Don't be intimidated by the length of this chapter! Most of it is simply dialogue, with a very short action scene. I'll be sure you make it up in the next update.
Chapter Two: Lucius and Lilith
“-ey... –oung ma-... wake up, young man.” The voice was faint, but Lucius was sure someone was talking to him. He felt the warm touch of a human hand brush against his naked shoulder. It was an enormous effort for him to simply open his eyes. A woman with scarlet hair and a vibrant smile was leaning over him. He seemed to lose track of time as he stared into her cerulean eyes, and he couldn’t help but notice her nurse wardrobe.
It was then that he was reminded of the events that just took place. He quickly sat upright, nearly knocking the nurse off her feet. He began observing his surroundings, but it seemed he was in a particularly normal room. The walls were painted white and a red carpet covered the floor. There was only a single window, but Lucius could see that the sun had risen some time ago. There was another bed in the room, but Lucius could hardly make out what was lying in it. Looking down, he saw that both his jacket and shirt were removed, and many discolored patches of skin were visible. While turning his head to view the rest of the plain room, a sharp pain shot down his spine, and he immediately fell back on to the bed.
“Don’t make any sudden movements!” cried the nurse as she rushed to Lucius’ cringing body.
“Wh—where am I?” Lucius moaned in pain.
“Huh? Oh you’re in Andrea Town’s Pokémon Center.” The words seemed to pierce him like a blade.
Pokémon Center... He had seen the word on the internet before. Where these centers existed, Pokémon and Pokémon Trainers were abundant.
“Can—you—hear—me?” the nurse said slowly, her eyes bulging out of their sockets.
“What? Oh, sorry. How— how did I get here?” Lucius asked, still lying on the bed.
“Quite a miracle, actually!” the nurse said with enthusiasm, as if she had been waiting for the moment to tell the story. “I was having one of my regular, boring shifts when suddenly a bleeding Absol comes barging into the center, barking about some half-dead human! I offered to fix it up a bit, but it insisted that I come for you. So I called up some of the villagers and the Absol—”
“Wait, you
understood a Pokémon!?” Lucius shouted, risking another attempt at sitting upright. This time, the pain didn’t come. A frown quickly traveled across the nurse’s face, as it was obvious that Lucius stopped listening at that point.
“Humph! I thought someone would be interested in how their life was saved, but if you’re really that clueless; anyone with a strong connection to Pokémon-kind can understand PokéSpeech! Naturally, for us Joys, knowing their language is essential for the job!” Nurse Joy said with a chuckle.
“Joys?” Lucius said; scratching his head and looking a little lost in the conversation.
“Some trainer you are! No wonder your Absol was so hurt, you’ve obviously never went to a Pokémon Center to heal it!” Joy said in a sort of accusatory tone.
“Absol! Where’s the Absol!? Is it here?” Lucius said instantaneously.
“Calm down, young man! Your Absol is right there, and she’s fine!” Joy was pointing at the second bed in the room.
Without even thinking, Lucius hopped out his bed to greet his savior. Unfortunately for him, the moment his feet hit the floor, his knees buckled like that of a puppet. It didn’t take long for him to fall flat on his face. Pain coursed through his veins and the spot on the carpet where his stomach landed glinted with crimson liquid.
“Oh my! You’ve re-opened one of those cuts! Let me help you get back on the—”
“I want to see the Absol...”
“What? I don’t think I heard you clearly.” Joy said as she knelt beside the teenager, ready to help him up.
“I want to see the— my Absol. You understand don’t you?”
Joy sighed before answering. “You trainers are all alike. Okay fine, just wipe up the blood.”
With one of Lucius’ arms wrapped around her, Joy lifted her patient up with ease and dragged him over to the Absol’s bed. It was curled up in the way it had been the previous night, apparently sleeping now. After handing Lucius a fresh handkerchief from her pocket, Joy walked over to the door and raised her hand, signaling she’d be back in a few minutes.
Lucius held the handkerchief against his cut with one hand, and stroked the Absol’s neck with the other. It looked so peaceful, as if the other night was just a walk in the park. Lucius couldn’t help but smile in this light of perfection.
