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Chapter 2: Intwined Friends and Fate |
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Tall skyscrapers came into view as the S.S Liberty came into view. Marcus hung over the rails looking down at the sea and then up at the blue sky. Strange green fish pokémon with blue stripes leaped in and out over the water along the bottom of the ship’s sides. Small gray birds also flew above in small flocks. There were many children and adults also above that were uneasy with anticipation as the majestic Castelia City steadily approached. The new world was here and the chaos on Liberty Island was just the beginning, many tasks and trials would be thrust into Marcus’s arms as he made the first steps into this new region.
The sounds of closing and opening shutters would be made as Marcus took pictures of the scenery on his cell phone. He was intended to call his dad as soon as they had touched down. Images of Victini and Professor Juniper flashed through his head. ”So Nevama Town… that’s my next destination.” He pocketed his cellphone and rested his arms on the rails that had been warmed under the heat of the sun. ”Now I just have to figure out where everything is and we can make some progress.” The thought of all the research he had ahead of him made his head drop down into his arms. He was somewhat oblivious to the people around him as well as approaching him.
A young man, more than likely a year or some younger, as Marcus, approached him and stopped on the rail next to Marcus. ”Ah, the Unova region… much different from anywhere else I hear.”
”Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard.” Marcus peered up at the boy with short black hair over a peach colored face.
”I’m looking forward to it all… we both are.” He chuckled lightly, closing his eyes and taking in the sea-salted breeze. A small, brown pokémon came up behind the boy and jumped on his shoulder, cuddling close and drawing Marcus’s attention.
”An Eevee, cool. Is he yours?”
”Yep, this is my buddy and partner, here to start a new journey with me.” The boy reached over and rubbed the small creature’s head. ”Oh, by the way, my name is Chris. What’s your name?”
”Marcus… nice to meet you.” Marcus dropped his attention from Chris and continued to look back at the approaching city.
Horns blew from the ships, announcing that they were making port. Each passenger returned to their quarters to pack their belongings and prepare to leave the ship. Marcus and Chris did the same, each with a small pack on their backs and a dream in their hearts.
”Sooo…” Chris couldn’t help but to follow Marcus a little ways from the ship. He spoke while looking up at the towering skyscrapers. ”Marcus, where are you heading?” He looked back down to see Marcus in a little confusion. He chuckled lightly. ”First time in the city?”
”I… I guess you could say that. Here I thought Celadon City was big. WOW!” Marcus stopped circling and looking up to catch his breath and give his mind time to process everything that was going on. ”I’m trying to find out where Nevama Town is….”
Chris’s eyes widened. ”Really?! Me too!! So you are a pokémon trainer!”
Marcus looked back and noticed that Chris had clasped his hands together. An idea, no doubt, was brewing in his head. ”Or at least I’m trying to be one. I never really had a chance to back home, so I was hoping this new region would give me the chance to do so.”
Chris moved into a casual stance, resting his chin in between his pointer finger and thumb. ”Well, if it’s any constellation, I’m going there as well, to see Professor Juniper.” He moved from scratching his chin to scratching the back of his head. ”Maybe we can travel together… at least till we get to Nevama Town.”
”Hmm… sounds like an idea. Sure, why not.” Marcus extended his hand to shake Chris’s hand and smiled. He then broke the hand shake and looked around awkwardly. ”You have any idea which way Nevama Town might be?”
Chris was also just as dumbfounded. ”Ya know… I have no idea, how about we find a map or something.” Chris pointed to the Pokemon Center that was only a few feet away from him and started to walk in that direction. He guided Marcus into the bright; two stories center. Once inside, the two saw a small cluster of trainers as well as other people at the shops that were also present within the center. Chris then strolled over to a nearby wall that had a map plastered against it. ”Let’s see.” He began to trace his index finger over the map, looking from where he figured they were to where they would soon be heading. ”Eeeewww…” He voiced in a whisper.
