Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ The Journey Onward ❯ Chapter Two: I Choose You ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter Two: I Choose You

 

 

 

Kathryn and her friends departed from her house on the Ponytas, bearing towards Pallet Town (after Rachel had pointed out that Kathryn was heading the wrong way). There, they would visit Professor Oak to pick up their Pokedexs (and perhaps a starter Pokemon for Rachel and Krissy though only Kathryn was hoping that, the other two didn't know or didn't care, Kathryn wasn't sure which).

 

Rachel had been voted to lead the expedition (seeing as Kathryn had poor direction sense and Krissy just didn't give a darn where they ended up) while Krissy was nominated bodyguard for her sheer advantage in strength against the other two. Kathryn chose herself to keep an eye out for dangerous or rare Pokemon (to which the others ignored her) and faithfully scanned the horizon for anything of interest.

 

The trio made good time and stopped only a few times to stretch and give the Ponytas a break. Kathryn typically spent the time in hopes of finding a Pokemon but had no such luck so they continued their trek until it was dark, forcing them to set up camp near the edge of the woods.

 

“This spot looks good.”

 

“…”

 

“Kathryn… that's a patch of poison ivy.” Rachel tried to keep her voice laugh free but didn't quite pull it off.

 

“Oh.”

 

“Yeah, lets not sleep there.” Krissy rolled her eyes before urging her steed forward a little further. “This place looks fine.”

 

Kathryn sulked momentarily before dismounting, wincing but trying vehemently to hide that fact from Krissy. The last thing she wanted was for the other girl to poke fun at her. Casually hiding her aches by extending her arms outward, she tested out each little twinge of pain.

 

“Hey! Kathryn!”

 

“I'm not sore, honest!” She shot up from trying to touch her toes (trying being the keyword, she'd never succeeded in doing it before and doubted to gain the ability in the future) to find Krissy giving her an odd look.

 

“Whatever, freak. You're on firewood duty tonight so hop to it.”

 

The mock salute she sent Krissy's way might have been over doing it because Krissy turned away in a huff. Oh well, off to get the firewood…

 

Returning the borrowed Ponyta to its pokéball, Kathryn drew forth Nashley and Urusaiwan, releasing them.

 

The reaction was instant.

 

Bearing her sharp canines, Nashley crouched low to the ground, fur bristling as her eyes took on an eerie glow. You!

 

Urusaiwan's fur puffed out in response, making herself look bigger than she actually was, her nails digging into the soil as she froze, all instincts telling her to run but too stiff to move.

 

“Nashley!” The Houndour's head jerked up, almost snarling at her trainer before she realized her error. Kathryn's sharp tone cut through her overwhelming desire to attack the feline but it was still there, smoldering inside her.

 

“None of that! Behave!”

 

Her ears flicked. Now she was conflicted. She could attack the fluffball (rather easily, she might add) or she could obey her human.

 

Giving a disdainful snort and a reluctant grumble, Nashley slowly rose out of her crouching position, displeasure coursing through her. Another time, then, irritation. Nashley tossed her head and stalked obediently to Kathryn's side, making sure to get as close as possible to her human.

 

“Good girl.”

 

If you only knew, Urusaiwan venomously thought to herself. It seemed that she'd have to be careful with this one. She hadn't survived for so long only to be foolish now!

 

Her fur slowly went back down but many strands were out of place. Running her tongue along her body, she meticulously began to organize them, eyes never leaving the Houndour. Perhaps it would have been wiser not to accompany Kathryn on this mission…

 

“Alright you two, firewood. Come on.”

 

Nashley trotted right behind her but Urusaiwan stayed off a ways. Probably was for the best till they got along better, Kathryn could only hope it would be soon. They needed to work together if she had any hopes of making it as a trainer.

 

 

 

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Picking up a good size branch, she handed it off to Nashley who took it in her mouth, tail nub wagging. With a pat, Kathryn bent to grab the next one to add to her own bundle when a shrill scream from the direction of camp made her freeze. Without taking time to think, she was running towards the sound, tripping over bushes and vines.

 

Out of breath, she arrived, trying to find out what had elicited such a reaction from her friends. Other than the two girls clinging tighter than a Shellder to a Slowpoke's tail, nothing was out of the ordinary.

 

“Well?” A beat. “What's wrong?”

 

“Over there! In my sleeping bag!”

 

Kathryn turned and eeped. Krissy's sleeping bag was wiggling and moving around on its own! Letting her heart have a few minutes to recover, Kathryn tried a logical route. Something had just crawled in the bag, that was all. Nothing to be freaked out about.

 

Picking up a decent sized stick, she snuck towards the bag, trying hard to mask her footsteps. Hesitantly bending down, she kept an eye on the squirming bag before flinging it open and jumping back, preparing to bring her stick down squarely on whatever it was, should it leap at her.

 

“Oh.” She looked back at Krissy and Rachel, blinking once. “It's just a Spinarak. Is this what has you so terrified?” She'd never understand what was girls and Bug Pokémon. It was just a Bug. Heck, he was pretty skimpy looking for a Spinarak.

