Just to let you know before you read this:
1) This is my first ever fic. Not to mention my first ever attempt at even writing one and there might be many signs of newbishness here and there.
2) I've never really 'observed' any Pokemon fanfiction. Meaning I've never read any (well, not really checked back every day to see if a fic has a new chapter) so I might be a bit lost when it comes to abbreviations and terms of writing.
So yeah, I'm a newbie when it comes to writing fan fiction. =P My fic The Prophecy of the Legendaries was just a spur of the moment thing and something to do in my spare time, so updates will be rather slow. But I am quite excited about this! I'm already done with four chapters, but I'm still revising and rewriting some bits.
This fic is rated PG. (so far) There are VERY few mild swear words or adult content but I'll give a warning when there is.
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Chapter 1 - The Thief
Lela gripped her Pokeball tensely. She was alert to the balls of her feet and not a muscle in her body moved. Breathing lightly through her mouth, she ran a tongue over her dry lips and flexed her toes. She was concentrating so hard on the little slab of delicious bait that the beauty of the Erwin Forest - the grasses and trees around her - had simply dissolved. Her faithful Ralts, named Shinkola, crouched next to her, waiting.
Shinkola had been given to Lela as a gift on her twelfth birthday, the day that she would set out on her Pokemon journey. It had only been two days ago since Lela received the priceless gift and felt the glow of pride as she hugged the precious Ralts to her chest. Her parents were so proud to give her such a rare Pokemon as her starter. Most trainers' parents had only given them common Pokemon, such as a Zigzagoon or a Poochyena. Lela's dad had went out and searched through the nearest Pokemon safari for a special Pokemon just for his daughter.
Of course, a long time ago before Lela was born, the professor of the town would give every new trainer a choice of the fiery Torchic, the swift Treecko, or the aquatic Mudkip as their starter Pokemon. Now, as more young trainers set out on their journey, these Pokemon had grown so rare in the region of Conetta that it was almost impossible to find even a trace of them. It was soon required that each family had to supply their own starter Pokemon if they were going to send someone out on their quest.
Lela sighed and, even above all the enthusiasm of going out on her own, felt a touch of loneliness and homesickness. Even though she had only been out and away from home in Cleargate Town for only two days, she was beginning to experience the inconveniences of having no permanent shelter (some which she didn't like to think of).
But there was barely any time for her to feel sorry for herself because at that moment, something burst from beneath the ground of the bait and snatched it before Lela's eyes. The thief disappeared back under the ground in a streak of gray.
Lela cursed herself for being distracted and ran after the hole. Shinkola trailed after her feet. That piece of Pokemon food cost me 3 Pokedollars too!
"Hey, come back here!" Lela shouted pointlessly.
Shinkola leered at her (well, Lela knew she was making an unpleasant expression behind all that green hair). Shush… Shinkola communicated to her telepathically (Ralts didn't have the power of speech), listen for whoever stole our bait… You can hear digging from beneath the ground… Lela shut her mouth.
Straining her ears for the faint sound of gravel shifting under powerful claws, the chase went on. Lela's legs were beginning to burn when the sound stopped abruptly. At first she didn't realize it since her loud panting and beating of her heart – maybe it was the blood pumping through her face – had almost totally smothered all sounds of the underground rustling.
She knew something wasn't quite right so she slowed her pace. The noise was no longer there. Lela strained her ears for a moment longer and then let her shoulders sag.
It escaped…, Shinkola informed her. She was sending out psychic waves of anger and Lela could feel them.
"You're not making it any better," Lela snapped, "I'm getting a headache."
The waves stopped but Lela could still feel Shinkola's annoyance. Sharing feelings with her, Lela mumbled another curse and kicked at a pebble, sending it bouncing off into a thicket of bushes. Then, she shook her head.
"Come on, Shinkola. We can't let a little unknown bug steal our bait and let it get away. We're stronger than that. If we keep letting this happen to us, then where would we be by the end of the journey? Still wandering around in these god-forsaken woods, I think!"
With fierce determination, Lela began shuffling about like a blind man, eyes closed and listening for any hint of the thief. Shinkola merely shrugged at this idea and began sending waves of sound out into the Erwin forest, waiting for the echoes to sketch a picture in her mind.
This went on for what seemed like half an hour. By the time Lela was tired of this – which didn't take much – she was in some unknown area of the forest, with a peaceful stream running nearby, which was exactly the opposite of what she felt. Looking around uncomfortably, her heart sunk with horrible realization when she found that Shinkola was no longer reassuringly close by her side.
