, where Jeff had to bring his legs up from the rock snake’s sides so they wouldn’t be crushed between the stone and the tree trunks. The forest moved by them quickly. Daedalus flew hastily while he talked to Corphish, with some nervousness in his voice.

Jeff sighed. “Ok, Daedalus, stop. You stop as well, Onix.”

The two pokemon stopped and looked at Jeff in confusion.

“Dae, I may be a human, but I’m not an idiot!”

Daedalus didn’t even try to lie; he looked away in guilt. Atlas, however, was genuinely confused.

“We’re not going to Petalburg… you brought us in the wrong direction to find Treecko!”

Corphish’s stomach sunk; their plan was exposed and left out in the wind.

“<Is this true?>” Atlas asked Daedalus, who weakly nodded in reply; he still did not make eye contact.

“You know I don’t want him gone, but we can’t FORCE him to come with us! He has a mind of his own… and I want to respect that,” explained Jeff with heavy repentance.

The Taillow opened his mouth to protest, but he stopped himself knowing it would be in vain.

“We’re not going to look for Treecko…” Daedalus and Corphish’s heads sunk. “…but we’re not going back to Petalburg, either.” Their grief turned to confusion.

“<We aren’t?! But why?!>” Atlas growled in shock.

“For now… we’re going home. Daedalus, go straight to Oldale Town and then we make a hard right. Let’s go.”

Without much choice, he nodded and flew in the direction he was flying in.

“<I can’t believe this,>” the rock snake grumbled. “<Where does Jeff live?>”

“<In the gym battle he said that he was from Littleroot Town,>” Corphish explained.

Daedalus stopped flying in his tracks and hovered in place. An organ twisting silence ensued. Corphish’s eyes widened at his misdeed. Daedalus wasn’t supposed to know that!

“<…Did you say… ‘gym battle’?>” he asked coldly.

Corphish looked around frantically. “<Uhhh…yes! Wh…while you were in the… the pokemon center, Jeff was out getting you medicine and he decided to go into the local WORK OUT gym to WORK OUT. Then he accidentally stepped on this guy’s foot and then they started to fight…it was pr…pretty cool…>”

“<I’m sorry I missed seeing that, then,>” Daedalus remarked, flying forward again.

After a little while of traipsing the sunlit woodland, Daedalus had an idea. “<Instead of going to the town up ahead and then turning at a right angle, why don’t we cut diagonally to the right and that will half our travel time.>”

“<Good idea, Featherhead,>” Corphish complimented. “<I don’t think the good people who I steal satellite signals from would be too happy with Goliath here slithering over their… twelve buildings.>”

“<Just because I don’t eat Corphish’s now doesn’t mean I can’t start,>” Atlas threatened, good-naturedly.

Corphish grinned nervously and backed into Jeff’s arms. They continued to move through the dense forest and entered Route 101.

“Route 101…” Jeff muttered to himself. “Let’s get through here as fast as we can!” he ordered to the rest of the group.

Daedalus flew quicker and Atlas speedily followed him. They moved from the forest onto the path that led from Littleroot to Oldale Town. Jeff remembered happy memories from this path. He could clearly see him and Treecko walking away from the town, poking fun at each other and sharing a laugh. He quickly shut his eyes hard. It hurt him to think about.

“<Is that it?>” Daedalus asked, pointing ahead to a good sized town. The biggest building was Professor Birch’s lab, which was closest to them. The community omitted a sorrowfully, familiar ambience.

“<I think it is,>” grumbled Corphish. “<It’s not as bad as that awful Petalburg City!>”

“<Yeah… it’s actually kind of nice… for a human city,>” Daedalus remarked. “<And there’s only a few of those things that humans go around in… what are they called… BWMs or something?>”

They began to near the side of the lab. Atlas was incredibly cautious, so he crawled in the middle of the empty road.

“<Cars, bird brain… cars. Also, it’s BMWs… I see a lot of celebrities driving them on TV along with Porsches,>”

“<A ‘Porsche’? Is that a pokemon?>” Daedalus asked Corphish.

“<No! …NO! It’s a CAR! Like we were just talking about...?>” Corphish asked, a little frustrated.

“<Krabby today, are we?>” Daedalus grinned, sticking his tongue out at Corphish. “<How do you watch TV anyways?>”

“<I stole a TV from the Oldale pokemon center along with about four things of extension cords, so that I could watch it from my pond. I bribed a Magnemite into hooking up the satellite signals with the TV,>” Corphish explained proudly.

“<Wow… I… >” Daedalus pictured Corphish running through the forest with a TV over his head. The image caused him to burst into laughter.

A glass door was heard being swung open from the lab. The mildly husky Professor Birch ran out to inspect the Onix.

“Jeff?! Is that you?!” he yelled to them, removing his hands from the pockets of his white lab coat to shade his eyes from the sunlight. The brown haired professor was obviously confused as to why Jeff was back in Littleroot Town so soon. He indicated that his assumptions were correct by scratching his thick brown beard in confusion.

Jeff gave him a quick glance before he turned forwards and directed Atlas down the main street. The rock snake pokemon attracted a great detail of attention from the town’s inhabitants. A few people gazed at the beast through their opened windows, while others abruptly closed their curtains. Jeff pointed to his white house, which now had bits of the front painted an odd pale gray-green color.

He noticed that the driveway had no car in it. That must have meant that his mom was out shopping in Petalburg. Atlas slithered into the driveway and let out a low sigh. Jeff and Corphish dismounted and Daedalus flew onto the human’s shoulder.

“Sorry, Onix. Do you want to wait out here or inside your pokeball?” Jeff asked him.

The rocky serpent laid his head on the tarmac, indicating that he was fine outside.

Jeff nodded and picked up Corphish. He walked with his pokemon up the front steps and took a key from his pocket. He inserted the metal unlocking device into the keyhole.

Jeff stopped in mid unlocking. “I never thought I’d be back here so soon… and like this…” he thought. He finished opening the lock and placed the key back in his pocket. The door creaked open, revealing an unoccupied hallway.

“…And this is my home,” the human explained to his pokemon. “You guys must be starving; the kitchen is straight ahead.”

“<Kit…chen?>” Daedalus asked, oblivious.

“<It’s where humans keep their food,>” enlightened Corphish.

“<So is it like a place where they hunt for… whatever it is that they eat?>”

“<No, Featherhead… no hunting. All of there food is already dead and they keep it in a kitchen for storage.>”

“<Pfft… typical humans. Don’t even hunt for themselves. ME… I hunt for MY Weedles and Caterpies!>” Daedalus proudly exclaimed.

“<So THAT’S why you’re always looking at Atlas like he’s a giant Wurmple! Not to mention why your breath always stinks!>” Corphish laughed, poking fun.

Daedalus smirked and entered the kitchen, looking around in awe. Corphish pointed to the giant, white box-like appliance. He looked at the indent in the left door of it, which was the ice dispenser. It had two levers where you put the glasses to obtain either water or ice. He and Daedalus pushed a chair over to the left door of it and Corphish hopped up onto it.

“<I’ve never seen one of whatever these things are in a fridge before… I wonder what it does,>” he said, motioning to the device.

Coprhish outstretched a claw and pressed the lever on the left. The hole above the lever, on the fridge, emitted a gentle trickle of water. The liquid dampened his claw and he became very pleased.

“<Aww, it’s water!>” Corphish stated happily. He merrily splashed Daedalus, who waited below. The Taillow shook off the water and flew up beside him.

“<Great, but what does the other one do?>” he asked, nudging Corphish with his wing.

Corphish reached with his claw and pressed the other button, holding it down. A terrifying mechanical humming came from the button. It sounded almost like a Sceptile blowing its nose for a long time. They jumped back but Corphish still kept his claw on the lever. From the hole, out shot semi-circle blocks of ice, which barraged the two unsuspecting pokemon. They let out shocked cries as they fell from the chair and onto the white tile.

“<It knows blizzard! Get it!>” Corphish yelled in fear and anger. He opened his pincer and unleashed a volley of clear bubbles, which hit the levers. As a result of being hit, the machine spat out more ice. The blocks hit Daedalus who was righting himself on the floor.

“<You jackass!>” Corphish yelled at the inanimate device, unleashing more bubbles at the fridge.

Jeff, who still stood in the hallway, broke a grin at the antics. He chose not to intervene since they would probably tire themselves out soon.

Jeff sensed movement behind him. A shadow moved over his body. He turned to move but he couldn’t react in time. He felt something like a hammer hit the back of his closely planted knees. His legs buckled and he fell to his knee caps with a cry. His right, freshly relocated kneecap filled with pain. The knees impacted the hardwood floor but before he could retaliate Jeff felt another blunt blow in his spine. He fell to his stomach and something hard began to crush his left hand, while something else grabbed his right hand and pulled it behind his back. His left hand was pulled behind his back to meet his right hand and the same thing that crushed his left began to press on both hands.

“Eerrrrgh,” Jeff snarled.

“Hit,” said a smooth voice.

“What?” he asked the clenched teeth.

“Hitmonlee monlee,” replied the familiar tone.

The pressure on his hands was taken off. He rolled over to find the brown, long-legged body of Hitmonlee standing over him, grinning. The brown pokemon outstretched a hand to help Jeff up. He returned the grin and took his hand.

Corphish and Daedalus rushed into the hallway to see what the commotion was about. Corppy pointed his opened claw at Hitmonlee as Daedalus stepped forwards.

“<Who the hell are you and what did you do to Jeff?!>” trilled the bird, threateningly.

Hitmonlee glared at the bird and stepped forwards.

“It’s ok, guys. I know Hitmonlee. He’s with me!” Jeff explained, still holding onto Hitmonlee’s hand.

With a large jerk of his arm, the kicking pokemon pulled Jeff to his feet. The human stepped between Daedalus and Hitmonlee to prevent a possible clash between the two. Hitmonlee looked at Jeff and grinned contently.