 

“Hi, little guy. I think Krissy would like very much for you to be out of her bag.” Carefully using the stick, Kathryn attempted to nudge the Spinarak off the sleeping bag but the little bugger seemed reluctant to move. “Come on…”

 

Yeah, he was much smaller than the typical pictures she'd seen. A young one, perhaps? He was definitely less than the average size of a Spinarak, if she didn't miss her guess. Hm. The stick didn't seem to be working.

 

Please don't bite…

 

Throwing the stick a little ways away, Kathryn reached her hand out reluctantly, murmuring softly. “Come on… I won't hurt you unless you hurt me. That seems fair, doesn't it?”

 

It eyed her mistrustfully (she couldn't blame it, she had had a big stick) before inching slowly forward. Tensing, she warily eyed his horn. That thing could easily pierce her flesh and inject her with a toxin that would lay her up for hours. They had some Antidote on hand but come on, she didn't want to get Poisoned any more than the next sane (or semi-sane, as Krissy might argue) person.

 

The Spinarak lightly touched her hand with its leg and she fought not to flinch. It prodded her skin a few times with its leg before she realized what was going on. He was curious!

 

The tension drained out of her when she understood he wasn't interested in attacking (unless she probably did something really stupid) and she relaxed even more when the Spinarak seemed to consider her a good sort. That didn't cancel out her reaction to squirm and squeal when he decided to climb up her arm but it did reduce it to a sharp intake of breath and a spattering of goosebumps.

 

“That tickled!” she scolded lightly, once he'd made it safely up her arm and unto her shoulder (where her shirt protected her from the fine fur on his legs). When he didn't make any move to attack, she decided to try standing (Slowly!!). Nothing. Huh, he seemed to have made himself right at home…

 

“Kathryn!” The whine in Krissy's voice made her grin suddenly. “Stop playing with the spider and get rid of the thing!”

 

“Why? He's cute!” She couldn't resist sticking her tongue out at Krissy and brushing her hand along his back. (Was it a he? It looked like it. The horn was a bit bigger and the shading was a slightly darker green…)

 

“I. Hate. Spiders!”

 

“I don't.” Her lips pursed. “I like him. I wanna keep him!”

 

“You can't keep him,” Rachel tried to rationalize. “He's a wild spider and should be left in the wild with all his brethren.”

 

“No.” Her foot stamped down on the forest floor. “I wanna keep him. And he wants to go with me!”

 

“Kathryn! Put it back!”

 

Her mouth opened to protest before her lips curled into a wicked sort of smile. Reaching her hands to lightly pick up the Spinarak from her shoulder, and praying to God she didn't get bit, Kathryn put him right back where she had found him.

 

In Krissy's sleeping bag.

 

“KATHRYN!”

 

Giving Krissy what she hoped to be an impish grin, Kathryn grabbed her bag before plopping down on her friend's sleeping bag.

 

“You can have dinner with me, Krissy doesn't like me much either.” The little spider tilted its head, as though not understanding her words. He clacked his pincers together, making little clicking sounds as he watched her dig inside her bag. Withdrawing a box of Pokéchow, she ripped the top open and pulled out a large piece. Making sure the Bug Pokémon was watching, she tossed it in the air towards Nashley.

 

The Houndour leapt for it and crushed her teeth around the treat with a satisfying “SNAP!” licking her lips when she had finished the morsel. She caught Urusaiwan sneaking towards Kathryn and would have growled if she thought she could have gotten away with it. As it was, she had to stand down and let the furball get her own treat, rather than snatching it away (which would have surely made Kathryn give her an earful).

 

“Now you.”

 

She held her palm out flat, the treat positioned so he could easily pluck it from her hand. He tested it first with his pincers, the treat easily crumbling once he applied pressure. Using his forearms, he picked up a larger chunk and shoved it past his pincers to his small, awaiting mouth. A few thoughtful chews and he was literally eating out of her hands.

 

Blinking, she stretched her eyes as wide open as she could. For some odd reason, she'd been squinting. It was getting harder for her to see, why wasn't there a—

 

Kathryn's head dropped suddenly as she called herself four kinds of a fool.

 

 

 

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Thankfully, Nashley was able to back track to the spot where Kathryn had dropped the firewood upon hearing—had it been Krissy? She'd never heard Krissy scream before but it hadn't sounded like Rachel—the scream. Collecting the wood (again) she made her way back to the camp.

 

When she got back to the camp she was more than a little amused by the fact that all of Krissy and Rachel's supplies (save for Krissy's sleeping bag) had been relocated, giving Krissy's sleeping bag (and Spinarak) a wide berth of fifteen feet. Her own sleeping bag seemed strangely absent and if she didn't miss her guess, Krissy had stolen it.

 

Silent laughter bubbled within her, forcing a smile to her lips as her body shook with glee. If this was only the beginning of her adventure, she couldn't wait to see how the real thing turned out!

 

Giving an exuberant spin that made Nashley elicit a startled bark, she flung her arms outward and let the energy flow through her. It was good. It was all good.

 

No.

