L
Lord_Maikadal
Guest
Okay, this is my first Journey fic, and my first Pokémon fanfiction for that matter, and there may be some rough edges…so please bear with me here.
Rating- PG, because Pokémon fight, and fights tend to be unpleasant. Some chapters may be PG-13, but mostly its just PG.
Legal Disclaimer (If you need one, didn't get a chance to check your rules)- Pokémon, the Pocket Monsters and all characters and institutions connected with them are the property of Nintendo Entertainment, Game Freak Software and 4Kids Entertainment. This is a non-profit work written for free distribution through the world-wide web. No infringement of any copyright or legal property intended.
Godric Demarque is entirely my creation, as are all the other original characters in this story, for now.
Prologue-
Godric Demarque woke up and rubbed the sleep out of his right eye early Monday morning, furiously trying to awaken and only stopping when he irritated the bruise around it. He stepped out of bed, his bare feet feeling the cold, thin carpet that covered most of the household under his feet and proceeded to draw the curtains open.
The bright light of the morning sun streamed into the small, cozy room, catching him by surprise and causing him to stumble back onto bed. He yawned, stretched his gangly limbs, and took a glance at the calendar.
June 17.
The sight of the date caused Godric to forcibly open his eyes and stumble around the room, throwing on a black ribbed t-shirt along with a battered brown vest and jeans. He ran a hand through his disheveled raven black hair, further ruffling it.
On his way downstairs, he said a quiet hello to the other conscious members of the house, consisting of Sinistra the Kadabra, Languid the Slowbro, Trepid the Machoke, and Feral the Tauros, all belonging to Godric’s father, Romulus. He put the tea kettle on and muffled the sound, as to not wake his parents, before going to the door and opening it, stepping into the humid day for the first time.
Godric lived in Pallet town, far to the south in the Kanto region, and the summer was scorching hot. A large bug-like Pokémon passed in the distance; too large for a normal mosquito, Godric identified it as a Yanma as he set out to his morning chores. He pulled up all of the mature herbs from the garden, removed the few stubborn weeds, and watered all of the plants before re-entering the house to quiet the tea kettle down.
He was greeted by the sight of his bleary-eyed mother, Atris Demarque. She was a very formidable woman, despite her petite frame. Her hair color matched her sons’, except hers was down to her shoulder and in a messy bun at this time. She poured herself a cup of tea, as well as one for her son, and grabbed two eggs to fry on the stove with some bacon and a piece or two of sausage. Godric proceeded to get out the pancake batter and poured some into a pan before joining his mother at the stove and beginning to cook.
Next in came Godric’s father, Romulus Demarque, who had in his youth been a trainer. He managed to get six badges before settling down with the woman now at the stove and having a child. Now, even when his Journeying days were well over, he kept his Pokémon around the house to help out. Godric was more like him in stature rather than his mother; long, gangly limbs and a tall but thin frame. Godric also had his icy gray eyes, although the his were significantly brighter than the perpetually weary looking ones that Romulus had.
Now that he was finished with Journeying, he kept a garden and was a business partner with his brother, Remus. He made periodic trips there on the ferry. From the ferry, it was only a short twenty minute walk to the city- much less tiring and dangerous than going through ten mile, Pokémon filled Route One.
Atris worked as an assistant and secretary to Narcissa Ketchum, daughter of famous Pokémon masters Ash and Misty Ketchum. Narcissa was still young, only about thirty or so, and one of the most successful trainers to come from the area already- she filled her parents’ shoes well. She had a gym in the city, though she very rarely had to fight a challenger, due to the stories of how impossible to defeat she was.
Narcissa Ketchum also helped run the nearby Pokémon reserve and research center, along with the famous researcher Tracey. Professor Oak was long retired, the main spot of head caretaker being taken up by Professor Holly, and kind young woman who overworked herself to no end.
They all sat down to eat breakfast, Godric thinking bout the road ahead, Atris thinking about her baby (of fourteen years) leaving home, and Romulus slightly hung-over from the yearly farewell party the night before, and subsequently not thinking of much so as to not irritate his headache further. Romulus broke the silence by asking his son how the weather was, all of them skirting around the looming topic of good-byes.
