A Journey You Won't Soon Forget

Swift! · Oct 31, 2008

Genre: Original Trainer, Adventure, Romance (ScarfShipping)
Rating: PG13
Inspiration: The Pokemon Anime, Pokemon Special Manga and Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum Games.
Theme Song: "Mr. Raindrop" by Amplified
NOTE: All sprites used with permission of copyright owners; Bulbapedia.

A Journey You Won't Soon Forget

Book 1
Chapter 1 - No Time to Waste
Chapter 2 - Jun on the Loose
Chapter 3 - Let's Catch 'Em All
Chapter 4 - That's the City Life
Chapter 5 - Witness the Worst
Chapter 6 - Running From Love
Chapter 7 - Friends Til the End
Chapter 8 - City of Revelations
Chapter 9 - Roark Hard Strength
Chapter 10 - A Galactic Encounter
Chapter 11 - A Friendly Farewell

Book 2
Chapter 12 - Full Circle Split-Up
Chapter 13 - Rivalries & Friendship

Specials
Special 1 - An Early Christmas Present

Chapter 1 - No Time to Waste
The morning sun was shining brightly upon the small town of Twinleaf, there was hardly a cloud in the sky and all of the local Pokémon awoke slowly, getting ready for the day ahead. But, Pokémon weren't the only things stirring in this small Sinnoh town. One house in particular seemed to be full of life and joy, much like the teenage resident that was making a ruckus within it.

"Today's the day!" announced an adolescent male voice, which was followed by a rumble of loud footsteps. A tall, thin boy with a full head of blonde hair burst proudly into a clean and tidy kitchen... his long green scarf was swinging violently around his neck, as if it had a mind of its own.

"I know darling," replied a brunette woman, letting out a small giggle, "You've been talking about it for weeks." The woman turned towards the teenage boy, a plate full of fattening breakfast held in one of her hands and a tall glass of orange juice held in the other, "There's no rush though. You still have time for your favourite breakfast."

The teenage boy grinned widely and his large orange eyes sparked brightly, "Bacon, sausages and egg with a glass of orange juice! Mom, you shouldn't have," said the boy, grabbing the breakfast quickly and jumping into the seat at the head of the table before digging in.

The boy's mother smiled and walked up behind her son, laying her hand upon his shoulder, "Jun..." she whispered, "You remind me so much of your father..." She stepped back slightly though, not wanting to get any of her son's breakfast on her morning dress.

The teenage boy, now recognised as Jun, skilfully swallowed a mouthful of food and turned his head to his mother, "Really?" he asked, a confused look crawling across his face, "Dad was as hungry as me on the day he started his Pokémon Journey?" He laughed to himself and returned to his breakfast while his mother answered his "question".

A small laugh escaped the woman's mouth, "I don't know about that. But, he was as excited and full of energy as you are." The woman turned her head slightly and looked at a picture in the connecting lounge room; it portrayed her husband, her son and herself.

Jun finished his breakfast and grabbed the glass of orange juice, "Have you talked to him lately?" he asked, getting to his feet and walking into the connecting lounge room. His mother snapped her attention away from the picture and watched her son walking off; she prayed that he wouldn't get too carried away and end up spilling the orange juice.

Jun's mother followed her son briskly and nodded politely in answer to his question, "Yes, I talked to him last night once you had gone to sleep," she replied, stopping to stand next to the couch, "He's very proud of you and says that he can't wait to see you again."

Jun took one last gulp of orange juice and then placed the empty glass upon the coffee table, "I can't wait to see him either, it's been nearly a year since he went away to the Battle Tower and started taking challenges."

Jun's mother sighed, "I know son, it's been a tough time without him and now with you leaving I'm going to be all alone." The woman's attention started to slip away from her son and she started thinking about how lonely she'd be by herself.

Jun dropped onto the couch and grabbed his brown shoes, proceeding to put them on as he continued his conversation, "Don't worry mom, you won't even notice I'm gone and besides... you'll get to spend more time with Ayako."

"How many times do I have to tell you?" questioned Jun's mother as her mood suddenly changed, "It's rude to call adult's by their first names." She may not have wanted Jun to leave, but she could do without his somewhat rude behaviour.

Jun laughed, "Hikari and her mother don't seem to mind me calling her by her first name." Jun's two shoe covered feet suddenly hit the ground, "Speaking of Hikari, I need to meet her before we go to Sandgem Town and meet Kouki."

"You're leaving already?" asked Jun's surprised mother. She scanned the room quickly, attempting to find something that she could use as a distraction to stop her son from leaving so soon. Although, she knew nothing would make him change his mind about going off on his Pokémon Journey.

Jun jumped to his feet and turned to his mother, "The Pokémon league doesn't wait for anyone," he said, kissing his mother on the cheek before bolting towards the door. He grabbed his brown shoulder bag, that he had packed the night before, on the way out and left the door wide open, "I'll call you whenever I can!" he shouted, his voice fading into the distance.

Jun's mother wandered over to the open door and watched as her only son vanished from view, "I love you, Jun," she whispered, before closing the door slowly. The, now alone, woman sighed and let her back rest against the door, "Please be careful," she whispered to herself.

-----

In a small house directly south-east of Jun's home, lived a girl of the same age yet a lot more mature. The teenage girl was sitting at a desk in her room; a small wooden hairbrush was being run through her soft blue hair that reached just past her shoulders. Her stunning blue eyes were closed as she hummed a familiar tune and carelessly brushed her hair.

"Hikari!" yelled a loud voice. Hikari's eyes opened with a start and she looked around to see who was screaming her name, "Hikari!" screamed the voice again. The teenage girl sighed and leant over onto two legs so she could see out of her window while still sitting down; Jun was standing outside of her house and smiling cheerfully, his orange eyes were filled with happiness.

"Go around to the front! My mom will let you in," called Hikari, slightly annoyed that he had shown up so soon, all of a sudden the wooden chair fell out from under her and the girl found herself lying on her bedroom floor. "Ouch..." muttered Hikari, reaching for her hairbrush before getting to her feet and picking up the chair.

Hikari took one last look in the mirror; she nodded in approval at the state of her hair and stuck the hairbrush into an already packed yellow duffle bag that was lying on the floor. "One last thing," she said to herself, reaching for a white beanie that was sitting upon her large dresser.

Suddenly, Hikari heard the booming sound of loud footsteps thundering up her stairs, "Jun..." she whispered as she prepared for what was about to happen next. She jokingly pulled a fighting stance, as if a raging Hariyama was about to burst through her door.

Just as she predicted, Jun came flying through her bedroom door and skidded to a halt right in front of the girl, "You all ready?" asked Jun, who was sounding overly excited. He was hoping back and forth on his feet, it was obvious that he desperately wanted to start his journey.

Hikari laughed at her impatient friend and pulled the white beanie onto her head, "Now I am..." she said, giving Jun a sweet smile to show she was ready to go. It was kind of hard to believe that these two teens had been best friends their whole life; Hikari was mature, level headed girl and Jun was a hyperactive boy with more than enough energy.

Jun blushed before spinning around and pointing his hand in the air, "Onwards, to Sandgem Town!" he announced, thundering down the stairs just as quickly as he had come up them. He knew that he'd have to stop and wait for Hikari; she couldn't run as fast as he could, but he didn't mind... he was far too excited to slow down.

Hikari giggled excitedly, "I can tell this is going to be a fun adventure," she deducted, before grabbing her yellow carry bag and following after Jun, "Hey, wait for me!" she called. Hikari's own footsteps were a lot softer than Jun's, she could have very well have been mistaken for an angel floating down the stairs.

-----

Jun and Hikari were on their way to Sandgem Town to meet up with their friend Kouki, he had always been known as the most level headed member of the group. But, with Jun acting up so much... that's probably a good thing.

Jun's pace was about two metres faster than Hikari's, his arms were crossed and his vibrant face had been replaced with a look of sadness. All of this was unusual behaviour for Jun, but Hikari knew what was up, "I'm sorry that we couldn't have left earlier, but I wasn't going to leave on a Pokémon Journey without breakfast."

Jun huffed, "We're ten minutes behind schedule. If we don't get our Pokémon, I'm blaming you," he said sarcastically, making a huge deal out of nothing. Jun may have been the most childish and playfully person ever, but children have temper tantrums too.

Hikari sighed and walked up behind Jun, "You're not mad at me," she pointed out, hugging her friend from behind and resting her head on his upper back. Jun had a weak spot for affection and Hikari knew a warm hug could nearly always calm him down, no matter what the problem was.

"I knew I wouldn't be able to fool you," he laughed, proving that it was all just a joke, "C'mon, let's go," he said, grabbing Hikari's hand and leading her along the route. The two friends ran through the grass for a while, it wasn't all that far to Sandgem Town... but to Jun, it felt like eternity.

About five minutes later Jun and Hikari reached Sandgem Town where they saw a blue haired teen boy sitting outside of Professor Rowan's lab, a red hat resting atop his head and a yellow backpack lying beside him. Slowly, he rose to his feet and walked over to his two friends, as if it was a chore, "Took your time..."

Jun laughed and hugged the boy, "What's up, Kouki? Yeah, Hikari took ages to finish her breakfast!" He snickered and glanced over at Hikari, who didn't seem to enjoy his little joke... "Uh oh!" he said, bracing himself for an attack.

"Why you!" called Hikari, growling angrily at Jun before pouncing at him. Jun swiftly dodged the "surprise" attack and Kouki laughed at the display, as he swung his backpack onto his back with one hand.

"How are you, Hikari?" asked Kouki, turning his attention to the teenage girl and smiling warmly at her. Hikari had been weak to Kouki's smile ever since the day they met and now, every time she saw it, she couldn't help but love him even more.

Hikari snapped at Jun before turning to Kouki and smiling in return, "I'm good!" she said, embracing the boy in a tight hug. Hikari was the kind of girl that preferred hugs to handshakes, not that Kouki and Jun protested against her friendly gestures.

Jun crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently, "Are we going to go inside or what?" he asked, holding up his arms to show the size of the laboratory and get his point across that standing outside was boring.

Kouki and Hikari both laughed at Jun before making their way towards the lab, Hikari was right... this is going to be a fun adventure. The three new trainers entered the lab together, Professor Rowan was expecting them... so, they knew they could let themselves in without any consequences.

NOTE: Any spelling/grammar errors are unintentional, if you see one please tell me.

daydreambeliever · Oct 31, 2008

I love it! Great! I'm so looking forward to ready the rest of this fiction. Sounds like both boys have an interest with Hikari. I will be keeping tabs on this story very closely, so I expect new chapters soon.