 

She could feel the smile on her face freeze as her eyes sought out something beyond her range of sight. She withdrew her open arms and hugged them around her, the warmth from moments ago fading to leave her cold, desolate. She tried to find what had caused the feeling, the emptiness, the nothingness, but was left with no answers. No matter how hard she looked, she couldn't see it. If only, if only she tried harder…

 

“KATHRYN!”

 

Where darkness had been now stood Krissy, directly in front of her. Kathryn almost choked on her own breath, she'd never seen Krissy move! How did she--?

 

“Did you get the firewood?” Krissy's lips were pressed tight together, disapprovingly. She and Rachel had been waiting for a long time for Kathryn to get back and here she was, standing around doing nothing! Seeing the branches in Kathryn's hands, Krissy quickly snatched them, having no patience for whatever game the other was playing.

 

“Spacecase, God! It's bad enough you have that spider! Hurry up! I want to get dinner ready so we can eat.”

 

“Y-yeah.”

 

Funny, Kathryn wasn't meeting her gaze… not to mention she wasn't being annoying like normal. She was hugging herself, the stupid idiot hadn't enough common sense to wear a coat! But it really wasn't that cold out and Kathryn normally went around in shorts in the coldest of winters… it was barely even fifty, more than warm enough.

 

Eh, not her problem. She had a fire to make!

 

 

 

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“I still don't understand why we're doing this.” Krissy shook her head while poking another hot dog on her stick, reaching it over the blazing fire.

 

“Hot dogs are-“

 

“Not the roasting hot dogs, idiot! Going on this stupid journey with you! If we had wanted to go on this crazy quest, don't you think we would have left when we were ten?”

 

There was a pause and Krissy looked away from her hot dog to stare at Kathryn through the flames and smoke. For an instant, she thought she saw… no, heck, it was Kathryn. Nothing of importance ever passed over her features…

 

Softly, the words whispered from Kathryn's half parted lips. “Because… it's important to me.” Each word rolled around Krissy, binding her to her seat. Kathryn's blue eyes, normally so hazy, foggy, were looking directly at her, sharp and cool. So cool, in fact, that the air inside her lungs froze. Briefly, the flames leapt high, obscuring Kathryn's face for an instant before retreating, leaving a grinning Kathryn.

 

“Hot dog.”

 

“Hot dog?”

 

Kathryn pointed to Krissy's stick. “Hot dog.”

 

Dimly, Krissy looked to her stick only to see her hot dog had been turned into a small inferno. “Shit!”

 

Krissy waved her stick around rapidly, trying to wave the mini blaze out but it only increased the flames. She could have sworn she heard Rachel shouting something but she couldn't make it out. Finally, she resorted to beating the hot dog against the ground, figuring the hot dog was no longer edible anyway. Unfortunately, she swung to hard and the hot dog flew off the stick and sailed behind her head. Whipping her head around she was just in time to see Nashley leap into the air and snap her jaws around the still burning hot dog.

 

Kathryn was going to kill her.

 

“Water! Where's some water?” Krissy spun, looking for a bucket, a bottle, something! They had to get some water to Nashley before she bur-

 

A loud belch turned Krissy's attention back around in time to see the impressive Ember stream erupt from Nashley's mouth. It was only two or three seconds of fire that faded away shortly after but it was one of those moments you wish you'd have had a camera. After all, Krissy's jaw didn't drop like that every day.

 

“Nashley,” Kathryn explained calmly, “is part Fire.” Kathryn tried to hide a smug smile, thinking to herself that Krissy had just answered her own question about why she was going on this journey. “Since she breathes out fire, her mouth is conditioned to the heat.” Kathryn bit into her own, burnt free hot dog before adding, “Just don't give her beans though… then the flames come out the other end.”

 

 

 

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“Kathryn!” This was the third time she'd yelled at the girl and the only indication that Kathryn had heard her was to turn on her side and bury her head under the pillow. Nashley was staring at her funnily and Urusaiwan, she could swear, was smirking. If that freaking spider wasn't nearby she'd—

 

“Kathryn!”

 

“You're not doing it right.”

 

Krissy sent a glare at Rachel that would have set a lesser person's insides on fire. “Oh? Why don't you try then?”

 

Rachel softly cleared her throat, took a deep breath of air, and whispered something indistinguishable.

 

“Wha-?”

 

Kathryn bolted upright, brown hair twined horrendously like a Rattata's nest, eyes wide and unseeing. “Wherza Pokémon?”

 

Krissy's lips twisted in a mixture between a smile and a frown. God, she was such a kid!

 

“Come on, Kathryn.” Rachel smiled at her still half asleep friend. “Don't you wanna get to Professor Oak's today? We've got to get everything packed, come on now.”

 

“Awight Rach-eh-” A huge yawn interrupted Kathryn, her fists and fingers moving to rub the sleep away from her eyes.

 

Rachel and Krissy left to pack their own things and Kathryn stared at the ground blankly for a moment. She'd been having a dream, it was a really good dream too. Something… about flying? No, no… her flying dreams never turned out well. She always forgot, halfway through, how to fly. What was it?

