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The Forgotten Son
- Thread starter Banov
- Start date
Orange_Flaaffy
Crystal Bell Keeper
- 340
- Posts
- 20
- Years
- Age 42
- Clearlake, CA
- Seen May 25, 2009
Hmph. If a reader judges a fic solely by how long it is then they are better off not reading the better written fics that there are in the pokemon fandom, forum based or not. They would miss some great stories that way, and most likely never get any better at writing their own fics :P
ProtrainerEon
Ultimate Trainer
- 322
- Posts
- 18
- Years
- Seen Jun 11, 2021
Banov, how could you say that? I'm an addict! I can't wait for the next installment? When will Luke fight with Miltank already gosh! I think Kenshin is hilarious, both because of its personality, and grass-sword. (I am a huge Ruroni Kenshin fan myself...)
Chapterrr... four!
Chapter Four
---------------------------
As Luke and his team traveled back home, Luke couldn't help but glance over at Woop every once in a while- Woop being the name which he had just given to his wooper. Woop had shown him a friendship that he had never shared with his pokemon before, even though it had just been defeated in battle. Luke couldn't help but wonder if it was in Woop's nature to be so friendly, or if he just plain liked Luke a lot.
As Luke and his friends arrived back home, the sun was low in the sky, about 2 of its own widths from the horizon. Luke wobbled and collapsed, leaning on the outside of his house as his pokemon began gathering berries from nearby bushes. He looked into the sky with concern in his eyes. He hadn't eaten for almost a full day now, and his pokemon had been living on just berries for the last day. He couldn't keep this up for much longer, that was something he unwillingly acknowledged inside himself. In the meantime, his own stomach was throwing a temper tantrum, screaming for the smallest scrap of food.
Luke closed his eyes. He had to eat something by the end of the day, but the only way to make that kind of money quickly would be to win a battle, something which he couldn't do at the time. As he sat and pondered quietly, his pokemon rejoined him one by one, all munching on berries. Miltank was nice enough to carry food for magikarp and Woop, who didn't have arms.
They all sat in a quiet circle, the pokemon munching on their berries. Kenshin would throw an occasional look of anger at Luke, and Woop would try to counteract this by throwing him a smile for every angry look it caught. Miltank grew worried of Luke, but to comfort his pokemon he faked a smile. It broke quickly, however, as he grimaced in accordance with his stomach's painful dance of hunger.
The eating circle eventually broke as quietly as it formed; not a word was exchanged, and yet so much was said.
* * *
The next morning, Luke was greeted with a clear sky, bird song, shining sun, insane psychopath stomach, a look of distrust from Kenshin and a supportive smile from everyone else.
Pretty much a regular day.
His stomach as abysmally empty as it had for the last day, Luke led his pokemon out on another berry-picking routine, collapsing beside a tree as his pokemon wondered off. Magikarp and Kenshin traveled together, while miltank and Woop went together, simply because those without arms needed a partner with arms to help get berries for them.
As they went off, Luke was left to doze on the side of a tree. He lacked any energy at all, all of it lost in the recent chain of depressing events as well as his lack of substance. He kept his eyes closed, enveloping himself in a world of darkness, trying to put himself to sleep as to avoid having to endure the painful moans of his belly for any longer.
However, within the darkness he could hear a cry of pain, far off in the distance… it startled him, but as he began to settle down he heard another one from the same source… it grew sharper, and louder, repeating again and again, until he opened his eyes to see the cries of pain weren't distant at all; his magikarp was crying in pain, in a small clearing just in front of Luke. It was being attacked by a small purple, horned beast- nidoran.
Wait… attacked?!
Luke jumped to his feet, his stomach bouncing and groaning in disagreement. He glanced around to catch Kenshin, lazily sitting on the side and watching intently while eating berries.
"K-Kenshin, help him!"
His plead was returned with a look of anger mixed with a general disinterest in following Luke's orders. Luke was left to watch in horror as the little purple brute rushed forward, jabbing magikarp with its horn and creating another sharp cry of pain from the tortured red fish.
Luke knew what he should have done; magikarp lacked the capacity to battle effectively on its own, and it needed a command from Luke. And yet, in every way he looked at it Luke was horrified at the idea. His nervous thought process was interrupted by another scream.
Woop and miltank were soon drawn to the scene by the screams, and also watched with terror in their eyes as magikarp was attacked mercilessly. For the nidoran this was basic food hunting rule number one; if you see a generally weak or immobile pokemon who can provide a good meal, you'd have to be stupid to not kill it and eat it.
Summoning the courage, Luke leapt forward, swinging at the purple nidoran; but his human strength was no match for that of the nidoran, who smoothly dodged Luke's punches and rammed him in the stomach with its horn in retaliation, causing Luke to jump away in pain. Luke lacked the physically prowess to chase off the nidoran; that attempt was hopeless.
At this point Luke saw a red stream dripping from magikarp's last wound; it was bleeding now. Luke's mouth gaped open, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything, give any words of support. The purple nidoran leapt into the air and jumped onto the magikarp, crushing an old wound and resulting in another screech of sharp pain. It leaned down to bite the magikarp, and the fish's yells grew louder and louder, as by now it had noticed its inactive trainer watching the slaughter.
Luke closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He had no choice. With a short hesitation he looked into his own past, forced to remember his childhood, when he was only seven.
His father, who at the time hadn't revealed his identity as a Team Rocket member, gave Luke a large book which named every pokemon attack and which pokemon learned them. Luke, who, at the young age of seven was absolutely obsessed with becoming a pokemon trainer, and began reading the book day in and day out memorizing as much as he could. By the time he was eight Luke had memorized just about everything in the book. It was only a couple weeks after he turned eight that his father revealed his position as a Team Rocket Member and left the family.