He began to move his hand to the Absol’s ribcage when it opened its mouth and whispered, “<Oh no, don’t stop know. It was just getting good.>” She had a distinct femininity in her voice.
Lucius, however, was caught off guard. He quickly pulled his hand back, nearly causing him to fall once again. It was blindingly obvious now that what Nurse Joy said was true, but what did this mean about him? Did he have a strong connection with Pokémon-kind?
“<I guess no pleasures last forever,>” the Absol sighed as she raised one of paws and began rubbing her neck. There was no doubt now, Lucius must've had this connection. Of course, there was always the possibility that he was going crazy.
“He—hey. Are you okay?” Lucius asked, reproaching the Pokémon.
“<Maybe I should be asking you that,>” the Absol said, pointing one of her claws at the handkerchief. It had gone completely red and was now unable to absorb the blood escaping the cut.
“Huh? This is nothing, the nurse will be back shortly anyway.” Lucius was extremely impressed on how calm the Absol sounded. It was as if she woke up in hospitals every morning.
Then, with one flawless leap, she jumped off her bed and landed gracefully on the floor. Lucius watched her walk around the room a few times before she finally stopped infront of him.
“<Is there any particular reason you’re staring at me like that?>” she said, quite irritated.
“I’m sorry; it’s just that... last night, you were hurt so badly. Now I barely see a scar!” Lucius was still amazed he was having a conversation with a Pokémon.
“<Hey, what can I say? That lady is one
good doctor,>” she answered with a sort of shrug. Lucius slowly dragged his feet back to his bed, where he sat down and examined the Absol. When he became comfortable, he began.
“What exactly were you doing at the town gate anyway?”
“<I go there every few human months or so. However, that’s the first time I saw a human use a weapon like that on me.>” Lucius guessed she was talking about the gun. Truth be told, he didn’t even know that anyone in Everon owned a gun. “<Why exactly were you there?>” she asked, drawing closer to him.
“Taking control of my life...” Lucius replied, although he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts.
Suddenly, the door swung open and Nurse Joy re-entered the room. She was holding Lucius’ shirt, jacket and scarf in one hand, and in the other, his backpack. There were many stitched up places on his clothes but all he cared about was that he could get dressed.
“It’s nice to see you’re both okay. You can leave tomorrow, but feel free to get some fresh air!” Nurse Joy said as she placed everything on the bed. She sifted through her pocket before pulling out a rather large bandage. She placed it on the re-opened cut before helping Lucius put his clothes back on.
“Please, allow me to lead you outside,” Joy insisted as she walked over to the door and waited for Lucius and the Absol. After the two looked at each other for approval, they followed Nurse Joy out of the room and throughout the center. It turns out they were on the second floor, and that the first was where all the real business took place. There were many rooms with different labels, but they the one that caught Lucius attention the most was the one that read: No Trainers Allowed! He caught a quick glimpse of the sign that plagued the entrance of Everon Town. Upon reaching the room containing the exit, they noticed the T.V. in the corner of the room was surrounded by a group of people.
“Hey Joy, you gotta see this!” shouted a voice from the crowd.
“You don’t mind...” Joy couldn’t seem to finish her sentence. It took Lucius a while to figure out what she was trying to ask.
“Oh no, it’s fine. I might as well see what's going on too!” Lucius said enthusiastically. He believed he heard Absol let out a deep sigh. Ignoring the Pokémon, he rushed over to the T.V.
A middle-aged woman in a wrinkled, red suit was covering most of the screen and she was talking extremely fast. Her blonde hair looked very messy and her makeup was very sloppily put on. This was, unmistakably, a breaking story.
“This is Christie Palmer of Tetrago with confirmation of the mass arresting of both Team Magma and Team Aqua members in the region of Hoenn. According to police, they acquired a few reliable tips on where the two organizations would meet next. By getting there first, the police were able to ambush the teams and come one huge step closer to ending all this gang violence. The leader of Team Magma, Maxie, was able to escape, but the leader of Team Aqua, Archie, is now in police custody. Before he was taken away, he shouted, ‘It was all his fault! He betrayed us and he will betray you! He took Groudon!’ Police were unsure of whom Archie was talking about, so they dismissed the statement.
