Adelaide Smith
Littleroot Town
*bulbagarden.net image removed*
~
The itch was getting phenomenally annoying. It had been clawing at the side of Adelaide's face for what seemed like hours, as she laid upon the sheets of her bed with no sense of time passing by, nor acknowledging the fact that she seemed to be fully dressed between the ****s. This revelation only came to her when she opened her eyes to get up, with no tolerance left for the itchy pillow, and glanced across the bed she'd ended up in. The first thoughts were questions about why she would have went to sleep fully dressed, and whether one of her parents had moved her to the bed after finding her slumbering on the keyboard, but it didn't seem like something they'd do; they respected her privacy.
Then she noticed the simple white sheets of her single bed, which only baffled the young woman further; she had a queen-sized bed, with lovely silk sheets and feather-fluffed pillows. It was nothing like this itchy mess she found herself sleeping atop. She followed the draw of her gaze across the rest of the unusual bedroom, which also revealed itself to be nothing like her own. She could only conclude that she was in a dream or nightmare and needed to find her way out of it. With a confident smile, Adelaide rolled off of the top of the bed and landed on her feet, as she pulled her cap out of one of many pockets and placed it firmly atop her head.
No dream had held dominion over her in two years, for she could manipulate her own mind better than anyone else. So long as she played by the designated rules, it would soon be over and she could wake with a fresh face for the day ahead. Hopefully with a new story to write about in her journal. First, she would scan the area for common aspects of the story; an old Gamecube pushed up against the wall, alongside an outdated television that sat upon a mostly bare floor, so anything that lurked below this floor would hear her footsteps. But, from the corner of her eye, sat an old rig that was turned off and had some form of container beneath it.
It had to be the key to progressing her dream, Adelaide reasoned, for computers were a big aspect of her life and a medium through which she could control her own digital worlds. It made perfect sense that such a significant object would symbolize continuing events, so she crept across the bare floorboards as quietly as her lanky legs would carry her and pushed the power button of the computer, with the expectation of some message of doom or a sudden change of her surrounding area. But, all that appeared as a menu screen that contained a list of commands. All of them were empty, save for a tab marked "Storage" that she clicked with only a moment's hesitation.
There was a click and a whoosh that punctuated the container opening beneath the desk, revealing a single purple and white flask that the computer had labelled as a potion. Adelaide stood crouched in confusion for a few moments before she deduced that it was either a case of the future dream being too dangerous and requiring this enigmatic potion, or a MacGuffin that would lead her throughout the story of her dream. It was a peculiar item to choose for this, but she shrugged it off and stuffed the item into the pocket of her hooded jacket. She closed the safe tight and began to make her way towards the only avenue of progress. The stairs.
As Adelaide made her way towards it, the painting that hung on the wall caught her eye, with vivid colors that depicted a glorious emerald dragon whose rippling muscles and flight through the sapphire sky reminded her of the Quetzalcoatl of Mesoamerican mythology. There were certainly no complaints from her on the style of the artist, but she couldn't put her finger on just whose style was used to create it. With a shake of her head, the young woman remembered that she had a dream to conquer and strolled down the stairs to come face to face with a barely-decorated living room, where half-unpacked boxes were lined up against the wall and a woman dressed in a cream top with charcoal slacks sat at the breakfast table.
It wasn't bad fashion, but it wouldn't have killed the dream-woman to accessorize. Before Adelaide could continue her critique of the older woman's outfit, who looked just old enough to be her mother, the grapefruit-eating woman sprung to her feet and beamed a kind smile in Adelaide's direction. "Oh, there you are, dear! Already dressed and ready for your big day, hmm?" The strangely affectionate woman laughed softly as she approached with a speed that made Adelaide's gut turn; perhaps this woman was about to turn into some form of monster. But, instead of eating her, the woman pulled Adelaide into a tight hug against her motherly bosom. "But you were exhausted from moving, weren't you? I'm not surprised you slept well."
It was with great anguish that Adelaide realized this woman was supposed to be her mother in this little scenario and felt a flush come to her cheeks. This was no nightmare of eldritch horrors or slashy things; it was one of the embarrassing ones, where she'd end up in a hot dog costume and sharing a bed with Poseidon's trident. With luck, however, this dream would go along smoothly if she just followed its rules. So, the young woman reluctantly returned her faux-mother's embrace. "Heh...well, I love you too, mom!" She responded sheepishly, as she grew slightly jealous of the mother's figure; she'd inherited her own spindly form from her mother, but this mother was fully-formed and slender.