Even at the age of fifteen he could recall the attack names; but he hated to do so, because it forced him to bring up memories of when he actually… liked his father. Something which he hated to remember, something he wish he had never thought or felt. And of course, brining up memories of attacks brought up his previous hatred in anything that would include controlling and/or battling his pokemon. But now things were different.
"Magikarp, use FLAIL!"
The nidoran was immediately blown off of magikarp in a massive flailing of the red fish's body that almost tore the ground apart. Its wounds were glowing, feeding the pokemon energy. After all, this specific pokemon technique involved drawing energy from one's wounds. It was far from a perfect attack, as a flail from any other pokemon with this much damage would have much more destructive power, but it was strong enough to fend off the nidoran.
The purple monster, fearing it would receive another such blow from its opponent, fled the battlefield and left the red fish to sag on the ground, a few wounds dripping with red blood.
With a yell of concern, Luke, Woop and miltank dashed over to the fish, circling it and comforting it as they each individually could. Luke felt his eyes well up with tears as he looked into the wounded magikarp's eyes.
"I'm so sorry, magikarp." He pleaded, his head hanging down. "I-I just didn't want to have to… to control you like I did. You're all living beings to me, and to command you like tools isn't something I like to do. Please, forgive me?"
The red fish looked away, but was unable to suppress a grin as it looked at the damaged ground beneath where it had flailed. It was awfully proud of itself for summoning the amount of strength that it did, and it was thanks to the boy who was trying to take care of it. It looked back at look with a chipper, forgiving grin, very uncharacteristic in comparison to the pokemon's heavy wounds, coupled with a soothing sound, similar to the purring of a cat which only magikarp could make.
* * *
Soon after Luke and his pokemon returned home, he heard a silent knock on the door. He opened the door to reveal a stunning young lady, at right about his age. She had long brown hair, which looked very shiny . Her eyes were a cool blue, and her face was as cute as they come. She wore a white skirt and navy blue shirt, and beside her was a small pink pokemon with billowing white fur- a flaffy.
"Hiya!" She said, her chipper voice melting away Luke's awe. "I hear you run a day-care here? That's so perfect! See, I need someone to watch Flaff while I train in that cave down to the south."
"…Whuh? Huh?"
The girl blinked, then repeated herself, without a tinge of annoyance. "I said I'd like you to watch my flaffy for a bit; probably just overnight."
The way she spoke was very unnatural for Luke to hear- her words bounced forward, with an upbeat rhythm. Even listening to her talk made Luke feel a little… pushed, especially after the last few days of hearing mostly his own monotonous mumbling.
"Oh! Sure. Uhhh…"
And yet, Luke couldn't help but enjoy her upbeat personality and chipper voice. It gave his dark little world a shimmering light, for once.
"…What's your name? I have to, uh, track it down in my, uh, list of clients so I, uh, know who to give it back to."
His last words were a flat-out lie in truth; he had no such list. He just needed an excuse to get this girl's name…
"My name? It's Kristin! Some of my friends call me Kriss, or Krissy, or whatever. So that's great! Flaff, you should go now. I'll see you tomorrow."
The flaffy hesitated, slowly walking into Luke's house.
"Alright, thank you so much! Oh, wait, when do I pay? You and your parents sure could obviously use some money judging by the size of your house. Not to be rude, of course!"
Luke blinked, unsure of how to respond to this. To tell her his exact family situation would be a long story, and would bring up some things Luke really didn't want her to question or know about. So, he gave a fibbed, short version.
"I, uh… I have no parents."
There was a silence, which felt very uneasy and quiet right after listening to Kristin's bouncy talking.
"That's… that's terrible." She said, her voice as bouncy as ever as she reached into her hip pack where she evidently kept her things. After some rustling around, she pulled out a good handful of white bills, shoving them into Luke's arms.
"Whuh- this is a bit much."
"Don't worry. You need the money! I can't stand to see someone so young put under so much stress!" Regardless of her somber words, they still bounced forward.
Luke blinked, suppressing the urge to leap forward and cry in her arms. Nobody, not ever had ever tried o understand him or show any sympathy for his situation. His mouth quivered, and his legs shook. To him, she appeared as… as an angel, who came to help his small, pathetic existence. She didn't seem to notice, however.
"Well, buh-bye!" She said, waving her arm enthusiastically and smoothly walking off.
It took him a full thirty seconds to finally give himself a mental slap in the face, snapping out of his stupor. By now she was almost completely out of view. Luke sighed, turning into his home and closing the door behind him gingerly, fighting to keep all the white bills in one arm as he reached out with the other. He hoped that even after he saw her the next day, he'd get to see her again.
* * *
Thanks to his oversupply of money, Luke was finally able to enjoy a hearty dinner along with his pokemon. He had certainly been given a LOT of money, enough so that even after his large meal he has plenty to spare.
His pokemon all seemed to be in good spirits, even Kenshin seemed abnormally happy, almost reaching a level of indifference towards Luke. Although, it still didn't like him. Flaffy looked a little out of place, trying to fit in- but that was normal for pokemon who Luke took care of.
As his pokemon al played together- except for Kenshin, who, as always, sat in his lonely corner, Luke once again found himself lost in thought. Earlier today, he had, for the first time, commanded his pokemon. He always thought it would bring about uneasiness between him and his pokemon, but… as a direct result of his commanding, his magikarp showed strength it didn't even know it had. For the first time since it had been caught as a pokemon, it was happy. In fact, it was the same command that saved its life. Faced with this situation, Luke couldn't help but admit to himself that perhaps his ideas on commanding were wrong- maybe he was indeed supposed to command his pokemon.