Godric eventually got up, helped clean the table, and hurried upstairs to brush his teeth and shower. Afterwards, he gingerly applied a few herbs around his eye to make the bruise surrounding it go down and patted it gently, as to try to soothe the muscle. He got his half-full pack, and began to get the rest of his gear together.
His parents gave him about $30, which was all they could realistically spare for him with their fiscal situation, and helped him pack the last of his things- modest food rations, clean clothes, and probably most importantly, his underwear. With everything ready, his parents said goodbye to him and wished him safe passage, reminded him to call, made sure he had all of his things, made him promise he wouldn’t do anything stupid, told him to call at every Pokécenter he got to when he arrived, and wished him safe passage one last time. With much wriggling on the part of Godric, they bade each other goodbye as he kissed his mother and hugged his father for the last time in what may have been several months.
He looked around at his surrounding, glanced at his watch that was adorned with an Onix on the outer rim, and bean walking down the street to the Oak Lab and Pokémon Ranch.
He passed the intricately-patterned iron wrought gates of some of the richer kids’ manors before finally reaching the large dome-topped building that was the entrance to the research facility and academy.
After passing a few doors he turned and entered room M-12, taking his seat at the back of the class. Near the front, Mortimer Carmichael, or Morty as he was known as, was telling about his plans to capture the legendary birds, beat the Indigo League Championships, and take the title of Pokémon master from the now fifty-three year ‘old’, if one could ever truly call the man old, Ash Ketchum. He would reformat the league so you had to pay a large entrance fee to get in, and make sure that none of the Pokémon were wasted on poor losers like Godric. Morty was intimidating, sure, but not all that bright. His black hair seemed to be slicked back with motor-oil (while in reality it was probably a French product that cost his family a fortune) and he himself was built like Graveler. Or a compact car, for that matter.
Professor Skylarke came into the room and everyone sat down and became quiet while he took attendance. The class was made up of only ten people- Godric; Morty; Timothy, an uptight boy with his nose constantly in a book; Alexis and Kelly, two blonde sisters that drooled over Morty as a profession; Monica, a rich redhead who hated the middle to lower class with passion; Vincent Barnol, a large and not-so-bright crony of Morty’s with a knack for pain; Rosalyn, a brunette friend of Monica with not-so-many ideas of her own; Lily, a small redhead who was friends with Monica and mused about how pathetic not-rich people were in comparison to her; and finally Richard, a small middle-class kid with a passion for fire Pokémon.
They all went through the lesson, finishing with the Pokémon oath, and began to take the final exam. It wasn’t too hard for those who had studied, or had a soul for that matter, and the grades were processed instantly. Needless to say, Godric passed with very high marks, rivaled only by Tim and Lily; Morty and Vince passed by the skin of their teeth, but only because they sat next to Richard, who didn’t fare to well himself in the ‘battle strategies’ section; Roslyn, Monica, Alexis and Kelly did somewhat well, but only because of Monica’s knowledge of battling from her uncle Ritchie. Since they all passed, the first ones to get their Pokémon were the highest scorers- Godric, Tim and Lily.
Tim went in first, and came out with a very smug look on his pale, sallow face before setting out. Lily went in next, and too looked pleased before saying her final goodbyes to her friends and leaving. Godric went in and sat on the metallic-looking chair before getting wired in.
“This machine will select a Pokémon that will go best with your personality,” began Skylarke in a bored tone. “Just sit down and relax; clear your thoughts and open your mind.”
Godric felt at ease; his tension ebbed away, but it eventually returned just as quickly. His eyes fluttered open, and he stood up and went over to join Professor Skylarke, hunched over some Pokéballs. “Alrighty then,” began Skylarke; he sounded amused, and when he was amused, something was bad. “I have your results.” He then excused himself and started coughing outside of the room, although the coughs sounded suspiciously like…chuckles? For Godric, anything would have sounded great- truth be told, all Godric wanted was a non-Igglybuff Pokémon and a map, and he would be ready to go.
