FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Legal Stuff: I do not own Pokémon or anything from, never have, never will, all characters in this story are my original characters, any similarities to anything is strictly coincidental.

(Pokémon speak)

Character thought

xXx = scene transition

RJ's Adventure

Chapter 2: Preparing for a New Journey

As the sun rises on a new day, Rachael slowly starts to stir and she quietly wakes up. She is then shocked by what she is seeing, she had woken up back in the cave and she and her mother had been using as their latest home. She then looks over to the home's makeshift table that her mother made, and her mother is there, cutting up berries for breakfast, just like Rachael remembered. She also realizes that the bandage on her face is not there.

"Good morning dear"

"Good morning mother, I had a really weird dream last night. We were attacked and I was injured, you were captured, and for some reason, a human decided to help me and not capture me. He even gave me a name." Rachael replied.

Her mother walks over and sits next to Rachael, bringing her into a hug.

"My dear daughter, I hate to say this, but all that was not a dream, this is a dream so that I can at least know if you got away."

Rachael looks at her mother in disbelief and tears start to fall down her face.

"Do not worry, I was able to get away, and I am happy that you are safe. It sounds like you found an exception to what I thought about humans, he seems to worry much about your safety, and your freedom. What name did he give you?"

"Rachael."

"That's a wonderful name, it seems to suit you well. Now I must tell you, while I was able to escape, I am still being chased, when I am sure that I have lost them for good, I will come and find you. Give my thanks to the human for keeping you safe. Goodbye for now, Rachael."

xXx

Rachael suddenly wakes up with a start and a cold sweat. She looks around to see she is still in RJ's living room, exactly where she fell asleep the night before. She noticed she still has the bandage on as well. While she is still sad that she cannot be with her mother again, she is relieved that she knows her mother is safe for now. While she wants to go back to sleep and see her mother again, but soon notices a wonderful aroma in the air. She then hops off the couch and follows the smell which leads to the kitchen where RJ is cooking breakfast.

RJ is cooking a nice helping of bacon and eggs, knowing Rachael will be hungry when she wakes up. As he is cooking, he is also whistling a song to himself and doesn't notice Rachael enter the kitchen but quickly retreat back around the corner, watching him carefully. He soon finishes and puts the two helpings of breakfast on a couple of plates and heads for the kitchen table, out of the corner of his eye, he notices Rachael watching around the corner.

"Morning Rachael, I made breakfast, if you're hungry there's some here for you." He says as he pulls out a chair for her if she chooses to come over.

Rachael still does not trust him completely, but she is curious as to what is making the smell, her hunger eventually gets the better of her and she joins him. Hopping up on the chair, she had to stand on it so she could reach the food, since she is only about three feet tall. She looks at the food RJ had prepared with a confused look but decides to try it since he is eating it just fine. She grabs a piece of bacon and takes a small bite, her eyes open wide with a wide smile on her face and she begins to devour her meal.

"I take it you like your breakfast don't you?"

"This is the best food I have ever tasted!" she replied with her mouth half full.

"It's just bacon and eggs. Sure it's good but there is a lot more food out there that tastes better."

"How can anything be better than this?"

RJ merely let out a small laugh and proceeded to clean up. He let Rachael enjoy what she had left on her plate while he cleaned everything else. Soon Rachael was finished and he took her plate and cleaned it as well. Rachael begins to stare around the kitchen, seeing various utensils and containers holding things she probably has never even heard of. RJ lets her mind wander while he heads back to the living room with the Pokedex he had bought without his parents' knowledge. After sitting on the couch for a few minutes, using the map function on his 'dex to plan his trip when he leaves, Rachael soon comes over and sees him lost in the strange device.

"I hate to ask this RJ, but is there a place here I can get a bath?" she asked embarrassingly.

"Sure, follow me."

He leads her to the bathroom and Rachael can't help but tilt her head in confusion looking at the tub. RJ runs her a warm bath explains to her how to drain the tub when she finishes. He gives her some privacy and heads back downstairs. Rachael proceeds to bathe herself in the warm water. She is amazed that she gets a warm bath instead of just using a river. After about ten minutes, she pulls the small knob to empty the tub and gets out, and proceeds to dry herself off with a towel RJ left for her. All the while she is still questioning much of RJ's hospitality, but decided if her mother trusts him, she should as well. As she exits the bathroom she can hear RJ talking with someone downstairs.

xXx

RJ is talking with his parents, as they have just arrived home, and what started as a friendly family moment soon turned sour as Mr. Marks notices the Pokedex RJ left in the living room.

"Robert," his dad never called him by his nickname. "Why is there a Pokedex here, I thought I told you that you won't be needing one of those?" he said with a certain disgust in his voice.

