Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Boundless Sky ❯ Capable? Search for Perfect Pokémon! ( Chapter 3 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

This chapter's a rewrite. The first version was pretty rambly, when the main point is to introduce Kouta. So I trimmed down the Petalburg scene -- Brendan and Wally will have other chapters to develop.
I'm trying to keep the average length of each installment as long as this one and chapter 4. 2 was big, but stuff happened, unlike the previous 3, where everyone just repeated themselves in conversation.
Blah, I'm my own editor! Enjoy.
P-Z

Chapter 3
Capable? Search for Perfect Pokémon!

"Chiori," Roxanne said impatiently. "Wading through the bushes was one thing, but..."

"Maybe they never come out because trainers always lumber through the bushes," Chiori said. "This way, I should be eye level, and therefore less intimidating."

"Come out from there," Roxanne insisted. "You'll get your new gloves dirty."

Chiori, on her hands and knees, crawled backwards until she was free from the plants. She rose, brushing off her pants. She held out her arms, staring at the back of her gloves, white with black fingers. She'd picked them up at the Petalburg pokémon center, where she and Roxanne had stopped. They didn't want Mr. Briney to sail them all the way to Rustboro only to turn around and return south to his home outside Petalburg. Chiori called her mother and asked that she pick them up instead, since the former sea captain had ferried the girls around enough. Besides, Chiori read in Roxanne's encyclopedia about a rarely-seen pokémon who was known to make its home along the lush grasses of Route 102. She fell in love with its picture and was determined to capture one.

"Gloves are supposed to get dirty," she said. "That's why you wear them, so your hands stay clean."

The petite brunette crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, you've been looking for so long now, and you haven't found one. We should get back to the center before your mom gets there."

"There's still time," Chiori insisted. "Just let me look a little longer."

Roxanne gave a soft sigh. "I wanted to meet the gym leader," she said to herself.

"Stop trying to do everything for me!" came a shout. Chiori froze, aware that it hadn't come from Roxanne, but startled nonetheless. In her absorbed searching, she hadn't noticed that there were two boys nearby, apparantly looking for pokémon as well.

"I'm not!" one of them protested. "Your dad asked me to help, so I'm helping!"

"More like taking over! I--" The first boy paused, noticing Chiori. The other followed his friend's gaze, then proceeded to shift his posture in embarrassment.

"Am I in your way?" Chiori asked, trying to sound innocent.

"You're fine," said the second boy, the one who was trying to help. He had silvery-blue hair held back with a black headband, and a red and black jumpsuit, which Chiori recognized from the pokémon center's official Hoenn League Outfitters section. He turned to the other boy, pale with fluffy green hair, wearing what seemed to be his school uniform: a pressed white shirt and dark green pants. "Hey, where are you going?"

"The pokémon are probably all scared off now," he said. "I'm going to try this spot." He crossed the field, wandering into some tall grass.

The silver-haired boy sighed and stared after him. Chiori took in a breath, unsure of what to do.

"Oh!" the other boy exclaimed. "Brendan, this pokémon just came from nowhere! What do I do?"

"Battle it to weaken it first! Oh... right." Brendan ran over.

"Don't scare it away!"

"You have to use my Treecko! Here!" Stopping halfway, Brendan released his pokémon, a lizard-like creature with a long tail that somewhat resembled a leaf.

"Chiori!" Roxanne motioned for Chiori to stand beside her and get a better view. "Isn't that...?"

Her eyes widened. "It is! It's a Ralts!"

Small, whitish-grey, with what appeared to be green hair shielding most of its face and two rounded, light red horns stuck out from the front and back of its head, the Ralts stood perfectly still. It seemed to be looking at Treecko. The green-haired boy was also perfectly still, afraid to move.

"Tell Treecko to attack, Wally," Brendan supplied.

"I don't want Ralts to run away!" Wally said. "I... I can tell it's--"

"Use absorb, Treecko," Brendan told his pokémon. "We'll weaken it gradually, okay?" Surprisingly, the Ralts stayed put, flinching in shock that some of its energy had been absorbed. Its horns began to glow, and suddenly Treecko swayed, looking rather confused.

"Oh!" Wally gasped. "Do I throw the ball now?" Without waiting for an answer, he lobbed a red and white sphere. Chiori held her breath until the pokéball stopped wobbling, its internal light fading. Wally broke into a grin, looking happily at Brendan, who was stopping his Treecko from walking in circles.

"Congratulations!" Brendan cheered, giving a thumbs-up sign.

"I couldn't have done it without you." Wally's grin broadened. "And Treecko." He ran the few steps and picked up his capture.

"So you're not mad anymore?" Brendan asked.