”Well, actually, we have to give you some spare Pokéballs, so here ya go. Lets see, what else. Ah, yes. Your cell phone, map, watch, camera-”
“Camera? What’s this for?”
“Ah yes, the camera. Pokémon migration has caused Pokémon to come up in areas other than their original native homes. It is requested that all Pokémon Trainers who see Pokémon that are not where they normally are seen are to take pictures and report it to the Pokémon League Research Department. Anything else that you need? Ah, of course. Your very own Pokédex, I.D. #817326. And one last thing, your standard issue trainer backpack, complete with water bottles, hot and cold packs, and freeze-dried tofu. Oh yea, and a towel, compliments of Silph Co. I swear, management is getting odder and odder every year…”
Wanting to be spared from a classic Professor Skylarke rant, Godric went out the doors into the main classroom and was about to leave when he heard a voice call out
“Hey loser! Got a losing Pokémon yet?” Naturally, it was Morty; Godric was very tempted to bang his head on a desk (or any other surface for that matter) just to lower himself to Morty’s level, but just sighed and with a shake of his head kept on walking right out the doors.
Godric, wanting to give his Pokédex a go and also meeting his new Pokémon, flipped open the small red calculator-looking machine, pressed a sequence of buttons, and after seeing some disturbing Poké-breeding images, found out how to scan a Pokémon.
Godric released his Pokémon. It blinked its large, vulpine eyes a few times, as if adjusting to the light of the mid-morning sun. The small fox yawned and trotted to its trainer, and looked up expectantly, the pouf of what seemed like light fur adorning its head like a tiara waving in the light breeze. Its two red curly tails stood at full attention, only slightly moving with the wind towards the south, a sure sign of a storm to come. Godric pointed his Pokédex at it and pressed scan.
“Vulpix, the small fox Pokémon (female). At birth, Vulpix has just one tail. However, as it ages, it can grow up to six. Vulpix is very cunning and can feign injury to escape from battle. The ideal Vulpix should have a bright red coat, and have a pouf of fur at the top of its head. For more in-depth breeder information, please press L3 now. For moves, press L4. Moves: Ember. Tail whip. Quick attack. It naturally may learn some if not all of the following: Safeguard. Roar. Confuse ray. Flamethrower. Flame wheel. Fire Spin. For evolution, press L5. For diet, press L6. For-”
“Hello there, little lady, I am yo-” began Drake.
“Oh wait a SECOND. What do we have here? Mr. Charity Scholarship ready to leave? Yeah, that’s looks about right. Lets battle, so I can show you how I shake things up!” Of course, this was Morty, flanked by Vince. Not that Vince actually said any of this. He did, however, show some brain power and got a grunt out somewhere in there, before collapsing into wheezy giggles after the ‘Mr. Charity Scholarship’ comment. You may think a two fifteen year old boys could come up with something better than loser and Mr. Charity Scholarship, but you are obviously overestimating these two fifteen year old boys.
“How about a one-on-one, so your buddy Vince over here doesn’t have to think and hurt himself?”
“Hey loser, who you calling stupid…you’re a…a…loser! Yea! A LOSER!”
“You shouldn’t be talking Vince, I think you already busted a muscle,” bit back Godric.
“Hey, keep your loser comments to yourself and battle me!” Morty this time, seeing as Vince couldn’t make up a comeback of his own.
“Alright, lets go. Care to wager anything?”
“Yea, half of the money Professor Holly gave us. Lets wager that.” Now, while going into battle with stakes this high was a very stupid decision by Godric, he had to show Morty who was boss once and for all. So, he accepted, and the battle began.
Godric sent out his Vulpix, which at the time was biting on his shoe. Now it was Morty’s turn to laugh.
“Hah! That further proves your loserness…ship. What a girly Pokémon.”
“We’ll see who’s girly when she royally kicks your arse,” bit back Godric.