It was certainly a little awkward for Luke to accept an idea like that in himself, as only yesterday he despised it. And yet… it felt right.
Content with his decision, Luke watched his pokemon play with a smile on his face, eventually getting them all into their shed for the night, which was starting to look a little crowded. With a yawn, Luke fell into his bed and slept.
------------------------------
End Chapter Four
Chapter Four
---------------------------
As Luke and his team traveled back home, Luke couldn't help but glance over at Woop every once in a while- Woop being the name which he had just given to his wooper. Woop had shown him a friendship that he had never shared with his pokemon before, even though it had just been defeated in battle. Luke couldn't help but wonder if it was in Woop's nature to be so friendly, or if he just plain liked Luke a lot.
As Luke and his friends arrived back home, the sun was low in the sky, about 2 of its own widths from the horizon. Luke wobbled and collapsed, leaning on the outside of his house as his pokemon began gathering berries from nearby bushes. He looked into the sky with concern in his eyes. He hadn't eaten for almost a full day now, and his pokemon had been living on just berries for the last day. He couldn't keep this up for much longer, that was something he unwillingly acknowledged inside himself. In the meantime, his own stomach was throwing a temper tantrum, screaming for the smallest scrap of food.
Luke closed his eyes. He had to eat something by the end of the day, but the only way to make that kind of money quickly would be to win a battle, something which he couldn't do at the time. As he sat and pondered quietly, his pokemon rejoined him one by one, all munching on berries. Miltank was nice enough to carry food for magikarp and Woop, who didn't have arms.
They all sat in a quiet circle, the pokemon munching on their berries. Kenshin would throw an occasional look of anger at Luke, and Woop would try to counteract this by throwing him a smile for every angry look it caught. Miltank grew worried of Luke, but to comfort his pokemon he faked a smile. It broke quickly, however, as he grimaced in accordance with his stomach's painful dance of hunger.
The eating circle eventually broke as quietly as it formed; not a word was exchanged, and yet so much was said.
* * *
The next morning, Luke was greeted with a clear sky, bird song, shining sun, insane psychopath stomach, a look of distrust from Kenshin and a supportive smile from everyone else.
Pretty much a regular day.
His stomach as abysmally empty as it had for the last day, Luke led his pokemon out on another berry-picking routine, collapsing beside a tree as his pokemon wondered off. Magikarp and Kenshin traveled together, while miltank and Woop went together, simply because those without arms needed a partner with arms to help get berries for them.
As they went off, Luke was left to doze on the side of a tree. He lacked any energy at all, all of it lost in the recent chain of depressing events as well as his lack of substance. He kept his eyes closed, enveloping himself in a world of darkness, trying to put himself to sleep as to avoid having to endure the painful moans of his belly for any longer.
However, within the darkness he could hear a cry of pain, far off in the distance… it startled him, but as he began to settle down he heard another one from the same source… it grew sharper, and louder, repeating again and again, until he opened his eyes to see the cries of pain weren't distant at all; his magikarp was crying in pain, in a small clearing just in front of Luke. It was being attacked by a small purple, horned beast- nidoran.
Wait… attacked?!
Luke jumped to his feet, his stomach bouncing and groaning in disagreement. He glanced around to catch Kenshin, lazily sitting on the side and watching intently while eating berries.
"K-Kenshin, help him!"
His plead was returned with a look of anger mixed with a general disinterest in following Luke's orders. Luke was left to watch in horror as the little purple brute rushed forward, jabbing magikarp with its horn and creating another sharp cry of pain from the tortured red fish.
Luke knew what he should have done; magikarp lacked the capacity to battle effectively on its own, and it needed a command from Luke. And yet, in every way he looked at it Luke was horrified at the idea. His nervous thought process was interrupted by another scream.
Woop and miltank were soon drawn to the scene by the screams, and also watched with terror in their eyes as magikarp was attacked mercilessly. For the nidoran this was basic food hunting rule number one; if you see a generally weak or immobile pokemon who can provide a good meal, you'd have to be stupid to not kill it and eat it.
Summoning the courage, Luke leapt forward, swinging at the purple nidoran; but his human strength was no match for that of the nidoran, who smoothly dodged Luke's punches and rammed him in the stomach with its horn in retaliation, causing Luke to jump away in pain. Luke lacked the physically prowess to chase off the nidoran; that attempt was hopeless.
At this point Luke saw a red stream dripping from magikarp's last wound; it was bleeding now. Luke's mouth gaped open, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything, give any words of support. The purple nidoran leapt into the air and jumped onto the magikarp, crushing an old wound and resulting in another screech of sharp pain. It leaned down to bite the magikarp, and the fish's yells grew louder and louder, as by now it had noticed its inactive trainer watching the slaughter.
Luke closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He had no choice. With a short hesitation he looked into his own past, forced to remember his childhood, when he was only seven.
His father, who at the time hadn't revealed his identity as a Team Rocket member, gave Luke a large book which named every pokemon attack and which pokemon learned them. Luke, who, at the young age of seven was absolutely obsessed with becoming a pokemon trainer, and began reading the book day in and day out memorizing as much as he could. By the time he was eight Luke had memorized just about everything in the book. It was only a couple weeks after he turned eight that his father revealed his position as a Team Rocket Member and left the family.
