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Pokémon Story Brave Child and the Spooky Woods - Chapter 1

By J.C. Solis

The sun was now up past the horizon. The air was still a bit cold, but slowly the sun's warmth began to raise both the temperature and the townsfolk of Petalgrove up from the frigidity of night. The flower fields bloomed at the arrival of the new day, with hues of yellow and white and occasionally red flowers now rejuvenate after having withstood the cold from last night. Even though it was already the arrival of spring, winter has yet to fully release its frigid clutches. And for the Pokémon of Petalgrove, the rise of the sun marked a new day in the making and with new opportunity to be had. Shops and stands opened their doors to the morning's commerce while the morning's laborers and craftsmen returned to their daily chores. A new day meant another day of school for the children of Petalgrove, as today would be the last class to have before spring vacation would arrive. But it was still too early for the school doors to open and for role call to be taken, so now would be a good time to enjoy breakfast and pack for school.

For one little buneary girl, this couldn't be more true.

The sweet aroma of pancakes blew from the windows of a small house, the windows open wide as to let the sweet smell waft out into the air. In the kitchen, a Lopunny was cooking in front of a modest stove top, flipping pancakes and adding more batter to the skillet once a pancake was removed. Nearby, a Buneary sat in front of a wooden table, eagerly taking bites out of the food on her plate and enjoying what her mother had made.

"Want another pancake, Mary?" asked Mama Lopunny to her daughter.

"No thanks, Mom," replied the darling Mary. "I'm stuffed full! I couldn't eat another bite," she said, noting to the scraps that still remained on her plate.

Mary's mother only smiled in return to her daughter's satisfaction. "So are you ready for spring break, dear?" asked Mama.

"Yup! Of course!" yipped Mary. "I can't wait for spring break! I want to go to the fields and smell all the pretty flowers and dance with the combees and -" Mary went on and on over all the things she wanted to do over vacation. The young child couldn't be more excited.

"It sure looks like someone has big plans," chuckled Mama. "I already packed your lunch in your backpack, dear. Now, off you go. You wouldn't want to be late for your last day of school." "

Thanks, Mom," replied Mary as she hopped off her chair and went to the kitchen counter to pick her bag - but first she went up to hug he mother by the smock. "I love you!"

"I love you too, dear. Now off you go!" said Mama as she sent her child going.

Mary hopped to the front door and stepped outside of her small house. And right off the bat the sounds of the bustling town blew over the little girl - a cacophony that she grew to love and admire. Through the bustle of town did the little bunny Pokémon hop through, saying hi to the shopkeepers and passersby as she commenced down the main boulevard. The cobblestone street lead right to the main plaza, home of important buildings such as the Exploration Guild, Town Hall and, more importantly, Mary's school.

Right to the east of the square was the schoolhouse in plain view, it's iron gates wide open leading into the front courtyard. The school consisted of a large brick building with an arched roof, the main building where all classes took place. Ornaments and decorations made the building a more welcoming place, including columns that supported the front's porch and a Magikarp water fountain at the center of the quad that shot out water from its the mouth. The school had many rooms for all the different grade levels, so Mary went to where she belonged - the fourth grade classroom. Opening the class door she found the room empty of any students. She wondered if either she came too early or her classmates were ditching the final day. Being the first in class, she hoped to greet her friends as soon as they would show up. About ten minutes went by and children began to show up to class, but no signs of her friends appeared.

It was only after a few more minutes that a small group of Pokémon - consisting of an Emolga, Aron, and Wynaut - entered. And just as soon as she spotted them Mary hopped off her seat and went along to greet them. "Hey guys!" she said gleefully. "Can you believe this is the last of school?"

"Whoa! You sure got here in a hurry," exclaimed the Emolga lass.

"Yeah. What's the big rush? School is gonna end, so why come so early?" said the Aron.

"I'm sorry, guys," shrugged Mary embarrassingly. "I'm just so excited! Spring break is here, and the hills are in full bloom. I wanna go flower picking and playing tag with you guys and so much more!"

"Sounds like you're ready to have fun," noted the Wynaut.

"Well phooey with school," said the Emolga. "Phooey with all of it! I've been waiting all this time for this, and I can't wait to be out of this dumb old classroom."

"Is that so, Jenna?" said a mature, older sounding voice behind the group. A lone Florges was behind the group, a dainty Pokemon who still exhumed command and authority at her gait. "If only you're grades were as high as your enthusiasm. Then maybe you wouldn't be in danger of failing my class this trimester."

Jenna's cheeks glowed red from embarrassment. The Florges then turned her attention to the other three. "Wyatt. Frankie. Mary. Do you share your friend's sentiments?"

"N... No, Ms. Lumina," stammered Wyatt the Wynaut. "I actually like school!" "

Uh, same here, Ms. Lumina," said Frankie the Aron.