“Yea, right loser. Lets see him beat this!” And with this, Morty sent out his Pokémon. A small dog-like creature appeared on a nearby rock the size of a Golem. A pouf of fire adorned its canine head and a long, bushy, fiery tail wagged in the breeze. It raised a paw to lick and lost its balance, tumbling down to the grass below, but quickly recovered. It perked its ears up and spun its head wildly around and upon sighting the Vulpix, began to growl. It was larger than the Vulpix by a few inches and quite a few pounds. This wouldn’t be an easy fight.
“Okay loser, lets go! Growlithe, start off with a tackle attack!” Growlithe pawed the ground; once, twice; then it broke off at a run towards the Vulpix. However, the Vulpix was further occupied at the moment with a tree; it took a small rock and kicked it at the tree, only to have it rebound and hit it on the nose. It then kicked the rock harder in frustration, determined to beat the tree.
“Dodge it Vulpix!” Vulpix jumped out of the way of the rock, and Growlithe sped right into the tree; at this point, however, he was not the enemy. The rock was going down.
“Try an ember Vulpix!” The small fox opened its mouth, and a small fireball formed. It shot the fireball at the rock, thinking it was still the target, knocking it into the Growlithe’s behind, as the Growlithe attempted to get its head out of a low Taillow’s nest. The rock caused the Growlithe to jump, and its head was dislodged; it turned its attention back to the Vulpix, growling furiously with fire in its eyes.
“Use roar Growlithe! That should do the trick!”
The Growlithe snarled and concentrated for a minute before tilting its head back and barking like a rabid dog. All the Vulpix did was **** its head to the side innocently and continue to stare at the Growlithe with its large, puppy-dog like eyes.
“Good! Now bite it Growlithe!”
The Growlithe sprung from its spot at the base of the tree and jumped to right behind the poor Vulpix before biting down hard on its tail. The Vulpix began to wail from the pain of having a large dog on its tail as tears began to well in its eyes.
“Vulpix, hold on! Try doing a quick attack to the tree, but then hit it with your tails!” The Vulpix seemed to understand this well enough, as it weakly got to its legs and tried running at the tree before collapsing a few feet. It hobbled the rest of the way and used all of the momentum it had to swing its whole body- Growlithe and all- around, as its tails connected with the tree. The Growlithe got the full impact of the hit, and released its grasp on the Vulpix’s tails before hitting the ground with a thud. The Growlithe growled a bit, but couldn’t bring itself to stand as the Vulpix shakily got up and leaned into the tree for support.
By now they had a crowd, consisting of quite a few people from the town, including the research team from the lab and some of the trainers from the gym.
“And the winner is- Vulpix!” came the voice of none other than the auburn-haired beauty, Narcissa Ketchum- or Aunt Cissa as Godric called her, although they weren’t related. Godric recalled the Vulpix back to its ball as he followed a beckoning Narcissa back to the gym. He ran back to get his money from Morty, which he supplied due to the presence of a Gym Leader, and then ran to catch up with Narcissa.
He and Narcissa Ketchum were very close; he was as close to a son as the young thirtysomething ever had. Since Godrics mother was Narcissa’s personal assistant, she met him at an early age; he spent quite a few hours hanging around the gym, and helped take care of some Pokémon at the ranch in the summer holidays to support his family.
“So, are you two beginning your journey today?” asked Narcissa as they entered a pagoda off of the main gym. They removed their shoes out of respect as they entered while Narcissa took Vulpix’s Pokéball over to the healers in the gym to be refreshed.
“Yes, I were planning on leaving right away, but I got into some trouble-” began Godric.
“Trouble? Ya did fine kiddo. You may even follow in my dad’s footsteps. Better than last night when he socked you in the eye though kid. Damn rich kids.”
“Yes; but that wasn’t personal. I would never drag Pokémon into a personal conflict.”
“Wise words kid, wise words. For once Holly and Skylarkle might’ve known what they were teaching. You’ll get your break kid, I have faith in ya. And every dog has its day; its just a matter of time before that punk Marty gets his just desserts anyways. Now, I have to go take care of some sick Swellow at the ranch. You know the way out. Good luck on your Journey!” And with that, she slurped up the rest of the soup she was eating and went out to the pasture. Godric put his shoes back on their feet and began to walk into the late-morning sun, onto Route One, and onto bigger and better things.