”What? What is it?” Marcus heard Chris and came up behind him to look at the map. He noticed where they were and then where Chris was pointing. Nevama turned out to be quite a bit of distance from Castelia. ”Oh Arceus!” He swore. ”How the heck does Professor Juniper expect us to get all the way out there?!” Marcus slapped his palm on his forehead in annoyance.
”Are you boys looking for a way to Nevama Town?” A tall scruffy looking man turned from one of the cashiers with a bag in hand. He tilted his head and then made his way towards them. He had a large red monkey like pokémon standing behind him. ”You guys new trainers or something?” Once up close they boys would notice that he easily towered over the both of them, nearly four to five inches taller. The pokémon was nearly half their height and cried softly.
”Yes sir,” Chris answered politely, ”we’re trying to get to Nevama Town.”
”Well then… you’re in luck because I just happen to be getting ready to make a drive over to Accumula Town, which is rather close to Nevama Town.” The man smiled and winked at the two. ”I wouldn’t mind giving you guys if lift.
”Really? That would be great thank you sir!” Chris clasped his hands together joyfully.
”Call me Phil and this is my pokémon Semisear.” he pointed down at the red monkey who had flashed a thumbs up at the two trainers. ” And you two are?”
”My name is Chris and this guy is Marcus.” Chris moved close to Marcus and through his arm of the other’s shoulder. ”Psst… say something.” he whispered between his teeth.
”Thanks, I really appreciate you helping us.” his voice was monotone and he looked away, not making eye contact with the overly friendly trucker.
”No problem!” Phil bellowed in laughter and turned from them. ”Just meet me at Pier No.1 when you’re ready.” He and Semisear stepped out of the center whistling happily, unaware that the boys did not know where this pier was or where anything was for that matter.
Once Phil was out of hearing range he turned on Marcus. ”Well then, that’s quite a bit of a relief, guess we won’t have to do as much walking as we previously figured.” He had a wide smile that masked his suspicion of Marcus’s attitude towards the generous trucker.
”Yeah, lucky us.” Marcus turned back to the map, hoping that it would be able to tell them where they were supposed to go to meet their driver. His eyes then wandered on to Accumula and then down to Nevama where the professor said to meet her, the place where he would get his first pokémon.
While in the Pokémon center, the two made sure to stock up on supplies for the trip. Chris made sure to have the nurse do a check up on his Eevee, just to recharge from the long boat ride. A few minutes later, the two left with the Eevee following closely behind. Chris and Marcus were somewhat confused on where to go from there, but signs cleared up confusion and got them to the pier to meet Phil.
”Ah… you all are here. I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me.” Phil chuckled inside of his large 18-wheeler truck with Semisear in the passenger’s seat. ”Well hop on in so we can get going!”
Chris ran towards the truck and bowed apologetically. ”Sorry, we got a little held up.” He pulled out his pokeball and returned his Eevee to it. He ran to the other side where the door had already been opened for them.
Marcus followed behind and jumped inside the truck, after Chris. He pulled the door off behind him and looked around the cramped space, making not of all the pictures that were plastered on the dashboard. He looked over at Chris and then rested his arm on the door, getting confortable.
Once inside, Phil pulled off and headed towards the exit of Castelia, merging onto the highway that would take them through various towns and then finally to Accumula Town. Along the way Phil spoke about his journeys as a youth and how he had received his first pokémon at an early age and then decided to be a trucker instead of the usual pokémon trainer. Marcus started to lighten up as they continued to drive; he spotted what looked like a gym in Straiton City, figuring that he would come there after he acquired his first pokémon. After a total nearly four hours of driving, the group had traveled from Castelia City to Accumula Town.
”Well… here we are; Accumula Town, the ever accumulating city.” Phil stepped out of the truck followed by his partner. He took a few steps and then stopped to point in a southern direction. ”If you go down that wooded path, you’ll be at the entrance to Nevama Town. It’s been a while since I’ve been there so you’ll have to ask around to find the professor.
Chris stepped out of the truck and stretched his entire body. ”Wow, this place is so beautiful.” Chris took a moment to look at all the buildings and people that were there. He spotted the Pokemon Center near the edge of the small town that led into the small forest that Phil had directed their attention towards.