“<It’s nice to see you again, Jeff,>” the brown pokemon told him.

“It’s nice to see you too, Hitmonlee,” replied Jeff.

Daedalus and Corphish’s jaws dropped in shock. Jeff looked at them blankly. He then realized why the duo was staring at him so oddly.

“I’m sorry to get your hopes up, but I still can’t understand you guys. I’ve been living with Hitmonlee for so long that I can understand him through his tone of voice and his body gestures… I can’t actually understand his words. He’s part of the family.”

Their heads sunk in disappointment.

“Oh yeah… Hitmonlee? This is Corppy and this is Daedalus. And this is obviously Hitmonlee.”

“<And the Onix snoozing in our driveway?>”

“That’s Onix… he’s with us.”

“<His name is actually Atlas… but Jeff doesn’t know that,>” Daedalus informed him.

“<He knows YOUR name! How did he manage that?>” Hitmonlee asked the Taillow, imposingly.

“<It’s kind of a long story…>” Daedalus explained.

“Tyr…err… Hitmonlee? Can I talk to you upstairs privately?”

The Hitmonlee nodded and followed Jeff up the stairs to the right of the doorway. Daedalus and Corphish followed, curious of this ‘upstairs’.

“I see that your blunt sense of humor hasn’t changed,” said Jeff through a grin, rubbing his hurt hands.

“<I couldn’t resist,>” laughed Hitmonlee.

They reached the top of the stairs. Jeff and the fighting pokemon walked into the pseudo fighting dojo where they always practiced martial arts. Corphish and Daedalus, however, wandered into Jeff’s room. The two in the hardwood gym sat against the wall beside a new punching bag in the corner. Jeff lightly pushed it, causing it to swing like a pendulum.

“<It’s been pretty lonely sparring by myself…>” Hitmonlee explained with a solemn smirk.

“Sorry… I can imagine how you feel…” answered Jeff in apology.

“<It’s not your fault. Arceus, Jeff, you apologize too much! If a tree falls in the forest you can’t say you were responsible because you weren’t there to prop it back up!>”

“I… don’t know…” Jeff mumbled. “Hitmonlee, I have a strange question…”

“<Shoot.>”

“How…do you eat… and talk?” awkwardly asked Jeff.

Hitmonlee took a half full bottle of water from beside him and brought it to his face. He tipped it to where one would think his mouth would be. Jeff expected water to pour down his front and was shocked when that didn’t happen. The water went from the bottle to his face before seemingly evaporating on impact. Jeff was left speechless.

“<What? Didn’t you pay attention during your pokemon biology class? I have really fine pores in that area of my face. It’s called diffusion… ring any bells, college boy?>” he taunted, despite the fact that Jeff was not in college.

“That was amazing, Hit,” Jeff gaped. “Can you do that with solid food, too?”

He nodded. “<The food turns into particles on impact with the pores and goes into my stomach.>”

“That’s so cool… you talk the same way… through your pores or whatever, I mean?”

“<No! I talk with my feet!>” Hitmonlee grinned, bringing a foot and his sharp toes to Jeff’s neck, kidding his friend.

“I could tell by the heartwarming greeting you gave me! Y’almost dislocated my knee again!” Jeff tried to smile, hitting the foot away from his neck. “That reminds me… how’s Bayleef doing? She like your new form?” Jeff asked, ribbing the fighting type with a playful punch to the waist. Hitmonlee visibly blushed and returned a shove, although it was much harder, knocking Jeff to the wooden floor. Hitmonlee felt a bit guilty for hitting Jeff so hard, so he helped him back upright.

“<Bay’s doing fine… I guess… I… don’t know if she likes it or not… So… a Taillow, a Corphish, and an Onix! Not bad for your first week as a trainer!>” complimented the kicking pokemon.

“That’s the thing… ” Jeff began.

“<Hey, what happened to the little green ass?>” interrupted Hitmonlee.

Jeff went silent and turned his head away. Hitmonlee felt a great stone burden his heart from guilt.

“<Oh Arceus… Jeff… I’m so sorry… how did he die?>” he asked sympathetically, although jumping to conclusions.

“No no! He didn’t die… I don’t think… please Arceus, no…” Jeff answered, his voice gradually getting softer.

“<Then what happened?!>”

“I’ll tell you… but there’s something else I need to tell you, too.”

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Corphish and Daedalus walked around Jeff’s room, admiring all of the different things. The Taillow flew up onto Jeff’s bed, followed by Corphish, who clawed his way up the sheets. The ruffian pokemon eyed the movie posters which feature the black-grey, dog-like Mightyena and the Grovyle, who instantly reminded him of Treecko.

“<Those were both great movies… Nychus… that Grovyle… reminds me of… nevermind.>”

Corphish collapsed on the soft, cotton sheets of the mattress. He began to roll about them, semi-contently.

“<THIS reminds me of him…>” Daedalus said, pecking at a life-sized Treecko plush toy that he found sitting on the bed.

“<Hmm… the eyes and cheeks are ALL wrong!>” Corphish stated, examining the Treecko.

“<He must really admire Treeckos,>” thought Daedalus out loud, nudging the plush toy over on the bed.

“<Yeah… he does… >” Corphish muttered, withholding something.

“<He’s probably taking Treecko’s leaving harder than we thought.>”

“<Um… right. Because he wanted to get Treecko back SO badly that he came home instead of looking for him.>”

“<It just doesn’t seem like Jeff would let this go so easily… do you really think he gave up and let it be?>”

“<You know what, Featherhead? I think he has.>”

“<You remember how hard he took it when Treecko left temporarily! You’d think he’d at least be the same way when Treeck left for real… but he’s hardly showing anything at all!>”

“<I don’t know… but what I DO know is that THIS bed is really soft!>” pointed out Corphish, sprawling on the neat covers. Daedalus flew over to the window and peered out. He looked down upon the driveway where Atlas was waking up from a deserved nap. The rock snake pokemon yawned, causing the windows to tremble.

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Jeff finished telling Hitmonlee what had happened. He recapped the story with surprising apathy. The kicking pokemon felt very badly for his friend and anger coursed through him when thinking about the Treecko who abandoned Jeff.

“<That jackass…>” Hitmonlee muttered. “<Don’t worry, Jeff… we’re better off without him anyways.>”

“…If only that were true.”

“<You know it’s true, pal! He’s a selfish, arrogant prick who only thinks about what’s in his best interests! He left you, so why should YOU feel bad?!>”

“He was my… one of my best friends, Hitmonlee! I had to have done SOMETHING!” Jeff insisted with heavy woe bearing down on him.

“<I’M your best friend, Jeff! Trust me… he’s not worth what you’re putting yourself through!>”

Jeff let out a deep sigh and paused.

“I’ve decided to stop trying to be a trainer.”

The fighting pokemon gaped at Jeff for a moment.

“<You can’t be serious! Not because of this!>”

“No, not just because of this…” Jeff explained with an uncaring monotone tenor. “Ever since I started becoming a confident trainer, it all went to hell! Kristie was with Alan. I couldn’t command my pokemon or even myself! I didn’t even win my first gym battle on my own, Treecko bailed me out! Then our plan with that Nidoking went to crap. I hit my own pokemon for Arceus’ sakes! I’m surprised they ALL didn’t leave when I did that! I can’t even get my own starting pokemon to stay with me.”

Hitmonlee was going to protest but Jeff stood up before he had a chance to. Without a word, he limped to the door of the hardwood dojo.

“I’ve got to go break it to my pokemon.”

“<Oh yeah?! THEN what are you going to do with them?>” Hitmonlee shot at him, getting up to follow Jeff.

“Then they can finally go home. They’ll no longer be mine,” he replied.

In frustration, Hitmonlee spun around and kicked the punching bag with such force that it swung up and hit the ceiling before coming back down and dangled around in circles.

“<DAMNIT, JEFF!>” he yelled with a significantly raised voice, stopping Jeff in his tracks. “<I know you think that if you do this you’ll be able to start over from before you left for the lab to get that Treecko, BUT YOU WON’T! I’ll still be a Hitmonlee, Kristie will still be with Alan, Treecko will still be gone for good, you’ll still have three pokemon to take care of, and you’ll still be a pokemon trainer!>”

Jeff turned and locked his green eyes with his friend in a cold stare. Hitmonlee glared back, not budging an inch. He needed to prove his point… for Jeff’s sake. The glare-off kept for several seconds.

“<Let it go, Jeff…>” the arrogant kicking pokemon ordered, brown eyes still fixated on the human’s.

Jeff turned to leave to his room, followed by Hitmonlee. They crossed the blue carpeted hallway and walked into Jeff’s spacious room. He threw his backpack down my the bed, as it was quite heavy. Corphish and Daedalus were nested on the bed, the sun warming their backs from the window behind them. Daedalus was sneaking something into Jeff’s backpack, but the human took no notice of it.

“Guys… I need to talk to you. Can you wake up Onix so…” Jeff was interrupted by Hitmonlee forcefully pulling back on his arm.

“<Jeff, don’t do this!>”

Jeff yanked his arm from Hitmonlee’s grasp. Meanwhile, Corphish threw Jeff’s alarm clock down at Atlas to wake him from his deserved nap. The clock let out a final ‘PIDGEO’ before exploding in wood, gears, springs, and wings. Atlas woke up with a sharp snort and looked up at the apparent assailant.

“<Hey, Atlas! Get up here for a group meeting before I start bringing out the sexual innuendo insults!>” Corphish called from the window. The rock serpent grumbled and brought his head to level with the second story window over looking the driveway.

“Ok, guys… this is hard for me to say so I’ll just say it!”

The pokemon leaned in with a bit of worry and curiosity.

“I’ve decided to stop trying to become a pokemon trainer. You guys can leave if you want.”

Following the bold words were a barrage of comments and protests.