Next Pokemon's turn was Mary. "I love school a lot, Ms. Lumina!" exclaimed the happy bunny. "This past trimester was just so much fun! I can't wait for spring fun, but I also can't wait for next trimester, either."

"Why Mary," smiled Lumina. "You always carry such an eager demeanor. No wonder you are the best student in my class." She turned her attention to the rest. "You three should learn from your friend here."

"Kiss up," murmured Jenna, just low enough to be out of Ms. Lumina's earshot.

"Well then, children," began Ms. Lumina, "it is time to start class. Head over to your seats so we can get begin reviewing the exam results."

The children went over to their seats while the Florges went up front to the chalkboard to begin. The final chimes of the school's bell marked the beginning of today's class. The room was now full of students all sitting at their appropriate desks, and with that settled, Ms. Lumina could get on with class. Today was test reviewing day. All the children will get to see their scores from an exam they took a few days ago. Slowly Ms. Lumina began passing back exams to the corresponding student. For some students it was something to be cheering about, with having achieved high scores that for sure brightened their days. Others were wishing that they had studied harder, their grades not as high as they had hoped. A few were even to the point of tears at how bad they bombed.

Remedial classes over the spring would be the fate to those who had the lowest scores.

For Mary and her friends, it was happy cheers all around. Mary got one of the highest scores in class - a perfect one hundred percent. Wyatt too got high a score, just shy of what Mary had. Frankie didn't do so bad either, earning himself a respectable B grade on his test. But it was Jenna who breathed the biggest sigh of relief, having scored a C+ grade. She would be spared from any remedial classes over the spring.

"Now, class," said Ms. Lumina. "Let us review the exam and mark down any errors you may have made. Let's start with question number one..."

And the class did just that. The following hour was spend in reviewing for errors on the exam, and the students were able to see where they went wrong. But all around the classroom there was excitement in the air. Spring break would be a full month long, and every student had an idea as to how they were going to spend it.

"Well then," said Ms. Lumina." I hope you all got to see where you went wrong in your exams. This test will be a precursor to what we will be studying for the spring trimester. But for now this final exam is finished, and Winter trimester has finally at its end! For those of you who worked hard for your grades, I congratulate you and wish you a safe spring," she said plainly. "However," she sounded more sternly. "For those you who weren't up to par, I expect you to be making up for failed grades over spring." Ms. Lumina concluded. "Now with that said, class is now officially over!"

The students all cheered happily, heading straight out the door to finally start their spring adventures. For Mary and her friends that meant plenty of time to frolic and play. The children soon burst out the front door of school and out to the courtyard, free from any homework assignments and big projects to do. Spring was in the air, and fun times were on the way.

"Hooray! School is finally over!" cheered Jenna as she glided out the front door and landed in front of the Magikarp fountain.

"Yeah!" added Wyatt. "Spring break is here, guys!

"Happy you ain't gotta take remedial over spring, Jenna? That was a close call you had there," said Frankie.

"Tell me about it!" sighed Jenna. "I thought I was done for with this exam. Good thing I tried to study real hard for it." She then turned her attention towards Mary. "And of course, our own little genius got a perfect score on her exam," Jenna teased while patting Mary on the head. "And thanks for being my tutor in studying for this thing. I couldn't have made it this far without your help."

"Aw shucks, Jenna. I only tried my best," blushed Mary. "In the end, it was you who pulled through this. Though, you would have gotten higher if you weren't falling asleep when I tried teaching you."

"Heh heh," said Jenna sheepishly. "My bad. It just that paying attention to all that work you showed me was just so boring! I couldn't help but fall asleep."

"So, you four dorks made all the way to spring, huh?" said a snarky voice behind the group. "

Yeah. Me and my bro thought form sure you'd bomb this trimester, Jenna," snickered another similar sounding voice. The group turned around to see two Tyrogues standing next to each other, one wearing a red scarf around the neck and another with a green scarf.

"Oh great, it's you two again," grumbled Jenna. "Leo, Jack, what do you want? Let me guess, you two morons got stuck in remedial classes like I predicted?" she finished with a smirk.

The two tyrogues didn't like the comments Jenna made very well. "For a snarky fourth grader you sure do got a big mouth," said the older fifth grader Jack. "Naw, we didn't get remedial, just to let you know. We passed our classes with final colors!"

"That's flying colors, bro," corrected Leo.

"Oh really?" questioned Jenna, folding her arms in doubt. "Getting a D grade won't excuse you from remedial, you know."

"Why don't you zip it?!" Snarled Leo. Soon after the brothers went up to them and held up a piece of paper each. It was their final exams, and each test had stamped on a B- grade. Jenna was utterly speechless, her mouth wide open as she gaped at what was in front of her.

"But... But... But how?!"