Rating- PG, because Pokémon fight, and fights tend to be unpleasant. Some chapters may be PG-13, but mostly its just PG.
Legal Disclaimer (If you need one, didn't get a chance to check your rules)- Pokémon, the Pocket Monsters and all characters and institutions connected with them are the property of Nintendo Entertainment, Game Freak Software and 4Kids Entertainment. This is a non-profit work written for free distribution through the world-wide web. No infringement of any copyright or legal property intended.
Godric Demarque is entirely my creation, as are all the other original characters in this story, for now.
Prologue-
Godric Demarque woke up and rubbed the sleep out of his right eye early Monday morning, furiously trying to awaken and only stopping when he irritated the bruise around it. He stepped out of bed, his bare feet feeling the cold, thin carpet that covered most of the household under his feet and proceeded to draw the curtains open.
The bright light of the morning sun streamed into the small, cozy room, catching him by surprise and causing him to stumble back onto bed. He yawned, stretched his gangly limbs, and took a glance at the calendar.
June 17.
The sight of the date caused Godric to forcibly open his eyes and stumble around the room, throwing on a black ribbed t-shirt along with a battered brown vest and jeans. He ran a hand through his disheveled raven black hair, further ruffling it.
On his way downstairs, he said a quiet hello to the other conscious members of the house, consisting of Sinistra the Kadabra, Languid the Slowbro, Trepid the Machoke, and Feral the Tauros, all belonging to Godric’s father, Romulus. He put the tea kettle on and muffled the sound, as to not wake his parents, before going to the door and opening it, stepping into the humid day for the first time.
Godric lived in Pallet town, far to the south in the Kanto region, and the summer was scorching hot. A large bug-like Pokémon passed in the distance; too large for a normal mosquito, Godric identified it as a Yanma as he set out to his morning chores. He pulled up all of the mature herbs from the garden, removed the few stubborn weeds, and watered all of the plants before re-entering the house to quiet the tea kettle down.
He was greeted by the sight of his bleary-eyed mother, Atris Demarque. She was a very formidable woman, despite her petite frame. Her hair color matched her sons’, except hers was down to her shoulder and in a messy bun at this time. She poured herself a cup of tea, as well as one for her son, and grabbed two eggs to fry on the stove with some bacon and a piece or two of sausage. Godric proceeded to get out the pancake batter and poured some into a pan before joining his mother at the stove and beginning to cook.
Next in came Godric’s father, Romulus Demarque, who had in his youth been a trainer. He managed to get six badges before settling down with the woman now at the stove and having a child. Now, even when his Journeying days were well over, he kept his Pokémon around the house to help out. Godric was more like him in stature rather than his mother; long, gangly limbs and a tall but thin frame. Godric also had his icy gray eyes, although the his were significantly brighter than the perpetually weary looking ones that Romulus had.
Now that he was finished with Journeying, he kept a garden and was a business partner with his brother, Remus. He made periodic trips there on the ferry. From the ferry, it was only a short twenty minute walk to the city- much less tiring and dangerous than going through ten mile, Pokémon filled Route One.
Atris worked as an assistant and secretary to Narcissa Ketchum, daughter of famous Pokémon masters Ash and Misty Ketchum. Narcissa was still young, only about thirty or so, and one of the most successful trainers to come from the area already- she filled her parents’ shoes well. She had a gym in the city, though she very rarely had to fight a challenger, due to the stories of how impossible to defeat she was.
Narcissa Ketchum also helped run the nearby Pokémon reserve and research center, along with the famous researcher Tracey. Professor Oak was long retired, the main spot of head caretaker being taken up by Professor Holly, and kind young woman who overworked herself to no end.
They all sat down to eat breakfast, Godric thinking bout the road ahead, Atris thinking about her baby (of fourteen years) leaving home, and Romulus slightly hung-over from the yearly farewell party the night before, and subsequently not thinking of much so as to not irritate his headache further. Romulus broke the silence by asking his son how the weather was, all of them skirting around the looming topic of good-byes.