Corphish’s cries were the most noticeable and obnoxious, although Jeff still could not decipher them. “<Could that idea BE any stupider?! Get a hold of yourself, Jeff!>”

Atlas also let out a frustrated rumble of frustration, causing loose items on Jeff’s end table and desk to fall over. “<How am I supposed to get to Dewford?! He can’t leave me, too!>”

Much to Hitmonlee’s surprise, Daedalus smiled, closed his eyes and nodded. The smile said, “<I’m proud of you, Jeff,>” but his eyes had a burdened longing in them. The flying type’s head sunk but the smile in his beak remained. It was as if he felt like he failed them.

Jeff honestly was happy that he couldn’t hear the rantings and insults of his pokemon at this point. It made the decision so much more easy. Although he still got the main idea of what the collective protest was.

“Enough you guys… I made up my mind!” This shut the pokemon’s traps. “I’m going to the lab to return my pokedex and pokeballs… I’ll meet you guys downstairs,” ordered Jeff in a flustered mumble.

The trio indignantly marched downstairs, while Atlas simply lowered his rocky head from the window to down by the front door. Jeff picked up his backpack again and walked over to his desk underneath the two posters. He looked at the many items knocked over by the growl of Atlas. One of the many articles was a face down picture. He tipped up the picture and placed it in both of his hands. It was a photograph of his brother, Keanu, and the Treecko, Sawyer. Both who he greatly admired.

I’m sorry… I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t be like you…” Jeff thought back to what he had said the day that those two left. He vowed that nothing would drive him and his own Treecko apart. “I let you down… I couldn’t keep my promise.

With that, he gently and carefully placed the photograph to its original upright position on the desk. Jeff hobbled out of the room, his foot and quadricep wounds still giving his right leg grief. He turned left to go down the stairs after his pokemon. He saw them angrily waiting in the porch, talking about what was probably Jeff’s decision. Jeff walked into the hallway and turned to face them.

All of a sudden he heard a sweet voice behind him.

“<Jeff?!>” asked the soothing, feminine voice.

The person in question turned around to see Bayleef standing in the hallway. She twirled the leaf on her head around in delight.

“Bayleef!” Jeff greeted in return.

The green sauropod ran towards the human. Upon reaching Jeff, she reared her forelegs up onto Jeff’s quadriceps and released two vines from her leafy necklace which wrapped around his waist in a hugging fashion. He smiled and bent down to reprise the action. After a moment, they released each other from the mutual bond.

“<It’s nice to see you again!>”

“Thanks, Bay.” Like Hitmonlee, Bayleef could be understood by Jeff since they had been around each other for so long. It was through their motions and tone that this relatively lucky skill was established. Jeff had still wished that he actually knew what they were saying, though.

Bayleef looked around Jeff to see the three pokemon in the porch. She noticed that the original team member was listening.

“<Where’s Treecko?>” she asked eagerly.

Upon that question, Hitmonlee furiously scowled at no one in particular and subconsciously kicked a propped up umbrella, immediately snapping it in half. Everyone turned their heads to the enraged fighting pokemon.

With a cold, unrepentant tenor, he answered, “<… My bad.>”

Jeff turned his head, back to face the hopeful Bayleef. He paused and looked deeply into her red eyes.

“<He’s gone.>”

He watched her smile instantaneously fade into a broken frown. The red eyes began to ripple as tears started to flood them. Jeff turned away and opened the front door to leave. The distressed Bayleef bounded up the stairs away from them.

Hitmonlee reached out his rather stubby arm to try to go after her, but he also noticed that Jeff and his pokemon had already made it down the walkway and onto the sidewalk. Torn between which he should go after, he took his own oath and he let his feet do the talking. They were jumping down the front steps and running after Jeff before his friend made a huge mistake.

Hitmonlee’s powerful legs caught him up to the Taillow, Corphish, human, and the Onix, whose back they were all sitting upon, in no time at all.

“<You can’t stop becoming a trainer, Jeff! We’ve all talked and your pokemon don’t want to go home… they’ve moved on… why can’t you? And what about all of our training for those years?!>”

“Arceus, Hit, I’m not having this conversation with you again! My mind’s made up!” Jeff retorted, as stubborn as a Tauros.

They neared the largest structure in town… Birch’s lab, which seconded as a classroom. The walls of the building’s exterior were a clean white color. The paint wasn’t even peeling from the sides; it was like it was brand new. Atlas slithered in front of the spotless glass doors and the three dismounted and landed beside Hitmonlee. Atlas then moved away from the entrance and curled up on the grassy path to the left of the large edifice. Jeff opened the glass door and held it open for Daedalus, Corphish, and Hitmonlee.

Inside the spacious, but this time, clean room were many shelves containing text books and biological encyclopedias. Essays were crammed between the books, but were done so in a tidy, organized fashion. There was a video-phone in the left corner of the machine-laden room. The devices looked like they were used for physical and internal research of pokemon; Jeff had only seen a few of them in action. In the far right side of the room was Professor Birch’s desk, but he was not at it. Instead, he was at the farthest end of the room next to a pedestal with three pokeballs on it. Beside him was a kid who looked like he was in his early teens.

Just as the door behind Jeff closed, the kid picked up a pokeball and held it against his red shirt before beginning to place it in his tattered, blue jeans. When the door clicked shut, creating a loud echo around the spacious room, Professor Birch and the guy turned around.

“Jeff! I was hoping I could have a chat with you… come on over here!” Professor Birch called out warmly.

Jeff nodded and walked over to the two, followed by his pokemon. The teen walked up to him and outstretched a hand. He shook the guy’s hand and introduced himself, “I’m Jeff.”

“Hey, I’m Sam,” he replied. “That’s a lot of cool pokemon you have there! You must be a pokemon trainer, too… I just became one.”

Jeff shifted in his spot, uncomfortably. “Well, I am for about four more minutes…” he answered softly so Professor Birch wouldn’t immediately hear.

“You’re quitting? Before you do, can we have a battle? It’d kinda be my first battle and your last battle,” Sam asked, hopefully.

“I guess that’d be ok… I have to talk to the professor first, though,” replied Jeff.

Hitmonlee grabbed Jeff’s arm once more, saying, “<Please, Jeff… Treecko isn’t worth giving up all of your work.>”

He kneeled down to Hitmonlee’s level and whispered in his ear boldly, “As long as I keep thinking of and remembering what I did to Treecko… I can never be a pokemon trainer. And the memories and guilt aren’t leaving any time soon…”

He pulled his arm away from the kicking pokemon and walked up to Professor Birch. Hitmonlee sighed and walked towards the table with the two remaining pokeballs.

“So, Jeff! Wow, an Onix! How did you manage to pull that one off?” Professor Birch asked with a large grin.

“I find me asking myself that same question…” Jeff half-grinned and began to open his mouth but was interrupted.

“That’s a fine Taillow you have there, too! His forked, tail feathers are notably longer than the average Taillow. That’s a large plus when it comes to mating season.”

Jeff tried to open his mouth again but had his words stolen, again.

“Say, I don’t see Treecko… where is the green little troublemaker, anyways?”

Jeff’s heart sunk deeper. He dodged the question like a live grenade. He decided he would blurt out what he was going to say before being interrupted again.

“I’m qui…”

“<HEY JEFF!>”

“WHAT? WHAT HITMONLEE?!” Jeff yelled in frustration at the pokemon over by the two pedestals. The other humans and pokemon sweat dropped.

“<I think you should battle that kid. He seems really antsy to start his journey!>”

Annoyed, Jeff ignored him and turned back to the professor.

“<Battle him or I’ll tell the other pokemon about your… ‘first’ pokemon…>”

Jeff’s entire body froze. He managed to creak his head to face Hitmonlee. Stunned, he gazed into his eyes to see if he was serious. Even if it was a bluff, Jeff didn’t want to take the chance. “This’ll have to wait, Professor… Hey Sam! Battle time!”

“Actually, wait!” The Professor budged between the two humans, passively. “I kind of just cleaned my lab and I don’t want bubbles or anything messing up my freshly finished essays. Also, Sam? I think you should get to know your pokemon a little first before throwing him straight into a battle! The better you two know each other the better you two will get along both on and off the field!”

Sam nodded in agreement. Jeff fell back into his maze of thoughts before the professor nudged him with the words, “Is that ok, Jeff?”

“Uhh… yeah, suits me fine,” he answered.

“But, Jeff, aren’t you…” Sam started to ask but was cut off.

“Professor, I’m…” Jeff interrupted but was disrupted, himself.

Professor Birch had barged into the sentence. “Jeff! Can I ask you a favor?”

He bit his inner lip in frustration but nodded, as he wanted to be polite for the teacher who he admired.

“Great! Being an accomplished trainer, can you come into my class tomorrow and explain to some of my students what your journey has been like so far as a trainer and how you and your pokemon are getting along? They would be honored to hear what you have to say,” asked Birch.

Jeff laughed out loud at the apparent irony before uncomfortably shifting around.

Fate is out to get me,” he thought with a defeated laugh. “…I guess that would be ok,” he finally replied with uncertainty.

“Great! Thanks, Jeff! I owe you one!”

I owe you one.’

The words cut through Jeff like a lance. The reminiscences of saving and being saved by Treecko pervaded his thoughts, high-jacking them. He began to wonder if his former green friend needed to be saved right now. Jeff awoke from the contemplation when he noticed he was blankly staring into oblivion.

“Uh…yeah. Sure. No problem,” he replied, a bit hazed.

“Great, I’ll see you tomorrow! I’m going to lock up the lab now, the sun is setting…” Professor Birch said, merrily.

Jeff, Sam, and the pokemon walked out of the lab, the bright lights being turned off darkening the room behind them. Outside was now a sharp dark blue which the ground was shaded. The sun had departed to their right, shining only a few streams of orange across the blue.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” said Sam, unable to take his eyes off of the sleeping, rock snake giant.

