RJ's Adventure - Chapter 3: A New Rival
#3 of RJ's Adventure
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 3: A New Rival Emerges
The next morning, Rachael wakes up and lets out a long yawn. She gets up and sees that RJ is not in the room with her. Rachael assumes that he has gone downstairs already to prepare for the day, so she heads for the door to join him.
As Rachael gets to the bottom of the stairs, she sees RJ and his mother checking over all of his gear to make sure that he is all set for their journey. Rachael also sees that RJ's father is sitting in the living reading the morning paper, and as usual he shows no interest in either Rachael or RJ.
"Well Rachael, glad to see your up. I thought I would be carrying you all day today."
"Please, you might have helped me recover but I'm not entirely helpless anymore."
Cindy speaks up. "Well since you two seem ready to go, how about you both get a wash while I cook you breakfast and then we can see you off."
"Good idea mom, I really need a shower from yesterday."
RJ and Rachael make their way upstairs and to the bathroom. RJ fills the tub up enough for Rachael to get clean and helps her out. After her short bath, RJ unplugs the drain and helps Rachael dry off. He then sends her downstairs while he proceeds to take his shower. Rachael starts to wonder why he would help her with her bath but no allow her to return the favor. She figures he just wants to be polite and heads back downstairs to the kitchen.
When Rachael arrives at the kitchen, she notices that RJ's father has not moved since she was last down there. Rachael hops up onto a chair and waits patiently for her breakfast. Shortly after Cindy walks over and hands her a plate of bacon and eggs. The smell finally gets to Rachael and she begins eating her breakfast. RJ arrives downstairs when Rachael is about half way done with her breakfast.
"Thanks for waiting for me to get downstairs." He said sarcastically.
Rachael frowns, "Sorry, it just smelled so good I couldn't resist."
"Take it easy Rachael, I'm only joking. You didn't have to wait for me. "
With that comment, Rachael smiled and went back to eating, just as Cindy brought over RJ's plate of bacon and eggs. When Rachael finished her plate, she sat and patiently waited for RJ to finish before cleaning up. After washing their dishes RJ and Rachael head for the door to make their way towards their first destination, Luka Town. Cindy meets them both at the door.
"Well you two, good luck on your journey, we will be watching your progress. Before you go RJ, I have more thing I want to give you." She pulls out a small box and opens it to reveal a brand new Xtransfer.
"Mom, you didn't have to go through all this, I could just call you whenever I get into a town."
"Well I wanted to get you something in case you were ever in a real emergency. Plus, your father feels better about you leaving with this."
"Really? I didn't know he cared." RJ replied on a sarcastic tone.
With that comment, RJ's dad got up and walked over to the group.
"Robert listen, I am still not entirely happy with the decision you are making right now, but I have come to terms with it. If you are able to succeed with this, then what am I to stop you. So with that said, I wish you luck and you two better keep each other safe."
RJ can't believe what his father is saying to him, but he reaches out and shakes his hand. "I never thought I would say this, but, thanks dad. I know it's not what you wanted me to do in life, I still plan on making you and mom proud."
After a final check over all of RJ's equipment and supplies, RJ and Rachael both get a hug from Cindy and they start their journey heading for nearby Luka Town.
xXx
After about a half hour of walking, RJ and Rachael made it out of Strata Town and down the route. The two saw a slight variety of wild Pokémon while walking, including the occasional Starly and Sentret, and even an Aipom or two. A thought came to RJ and he pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it at Rachael, it began scanning her. Rachael hears the beeping of the device and she turns to him.
"Why are you pointing that thing at me?"
"Just as a precaution, I wanted to see what moves you know in case we get attacked or challenged along the way."
"You could have just asked me you know."
"True. But if I did I would've had to wait a little longer to learn how to use that function."
"So, does it work?"
"Let's see, it says here you know quick attack, foresight, screech, bullet punch, force palm and.......how do you know confusion?"
"It's a move I picked up from my father."
"Wow, I bet he was proud of you."
"I wouldn't know, he died before I hatched."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up sad memories."
"No its ok. I still wish I got to know him. He was an Alakazam."
"Well that explains how you know confusion."
As morning turned to early afternoon, and Rachael is taking in all the sights and sounds while they are walking. Over the few years of her life she had never been able to walk around this freely before. One o'clock came around quickly and RJ decides to get lunch ready, so they move off the trail to a small clearing as RJ prepares to make lunch. Lunch consisted of a simple couple of berries and iced tea, which RJ had plenty of mix for on the road.
Just as the duo finished up lunch and RJ had all they used put away, the Vs. Seeker on his pokedex starts to beep indicating a nearby trainer. RJ is slightly confused by this seeing as how he got a later start on his journey then other trainers, not as many would be around the area. Soon after a young man about RJ's age steps through a bush, looking lost. He seemed to be slightly shorter then RJ with glasses resting on his face. His short black hair seemed to be gelled back. Whether it was or not, RJ couldn't tell.