”You can say that again.” As Marcus stepped out of the truck, he noticed the life of the small town and the effect that it had on his eyes as well as his ears. He could tell that there were musicians about as he could make out the sounds of a piano and drum accompaniment playing in the background, adding a tender emotion of joy and happiness to the already lively background. He stretched for a moment and then started to head in the direction of Nevama Town. Anticipation started to build within him, similar to when he left Vermillion a few days ago.
Chris came up from the rear and stood beside Marcus, looking at the trees in front. ”We’re almost there. I can’t wait!” No longer able to bear standing in awe, Chris took the lead into the wooded forest. ”Last one there is a rotten egg!” With that he took off into a blind run.
Marcus mentally face-palmed himself as he reached out to grab Chris’s arm, ”Wait- - - We don’t know…” Chris was already a good distance away and getting further by the seconds. Marcus shook his head and concluded that he was going to be the rotten egg. Walking through the forest, Marcus made sure to keep his eyes open for wild pokémon that were around. He walked slowly and quietly, remembering his very first interaction with a wild pokémon and the scar over his eye that he had as a reminder of why he disliked having siblings with a knack for getting in trouble. He came upon a lake and stopped for a moment to listen. From its depths he could barely, but still quite easily make out the sounds of singing. It quickly drew him in, wondering what could be making that melodious tune; maybe it would be a pokémon, or maybe a girl. A slightly perverted grin over took his face as the thought of peeping at a bathing maiden took hold of his mental retina.
”Do you believe in mermaids?”
Marcus jumped as random child with large framed glasses and medium length blonde hair, covering some of his glasses, appeared behind him. Sunlight was glaring off the lenses, keeping Marcus from being able to see the boy’s eyes.
”They say that every once in a while, there is singing coming from this very lake, but nobody has ever seen the source.” The boy walked towards the lake and peered into the watery depths. ”I’d like to think there was a mermaid or something here, wouldn’t you?” With that, the boy walked away, leaving Marcus utterly confused.
Noticing that the music was gone, Marcus shook his head as if he had be pulled from a trance and continued to walk down towards Nevama Town. As he reached the little town, he noticed that Chris was there as well, talking to someone… Professor Juniper. He picked up pace, dashing through the last of the random patches of grass and finally met up with the two.
”Well, well, well… if it isn’t Mr.EyeScar.”The lady said with a chuckle.
”It’s Marcus, not… EyeScar.” He said with an obvious glare.
”I know, I know… This young man told me your name since it had slipped my mind since the last time we met.” As if she had been waiting for them this entire time, the professor turned from the boys and started walking away. ”Now that you’re here, you can follow me to my lab.”
Chris came close and wrapped his arm around Marcus’s neck. ”What took you so long?! It took you like an hour alone to get here!” He tried his best not to sound hysterical and then changed topic. ”Never mind that, you never told me that you had already met the Professor Juniper’s daughter!” He kept his arm around Marcus and pulled him along after the professor.
”Never figured that I would have to nor did I know that professor Juniper wasn’t a girl.” he replied, trying to worm his way out of Chris’s hold. ”Speaking of which, on your way down here, did you by any chance hear music coming from the lake?” Marcus asked, turning his head to look at Chris.
”Umm… no, not that I know of.” Chris looked away, trying to think back. As he thought on this, his thought process was interrupted by the presence Juniper’s lab. ”This… this is so cool!”
”Heh, I’ll say… it isn’t every day that you get to go into a Pokémon lab.” There was another boy joining them that was a light skinned shade with short black hair and glasses. He wore a blue polo shirt, khaki cargo pants, and a blue jacket on top of it all. ”My name’s Destino… I’m guessing you guys are here to get a starter pokémon as well?”
”Yep… wait, where did you come from?!” Chris had to catch himself from being too friendly with a complete stranger that had appeared out of know where.
”Heh.” Destino wiped a finger under his nose and smiled. ”I just got here; arrived a little after you two did and decided to follow you all.” He looked at both Marcus and Chris before continuing. He held his look at Marcus for a bit longer than he did Chris, ”Who would have thought that would have been my greatest idea so far.”