Keep up the great work and your writing skill. :)

Swift! · Oct 31, 2008

Chapter 2 – Jun on the Loose
Kouki, Hikari and Jun made their way through the pristine laboratory and soon reached a large white table with three red and white coloured balls sitting on it, these were Poké Balls. Jun started to get jittery and could barely contain himself; he was shaking violently as he waited for any sign of the professor.

Hikari tried to make him calm down, but Jun was too excited to even notice her. The blonde haired boy started to look around to see if the professor was on his way, his eyes made their way to a connecting room to the right of the trio. Inside the room was a tall white haired man sitting at a desk and shuffling through a stack of papers, "Professor Rowan..." whispered Jun, thinking no-one could hear him.

Jun's voice carried over to the connecting room and grabbed the professor's attention; he lifted his head and smiled. "Ah, you're here!" boomed Professor Rowan, rising to his feet and making his way towards Kouki, Hikari and Jun.

The three new trainers bowed in respect and awaited the professor's instructions. "Kouki, Hikari and Jun..." said Rowan, pointing at each of the teens as he stated their names, "Today is a big day for the three of you."

"Yes sir!" replied the three trainers, nodding eagerly. Jun was getting more excited by the second, he looked as though he was about to burst at the seams. Even Kouki and Hikari took a step away to avoid debris, but they were obviously just joking.

"Well, no use just standing around..." said the professor, picking up one of the Poké Balls, "It's time for you to choose you starter Pokémon." He clicked the button in the middle of the ball and a small green turtle-like Pokémon appeared, one leaf atop its head shook and the little Pokémon smiled, "This is Turtwig," Rowan stated, "Now, which one of you would like Turtwig to be your Pokémon?"

Hikari gave Turtwig a strange look and shook her head, Turtwig happily returned the gesture. Jun tilted his head and thought for a second, "It doesn't look very fun..." Turtwig stuck its tongue out at Jun and turned away from the three trainers, thinking that none of them wanted him.

That left only Kouki, whose teeth began to show as he grinned happily, "Sir, I'd like Turtwig!" Turtwig's face lit up and the turtle Pokémon spun around to face his new trainer, he started hoping up and down, which made Kouki only want him even more.

The professor smiled, "Perfect! One down and two to go," he said, moving on to the second Poké Ball. Once again, he clicked the button in the middle of the ball and a little blue penguin-like Pokémon appeared on the table, chirping happily.

Hikari didn't even wait for the professor; she squealed loudly and grabbed the Pokémon in her arms, "It's so cute!" She snuggled the little blue penguin in her arms and started tossing it into the air, although Hikari enjoyed it... it appeared that it was making the poor Pokémon feel sick.

Rowan laughed, "That's Piplup and I guess you'd like it, Hikari?" he asked, pretty much already knowing the answer. Hikari nodded and continued to snuggle the small Pokémon, Professor Rowan then moved on to the final Pokémon, "And this one is..." he began, pressing the button on the ball, "Gone!?" he screamed, the professor was right... this Poké Ball was completely empty.

Jun's happy expression suddenly disappeared, "Where's my Pokémon, professor?" he asked, slightly annoyed that Kouki and Hikari had both received their Pokémon and he was left without one. He began to peer over the other side of the desk, thinking that the professor had hidden it from him.

The professor scratched his head, "I have no idea..." he said, glancing around the lab for any sign of the last Pokémon, "It must have gotten out somehow." He look under the desk, opened a few draws and even looked up at the ceiling, but Jun's Pokémon was no-where to be seen.

"Chim-char!" called a high pitched voice from somewhere nearby, the noise echoed through the lab and caused Jun to turn his attention to it. A small orange monkey-like Pokémon was sitting on the tiled floor of the lab about five metres away and smiling cheerfully at Jun.

"There it is!" exclaimed Professor Rowan, "That's Chimchar, he's the missing Pokémon." The professor walked towards the little monkey and bent down to pick it up, but the Pokémon was too quick for the old man... it jumped onto his back and leapt into the air.

Jun, seeing the Pokémon sailing through the air, jumped into action. He leapt towards Chimchar and grabbed him, before coming crashing down on the hard floor, "I. Got. Him." moaned Jun. Rowan rose to his feet and dusted himself off, fixing up his glasses before looking at Jun.

The professor laughed and made his way back over to the large table, he reached his hand underneath it and pulled out three red devices, "These are Pokédex's, they will help you record data on all the Pokémon you might see on your journey."

Kouki and Hikari smiled and politely took a Pokédex each, but Jun was too busy playing with his new Chimchar and wasn't paying any attention to the professor. Rowan sighed and placed the last Pokédex on the table, "He'll pick it up later," he said, referring to Jun, "Now, I have one last thing to give you three before you can start your Pokémon Journey." Kouki and Hikari watched as the professor pulled a large cardboard box out from under the table, by the expression on Rowan's face it looked heavy, he placed the box on the table and huffed, "This box is filled with Poké Ball's," he pointed out, "You can each have five to take with you on your journey."

Kouki reached into the box and made three piles of five Poké Ball's, one for Hikari, Jun and himself. Hikari thanked the professor and clipped the Poké Ball's to her belt, along with Piplup's ball... Kouki did the same. Jun, who was finally finished playing, stood up and walked over to the table... he grabbed the Poké Balls and clipped them to his belt before turning and running out of the front door, Chimchar followed close behind.

The professor sighed, "That boy is quite a handful, you'd better go after him," he said, turning to Kouki and Hikari. The pair agreed and hastily left the laboratory, hoping to catch up with Jun before he got too far. Rowan then glanced down at the table, where Jun's Pokédex was still sitting... he picked it up, "You forgot-"

-----

Jun quickly made his way out of Sandgem Town and onto Route 201, his new Chimchar was having trouble keeping up with its trainer's fast pace... luckily, Jun decided to stop running and wait for Chimchar to catch up. "You're going to have to be quicker than that!" pointed out Jun as he turned around and smiled at Chimchar, who was huffing after the run from the lab.

The little monkey Pokémon gave one last huff, before collapsing at Jun's feet. Jun laughed and crouched down to Chimchar's level, "C'mon buddy, liven up a bit. Running isn't that hard, right?" suddenly Jun remembered something, "Hey! Why don't I just scan you with my Pokédex? It will tell me everything I need to know about you!"

Jun stood back up and reached into his right pocket, but it was empty... he then checked all of his other pockets before coming to the conclusion that he had forgotten it when he left the lab in a hurry. "Oh well!" Jun shrugged, "I don't need a Pokédex to be a great Pokémon trainer!"

All of a sudden a blur of grey zoomed down out of the sky and crashed into Jun's head, knocking him clean over. "What was that?" questioned Jun, pulling himself up and taking a look around. There, standing upon the grass in front of Jun, was a small grey bird with its wings outstretched and an angry expression on its face.

"A Pokémon!" announced Jun, jumping into a battle stance as if he was about to fight the small bird himself, "Chimchar, let's go!" Jun's small orange monkey jumped out in front of him and prepared for battle, "Use Ember!" Jun ordered, the words practically rolling off his tongue as if he had been a Pokémon trainer his whole life.

"Chim!" nodded Chimchar, shooting a barrage of small flames at the smaller opponent. The little bird was agile though, it dodge all of Chimchar's attacks and squawked loudly, "Star-ly!" It flew into the air and circled around, heading back towards Jun and Chimchar.

"Starly?" questioned Jun, "So that's your name!" He clenched his fists and got ready for another attack, "Chimchar! Get that Starly with your Scratch attack!" Chimchar lunged forward and bared its claws, swinging them violently in an attempt to hit the Starly... one of the attacks connected and caused the small bird to fall out of the sky. The Starly wasn't done yet though, it returned with its own attack by running at Chimchar and smashing into him.

"Get up!" yelled Jun, as Chimchar had been knocked onto its back by the harsh blow, "Finish it off with Ember!" Chimchar growled and sent another barrage of flames at the Starly, this time the wild Pokémon was too hurt to get out of the way. The flames dealt a lot of damage and caused the Starly to collapse in pain. "Poké Ball go!" called Jun, throwing a Poké Ball at the injured Starly, the small Pokémon disappeared inside the ball in a beam of red light. Jun watched and waited as the ball rocked back and forth, this Starly wasn't going to be captured without fighting for its freedom.

-----

Kouki and Hikari made their way through the sandy streets of Sandgem Town, they were hoping for any sign of Jun... but, knowing him, he was probably long gone by now. After about ten minutes of searching the town, Kouki and Hikari came to the conclusion that he was no longer there and had already left for Jubilife City.

"That's Jun for you," commented Hikari, breaking the unusual silence between her and Kouki. The teen girl turned to her childhood friend and smiled, they had met in school at the age of seven. Hikari was being picked on by some boys a couple of years older than her, Kouki arrived just in time and told the bullies to "get lost". When a teacher came in to view, the bullies thought it would be best to listen to him and leave quietly.

Kouki looked up from his feet, which had kept him occupied for this long silence, when his eyes met hers he remembered back to that very same day and smiled back. "Jun has always been a bit of a loose cannon..." he said, referring to what Hikari had said, "I sure hope we can find him before he gets himself into trouble.

Hikari snapped back to reality and nodded, "He can't have gotten that far..." she assured, knowing very well that he actually could have. All of a sudden a voice was heard, "Yes!" it screamed, sounding very proud and triumphant.

Kouki and Hikari turned towards the source of the noise and there, at the start of Route 201, was Jun. He and Chimchar were jumping up and down, a red and white ball was clasped in the trainers' hand. He quickly noticed his two friends and came running over to them so quickly, that it looked as though he was going to barrel into them, "Hey guys!" he shouted, "Guess what?"

NOTE: Any spelling/grammar errors are unintentional, if you see one please tell me.

Blue Angel · Oct 31, 2008

I did notice a couple errors, while I was reading.

For some reason, I like the start of all journey's the most. New beginnings are great; You never know where they lead, but you are glad to find out.

Kev XY said:
The morning sun is shining brightly upon the small town of Twinleaf, there is hardly a cloud in the sky and all of the local Pokémon are wide awake, getting ready for the day ahead. But, Pokémon aren't the only things stirring in this small Sinnoh town. One house in particular seems to be full of life and joy, much like the teenage resident making a ruckus within it.

The first sentence is a run-on sentence. It should be: "The morning sun is shining brightly upon the small town of Twinleaf; there is hardly a cloud in the sky. All of the local Pokemon are wide awake, getting ready for the day at hand."

I separated it out so you wouldn't have to change any words, just the format. This makes it so it is not a run-on sentence, but instead two sentences with better flow.