So, why are we airing this in Tetrago? Well, it was none other than Team Nightmare, of Nightmare CO., that tipped off the police in the first place. Their leader, Erebus Orpheus, led the entire ambush and is probably as famous as his uncle, Dragon-Master Lance. I can only imagine the amount of publicity Tetrago will get after this operation. Once again, we owe much to the brightest light of this region, Nightmare CO.”
No one spoke during or after the report. Nurse Joy, however, must’ve felt a reckless reaction come on as she grabbed Lucius and dragged him away from the crowd. As soon as they left the center, they could hear cheers of joy and pride flood throughout the place.
“So, this is Andrea Town? No wonder I haven’t heard much about it, it’s pretty small,” Lucius said as he observed the town. Everon was at least three times bigger than Andrea, and Everon isn’t even that big to begin with. The entire area was surrounded by mountains and it was impossible for Lucius to tell which one he came from. The ground looked like a mixture of concrete and desert sand. He was forced to squint his eyes so no sand would enter them. Almost all the houses were built completely of wood, save the blue and white building labeled: Poké-Mart.
“Aren’t you going to put your Absol in its Pokéball?”
“Uh... of course I am. I just don’t feel like looking through my bag at the time,” Lucius said with an unconvincing smile on his face. Joy, however, didn’t bother with arguing and returned to the center.
“<What the heck is a Pokéball!? It sounds like some kind of torture machine,>” the Absol asked worriedly.
“Calm down, Absol—”
“<Name’s Lilith, for your information,>” she interrupted in an annoyed tone. Lucius understood, as he would be angry if someone kept addressing him as “human”.
“Okay— Lilith— I’m Lucius. Anyway, according to the internet, a Pokéball is a device used to keep Pokémon under the watchful eye of their trainer by keeping them in a convenient little ball.”
“<Oh my Arceus, it is a torture machine!>” Lilith cried. Lucius laughed and looked down at his new friend.
“<You know it’s rude to stare, right?>” Lilith said, turning her face away from Lucius’.
“I’m sorry, I was just thinking...” Lucius said as he came to a stop.
“<What’s wrong?>” Lilith questioned, actually sounding a little worried.
“Well, I was wondering, where do you plan to go tomorrow?”
“<Me? I just roam around really, no real goal in sight. However, if I go back, I’m sure I’ll have to cross paths with some strong Pokémon...>”
“There is another option. You could always come with me,” Lucius suggested. Beads of sweat trickled down his face as he was anxious for an answer.
“<And where exactly are you going?>”
“Absolutely everywhere,” Lucius said simply. A smile ran across the two faces at precisely the same time.
“<I don’t see why not. I can tag along with you for a little while at least.>” That was all Lucius needed it hear. He had finally done it. Technically, he caught his first Pokémon. His journey was finally able to truly begin.
“<You’re staring again!>” Lilith barked. Instead of apologizing, Lucius merely laughed.
“Hey, kid with the Absol! You’re the one who fell down the mountain, right?” the masculine voice came from a middle-aged man running toward the pair from the Pokémon Center. He wore a plain, blue shirt and jeans that were ripped in many places. The original color of his sneakers was unknown due to the vast amount of material hanging off the footwear. It must be hard to live in Andrea.
“Uh, yeah, that’s me...” Lucius answered a little frightened.
“I find it really amazing that you could survive such a tragedy. Usually when someone doesn’t wake up for four days, we classify them as ‘dead’.”
“Four days!?” Lucius was a surprised by how long he had been out of it. It then occurred to him why his legs were so weak earlier.
“Hehe, seems Joy went a little easy on you and didn’t tell you how long you were out. Well, that’s not why I came here anyway!”
“<Well, why did you come here?>” Lilith said, joining in the conversation.
“Lilith, I don’t think he can—”
“I want to challenge you to a Pokémon battle!” the man said standing upright and looking Lucius directly in the eye. The teen dared not accuse him of joking.
“Uh... let me think about it!” Lucius quickly said before pulling Lilith away. He waited until they were out of the man’s earshot.
“<You humans are such barbaric creatures! Forcing Pokémon to fight your battles!”>
“Hey, we help out too! We tell our Pokémon what to do and what moves to use!” Lucius argued.