Jeff tilted his head in confusion. “But you got your first pokemon today,” he pointed out.

“I’m not leaving for another three weeks at the end of the semester… so I’m excited to see what you have to say tomorrow,” Sam answered, beginning to walk away from them. Without turning his back, he said, “It looks like you’re still a trainer…”

Jeff returned the slumbering Atlas to his pokeball and gathered his pokemon around him.

“…‘still’?”

They began to walk down the long road, south to Jeff’s house. The night humidity burdened on their bodies.

“…never.”

-----------------------------------------------------

Sorry for the lack of action this chapter. I had to make last minute compromises and will make up for it next chapter.

I promise the fic will be more upbeat in the future! xP

Astinus October 27th, 2007 9:00 PM

Character-development! *.* I love it! And Jeff caught an Onix, one of my favorite Pokemon. I enjoyed this (long) chapter a lot.

And it just wouldn't be a review from me without some grammar spots. *hides under desk*

Quote:

I made eye contact with the yellow eyes lizard before the door created a sight barrier between us.
"yellow-eyed"

Quote:

Jeff tried to look around the weird rock and found out that attached to the boulder was more boulders.
"were more boulders"

Just as a general note, to make the possessive of a name ending in s, you add apostrophe-s. So it would be Atlas's.

Quote:

“<Just because I don’t eat Corphish’s now doesn’t mean I can’t start,>” Atlas threatened, good-naturedly.
Don't need the apostrophe here.

Quote:

He threw his backpack down my the bed, as it was quite heavy.
"by"

That's it. Like I said, I enjoyed this chapter, and am looking forward for more.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) November 2nd, 2007 7:23 PM

Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked it. :D

I also dramatically revamped Chapter 4. I rewrote most of it and most of it is from Treecko's POV.

Careful With That Axe, Pichu! November 2nd, 2007 7:28 PM

(a bit late...)
This is now October's Fan Fiction of the month! Congrats!

Grovyle42(Griff8416) November 3rd, 2007 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oni Pichu (Post 3042368)
(a bit late...)
This is now October's Fan Fiction of the month! Congrats!

Thanks! I'm not sure if I deserve this but still, thanks for the honour. ;)
There's a hurricane tonight so my next chapter may be delayed a bit.

Alter Ego November 9th, 2007 11:06 AM

Aaagh, so many chapters since when I last read this. o.o Hanako already covered most of the grammar, so this is going to be more of a review of subjective ramblings. One thing that struck me, though:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 3024380)
Atlas also let out a frustrated rumble of frustration, causing loose items on Jeff’s end table and desk to fall over. “<How am I supposed to get to Dewford?! He can’t leave me, too!>”

That's tautology. Just go with one of the underlined words and delete the other. I didn't spot anything about this amongst the reviews you've already gotten, so I thought I'd point it out.

Anyways, going by chapter:

Chapter 7:

Jeff is really starting to develop...issues. o.o The whole battling angst is a nice added twist and Treecko's loner attitude is very clear here, especially when he gets caged up with Corpish. And speaking of Corpish...gawd, I love those little lines of his. *snicker* Salad ass...and that's just the tip of the iceberg. 'Give us freedom...' was fun too. xD Overall, some much-needed lightening to an otherwise pretty dark chapter. One thing that struck me, though: how can a Nidoking set up snares with those clumsy claws it has? You'd think that even picking up a piece of rope would be hard with those. o.O Oh well, he's probably just very dexterous for his species. Oh, and just a small point:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 3024380)
Treecko briefly opened his eyes. He found himself lying next to an unconscious Corphish; both were being dragged in a net over the ground and through the forest. The pain in his head worsened as they went along. He looked up and saw a large, purple blur clutching the net. He weakly tried to resist but then a small rock, lying on the path, collided with his head. A searing pain in Treecko’s head caused him to fall back into unconsciousness.

Having this as it's own part seems sort of odd and could really have been worked onto the end of the part where Treecko and Corpish are stuck in their respective traps by having Treecko remain conscious for a brief moment after the blow before the rock kicks in. *Shrug* It's not a make or break thing, just something that struck me when I was reading. :3 Anyways, love the Nidoking's whole paranoid dictator attitude, and...I hope we'll be seeing Chad later on? I want to know what his thing for helping out Jeff's attitude is all about.

Chapter 8:

Blane = the biggest jerk ever. >.< Seriously, good job on making a character unlikable without resorting to the 'I do bad things because I'm a bad guy' cliche. Also, very good point about the anime phrases (And let's face it, I just love it when people take a jab at Satoshi's method). That potion scene is like something straight from the games, way to go making me feel all guilty about my league debut in Ruby. xP

That aside, I was expecting a bit...well, more of the gym battle. Seeing as how Roxanne is one of those 'battle with knowledge' types, her strategies seemed a bit too singular, particularly with the Geodude. I was also surprised that you decided against including her signature Nosepass, but I guess that's Roxanne taking it easy on Jeff? *Shrug* The rest of the chapter was pure awesome, though. Jeff's self-confidence is taking a turn for the worse again, I see. It's also interesting how much more strained the relationship between Treecko and Jeff is here compared to the start of the fanfic. Sort of like the "new pokemon" discipline issues in reverse. x3

Chapter 9:

Very emotional chapter here and it also highlights the big weakness in Treecko's and Jeff's friendship; both are too freakin' stubborn to back down from an argument. Also, I just love how Corpish and Daedalus dragged Treecko back; now that is real friendship. ;3 Overall, it was just very touching all around. The perspective change is also nice for a glance into Treecko's mind. Very good call on having Jeff lose his ability to understand pokemon speech at the end; it really adds a dramatic finish to that episode. Nice to see one of Daedalus' friends too. All things said, there's a lot of good character development going on here. Good one. ^^

Chapter 10:

And just when I thought this fic couldn't get more touchy than the previous chapter this comes around. Honestly, this was a tear-in-the-eye case for me. You can really feel the way Treecko's situation is spiraling out of control here and the decision to go their separate ways at the end really appealed to me. Dunno', I found this more gripping than number nine, actually. Excellent ending, and poor Jeff. Not only does he keep getting mauled, he lost his best friend too (temporarily, anyway). Knowing his tendency for self-blame, that won't go over well for him. D= And yes, seconding the props for the creepy Chansey. I just love it when pokemon are taken away from their stereotypical personalities and made into something completely different. ^^

Chapter 11:

See the comment on Chansey above and you'll probably guess that I love the gentle giant personality you gave Atlas. He's sort of very calm and considerate, but at the same time he doesn't seem to like showing weakness, given the whole scar thing. And I have to admit that the less-than-glorious return home wasn't something I expected, which is definitely a good thing given the genre. Hitmonlee is certainly still himself, though I'm lightly surprise that he isn't more concerned about Jeff's new pokemon given his hostility for Treecko. I take it he thinks that they don't have the same kind of friendship and thus doesn't see them as a threat? Regardless, Jeff's decision to stop being a trainer is understandable. (Though as a subjective reader I had the urge to tell him to stop angsting like he's the only one with problems and show a little love for his other pokemon. >.<) Even with Jeff's problems, I still think that this chapter was a fair bit more upbeat than the ones preceding it. Daedalus' (and to a lesser degree Corpish') confusion about human dwellings was good comic relief. But yeah, as much as I love the angst Jeff does deserve a break at some point. I'll be looking forward to the more upbeat chapters, then. ^0^


Overall, I have to say that the title of 'Fan Fiction of the month' is well deserved here. You've taken largely the same basic events as many other OT fanfictions have and turned them into something unique, courtesy of your characters. Awesome work. (I mean come on, if I have this little to whine about you know that it's got to be awesome, right?) So yeah, you're going to have to excuse me if I have mostly praise to give. As an RPer, I just can't help being moved at the sight of such well-developed characters. :3

Scytheteen November 11th, 2007 8:53 AM

As of today, I've only gotten around to reading the prologue and chapter one, but I must say, they are superb. Only one thing, your character seems a little too much of a Gary-Stu. I'm not sure, but it seems like he is just an all around perfect person. But thats just me. I'll get around to chapter two and three later today...

Grovyle42(Griff8416) November 11th, 2007 9:37 AM

Thanks, Scythe, the Gary Stuness should fade away soon, I think.

Alter Ego, I'll give you a proper review response later today. :P

Here's Chapter...the next chapter!!!


Home is Where the Heart Is

Jeff, Hitmonlee, Daedalus, and Corphish walked into the dark house. There was a gloomy aura accompanying the lightless abyss of the home. There was an eerie silence with the exception of one discouraging noise: a feminine sobbing of a pokemon coming from upstairs. Much to Jeff’s surprise, there was still no one home to tend to either the darkness or the cries. He decided to flick on the light. A blinding flash of fluorescent beams temporarily impaired their vision.

“<I’d better get that,>” Hitmonlee said, gesturing to the noise.

“Should I come?” asked the worried human.

“<You’re in no situation to be comforting anyone… comfort YOURSELF and then you can help!>” the kick boxer-like pokemon answered, angrily. “<And go have a shower… you smell awful.>”

Jeff was taken aback by his friends anger.

“<THANK YOU! I’ve been trying to get him to for the past two days!>” Corphish chuckled.

Hitmonlee walked upstairs and they heard a door shut.

Jeff cleared his throat. “You guys can do whatever you want; I’m going to go have that shower.” He walked up the stairs and entered the second floor hallway. He opened the door which was right next to his room on the far side. Jeff flicked on a blinding fluorescent light and took a dark green towel from the basket of clean laundry which he slung over the towel rack. He undressed himself before stepping into the spacious shower. Jeff turned on the tap and the nozzle released multiple jets of extremely hot water, which was just the way he liked his showers. The warm water hit his back, creating hot steam on impact.