It was as if all the strength and determination that she had only a few moments before was drained from her mind. What a fool she had been, splitting up with her only protection and wandering around blindly through the forest just to retrieve a worthless piece of food and actually thinking that she would get anywhere. At first, she just felt angry and frustrated with herself but then she decided that there was no point in feeling that way. It'd just waste her energy anyway.
Instead, she just sank to the ground and began feeling sorry for herself. Lela thought of her home – her parents back at Cleargate congratulating her for getting good grades at the Pokemon Academy she had attended; her friends cheering her on as she battled against the instructor with the school's rental Pokemon; and just Cleargate town itself. She had always complained that the simple, little town was boring and lacked action. Back then, she was thirsty for drama and adventure.
She had gotten plenty in two days. In fact, more than she had ever wanted. It seemed that she had grown many years old in just two days. The way she looked at things was totally different now that she had experienced fear and insecurity.
Lela was so lost in these thoughts that at first she didn't notice a rustling in the nearby bushes. Then, she slowly sunk back to reality and fear froze her whole body. Her back went stiff and sat dumbly in the spot for two precious seconds. Her body had probably gone back to the real world, but her brain was taking a little longer to arrive.
When Lela got her thoughts collected, she immediately sprang up to her feet. She was again reminded of the absence of Shinkola and it seemed like she relived the moment all over again. Shaking her head of thoughts of weakness, she raised the hand that was still, miraculously, holding the Pokeball.
Raising it in front of her like a weapon, she called out, "Whoever - whatever – is in there might as well show their faces! C'mon…"
A mass of something much smaller than Lela expected exposed itself from the bushes. She realized it was a head full of green hair with the red fin glowing brightly and almost leaped for joy.
"Shinkola!" she cried and ran over to her beloved Ralts.
This is what I get for spending my energy tracking you down, she huffed as Lela practically smothered her with hugs and kisses, but was happy none the same to be reunited with her trainer.
"Oh, Shinkola! I thought I lost you and would have to go back to Cleargate and Mom and Dad!" Lela was consumed by happiness.
I think we would end up having to go back to Cleargate anyway if a predicament like this happened every two days! Shinkola joked. Lela ruffled Shinkola's hair and plucked the bright red fin sticking from her head.
In a way, their experience in the Forest of Erwin just made them even more determined to press on with their journey and get as far from Cleargate as possible. It also brought Lela and her Shinkola closer together and made them realize how important each of them was to each other.
1) This is my first ever fic. Not to mention my first ever attempt at even writing one and there might be many signs of newbishness here and there.
2) I've never really 'observed' any Pokemon fanfiction. Meaning I've never read any (well, not really checked back every day to see if a fic has a new chapter) so I might be a bit lost when it comes to abbreviations and terms of writing.
So yeah, I'm a newbie when it comes to writing fan fiction. =P My fic The Prophecy of the Legendaries was just a spur of the moment thing and something to do in my spare time, so updates will be rather slow. But I am quite excited about this! I'm already done with four chapters, but I'm still revising and rewriting some bits.
This fic is rated PG. (so far) There are VERY few mild swear words or adult content but I'll give a warning when there is.
----------------------------------------------
Chapter 1 - The Thief
Lela gripped her Pokeball tensely. She was alert to the balls of her feet and not a muscle in her body moved. Breathing lightly through her mouth, she ran a tongue over her dry lips and flexed her toes. She was concentrating so hard on the little slab of delicious bait that the beauty of the Erwin Forest - the grasses and trees around her - had simply dissolved. Her faithful Ralts, named Shinkola, crouched next to her, waiting.
Shinkola had been given to Lela as a gift on her twelfth birthday, the day that she would set out on her Pokemon journey. It had only been two days ago since Lela received the priceless gift and felt the glow of pride as she hugged the precious Ralts to her chest. Her parents were so proud to give her such a rare Pokemon as her starter. Most trainers' parents had only given them common Pokemon, such as a Zigzagoon or a Poochyena. Lela's dad had went out and searched through the nearest Pokemon safari for a special Pokemon just for his daughter.
Of course, a long time ago before Lela was born, the professor of the town would give every new trainer a choice of the fiery Torchic, the swift Treecko, or the aquatic Mudkip as their starter Pokemon. Now, as more young trainers set out on their journey, these Pokemon had grown so rare in the region of Conetta that it was almost impossible to find even a trace of them. It was soon required that each family had to supply their own starter Pokemon if they were going to send someone out on their quest.
Lela sighed and, even above all the enthusiasm of going out on her own, felt a touch of loneliness and homesickness. Even though she had only been out and away from home in Cleargate Town for only two days, she was beginning to experience the inconveniences of having no permanent shelter (some which she didn't like to think of).