"I bought it while you were gone, with my own money. Is that a problem dad?"

"Yes it is." His voice getting angrier. "I thought I told not to worry about such childish things, Pokémon are nothing that you should get attached to, since they won't be necessary when you take over the family business."

"Dad, you and mom are lawyers, and I'm sorry to tell you this for the hundredth time, but I'm not interested in becoming a lawyer like you. And while I am thinking about it, I've decided I don't care if you let me or not, I'm going out on my own to achieve my dream of competing in the Baina league."

"Think about your future Robert, being a lawyer pays great and when you take over for us, you will probably want a family someday, and with all the money you will make, you can buy them anything they want to keep them happy."

The mention of the money is what set RJ off the deep end. "It's all about the money with you isn't it? You think that the money is what will make me happy in life? Well guess what, money isn't everything! And whether you like it not, tomorrow I'm leaving to challenge the Baina league and you can't stop me!"

"Fine, do what you want! But know this Robert, if you do leave tomorrow to follow this pathetic dream, you will no longer be welcome in this house." He then storms off towards his study, leaving RJ and his mother standing there.

His mother put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about your father, you know how he overreacts about these things. I still support your decision, but it might take longer for you to be able to leave."

"What do you mean mom?"

"Well my friend, Mrs. Wilson from down the street said her son just got his first Pokémon from Prof. Maple's lab yesterday, (author's note: yes I am following the tree name thread) and he said all the starters they had available were taken by new trainers, so they don't have any right now."

RJ lets out a sigh, but notices Rachael watching the whole conversation from atop the stairs, thinking about her maybe coming along with him on his journey, but he remembered he promised her she could leave when she wanted. Even with the thought of her leaving, knowing he still helped her was enough for him to forget about his troubles for now.

"Don't worry mom, I'll find a way to make it work out. By the way, planning my trip wasn't the only thing I did while you were gone, I made a new friend too." Upon hearing this, Rachael blushed slightly and was again surprised by him referring to her as a friend.

"Really, then when do I get to meet your new friend?"

RJ motions to Rachael to come over. Although hesitant, Rachael makes her way down the stairs and into the room. Looking at the floor slightly worried about what RJ's mom will think of her, but before she can say anything, RJ's mom quickly snatched up the little Riolu and starts to hug her tightly, causing Rachael to gasp in shock and start to panic.

"She is so cute RJ! I'm glad that you two are friends." While she is still hugging and Rachael is still struggling she notices the bandage on her face. "Why does she have a bandage on her face, is she hurt?"

"First mom, put her down, your scaring her." His mom realizes her mistake and puts her down and Rachael is able to relax and catch her breath. "Second when I found her, she was unconscious in the river with a big gash on her face, so I helped her get better, she was unconscious for three days."

"I'm sorry for scaring you little one, my name is Cindy and as I guess you have already figured out, I'm RJ's mother." She says politely while extending her hand to Rachael.

"I'm Rachael, it's nice to meet you." She replied while shaking Cindy's hand.

"Wow, you can speak English as well, that's quite a feat for a Pokémon." She looks at the bandage again. "How long had she had the bandage on for?"

"Since I first brought her home, so about four days."

"Well then let's take it off then, I'm sure it has healed up by now."

They make their way to the bathroom and Cindy proceeds to carefully peel the bandage off Rachael's face. All that is left of her gash is a vertical scar over her left eye, but no real damage otherwise. Rachael looks at her face in the mirror and decides to herself that the scar is nothing to worry about, especially since it could've ended much worse for her if RJ hadn't found her.

Cindy soon speaks up. "Now that we know you're all better, are you the one who is going to accompany RJ on his journey?"

"MOM!"

"Well isn't this what you meant when you said you would make it work even though the lab doesn't have a starter for you?"

"No, it's not. However, Rachael is welcome to join me if she wants, but otherwise, I told her when she finished healing, she was free to go. So it's not my choice to decide, its Rachael's"

Rachael is shocked at his statement of it being her choice, but with how he had treated her the past few days made her realize she should have seen it coming.

"I really don't know, I am pretty curious about those gym battles you showed me, but I really have to find my mother. The reason I was injured when you found me was because we were attacked by poachers, we both managed to get away, but she is still on the run, so I need to find her and help her."

"Well sitting around here isn't going to help you find your mother. How about this Rachael, how about we both search for your mother? You can help me with my journey until we find her, and then you can go back to living with her."

Rachael saw this as too good to be true, so just to be sure, she closed her eyes and took a quick look at his aura. While she couldn't use it over the distance her mother could, Rachael could see his aura perfectly and could not see any sign of dishonesty. Tears start to flow down her face and then she jumped into RJ's arms.