Marcus took a good look at the boy, feeling that they had met somewhere before. When the boy mentioned his name, it clicked. This revelation sent a large smile across his face. ”Destino?! Destino!”
”Heh, nice to know you haven’t completely forgotten about, what’s it been… six years?” He walked a little closer and rested a hand on Marcus’s shoulder.
”Yeah, something like that.” His hand rose to meet Destino’s hand. ”Man, it’s good to see you again!”
”Wait a second… hold the phone!” Chris was confused and was starting to feel left out of the big reunion happening in front of him. ”You guys know each other?!”
”Yeah, we go way back. We were both in Trainers’ School together. Both slightly interesting in breed, but…”
”Like most school friends, we went our separate ways. He went home to stay with the family- - -“ Destino was interrupted by the lab’s door opening and revealing a rather upset female professor.
”I could have sworn that I asked that you all follow me.” She glared at Chris and Marcus, making the two flinch with slight fear, and then looked up to Destino. ”Ah, so you’re finally here Mr.Rins, I didn’t think you’d be in till later this evening.”
”Well, I guess I got here a little earlier than expected.” He replied with a light chuckle. He looked back at Chris, ”We’ll continue this conversation at a later time.” He then walked into the lab behind the professor and was then followed by Marcus and Chris.
The professor led the three boys to a long white table that had a brown, metallic box on top of it. She walked around the table and opened to box, from behind, to show the trainers three glimmering pokeballs. ”Eh-hem… here we have three pokeballs with pokémon inside of them. I would assume that since you’re all here… that you’ve passed and graduated from Trainers’ school in your region of origin.” After the three nodded she continued with her short speech. ”Well then, may I present the starter pokémon of the Unova region. First we have,” She picked up the first pokeball and pointed it towards the trainers. A beam of red light released from the sphere and landed on the table. The beam condensed and changed into the form of a small, orange pig pokémon, ”Tepig, the fire pig pokémon. His little bundle of heat can expel balls of fire from its snot. Why don’t you show them what you can do?” She asked with a wink at the pokémon.
The little pig pokémon looked up at Juniper and then at the boys. It was in a near state of anxiety and froze on the spot.
”Aw, how cute!” Chris stepped towards the pokémon and dropped to his knees so that he was eye level with the pig. ”You don’t have to be afraid of us.” He reached out to pet the pig and was, in reaction, in hit the face with a small ember attack. ”ACK!!” He cried, falling backwards.
Both Marcus and Destino chuckled and then helped Chris up.
”Well…” she said, struggling to hold back her laughter. ”That’s Tepig, next we have,” She returned Tepig to his ball and replaced it another pokeball. With the same motion, she released an otter pokémon that had a white face and a blue body. It has a glistening gold shell on its chest. ”Oshawott, the otter pokémon; the shell on its chest can be used to perform slicing attacks.”
Unlike Tepig, this pokémon pulled off its shell and tossed it up in the air and caught it with ease. He flashed a smile at Destino and then returned to shell to his chest. ”Osha…” it said in a conserved tone.
Destino found himself rather drawn to this particular pokémon. It had a rather cool personality that sparked something within him. You will be mine he said mentally.
”Alrighty then… and finally we have,” Repeating the same actions as before, she released a green pokémon from within the third ball, ” Snivy, the grass snake pokémon.” Releasing the other two pokémon, she laid their pokeballs in front of the pokémon and walked around to the side of the table. ”So… who’s first?”
Destino made the first move, walking over to the Oshawott and reaching for its pokeball. ”I guess I’ll be the first and claim this little guy.” He grabbed the pokeball and then went to rub the pokémon on the head, in between its blue ears.
”Good choice.” She smiled at Destino and then turned her attention to the other boys. ”Who’s next?”
Chris took the stepped a moment before Marcus did and reached for the Snivy’s pokeball. ”I like this guy’s style. I mean, he’s got a popped collar for crying out loud.” He said with a chuckle.