He grabbed a bottle of Dial body wash in an attempt to cleanse himself of the dirt and mud which was really stuck on. The pressurized water attempted to pry the dried blood from his body, but it stubbornly clung to his wounds. The hot jets stung his gash of a leg wound, as well as the sole of his foot. The painfully hot temperature was very soothing once he got used to it. Jeff began to think as the warmth relaxed his mind.

Maybe Hitmonlee’s right… maybe you SHOULD grow up. It’s so hard… but you’re a mature guy… you can get past this. Give it a try… Try being more cheerful tomorrow. All you’re doing is dragging your friends down. You still don’t have to be a trainer, though. Just go into the class, tell them about your journey, show them your pokemon, and answer any questions. It’ll be a piece of cake… you can prove Hitmonlee wrong. Think of this realistically… what good is being upset doing you? Exactly! So just buck up for at least tonight and tomorrow and we’ll see what happens from there! Ok? Ok! Ok, then! …Ok.”

The water was really helping his mood.

If only you had a hot shower right after you dealt with Nidoking… or right after you found out about Kristie and Alan. That would have made things so much easier on everyone… NO! Snap out of it, Jeff! You’re not a whiny, weak quitter, are you?! Yes, you are. NO YOU’RE NOT! Promise to cheer up!” Jeff pledged after trying to quell his two conflicting mindsets. He knew he wanted the optimistic one to win, but the ball and chain of the repenting thoughts still weighed the other down. “Come on, Jeff…

He winced as he rubbed the anti-bacterial body wash into his leg wound.

“I’m surprised that it’s not infected… who knows what that Seviper killed with it?” Jeff muttered, inspecting the deep gash which was only a little red around the edges.

He pushed in the tap of the shower and the water ceased. The steam filled bathroom made it almost impossible to see where his towel was. Jeff walked out of the shower, his hand outstretched, and he managed to find the towel, which he wrapped around his waist. He opened the bathroom door and steam flooded into the hallway. Jeff fully opened the door to see Hitmonlee walking to a stop in front of the door.

Uncomfortable that he was in only a towel, Jeff awkwardly asked, “Hey… What’s up?”

Hitmonlee scratched his head. “<I talked to Bayleef; I told her that Treecko only ran off. Your great choice of words made it seem like he was dead. She’s still pretty upset. Did you disinfect your leg?>” he asked, pointing to the cut.

“I put anti bacterial soap on i…”

“<Not good enough. Are you going to put disinfectant on it or do you want me to?>”

“Fine… but interrupt me again and I’ll punch you in where ever it is your that mouth is!” Jeff threatened with a friendly grin.

Hitmonlee chuckled before turning right. Jeff turned left to go to his room but Hitmonlee grabbed his arm.

“Can’t I get some clothes first?” asked Jeff, confused.

Hitmonlee shook his head. “<Bayleef is in there, she’ll probably want to talk to you.>”

“Fine,” Jeff reluctantly agreed, walking towards his parent’s bedroom.

“<I don’t see why humans wear clothes anyways.>”

“It’s because we’re ashamed and we almost always have the undeniable need to fit in,” Jeff informed, grinning.

They walked into the bedroom and sat on the bed. Jeff took out a med-kit that was stashed in the end table. He opened it and took out a spray bottle. As he began to spray the yellow-green liquid on his leg, in a grimace, he said, “I’ve decided to take your advice, Hitmonlee. I’m going to take care of myself.”

“<So you’re still a trainer?>”

Jeff avoided the question. “…I dunno yet.”

“<I need you to promise me something…>” Hitmonlee spoke up. Jeff nodded in agreement. “<Promise you won’t go after Treecko… >”

He was left surprised and speechless.

“<No good can come from it. He’ll only drag you back down the hell hole you’re climbing out of! …Promise?>”

Jeff didn’t make eye contact, but he gave a quick nod. He finished bandaging his wound and walked out of his parent’s room, still wearing a towel. He walked down the hallway, leaving wet footprints with each step. Jeff opened the door to his room and stepped inside. Bayleef was lying on his bed, looking up at the poster of the green-bodied Grovyle.

Annoyed at still being unable to change into clothes, Jeff walked over to his bed and sat beside her. He put an arm around her long, leafy neck in comfort.

“Are you ok, Bay?” Jeff asked warmly.

“<Not… really,>” she answered. “<I don’t understand; why did he go?>”

“Well I… we… had a disagreement and things kind of were different ever since,” Jeff explained.

“<So this is your fault?>” she asked accusingly.

“Ye…” Jeff’s tongue held the ‘y’ before he stopped himself. “No, it’s… no! It was no one’s fault… it just kind of happened.”

Unsatisfied with the answer, Bayleef placed her head in the ruffled folds of the sheets. She looked up at Jeff with a question.

“<Promise you’ll bring him back? Please find him and get him back… I think you owe it to him,>” persuaded Bayleef.

Jeff paused. What was he to do? He had already promised that he WOULDN’T do just that! He gave a quick nod, just as he had done earlier. He would sort it out later.

“<Thank you…>” she replied. Bayleef placed her head on the pillow and began to fall quickly asleep. Seizing the chance, Jeff took a handful of clothes from his dresser and ran out into the hallway. He looked into the gym room and saw Hitmonlee kicking the punching bag.

“Hey, Hit, where’s Mom and Dad? I thought they’d be home by now.”

“<Away…>” Hitmonlee grunted between kicks.

“For how long?”

Hitmonlee shrugged and landed another powerful blow on the suspended bag.

“Are you guys eating alright?” Jeff asked, concerned.

He didn’t answer; he just kept kicking the bag in a state of concentration. Jeff was impressed with the pokemon’s adroit footwork. He walked into the washroom and removed the towel in preparation for changing. He slipped on blue shorts and white Reebok shirt before staring in the still fogged up mirror.

“You ready for a fresh start?” he asked his reflection. Despite the fact that it was a rhetorical question, he still didn’t answer. “…Me neither, but too bad. It’s worth a try!”

Jeff walked into his hallway and turned to go to his room to sleep. To his surprise, Daedalus was asleep on the bed, near where Bayleef was snoozing.

“Where’s Corphish?” Jeff asked himself out loud.

“<Watching… ‘E! True Hollywood story’… on David Schwimmer… and then Matthew Perry… says he’ll be up… in two hours…>” Hitmonlee informed, not stopping his precise kicks to talk.

“Did you say TV? Doesn’t surprise me,” Jeff replied with a smile which astonished Hitmonlee, only because Jeff was grinning at all.

The weary human laid himself on the bed next to Bayleef and Daedalus. He carefully wedged himself between the warm bodies.

Well… it can’t hurt to try…”

Jeff closed his eyes and fell asleep almost instantaneously.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, his body clock woke him up at his usual time of awakening. Jeff looked down at his chest and saw Bayleef’s head resting on his stomach and Corphish snuggled up next to his side. He also took out Atlas’s pokeball and wondered how he slept.

Jeff was somewhat surprised when Daedalus flew through the window next to him with something in his beak, but was still too asleep to react. Daedalus circled around the room before flying onto the bed near Jeff’s feet, with a proud smirk. Much to the human’s disgust, Daedalus had the slimy, red and white bottom half of a Wurmple sticking out of his beak. He plumped down his prey on the sheets and began to contently tear away at the former bug type. Dae noticed that Jeff was eying his food, but he misinterpreted why. So Daedalus strutted over to Jeff and plumped the half on his chest, offering him the rest of the meal. His face went white, looking at the feast.

“Oh gross, Daedalus!” Jeff complained. “I appreciate the offer…but Wurmples aren’t my choice of meal… and do you really have to eat that here?”

“<I thought everyone ate where they slept! Crazy humans… think they’re too good for public eating,>” Daedalus retorted, offended.

Jeff realized he probably offended him so he apologized and allowed him to eat on the bed. He ignored the gore and looked upwards.

He thought, “I guess this is the day. Time to go into that class with a smile… or at least a forced grin… and teach those future kids what it’s like to be a trainer. Hopefully they’ll have better luck then I did… and step one, Jeff, is to NOT be so down on yourself, stupid. Wait… Corphish broke my alarm clock!” Jeff quickly sat up, immediately awakening Corphish and Bayleef.

“What time is it?!” he yelled.

Hitmonlee walked into the room and leaned against the doorway.

“<Time to get up and go,>” he ordered.

“Yes, Mom…” Jeff muttered, sitting up in bed. “Come on, you two. Let’s go show these kids how cool you are. You want to come, Bayleef?” Jeff asked the leaf pokemon.

She nodded, mildly interested. Immediately following the agreement, Hitmonlee piped up, “<I think I’ll come, too.>”

“Let’s go, then,” he said, getting off of his bed. Daedalus finished his last bite and then flew onto Jeff’s shoulder. Corphish leapt from the bed and clamped onto Jeff’s shirt. He made it up to the other shoulder where he held on tightly. Luckily for Jeff, his shirt didn’t rip this time. The two others followed their footsteps. Hitmonlee exchanged a glance with Bayleef but he then quickly turned back forwards.

They walked down the stairs, stopping at the front door. Jeff took a deep breath before opening it. They were met with the eastern sunlight blinding their eyes upon the door swinging open. Bayleef took in the bright light contently. The five walked down the hardwood steps and down to the concrete sidewalk. They crossed the street without the need to look both ways due to the lack of traffic. Jeff was admittedly nervous and he thought about what he was going to say.

Why did I agree to this again?” he wondered. “Oh well.”

With his thoughts, the walk to the lab seemed incredibly short as they were already at the unmistakable glass front door. Jeff looked to his right, facing east. Shielding the sun with a hand, he managed to make out the very familiar, open-field ranch where trainer’s pokemon could run around freely. All that he could make out from the end of the street was the occasional flying type circling over the rolling fields and ponds; most of the pokemon must have still been asleep.