Even at the age of fifteen he could recall the attack names; but he hated to do so, because it forced him to bring up memories of when he actually… liked his father. Something which he hated to remember, something he wish he had never thought or felt. And of course, brining up memories of attacks brought up his previous hatred in anything that would include controlling and/or battling his pokemon. But now things were different.
"Magikarp, use FLAIL!"
The nidoran was immediately blown off of magikarp in a massive flailing of the red fish's body that almost tore the ground apart. Its wounds were glowing, feeding the pokemon energy. After all, this specific pokemon technique involved drawing energy from one's wounds. It was far from a perfect attack, as a flail from any other pokemon with this much damage would have much more destructive power, but it was strong enough to fend off the nidoran.
The purple monster, fearing it would receive another such blow from its opponent, fled the battlefield and left the red fish to sag on the ground, a few wounds dripping with red blood.
With a yell of concern, Luke, Woop and miltank dashed over to the fish, circling it and comforting it as they each individually could. Luke felt his eyes well up with tears as he looked into the wounded magikarp's eyes.
"I'm so sorry, magikarp." He pleaded, his head hanging down. "I-I just didn't want to have to… to control you like I did. You're all living beings to me, and to command you like tools isn't something I like to do. Please, forgive me?"
The red fish looked away, but was unable to suppress a grin as it looked at the damaged ground beneath where it had flailed. It was awfully proud of itself for summoning the amount of strength that it did, and it was thanks to the boy who was trying to take care of it. It looked back at look with a chipper, forgiving grin, very uncharacteristic in comparison to the pokemon's heavy wounds, coupled with a soothing sound, similar to the purring of a cat which only magikarp could make.
* * *
Soon after Luke and his pokemon returned home, he heard a silent knock on the door. He opened the door to reveal a stunning young lady, at right about his age. She had long brown hair, which looked very shiny . Her eyes were a cool blue, and her face was as cute as they come. She wore a white skirt and navy blue shirt, and beside her was a small pink pokemon with billowing white fur- a flaffy.
"Hiya!" She said, her chipper voice melting away Luke's awe. "I hear you run a day-care here? That's so perfect! See, I need someone to watch Flaff while I train in that cave down to the south."
"…Whuh? Huh?"
The girl blinked, then repeated herself, without a tinge of annoyance. "I said I'd like you to watch my flaffy for a bit; probably just overnight."
The way she spoke was very unnatural for Luke to hear- her words bounced forward, with an upbeat rhythm. Even listening to her talk made Luke feel a little… pushed, especially after the last few days of hearing mostly his own monotonous mumbling.
"Oh! Sure. Uhhh…"
And yet, Luke couldn't help but enjoy her upbeat personality and chipper voice. It gave his dark little world a shimmering light, for once.
"…What's your name? I have to, uh, track it down in my, uh, list of clients so I, uh, know who to give it back to."
His last words were a flat-out lie in truth; he had no such list. He just needed an excuse to get this girl's name…
"My name? It's Kristin! Some of my friends call me Kriss, or Krissy, or whatever. So that's great! Flaff, you should go now. I'll see you tomorrow."
The flaffy hesitated, slowly walking into Luke's house.
"Alright, thank you so much! Oh, wait, when do I pay? You and your parents sure could obviously use some money judging by the size of your house. Not to be rude, of course!"
Luke blinked, unsure of how to respond to this. To tell her his exact family situation would be a long story, and would bring up some things Luke really didn't want her to question or know about. So, he gave a fibbed, short version.
"I, uh… I have no parents."
There was a silence, which felt very uneasy and quiet right after listening to Kristin's bouncy talking.
"That's… that's terrible." She said, her voice as bouncy as ever as she reached into her hip pack where she evidently kept her things. After some rustling around, she pulled out a good handful of white bills, shoving them into Luke's arms.
"Whuh- this is a bit much."
"Don't worry. You need the money! I can't stand to see someone so young put under so much stress!" Regardless of her somber words, they still bounced forward.
Luke blinked, suppressing the urge to leap forward and cry in her arms. Nobody, not ever had ever tried o understand him or show any sympathy for his situation. His mouth quivered, and his legs shook. To him, she appeared as… as an angel, who came to help his small, pathetic existence. She didn't seem to notice, however.
"Well, buh-bye!" She said, waving her arm enthusiastically and smoothly walking off.
It took him a full thirty seconds to finally give himself a mental slap in the face, snapping out of his stupor. By now she was almost completely out of view. Luke sighed, turning into his home and closing the door behind him gingerly, fighting to keep all the white bills in one arm as he reached out with the other. He hoped that even after he saw her the next day, he'd get to see her again.
* * *
Thanks to his oversupply of money, Luke was finally able to enjoy a hearty dinner along with his pokemon. He had certainly been given a LOT of money, enough so that even after his large meal he has plenty to spare.
His pokemon all seemed to be in good spirits, even Kenshin seemed abnormally happy, almost reaching a level of indifference towards Luke. Although, it still didn't like him. Flaffy looked a little out of place, trying to fit in- but that was normal for pokemon who Luke took care of.
As his pokemon al played together- except for Kenshin, who, as always, sat in his lonely corner, Luke once again found himself lost in thought. Earlier today, he had, for the first time, commanded his pokemon. He always thought it would bring about uneasiness between him and his pokemon, but… as a direct result of his commanding, his magikarp showed strength it didn't even know it had. For the first time since it had been caught as a pokemon, it was happy. In fact, it was the same command that saved its life. Faced with this situation, Luke couldn't help but admit to himself that perhaps his ideas on commanding were wrong- maybe he was indeed supposed to command his pokemon.