"I'll take that as a yes then"

Cindy then interrupts. "Well if you two are going out on your journey, then you two need to head over to Prof. Maple's lab and register."

"Wow, I almost forgot, thanks for the reminder."

RJ then rushes upstairs, and a few minutes later, he comes down in a different set of clothes. Rachael is waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. On their way to the door he sees his dad sitting in the living reading the newspaper.

"Well dad, we're heading over to Prof. Maple's lab so we can get registered for the league."

His dad looks up with a look of disappointment on his face, and then he notices Rachael standing next to RJ. His look quickly changes to that of disgust, he then simply grunts and goes back to reading his paper as RJ and Rachael head out the door towards the lab.

xXx

After about an hour of walking through Strata Town, RJ and Rachael finally arrive at Prof. Maple's lab. It's a large building with many Pokémon wandering around in the back and the occasional piece of equipment sitting around. As they walk up to the front door, they are greeted by an unknown person they failed to notice outside, a young man appearing to be in his mid twenties. As he comes around Rachael retreats into a bush before he sees her.

"Hey RJ, long time no see."

"Hey Kevin, yea it's been a while."

"No kidding, you used to help us out here all the time, but you don't come around very often anymore."

"Well you know my dad, he was always trying to get me to follow in his footsteps, so he never let me visit anymore. So how are you and your dad doing? I heard that the new trainers just got their starters."

"Yea, we had six available and all six were given to new trainers. So what brings you around here now?"

"I was hoping your dad could sign me up for the Baina league."

"How the hell did you convince your dad to let you do that?"

"I didn't, I basically just walked out and said 'Stop me if you can.' At least my mom supports my decision."

"I see, well my dad's out right now, but he should be back within the hour. By the way, how are you going to get started without a starter?"

"Actually I have a friend who decided she wants to come along with me." RJ looks down and sees Rachael is no longer there. "Now where did she go? She is really shy around humans. Come on out Rachael he's a good friend of mine."

Rachael comes out from behind the bush she was hiding in and slowly walks over until she is standing next to RJ. Without saying a word she looks at Kevin and gives a polite bow.

"Wow, a Riolu, that's a very rare Pokémon in this region. She certainly seems very polite, well until my dad gets back we can't register you, but if you come on in I can help configure your Pokédex. Rachael can stay outside and meet some of the other Pokémon if she wants."

Rachael nods as RJ and Kevin head inside, she then starts walking around the outside of the lab taking in the sights. Soon she is approached by a Linoone and a Sandslash, and out of instinct she again gets into a defensive stance.

(Take it easy, we only came over to say hello.) The Sandslash was the first to speak up. (So you are going to be traveling with RJ aren't you?)

(Yes I am.) She replied, not speaking to them in English out of respect.

(You certainly are lucky to have him as a trainer and a friend. When he was younger he was always over here making friends with all the other Pokémon and helping around the lab.) The Sandslash said while the Linoone next to him simply nodded. (But where are our manners? My name is Spike, and the lovely Linoone next to me is my mate Zig. Don't worry if she doesn't say much, she is always quiet around others.) The statement caused Zig to blush and let out a slight giggle.

(I'm Rachael. It's nice to meet you two.) She said with a bow.

As time goes on, the three Pokémon keep making small talk, Rachael talks about how she got her scar and how RJ had helped her even though he didn't know her. After about a half an hour of talking, Prof. Maple and a Scizor walk up to the three of them.

"Spike, I see you and Zig have made a new friend. I hate to interrupt, could you two help Scizor takes these supplies around back, my son called me and said RJ is registering for the league and they are waiting for me."

Spike and Zig nod and help the Scizor carry the boxes around the back. Prof. Maple then looks at Rachael, gives a friendly smile and heads into the lab. After a few minutes the Prof. comes back outside followed by Kevin and RJ.

"So RJ, I am guessing this little Riolu is going to accompany you on your journey."

"That's right. Her name is Rachael and she decided she wants to come along with me, but I promised I would help her look for her mother."

"Well that is certainly a noble act and I wish you both luck in accomplishing your goals. Now, since you are finally registered, all that left to do is give you some Pokéballs and some healing items for your journey."

He hands RJ six balls and a bag with healing items, upon looking in the bag he sees it is full of very expensive and effective items. "Professor, are you sure you can give me so much?"

"Think of it as a thank you for all the help you gave us over the years. Now go out and make us proud here."

With that, RJ shakes both the Professor's and Kevin's hands, says his goodbyes, as well as a bow from Rachael, and then the two start the hour long walk back home.

xXx

Upon getting home Rachael can smell an aroma coming from the house, RJ notices it to.

"Looks like mom got lunch ready for us."

Instead of heading in the house, RJ leads Rachael around to the back yard, where Cindy is cooking on the grill.