Jeff took out Atlas’ pokeball and threw it onto the middle of the street. The titan emerged from the white flash with a massive roar. The glass on the door rumbled violently – Jeff held his breath as he was sure that the glass would shatter.

When it did no such thing, he sighed and instructed, “Ok, you guys go over to the ranch and hang out until we come out. That shouldn’t be too long from now. Hitmonlee, you’re in charge.”

“<Him?!>” Daedalus protested, hurt.

Jeff caught on to his offended squawk. “Sorry, Dae… Next time, for sure,” he said with a wink.

He and his pokemon went their separate ways and Jeff closed the door behind him.

Ok, you’re in the lab and now go to the southern-most door on the right since the other one leads to pokemon storage,” he told himself in his mind.

He walked past Birch’s studying desk and opened the large brown door. There it was: Professor Birch’s lecture hall. Desks were rowed so that they formed almost a semicircle. Like all lecture halls, there was stadium seating so that each seat behind the first rose a little more off the ground with each row. Only about half of the seats were filled up by the roughly twenty-three early teens. They were all either studying or chatting amongst themselves.

Professor Birch was standing at the front, reading through a clipboard. Jeff walked up to him.

“Hey, Professor, sorry if I’m late,” he apologized.

“No problem, Jeff. You just made it in time. I was busy going through a few of these student’s trainer applications,” explained the pokemon professor.

“Erm… what exactly… am I supposed to, well, say?” asked Jeff.

“Basically, just tell them what your journey has been like so far, take some questions, and then we’ll go outside to meet your pokemon.”

“You mean from when I got my starter to when I got back here?”

“Yup. In a nutshell, though,” Birch responded.

Jeff sighed. “Ok… let’s do this then.”

Birch nodded and spoke up, “Ok… listen up, class! Today we’re going to have a break from status afflictions and what to use to cure them, and we’re going to be having a guest speaker.”

Sighs of relief and high-fives erupted from the class.

“Today we’re going to have Jeff Growell, a pokemon trainer, as well as a former student of mine, who actually lives down the street, talk about what his journey as a pokemon trainer has been like so far. Afterwards we’re going to see some of the pokemon that he has caught.”

A flurry of positive reactions from the students followed.

“Jeff, the floor is yours,” Birch told him.

Jeff stood at the front of the class. He took the twig from his mouth and put in his pocket before clearing his throat.

“I’m Jeff Growell; some of you may know me. Anyways, I’m going to keep this pretty short and then give more details on the questions. I started my journey around a week ago. I got my first pokemon and I left the lab to go to Oldale Town. There I met… another trainer who was just starting out. We traveled to Petalburg City and on the way I caught my first pokemon. In Petalburg I met an old…friend, who I battled and… won… against. Then I went from there up through Petalburg Forest where I caught another pokemon. My pokemon won me my first gym battle. Then we went back near the forest and we ran into a Nidoking. Our plan went kind of awry but my starter pokemon bailed us out. After that… me and my other two pokemon went back to Petalburg. I caught my third pokemon and we decided to come back here…for a… short break. Yeah, we were, and still are, on a break… questions?”

A girl in a pink shirt raised her hand. “So YOU were that guy who they were talking about on the news who got rid of that Nidoking who stole those fossils?!”

“Well, I guess, but like I said, it was really my starter who deserves all the credit!”

Another pre-pubescent male’s voice rang out, “Who was your starter pokemon?”

“Erm, it was a Treecko,” replied Jeff.

“Why did you choose a Treecko? None of the trainers in the past year chose Treecko!” the same boy asked.

“Well Treecko is by far the coolest one!” Jeff said with a grin. The class seemed unsatisfied with the answer given.

“Ok… you want to know the truth? A year ago from the day I chose my first pokemon, I was attacked by a Scyther. Then a Treecko came to save me. A year later I found out that the Treecko Professor Birch had for a year was the same one. He escaped from the lab and I helped to save him from a Fearow. Then he agreed to be my starter,” Jeff explained, while at the same time dwelling on his words.

“That sounds pretty cool,” another boy said.

“Who was that trainer that you traveled with?” asked a girl with a raised hand.

Jeff opened his mouth to answer but found that his words were stolen and obstructed by Professor Birch, once again.

“Wasn’t it Kristie from your class, Jeff? Didn’t she used to hangout with your friend Alan? She took a Torchic, I remember,” chimed in the annoyingly observant professor.

“What happened to her after you guys got to Petalburg?” another kid questioned.

Jeff became incredibly flustered and uncomfortable. “I’ll answer anymore questions outside!” proclaimed Jeff, motioning for Professor Birch to give the go ahead to go outdoors. He nodded and told the class to follow Jeff and him to the ranch.

They poured out the alternate side door which led directly from the lab to the pokemon-friendly zone. Jeff walked ahead to his pokemon followed by the class and Birch.

“And here they are. Corphish, my first catch. Daedalus, my second catch. And Onix, my third,” Jeff explained as the kids gazed in awe at the five. “I didn’t actually catch Hitmonlee or Bayleef – they belong to my family and wanted to tag along.”

“Why did you nickname your Taillow Daedalus?” a girl asked.

“I didn’t nickname him - that’s his real name,” replied Jeff.

He received a few confused looks from the kids.

“How do you know what his name is?” a boy asked.

That was a long story which Jeff didn’t wish to discuss. He instead avoided the question and acknowledged a hand coming from near Onix.

“Yeah?” Jeff asked him.

“Where’s your Treecko? He’s not here!” replied the black-haired pre-teen with a question.

“Erm, he’s at my relatives… training,” Jeff clearly lied.

“Aren’t you supposed to not leave your starter?”

“Yeah, why would you do that?”

“Isn’t it best to train pokemon yourself so your bond grows bigger?”

The voices all chimed in at once, echoing around Jeff’s ears.

“Last question!” Jeff said, pretty much yelling. He found himself pointing at Sam.

“Can we have that battle now?”

It’s definitely a better option than more of these questions. Those cruel little bastards,” Jeff thought to himself.

“Sure, Sam.”

“<Is he serious?!>” Daedalus asked in shock.

“<Damn right he is!>” Hitmonlee replied with pride.

The crowd and pokemon formed a sideline in the grassland, giving the battlers enough room to move about freely without needing to worry about hitting the spectators. Jeff and Sam walked to opposite sides of the line and faced each other to create the center of the battlefield.

Jeff pondered, looking at his row of pokemon standing at the sidelines. “Hmm…who to pick? I don’t want to ask Dae to fight, seeing as he’d probably refuse anyways. Since I’m battling this guy’s starter, I can’t go with Onix since he’d obliterate him… I’m not even sure if he’s the battling type. I’m not sure Bayleef has ever even battled and Hitmonlee would probably take the battle too far… So that leaves me with…”

“Corppy, you’re up!” he decided.

Corphish literally jumped in the air in delight before quickly scuttling over to Jeff’s side.

“Corphish phish cor!” he merrily said.

Sam took his only occupied pokeball from his pocket and threw it.

“Let’s go, Keith!” shouted the new trainer.

“Keith, huh?” Jeff muttered to himself. “Corp? Prepare to use harden!”

While Corphish’s shell hardened with sickening cracks, a flash of white light appeared as the sphere opened and released its contents. The bright beam faded and emerging from it was a green pokemon; a green pokemon with a darker green thick tail, a red-pick chest and throat, and green lizard-like eyes.

Jeff recoiled at the sight of what he had to battle.

“A… Treecko?”

It completely slipped his mind that Treecko was one of the Littleroot Town starters.

“Keith, use pound on Corphish!” Sam called to his green starter.

The wood gecko, who was noticeably taller than Jeff’s former Treecko, went from a crouched position to all fours. He ran towards Corphish with break-neck speed. Keith went from the run into a slide tackle using his tail to take out Corphish’s unprotected feet. Corphish, who was caught off guard by the attack, immediately felt his legs and tail going over his head. He hit the ground and was forced into the grass with many beats from Keith’s tails in rapid succession. Corphish had no time to defend himself.

“<Jeff!>” Hitmonlee called to get his attention. Jeff didn’t even turn his head. With the false hope that the daunted human could see his body movements out of the corner of his eye, he called, “<Call for a counterattack!>”

Even if Jeff could have understood, the words seemed to go in Jeff’s left ear and out his right, hitting only the wind. He was fixated on the Treecko who was pounding Corphish in. The brutal attack continued and Corphish attempted to block but the strikes were too fast.

“<Jeff! Stop daydreaming and get Corphish outta that volley of pounds!>” Hitmonlee tried again.

He tried to call to attack but found that no words left his dry throat. He couldn’t call the move. It wasn’t like when he was fighting Chad and Roxanne; he wanted to attack but he literally couldn’t… Something was keeping Jeff from giving the command.

“<What are you waiting for?!>”

There were hushed whispers among the students as to why he wasn’t attacking. Everything was white noise except the grunts of the grass starter.

“I can’t do it,” thought Jeff. “Why can’t I bring myself to attack him?! I thought I was moving on!”

Corphish groaned in pain with each rapid blow. Daedalus looked away from the battle, unable to watch his friend take the beating. Hitmonlee, however, began to understand what was going on. Daedalus, still turned away from the massacre, whispered something into Hitmonlee’s ear… or where his ear should be.

“<I know you can do this, Jeff, just bring yourself to attack him!>” he urged, translating Daedalus’ words.

Jeff tried but he still felt his tongue being held back by the invisible force which the mix of his guilt and conscience.

“<Jeff… I… could… use… some… battle… advice… right… about… NOW…>” Corphish growled, with a grimace between blows.

Daedalus whispered to Hitmonlee again, still facing away.

“<Get a hold of yourself, Jeff! You’re not WEAK are you? The thing that Treecko hated the most!>”

Jeff remained silent, ogling the contenders. Corphish was fading away from consciousness, his shell becoming noticeably weak.