It was certainly a little awkward for Luke to accept an idea like that in himself, as only yesterday he despised it. And yet… it felt right.
Content with his decision, Luke watched his pokemon play with a smile on his face, eventually getting them all into their shed for the night, which was starting to look a little crowded. With a yawn, Luke fell into his bed and slept.
------------------------------
End Chapter Four
ProtrainerEon
Ultimate Trainer
- 322
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- Seen Jun 11, 2021
Nice. I liked the no arms part. How is Magikarp surviving without water?
Water's in berries. *shrug*
In the pokedex, Magikarp is a water's=edge pokemon, so it can survive on land... I think... but it prefers that there be water nearby. Luckily, there's that big lake on that route so the water part's covered. (Right?)
In the pokedex, Magikarp is a water's=edge pokemon, so it can survive on land... I think... but it prefers that there be water nearby. Luckily, there's that big lake on that route so the water part's covered. (Right?)
Water's in berries. *shrug*
In the pokedex, Magikarp is a water's=edge pokemon, so it can survive on land... I think... but it prefers that there be water nearby. Luckily, there's that big lake on that route so the water part's covered. (Right?)
In the pokedex, Magikarp is a water's=edge pokemon, so it can survive on land... I think... but it prefers that there be water nearby. Luckily, there's that big lake on that route so the water part's covered. (Right?)
- 6,444
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- Seen today
I liked this chapter Banov. Yay, now you proved that Magikarp can fight! Also, it's nice that girl had gave Luke some money.
Really did not say any mistakes on this chapter. Can't wait for the next chapter!
Really did not say any mistakes on this chapter. Can't wait for the next chapter!
ProtrainerEon
Ultimate Trainer
- 322
- Posts
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- Seen Jun 11, 2021
:\Banov said:
I think it would be nice if Luke saw Griffe and went looking for him, thinking he was hallucinating or something like that, that would bring suspense to the fic! :shocked: :)
ProtrainerEon
Ultimate Trainer
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Banov said:
-_- Banov, truthfully I didn't see anything about Luke PUTTING Magikarp in the water! Water's-edge means a pokemon lives close to land, but fish cannot survive THIS LONG without water, can they? Maybe I was educated wrong about fish.....? :\ :paranoid:
Orange_Flaaffy
Crystal Bell Keeper
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- Age 42
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- Seen May 25, 2009
No, you are right, a fish does not have the right sort of lungs to live outside water for very long, and
never long enough if you want them to ever battle.
And the fish in the DX game were they just float above the ground do not count ;)
Humans can also eat the berries by the way, there is no reason why the pokemon have to be the only ones getting fed.
never long enough if you want them to ever battle.
And the fish in the DX game were they just float above the ground do not count ;)
Humans can also eat the berries by the way, there is no reason why the pokemon have to be the only ones getting fed.
Sorry it took so long guys, it took me forever to nail this where I liked it. Plus, I'm not in my normal home, and my internet connection here is as screwy as an actual screw....
Chapter 5
--------------------------------------------
Luke awoke to the sound of knocking on his door, to which he jumped up and gave a small gasp. After leaping out of bed and rushing to get dressed, he gave a deep sigh, looking at the door as an obstacle. He stopped in front of the door, closing his eyes and summoning the courage to fling it open. After a moment of preparation, he reached forward and opened the door, looking up to see his visitor.
As he expected, the one who was at his door was Kristin, back for her pokemon. Her clothes seemed a little tattered, and her shiny neat hair from earlier seemed a little dirtied and messy.
"Hiya!!" She chipperly squealed, waving. Her words were as bouncy and upbeat as ever, it seemed. "I'm here for my lil' Flaff. He's still here, right?"
"Yeah, he is." Luke said, stepping out. He found his own words a little more upbeat than usual; an effect of listening to Kristin. He turned around and walked behind his home, Kristin following closely. It didn't take long to reach the wood shed behind his home, and with a little anticipation he opened the door to reveal everyone sitting happily together, including Flaff.
"Thanks!" She said, grinning and pulling Flaff back into her pokeball.
"Uh, sure." Luke mumbled, his head tilted down in embarrassment.
Kristin grinned again, her mouth stretching the width of her face is a jubilant showing of her white, square teeth as her eyes were closed.
Seeing somebody so utterly cheerful and so… uplifting, Luke felt a laugh welling up inside himself- the very presence of this girl was like a holy melody to Luke. To him, she was a guiding angel, sent from the heaven to lead Luke to happiness once and for all. Even though none of his poetic feelings toward her were spoken, nor even shown in facial expression as his face was as pitifully sullen as usual, she could almost feel it from him, and in the same way it was uplifting to her. She turned around, walking away, although her eyes still watched Luke carefully.
Luke felt left in the dust once she disappeared out of view, so it took some time for him to finally speak again;
"Awright guys, who wants breakfast?"
* * *
Everybody returned from their breakfast chipperly, making their way down the route with a demeanor that would have been confusing to anyone who had seen Luke at all for the last five years or so. He seemed almost genuinely happy for once; his expression was unforced, and if one were to put his mouth under a microscope to study its exact curvature, one may have found that it had the slightest bend into the form of a smile.
And so that's how it was, as Luke and his pokemon paraded down South. And yet, they soon bumped into a shady man in a trench coat, his dark demeanor interrupting Luke's march of happiness. Naturally, Luke tried to get through.
"Um, excuse me sir, would you let me through?"
"In a bit, kid. First, I've got to ask you something- have you ever sucked on a delicious slowpoke tail?"
"Sucked on a what?"