Juniper couldn’t help but laugh at that moment. ”True enough…” Taking in a moment to halt her laughter, the young professor turned to Marcus. ”Guess that means you and Tepig were destined to be partners."
”I guess you’d be right about that one, professor.” Marcus looked down and locked eyes with the pig pokémon. The both shared a big of a bonding moment as destiny seemed to be setting their paths right at that moment. Marcus then took a step for Tepig’s ball and then pointed it at the pokémon, returning him. After this, the other boys did the same with their pokémon.
”And now we move to the next part.” Juniper walked over to another small table that held three red devices as well as three small bags. ”Here are the fabled pokedex of the Unova region. I want you guys to go out and see all the Pokémon of the world.” She handed each of them a pokedex and a bag. Inside the bag were five miniaturized pokeballs. ”You can use these to catch the rest of your team. Like I said, I would like it if you went to see all the pokémon in the world, but truth be told… what you decide to do is truly up to you. I just hope you remember when you become famous!” Throwing them each thumbs up and a wink, she directed them to the exit and escorted them out of Nevama city. ”Oh… before I forget, I have a friend in Straiton city that I think you guys would benefit from meeting. She’s a fellow professor that studies something a little different from what I study.”
Marcus and the guys nodded and thanked Juniper before leaving, stopping first at Accumula. As they walked, Marcus pulled Tepig’s ball from his pocket and looked it, not believing that this was his first pokémon in a very long time.
”Heh, having flashbacks, are we?” Destino chuckled and put his hands behind his head.
”You could say that.” The thought back to his Charmeleon back home, whom he had left with a friend back in Fuchsia City. ”Who would have thought I would end up with another fire pokémon. He began to wonder what other kind of pokémon he’d run into, not forgetting about his encounter with Victini. His mind then wondered off to Chris. ”Hey! You have two pokémon already.” He looked over at Chris.
Chris jumped, not expecting his name to be called like that. ”hehehe…” he chuckled nervously.
”Really now… who else do you have on you?”
Chris looked around to make sure that no one else was around, namely the professor. From out of his pocket, he pulled a completely white pokeball and then pointed it at the ground. It erupted open and shot a beam at the ground that revealed Chris’s Eevee. ”I couldn’t leave my buddy at home so… I brought him with me.” A figurative sweat drop went down the back of his head.
Destino was not shocked but actually quite thrilled to see a pokémon that he knew. He swatted down to meet the pokémon and rubbed its head. ”Very nice, you must take good care of it for its coat to be so shiny and clean. I can tell he must be your pride and joy.”
”I… I take it you’re either a breeder or someone really weird.” He could feel the drop of sweat again as he watched his Eevee being scanned by someone that he didn’t know too well.
”Funny thing is that you’d be right both ways.” Marcus laughed at his comment and then stopped when he met a glare from Destino.
Fixing his glasses so the glare of the sun would bounce off, covering his eyes, Destino rose from the Eevee and looked at Chris. ”My goal is to become the best Pokémon breeder from the Johto region. In order to do so, I have to go everywhere and learn about the pokémon native to each region.” Destino started to walk towards Accumula, followed by the other two boys. ”Oh right, I guess we could take this time to tell you have Marcus and I met. Like I said, we were both students of Kanto University and I guess you could say that we became both rivals and the best of friends. Unfortunately, I’m originally from the Johto region. After graduation, I had to return home and use what I had learned.”
”It was also at that time that my mom had gotten sick. In the end, we both went home, but I hung up my trainer identity to help take care of the family. Being the oldest of five can put a bit of a strain on two parents, especially if one is extremely sick.”
Marcus and Destino continued to alternate between their sides of the story until they had reached the entrance to Accumula Town. There was a final patch of grass standing between them and the city. The grass rustled with activity from wild pokémon. The three boys decided that this would be the perfect time to catch another partner. Each separated and jumped into the grass, pokeballs ready for a battle and capture.
 -InsertEgoHere- Liger · Tue Mar 29, 2011 @ 04:10pm · 2 Comments |
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