 

The harder she struggled to remember it, the more elusive the dream became till she finally gave up. If she was lucky, something would remind her of it later and everything would click. If not, it wasn't that important.

 

Wriggling out of her sleeping bag, she pretended for an instant that she was a Butterfree escaping from its Metapod shell.

 

She made a happy, “ahhh” and giggled to herself as she stretched out. Hastily, she rushed to her pack, digging out the Pokéchow and pouring it into three bowls. Setting them down, she quickly began packing and getting ready, leaving the Pokémon to eat.

 

Nashley plowed into her food, pausing only once to watch Kathryn. Her snout remained partially buried in her dish as she watched her human's movements, ears flicking before she dismissed the relevancy of it (at least in comparison to food). She leaned forward to have some more when she realized that her teeth had clicked on air. Startled, she backed off and peered at her bowl curiously, nudging it with her nose. Where had all her food gone?

 

You ate it.

 

Nashley's ears swiftly flattened, her fur bristling.

 

Oh, go chew a bone. Urusaiwan lifted her head to meet the Houndour's gaze, blinking once, slowly, before holding the look.

 

How dare you challenge me! Before Nashley could take a step forward to confront the feline, she felt another's gaze on her. Whirling, she turned on the small Spinarak that seemed to have latched onto her human. What do you want?!

 

The little one jumped, shaking like an Oddish's leaves in a storm. H-here… he chattered. Y-you can have mine… I'm… I'm not very hungry. He pushed his bowl toward the larger Pokémon before cowering back.

 

It would have been nice to have some more… this food was much tastier than the dry stuff that her human typically fed her. However, she could feel the feline's eyes on her so she turned her head away from the food before she could be tempted to take any. It's yours, eat it!

 

Urusaiwan passed the Houndour, her tail brushing lightly against Nashley's chest. Before Nashley could sink her fangs into the soft fluff of a tail, the soft tones of the feline's voice washed over her.

 

That was…nice.

 

It stunned Nashley enough that Urusaiwan got to keep her tail intact but not so much that she wouldn't get the last word in.

 

That doesn't change anything, filth!

 

Urusaiwan's steps faltered but she continued as though she hadn't heard.

 

 

 

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Biting into the apple she'd packed for a snack, Kathryn was about ready to give up on rationalizing Rachel and Krissy's odd behavior. They were behaving unreasonably, it was just a Spinarak! Was this one of those “girl” things she didn't understand, like makeup? Or boys?

 

“I'd ruther have a Dragonite than a boy.” She gave a firm nod to empathize her words when she felt something by her pant leg. Pausing to look down, she noticed the Spinarak tugging on her jeans. Crouching down, she tilted her head to look at him.

 

“'ello.”

 

He seemed to be rather happy. Biting again into her apple, she thought a moment before offering him some. His pincers easily took a chunk out and he nibbled on the sweet treat.

 

“I like you!”

 

“Kathryn! We don't have all day! Say goodbye to the Bug and let's get a move on!”

 

For the love of—her hair was still a mess! How in the world did she get a twig there? Geh… the Bug was eating. How could Kathryn just sit there and watch it? Well, it would be gone soon enough, good riddance!

 

“But Krisssssssy!”

 

“Hurry up!”

 

“I'm almost done.” Kathryn sent a pout at Krissy before turning her attention back to the spider, grinning at him. “Eee! You're so cute! You should come with me, you want to, don't you?”

 

He tilted his head before letting loose with a series of clicks that she couldn't understand for follow.

 

“Is…that a yes? Or a no?”

 

He stared up at her blankly.

 

Well, she'd try again before they left.

 

Hastily finishing her packing, she returned Urusaiwan and Nashley and took a quick glance around. Everything seemed to be in order…

 

Huh?

 

The Spinarak was tugging at her pant leg again. What did he want? Her thoughts drifted around before a little `ding' like an egg timer went off in her head. Picking him up, she placed him on her shoulder where he proceeded to open and close his pincers at a rapid rate.

 

“Just be careful, okay? I don't want to get my ears pierced, mum would kill me.”

 

 

 

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Krissy had the indescribable pleasure of gazing at the Spinarak (who was now happily clinging to Kathryn's back) while the girl's rode. He was sending her evil little gazes too, she could tell. Those beady little eyes… oh… he was evil. The pinnacle of evil. Satan incarnated. A demon in spider's clothing…

 

“I'm gonna name him Surfer!”

 

“You need help with names, Kathryn.”

 

“Nu-uh!” The childish protest brought a smile to Rachel's face but only furthered to darken Krissy's mood. “Who's better at surfing the web than a spider?”

 

Both of her companions groaned.

 

“That was horrible.”

 

Rachel tried again in persuading Kathryn to pick another name. “It makes him sound like a Water Pokémon.”

 

Kathryn was quick to respond. “If I'm going up against a Fire type and I say I'm brining out Surfer, the other person may assume I have a Water Pokémon and recall their Fire type to send out a Grass type. Since Spinarak is a Poison and Bug type, he'd do twice the damage!”