The man rapidly pulled out from his coat a long pink tail, with a white tip. There was no body attached to the tail.
"A slowpoke tail, kid."
"Wha- where did you get that tail? Is that from a pokemon?"
"Yup, from slowpoke. Their tail secretes a salty, tasty liquid which attracts shell pokemon to its tail, as well as making a great snack for humans."
"You cut off a poor defenseless pokemon's tail to sell?"
"Listen kid, that ain't important, the point is do you want-"
"Who ARE you to do something like that?!"
The man sighed, shaking his head and looking down. "Kid, that's really not important. Now, do you want- "
"I said…" Luke growled, stepping forward, "Who ARE you? Are you working for someone?!"
"Kid, if it'll shut you up…"
The man reached into his trench coat, pulling it up to reveal a black uniform with a red 'R' underneath the coat. "I work for Team Rocket, okay? Now, do you want-"
In the middle of that man's sentence, Luke's veil of happiness was torn apart and shattered. Dozens of terrible memories flooded into Luke's mind, and all in an instant he was cast into a pit of despair- and anger.
"Woop, use water gun!!" Luke yelled, his voice hoarse, angry and ugly.
The little blue pokemon hesitated, but another yell from Luke sounded in its ears; "I said DO IT, Woop!!"
Giving a bit of a whimper, the water pokemon opened its mouth, water jetting out and smacking into the man's chest, knocking him over. The action of its attack was rather sudden, surprising the man whom it hit.
"Wh- What the hell?" The man cried, crawling backward as Luke stepped forward, his eyes cold and furious as they looked at the man in black.
To Luke, that member of Team Rocket represented everything he hated in his life- the mistreatment of pokemon, his cruel and greedy father and his long gone brother. As he looked at him, Luke felt possessed by his own hatred of this man- emitting a bloodthirsty aura which caused the Team Rocket guy to scream loudly and run away, looking back in hopes that he wouldn't be attacked again.
Luke blinked. He sniffed sadly. He fell to his knees, looking into the ground hopelessly.
What had he just done…?
His breathe became slowly and uneasy as he found that he was becoming the very thing he hated most; an abuser of pokemon. He forced his commands onto Woop, even though he saw that it didn't want to hurt another person. He used his pokemon for his own selfish wants, something which Team Rocket did… something which his father did…
…His father! Luke's eyes widened as he remembered that his father was one of the closest followers of Giovanni when he last heard of his father, when he was ten. If Team Rocket was coming back, then Luke was almost certain that his father had come back with them…
And then, Luke suddenly felt an undying need to know where his father was. He couldn't what exactly was driving him, whether it was out of hatred or fear, but whatever it was he had to know, no questions asked.
"Follow me!" He called to his pokemon, before rocketing forward after the shady man in the trench coat. His pokemon, bewildered by his mood swings and bizarre last few exchanges, were too lost in confusion to even give a thought to anything other than the command just given to them; thus, they all almost mindlessly ran forward, alongside Luke.
The rocket man, still running, turned for the last time to make sure that the kid was out of sight- but to his horror, he was being chased. With a loud yell of terror, he quickened his pace, doing everything in his power to escape that demonic, murderous teenager kid.
Mom was right; he should have taken the stupid job at the ice cream parlor…
* * *
The rocket man led Luke all the way down south, all the way to a dark, almost foreboding cave at the far south end of the route. By now the trench coat man was almost certain Luke had given up, but to his horror, Luke was still after him, his eyes determined.
Left with no choice, the trench coat man leapt into the cave.
Luke soon arrived, panting and wheezing at the cave entrance.
"Dang… he got away…"
Luke turned around and plopped onto the ground, his back against the cave wall.
"I guess I'll never know if my dad is back, and where he is… It'd upsetting, but…"
He turned to face his pokemon, expecting an approving set of looks at his decision to discontinue the chase.
Instead, he was met with a set of sullen looks.
"-W-what's wrong, guys?!"
Luke's previously smooth and assertive tone was now plagued with uncertainty and anxiety; he, as always had an undying will to keep his pokemon pleased, especially after the recent upset.
Kenshin stepped up, and began making the odd sounds native to only a treecko, in an attempt to communicate. It made gestures with its hands and arms, as it continued through the odd collection of sounds. When it eventually finished, Luke's other pokemon gave it an approving nod, showing they agreed.
Unfortunately, Luke had no idea what in hell his little green lizard pokemon was trying to communicate. However, from the simple tone of voice Luke couldn't help but feel that Kenshin and the others wanted to see him pursue his wants, and that by doing so he'd be taking steps toward self-improvement.
He also couldn't help but feel that Kenshin looked at him with feelings of Luke being a weak and defenseless person who couldn't stand up for anything. The very thought that he was looked down upon by his pokemon like this was- well, it was quite insulting.
"Are you saying- you want me to go?" he said, standing up.
They all nodded in agreement. Luke took a step back, then whirled around to face the cave entrance. He sighed. Now that he actually had to go through with it, he was a little nervous to do it. For the last five years he had been living away from adventure and conflict- but now, ever since he began battling, it seemed these conflicts had been forced upon him.
But then his drive re-sparked; he remembered why he was chasing this man before, and suddenly the question was back in his mind; where was his father now? The question seemed almost to take shape in Luke, the form of a hideous beast who ripped apart Luke's innards, screaming the question and craving to receive an answer.
He. Had. To. Know.
And he dashed forward again, zooming through the cave entrance and into the damp, rocky floor of the cavern. The inside was dimly lit and had many, many loose rocks here and there which served to obstruct Luke's advancement in every way, but he was able to find his way through fairly well and actually came out the other end faster than the man he was pursuing had been able to, almost catching up to him.