"No way! I thought you were going to catch any old pokémon without my approval, but I was wrong. I trust you from now on." Wally squeezed the pokéball happily.

Brendan's cheeks flushed, and he scratched the back of his head, laughing.

"Um," Chiori spoke up. "Do you think there are more Ralts in that spot?"

"There might be," Brendan answered.

"Maybe they're really good at hiding," Chiori speculated. "I've been looking for one around here for a long time. Hmm..." She took out her own pokéball from her backpack, releasing her newly-caught Malik.

"Whoa!" the boys exclaimed. Brendan reached around to his back pocket, pulling out what looked like a slim red case. He flipped open the top and stared at it. "It's a Mawile," he said.

"What's that?" Chiori asked, in regards to his device.

"Hmm?" Brendan looked at her. "This is a pokédex. Portable, electronic encyclopedia, sort of."

"Where did you find a pokémon like that?" Wally asked, staring at Malik.

"Granite Cave, on Dewford Island," Chiori proudly replied. "We just came from there today."

"Why does it have that bandage?"

She explained the adventure in the cave to the awe of both boys. "I guess I have a lot of catching up to do, compared to a trainer like you," Wally said.

"Aww, I'm not so great." Chiori blushed.

The boys excused themselves to return to Wally's house for dinner. "Okay, Malik!" Chiori announced. "Want to go Ralts-hunting? They're about your size, so maybe you can find one better than I could, from your line of sight." She watched as her Mawile raced obediently to the weeds, smiling fondly.

"You love that little thing, don't you?" Roxanne asked, looking amused. She'd been quiet for a long time, observing from the background.

"Of course! And Isis too. It's just that Malik's such a sweetheart, despite how scary he is at first."

"You wouldn't replace him with a Ralts, would you?"

Chiori's blue eyes grew to twice their size. "No! There's no way!"

"I just wondered, that's all. You got so excited when you found Ralts in my encyclopedia. I see it all the time in my classroom: kids learn about a new pokémon, become obsessed with it, neglect the ones they already have. You snatched up Malik as soon as you could this afternoon, and now this. The signs are there."

"How could you say that? Just because I want new ones doesn't mean I'll stop loving my old ones. What, do you think my parents stopped loving my brother because they had me?"

Roxanne, an only child, glanced away. "No, but catching pokémon is vastly different from bearing children."

"Well, as far as I'm concerned, my pokémon are my children. And I happen to think Malik and Isis would enjoy having a baby sister Ralts."

No more was said on the topic as the search commenced. When the sun began to set, Roxanne politely suggested they return to the pokémon center. Chiori recalled Malik back to his pokéball and followed Roxanne, peering over her shoulder for any signs of movement until Route 102 was no longer in view. Mrs. Rougan was waiting at the center, as promised, and she drove the girls back to Rustboro as the sun set completely.

---

The following Monday, Chiori was back at the trainers' academy after her school day had ended, her usual routine of helping out Roxanne. As much as she wanted to get home as soon as possible to see Isis and Malik -- who, after getting used to each other, got along splendidly -- she felt obligated to spend the time with Roxanne, something she'd been doing for over a year.

"Let me get that for you!" She rushed to the shelves along the back wall, where Roxanne was standing on tiptoes in order to reach a folder. The much taller Chiori snatched it for her easily.

Roxanne gave her a small smile. "I was about to get a chair to stand on," she said.

"Now you don't have to!" Chiori beamed and handed her the folder.

Roxanne looked away uncomfortably. "Chiori... there's something I want to tell you."

"Huh?" The younger girl tilted her head, curious.

Someone rapped their knuckles on the open door across the room, stopping Roxanne from saying whatever was on her mind. "Miss Pierce? Sorry to interrupt," said the newcomer.

"Ah, Kouta." Roxanne greeted him pleasantly. "It's all right. Come in."

Despite the fact that he'd addressed her as a teacher, the boy looked to be Roxanne's age. His skin was pale, especially next to his black t-shirt and jeans and dark purple, almost black hair, which framed his face in varying lengths down to his neck. He had clear brown eyes, which revealed intelligence and depth at a glance. "I wanted to ask you before class, but didn't get the chance. How was your expedition to Dewford?"

"Pretty successful, all things considered," Roxanne told him. "I actually came away with two more pokémon."

"That's great! Was my Geodude helpful?"

"Sure was, and thank you again."

While at first interested in hearing that this was the student from whom Roxanne had acquired her Geodude, Chiori, still in her school uniform, felt consciously young and childish next to the two of them. Wasn't Roxanne even going to mention that Chiori had come with her to Dewford? She ducked her head down and to the side, staring at the floor, her unbound pink hair hanging like a curtain in front of her face.