The comma in between "But" and "Pokemon" is unnecessary, but it can be used for dramatic effect.

Kev XY said:
"Why you!" called Hikari, growling angrily at Jun before pouncing at him. Jun swiftly dodged the surprise attack and Kouki laughed at the display, as he swung his backpack onto his back with one hand.

The surprise attack, should be "surprise" attack, if you are trying to use it the way I am thinking. If it was not a surprise to Jun, then use quotation marks around it.

Kev XY said:
Kouki and Hikari both laughed at Jun before making their way towards the lab, Hikari was right... this IS going to be a fun adventure.

Instead of "IS" use is, because capitalized words are considered as yelling, and italics are used for emphasis.

Overall, a few errors to report. Not a bad story at all.

Swift! · Oct 31, 2008

Blue Angel said:
I did notice a couple errors, while I was reading.

For some reason, I like the start of all journey's the most. New beginnings are great; You never know where they lead, but you are glad to find out.

The first sentence is a run-on sentence. It should be: "The morning sun is shining brightly upon the small town of Twinleaf; there is hardly a cloud in the sky. All of the local Pokemon are wide awake, getting ready for the day at hand."

I separated it out so you wouldn't have to change any words, just the format. This makes it so it is not a run-on sentence, but instead two sentences with better flow.

The comma in between "But" and "Pokemon" is unnecessary, but it can be used for dramatic effect.

The surprise attack, should be "surprise" attack, if you are trying to use it the way I am thinking. If it was not a surprise to Jun, then use quotation marks around it.

Instead of "IS" use is, because capitalized words are considered as yelling, and italics are used for emphasis.

Overall, a few errors to report. Not a bad story at all.

Thank you! I'll be sure to keep all of that in mind for later chapters. =D

daydreambeliever · Nov 1, 2008

Another great chapter. I would love to learn about Kouki and Hikari's relationship a bit more, sounds like they good involve to a little romance number. I wonder who Hikari's going to pick in the end? I'm very much into this story, Scarfshipping is something I love reading about.

Swift! · Nov 2, 2008

Chapter 3 – Let's Catch 'Em All
Kouki and Hikari glanced at Jun's proud face and then to each other's confused ones, "Uhm... what?" they both asked in unison, wondering what had made Jun so excited. Knowing him, it could have been anything... Jun is very easily excited, he once ran to Sandgem Town to tell Kouki about a rock he found.

"I caught my first Pokémon!" he announced, holding the Poké Ball in the air triumphantly. "It's a Starly," he said, calming down slightly, "Do you want to see it?" Before Kouki and Hikari could answer, Jun clicked the button in the middle of the ball and caused a flash of blinding white light... which faded to reveal the small grey bird from earlier.

Starly still seemed to be angry at Jun, as it pecked at his shins as soon as it was released, "Hey, stop that!" ordered Jun, wondering why his new Pokémon didn't like him. Kouki and Hikari laughed at their friends' misfortune and began to walk out onto Route 201.

"Wait up!" called Jun, returning Starly and following after his two friends. Maybe he could train his new Pokemon a bit later on; well... he could at least teach it that pecking him wasn't alright. Chimchar smiled happily and leapt up onto Jun's shoulder, nuzzling up against the new trainer, "At least you don't peck me..." he said, but then he realised that may just be because Chimchar didn't have a beak.

Jun came up beside Hikari, who was now walking in between her two best friends. "Chimchar looks happy," she noted, glancing over at the small monkey sitting upon Jun's shoulder, "Maybe we should let Piplup and Turtwig out?"

Kouki looked over at Hikari, who was looking at him... using her facial expression to ask him the question again, "Sure..." he replied, unclipping Turtwig's Poké Ball from his belt and clicking the button in the middle. This caused a flash just like the one that Starly's Poké Ball had, but this time Kouki's small green turtle Pokémon appeared instead. Turtwig yawned tiredly and began trotting along beside Kouki, he acted as if he wanted to keep his distance from Hikari... but, that may of just been because she had rejected him back at the lab.

"Ok! Your turn, Piplup," said Hikari, releasing the little blue penguin in yet another bright flash. Piplup jumped in the air joyfully and started walking in front of Hikari, keeping a few steps ahead to ensure not getting trodden on.

-----

The three trainers and their Pokémon continued along the road to Jubilife City, they were all getting tired and decided it was time to take a rest. Hikari was the first to drop, she fell onto the cool green grass and sighed, "Let's just rest here for a few minutes," she said, laying head back and closing her eyes.

Kouki shrugged as he saw Hikari's tired body fall, "Ok..." he muttered, dropping down in front of her. He crossed his legs and let his bag drop off of his back, Turtwig wandered up beside him and sat down. Kouki patted the small Pokémon on the back and stroked the short green leaf atop his head, "Good boy..." he said warmly.

Jun, on the other hand, wasn't feeling tired at all, "How can you guys take a rest at a time like this?" he asked, jumping up and down... which caused Chimchar to have to cling to his trainer neck in order to stay on his shoulder. Kouki and Hikari ignored their impatient friend until he gave in; Jun dropped onto the grass and crossed his arms angrily.

Piplup had other plans; she ignored her new friends and walked off into a nearby bush... which Kouki somehow managed to see, despite paying no attention to the little penguin. "Piplup's gone..." he said coolly, keeping his head down as he flipped through a Pokémon magazine.

Hikari's eyes burst open, "What!?" she screamed, flipping onto her hands and knees so clumsily that it gave Jun and Chimchar a perfect view straight up her short skirt... the trainer and his Pokémon stared for a second before falling onto their backs in shock. "Where'd she go?" she asked, jumping up swiftly and glancing all around, hoping to see Piplup somewhere.

"She wandered into the bush right in front of you," replied Kouki, still not looking away from his Pokémon magazine. Jun sat back up and Chimchar jumped onto his shoulder, both trainer and Pokémon had bright red faces and were trying to ignore what they had just seen.

Hikari looked at the bush in front of here, just as Piplup came wandering back out, "There you are!" pointed out Hikari, sounding like a bit of an idiot. She took one step towards Piplup, but stopped again as a small brown creature rolled out of the bushes and sat up next to Piplup, smiling happily.

Bidoof: the Plump Mouse Pokémon.
With nerves of steel, nothing can perturb it. It is more agile and active than it appears.

Hikari looked up from her pink Pokédex that she had received from Professor Rowan and took another look at the chubby little Pokémon, "It's so cute!" she squealed, nearly scaring the wild Bidoof away. "I'm going to try to catch it!" she decided, getting into a fighting stance, Jun noticed the action and jumped up next to Hikari, "Piplup! Use Bubble on that Bidoof!" she called out.

Piplup looked up at her trainer and then to the wild Bidoof, who gave Hikari's Pokemon an emotionless look. Piplup shook her head at Hikari's order, "Pip-lup!" Hikari couldn't believe what she was seeing; her own Pokémon wasn't listening to her.

Jun began to chuckle, but then he saw that Hikari was getting upset, "Chimchar! Let's get that Bidoof!" he shouted, causing his little monkey Pokémon to jump into action, "Use Ember!" he ordered. Chimchar growled and shot a fury of flames at the Bidoof and caused it to topple over backwards. The wild Pokémon didn't appreciate the attack and decided to return the favour by rolling up into a ball and speeding towards Chimchar. Bidoof crashed into Chimchar and sent him flying, "Watch out Chimchar! That's a Rollout attack; it gets stronger if you can't stop it."

Hikari huffed and walked over to Piplup, "Why didn't you listen to me?" she asked the little Pokémon, who simply shrugged her trainer off and ignored her. Hikari sighed and turned back to the raging battle, wondering to see if Jun was about to add another Pokémon to his arsenal.

"Use your Scratch attack, Chimchar!" called Jun, eager to beat this wild Pokémon. Chimchar nodded and waited for Bidoof to come rolling back towards him, the small Pokémon swung his claws and smashed the Bidoof off course and straight into a large tree... knocking it out cold. Jun turned to Hikari and smiled, "Catch it..." he said plainly.

Hikari perked up and jumped to her feet, "Are you sure?" she asked, wondering if Jun was being serious. Jun nodded solemnly and Hikari pulled and empty Poké Ball from her belt, she tossed it at the Bidoof and watched as it was engulfed in a beam of red light. The ball bounced a couple of times before landing; it rocked side to side and then came to a complete halt... Hikari had captured her first Pokémon, with a little help from Jun of course.

-----

The trio were nearing the end of their adventure along Route 201, Hikari and Jun were both holding their heads high as they thought about their first captures. Kouki, on the other hand, was trying desperately to ignore his friends gloating... he had yet to capture a wild Pokémon and Jun was teasing him about it.

"Poor Kouki-Wouki," teased Jun, glancing over at the only one of the new trainers that hadn't caught a wild Pokémon, "It's ok, Hikari and I can challenge the Pokémon League while you wait back here and try to capture a Pokémon. If there's time, we'll come back for you."

Hikari looked over at Kouki, who was looking like he could exploded at any second and seeing as she didn't want to witness a fight between her two best friends, she decided to change the subject. "Thank you so much for helping me capture that Bidoof," said Hikari quickly, turning towards Jun and smiling warmly.

Jun's attention suddenly moved to Hikari, "Oh... that's alright," he said, blushing, "That's what friends are for, right?" Hikari nodded and glanced back at Kouki, hoping that she had calmed him down... but he was still looking mad. She sighed and concluded that there was nothing she could do.

"Shinx!" barked a high-pitched voice, breaking the silence and grabbing the trainer's attention. Nearby, a small blue bipedal Pokémon was facing up against a young trainer and his Pokémon, a little bug Pokémon with what looked like a large collar on the back of its neck.

"Kircketot! Use Bug Bite!" called the young trainer; his small Bug Pokémon reacted to its trainers orders and began to run towards the wild Pokémon. The Shinx prepared for the attack by crouching down low and once Kricketot reached it, it leapt up and grabbed a hold of its collar. It then spun around once and flung the Kricketot back towards its trainer.

Jun and Hikari couldn't help but let out small laughs, which got the young trainers attention and he didn't look very happy, "What!?" he yelled, "You think you could do better?" The trainer kneeled down at his Kricketot's side, "You want to battle these guys?" he asked, watching as the little bug nodded in approval.

Jun stepped forward and held his fist up threateningly, "I'm not afraid of you, kid! I'll battle you..." Hikari quickly intervened by placing her hand upon his shoulder, Jun turned and watched as Hikari nodded towards Kouki... who was still looking upset. Jun smiled at Hikari before turning back to the young trainer, "I accept your challenge!" he said loudly.