As he finally reached the light at the end of the tunnel, Luke slid out of the cave to come into the light of dusk. The sun was starting to set low, peeking above the trees and shedding some light into the field. Luke looked around wildly, fearing that he had lost the man in black- but thanks to some luck he caught the man dashing towards a large well, climbing onto the side and leaping into it. As the man left his view, Luke suddenly re-lost his drive, the energy fading from him body.
Luke stood silently in place, giving sigh of weakness and regret- he regretted traveling so far from home, he suddenly regretted coming so far to find out where his father was- he regretted ever battling, because he almost sure that if he had never introduced himself to the idea of his pokemon causing harm, he never would have acted so violently and he never would have come this far.
His mind was now like a teeter-totter, sliding back and forth between two distinct sides, maybe even personalities of Luke. His contact with the people of his nightmares and his introduction to the world of pokemon battling had begun to awaken the part of him that had come from his father, the part of him that at all costs Luke never wanted to be, or ever meet. This was the part of him he had locked away within himself five years ago, but recently it had been finding a way out, a way back into Luke's mind, where it belonged.
His eyes flared with the fire of determination again very suddenly, and he marched forward, his expression stern and serious. He had shifted back into his other persona, gaining the drive he needed to make those brave steps forward and on top of the well.
With a deep breathe he stepped off the edge of the well and dropped down into the seemingly endless darkness…
----------------------------------
End Chapter 5
Chapter 5
--------------------------------------------
Luke awoke to the sound of knocking on his door, to which he jumped up and gave a small gasp. After leaping out of bed and rushing to get dressed, he gave a deep sigh, looking at the door as an obstacle. He stopped in front of the door, closing his eyes and summoning the courage to fling it open. After a moment of preparation, he reached forward and opened the door, looking up to see his visitor.
As he expected, the one who was at his door was Kristin, back for her pokemon. Her clothes seemed a little tattered, and her shiny neat hair from earlier seemed a little dirtied and messy.
"Hiya!!" She chipperly squealed, waving. Her words were as bouncy and upbeat as ever, it seemed. "I'm here for my lil' Flaff. He's still here, right?"
"Yeah, he is." Luke said, stepping out. He found his own words a little more upbeat than usual; an effect of listening to Kristin. He turned around and walked behind his home, Kristin following closely. It didn't take long to reach the wood shed behind his home, and with a little anticipation he opened the door to reveal everyone sitting happily together, including Flaff.
"Thanks!" She said, grinning and pulling Flaff back into her pokeball.
"Uh, sure." Luke mumbled, his head tilted down in embarrassment.
Kristin grinned again, her mouth stretching the width of her face is a jubilant showing of her white, square teeth as her eyes were closed.
Seeing somebody so utterly cheerful and so… uplifting, Luke felt a laugh welling up inside himself- the very presence of this girl was like a holy melody to Luke. To him, she was a guiding angel, sent from the heaven to lead Luke to happiness once and for all. Even though none of his poetic feelings toward her were spoken, nor even shown in facial expression as his face was as pitifully sullen as usual, she could almost feel it from him, and in the same way it was uplifting to her. She turned around, walking away, although her eyes still watched Luke carefully.
Luke felt left in the dust once she disappeared out of view, so it took some time for him to finally speak again;
"Awright guys, who wants breakfast?"
* * *
Everybody returned from their breakfast chipperly, making their way down the route with a demeanor that would have been confusing to anyone who had seen Luke at all for the last five years or so. He seemed almost genuinely happy for once; his expression was unforced, and if one were to put his mouth under a microscope to study its exact curvature, one may have found that it had the slightest bend into the form of a smile.
And so that's how it was, as Luke and his pokemon paraded down South. And yet, they soon bumped into a shady man in a trench coat, his dark demeanor interrupting Luke's march of happiness. Naturally, Luke tried to get through.
"Um, excuse me sir, would you let me through?"
"In a bit, kid. First, I've got to ask you something- have you ever sucked on a delicious slowpoke tail?"
"Sucked on a what?"
The man rapidly pulled out from his coat a long pink tail, with a white tip. There was no body attached to the tail.
"A slowpoke tail, kid."
"Wha- where did you get that tail? Is that from a pokemon?"
"Yup, from slowpoke. Their tail secretes a salty, tasty liquid which attracts shell pokemon to its tail, as well as making a great snack for humans."
"You cut off a poor defenseless pokemon's tail to sell?"
"Listen kid, that ain't important, the point is do you want-"
"Who ARE you to do something like that?!"
The man sighed, shaking his head and looking down. "Kid, that's really not important. Now, do you want- "
"I said…" Luke growled, stepping forward, "Who ARE you? Are you working for someone?!"
"Kid, if it'll shut you up…"
The man reached into his trench coat, pulling it up to reveal a black uniform with a red 'R' underneath the coat. "I work for Team Rocket, okay? Now, do you want-"
In the middle of that man's sentence, Luke's veil of happiness was torn apart and shattered. Dozens of terrible memories flooded into Luke's mind, and all in an instant he was cast into a pit of despair- and anger.
"Woop, use water gun!!" Luke yelled, his voice hoarse, angry and ugly.
The little blue pokemon hesitated, but another yell from Luke sounded in its ears; "I said DO IT, Woop!!"
Giving a bit of a whimper, the water pokemon opened its mouth, water jetting out and smacking into the man's chest, knocking him over. The action of its attack was rather sudden, surprising the man whom it hit.
"Wh- What the hell?" The man cried, crawling backward as Luke stepped forward, his eyes cold and furious as they looked at the man in black.