 

“That's stupid, Kathryn! It's all based on assumptions! What's the likely hood of that actually happening?”

 

“Hey, Miss Blackbelt.”

 

“What?”

 

“Who's got the Spinarak?”

 

Krissy could've sworn the thing opened its pincers a little wider.

 

“You wouldn't dare.”

 

“Try me.”

 

“…”

 

“Alright then.” With a shout, Kathryn pressed her knees against the Ponyta's side, making the Fire horse break into a gallop. Rather than be left in the dust, Rachel and Krissy urged their own mounts to chase after their psychotic friend and (not for the last time) wondering why they had agreed to go with her on her journey to begin with.

 

 

 

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Looking at the map, she looked at the town, then back to the map again. “We're here.” Rachel had been expecting Pallet Town to be so much more from the way Kathryn went on about it. Wasn't this the place where most of the greatest trainers got their start? Sparsely placed houses, farm land, hardly the peak of excitement.

 

“This place? It's a joke.” Krissy's eyes met with hers, as though checking that Rachel wasn't trying to pull the wool over her eyes. When she gave a small shake of her head the answer obviously didn't please Krissy. “Well, where does Oak live? Let's get this over with.”

 

“Professor Oak.”

 

Krissy immediately turned an even darker stare on Kathryn for her correction and Rachel quickly checked out the instructions Kathryn's mother had scribbled down for them.

 

“This way.” Directing her Ponyta, the other two proceeded to follow. It was only a short distance before they arrived at the Professor's house and the girl's paused uncertainly outside the front gate. It was open… should they just go in?

 

Kathryn looked from Krissy to Rachel and back again, waiting for a sign of what to do. Finally, having waited six years to do this and not patient enough to wait another second longer than she had to, Kathryn dismounted and returned the Ponyta. Spinarak, now dubbed Surfer despite protests, crept from her back to her shoulder so he could have a better look.

 

This is it. She reached her hand out to knock on the door, taking a small breath. This was what she had waited for, all her life. Her hand shook once preparing to strike the wooden door. Before she could, though, the door was flung open and he was there.

 

“Come in, come in.” The way he smiled youthened his face by twenty years or so. “Kathryn.” He nodded to her before looking over her to the other two who were a little ways behind her. “Krissy and Rachel, yes? Well, let's get your things! I've been waiting.”

 

Seeing that Kathryn was star struck and in no condition to talk, Rachel decided to be the one to breach the obvious question.

 

“How did you know-“

 

“Kathryn's mother called, delightful woman. Wanted to be sure you'd made it alright.” His brows drew together as he gave Kathryn a casual glance. The mention of her mother seemed to have snapped her out of what he liked to refer to as “Hero Worship Haze” (symptoms included, but were not limited to: glazed over eyes, stammering, fainting, a short of breath, and mild shock) and had flushed a lovely red. Sensing the one called Rachel was watching him (her coffee toned skinned set her apart from the other two), he smiled and ushered them inside before closing the door.

 

Rachel stared at Professor Oak's back, squinting as she tried to figure out the odd look he'd given Kathryn. It was fleeting but very… assessing. As though he was judging her before even getting to know her. Did he do that to everyone he met? Was Kathryn special? She was older than the average trainer...

 

Kathryn's gleeful squeal shattered whatever remaining thought's Rachel might have had on the subject. She turned her attention back to the conversation to see what had conspired while she'd been in LaLa Land.

 

“Six? But you're only suppose to have three!”

 

“Ah, yes. Professor Elm has taken a bit of a vacation and has left me with some of the Pokémon from the Jhoto area.” Leading them to his lab, he made a sweeping motion to the table before him where six Pokéballs gleamed under the intensely bright lab lights.

 

Kathryn took a step forward toward the table, looking at them, trying to guess which orb contained which Pokémon. Her focus on the pokéballs was so strong that she didn't even realize she was answering the question Rachel had directed at Professor Oak.

 

“Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur are Professor Oak's trademark starters where as Professor Elm is noted for Totodile, Chikorita, and Cyndaquil.” Kathryn came out of her trance shortly after realizing that her mouth had been moving without her knowledge.

 

“Yes, you're mother did say you were fairly knowledgeable-“

 

More like obsessed! Krissy and Rachel wanted to say.

 

“-so, if you would please select your Pokémon, you can truly begin your journey in earnest!” His enthused announcement was met with silence so he tried to evaluate the situation. Krissy (he knew her by her red hair) had her arms folded and an expression not too unlike when he sent some of the boys to muck out the stables. Rachel glanced at the table once but when she noticed him watching, embarrassedly turned away. Peculiar… As for Kathryn, ah, she looked like her mother at her age! He really was getting to be an old coot, wasn't he? Next thing you know, Gary would be taking over the business… but now was not the time for such nostalgia!

 

Before he could hesitate a guess at where her problem lay, Kathryn's shoulder's slumped and she looked up at him with big, sad eyes.

 

“I already have three.” A telling sigh. “You only give Pokémon out to people who don't already have one.”