"Fine!" yelled the young trainer, "My Kricketot verses your..." he quickly glanced between the three Pokémon and deducted that Chimchar belonged to Jun, "Chimchar!" The young trainer didn't seem to be scared about battling Jun, despite the fact that his Kricketot was weak to Fire-type Pokémon.

Jun smirked, "Ok! But, let's make this battle a little more interesting," he said, causing the young trainer to give him a confused look, "If you lose, you have to leave this Shinx alone. But, if you win... you are free to catch it."

The young trainer scratched his head, glancing between Jun and the wild Shinx, "Ok! Let's go!" he screamed, eagerly wanting to start the battle. He probably should have thought this through a little more; if he lost this battle... he'll also lose his chance to catch the Shinx.

Jun laughed, "One more thing..." he said, turning towards Kouki, "I'm not going to battle you, my friend Kouki is!" The young trainer looked over at Kouki, a shocked expression on his face... Kouki looked up as well and glanced between Jun and the young trainer, wondering if what he had just heard was right. He was going to battle?

NOTE: Any spelling/grammar errors are unintentional, if you see one please tell me.

Lukespade · Nov 2, 2008

doin good

"Hikari looked over at Kouki, who was looking like he could exploded at any second"

one small gramatical error im assumin u either meant "he could explode" or "hecould have exploded" other than that great chap

Swift! · Nov 2, 2008

Thanks! I usually miss stuff like that. =D

Swift! · Nov 3, 2008

Chapter 4 – That's the City Life
Kouki was still in a state of confusion; he looked over at Jun and gave him a look that seemed to be asking, "Really?" Jun nodded to his good friend and suddenly a large smile crept onto Kouki's face, "That's right!" he yelled to the young trainer, "I'm going to battle you!"

The young trainer was getting impatient, "I don't care who I battle! I just want to hurry and get this over with so that I can get back to catching that Shinx!" he screamed, pointing a small finger towards the little blue dog, who didn't look like it knew what was going on.

"Ok! Let's go, Turtwig!" called Kouki, causing his small grass Pokémon to jump out in front of him and snap his large jaw at the young boy's Kricketot. "Let's start this off with Razor Leaf!" he ordered, Turtwig smirked and swung its head, causing a group of razor sharp leaves to fly towards Kricketot.

"Dodge it, Kricketot!" yelled the opposing trainer, Kricketot managed to evade the fast attack by bouncing on the soft grass, as if it was doing a dance. "Now use Bug Bite!" he called, Kricketot chattered and began running towards Turtwig, it leapt at the last minute and opened its mouth.

"Get out of the way, Turtwig!" called Kouki; Turtwig was too fast for Kricketot and managed to roll out of the way, this caused Kricketot's attack to miss and instead it came crashing down onto the ground. "Now use Tackle! Quickly!" he yelled, leaving no time for the young trainer to issue an order. Turtwig came running towards Kricketot, gaining speed with every step and, in the end, smashed head-on into the bug and sent it skyward.

The young trainer watched as his poor Kricketot flew into the air and came fall back down to earth, "Bug Bite! Right on Turtwig's stalk," he called quickly, Kricketot spun as it fell and came down toward Turtwig; it opened its mouth and bit into the stalk atop the turtle Pokémon's head. Turtwig cried out in pain and started running about, shaking its head in an effort to throw the angry Pokémon away.

"Hang in there, Turtwig!" yelled Kouki, trying to get his Pokémon to calm down. Turtwig stopped and stood with Kricketot hanging from his stalk, "Now! Jump up and swing Kricketot into the ground!" screamed Kouki, Turtwig smirked and obeyed his trainer... leaping into the air, he swung his head swiftly and quickly, causing Kricketot to lose its grip and came crashing down in to the ground.

The young trainer was about to issue an order, but then Kricketot fell unconscious... "No!" he shouted angrily, running over to his injured Pokémon. "You meanie!" he screamed at Kouki as he scooped up Kricketot and ran back to where he came from.

Hikari and Jun cheered for their friends' victory and Kouki smiled solemnly as he recalled Turtwig, "You did good, buddy," he whispered, kneeling down beside the turtle Pokémon. "Now!" he started, rising to his feet and turning his attention to the wild Shinx that had watched the battle from the sidelines, "What do you say we catch us a Pokémon?" Turtwig nodded and jumped out in front of Kouki again, he was full of energy from the previous battle and wanted nothing more than to help his master catch his first Pokémon.

The wild Shinx was sitting quietly upon the grass, about ten metres away from Kouki and Turtwig, it was scratching behind its ear with its back foot... using its flexibility to its advantage. "Turtwig! Use Tackle," called Kouki, catching the little blue Pokémon off guard... it reacted to Kouki's words and looked up to see Turtwig running towards him. At the last minute the wild Shinx jumped out of the way and growled angrily at Turtwig.

"Try another Tackle, Turtwig!" yelled Kouki, hoping that his Pokémon's attack would connect this time. Turtwig scratched his little foot along the ground and then shot towards the Shinx, this time Kouki got lucky... the wild Shinx didn't manage to get out of the way in time and was sent tumbling backwards.

The small blue Pokémon shook off the last attack and, with all its might, pulled itself onto its four paws. "Shinx!" it barked abruptly, Shinx began scratching the ground just like Turtwig had and started to run at Kouki's Pokémon, who was cornered against a tree.

"Do as I tell you, Turtwig!" called Kouki, showing his worried Pokémon that he had a plan. Turtwig nodded and stood his ground, just as Shinx reached Turtwig and was about to smash him against the tree... Kouki made his move, "Jump!" At the last second, Turtwig heard Kouki's order and jumped up into the air... the Shinx didn't have time to slow down and crashed straight into the hard trunk of the tree, knocking it unconscious.

Turtwig fell back down and landed next to the Shinx, "Good work!" said Kouki, praising his Pokémon... who nodded back happily. "Now I'm going to catch you," he whispered, turning his attention to the unconscious Pokémon before him. He selected an empty Poké Ball and threw it at the Shinx, the wild Pokémon was engulfed in a flash of red light and the Poké Ball dropped onto the grass... coming to a halt almost immediately. "Yes!" shouted Kouki, running over to claim his prize, "I caught a Shinx!"

Hikari and Jun cheered for their friend, walking over to congratulate him. "Nice work!" said Hikari, "Now that we've all caught a Pokémon, what do you say we head to Jubilife?" Kouki turned to Hikari and smiled warmly; he clipped Shinx's Poké Ball to his belt and motioned to the path. Soon enough, the group were on their way to Jubilife City and what they knew would be a great adventure for them all!

-----

The city skyline of Jubilife towered over Kouki, Hikari and Jun in an almost intimidating fashion. The three trainers climbed the short stairway up to the city streets, you see... Jubilife had been built upon bricks and concrete to make it strong and durable in case of a natural, or Pokémon related, disaster. The hustle and bustle of the city life was practically unbearable, there were people everywhere you turned and it seemed that everyone was in a hurry in their own way.

"Whoa!" uttered Jun, slightly overwhelmed by the large city; this was the furthest he'd ever ventured from his home in Twinleaf Town. Chimchar's mouth gaped open; he was so used to Professor Rowan's lab that a city this big was something completely new to him. Jun suddenly got excited, well... more excited than he already was and ran off into the crowds, he was soon out of sight.

Hikari sighed as she watched her impatient friend run off, "Jun..." she muttered, turning to Kouki, "Well... we probably won't be able to find Jun with all these people around. What do you say we head to the Pokémon Centre? He'll be sure to wind up there at some stage."

Kouki listened intently to Hikari's "plan" and nodded along in agreement, "Sounds good..." he finally managed to say, once Hikari was done talking. The two then began walking towards the Pokémon Centre, Kouki glanced down at his friends' small, yet perfect, hand and then at her... she was looking around at all the sights and sounds of Jubilife City. Gently, he knocked his hand against hers and she returned the gesture with a warm smile.

-----

Jun made his way through the crowds of people that were covering the city streets; he managed to find a small clearing and sighed in relief as he admired Jubilife City's beauty. The small park-like area he was in was the only place in the city that could remind you of nature. A cool breeze blew past and Jun closed his eyes, it let him drown out the white noise and just listen to the sound of... nothing.

"Hey!" called a familiar voice, Jun snapped back to reality and turned to see the young boy that Kouki had beaten earlier, "Your friend is the one who hurt my Kricketot!" The young trainer was standing with his legs wide and his knees bent, in what seemed like an effort to look more intimidating than he actually was.

Jun spaced out for a second, but quickly returned to normal, "So?" he asked abruptly, "What are you going to do about it?" Jun scanned over the young trainer, letting out a small and abrupt laugh at how the boy was standing.

The young boy scoffed, "Where is your friend?" he asked, looking around to see if he had missed him... but obviously, Kouki wasn't there, "I want a rematch!" he finally said, turning back to Jun and clenching his fist threateningly.

Jun laughed louder, thinking the boy was joking and also at how much of an idiot he looked like, "You can't be serious!" he yelled, still laughing, "He beat you once, what makes you think he can't do it again? Besides, he's not here..."

The young boy started to get angry, "Fine!" he yelled, reaching for a Poké Ball "I'll battle you instead!" He grabbed the red and white ball that must have contained his Kricketot and threw it out onto the grass, in a bright flash... the small cricket Pokémon appeared.

Jun shrugged when he saw the Kricketot appear before him, "Sure, why not? I wanted to beat you before and now I've got a chance to." He looked down at Chimchar, who had been at his side the whole time and was about to call on him... but then he remembered Starly and thought that this might be the best opportunity to train him. He unclipped Starly's Poké Ball and threw it towards the young boy's Kricketot, "Go, Starly!" Jun's small bird Pokémon appeared and chirped angrily.

The young boy smirked, thinking that this would be an easy battle, "Kricketot! Use Bug Bite!" he ordered, Kricketot huffed and ran towards Starly... its small mouth was open wide as it prepared for the attack.

"Dodge it Starly!" called Jun, Starly ignored him... but still got out of the way. The small bird flapped away and perched itself on the branch of a tree in the park. It chirped happily and completely ignored the fact that it was involved in a battle. "Starly!" yelled Jun, glaring at his disobedient Pokémon, "Get down here and battle!"

Jun's young opponent laughed at him, "You can't even control that Pokémon!" he pointed out, stupidly, "How do you think you're going to beat me?" Jun shot an angry look at the boy and turned back to Starly, who was still ignoring him. Without a word, or hesitation, he picked up a small rock and threw it at Starly. It was a direct hit, but Starly didn't look happy... he dived out of the sky and swopped towards Jun, who ducked just in time.