“<Uh... Why, exactly?>” Lilith asked, a bit confused. “<I mean, we know our moves better than you do. And wouldn’t it be better just to react on instinct?>”
“Look, on my laptop’s virtual trainer program, the trainer MUST give commands. Trust me; it strengthens the bond between Pokémon and trainer.” Upon saying this, Lucius wondered what happened to his laptop in the accident. He fought the urge to look in his backpack, fearing he’d see it broken into hundreds of pieces.
“<Fine, whatever. I’m just saying, you don’t really have any trainer experience...>” Lucius took this as an acceptance to the challenge and went to go confront the older trainer. As he walked back to his Pokémon, he noticed that the sun was beginning to set.
The man excitingly grabbed a red and white ball from his pocket. By pressing the middle button twice, he first expanded the ball, and then released the Pokémon inside. The red beam quickly took the shape of a snake before fading away. Its scales were colored a light purple and it was about six and a half feet in length. Its tail swung madly in the air as it hissed at Lucius and Lilith.
Lilith approached the Ekans with caution, before letting out an intimidating, low growl. Lucius wasn’t sure if it was okay to battle right in the middle of town, but now was his chance to test how much he knew. He saw Lilith’s growl taking some affect on the Ekans and decided now was his time to strike.
“Okay Lilith, this move never fails me on my laptop. Get ready, and use Hyper Beam!” Lucius screamed, pointing very dramatically at Ekans. Everyone, including Lilith, simply froze.
“<You’ve gotta be kidding—>” she was unable to finish her sentence due to lack of air. Her amazement at the command just given to her gave Ekans enough time to finally get on the offensive. By now, Ekans had its entire body wrapped tightly around Lilith’s.
“<Watch, as I sssslowly ssssuffocate you,>” Ekans hissed as he tightened his grip.
“I don’t get it!” Lucius cried. “It always worked on my laptop!” The other trainer couldn’t take it anymore and burst into laughter.
“<You.... idiot...>” Lilith managed to murmur as she got one of her paws free. Not even attempting to wait for another “bright idea” of Lucius’, Lilith dug her claws deep into the scales of the Ekans. The Pokémon screamed and writhed in pain before finally loosening its grip. Without hesitation, Lilith ran back toward Lucius and took a short breather.
“Why didn’t you use the move?” Lucius asked furiously.
“<Do you know how advanced a Hyper Beam is? Stop listening to your laptop thingy and start thinking like a real trainer.>”
“I thought someone as lucky as you would be a good trainer, but it seems I was mistaken.” The man was still laughing when he told Ekans to go for another Wrap. The serpent slithered across the desert-like terrain, drawing ever closer to winning the battle with each passing second.
“Think like a trainer, huh? Okay, Lilith, just stay put,” Lucius ordered, grinning.
“<Don’t fail me again, Lucius,>” Lilith thought to herself as she readied for the attack.
Ekans was just a few feet away from Lilith. He halted infront of her for about half a second before throwing himself into the air and uncurling his body. His yellow underside might have made contact with Lilith’s back if Lucius hadn’t reacted.
“Quickly, to the left!” he instructed at the perfect moment. With all her gracefulness, Lilith leaped to the left, causing the Ekans to slam hard onto the ground.
“Now, before he gets up, Quick Attack!”
Lilith slanted her figure downward like a cheetah stalking its prey. Then, with an unprecedented burst of energy, she shot her body forward in a reckless charge. As the Ekans lifted his head up, Lilith slanted her head to the side so when she made contact, the blade-like appendage would be able to cut across the snake’s face. However, she never got the chance to make contact.
“Ekans, use Screech!”
A high-pitched scream engulfed Lucius’ ears, who dropped to his knees from this unbearable sound. When he finally dared to open his eyes, he was lost in a state of shock from seeing Lilith in the same state at him; her two front paws clasped against her ears. Ekans was lingering ominously above his defenseless opponent, now fashioning a menacing grin.
“I’m disappointed, kid. Ekans, finish her off with a Poison Sting,” instructed the other trainer, who wasn’t even paying much attention to the match at this point.