But there was barely any time for her to feel sorry for herself because at that moment, something burst from beneath the ground of the bait and snatched it before Lela's eyes. The thief disappeared back under the ground in a streak of gray.
Lela cursed herself for being distracted and ran after the hole. Shinkola trailed after her feet. That piece of Pokemon food cost me 3 Pokedollars too!
"Hey, come back here!" Lela shouted pointlessly.
Shinkola leered at her (well, Lela knew she was making an unpleasant expression behind all that green hair). Shush… Shinkola communicated to her telepathically (Ralts didn't have the power of speech), listen for whoever stole our bait… You can hear digging from beneath the ground… Lela shut her mouth.
Straining her ears for the faint sound of gravel shifting under powerful claws, the chase went on. Lela's legs were beginning to burn when the sound stopped abruptly. At first she didn't realize it since her loud panting and beating of her heart – maybe it was the blood pumping through her face – had almost totally smothered all sounds of the underground rustling.
She knew something wasn't quite right so she slowed her pace. The noise was no longer there. Lela strained her ears for a moment longer and then let her shoulders sag.
It escaped…, Shinkola informed her. She was sending out psychic waves of anger and Lela could feel them.
"You're not making it any better," Lela snapped, "I'm getting a headache."
The waves stopped but Lela could still feel Shinkola's annoyance. Sharing feelings with her, Lela mumbled another curse and kicked at a pebble, sending it bouncing off into a thicket of bushes. Then, she shook her head.
"Come on, Shinkola. We can't let a little unknown bug steal our bait and let it get away. We're stronger than that. If we keep letting this happen to us, then where would we be by the end of the journey? Still wandering around in these god-forsaken woods, I think!"
With fierce determination, Lela began shuffling about like a blind man, eyes closed and listening for any hint of the thief. Shinkola merely shrugged at this idea and began sending waves of sound out into the Erwin forest, waiting for the echoes to sketch a picture in her mind.
This went on for what seemed like half an hour. By the time Lela was tired of this – which didn't take much – she was in some unknown area of the forest, with a peaceful stream running nearby, which was exactly the opposite of what she felt. Looking around uncomfortably, her heart sunk with horrible realization when she found that Shinkola was no longer reassuringly close by her side.
It was as if all the strength and determination that she had only a few moments before was drained from her mind. What a fool she had been, splitting up with her only protection and wandering around blindly through the forest just to retrieve a worthless piece of food and actually thinking that she would get anywhere. At first, she just felt angry and frustrated with herself but then she decided that there was no point in feeling that way. It'd just waste her energy anyway.
Instead, she just sank to the ground and began feeling sorry for herself. Lela thought of her home – her parents back at Cleargate congratulating her for getting good grades at the Pokemon Academy she had attended; her friends cheering her on as she battled against the instructor with the school's rental Pokemon; and just Cleargate town itself. She had always complained that the simple, little town was boring and lacked action. Back then, she was thirsty for drama and adventure.
She had gotten plenty in two days. In fact, more than she had ever wanted. It seemed that she had grown many years old in just two days. The way she looked at things was totally different now that she had experienced fear and insecurity.
Lela was so lost in these thoughts that at first she didn't notice a rustling in the nearby bushes. Then, she slowly sunk back to reality and fear froze her whole body. Her back went stiff and sat dumbly in the spot for two precious seconds. Her body had probably gone back to the real world, but her brain was taking a little longer to arrive.
When Lela got her thoughts collected, she immediately sprang up to her feet. She was again reminded of the absence of Shinkola and it seemed like she relived the moment all over again. Shaking her head of thoughts of weakness, she raised the hand that was still, miraculously, holding the Pokeball.
Raising it in front of her like a weapon, she called out, "Whoever - whatever – is in there might as well show their faces! C'mon…"
A mass of something much smaller than Lela expected exposed itself from the bushes. She realized it was a head full of green hair with the red fin glowing brightly and almost leaped for joy.
"Shinkola!" she cried and ran over to her beloved Ralts.
This is what I get for spending my energy tracking you down, she huffed as Lela practically smothered her with hugs and kisses, but was happy none the same to be reunited with her trainer.
"Oh, Shinkola! I thought I lost you and would have to go back to Cleargate and Mom and Dad!" Lela was consumed by happiness.
I think we would end up having to go back to Cleargate anyway if a predicament like this happened every two days! Shinkola joked. Lela ruffled Shinkola's hair and plucked the bright red fin sticking from her head.
In a way, their experience in the Forest of Erwin just made them even more determined to press on with their journey and get as far from Cleargate as possible. It also brought Lela and her Shinkola closer together and made them realize how important each of them was to each other.
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