Doing so, she didn't notice Kouta looking at her. "Were you the one who went with her?" he asked. "Miss Pierce said she was taking a friend."

Chiori snapped her head up, surprised. "Oh, yes," Roxanne said as an afterthought. "This is Chiori. She's going to enroll here this fall."

Kouta nodded in agreement. "It's a wonderful school. I know I'm grateful I came here."

Chiori opened her mouth, unsure of what to say suddenly. "Yeah," she blurted out.

"Will you be joining another of our summer programs?" Roxanne asked Kouta.

"Nah, I've got an internship with the breeding center near Mauville. I'm really looking forward to it."

"Well, you certainly have enough pokémon of your own to work with," said Roxanne.

Kouta laughed. "I have more pokémon than I know what to do with, honestly."

"Um," Chiori spoke up as Roxanne chuckled. "You wouldn't happen to have a Ralts, would you?"

Kouta looked up at the ceiling, thinking. "Actually... I do. Yes."

Chiori squeaked and clapped her hands. "Would you trade it to me? Please? I spent all Saturday evening looking for one!"

"Chiori!" Roxanne hissed.

"What?" Chiori whirled around to her, hair flying as she did. "Why can't I ask? Is this still about what you said on Saturday? Or are you the only one allowed to get new pokémon?"

Roxanne blushed. "I was going to tell you not to be rude, but I guess it's too late for that."

"It's all right," Kouta interjected. "She can ask, I don't mind. I don't have anything else to do at the moment."

"Are you sure?" Chiori asked. "I didn't mean to be so sudden, but I just thought of it and--"

"It's fine." He grinned. "I'd be glad to see that my Ralts has a good home. It's just sitting in storage." He started towards the door. "Come on, we have to go to the pokémon center. See you tomorrow, Miss Pierce." He waved at Roxanne.

"See you, Kouta. You too, Chiori."

Chiori narrowed her eyes at her as the teacher looked away. What was it Roxanne was going to tell her? Why had she been acting so weird about Chiori getting pokémon?

"So, almost done with regular school, huh?" Kouta asked as they stepped outside.

"Yes, and good riddance, I say," Chiori answered. "Now that I have pokémon, I--" She paused suddenly, gripped with a horror she hadn't thought of until now. "I... have to trade you one of my pokémon, don't I?" Everything Roxanne said about replacing Malik with Ralts was coming back to haunt her.

"Well, technically... but you don't have to trade me one of your beloved ones," Kouta said with sympathy. "Just go catch the first wild thing you see. The important part is that we swap pokéballs that are each registered to us. That way it's official in the League files, so you're not suspected of, say, stealing a Ralts that's still in my name."

Chiori blinked at him. "I just bought my pokéballs at the mart... I didn't know I had to register them."

"Oh... well, you don't have to. Anyone can use a ball. But for something like trading, you need to be registered with the Hoenn League. That way, when your pokéballs are scanned, they come up in your name on the database. And you get free use of the pokécenter's services throughout the region."

"That explains why we got free pokémon care at Dewford..." Chiori said. "Gym leaders are registered, aren't they? But... I left my pokémon at home while I was at school today. Do I need them?"

"No, so long as you have an empty ball with you. You can have your other pokémon registered later."

"Okay!" Chiori slipped off her backpack and opened it, where she found a couple of free pokéballs left over from her weekend. "Do you mean it? You'll trade a Ralts for anything?"

"Yeah. Like I told Miss Pierce, I've got more pokémon than I know what to do with. And you sound like you don't want to part with yours."

"I don't! I love my pokémon more than anything, despite what Roxanne thinks." Chiori scrunched up her nose thinking about it.

Kouta chuckled. "Don't be too hard on her. It's the end of the school year. She's a little stressed."

"You sound like you know her better than I do."

"Well, I'm not on a first-name basis with her like you, but I've seen enough ends of semesters to recognize work overload. It gets to me too, believe me. Don't take it personally."

"I guess..."

They arrived at the pokémon center at last. "Okay, go and capture something," said Kouta. "I'll set it free after the trade, so no harm done."

With no pokémon to do proper battle and weaken a target, Chiori had a time searching, but Kouta helped her look. They both spotted a sleeping Wurmple, which was too lazy to resist the pokéball. Chiori bounced in place as she picked up the ball, which made Kouta laugh, delighted by her eagerness.

Inside the center, Kouta punched a number into a bulky computer after inserting a small, plastic card. Chiori watched, fascinated. A pokéball appeared in the window at the very center of the machine, and the window slid up, allowing the tray holding the pokéball to emerge. Kouta took the ball. "One Ralts," he said.