“It’s working, Keith! You’re doing great, keep at it!” Sam encouraged.

“<Your way isn’t working, birdie… Screw the mixed signals; it’s time for some tough love.>”

In a fiery passion, Hitmonlee roared, “<Come on, you weakling! You can’t keep dwelling on what happened to you! HE abandoned YOU, NOT vice-versa. You have no reason to feel guilty because he didn’t leave because of you! He left because he’s so in himself that the lump in his throat is his tail!>” Daedalus shot him a glare, even though he knew it was true and admittedly agreed with it.

Jeff heard this yell and began to stammer.

The yelling Hitmonlee continued his zealous preach. “<JEFF! If you don’t attack that damned Treecko you’ll never be able to move past this and you’ll never be a successful trainer! You say you’re letting go, so PROVE IT! Otherwise MORE of your friends will be screwed over by your emotional weakness! No matter what you say, your pokemon aren’t going to leave you, so get your head OUT of your ass, stop thinking that everything is your fault, poke-man up, and…>”

“CORPHISH, PARRY THAT NEXT BLOW AND USE CRABHAMMER WITH ALL OF YOUR MIGHT!” Jeff yelled, interrupting with trachea-tearing intensity.

Corphish’s eye glinted.

“CoooorrrPHISH!”

Then, with concrete instructions, he knocked the oncoming tail away from him with his left claw and reared back his right. Keith was surprised that the pokemon started to fight back. Corppy thrusted his claw forward, upper cutting Keith. The force of the blow was heavily fueled by the adrenaline attained by the built up pain and rage. The Treecko flew backwards across the field, landing at Sam’s feet. He tried to get up, but the blow to the jaw was too much. Keith fell to the grass with a sigh.

Applause arose from the crowd of teens. Sam ran over to his pokemon, fell to his knees, and held him in his arms, apologizing under his breath. Jeff also fell to his knees. As he yelled the command, it felt like a part of him ripped from his chest and flew off. He felt a wave of relief. The overwhelming feeling was unexplainable. Hitmonlee walked over to Jeff and put a hand on his shoulder. Jeff grabbed the hand and Hitmonlee pulled him up with a strong yank.

The confused human walked over to Sam, outstretching a hand. Sam stood up and happily shook it.

“You really did awesome at the very end there. Congratulations,” Sam said, impressed yet a bit worried for his own pokemon.

“You’re a pretty good trainer yourself. That Treecko is really strong. Remember… the pokemon is as equally important as the trainer. Be sure to care for them and, above all, listen to them.”

Sam took in the advice and nodded. “I will… thanks, Jeff. I’ll see you soon.”

Jeff walked towards his pokemon and climbed up on Atlas.

“<Are you ok, Jeff? You look as white as a Gastly!>” Bayleef pointed out.

“<Which is a dumb saying because…>” chimed in Corphish, receiving a glare from Hitmonlee.

Jeff gave no reply. The morose feeling of relief still swept about him.

“Thank you, Jeff for that presentation on what your experience was like; we hope to hear back from you in a few months to see how you’re doing then,” stated Professor Birch, who began to herd the students back inside. He began to talk to the teens who were walking through the door. “And that brings us to an important topic of why not to get over-confident in a battle, Sam!”

“Hitmon!” Hitmonlee tapped Atlas and pointed down the road to Jeff’s house.

“Hwrrrrgh,” the Onix answered in a low rumble, beginning to slither carefully down the road.

Corphish hopped beside Atlas, holding his claws up like a child who wanted to be picked up. Jeff reached down and grabbed a claw. Corppy winced as he was pulled up; bruises still colored his body. Jeff noticed the pokemon’s pain and smiled comfortingly.

“As soon as we get home, I’ll run a warm bath for you,” he offered.

Corphish leapt at Jeff in a hugging manner, beaming. He obviously enjoyed the prospect. Jeff closed his eyes and listened to the pokemon talk.

“Low taillow taii.”

“Phish phish corphish.”

I guess I’ll have to get used to hearing and understanding their names,” thought Jeff.

They rolled up to the driveway and Jeff took Corphish under his arm, hopping off Atlas. He took a deep breath.

“Ok…” The pokemon leaned in expectantly. “Here’s the deal… do you guys WANT to travel around and battle with me?”

Corphish nodded vigorously, Daedalus nodded to the first comment and shrugged to the next, and Atlas and a slight nod and then looked away.

“Then… if you guys really want me to… I’ll…” Jeff began to struggle with the words. “…Give… being a trainer… another shot…”

Corphish yelled for joy and hugged Jeff. Daedalus shrugged and also flew up and hugged him. Atlas emitted a large roar, for the joy that they were on the move. The bellow caused a guy who was biking by to lose control and flip the bike forwards, landing in pain and shock.

Hitmonlee noticed and urged them inside. Jeff recalled Atlas and walked inside.

With a confident grin, Jeff exclaimed, “So Corphish, we’ll get you that bath and we’ll leave tonight.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Somewhere in Route 101

The sharp blades of grass soothed the cut bottoms of my feet. With all of my strength, I continued to push onward. The orange setting sun shot sideways through the trees, casting the glow on the clouds overhead, as well as the tree canopies. Normally I’d travel around in the tree tops but right now I was just too wea… in pain. I had to make do with walking on foot.

I stopped dead in my tracks. I got that sensation in my tail again. The same one that shot chills up my spine. I almost wished that I didn’t get that surge, anymore. It told me that it was going to rain tonight.

You had better get there fast.

As I picked up my labored pace I noticed that my body grew weaker as the grey clouds blotted out the setting sun. Over rocks and twigs I staggered until I stopped minutes later for a deserved breathing break. Panting, I walked over to a tree. I closed my eyes and leaned against it with a cringe. My mouth felt so tingly and awkward – it was because it was missing something… the twig.

You left him. You left your trainer and your only friend. He probably thinks it’s his fault… but isn’t it?

Isn’t he the one who pressured you into coming with him?

Isn’t he the one who collapsed after what’s her name chose that other human? I know I’d never show weakness in that situation.

Isn’t he the one who didn’t want to be a trainer and didn’t choose you for a gym battle and ended up needing to have you save his tail?

Isn’t he the one who didn’t trust you to take out ‘Daggerback’, that Nidoking?

And isn’t he the one who hit you and told you to leave?

Exactly! It’s not your fault – other people either just slow you down and or begin to hate you. That’s their problem, not yours. So get your lazy tail off the ground, you worthless pile of ****, and keep moving!


I shot open my eyelids and looked around. Dusk began to over take the many magnificent trees to which I was familiar with. I looked beside me and saw a straight twig on the ground, with a leaf jutting from the side. To quell my naked-feeling mouth, I picked it up and placed it in my maw so that it rested on my lips. The sensation was different, like a stranger in a strange land, but it’d have to do.

I got up from my relaxed stance and I walked on all fours away from the tree. Traveling like this was much faster, but it also felt more degrading. It felt like a step backwards to my old, primal self, but that was where I was headed so I had might as well get used to it. It wasn’t TOO bad after all.

Pain coursed through me with every movement I made. I knew whining and complaining would get me nowhere so I sucked it up and soldiered on. Around me I sensed wild pokemon staring at me, not threateningly but out of curiosity and worry. A Zigzagoon hopped out in front of me and urged me to stop. The brown furry rodent blocked my path, to my dismay.

“<Are you ok? Did a human do this to you or was it a wild pokemon?>” he asked me.

I paused. “<Not exactly,>” I replied, the only emotion showing was seriousness.

“<Do you want some berries for your wounds or do you need some…>”

“<Get out of my way,>” I boldly answered, glaring into his beady brown eyes which were beginning to glaze over.

“<Sorry. Just wanted to help,>” he squeaked, slightly quivering in his place.

I continued onward, past the pathetic obstacle, keeping my eyes straight ahead of me. The tree line broke and I found myself now in the night, by a very familiar lake. Exhausted, I walked to where the calm water met the shore. I fell to my knees and stared. In the lake was the reflection of the full moon and the stars, creating a rippling duplicate of the true thing in the water.

I stared at the reflection before following the water in front of me back to the shore. I looked at myself in the water. I saw a green face and snout, with red coming from the bottom of the mouth. It returned the cold gaze that had been given to many, friend and foe alike. I noticed that my red chest was riddled with purple-red bruises, cuts which had dried or proceeded to seep a mild trickle of blood, and red lesions which I got when Seviper got a hold of me. It was a good thing he got his in the end.

I continued to look at myself. My eyes… the yellow organs stared eternally into each other.

You’re home. But is it worth it? You chose the road not taken but you made a u-turn before crossroad was out of sight. Does that make you the coward? Does that make you weak and puny? Did you really give up your one chance at friends and happiness because you were scared to try something new? But you’re all alone, just the way you’ve always liked it. Why do you feel guilty? It’s because you left home in the first place to travel with Jeff. You became emotionally attached and you left him when he was injured and alone.

Why did you leave? You did it for so many reasons that it floods your head. Inadequacy… guilt… fear… and most of all… shame. The reason why you don’t have friends is because you don’t care about them. This is just as much your fault as it is Jeff’s. You left him when he needed you because you only care about what’s in your stupid-pathetic-little-head! You sat on your hands and missed your only chance at something more! Now all you have left is your home… and puny, weak you.


I continued staring into the eyes of the pokemon which seemed foreign to me. I could hardly recognize what I saw. The Treecko which used to be my reflection was something else. It was grinning while I remained cold. It had friends around it while I remained alone. It felt something while I felt nothing but a sense of self-obligation. I blinked and saw my true self staring back at me. The yellow eyes were now filled with sadness. Before I could stop it, a tear dripped from the eye and plummeted into the water, hitting the opposing eye. Its impact created ripples, distorting the face so that it became an incomprehensible green, red and yellow waving blur. Rage at both what I saw and at myself for my weakness coursed through me.