Ekans slowly lowered his jar and inhaled a great amount of air. Then, along with an exhale, a barrage of purple barbs flew out of his mouth. They pierced Lilith’s left-front leg with ease and she trembled with each impact. The blood seeping from the puncture wounds was dyed a sickly green and looked oddly thick. Moments later, the limb showed no signs of life.
The dreadful sight caused Lucius to let out a horrific cry before running to comfort Lilith. The older trainer, however, had seen enough. The Ekans’ body had been engulfed by the same red light before he was warped back into the Pokéball. Lucius wrapped his body around Lilith’s and pulled out each poisonous barb one by one. He didn’t even notice the trainer approach him.
“Pulling them out won’t do much good. Return her to her Pokéball and go back to the center,” the man insisted before turning away.
“Wait!” Lucius cried, “I don’t have any Pokéballs! I’m not even an official Trainer yet. Please, can you just help me?” He no longer cared if these people knew the truth; he would do anything at the moment to insure Lilith’s safety.
“Not an official trainer, huh? It’s illegal to battle if you have no Pokémon-related occupation. But, I should have expected this when you asked for a Hyper Beam.” The man quickly reached into his pockets and handed Lucius a Pokéball. “This one is an extra. Just press the white button and tap the ball against the Absol’s body.” Lucius followed as instructed and he watched Lilith’s figure shrink with a flash of red light.
With that, he picked himself up and darted toward the Pokémon Center he had just left.
**********
“Oh, you’re back already!” Nurse Joy shouted from the counter as Lucius burst through the front doors and ran up to her.
“It’s Lilith... She’s hurt!” Lucius exclaimed while also struggling for air.
“Huh? Who’s Lilith?” asked Nurse Joy, quite confused.
“The Absol! She’s poisoned and I need help!”
“Oh my— just stay calm. Hand me her Pokéball, I’ll take care of it from here.” Lucius nearly forced the ball into Joy’s chest as he handed it to her. She grabbed the orb and hurried into room labeled: ER – Pokémon and Humans.
With a loud slam of the door, Lucius was left alone in the eerie silence. The people watching the television from earlier had left; Lucius was to face this burden alone. Why did he react like that when he saw the Ekans attack take affect? He had only known Lilith for a little more than two hours, and he already risked his well-being for her. That Ekans had more than enough time to release another round of those Poison Stings, but Lucius wasn’t even thinking about that. But why? He was always known to be a reckless one, but this was different...
It felt different...
Was it because he had already developed a strong friendship with his companion?
... Or was it because he knew that if Lilith was seriously injured, it’d be a huge step back in his dream of becoming a Pokémon Trainer?
He slowly walked over to a sofa in the corner of the room and sat down to contemplate these questions. He felt the walls around him begin to close in with each passing minute. He was in a run-down village with his home or any other Pokémon no where in sight. In truth, Lilith was his ticket to happiness. Then, Nurse Joy reemerged into the room.
“She’ll be fine, all she needs now is a good night’s rest,” said the nurse in a tone that could soothe the entire Earth. It wasn’t over yet... his dream could still prevail. The reassurance flushed over him like a tsunami wave, and he basked in the ambiance of the moment. To him, this was destiny. Fate must’ve decided years ago that he was meant to become a Pokémon Trainer, and possible, something greater.
“The room you slept in is still empty; you should stay here tonight!” Nurse Joy insisted. Lucius didn’t need to hear that twice and graciously accepted the offer. Nurse Joy went to go fetch Lilith’s Pokéball before leading Lucius up to his room. She handed him the Pokéball and closed the door behind her. Lucius stared at the device in his hand, afraid that if he opened it, Lilith would have changed her mind about traveling with him.
He lowered the ball to his pocket when it suddenly began shaking and expanded on its own. Lucius was sure what was to happen next and dropped the ball to the floor and scurried a few feet away. Upon making contact with the floor, the ball opened and emitted the red light. Lucius could see Lilith’s body begin to take form; first her wolf-like physique, then her pointed tail came into shape; and finally, her crimson eyes came into view.
“<You... How could you!>” she yelled, tackling Lucius to the ground.
“I— I’m sorry! I didn’t mean for you to get poisoned!” Lucius apologized, pushing his hands against Lilith’s under-belly. Alas, he was unable to throw her off.