 

“Actually,” he corrected kindly. “I give anyone a Pokémon, whether they have one or not, if they are just starting on their journey. I have to admit, it is rare for someone to come here that actually has a Pokémon… but it's not unheard of.”

 

Kathryn's face lit up brighter than a Flash attack. “So, I can still pick one?”

 

“Yes, as well as your friends.”

 

At his approval, she was at the table, lifting each pokéball up and examining them, exclaiming to herself and putting them back, unable to settle on one.

 

“We aren't into this whole,” Krissy used her fingers to make quotation signs, “Pokémon thing.” With a roll of her eyes, she sent a look of disgust Kathryn's way but she was so busy debating over the Pokémon she wanted that she missed it completely. “We just got dragged here.”

 

“Actually…” Rachel's hesitant voice brought all attention to her, her eyes quickly dropping to the ground. “I… I'd like one, I think. I mean, the Ponyta was really nice to ride and maybe having one wouldn't be so bad.” Her eyes flittered towards Krissy. “It might be fun to have one… as a pet.” Her gaze wandered back to the floor. “Or something.”

 

Kathryn, having no sense of self-preservation (and being too hyped on the fact that she got another Pokémon) gleeful ran to grab Krissy's hands and beam at her.

 

“Come on Krissy! It'll be fun!”

 

For the briefest, tiniest moment (even smaller than her attention span) Kathryn thought she saw Krissy's shoulder's drop to a neutral position, thought she saw the anger ease, even thought she saw Krissy's chocolate eyes soften and lose the scarlet coloring that often flickered inside them.

 

The next instant, Krissy had yanked her hands back and was snarling, eyes drawn together and sparking.

 

“Why the hell would I want a Pokémon? You know that I'm into martial arts, not this Pokémon crap.”

 

The swearing made Kathryn flinch visibly, though she tried to steel herself against it. Professor Oak made a small noise of disapproval but Kathryn decided to take on the situation with something she rarely used…

 

Intelligence.

 

“It's a shame then, you'll never have what it takes.” She took a step away from Krissy, pretending her attention had again wandered to the table.

 

“Wh-what do you mean!?”

 

The sputtering was cute, something unexpected that came with the fury she'd sought to uncover. “All the good (she stressed good, figuring it was the quickest way to get Krissy's attention) martial artist train with Pokémon… Fighting Pokémon.” Kathryn's shoulders rolled in a careless shrug, her back completely turned so she couldn't see Krissy's expression. Most likely her face was turning as red as her hair… “Well, if it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter…”

 

“Name one!”

 

Kathryn was glad Krissy couldn't see her face, she could feel some dark, heated emotion creeping behind her eyes and felt sure that the other would be able to see it. She drew a mental heart in her mind, listing off the winner of the world renowned Martial Artist Tournament, a brutal battle where contestants from around the world would come, only to have a select few be allowed to proceed to the finals. Rumor had it, once upon a time, even children had been allowed to enroll! It was a human styled battle, the only reason she'd even read the article had been for a paper on current events.

 

“Auron,” she answered casually. “Just think, even I've heard of him.” Let the information sink in gradually… one, two, three, tug! “But whatever. Not everyone is tough enough to train with Fighting Pokémon. It's no big—“

 

“I'll take this one.”

 

Wow, that had been easier than she'd thought.

 

“Charmander.” The Professor's voice sounded dry. “I think you two will get along perfectly.”

 

“What's that suppose to mean?”

 

That you're both hot tempered. Kathryn kept the thought to herself and examined the remaining balls left. Plucking the one furthest to the right, she closed her eyes and focused. Yes. This was it. Opening her eyes, she looked towards Rachel.

 

“Here.” She offered the orb with Chikorita inside. “If Fire is Krissy's element, I'd pick Grass for you, especially if you just want a pet. It's a pure Grass through and through and will make a good beginner.”

 

Rachel accepted it with a smile, lightly fingering the orb. Since this was the only subject that Kathryn did well on in school, she'd trust her friend. But which would Kathryn pick? She had gone back to the table and was now examining two particular pokéballs with a look of deep concentration on her face. Finally, she reached out her hand and picked up one of them, her face relaxing to a smile.

 

“Totodile. I see. I'll be right back with your Pokédexes then.” The Professor excused himself from the room to retrieve the items while Krissy gaped. She had just realized how easily Kathryn had maneuvered her into getting a Pokémon and now this-

 

“Pokédex?”

 

“A Pokédex identifies different Pokémon that you see and battle with. You can also use it to switch Pokémon that are here with Professor Oak.” Startling enough, the answer came from Rachel, not Kathryn.

 

“Why can't we just carry our Pokémon with us?” She focused her attention on the orb in her hand, clenching it, trying to shatter it. The firm plastic didn't even bend under the pressure. How had she been so dense? Damn Kathryn!

 

“A trainer's only allowed to carry six, League rules.”

 

“You can exchange Pokémon at a Poké Center too but having a Pokédex is much more convenient,” Kathryn tacked on, hugging her new pokéball against her cheek. Sweet little Pokémon… it had a good home now, yes it did!