The young boy continued to laugh at Jun's misfortune, but was silenced when he saw Starly heading straight for Kricketot... its attack on Jun had missed, but it hadn't slowed down and was now on a collision course with the young boy's Pokémon. "Kricketot!" he screamed, acting without thinking, "Use Bide!" Just in time, Kricketot crouched down and absorbed the blow... keeping its ground.

Jun cheered, not at the young boy's quick thinking... but at the fact that Starly had actually launched an attack on Kricketot, even if it was supposed to hit him. "Tackle again, Starly!" ordered Jun, thinking that Starly would suddenly start listening to him. Starly flew back around and came flying towards Kricketot again, it drew in closer and another attack connected with Kricketot... who didn't look like it was phased by either attack.

Kricketot stood its ground, but the bug Pokémon's tiny legs were shaking and looked like they would give way at any moment, "Hang in there Kricketot!" called the young trainer, "Just a bit longer and you can release your attack on Starly!" Kricketot clenched its teeth tightly, it was holding in the power that Bide had stored after both of Starly's attacks... every second that the young trainer waited, the stronger Kricketot's attack would be. Kricketot raised its head and looked over Starly, who was getting ready for another attack, with one deep breath... Kricketot straightened itself out and stood proudly in front of his trainer, then... the unexpected happened, Kricketot began to glow!

NOTE: Any spelling/grammar errors are unintentional, if you see one please tell me.

Blue Angel · Nov 18, 2008

I loved it. Probably because I like the relationship between the Trio, so any story including them is hard for me to put down or find fault with.

Agreeing with the above statement, I did not see any spelling or grammatical errors ( or I was to enthralled into reading it)

It's sad the Jun is going to lose the battle (I am assuming from the title of the next chapter) but it is a necessary action for a new trainer to grow(Not for the games, because we have to "Black out, rush our Pokemon to the Center, and PAY to do so" :P

Hope you don't give up and keep writing ^^

Swift! · Nov 18, 2008

Chapter 5 – Witness the Worst
Jun and the young trainer watched in amazement as Kricketot began to grow and change in shape, once the light faded both boys were surprised to see a completely different Pokémon standing in Kricketot's place, "Kricketune!" it sung proudly. The young trainer quickly pulled out his Pokédex so that he could identify his new Pokémon.

Kricketune: the Cricket Pokémon. It is the evolved form of Kricketot.
It crosses its knifelike arms in front of its chest when it cries. It can compose melodies ad lib.

Jun shook his head and clenched his fist angrily, "My Starly will still be able to beat your Pokémon!" he yelled, trying to hide the fact that he was scared he might not win the battle because of Kricketot evolving. "Use Tackle, Starly!" screamed Jun, pointing a finger at his opponent's newly evolved Pokémon.

The young trainer scoffed as he saw Starly flying towards Kricketune, "Let's do this!" he shouted, "Kricketune! Release your Bide attack!" Kricketune crossed its blade-like arms across its chest and, as soon as Starly reached him, he swung them at the bird Pokémon. The attack connected with astounding force and sent Starly flailing through the air, before finally crashing to the ground at Jun's feet.

Jun stumbled back slightly, to avoid getting hit by his injured Pokémon, "Starly!" he called, hoping that his Pokémon still had enough energy left to fight... but, Starly was out cold. Jun hung his head down and returned Starly to his Poké Ball.

"We win! We win!" chanted the young trainer, jumping up and down with Kricketune as they celebrated their victory. The boy ran up and hugged his beloved Pokémon tightly, "You evolved so that we could win the battle!" he pointed out, but Kricketune already knew that, "I'm so proud of you!"

"That was quite a battle," said a man in a business suit as he walked over to the two trainers. "You're trainers, right?" asked the man, "Oh, what a silly question... of course you are!" Jun and the young trainer stared at the strange man as he continued to babble on. Suddenly, the man pulled a small device out of his pocket, "I'm sure two tough trainers like you would love his new Pokétch!" he deducted, holding up the device.

Jun and the young trainer looked at each other, both of their faces were riddled with confusion, "What?" they asked in unison, wondering if the strange man knew what he was talking about himself. The business man laughed, as he proceeded to show the two trainers what the Pokétch was all about and how no trainer could do without it.

-----

Hikari's eyes wandered around the pristine Pokémon Centre, she was sitting at a booth with Kouki opposite her. He was busy with his nose stuck into the Pokémon Magazine he always carried around with him and Hikari was getting slightly annoyed that her childhood friend would rather read a book than talk to her. She lifted her arms and placed her elbows upon the table, trying to make as much noise as she could... but Kouki still didn't notice her, she sighed heavily and let her face fall into her hands.

Kouki heard Hikari's loud sigh and lowered the magazine from his face, "Is something the matter?" he asked, wondering if Hikari was ok. He watched as she lazily lifted her head and glared into his eyes, "Hikari?" he asked, slightly scared of her expression.

"Why is it that you would rather read a book than talk to me?" she asked, sounding very grumpy. Hikari pushed her blue hair out of her face and sat up straight, "Am I less interesting than a book?" The upset girl crossed her arms and glared at her "friend", who knew that if he didn't come up with a good answer soon... he'd definitely regret it.

Kouki quickly tried to explain himself, "N-no! Not at all," he stuttered, lifting up the Pokémon Magazine, "It's just that... if I'm going to be a Pokémon Researcher one day, I have to know my stuff." He saw that Hikari wasn't feeling any better after his excuse and sighed, "I'm sorry," he muttered, closing the magazine and looking back at his friend, "What would you like to talk about?"

Hikari smiled as Kouki closed the book, but was then caught off guard by his question. Sure, she wanted to talk to him... but she had no idea what about. "Uhm..." she said, trying to think of a subject, "How about, where we are going next?" she finally asked.

Kouki let his head fall to one side and a quiet chuckle escaped his mouth, "You didn't think this far ahead, did you?" he asked, but when Hikari finally answered with her own question... it was Kouki that was caught off guard, "Well..." he started, picking up the Pokémon Magazine quickly and flipping through the pages, "The closest Gym is in Oreburgh City..."

Hikari frowned, "What about me?" she asked, crossing her arms, "I want to take part in my first contest!" Before Kouki could answer, Hikari took matters into her own hands... she spun around the padded seat that was shaped like a semi-circle and bumped into her friends' side playfully, "Gimme that!" she said, ripping the magazine out of Kouki's hands.

Kouki was surprised as Hikari slid up next to him and took the magazine from him, "I was just about to look for that..." he muttered, trying to defend himself, but Hikari was much too quick for him and he decided it was best not to get in her way.

"Of course you were..." returned Hikari sarcastically, rolling her eyes, "Now be quiet while I figure out this map..." She started twisting and turning the magazine, trying to figure out where they were and where the nearest Contest Hall was. "Ah-ha!" she said loudly, slamming the magazine onto the table and pointing to a town on the map... before turning to Kouki to hear his reply.

Kouki blinked a few times before leaning over and taking a look at the map, Hikari's finger was covering the name of the town... so he carefully took her hand in his and lifted it out of the way, "Floaroma Town?" he questioned, knowing exactly what Hikari was going to say next.

Hikari nodded vigorously, "Yep!" she practically shouted, turning back to the map, "Why can't we go there first?" The curious teenage girl sat patiently, waiting for a very well thought out answer that she knew only Kouki could give.

Kouki sighed and pulled the map away from Hikari, "Because..." he started, flattening out the map again, "If we go to Floaroma Town first, we'll have to back track all the way through Jubilife again when we want to go to Oreburgh Town. But, if we go there after we've been to Oreburgh... then we can just keep heading north until we reach Eterna City."

Hikari glanced at the map and then to Kouki's face, which seemed to say that he had won the argument. "Fine..." she mumbled, crossing her arms and sliding lower into the seat. The "grumpy" girl didn't mind though, she knew Kouki would win the argument and she decided not to make a big deal about it.

Kouki laughed, closing the magazine as he followed Hikari... sliding lower into the seat and moving closer to her. "Don't be such a grumpy-gus," he said, pouting, "We've got a wonderful adventure ahead of us, getting upset now is stupid." He said all this while waving his hands in the air, before turning back to Hikari and smiling.

Hikari smiled warmly back at her friend, "I guess you're right," she said, leaning her head against his shoulder, "You're so smart, Kouki," she giggled, sticking her tongue out... yet, not even knowing if he could tell. When she realised how silly she must look to all the other people in Pokémon Centre, she pulled her tongue back in and shut her lips tight.

Kouki blushed as he watched Hikari lie her head against him, but he took it as a friendly gesture and returned it by resting his head against hers. He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly changed his mind... as it might disturb the moment.

----

Jun made his way through the busy Jubilife streets; luckily they had calmed down a bit and weren't so packed. In his hands he carried two watch-like devices, which he had bought from the strange businessman... one was blue and one was red, he intended to give them to Kouki and Hikari to make up for running off. He glanced down at his wrist, on which was yet another Pokétch... this one belonged to him and was orange in colour.

"Do you think Kouki and Hikari will like my gifts?" asked Jun, looking up at Chimchar... who was sitting upon his shoulder. The small monkey Pokemon nodded and went back to observing the city, as if he hadn't already seen enough of it.

Soon enough, Jun stumbled upon the Pokémon Centre and looked through a window to see if Kouki and Hikari were inside. He looked around the whole waiting room before finally finding Kouki and Hikari, but his anxious smile soon faded when he saw his two friends sleeping. The fact that they were sleeping wasn't the problem though, no... the way they were sleeping was, Hikari had her head resting against Kouki's shoulder and Kouki's head was then resting upon Hikari's.

Jun took a few small steps back before bumping into a pedestrian, "Watch it!" he grumbled as he continued on his way. Jun ignored the man and continued to look through the window, still in shock by what he was seeing. Chimchar started knocking at his trainers' shoulder, worried that there might be something wrong... Jun suddenly snapped back to reality and looked up at Chimchar, who was staring blankly at him, "Fine!" he said, loudly, "They can do whatever they want! I don't care!"

"Chim?" questioned Chimchar, wondering if Jun was ok... but obviously, he wasn't. Jun then suddenly began running through the crowds of people, he wanted to get as far away from the Pokémon Centre as possible... the thought of Kouki and Hikari together made his blood boil. Jun and Hikari had been friends for years, they grew up together and then Kouki came into the picture.