Next, Chiori went to the counter to have the secretary register her name and information into the League's database. While she was busy doing so, Chiori turned to Kouta. "So how did you come to have so many pokémon?" she asked. "How many do you have?"

Kouta scratched his head in thought. "I've lost count. Maybe sixty?" He paused, amused at Chiori's boggled eyes. "See, a couple of years ago, I was in this contest -- the idea was to catch as many pokémon as there are in the pokédex by the end of summer. It was really fun, and I made a lot of friends... not to mention I got a lot of pokémon I never would have thought to capture. That got me interested in breeding, which is what I plan to do after school. I even landed an internship at a nearby center."

"Yeah, you told Roxanne," Chiori said. "That's cool, but... are you really just going to keep all those pokémon in storage forever?"

"Oh, no. The people at the breeding center expressed a lot of interest. And I'm attached to a few of them personally -- I'm a big ghost-type fan." He smiled and tucked some of his hair behind his ear.

"All right, Chiori," said the secretary. "You'll all set. You'll get an ID card in the mail in a few days, but feel free to bring in your other pokémon for registration any time." She handed the pokéball with Wurmple back to Chiori.

"Ready?" Kouta held up Ralts's pokéball. Chiori nodded. In a matter of seconds, she'd have a cute little Ralts of her very own...

Her reverie was interrupted by a shrill, excited cry. Then several things happened at once. Kouta was knocked to the floor by a girl who was now on top of him, her arms wrapped tight around his neck. "Kouta-samaaaaaa!" she drawled, nuzzling his neck. Kouta, looking pained that he'd landed on his behind in such an abrupt and embarrassing manner, scared that he'd nearly dropped Ralts's pokéball -- which he was now holding up high and away from his assailant -- and then annoyed at the entire situation, stared first at the dark-haired girl and then up at Chiori, his mouth hanging open.

Chiori stared back with an expression of similar shock. The girl finally unlatched herself from Kouta, sitting upright and gazing at him. "Are you surprised to see me? I told you I'd come to visit you!"

Kouta sat up gratefully, dusting off the back of his shirt with his free hand. "I didn't think you'd be here so soon," he said vaguely, examining Ralts's pokéball.

"What? I sent you an email three days ago! Didn't you read it?"

"I've been really busy."

"You're silly, Kouta-samaaaa." She dragged out the honorific in a syrupy voice.

"Um," Chiori spoke up. "You shouldn't call him '-sama'."

The girl raised her thin eyebrows at Chiori, as if she just noticed her. "And why shouldn't I?" she asked haughtily.

"Because it's wrong." Chiori laughed nervously.

"How do you know what's wrong and what isn't?"

"Well, I am a quarter Japanese," Chiori answered.

"It's true," Kouta said. "My grandparents are Japanese. They can tell you, Laurel."

She stuck her nose in the air sharply, which reminded Chiori a little of Roxanne. "Well, why didn't you say something before?"

Kouta didn't answer, just stood up and continued to brush his backside off. "I can't believe you're all the way here already. Isn't your school still in session?"

"Nope! Spring term ended yesterday!" Laurel also rose, and Chiori got her first good look at her. Also like Roxanne, she was short, but had a few more curves than the petite teacher. Her dark sea-green hair was pulled into two tiny pigtails which stuck out from the base of her neck. She was wearing a white button-down shirt with short sleeves and a tight fit, which accentuated her chest and narrow waist more than was necessary, and a short, pleated skirt of dark blue.

"Then why are you still wearing your school uniform?" Kouta asked.

"This isn't my uniform!" Laurel stamped her knee-socked foot.

"Sure looks like one. Huh, Chiori?" He snickered a little, teasing.

Laurel looked Chiori, clad in her middle school's brown vest and knee-length skirt, up and down. "It doesn't look a thing like one. Honestly, Kouta, you need to pay more attention." She said his name while glancing at Chiori again. "So what are you doing?"

"We're about to trade pokémon," Kouta said. "This is Chiori, a friend of one of my teachers. Chiori, this is Laurel."

"How far did you come?" Chiori asked politely.

"From Sootopolis. I'm going to spend my summer here." Laurel smiled at Kouta. Chiori's eyes widened -- Sootopolis was on the opposite end of Hoenn. Laurel traveled from there to Rustboro in one day?

Kouta headed towards the stairs. "The trade center is on the next floor, Chiori. Let's get you your Ralts."

"Wait a minute," Laurel said. "Do you mean the Ralts you promised to me?"

Kouta paused in his tracks, but didn't turn around. Chiori stared at Laurel, whose green eyes were fixed only on Kouta. How many more things were going to keep her from the pokémon she so desperately wanted?