“<Poisoned!? I’m mad because you put me in one of those contraptions!>” Lilith raised one of her paws at the ball lying on the floor. Lucius stopped struggling at this point, even though it would’ve been rather easy for him to push her off with one of her paws already up.
“That— that’s it!? If it wasn’t for that contraption, you probably wouldn’t be here right now!” Lilith ignored the reasonable come-back but got off Lucius anyway, who quickly got to his feet.
The Absol slowly walked over to Lucius’ bed and hopped on it, paying absolutely no attention to the teen. After calming down, Lucius picked up the Pokéball and carefully approached the Pokémon. He lifted his free hand and slowly began stroking Lilith’s neck.
“I thought you were going to change your mind after that failure of a battle earlier.”
“<Hey, you seem to be forgetting that I agreed to come with you before I even knew you wanted to become a Pokémon Trainer. And besides, that last minute dodge was a brilliant move.>” Lilith’s words comforted Lucius’ mindset a great deal. If every trainer supposedly found their perfect match when they chose their starter, then Lucius certainly found his.
“Now that that’s all said and done, mind getting off my bed?”
“<Hmm... nah, I like it. I think I’ll sleep here tonight,>” Lilith replied with a smirk.
“Or you could sleep in here,” Lucius shot back, holding up the ball in his and hand and fashioning a smirk of his own.
“<Okay, okay, you win...>” Lilith succumbed to the idea of being placed back inside her Pokéball. As she hurried over to her bed, Lucius began to get comfortable in his own. He didn’t bother undressing as he stared at the ceiling, imagining what the next day would hold. Even though his battle was short-lived, he couldn’t deny the fact that it was fun. All thoughts pertaining Everon were pushed to the back of his mind and ideas of his journey zoomed throughout his head. It didn’t take long for him to fall into a much-needed sleep.
***** The Next Morning *****
Lucius slowly opened his eyes, only to see pair of azure eyes staring back at him.
“Uh, Nurse Joy... were you watching me sleep?” he questioned a bit frightened.
“Oh no, I’m sorry! Since your leaving today, I took the liberty of adding a medical kit and sleeping bag to your backpack,” she replied with a light blush.
“Umm... thanks.” Lucius glanced at Lilith’s bed and to his surprise, it was empty. “Do you happen to know where Lilith is?” Lucian asked, sliding off the bed.
“Ah, yes, I saw her early this morning. She’s probably getting some fresh air outside.”
“Okay... and, Joy, thanks for everything!” Lucius said, smiling like a five-year-old.
“No need for thanks, um...?” It then occurred to Lucius that he never gave her his name.
“Oh yeah, I almost forgot! My name is Lucius Rowley!”
“Okay— Lucius— feel free to drop by anytime. Directly north of this center is collection of mountains that are relatively small compared to the others. Just follow the path between the two smallest mountains and you will happen upon Sage City, where I hear a Pokémon Gym resides.”
“A Pokémon... Gym?” Lucius said, his head tilted to the side. It was amazing Joy didn’t find out he wasn’t a real trainer yet.
“Yeah, if you can defeat the Gym Leader, you get a special badge. Badges are a great way to show how strong you’re becoming as a Pokémon Trainer. If you’re able to collect all eight badges of this region, you qualify to participate in a special tournament held every year in Tetrago.” It was obvious that Lucius needed some time to take all this in, as his face expression didn’t change for a few seconds. When he finally comprehended everything he nodded to Nurse Joy, got his things, waved good-bye, and exited the center.
“<You're such a heavy sleeper!>” Lilith accused as she saw her trainer leave the center. “<I must’ve called your name like, a whole five times.>”
“Hey, at least I’m here now, right? Our next destination will be Sage City, which is north of here,” Lucius stated, turning to the south at the same time. He became aware of what Nurse Joy spoke of when he saw two mountains that were fairly smaller than the one’s surrounding it.
“<Well, let’s go then!>” Lilith encouraged as she ran off into the distance. Lucius could only smile in delight as he watched the Pokémon that set his journey off and, unbeknownst to him, the Pokémon that would become the most important factor of his life...