After about ten minutes of running, Jun found himself in a grassy area... he was on Route 203 and he was full of rage, something that was very unusual for Jun. He noticed a small pond and walked over to it; he sat down in front of it and stared at the water angrily. He closed his eyes and tried desperately to remove the image of Kouki and Hikari together from his thoughts, but the picture wouldn't leave his head.

Jun suddenly started to feel something poking at his lower back, "Now's not a good time, Chimchar," he muttered, still staring at the water. The poking continued, "Didn't you hear me!" he yelled, turning towards Chimchar, who was minding his own business and yet the poking continued. He turned around and saw a small green creature standing behind him, it looked awfully happy as it poked Jun, "Bud-Ew!" it called happily.

NOTE: Any spelling/grammar errors are unintentional, if you see one please tell me.

Swift! · Nov 20, 2008

Chapter 6 – Running From Love
Jun and the small green Pokémon both stared at each other, long and hard, before Chimchar broke the silence. The small orange monkey hoped down off of Jun's shoulder and wandered over to Budew, the two began to talk... which caused a smile to creep onto Jun's face. He may have been mad at Kouki, but seeing Chimchar making friends with the Budew just seemed to make all of that fade away.

"You're pretty cute, aren't you?" said Jun, stroking the little Pokémon gently. The Budew nodded and smiled happily at Jun, while he jumped up and down joyfully. Jun laughed softly, "And you're modest..."

Jun let Chimchar and Budew get back to their conversation, "Sometimes, I wish I could be a Pokémon," he muttered with a heavy sigh, "They never seem to have any of the problems that humans do." He sighed again as he lay his head upon the grass and looked up at the sky, thinking about Hikari. "Why would she choose him?" he asked himself, "We've been friends since we were born. We grew up together!"

Jun started to remember all the good times he and Hikari had had before she met Kouki at school, if he was there that day Hikari never would have met Kouki. "Maybe she was supposed to meet Kouki that day," thought Jun. You see, Jun is one of those people who believes in destiny... he always has been and he thinks that everything happens for a reason.

-----

Back at the Pokémon Centre, Hikari was just waking up... her eyes flickered open and she stretched her arms out wide. She turned and saw that Kouki was still asleep, "Kouki..." she whispered in his ear, causing him to spring up quickly. Hikari giggled and turned to look out the window, the sun was going down and it was going to be dark soon, "It's late," she pointed out quietly.

Kouki blinked a few times, trying to get the sleep out of his eyes, "Yeah..." he mumbled, noticing the sunset outside. He then looked around the Pokémon Centre, "Where's Jun?" he asked, still scanning the well lit building, "Did he ever come back?" he asked, turning to Hikari.

"I'm not sure..." she answered, looking around the Pokémon Centre as if to double check Kouki's work, "If he did, it was when we were asleep." The teenage girl stretched again, "But, you know Jun. He's got too much energy to sit still for long," she said, letting out a tiny giggle.

Kouki nodded and returned Hikari's laugh with a sweet smile, "Well..." he began, pulling gently at his arm to remind Hikari that she was lying on it, "I guess we'd better go look for him." He stretched and got to his feet, grabbing the Pokémon Magazine and his backpack before motioning to the door.

Hikari nodded, sliding around the padded seat and up onto her feet, "Who knows how far he could wander if we don't catch him?" She laughed yet again, before bending down and grabbing her bag... she made sure she had everything before linking arms with Kouki and walking over to the door.

-----

The two trainers wandered along the dark Jubilife streets, it was amazing how much more of the city you could see when there was no-one else around. Kouki was keeping an eye out for Jun; while Hikari was trying to find a comfortable position... she finally did, with her bag tucked under her right arm and her head resting against Kouki's shoulder.

"Jun!" called Kouki, hoping to hear a response from his impatient and elusive friend, "Jun! Where are you?" Kouki scanned the new area every time they turned a corner and ended up on a different street, "This is crazy..." muttered Kouki, "We'll never be able to find him in the dark."

Hikari pouted at her lazy friend, "We can't give up already..." she pointed out, grabbing tightly onto Kouki's arm and stopping him in his tracks, "Let's just think about this. Where would Jun be heading?" she asked, grabbing for the Pokémon Magazine that was sticking out of Kouki's back pocket.

Kouki spun away and gently grabbed his friend's hand, "No need to check the map," he said, looking into Hikari's eyes, "The Oreburgh Gym is where he would be heading. You know Jun, he may run off... but that doesn't mean he doesn't know where he is going."

Hikari blinked a few times before smirking at Kouki, "Oh..." she said playfully, "Where would I be without you?" she asked rhetorically. Hikari linked her arm with Kouki again and they began making their way down the path.

After about ten minutes, Kouki and Hikari reached the eastern exit of Jubilife City. It had gotten a lot darker, but the two could make out a dark figure sitting on the stairs about fifteen metres away from them. The figure was holding a round object in its arms and had a smaller human shaped creature sitting next to it. Kouki and Hikari could both tell that this was Jun.

"Jun!" called Kouki loudly, startling the teenage boy and causing him to grasp the small object in his arms before taking off in the other direction. Kouki and Hikari ran over to the stairs and saw Chimchar sitting by himself, "Are you ok?" asked Kouki, kneeling down beside the confused Pokémon who nodded solemnly.

Hikari began to get worried, "Why did Jun run away?" she asked looking into the darkness of Route 203 in which Jun had disappeared into. "Couldn't he tell it was us?" she asked, turning to Kouki and grasping his arm tightly. "I'm worried..." she whispered.

-----

Jun huffed and puffed as he ran through the night, he didn't know where he was going... all he knew, was he wanted to get away from Kouki. Budew bobbled up and down in his arms as Jun ran as fast as he could. Suddenly he crashed head first into a rocky wall, causing him to fall onto his back and scream out in pain. Budew closed his eyes and tried to block out his trainers screams, "Budew!" he called.

Jun groaned and rolled from side to side, he looked down and saw Budew... who was looking very upset. "I'm ok, Budew," he said quietly, before rising to his feet and stumbling a bit, "Don't worry..." He regained himself and looked around to see if there was any way to get past the rocky wall, there was... just a few metres away sat a dark hole that acted like a doorway to what must have been a cave or tunnel inside the wall.

The tired trainer took one last look at the area, before silently slipping into the cave and disappearing into the darkness. Jun made his way through the darkness, he held onto Budew tighter than ever and, with one hand, felt his way along the cave wall. Budew was starting to shake, so Jun attempted to comfort the baby Pokémon, "It's going to be ok..." he whispered quietly.

-----

Kouki and Hikari slowly made their way along Route 203, Chimchar was resting upon Kouki's shoulder and Hikari was holding onto him tightly... she was very worried for Jun; he had never acted like this before. Hikari looked up at Kouki, he didn't seem to be scared or worried... in fact, he wasn't showing any emotion at all and that is what Hikari loved about him, no matter how bad things got... you could always count on him to keep his cool.

Kouki noticed that Hikari was looking at him; he turned and saw the worry in her eyes. He put his arm around her and rested his head against hers, "Don't worry..." he whispered in such a tone that was almost enough to make everything ok, "We'll find him..."

All of a sudden, a bright flash of light startled the two trainers and nearly scared them half to death. Everything in the vicinity was lit up with just enough light for Kouki and Hikari to make out their surroundings; trees, bushes, rocks... all the usual stuff, plus something a bit different. A small fox-like Pokémon was sitting on the ground in front of Kouki and Hikari, its tired eyes lazily watching the two trainers.

"That's an Abra!" exclaimed Kouki loudly, he let go of Hikari and took a step forward, "These guys are really rare and extremely hard to catch..." he whispered, so to not scare the Abra away. Kouki slowly unclipped a Poké Ball from his belt, "I'm going to catch this guy..." he said quietly, before hurling the red and white ball at the small Pokémon. In a flash the Abra was gone and Kouki's Poké Ball landed on the ground with a thud.

Hikari suddenly exploded behind Kouki, "How can you be thinking of catching Pokémon while Jun is somewhere out there!?" she screamed, waving her arms in the direction Jun had gone. She walked over to Kouki, who was picking up his Poké Ball, "You can catch Pokémon after we've found Jun..." she said quietly.

Kouki sighed, "Thanks..." he started, standing back up and turning to Hikari, "But, I didn't just want to catch that Abra for the sake of it." He clipped the Poké Ball onto his belt and scanned the area, wondering if the Abra hadn't teleported too far, "That Abra used Flash, that's why we could see. If I caught it, we could use that Flash to light up the area and make it easier to find Jun."

Hikari hung her head, "Oh..." she murmured, sliding closer to Kouki and grasping his arm, "I guess you're heart was in the right place..." Kouki smiled and nodded at Hikari's mistake, soon the two were back on their way to finding Jun and figuring out if he was ok.

For another ten minutes the two trainers searched the area, until they came to a dead end... a large rock wall was all they could find at the end of the route. "This doesn't make any sense," said Hikari looking around to see if there was any other way Jun had gone, "How could he have just disappeared?" she asked, looking up at Kouki, who was looking just as confused as she was.

"I. Don't. Know." replied Kouki slowly, despite being so smart... not even he could understand where Jun had run off to. Suddenly there was another blinding flash, Kouki and Hikari turned and saw Abra again. He was standing in front of the cave entrance that Jun had gone into about fifteen minutes ago. "Abra!" called Kouki, pulling Hikari as they both ran over to the evasive Pokémon, "You found a way into the cave!"

The Abra tilted its head to the side, it was confused... it had no idea what was going on, or why Kouki was so excited. "Abra!" he finally said, deciding to take the credit for whatever it was he had done. Chimchar, who was still on Kouki's shoulder, dropped onto the grass and walked over to Abra, "Chim-Chim," he said, explaining what the problem was to the confused Pokémon and Abra chatted back, starting to get the picture.

Abra finally understood everything and nodded happily, Chimchar turned to Kouki and pointed into the cave. "You're going to help us find Jun?" asked Kouki, wondering if that was what Abra had said to Chimchar, Abra nodded. "Perfect!" said Kouki, sounding very pleased, "With you on our team I have no doubt that we'll be able to find Jun," he said sincerely; Kouki, Hikari, Chimchar and the wild Abra all turned and looked at the dark cave, one by one they slowly made their way into the darkness.

NOTE: Any spelling/grammar errors are unintentional, if you see one please tell me.

Pikalover10 · Nov 28, 2008

This is a great story! Can't wait to read more!:D:)

Swift! · Nov 29, 2008

Chapter 7 – Friends Til the End
Kouki, Hikari and the two Pokémon, Chimchar and Abra, slowly crept through the dark cave. It was pitch black and no-one could see anything, that's where Abra came in... the little fox-like Pokémon blinked his small eyes and created a blinding flash, which lit the whole cave. Kouki and Hikari smiled at the new found light, they started scanning the cave... looking for any signs of Jun.