“TREECKO!” I quickly shouted, hitting the would-be reflection with my hand, creating a bigger splash so that there was now no trace of a face ever being there. I wiped my eyes with my dry hand and put on the cool apathetic look which I had come to know and subconsciously associated with myself.

Grow up! Like you said before, it’s his fault not yours. Just deal with your own problems and he’ll deal with his!

I cupped water in my hands and splashed my cut face with it. Soon after, I took a large, bowl-like leaf from the ground and filled it with water. Holding it in both my hands, I turned around and slowly walked towards the enormous tree which was highlighted by the moonlight.

At least now you only have ONE thing to care for…

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When you try your best, but you don't succeed
When you get what you want, but not what you need
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

When high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you


-"Fix You" By Coldplay

AN: I wasn't originally going to put the last scene in, but Elyvorg of Serebii gave me the idea.
So...Character developement, I think. Jeff's out of his annoying depression and yeah... stuff. xD

Scytheteen November 11th, 2007 9:38 AM

Gah! Another chapter...by the time I get around to reading that 20 zillion more chapters will be up. Well, I best go read chapter two.

Grovyle42(Griff8416) November 11th, 2007 9:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScytheMaster (Post 3071667)
Gah! Another chapter...by the time I get around to reading that 20 zillion more chapters will be up. Well, I best go read chapter two.

Don't worry, these days it's been taking me 2 weeks between chapters.

diamondpearl876 November 11th, 2007 10:32 AM

TREECKO!! TREECKO TREECKO TREECKO! That is all.

Anyway, I must say congrats for improving on description. ;O Notice how I haven't had to tell you to add description for nearly anything the last two chapters? And a lot of other people agree! *gives more pancakes* Feed those to Daedalus. Those aren't for you. ;)

Poor Jeff said he'd not follow Treecko, and that he would. xD Gah, can't wait to see how he gets out of this one. His ass is gonna get kicked by Hitmonlee I bet..

And HOW DARE YOU you pick Hitmonlee over Daedalus to be in charge. D: He's hurt now. He's moving in with me. I won't mind his Wurmple-eating self! That scene was kinda funny btw.

Anyway, finally, Jeff got his head out of his ass and is back being a trainer. Now we can get somewhere else! :D I'm sick of Oldale Town now.. He emo'd up the place. Seriously. >>

Anyway, I also like Treecko's POV part of this chapter, and the way you wrapped it up. Not much else to say except I can't wait to see where this goes.. because this time you didn't give me many spoilers. XD

Lame review over. Goodbye. :)

Duncan McNeil November 11th, 2007 11:40 AM

Yikes! I didn't realize how far I was behind! I just read the last five chaps, and I'm really impressed. Like someone said, you're like a new writer. Everything is much better than when you began, and CD is everywhere.

The Pokemon have very distinct personalities and border on being in the fic more than Jeff. XD

Seriously, though. That really is fine. Corphish remains my favorite character, purely because he's so funny. And how he went after Treecko really shows that he is not just a cut-up, which is great.

Daedaleous is also an interesting character. I like the way he was the leader of the Tailows. It really gave him a different perspective from the rest of his Pokemon.

Characterization is by far your best writing trait (not to take anything away from the reat of your writing, of course). Continue to work on it, because it really adds another layer to this fic.

Plot is also good. OT fics that just follow the story of the games tend to get very boring, so what you've done here is very good.

Description is also good, but there is always room for improvement. Some parts can get a little confusing, though. Simply carefully reading through will help a lot. Take your time when entering a new area and describe as much as you can. It will help a lot.

Length is, well, long. I'm not a big fan of really long chapters, but as long as they're filled with all kinds off good CD and plot, it's just fine.

Heh, sorry about the short review. Reading through all of these chapters wore me down. But don't worry! You have improved by a huge amount in a fairly short amount of time. Keep this up!

Astinus November 14th, 2007 4:39 PM

I greatly prefer Treecko's scene over the rest of the chapter. It shows his thoughts and what he thinks of Jeff, and it just ends in a nice place because no one knows what Treecko is going to do.

Quote:

Jeff was taken aback by his friends anger.
"friend's"

Quote:

Shielding the sun with a hand, he managed to make out the very familiar, open-field ranch where trainer’s pokemon could run around freely.
Either "a trainer's" or "all the trainers of Littleroot Town". I can't think of a good way to word it with a possessive noun.

Congratulations on getting FFotM!

(Ugh. What a sad review. ._.; )

Grovyle42(Griff8416) November 14th, 2007 6:03 PM

Haha, no problem, Hanako. I appreciate you reviewing at all. :P And thanks.

Thanks Duncan for catching up and the compliments + CC. CD = character developement, right?

Also, thank you, lovely beta for reviewing!! and I'm sorry about Daedalus, forgive me. xD

Alter Ego: Here is that Review response I owe you (it may be worse than I intended)

Yes Corphish is all about the one-liners xP. I'm also glad that I showed Treecko's personality well here. And, yeah, let's just say he's very dexterous. xP (I almost gave spoilers here :O )

I think I'll edit that part soon, thanks. Yeah, we'll be seeing Chad later on.

Sorry about making you feel bad!!! xD Yeah, I couldn't resist doing that scene. That's kind of how I see it. I agree with the gym battle part, not my best effort. I don't really get what you mean by the "new pokemon" displine, comment :P

As for chapter 9, thanks. I was particularily proud of this one. I also liked the Daedalus/Corphish bringing him back thing (it may not be the last time :O )

I'm glad you liked it! Most people said that Chapter 9 was more emotional. You'll probably like a pokemon I have planned down the road (who has one of my all-time favorite personalities)

You're spot-on with Hitmonlee and Jeff's other pokemon. He'll get his break soon...but not TOO soon. xP

I really really appreciate the review (and c'mon who DOESN'T love praise mixed with CC?!) Thank you for the great review. My responce feels incredibly inadequate and I'm very tired while writing this. So thank you again! *falls asleep on laptop*

Alter Ego November 17th, 2007 11:15 AM

Heh, don't worry about it; acknowledgment is already nice on its own. Feels good to be appreciated, you know? ;D

Oh, and about my reverse problem remark...well, the standard formula for OT fanfics is that the lead character and his/her starter have a strained relationship first and then grow into bestest buddies as the story progresses, but here main character and starter start out as bestest buddies and then start developing issues as the story progresses; hence it's a reverse of the standard. ^^

Anyways, I've been meaning to comment on the newest chapter for a while, and my own fic-writing process has just gotten stuck so...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 3071656)
There was a gloomy aura accompanying the lightless abyss of the home. There was an eerie silence with the exception of one discouraging noise: a feminine sobbing of a pokemon coming from upstairs.

Two consecutive sentences starting in the same way is usually not recommended unless you're aiming for a tone of repetition. Maybe alternate the expression on one of them if possible? Nice choice of metaphor on "lightless abyss". :3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 3071656)
“<You’re in no situation to be comforting anyone… comfort YOURSELF and then you can help!>” the kick boxer-like pokemon answered, angrily. “<And go have a shower… you smell awful.>”

I don't think the comma after 'answered' is needed here
Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 3071656)
Hitmonlee chuckled before turning right. Jeff turned left to go to his room but
Hitmonlee grabbed his arm.

No need to have that last bit on a separate line.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 3071656)
“<Thank you…>” she replied. Bayleef placed her head on the pillow and began to fall quickly asleep. Seizing the chance, Jeff took a handful of clothes from his dresser and ran out into the hallway. He looked into the gym room and saw Hitmonlee kicking the punching bag.

The 'quickly' is looking sort of odd here, not only by placing but also because 'began to fall' seems to imply a rather slow pace of drifting off to sleep as opposed to a quick one. Maybe do something about that sentence?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 3071656)
Shielding the sun with a hand, he managed to make out the very familiar, open-field ranch where trainer’s pokemon could run around freely. All that he could make out from the end of the street was the occasional flying type circling over the rolling fields and ponds; most of the pokemon must have still been asleep.

Umm...why does the sun need to be shielded? You'd think he'd be shielding his eyes from the sun; not the other way around. Unless this is just a figure of speech I'm not used to. o.O

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grovyle42(Griff4815) (Post 3071656)
“No problem, Jeff. You just made it in time. I was busy going through a few of these student’s trainer applications,” explained the pokemon professor.

There are multiple students, so that should be students' rather than student's.


Aaand that's all the nitpicks I could find by actually fine-combing this as I re-read. Now on to the actual contents: homg, both Jeff and Treecko snapped out of it! ^0^ I'm really glad that you decided to add Treecko's part to this chapter, as it sort of adds closure to their big fight to see both come to terms with the situation in their own way. Both are following their own paths for the moment, then, though given Jeff's double promises (Oh-hoo...he's going to get into trouble for those at some point, isn't he? xD) the question remains: how long? Several scenes in this chapter played out very vividly as I read them, particularly Hitmonlee and the punching bag, the seminar (honestly, I've been in a situation quite similar to Jeff's. Presentations are horrible when some people insist on asking precisely the questions you'd want them to avoid. >0<) and the part where Treecko was watching his own reflection. The symbolism in the battle between Jeff and Sam was also a nice touch and...well, I'll have to admit that I'm actually starting to like Hitmonlee. Jealous though he is, he really does care about Jeff (and Bayleef...talk about weird daycare pairs, if you know what I mean. ;D); his motivational speech in that battle was lovely. ^^

Just...awesome chapter all around. Can't believe it took me so long to get off my arse and review it. ^_^

Grovyle42(Griff8416) November 17th, 2007 12:38 PM

Thanks for the review! (again xD )

Too be honest I didn't think this chapter was AS great as I planned, but thanks.

You should have held this review until tomorrow because I JUST finished the next chapter and am having it beta'd as we speak ;P

And PS: I DO get what you're saying xD


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