"Even though you're beginning your big adventure! Make sure you prepare time to contact me." The mother jested again, as she released her supposed daughter with a kiss on her cheek and handed her a small card. "Now, this is connected to your savings, so you should be able to buy things with the money I've put in there. And to pay others if you lose...but I don't think you will, sweetie. You have your father's genes, and he'll be eager to see you arrive victorious in Petalburg!" She added with a sly smile back at Adelaide, before approaching the door on swift feet. "Go on, leave before I try to stop you! It isn't easy to watch my only daughter leave on her lonesome, you know." Another nervous chuckle. "And don't dawdle for too long; you might not be able to get your choice of Pokemon from the Professor."
And with those words, another fresh revelation hit Adelaide; that was why this all seemed so familiar. Though she wasn't invested enough in the series to call herself a fan, being a PC gamer through and through, the young troper had played through a few of the games before; particularly when she was traveling through the NYC commute. This just made things easier for her to follow the progression of her dream, but she wondered what embarrassment this dream would inflict on her next. She could have ended up getting an affectionate Tangela as her starter, or a water Pokemon that would soak her from head to toe in front of a crowd of people.
"I'll message you as soon as possible, mom! Bye!" Adelaide promised with a wave of her fingers, as she strolled through the door with a smile on her face but a playful dread within her for the next twist of her imagination. The outside world greeted her with a splendorous view of lush green trees, grass, and patches of flowers that littered the boundaries of the town with a rainbow of colors. The air was tinted with the sweet aroma of blossoming flowers for the warm climate and the trees that stretched out on the border of the town promised a forest full of adventures. She resolved not to take one step into the forest, for that was where doom surely lurked, and the teen had explicit instructions to get her starter.
Two buildings stood to the side of the building Adelaide exited, and she chose the slightly smaller one to visit first. It was as good a chance as any that this one would be the home of the Professor, for they didn't tend to make a lot of money to her knowledge, and from her time spent in New York, larger homes always meant the owners were positively bathing in cash. She ran her fingers across the wooden door as she came to stand before it, as she noticed that it seemed to be a mirror image of the home that belonged to her faux-mother. With a shrug of her shoulders, the young woman rapped on the door with her soft knuckles and waited for its occupants to answer.
All Adelaide could hear for a few moments was the soft breeze, until there was a padding of feet from the other side of the door and it was yanked open with surprising swiftness, to reveal the girl that stood behind it. She brushed an errant braid of black hair away from her cheek, but didn't seem to mind her rather large bangs as she shot a smile at Adelaide that was neither menacing nor completely friendly, but with a sparkle in her eyes that spoke of inspiration. "Hey there, Adelaide." She greeted cordially, but shot a glance back into the room that was hidden behind her form and the tiny top hat that adorned her head. "Have you been to Birch's giveaway yet? Are you ready to rumble?"
"Not yet, sorry." Adelaide replied with a struggle to keep both of her eyebrows down, for she had no clue who this girl was meant to be based on from her real life. None of her friends were interested in the gothic subculture this other young woman seemed to sport with a gem-crusted necklace and tightly-wound corset that served only aesthetic purposes. She would have complimented the style of dress, if it had any other color, but she supposed that was a stylistic choice for the fashion. For her part, all she needed to do was not make any big blunders about not knowing her. "I just wanted to say good morning and ask if you wanted to come with me?"
"Sorry..." The other young woman coughed, as she reached beside the inside of the door and took a hold of Adelaide's hand. As she spoke, she began to scribble something on Adelaide's hand in a thick black marker. "Mello has been diving in my wardrobe all morning, so I still need to get my boots on, and that takes a long, long while. But, here you go, so you can call me if we don't meet up soon." She smiled proudly at the guest on her doorstep, as she capped the pen again and the stray New Yorker observed the elegantly written note. It was a cell phone number, helpfully marked with the girl's name, and she was apparently named Anna Tua.
"Thanks." Adelaide smiled, not treading too far one way or the other in case she could inspire suspicions about acting out of character to somebody who was apparently her friend. And, if she were to judge by the size of the town, they were two of the only children present; which meant they'd likely been friends since childhood. That ink probably wouldn't run off for a long time, however. "So, I'm going to go now. Can't miss getting my first Pokemon, right?" She asked with a soft laugh that Anna shared, until she gave a finger wave. "Goodbye, Anna. I'll try to ring you as soon as I get to a phone, okay?" She promised, despite how strangely the girl's eyes seemed to stare.