"Do you see anything?" asked Hikari, as she continued to scan the area. She stopped for a second and turned to Kouki, waiting for his response. The teenage boy noticed Hikari staring at him and he slowly shook his head, "Where could he be?" questioned Hikari, going back to searching, "Jun!" she called loudly, which sent an echo through the cave.

Off in the distance, carried by the echo, came a suddenly yell, "What was that?" asked Kouki, stopping suddenly and turning to Hikari. He waited for an answer, but Hikari just stood there... silent. "Hikari?" he asked, wondering if she had heard him the first time.

"Quiet!" returned Hikari abruptly, raising a finger to Kouki, "Just listen..." she continued on to say. Abra and Chimchar moved towards the noise, they were now at the head of the pack as everyone waited for the voice to talk again.

"Hikari?" called the voice quietly, although... because of the echo, it sounded a lot louder, "Is that you?" asked the voice again. Soon it became clear to everyone that the voice was owned by none other than Jun.

"Jun!" yelled Hikari happily; as a wave of relief washed over her, "Are you ok?" she asked, settling down to see if Jun was alright. A few seconds past and there was no response, Hikari begun to get worried again... until Jun broke the silence.

"I've been better," called Jun sarcastically, Hikari finally knew that he was alright. Jun may be a bit reckless, but even when he's in trouble you can always count on him for a joke. Kouki, Hikari, Chimchar and their new partner, Abra, followed the sound of Jun's voice and soon found him sitting against the wall of a long rocky corridor. "It's about time you guys showed up!" he exclaimed with a smile, it seemed he was no longer angry at Kouki or Hikari.

Jun was in pretty bad shape, there was a gash on his right leg... which showed that he must have tripped while running through the cave. Kouki, being the good friend he is, offered Jun a hand... which, after hesitating for a second, the injured boy accepted with a smile. "You gave us quite a scare," pointed out Kouki, putting Jun's arm around his neck and smiling warmly.

"Yeah..." he muttered, scratching his own neck with his free hand, "I'm really sorry about that..." Suddenly, something within Jun's messenger bag began to move... to Kouki and Hikari's surprise, a small green Pokémon appeared. "Oh," said Jun quickly, realising that he had forgotten about Budew, "This is Budew," he said with a smile, "I met him earlier today and he decided that he wanted to come with me."

Hikari squealed with excitement, she practically leapt forward and grabbed Budew in her arms, "It's so cute!" she exclaimed, squeezing the poor Grass-type Pokémon... who was begin to look like it didn't enjoy all this attention.

Jun laughed reluctantly at Hikari's actions, he didn't want to admit to Kouki and Hikari why he had run off in the first place... so, he tried to change the subject, "What do you guys say we get out of this cave?"

Kouki nodded eagerly, "I'm with you buddy!" he said quickly, starting to make his way through the cave... helping Jun every step of the way. Chimchar and Abra started marching after their trainers proudly; yes... it appeared that Abra was now an official member of Kouki's Pokémon team. Hikari suddenly noticed everyone walking away; she grasped Budew tightly and briskly caught up to her friends. The trio's Pokémon Journey had started off a little bumpy, but here's hoping its smooth sailing from now on!

-----

Kouki and Jun burst through the doors of the Pokémon Centre, followed by Chimchar and Abra... who were followed by Hikari, holding Budew in her arms. So many people and Pokémon charging into the Pokémon Centre at this hour must have been enough to scare the young nurse, that was standing behind the front counter, half to death. Amidst all the ruckus the nurse managed to quickly grab a hold of the situation.

"Good evening," she greeted politely, smiling warmly with a tilt of her head, "I'm Nurse Joy of Oreburgh City. How may I help you?" Kouki helped Jun over to the front counter, where he nearly collapsed if not for his good friend holding him up. "Oh dear..." said Nurse Joy, looking at Jun's state, "What' happened to him?"

Kouki stopped to catch his breath, in that time Chimchar, Abra, Hikari and Budew managed to reach the two boys and the front counter. "He tripped... in the cave... just outside the City," replied Kouki, still tired after the long trek through the darkness to reach the Pokémon Centre.

The young nurse leaned over the counter and saw the gash on Jun's leg; it had left a trail of blood all through the Pokémon Centre and needed to be treated quickly. "How badly does it hurt?" asked the nurse, looking up at Jun while still leaning over... which was giving the teenage boy a perfect view down the front of her dress.

"Uhm..." he mumbled, trying to find the words that weren't coming to him, "Oh, it's not that bad," he lied, too enticed by the young woman to think of anything better to say, and anyways... he wanted to come off as a tough guy on his first impression.

Nurse Joy thought for a second, "I don't usually work on humans, but in this case I'll be willing to make an exception," she said with a nod, before turning to Kouki and Hikari, "Would you like me to take your Pokémon while I'm at it?" she asked with a smile.

Kouki glanced at Hikari, who nodded back to him, "That would be wonderful," he said, as if relieved to have so much weight taken off his shoulders. Kouki and Hikari handed over their Poké Ball's and let Chimchar, Abra and Budew go with the nurse.

The young woman, Jun and the three Pokémon disappeared into the emergency room; "You can grab a room if you'd like!" called the nurse from behind the closed doors. Hikari ran behind the counter quickly and grabbed a key that was hanging on the wall, she was excited to finally have somewhere civilized to stay. Kouki and Hikari ran to the stairs and thundered up them as fast as they could.

-----

Half an hour later Kouki and Hikari were getting ready for bed, the clock was nearing ten-thirty and it had been a rough day. Sleep was the best thing they could think of right now, despite the fact that they had already had a good nap back in Jubilife. I guess the ordeal with Jun must have tired them out... a lot.

There were three beds in the room, one beside the door and two right beside each other on the other side of the room... these two had already been claimed by Kouki and Hikari, you could tell because half the contents of each of their bags was sprawled out on top of them.

Kouki grabbed what he was going to sleep in and made his way over to the bathroom, which to his dismay was already being occupied by Hikari, "Open up!" he demanded, banging his free hand against the door loudly. The door open slowly and Hikari wandered out, she was dressed in a long shirt that could have passed as a dress on her... it was grey and orange and had the number eighteen written on it in big letters.

"No need to panic..." she said quietly, stepping closer to Kouki, "I'm all done..." Hikari walked passed Kouki and over to her bed, which was the one closest to the bathroom. Kouki followed the girl with his eyes and suddenly burst out laughing, which caused Hikari to turn to him and send a look that was asking, "What's so funny?" straight towards him.

Kouki calmed down and wiped a tear from his eye, "Nice shirt!" he said sarcastically, "Where'd ya get it?" The boy had been laughing so much he had dropped his clothes on the ground, but he didn't mind... he was too fascinated by why Hikari would be wearing something like that.

Hikari stamped her foot, "For your information, Jun gave it to me," she replied, answering the boy's stupid question. She took a big step forward and continued, "The reason I'm wearing it is so that you can't see what I've got on under it..." she whispered to the boy, who had finally stopped laughing.

"And..." began Kouki, "What do you have on under it?" he asked, letting his curious mind get the better of him. He bent down and picked up his clothes before looking over at Hikari and waiting for an answer to his "perverted" question.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out..." she said, turning away and going back to what she was about to do before she was interrupted by Kouki's laughing. Suddenly something inside her clicked and she wished she hadn't replied to Kouki's question like that.

Kouki started to think up a good come-back, before replying with, "Is that an invitation?" he asked suggestively, raising an eyebrow at Hikari. He took a few steps backwards, feeling the cold tiles of the bathroom as he got ready to jump in and close the door before Hikari could think of a come-back.

Hikari stopped what she was doing abruptly to respond to Kouki, but by the time she did... he was already safely in the bathroom getting changed. She scoffed, "Boy's are disgusting..." she muttered, referring to Kouki's last "question".

Suddenly, the door swung open and Jun came limping into the room, "I checked every other room before I found you!" he exclaimed, carrying on like a baby. Chimchar, Abra and Budew slowly walked into the room... they looked very tired and were ready for bed. "Oh," began Jun, remembering something important, "The nurse says she'll bring up our Poké Ball's later on."

Jun was suddenly ambushed by Hikari and embraced into a tight hug, the teenage boy didn't object... he accepted the hug and returned it warmly. "I'm glad you're alright..." she said sweetly, looking down at his, now bandaged, leg, "So, do you think they'll let you keep it?" she asked jokingly.

Jun laughed, "I don't know," he said, pretending to sound worried, "What if I wake up and they've taken my leg!" He and Hikari laughed along at his joke and went back to what they were doing. Jun began to unpack and Hikari did the opposite, she packed up.

"Kouki's in the bathroom," pointed out Hikari, not even looking up from her packing, "He should be out in a second. She finished with her bag and dropped it on the ground, she then jumped into bed and got under the covers, "I don't know about you, but I'm pooped..."

Jun laughed and walked over to the bathroom, just as Kouki was coming out, "It's all yours," he said, allowing Jun to pass him and make his way into the bathroom. Hikari watched as Kouki walked across the room, he didn't have a shirt on and so it was one of the first times she had gotten to see his body. Kouki noticed that Hikari was looking at him, "You like what you see?" he asked with a laugh.

Hikari blushed a bright red, "Shut up!" she replied, rolling over and pulling the covers over her head. She might have not admitted it, but she did think Kouki had a good body... not that she liked him more than a friend or anything, right?

NOTE: Any spelling/grammar errors are unintentional, if you see one please tell me.

Pikalover10 · Nov 29, 2008

Hehehe. I wonder if Hikari really does like Kouki or not.........Anyway its a good chapter:)

Swift! · Dec 7, 2008

Chapter 8 – City of Revelations
The bright morning sun shone through the lace curtains of the Pokémon Centre, a beam of sunlight landed on Kouki's face and awoke him from his slumber. He blinked a few times, trying to remove the sleep from his eyes... he scanned the room and found that Hikari and Jun were both still asleep, his eyes then found the alarm clock and he found out that it was only just reaching six.

With a long and loud yawn, Kouki rolled himself out of bed... his bare feet finally making contact with the clean carpet, after what seemed like ages. He shuffled his way across the room and headed into the bathroom, the cool tiles causing a tingle all through his body, silently... he closed the door behind him.

In the bathroom he checked himself in the mirror; despite the messy blue hair and tired grey eyes... he was still the same old Kouki. Another yawn escaped his mouth as he turned and reached for a towel, grasping it tightly with his hand. He made his way over to the shower, hung the towel upon the door and started the water running.