Godric eventually got up, helped clean the table, and hurried upstairs to brush his teeth and shower. Afterwards, he gingerly applied a few herbs around his eye to make the bruise surrounding it go down and patted it gently, as to try to soothe the muscle. He got his half-full pack, and began to get the rest of his gear together.
His parents gave him about $30, which was all they could realistically spare for him with their fiscal situation, and helped him pack the last of his things- modest food rations, clean clothes, and probably most importantly, his underwear. With everything ready, his parents said goodbye to him and wished him safe passage, reminded him to call, made sure he had all of his things, made him promise he wouldn’t do anything stupid, told him to call at every Pokécenter he got to when he arrived, and wished him safe passage one last time. With much wriggling on the part of Godric, they bade each other goodbye as he kissed his mother and hugged his father for the last time in what may have been several months.
He looked around at his surrounding, glanced at his watch that was adorned with an Onix on the outer rim, and bean walking down the street to the Oak Lab and Pokémon Ranch.
He passed the intricately-patterned iron wrought gates of some of the richer kids’ manors before finally reaching the large dome-topped building that was the entrance to the research facility and academy.
After passing a few doors he turned and entered room M-12, taking his seat at the back of the class. Near the front, Mortimer Carmichael, or Morty as he was known as, was telling about his plans to capture the legendary birds, beat the Indigo League Championships, and take the title of Pokémon master from the now fifty-three year ‘old’, if one could ever truly call the man old, Ash Ketchum. He would reformat the league so you had to pay a large entrance fee to get in, and make sure that none of the Pokémon were wasted on poor losers like Godric. Morty was intimidating, sure, but not all that bright. His black hair seemed to be slicked back with motor-oil (while in reality it was probably a French product that cost his family a fortune) and he himself was built like Graveler. Or a compact car, for that matter.
Professor Skylarke came into the room and everyone sat down and became quiet while he took attendance. The class was made up of only ten people- Godric; Morty; Timothy, an uptight boy with his nose constantly in a book; Alexis and Kelly, two blonde sisters that drooled over Morty as a profession; Monica, a rich redhead who hated the middle to lower class with passion; Vincent Barnol, a large and not-so-bright crony of Morty’s with a knack for pain; Rosalyn, a brunette friend of Monica with not-so-many ideas of her own; Lily, a small redhead who was friends with Monica and mused about how pathetic not-rich people were in comparison to her; and finally Richard, a small middle-class kid with a passion for fire Pokémon.
They all went through the lesson, finishing with the Pokémon oath, and began to take the final exam. It wasn’t too hard for those who had studied, or had a soul for that matter, and the grades were processed instantly. Needless to say, Godric passed with very high marks, rivaled only by Tim and Lily; Morty and Vince passed by the skin of their teeth, but only because they sat next to Richard, who didn’t fare to well himself in the ‘battle strategies’ section; Roslyn, Monica, Alexis and Kelly did somewhat well, but only because of Monica’s knowledge of battling from her uncle Ritchie. Since they all passed, the first ones to get their Pokémon were the highest scorers- Godric, Tim and Lily.
Tim went in first, and came out with a very smug look on his pale, sallow face before setting out. Lily went in next, and too looked pleased before saying her final goodbyes to her friends and leaving. Godric went in and sat on the metallic-looking chair before getting wired in.
“This machine will select a Pokémon that will go best with your personality,” began Skylarke in a bored tone. “Just sit down and relax; clear your thoughts and open your mind.”
Godric felt at ease; his tension ebbed away, but it eventually returned just as quickly. His eyes fluttered open, and he stood up and went over to join Professor Skylarke, hunched over some Pokéballs. “Alrighty then,” began Skylarke; he sounded amused, and when he was amused, something was bad. “I have your results.” He then excused himself and started coughing outside of the room, although the coughs sounded suspiciously like…chuckles? For Godric, anything would have sounded great- truth be told, all Godric wanted was a non-Igglybuff Pokémon and a map, and he would be ready to go.
”Well, actually, we have to give you some spare Pokéballs, so here ya go. Lets see, what else. Ah, yes. Your cell phone, map, watch, camera-”
“Camera? What’s this for?”