 

“At least I know what a Pokémon Center is!” Realizing how snide she sounded, Krissy stopped trying to break the orb so she could turn her flames onto Rachel. “How do you know so much about Pokédexes?”

 

“Um…” Krissy's attention snapped over to Kathryn. “I may have forced her to read a magazine or two.” She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “I had trouble understanding some of the technical stuff so I hoped Rachel could explain it.”

 

“I should have known.”

 

Before things could progress further, Professor Oak bustled in, arms laden with new items for the girls. He started by handing out the Pokédexes first.

 

“Here you go. Each one has your trainer ID stored in it and cannot be replaced so please take good care of them. To use them, simply point this little camera (he pointed to the small, gleaming eye) at a Pokémon.” Aiming it at Surfer, the Pokédex chimed and displayed the information and stats while bleeping.

 

Next, Oak handed them a belt with little holders attached to it for pokéballs. “The standard trainer's belt. It's plain, I'll admit, but it works just as well as those dolled up ones at Celadon. And last but not least,” he dug into his lab pockets much like a grandmother digging for sweets before producing five pokéballs. “Now, go and catch lots of different Pokémon!”

 

“Why?” Krissy held the new belt at arms length, pinched between her thumb and forefinger. Ugh… what an ugly brown. She should just throw the pokéball at the old man's face and forget the whole thing. Why had she ever thought this would be a smart thing to do?

 

“There are different kinds of Pokémon, different types.” The pity in Kathryn's voice made Krissy bristle and force her arms to put the belt on. She fussed with the belt while Kathryn droned on. “There are seventeen known types like Water, Fire, Grass, and so on. Each type has different weaknesses and strengths.” Krissy watched as Kathryn's eyes tilted upward, looking past the ceiling as a relay of thoughts passed through them. She couldn't see well enough to read them and wanted to get closer but felt it might be an act of voyeurism if she did. To see that closely into someone's soul… It was startling, to say the least but it was blinked away and the girl's pale silver eyes became unfocused and cloudy, as though a curtain had been drawn inside. She wanted to know what was going on in Kathryn's head…

 

“…kind of like a game of rock, paper, scissors but with tornados.” What? Oh, types, that's right. “Fire beats Grass, Grass beats Water, Water beats Fire.”

 

“That's all?” No wonder Kathryn liked it, it was so simple.

 

Krissy tossed her pokéball up into the air and caught it in time to see Kathryn's head shake, her ponytail swishing in the air. “Nope, there's more to it than that. There are also things like how much experience a Pokémon has, the preparation styles of the trainer, the willingness of a Pokémon to fight and their desire to win.”

 

I guess there's more to it than I thought. As reluctantly as she admitted it mentally, she'd never give Kathryn the satisfaction of hearing it. Absently, Krissy put her pokéball into one of the holders on the belt. Oak gave a slight nod when he saw it.

 

Perhaps that one will make a trainer yet. As for her, his eyes flicked toward Rachel. She was quiet, timid compared to the hellion Krissy but he had been watching her closely. Just because someone was timid didn't mean they couldn't make a fierce opponent! She definitely held more interest in the subject than Krissy, he'd seen the way her eyes sparkled when she'd been handed Chikorita. A wise choice, really. The little Grass Pokémon was a perfect match. As for Kathryn, she seemed to have the knowledge but most of it was textbook based. Could she put the information to practice? Not to mention how her eyes wandered and her thoughts seemed scattered. Really… rock, paper, scissors and tornados? A.D.D. if he ever saw it. And yet… there had been that brief moment when-

 

“Oh shoot! I forgot, mom wanted me to call her when I got here!”

 

He hid his tired sigh well. “There's a phone in the hallway you can-“ Scarcely had the words left his lips when she'd taken off. He fought off saying anything in that regard but Krissy and Rachel seemed more than willing to share their thoughts.

 

“How can she remember all this Pokémon stuff but forget to call her mom?” A shadow of annoyance crossed Krissy's face.

 

“What about basic math?” Rachel added, shaking her head disapprovingly. “All this Pokémon stuff must have filled up her brain.”

 

“What brain?”

 

Both girls laughed and Oak was suddenly very glad that Gary had been born a boy.

 

 

 

=^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^==^.^= =^.^==^.^=

 

 

 

“Yes mom, I made it… no, everything's fine, really! Alright, I'm going to finish talking to Professor Oak now.” […] “Yeah, I'll be careful. Okay… love you. Bye.”

 

The receiver clicked as she set the phone back on the cradle. Putting her back to the wall, she realized how drained she felt. Resting her palm against her forehead, she closed her eyes and took a moment to gather herself. Surfer made a soft click, startling her.

 

“Sorry, guess I forgot about you, huh?” She lightly brushed her fingers along the base of his horn. He tried pressing his head closer to her fingers and she smiled, though she could tell the light just didn't reach her eyes.

 

Plastering on her brightest of smiles and putting a bounce into her step, she rushed back to the room.