About twenty minutes later, Kouki was fully clothed and ready for the day. He grabbed his Poké Ball's, making sure to return Abra... who had slept on the floor with Chimchar and Budew. He clipped each one to his belt and then reached for his Pokédex, after one more scan of the room... Kouki was sure that he had everything and neither Hikari nor Jun were awake yet.

Kouki made his way over to the door, turning the handle and pulling it open, he was determined to start the day well and end it just the same way... by winning his first badge at the Oreburgh Gym. With a creek, Kouki pulled the door shut... making sure not to wake Hikari or Jun.

-----

Kouki stepped out of the Pokémon Centre and into the morning sun, which was warm against his body. He took a deep breath and let out a relieved sigh as his eyes wandered around, checking out the city that was Oreburgh. Last night he hadn't gotten a good chance to check out the city, obviously because it was too dark... but, also because he was in such a hurry to get Jun to the Pokémon Centre.

"Watch out!" screamed an unfamiliar voice, which caused Kouki to jump and turn to see what it was he was supposed to be watching out for. His eyes widened as a blue dinosaur-like Pokémon came charging towards him; unluckily for him... he wasn't quick enough. The Pokémon smashed into him head first, which caused him to fly a few feet and land on the hard ground with a thud.

The next thing Kouki saw was a dirty hand being thrust towards him, it took him a second to figure out what was going on... but then he realised and quickly grabbed the hand, suddenly feeling himself being pulled onto his feet. "Sorry about that..." said a tall man, apologizing for the Pokémon smashing into him. He had maroon coloured hair and was wearing a red hard hat; his "uniform" made it look like he was a miner... which Kouki thought was probably the case.

Kouki looked down beside the man and saw the blue Pokémon that had run into him, it had a playful grin on its face as it tried to push the man with its head. The man noticed Kouki looking at the Pokémon and quickly spoke up, "This is Cranidos..." he said with a smile, causing the boy to look back at him, "And I'm Roark."

"Cranidos?" questioned Kouki, once again looking down at the unusual Pokémon. He pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it at the "Cranidos", the screen came to life and a voice began to talk about the Pokémon.

Cranidos: the Head Butt Pokémon.
It lived in jungles around 100 million years ago. Its skull is as hard as iron.

Kouki slowly put away his Pokédex, not taking his eye off of Cranidos... thinking that if he did, it might try to knock him over again. When he was sure that the Pokémon was no longer interested in him, he turned to Roark, "I'm Kouki," he introduced, holding out his hand for a friendly handshake.

Roark accepted and shook Kouki's hand with a smile, "Nice to meet you Kouki," he replied, glancing down at Cranidos... who was pushing his head against Roark's hip. "I'm sorry again for Cranidos' behaviour. You see, I only just got him... so I haven't had time to train him yet," he said, accepting Cranidos' actions as his fault.

"That's ok," replied Kouki, unclipping Turtwig's Poké Ball and holding it tightly in his hand, "I just started my own Pokémon Journey and I haven't got a good chance to train any of my Pokémon." He pushed the little button in the middle of the ball and Kouki's small turtle-like Pokémon appeared, smiling happily.

Roark crouched down and began to scratch under Turtwig's chin, causing the small Pokémon to smile even wider, "All a Pokémon really needs is a little affection..." he said, looking up at Kouki, "As well as a tough trainer." Roark rose back to full height and sighed, or was it a yawn, anyway... he made a "relieved" noise, "So, what brings you to Oreburgh?" he asked, catching Kouki off guard.

Kouki took half a step back and scanned Roark's face, "Uh..." is all he managed to say. How did Roark know that Kouki was a traveller and not a citizen of Oreburgh City? Roark waited for an answer, but by the confused look on Kouki face... he knew he wasn't going to get one.

Roark laughed, "The backpack, fair skin and Pokémon," he pointed out, revealing how he knew that Kouki was only a "tourist", "It's pretty easy to tell you apart from everyone else." He turned to Cranidos, who had finally stopped pushing at him, "I get challenged every day," he said, patting the blue dinosaur on the head, "I have to be able to tell the travellers from the locals."

Kouki now had absolutely no idea what was going on, everything that Roark had said was getting bundled up inside his head and giving him a terrible headache, "So... if you get challenged by trainers every day. That must mean you're-" he began to explain, but was cut off by Roark.

"That's right!" he said cheerfully, giving Kouki a second to let the pain of his headache flow away, "I'm the Oreburgh City Gym Leader!" Kouki gasped, taking a full step back this time and staring at Roark, who wasn't fazed by Kouki's behaviour and just smiled back cheerfully.

-----

The clock in their room of the Pokémon Centre was only just rolling onto seven, as if the clock and Chimchar were connected in some way... the small monkey burst to life, making his way towards Hikari's yellow duffle bag as quick as his feet could carry him.

Chimchar unzipped the bag and reached in, his arm searched the bag until it found a round object and he pulled out a Poké Ball... Piplup's to be exact. Chimchar pressed the button on the red and white orb and with a flash, Piplup appeared! Jun's Pokémon began to chat with Hikari's and the conversation ended with Piplup nodded abruptly, as if the two had a plan or something.

Chimchar and Piplup then climbed up onto Hikari's bed, they looked at each other and Chimchar began to countdown from three on his paw. Once the small Pokémon's fist was closed, both Chimchar and Piplup began jumping up and down, alternating as they did.

The shaking of the bed caused Hikari to wake up quickly, she looked up and saw Chimchar and Piplup jumping, "What are you two doing!?" she screamed, wondering what had gotten into them. The two Pokémon stopped and looked at Hikari with sorry faces, a smile crept onto her face, "It's alright..." she said, accepting that it was just a joke.

Hikari spun towards the side of her bed and sat on the edge, letting out a long yawn, "It's a beautiful morning," she assessed, looking out through the lace curtains at the city. Out of the corner of her eye she notice movement coming from Jun's bed, the teenage girl turned and saw Budew trying to climb up the blanket, which was hanging onto the ground, and onto Jun's bed.

Budew tried its best, but his lack of arms made the task incredibly difficult... even still the small grass Pokémon was determined to reach his master. Hikari watched in agony, it was so sad to see such a cute Pokémon in so much pain... physically and emotionally. Without thought, she made her way over to Jun's bed and helped Budew up. Even though the tiny Pokémon was grateful, he felt like his ego had been crushed.

"It's ok..." she assured, trying desperately to comfort the sad Pokémon. Budew ignored Hikari's words and made his way over to Jun... well, his face at least. The grass Pokémon sat down and stared at his trainer, hoping that the usually energetic boy would wake up soon. Thankfully, he did... Jun's eyes flickered open and he looked up to see Hikari sitting on the side of his bed, "What's going on?" he asked in surprise.

Hikari's attention snapped away from Budew and she looked over at Jun, "Oh! Uhm... Budew here was having trouble getting up onto your bed. So, I helped him..." she looked down at the baby Pokémon and gave him a warm smile... which ended up being ignored. Jun also looked down at Budew, who faked a smile at his trainer and climbed into his lap.

"He seems fine now..." he pointed out, once again looking up at Hikari, "I guess he was just scared down there on the ground, all alone." Jun scanned the room and found Chimchar chasing Piplup; he let out a semi-forced laugh and turned back to Hikari, whose head was hanging down slightly, "Are you ok?" he asked, trying to catch Hikari's eyes with his.

Hikari faintly heard Jun's question and raised her head slightly, "No... I mean," she sighed, shaking her head, "It's ok... I'm alright." She glanced down at Budew, who had fallen asleep again... "Actually..." she started, changing her mind about her answer, "I did want to ask you something."

"Hmm?" mumbled Jun, wondering what it was that Hikari had to ask. Whenever he heard such sincerity in her voice he knew she must have something important to say, so Jun listened intently as he waited for Hikari to answer.

"Why did you run from Kouki and I?" asked Hikari, staring into Jun's eyes. She looked like she was determined to get an answer out of him... and she was. Hikari didn't let up, but Jun tried desperately to break her gaze... he didn't want to answer the question, but he didn't have any choice.

He sighed, "Back in Jubilife..." he started, still trying to break her gaze and avoid the question, "I came back to the Pokémon Centre and I saw you and Kouki. You were sleeping, together... side-by-side." Hikari finally dropped her gaze and Jun quickly did the same, in the hope that he wouldn't have to continue the conversation.

Hikari searched her mind for that exact moment and tried to figure out a return to Jun's explanation, "So..." she began, hoping that what she was thinking was right, "You think Kouki and I are... together?" she asked, wondering if that's what Jun was thinking.

Jun nodded, "Yes..." he replied quietly, he found Hikari's eyes again and proceeded to talk, "The reason I just forgot about it back in the cave was..." he paused, glancing away for a second, "Is because I thought I could avoid your questions if I just stopped running."

Hikari shook her head vigorously, "Jun!" she almost screamed, "You're my best friend... no matter what you can't keep a secret from me and I would never keep one from you." She glared at Jun, her eyes showing that she was speaking the truth, "Even if Kouki and I were a couple I'd tell you... but we aren't."

Jun nodded slowly, not fully believing her... Hikari knew he didn't so she desperately grabbed her best friend in a tight hug, "I love you, Jun!" she screamed, "And I would never keep a secret from you!"

NOTE: Any spelling/grammar errors are unintentional, if you see one please tell me.

Blue Angel · Dec 8, 2008

I have only one error to report in chapter 7 and it is a simple one. Everything else seemed perfect. And why shouldn't it? A story with Jun, Hikari, and Kouki is enough for me :P

Kev XY said:
She might have not have admitted it, but she does think Kouki has a good body... not that she likes him or anything, right?

The first part is in past tense, but the next two parts in in present. Most of your chapter is written in past tense so I would change the last two parts to match past tense, and try to stick to one tense, at least, all through a chapter.

But you have done well if that is all I can catch you on :P

I'll read the other chapter soon. Keep it up ^^

Swift! · Dec 8, 2008

Thanks for that, Blue_Angel.
I do seem to have a problem with past and present tense's, it's something I've got to work on.

Blue Angel · Dec 8, 2008

Obviously, Hikari's love is supposed to be meant as brotherly/sisterly, but who knows if she meant more than just that.

I didn't see any errors. I really don't have time for a "scanning" inspection, but if it wasn't obvious simply by reading it then it won't be obvious to many others.

Good luck, and keep on writing.

P.S. Isn't the feeling of carpet and blanket similar, and wouldn't the feeling of cold tile flooring in the bathroom cause more shivering than stepping onto carpet?

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