"Goodbye, Adelaide." Anna said with another flash of her smile and a close of the door. Adelaide lingered for a moment longer, upon which she heard a ruckus coming from inside the house. "Mello Larvitar Esquire, if you chew on my boots one more time, I'm going to flush your Pokeball down the toilet!" And that shouting was her cue to leave Anna's house and head towards the larger building, which she assumed would be the domain of the Professor. That first meeting with her supposed childhood friend in this dream was not particularly unpleasant, although she did seem like a bit of a strange one, but Adelaide realized that most would say that about her anyway.
"Help me!" A stuttering yell came from over yonder, where Adelaide's head snapped like an elastic band. It took her only a few moments of looking to spot a fluffy ball of brown-cream fur assaulting what looked like a hippie wearing a Professor's coat in a style most offensive to the young woman's tastes. "Hello!" The man yelled once again, while every attempt of his to move away from the giant tree trunk was stopped by the attacking Pokemon. "You over there!" He pointed at Adelaide, as though the racket he was making wasn't enough. "Please! Help! In my bag! There's a Pokeball!" He frantically yelled out to the sixteen year old that looked on with a slightly amused expression.
Being a dream, the man was in no real danger, and likely had plot armor that would save him from ever being mauled by the unusual Pokemon. Which made a strange thought rise in Adelaide's mind; she didn't recognize this Pokemon at all, so perhaps her mind was creating them from scratch. Taking advantage of the situation, she made sure to stretch out her limbs thoroughly before she strolled over to the spilled satchel bag and browsed through the two Pokeballs that rested amongst piles of papers and other miscellaneous Professor's equipment. They were labelled with names, but the teen couldn't recognize them at all.
Once again, it seemed like Adelaide's own imagination was her downfall as she mused over which of the pair to take. Her knowledge of types didn't help, as both seemed equally likely to help her, so she used the age-old tactic of choosing which of the two sounded cooler. Gripping the Pokeball labelled with the name "Torchic", Adelaide sprung to her feet and pondered which pose would be best to take. As this was a dream based on battling monsters, she assumed that the rule of cool would most definitely be in play and flung it high into the air. As soon as the red and white orb reached its apex, a burst of shimmering light appeared and formed a shiny silhouette besides Adelaide.
The Pokemon that appeared could barely reach Adelaide's ankle, as it looked up at her with beady black eyes and flapped tiny yellow wings in appreciation of being let out. "No time to chat." Adelaide smiled down at the pretty orange bird and pointed a swinging finger at the ever-pestered Professor. "Leap at it and slash with your claws!" She commanded the diminutive Torchic, whose eyes bulged out in response and whose beak clamped together in both disapproval and skepticism at the command. The two of them shared a staring contest in the silence, besides Professor Birch's yelling, until Adelaide blinked and sighed. "Just trust me, okay? It will be awesome."
Torchic's skeptical gaze lingered on its apparent trainer for a few moments longer, before it wriggled its lightly plumed behind and tensed the muscles in its legs in preparation for a leap. Onyx eyes focused on the pester of a Zigzagoon, a breath was taken, and the Torchic leaped for all it was worth. To Adelaide's surprise and the Professor's chagrin, the Torchic flew through the air with a great cry; an orange blur that darted through the air in an instant before its claw came down in a wicked slash against the wild Pokemon's side, who stumbled away on its paws and growled venomously at the Torchic that had landed with its plumage facing the foe.
Just as the puff of ragged fur strode forward to retaliate, Torchic's leg twisted in place on the ground as it spun on the spot. Its claws came crashing across the Zigzagoon's face, at which point it collapsed to the ground in a defeated heap and meekly attempted to crawl away. Adelaide noticed that this Pokemon seemed quite happy about its victory, as it stood with a puffed out chest and its beak held high while the Professor regained his composure. Though the young woman still could not recognize the Pokemon, she assumed it had yet to realize its full potential, especially with flames. Then again, the Zigzagoon seemed like a particularly easy foe to defeat.