 

The sight that greeted her was not one she'd have expected. Rachel had released her new Pokémon and was on the floor beside it with Professor Oak standing beside her. Krissy was sitting on the table, watching. When she saw Kathryn enter, her gaze forcefully turned to look at the wall.

 

Could it be that Krissy didn't dislike Pokémon as much as she said?

 

“Ah, good.” He sent a nod her way. “Let out your Pokémon, would you?”

 

Kathryn did so without question, removing the pokéballs from her pouch. Nashley, Urusaiwan, Totodile, and Ponyta appeared before them all with a glow of light and realization hit her like a Thunderbolt. She took her new belt, sliding it through her jeans and put the now empty pokéballs in the holders. Keeping the pouch on, she filled it with the empty pokéballs she had left. It would be much easier, she rationalized, to grab the empty orbs from the pouch rather than digging about her bag.

 

“Dile?”

 

Her latest Pokémon peered up at her, jaw slightly open in what could be considered a smile. His (it was a he, the snout was too long for a female) tail wagged and he gave a small hop.

 

“Toto toto dile!”

 

Apparently she met all his requirements for a trainer for the funny little Pokémon spun quickly and leapt at her. She just barely managed to catch hold of him and keep her balance at the same time. He cheered gleefully and a true smile lit up her face as she laughed heartily.

 

“Hello.” He wriggled and squirmed in her arms like a Houndour pup, making it hard to keep a grip. He sure was lively! His skin was cool and kind of rubbery, the spines along his back harder. Surfer scuttled from her shoulder to her back, startled by this rambunctious new comer. “Hey, easy now… Chomper.”

 

At the name, the Totodile paused to cock his head. There was a pause then he clapped his hands and began chanting ecstatically. Whoa… where could she get some of the stuff he was on?

 

“Chomper…” He paused again upon hearing his name. “Nashley.” Kathryn nodded to the Houndour who was receiving attention from Professor Oak. “Urusaiwan.” The Meowth mewed upon hearing her name. “And…” Kathryn tried to look behind her to see where Surfer had gone to but couldn't turn her neck that far. “Well, Surfer's there.” She neglected to introduce the Ponyta, figuring she'd have to return it and would rather not confuse her new Pokémon.

 

“So, can you identify the types?”

 

Kathryn opened her mouth to respond when she realized that Professor Oak wasn't asking her, his attention was on Rachel. Her mouth shut abruptly and she contented herself with the fact that she did know the answer… even if she hadn't been asked.

 

Rachel quickly identified Spinarak as a Bug and Poison type, Ponyta as Fire, Totodile as Water, and Chikorita as Grass. Nashley, however, stumped her.

 

“Fire and Dark.”

 

Krissy's sudden (correct) answer had all the humans in the room gaping. Bristling like a Nidoran male, Krissy furiously spat out,

 

“What?! Kathryn made me read her stupid magazines too, you know!”

 

To break the awkwardness, Kathryn tilted her wrist and tapped her Pokégear so that a holographic map of Kanto appeared. As she suspected, once attention was off Krissy, the girl seemed to calm down.

 

“The nearest gym is Viridian?” She knew perfectly well that it was.

 

“Yes, but the gym leader is on a training mission, the last I heard. He might be back by now but I think the gym's currently closed. The next closest one is Pewter.”

 

A week's journey to Viridian followed by a few days to Pewter… they had a bit of walking to do. Returning all her Pokémon (save for Surfer who remained on her back), she and Rachel both gave their thanks to Professor Oak as he lead them out to the exit (Krissy trailing behind). After he'd let them out, Kathryn turned to Oak and held out her Ponyta's pokéball.

 

“Mom said to return these here.”

 

“Wait a second! You mean we're walking to these towns?!” Krissy loomed over Kathryn. “You didn't say anything about walking the whole trip!”

 

“How did you think we'd be getting to the towns? I don't have an Abra, we can't just Teleport!”

 

“Geez, Kathryn!”

 

Chuckling, Oak folded his arms. “Well, why don't you borrow them for a little while longer? I'm sure they'll enjoy the exercise.”

 

“Oh, but-” Krissy's hand slapped over Kathryn's mouth, mumbling the rest of the words. “mmph!”

 

“Don't argue with the nice man,” Krissy hissed at her before turning to smile at Oak. “Thanks!”

 

Oak waved a finger. “Just until you get your own Pokémon to ride, mind you.”

 

Kathryn had finally scrapped Krissy's hand off her mouth and took a gasp of air. “Thanks,” she wheezed out. Five Pokémon! She already had five!

 

Rachel shook her head and gave a soft sigh. “Come on you two, we have along way to go.”

 

Kathryn threw out her pokéball, releasing the small fire pony. Flinging her arms around the horse's neck, she twined her fingers through the flames. “Blaze,” she whispered softly into the sleek fur, the Ponyta surprisingly placid as this went on. Having been in Kathryn's company, it had learned to accept the spontaneousness that was Kathryn.

 

“Enough of that!” Krissy flung out her pokéball, her Ponyta shaking its head and sending Embers this way and that upon emerging. “The sooner we start this, the sooner it'll end.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Or would it?]