"We're back mom, all registered and ready to go. And look at all the healing items the Prof. gave me for helping him over the years."

"That's wonderful RJ, how about the two of take a seat and have some lunch, it's only hamburgers, but I'll be sure to make a special going away dinner tonight."

"Thanks mom." RJ looks around while Rachael is eating her burger like she hasn't eaten in days. "So where's dad?" He said with a hint of anger in his voice.

"He went for a walk saying he had a lot to think about."

RJ couldn't help but look down and feel slightly guilty, suddenly he didn't seem to have his appetite anymore.

Rachael saw this and decided to speak up. "Are you alright RJ?"

"Yea, I just have a lot on my mind."

Suddenly Cindy speaks up. "So RJ, is Rachael registered as a meet of your party yet?"

That statement managed to snap RJ out of his daze. "I completely forgot about that! Thanks for the reminder mom." With that RJ gets up and head back to the bag the Professor had given him, leaving Cindy and Rachael sitting at the table outside. Rachael can only look and tilt her head and wonder what Cindy meant by what she said. Soon RJ comes back outside with a Pokéball in his hand.

"Well Rachael, ready to officially become part of the family?" he said holding out the Pokéball to Rachael.

"I've heard about those form my mom, they used to hold Pokémon when humans travel around with them right?"

"That's right. All you have to do is touch the ball and you will be officially be a member of the family, and no one else will be able to capture you and make me break my promise to you."

That was all that Rachael needed to hear, and with a smile on her face, she touched the ball. The ball popped open and Rachael felt a strange energy fill her body as she became absorbed in a red light and sucked into the ball as it closed. The ball pinged without a struggle. Inside the ball, Rachael was surrounded by darkness, but not one that made her worry, strangely she felt calm and relaxed.

I wonder when he will need me and let me out again.

As soon she thought those words, she felt another strange energy as a bright light flashed before her. As it faded away, she realized she was standing in RJ's back yard again. Her head darted around in confusion until RJ spoke up.

"There we go, that's all there is to it. Welcome to the family Rachael."

"Do you need me for something already RJ?" she said is a still confused voice.

"Not really, I figured you wouldn't want to stay in your ball all day. So unless you want to stay inside of your ball, you're free to walk outside of it."

"Thank you." Rachael couldn't think of anything else to say as she displayed a large smile.

"Well the rest of the day is yours Rachael, so enjoy yourself. I have to get packing for our journey." He said as he walked off towards the garage where he kept all of his camping gear.

xXx

The rest of the day, Rachael spent outside in the yard, mainly relaxing and inspecting various things around the house. As she came around the side of the house, her eyes saw what looked like a thick green vine coiled in a circle with a weird looking black end on it. Curiosity getting the better of her, she walked over to the strange item and grabbed a hold of it, and noticed that strange end had a part that moved a little when she touched it, so she proceeded to push the part harder. RJ came around the corner just in time to see Rachael get blasted in the face with water and let out a scream or surprise, as well as making RJ laugh.

"I see you found the hose Rachael." He said and continued to laugh.

Rachael gave him an angry glare, and then an idea formed in her head as she pointed the hose at RJ. Soon RJ's laughing stopped as he was hit in the face with a cold stream of water. RJ looked down at Rachael as she started to laugh at him, and RJ couldn't help but laugh with her. After they finished laughing, they dried off and proceeded to head inside. Rachael noticed RJ's hiking pack next to the front door. She saw that it was nicely packed and ready for tomorrow.

xXx

The rest of the night went off without incident, even RJ's father kept his cool. He didn't say much the whole night, and nothing to RJ. He seemed to have calmed down after the argument from that morning, but he still refused to even look at Rachael, which to her made her wonder if he truly hated her. After the large dinner Cindy had prepared, RJ and Rachael spent the rest of the night watching TV. Around 10pm, RJ decided to call it a night, seeing as how he wanted to get an early start in the morning.

Rachael followed RJ upstairs to his room to get some sleep as well. RJ crawled into his bed, and Rachael curled up in a bean bag chair RJ had at the foot of his bed. Soon RJ was asleep, but Rachael laid there wondering about how tomorrow and rest of their journey would go. Shortly after she succumbs to the night and fell asleep as well.

End Chapter 2

Well that's my second chapter, again all comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

I have to say thanks to my friends Chuck and Brookst, as I call them, for helping out with this. I already have one idea for another team member, but the other four members I want to hear what you want to see happen. Next chapter we get to meet RJ's rival, as well as my first attempt at a battle scene.

I'll see how quickly I can get chapter 3 up, hopefully not too long.

Also until someone tells me how to put links to the previous chapters at the begining of the story, you will have to go to each chapter seperately.