The Professor, now confirmed of his own health after shaking his bared legs for injuries, let out a happy sigh at his own survival and approached his saviors with a smile on his bearded face. "I was in tall grass, studying Pokemon, when I was jumped..." He explained with a sheepish smile and a jab of his thumb at the smattering of grass just behind his shoulder. "You saved me, so thanks a lot!" He added, with his smile turning into a more genuine grin as he looked between both the proud Torchic and Adelaide; the teen thought he looked a bit of a nutter. "Oh! Hi, you're Adelaide!" He affirmed with a pointed finger. "This is not the place to chat, so come, walk with me to my lab!"
With that, the hippie Professor knelt down beside his satchel and gathered up his spilled satchel to sling over his shoulder, while Adelaide and Torchic shared looks of exasperation and curiosity at the eccentric man before them. "Let's go, Professor." Adelaide said with a smile, as she remembered her manners and began to stride alongside Professor Birch. This dream was quite innovative, if she did say so herself, as endearing herself to the Professor by saving him from a few scratches would endear the man to her, meaning potential loot. "So...cargo shorts and a Doctor's jacket, huh? What gave you that idea?" She asked in an attempt to sound impartial, but she was sure her distaste came through.
The man gave Adelaide a look of confusion, followed by a brief bout of laughter as they continued their walk back to the lab. "Ah, I've heard a lot about your sharp tongue from your father." Professor Birch responded with his ever-jovial disposition. "Including the fact that you don't have any Pokemon yet, but the way you battled earlier..." He spared a glance for the Torchic that walked with a swagger to its step alongside Adelaide's feet. "You pulled it off with aplomb! I guess you have Norman's blood in your veins after all!" He added, turning his key through the lock after a few agonizing moments of patting down his shorts. "Oh, yes. As a thanks for rescuing me, I'd like you to keep little Torchic here." The Professor added, gesturing for his two new guests to enter the organized domain that was his lab. "While you're at it, why not give her a nickname?"
The Torchic, at this proposition, fluttered its wings in excitement and looked up with eager eyes at its new trainer. For her part, Adelaide was unsure of what the process was, and decided to go with a simple naming ceremony. She knelt down with the ruffling of her many pockets before Torchic and placed a slender hand upon its feathered shoulder. She looked through her knowledge of mythology for a perfect name for her little dream companion, until she remembered an obscure creature from Eastern Mythology that seemed to resemble it. "I name you Basana; the bird that breathes ghost-fire." She announced to the Pokemon, whose chest once again puffed out with pride. "Do you accept?"
There was little need to even ask the little bird, who responded with a positive chirp and gave Adelaide a literal peck on the cheek. "That's good enough!" Professor Birch chuckled, as Adelaide rubbed the sore spot on her cheek and Basana tilted her head in innocence of her actions. "Now that you have your first Pokemon, it's about time I gave you the rest of your necessary equipment, don't you think?" Said the Professor, who spun on the spot and approached one of many cabinets in his lab. When it opened, all illusions of organization were broken, as it was filled with cluttered gear and not a single label. The eccentric man rummaged through the cabinet for a few moments longer, until he had his arms filled with a set of trainer gear. "Ah, here! ...Do you have a bag?"
"Oh. I just use my pockets." Adelaide explained, patting along her pockets before she began to take the items from the Professor's hands, before he could drop all of them on the floor. Most of them were the miniaturized versions of Pokeballs, which she put into one deep pocket of her coat and covered, before she took slipped Basana's Pokeball into her jean pocket and took the last device, which was far sleeker than all of the others. A cursory push of a button revealed the function of the device, as it presented a menu and did a brief scan of the teen's form. Then, it revealed all of the Pokemon she'd seen and caught. So far, it was only Basana, whose nickname she typed in next.
"I ordered the Pokedex for my research, but I think you should have it." Professor Birch explained to Adelaide, as she slipped the device into a padded pocket for safekeeping. "It's a high-tec tool that automatically makes a record of any Pokemon you see or catch. And with it, I think you're ready to really start your journey." The Professor added with a proud smile, as he threw open the door to the outside world as if he were presenting a grand showcase. "Go, Adelaide! See the world, Pokemon, and aim to be the best you can! And, oh, make sure to say hello to your father for me; it's been a while since he's called, which I suppose you can't blame him for...anyway, off you go!"
"Thank you, Professor Birch." Adelaide said the eccentric Professor that had given her these items, and although she thought it was a dream, felt genuine gratitude towards this generous bearded man. "Goodbye, and I'll tell dad when I see him!" With that, she strolled out of the Professor's laboratory, with Basana strolling alongside her, as she set out for her own adventure in the world of Pokemon.
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