"Me and my bro studied our butts off to get that grade. Let's see what you got," said Jack as he lunged forward to take Jenna's test off her hand.

"Hey!" Jenna protested, but it was already too late. The brothers only took a quick glance before they burst into laughter.

"I can't believe we beat you!" said Leo as he handed the exam back to Jenna.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe we won against you. Your score is so pathetic!" said Jack. Now their laughter turned serious expressions. "You lost the bet, Jenna. You know what that means."

Jenna gave a horrified look at what had occurred. She lost the bet she made with the Tyrogue twins, in which whoever got the better grade would win the bet. She made the deal when the brothers were on the verge of being sent to remedial for very poor grades, a sure win in Jenna's eyes. Now that the brothers came up top with better scores, she lost the bet entirely.

"You guys don't plan on taking her up on that bet, do you?" asked Mary.

"You're darn right we are!" barked Leo. "You made a bet with us and you lost. Looks like guys gotta get us a Colbur berry. And you guys know the only place that they grow."

The four friends shivered as to what that meant. "You really want us to go to Specter Woods, the place where all the adults tell us not to go?" said Wyatt.

"Ah phooey to that. We ain't going to them woods," stated Frankie, stamping himself up front to challenge the duo.

"No Frankie!" said Mary pushing aside her friend. "They'll clobber you. You're double weak against fighting types."

"Yeah. Listen to your friend, metal head," said Leo threateningly. "You don't wanna be messing with us, ya hear?"

Jenna and Frankie both growled against the two brothers, but they knew they were right. The two older brothers were more than a match against all four of them, so it only came down to one decision to make.

"Alright. I'll go," submitted Jenna. "I'll get you that stupid berry for you two."

The brothers smiled pleasingly, having Jenna submit to their terms. "Nice that you see it our way, Jenna," smirked Jack. "I mean come on! How much simpler can it get? You just go to those woods and get us a Colbur Berry. Ain't too hard a task to complete."

"Yeah. Unless you're too chicken to go," added Leo, making clucking noise to further taunt the group."

"Yeah! Unless you think some spook will go and get yah," added Jack teasingly, leaving the two brothers laughing.

"All right!" shouted Jenna frustratingly. "I said I would go, and I will. You'll have your dumb berry right after tomorrow," Jenna promised.

"We'll be waiting," said the brothers as they turned around and walked away from the group and out of the courtyard.

Jenna turned around to face her friends, a slight tear coming out of the corner of her eye. "I'm sorry, guys. I didn't mean to drag you all into this," she said morosely. "I shouldn't have made that stupid bet in the first place."

"It's alright, Jenna," comforted Mary. "You know we got your back on this."

"But do we really got to go all the way to Specter woods?" said Wyatt. "That place sounds so scary. You've heard about the stories and what the adults talk about it."

Jenna nodded her head. "It'll be quick. We go in, find a Colbur berry tree, pick a nice looking berry and then get the heck out of there. Simple," briefed Jenna.

"I just hope we don't run into any ghosts while in there," said Mary. "That place is scary enough as is."

"Ghosts!?!" shrieked Wyatt. "Now I really don't wanna go!"

"Don't be a baby, Wyatt. This won't be as bad as it seems," assured Jenna.

"Whatever," said the ever brave Frankie. "If there are any ghosts there I'll give them something that they won't be forgetting."

"Always the brave one, aren't ya," commented Jenna.

"But what will we tell our parents? No way will they let us go if they knew where we were going," informed Wyatt.

Jenna crossed her arms and began thinking. "They won't get hurt if they don't know where exactly where we're going."

"You want us to lie to our parents, Jenna?" said Mary.

"It's not really a bad thing if we say we're going on an adventure through the meadows and into the Chestnut Woods. They wouldn't know that that's not where we're really going."

"I guess it's not such a bad idea," wondered Wyatt.

"That's a perfect plan!" voiced Frankie. "Our parents won't suspect a thing, as long as we tell them smooth like."

"Well, I guess that's what we'll be doing tomorrow then," said Mary. "But for now let's go play! Spring has just started, so let's play tag at the meadows!"

"Yeah! Let's go out and play," said Wyatt. "Not it!"

"Not it!" shouted both Frankie and Jenna. This left Mary as the chaser and her friends the chased.

Soon all four darted out of the school courtyard and on the streets, heading straight to the meadows where they would usually play. The four would spend the rest of that day frolicking through the meadows around Petalgrove. The fun they had playing tag and other games served as a precursor to what's to the happen the next day. Specter Woods awaited them, a mysterious and terrifying place where even the bravest tread lightly. But for now, the four will spend the day peacefully and relax. Any horrors that they would encounter will have to wait till tomorrow. For now, it was time to spend the day in revelry and cheer.

The untold terrors they will soon face will be waiting for them tomorrow...