“Ah yes, the camera. Pokémon migration has caused Pokémon to come up in areas other than their original native homes. It is requested that all Pokémon Trainers who see Pokémon that are not where they normally are seen are to take pictures and report it to the Pokémon League Research Department. Anything else that you need? Ah, of course. Your very own Pokédex, I.D. #817326. And one last thing, your standard issue trainer backpack, complete with water bottles, hot and cold packs, and freeze-dried tofu. Oh yea, and a towel, compliments of Silph Co. I swear, management is getting odder and odder every year…”
Wanting to be spared from a classic Professor Skylarke rant, Godric went out the doors into the main classroom and was about to leave when he heard a voice call out
“Hey loser! Got a losing Pokémon yet?” Naturally, it was Morty; Godric was very tempted to bang his head on a desk (or any other surface for that matter) just to lower himself to Morty’s level, but just sighed and with a shake of his head kept on walking right out the doors.
Godric, wanting to give his Pokédex a go and also meeting his new Pokémon, flipped open the small red calculator-looking machine, pressed a sequence of buttons, and after seeing some disturbing Poké-breeding images, found out how to scan a Pokémon.
Godric released his Pokémon. It blinked its large, vulpine eyes a few times, as if adjusting to the light of the mid-morning sun. The small fox yawned and trotted to its trainer, and looked up expectantly, the pouf of what seemed like light fur adorning its head like a tiara waving in the light breeze. Its two red curly tails stood at full attention, only slightly moving with the wind towards the south, a sure sign of a storm to come. Godric pointed his Pokédex at it and pressed scan.
“Vulpix, the small fox Pokémon (female). At birth, Vulpix has just one tail. However, as it ages, it can grow up to six. Vulpix is very cunning and can feign injury to escape from battle. The ideal Vulpix should have a bright red coat, and have a pouf of fur at the top of its head. For more in-depth breeder information, please press L3 now. For moves, press L4. Moves: Ember. Tail whip. Quick attack. It naturally may learn some if not all of the following: Safeguard. Roar. Confuse ray. Flamethrower. Flame wheel. Fire Spin. For evolution, press L5. For diet, press L6. For-”
“Hello there, little lady, I am yo-” began Drake.
“Oh wait a SECOND. What do we have here? Mr. Charity Scholarship ready to leave? Yeah, that’s looks about right. Lets battle, so I can show you how I shake things up!” Of course, this was Morty, flanked by Vince. Not that Vince actually said any of this. He did, however, show some brain power and got a grunt out somewhere in there, before collapsing into wheezy giggles after the ‘Mr. Charity Scholarship’ comment. You may think a two fifteen year old boys could come up with something better than loser and Mr. Charity Scholarship, but you are obviously overestimating these two fifteen year old boys.
“How about a one-on-one, so your buddy Vince over here doesn’t have to think and hurt himself?”
“Hey loser, who you calling stupid…you’re a…a…loser! Yea! A LOSER!”
“You shouldn’t be talking Vince, I think you already busted a muscle,” bit back Godric.
“Hey, keep your loser comments to yourself and battle me!” Morty this time, seeing as Vince couldn’t make up a comeback of his own.
“Alright, lets go. Care to wager anything?”
“Yea, half of the money Professor Holly gave us. Lets wager that.” Now, while going into battle with stakes this high was a very stupid decision by Godric, he had to show Morty who was boss once and for all. So, he accepted, and the battle began.
Godric sent out his Vulpix, which at the time was biting on his shoe. Now it was Morty’s turn to laugh.
“Hah! That further proves your loserness…ship. What a girly Pokémon.”
“We’ll see who’s girly when she royally kicks your arse,” bit back Godric.
“Yea, right loser. Lets see him beat this!” And with this, Morty sent out his Pokémon. A small dog-like creature appeared on a nearby rock the size of a Golem. A pouf of fire adorned its canine head and a long, bushy, fiery tail wagged in the breeze. It raised a paw to lick and lost its balance, tumbling down to the grass below, but quickly recovered. It perked its ears up and spun its head wildly around and upon sighting the Vulpix, began to growl. It was larger than the Vulpix by a few inches and quite a few pounds. This wouldn’t be an easy fight.
