"K-Kakuna..?" Jack had bent to pick up his Pokémon, but before his fingers could graze its skin, it became engulfed in a radiant white light. A long, gleaming crack began to run across what could only be interpreted as its back. As the cocoon split apart, two beautiful, diaphanous wings emerged. Slowly, they unfurled, and began to flap mechanically, slowly lifting the rest of the creature out of its shell. A slender, wasp-like body followed the wings, its yellow and black stripes alternating in the gleaming light. Its head was round, two flickering crimson eyes on either side of its face. The most conspicuous thing about this beast was the dual prongs on its forearms. They were about twice as long as the one that protruded from its abdomen, and equally as thick. Jack could only gape as the Pokémon hovered above the empty shell that had once been his Kakuna. It said nothing, only glowered back at its owner. Instinctively, Jack reached into his back pocket and extracted the red Pokédex, aiming it directly at the newcomer.
"Beedrill. The Poison Bee Pokémon. Its best attack involves flying around at high speed, striking with poison needles, then flying off."
"Beedrill…huh…" Jack stared up at the bug Pokémon, eyes twinkling with excitement. "So…you…you're my Pokémon?" The Pokémon slowly nodded, still glaring intensely at Jack. Without warning, it launched itself towards the brunette, whose eyes immediately filled with fear. Contrary to what he had initially thought, Beedrill flung his arms around Jack's waist, nearly knocking Eevee off of her perch. A light chuckle escaped his lips as he wrapped his limbs around the bug's thorax, returning the small display of affection. A disgruntled Eevee lowered her ears, licking Jack's cheek in a feeble attempt to deflect his attention away from Beedrill and onto her. The response she received was not quite the one she had expected; the boy raised his arm and swatted her away. She shot him a doleful look before settling back down on his shoulder. For now, she would be quiet, but she vowed to win Jack's affection before the week was up.
"Well hey, hot stuff, since you have your Beedrill, guess you don't need me anymore, huh?" Celeste winked at Jack before planting a sly kiss on his cheek. "Maybe we'll see each other around. We both want the same thing, after all. Until then!" And just like that, the redhead disappeared within the cluster of trees. Still tightly clutching Beedrill, Jack surveyed the girl as she left. When she was out of sight, he looked to his newly evolved Pokémon. No words needed to be uttered – Beedrill simply nodded and broke free of Jack's grip, flitting towards the gatehouse. As it turned out, Celeste had been right – they were incredibly close to the exit. In fact, Jack surmised that they'd walked for less than five minutes. Upon reaching the edifice, the brunette recalled Beedrill before thrusting the door open.
"Young man! You wouldn't happen to be heading to Pewter, would you?" Jack turned, eyes meeting with a senior citizen. Graying hair topped her head, and she was clad in a frightful plaid dress. Jack peered out at her through half-closed emerald eyes.
"Yeah, I'm going there. What of it, old bag?"
"Well, I was going to encourage you to visit the Pewter Museum! They have an exhibit of rare Pokémon fossils! Rumor has it that these Pokémon could be brought back to life!" Jack's eyes widened. Ancient Pokémon being brought back to life? The thought made his spine quiver. If he could get his hand on one of those fossils, he would be set for life. There would be no one who could beat him…he would become Champion, be a true Pokémon master…keep his promise to Rem. Looking back at the old lady, he offered up his most sincere smile.
"Thanks, lady. That sounds really interesting. I'm sure I'll learn a lot." With those final, parting words, he pushed open the doors opposite the ones he had entered through, taking his final steps into Pewter city. The town before him was nothing like he'd ever seen. Virtually everything was built from stone. Humble rocks lined the path leading into the city. He figured that the Pokéballs here were probably made of stone as well. The thought made him laugh aloud (despite not being that funny), and Eevee shot him a bemused look. Jack ignored her disapproving stare, and instead crossed the boundaries into Pewter. Indeed, it was huge, or, at least, it was bigger than Viridian. Far off, in the distance, a sign hovered tentatively over a stone building, clearly the Pewter City Museum. The brunette wasted no time crossing over to the structure.
"Sir?"
No answer.
"Sir!" This time, Jack swiveled around to face the teal-haired woman who was beckoning him her way. "I'm sorry, sir, but you'll need a ticket to enter! They cost fifty dollars, so if you'd like to go inside, please pay."
"Aah…" Jack reached inside his pocket and withdrew the necessary amount of money, placing it on the counter. His cheeks were red, obviously ashamed at getting caught. And he used to be so good at breaking into buildings, too… "There you go," he said, giving her a devilish smile. She, of course, returned the gesture.
"Please, enjoy viewing the ancient Pokémon."
Jack nodded at her. The inside of the building failed to impress him like the exterior had, and it seemed that all the good stuff waited on the second floor. As he began to ascend the stairs, Eevee sunk her teeth into his neck, seemingly sensing his bad intentions.
"Ow, Eevee, what the hell?!" he exclaimed. Before she could respond with a weak noise, he grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and placed her on the wooden floor. "Stay there, and don't come looking for me. You're a rare Pokémon, so if anyone comes near you, go outside and hide in the bushes. I'm not going to cart around a Pokémon who feels it's alright to bite me whenever she pleases." With that, he continued up the stairs. The place was swarming with guards. Okay, so that was a slight exaggeration. There were only two men on patrol. Quickly, the brunette placed a hand on his neck.
"Guards!" Both men turned to face the frantic brunette. "There's a wild Eevee downstairs, and…I think it's rabid! It just bit me!" Security looked at him with disbelief, and for a moment, Jack thought he was done for. No sooner had the thought crossed his mind, then the guards rushed downstairs, Pokéballs in hand. A devious grin crossed Jack's face as he surveyed the exhibits. Most were old, stone fossils that failed to catch his eye. One, however, was different. It was a beautiful, shimmering amber hue, and the light reflected flawlessly off of its polished surface. The sign below read "Old Amber. Pokémon unknown." So, no one knew what would come from this fossil? Jack intended to be the first to find out. Stealthily, he clutched the fossil in his hands. That was the easy part. The hard part was lifting the object. His hands were dripping with perspiration, and that didn't go too well with the glossy surface. Before he could drop it, he heaved it under his shirt and raced out of the building. He was not about to waste any time. By this point, all the guards had begun to rush upstairs, thankfully, paying little attention to the wounded Jack (even though no blood had been drawn).
"Eevee!" He called, finally breathing in the fresh air. A rustle in the bushes signaled life, and, upon closer inspection, that life revealed itself to be Jack's partner in crime, albeit unknowingly. "Eevee, are you okay? I had to book it out of there, I was so worried about you!" She emitted a light squeal as she leapt onto his shoulder. She remained fully unaware of two things, the first being that he had stolen a one-of-a-kind fossil. The second? He had just pretended to worry about her. He had lied.