To Luke, that member of Team Rocket represented everything he hated in his life- the mistreatment of pokemon, his cruel and greedy father and his long gone brother. As he looked at him, Luke felt possessed by his own hatred of this man- emitting a bloodthirsty aura which caused the Team Rocket guy to scream loudly and run away, looking back in hopes that he wouldn't be attacked again.
Luke blinked. He sniffed sadly. He fell to his knees, looking into the ground hopelessly.
What had he just done…?
His breathe became slowly and uneasy as he found that he was becoming the very thing he hated most; an abuser of pokemon. He forced his commands onto Woop, even though he saw that it didn't want to hurt another person. He used his pokemon for his own selfish wants, something which Team Rocket did… something which his father did…
…His father! Luke's eyes widened as he remembered that his father was one of the closest followers of Giovanni when he last heard of his father, when he was ten. If Team Rocket was coming back, then Luke was almost certain that his father had come back with them…
And then, Luke suddenly felt an undying need to know where his father was. He couldn't what exactly was driving him, whether it was out of hatred or fear, but whatever it was he had to know, no questions asked.
"Follow me!" He called to his pokemon, before rocketing forward after the shady man in the trench coat. His pokemon, bewildered by his mood swings and bizarre last few exchanges, were too lost in confusion to even give a thought to anything other than the command just given to them; thus, they all almost mindlessly ran forward, alongside Luke.
The rocket man, still running, turned for the last time to make sure that the kid was out of sight- but to his horror, he was being chased. With a loud yell of terror, he quickened his pace, doing everything in his power to escape that demonic, murderous teenager kid.
Mom was right; he should have taken the stupid job at the ice cream parlor…
* * *
The rocket man led Luke all the way down south, all the way to a dark, almost foreboding cave at the far south end of the route. By now the trench coat man was almost certain Luke had given up, but to his horror, Luke was still after him, his eyes determined.
Left with no choice, the trench coat man leapt into the cave.
Luke soon arrived, panting and wheezing at the cave entrance.
"Dang… he got away…"
Luke turned around and plopped onto the ground, his back against the cave wall.
"I guess I'll never know if my dad is back, and where he is… It'd upsetting, but…"
He turned to face his pokemon, expecting an approving set of looks at his decision to discontinue the chase.
Instead, he was met with a set of sullen looks.
"-W-what's wrong, guys?!"
Luke's previously smooth and assertive tone was now plagued with uncertainty and anxiety; he, as always had an undying will to keep his pokemon pleased, especially after the recent upset.
Kenshin stepped up, and began making the odd sounds native to only a treecko, in an attempt to communicate. It made gestures with its hands and arms, as it continued through the odd collection of sounds. When it eventually finished, Luke's other pokemon gave it an approving nod, showing they agreed.
Unfortunately, Luke had no idea what in hell his little green lizard pokemon was trying to communicate. However, from the simple tone of voice Luke couldn't help but feel that Kenshin and the others wanted to see him pursue his wants, and that by doing so he'd be taking steps toward self-improvement.
He also couldn't help but feel that Kenshin looked at him with feelings of Luke being a weak and defenseless person who couldn't stand up for anything. The very thought that he was looked down upon by his pokemon like this was- well, it was quite insulting.
"Are you saying- you want me to go?" he said, standing up.
They all nodded in agreement. Luke took a step back, then whirled around to face the cave entrance. He sighed. Now that he actually had to go through with it, he was a little nervous to do it. For the last five years he had been living away from adventure and conflict- but now, ever since he began battling, it seemed these conflicts had been forced upon him.
But then his drive re-sparked; he remembered why he was chasing this man before, and suddenly the question was back in his mind; where was his father now? The question seemed almost to take shape in Luke, the form of a hideous beast who ripped apart Luke's innards, screaming the question and craving to receive an answer.
He. Had. To. Know.
And he dashed forward again, zooming through the cave entrance and into the damp, rocky floor of the cavern. The inside was dimly lit and had many, many loose rocks here and there which served to obstruct Luke's advancement in every way, but he was able to find his way through fairly well and actually came out the other end faster than the man he was pursuing had been able to, almost catching up to him.
As he finally reached the light at the end of the tunnel, Luke slid out of the cave to come into the light of dusk. The sun was starting to set low, peeking above the trees and shedding some light into the field. Luke looked around wildly, fearing that he had lost the man in black- but thanks to some luck he caught the man dashing towards a large well, climbing onto the side and leaping into it. As the man left his view, Luke suddenly re-lost his drive, the energy fading from him body.
Luke stood silently in place, giving sigh of weakness and regret- he regretted traveling so far from home, he suddenly regretted coming so far to find out where his father was- he regretted ever battling, because he almost sure that if he had never introduced himself to the idea of his pokemon causing harm, he never would have acted so violently and he never would have come this far.
His mind was now like a teeter-totter, sliding back and forth between two distinct sides, maybe even personalities of Luke. His contact with the people of his nightmares and his introduction to the world of pokemon battling had begun to awaken the part of him that had come from his father, the part of him that at all costs Luke never wanted to be, or ever meet. This was the part of him he had locked away within himself five years ago, but recently it had been finding a way out, a way back into Luke's mind, where it belonged.
His eyes flared with the fire of determination again very suddenly, and he marched forward, his expression stern and serious. He had shifted back into his other persona, gaining the drive he needed to make those brave steps forward and on top of the well.
With a deep breathe he stepped off the edge of the well and dropped down into the seemingly endless darkness…
----------------------------------
End Chapter 5