Gareth - Prologue B
Part I
Long after the sun had risen over the peaceful Pallet Town., Gareth still sat under a tree on the town's outskirts. He had gone there as soon as dawn had come, not wanting to meet his parents this morning. Charm the Charmander sat beside him, watching him closely. For once, she wasn't smiling. When Gareth eventually saw that, he sighed and gave her a weak smile of his own. That made her happy again. Her trainer wasn't completely down.
Leaving his hometown... it wasn't easy. He hadn't been out of it much before. But he knew one thing: he needed to stock up on some supplies. He had a lot of food in his bag, but he guessed it would be wise to find some more useful items. On the road, who knew what one could need?... the salesmen in the market knew.
Early as it still was, the markets had just opened. Gareth tried to be positive and thought about what he would need the most... pokéspheres for catching more pokébeasts? More? He had Charm and he didn't know if he was really planning on downright catching more. That would be later on, in any case. So that left the market that sold recovery items. "Now, that would be good to have," he mumbled, patting Charm on her head.
"We want to make sure I can heal you quickly if you have to protect me from something nasty on our adventure, don't we?"
Charm smiled in response, and they went towards that market. He looked through the shelves, wondering what all these things were.
"Excuse me, good sir," a voice said. Gareth looked up to see a very happy looking man stand before him. "Wonderful morning, i'nnit? Now, what could you possibly be looking for? Allow me to help you!"
Before Gareth could respond, the man stepped between him and the shelves. "THIS here thing is the good ol' Potion. It will make your pokébeast healthy in no time at all! Not to mention yourself..."
Charm heard Gareth growl lowly. She giggled. Gareth didn't like people who tried to sell him things. But now he probably needed what was being sold to him, so he would probably shut up and listen. And she was right, he did.
"And here, you have an Antidote for most poisons induced by creepy pokébeast bugs out there! A must for any adventurer!"
"Have I said I'm an adventurer?" the young man said, his eye twitching slightly.
"Well, no, sir, no need to tell me that!" the man boomed. "I can tell by the looks of you... and your pokébeast partner here! Isn't it a cutie~" the man leaned down to scratch the Charmander gently under her chin. Charm gave Gareth an uncomfortable expression that urged him to get a move on.
"Uh, what is that, then?" Gareth asked to avert the man's attention, pointing at some strange powder jar on a shelf.
"Oh that," the man said, looking a bit confused. "That's a medicine that's not properly tested. But it's for sale since some say it works wonders. It's said to cure anything like poison, deep slumber, paralysis... you can test it out if you want to. It's 10 gald."
The man really didn't seem as eager to sell that as the other stuff. Gareth wondered why... but at the same time he wanted for some reason to go against this annoying man.
"I'll take it. And a potion," he said.
The market keeper raised his eyebrows, but shrugged and smiled, handing Gareth the jar of
Heal Powder and the
Potion while taking
30 gald from his hand. Packing the stuff into his bag, Gareth glanced over at the pokésphere market on the other side of the street. Maybe he should visit it too...
Walking over there, Charm prodding along after him, he was actually amazed by all the different pokéspheres. There were all sorts of them, or at least all different colors.
"See anything you like?" the shopkeeper said, walking up to him. This man looked more smugly happy than boomingly happy as the other had been. He also glanced over at the other market at times. Gareth noticed that and looked back as well. The recovery market's shopkeeper stood there watching them, not looking as happy anymore. The sphere market's shopkeeper's smile grew wider.
"What was that about?" Gareth asked, not liking the subtleness of the situation.
"Oh, nothing at all," the man said, sighing. "Let's just say... there is some competition among the markets here. And he and me both concentrate on pokébeast items. Unfortunately... people think his items are more usable than mine nowadays. Not many want to capture pokébeasts on their leisure time... stupid people. They don't know what they're missing out on."
The murmuring of the man scared Charm a little. She surely didn't like him. Gareth wasn't bothered though. At least the man was pretty frank.
"I'd like to buy a pokésphere," he said, even though he hadn't planned on doing so from the start. Charm shrugged. She knew what was going on.
The shopkeeper smiled again and began showing Gareth the different styles, but the young man waved him off. "No, I just want a plain one."
"Alright, sir. What color would you prefer, then?"
"Uh..." Gareth felt in the pouch of his belt. Charm's black pokésphere lay there. "A white one," he said, since white was the first color that came to his mind.
The shopkeeper nodded, taking a plain white sphere down from the shelves. Gareth handed him
10 gald and took the
white Pokésphere. Without thinking, both men glanced back at the recovery market stand across the street. They saw a very annoyed salesman snort and step back among the potions and shelves of his shop. The sphere shopkeeper smiled widely and calmly, waving to the other side, and Gareth couldn't help but giving up the tiiiniest smile too. That man had been annoying, after all.
"White is a good color," the man beside him said. "If you don't mind me asking, do you already have a pokésphere for your young Charmander here?"
"Yes, I do. It's black."
"White and black... I see. That's interesting and rather elegant. I hope you'll find a nice pokébeast to put in that new sphere. Oh, and also..." The man seemed to hesitate, and glanced over the street again. "Yes. I have something more for you."
"How come?" Gareth asked, following the man back behind the counter.
"Because it's been a while since I've seen someone with such an unusual pokébeast as yourself, and someone with such an adventurous air about him. It reminds me of some years ago, actually, when a young man came by buying a lot of black pokéspheres..."
A jolt struck through Gareth's stomach, without him knowing why. Why would it be Amandor that the shopkeeper was referring to, anyways? No, it could have been anyone.
"So I wanted to give you a good luck charm. This, my young adventurer, is an
Amulet Coin," the man said, holding up a rather rusty old golden coin towards the air. It glimmered in an odd way between the rusty spots.
"I'm sorry but it looks like... a piece of junk," Gareth said, not afraid to be impolite.
"Yes, it does," the man chuckled, not offended. "But that's part of what makes it so special. Even beneath a sore surface, can a wonder be hidden. This coin makes sure to send fortune your way. Keep it with you, and you will not have to worry about money."
Gareth took the Amulet Coin in his hand. It was rather light for being pretty big. It couldn't be real gold. He wondered what material it really was. Something unusual, perhaps?
"If it works so great, why are you here in the smallest of towns with a small sphere shop?" he asked, peering up at the shopkeeper while holding the coin between two fingers.
Another smug smile. "Ah, but how have I managed to run a pokésphere market in a town where not many people want to capture pokébeasts?"
That actually left Gareth thinking.
"Good luck on your journey," the man said, returning to sorting things on the shelves.
Gareth clutched the coin and left the market with one last nod. Charm followed him, smiling vacantly. She growled questioningly at him.
"I think I'll keep it," her trainer said, putting it down into a small pocket in his black trousers. Charm blew out a tiny flame into the bright air to show that she approved his decision.
((OOC: So, the long post it is :3 ))