“Okay loser, lets go! Growlithe, start off with a tackle attack!” Growlithe pawed the ground; once, twice; then it broke off at a run towards the Vulpix. However, the Vulpix was further occupied at the moment with a tree; it took a small rock and kicked it at the tree, only to have it rebound and hit it on the nose. It then kicked the rock harder in frustration, determined to beat the tree.
“Dodge it Vulpix!” Vulpix jumped out of the way of the rock, and Growlithe sped right into the tree; at this point, however, he was not the enemy. The rock was going down.
“Try an ember Vulpix!” The small fox opened its mouth, and a small fireball formed. It shot the fireball at the rock, thinking it was still the target, knocking it into the Growlithe’s behind, as the Growlithe attempted to get its head out of a low Taillow’s nest. The rock caused the Growlithe to jump, and its head was dislodged; it turned its attention back to the Vulpix, growling furiously with fire in its eyes.
“Use roar Growlithe! That should do the trick!”
The Growlithe snarled and concentrated for a minute before tilting its head back and barking like a rabid dog. All the Vulpix did was **** its head to the side innocently and continue to stare at the Growlithe with its large, puppy-dog like eyes.
“Good! Now bite it Growlithe!”
The Growlithe sprung from its spot at the base of the tree and jumped to right behind the poor Vulpix before biting down hard on its tail. The Vulpix began to wail from the pain of having a large dog on its tail as tears began to well in its eyes.
“Vulpix, hold on! Try doing a quick attack to the tree, but then hit it with your tails!” The Vulpix seemed to understand this well enough, as it weakly got to its legs and tried running at the tree before collapsing a few feet. It hobbled the rest of the way and used all of the momentum it had to swing its whole body- Growlithe and all- around, as its tails connected with the tree. The Growlithe got the full impact of the hit, and released its grasp on the Vulpix’s tails before hitting the ground with a thud. The Growlithe growled a bit, but couldn’t bring itself to stand as the Vulpix shakily got up and leaned into the tree for support.
By now they had a crowd, consisting of quite a few people from the town, including the research team from the lab and some of the trainers from the gym.
“And the winner is- Vulpix!” came the voice of none other than the auburn-haired beauty, Narcissa Ketchum- or Aunt Cissa as Godric called her, although they weren’t related. Godric recalled the Vulpix back to its ball as he followed a beckoning Narcissa back to the gym. He ran back to get his money from Morty, which he supplied due to the presence of a Gym Leader, and then ran to catch up with Narcissa.
He and Narcissa Ketchum were very close; he was as close to a son as the young thirtysomething ever had. Since Godrics mother was Narcissa’s personal assistant, she met him at an early age; he spent quite a few hours hanging around the gym, and helped take care of some Pokémon at the ranch in the summer holidays to support his family.
“So, are you two beginning your journey today?” asked Narcissa as they entered a pagoda off of the main gym. They removed their shoes out of respect as they entered while Narcissa took Vulpix’s Pokéball over to the healers in the gym to be refreshed.
“Yes, I were planning on leaving right away, but I got into some trouble-” began Godric.
“Trouble? Ya did fine kiddo. You may even follow in my dad’s footsteps. Better than last night when he socked you in the eye though kid. Damn rich kids.”
“Yes; but that wasn’t personal. I would never drag Pokémon into a personal conflict.”
“Wise words kid, wise words. For once Holly and Skylarkle might’ve known what they were teaching. You’ll get your break kid, I have faith in ya. And every dog has its day; its just a matter of time before that punk Marty gets his just desserts anyways. Now, I have to go take care of some sick Swellow at the ranch. You know the way out. Good luck on your Journey!” And with that, she slurped up the rest of the soup she was eating and went out to the pasture. Godric put his shoes back on their feet and began to walk into the late-morning sun, onto Route One, and onto bigger and better things.
Or mebbe it's just a REALLY big house.