"Hey, sorry for bothering you, but do you have any idea where route 74 is?" the young man asks.
RJ replies. "Yea if you head past those trees, route 74 is right there."
"Great, I've been lost all morning." As the young man heads for the trees RJ indicated he notices Rachael sitting next to RJ. "Whoa, a Riolu, I've always wanted one, they are really rare."
Rachael looks at him with a look of disgust.
"Hey do you want to trade? I can give you a Shinx, a Hoothoot, and a Cacnea for it."
"Sorry, but SHE, is not up for trade."
"C'mon man, I'm giving you a great deal here, I'll even throw in some money. How much?"
"Again, Rachael is not up for trade, she's too good a friend to even consider trading her away."
"How about this then, we battle for her?"
"For the last time no. However, if you want to have a normal battle with only a normal winning fee on the line I think we could oblige."
"Fine, you're not much fun are ya? I need to judge her strength anyway, oh, and by the way, the name is Chuck, don't forget it because until I get that Riolu, you're gonna see me quite often.
"Whatever, my name's RJ and Rachael here is your opponent."
"Then I'll choose this one. Go Croc!!!"
Chuck tossed his ball in the air and with a pop and a flash of white light, a Croconaw stood before Rachael. It looked down on her because of his slight height advantage and gave her a smug smile.
Chuck starts off by calling out a water gun attack. Rachael dodges and is able to get up close and unleash a bullet punch after RJ's command right in Croc's stomach, sending him staggering back a few feet. Soon Croc charges in and unleashes a fury of slash attacks. While Rachael is able to dodge most of them, one manages to slip by her defense and manages to hit her. Luckily the wound is not too deep but a small amount of blood does trail down her arm.
"Rachael, are you ok?" RJ shouts.
_I'm fine, don't worry about me so much._She replies back with her aura speak to save energy.
The Croconaw charges in with an aqua tail attack, after RJ's command, Rachael dodges with her quick attack and follows up with a force palm to the back. Rachael then flinches in pain from the wound on her arm when suddenly she is hit with an ice beam attack, coating her good arm in ice.
"Croc, finish her off with another slash!"
The Croconaw's claws start to glow and he rushes in to finish off Rachael who can't help but stare and prepare for defeat.
"Rachael, use your special move!"
Rachael realizes what RJ means and her eyes shoot open glowing blue. Suddenly the Croconaw stops dead in his tracks and is surrounded by the same blue glow. His body slowly rises into the air and is then tossed right into a nearby tree with amazing force. The blue glow fades and his unconscious body falls to the ground.
"Well Chuck, it looks like we win."
"What move was that?"
"That would be Rachael's confusion attack."
"So it can use psychic type attack to, well now I want it more than ever." Chuck recalls his Croconaw and tosses a card over to RJ with his winnings. "This isn't the last time we will see each other. Someday, that Riolu will be mine." Chuck then heads off toward Route 74 and out of sight.
RJ quickly gets an ice heal and a super potion out of his bag and brings them over to help Rachael. The ice heal quickly melts the ice off of her right arm while the super potions goes to work on her left. When the super potion is sprayed, Rachael winces at the slight pain but it quickly fades the wound on her arm slowly begins to heal. She is amazed at how quickly the medicine is working. After RJ finishes applying the medicine, he takes out his pokedex and turns off the vs. seeker function so Rachael can get some rest.
xXx
The rest of the day went on without incident. RJ had Rachael ride on his shoulder so she can get some rest while they traveled on through the day. As the sun starts to set to the point where it is almost out of view, RJ decides to call it a night and set up camp. RJ pulls out some of his cooking tools and proceeds to make a simple vegetable stew, while it is nothing special, Rachael still is amazed at how good of cook RJ is.
"Are you sure you're ok Rachael? You took quite a bit of damage in that battle earlier."
"For the hundredth time RJ, yes I am fine. The medicine you gave me worked great and if I had to I could battle a few more times today."
"I'm just trying to make sure, I wouldn't want you getting hurt and have your mother kill me when we find her."
"Don't worry so much." Rachael stares into the fire when a though comes to mind. "Do you think we'll see Chuck again anytime soon?"
"For now I think we are ok, but I'm sure we will meet him again someday, but we will be ready for him."
"Well I'm going to turn in early Rachael, how about you?"
"I'm not tired yet, I'll stay out here and watch the fire for a bit."
"Alright just come inside when you're tired, and make sure you put the fire out." With that RJ crawls into the tent and quickly fell asleep.
Rachael stays outside near the fire and decides to do some meditating and practice her aura sight. Even after several years of practicing she still can't quite perfect it. While she can detect objects and living things, her problem is that she is unable to make out what those things are. After about an hour of practicing, she opens her eyes and sees that the fire is down to nothing but embers. She decides it's time for her to turn in for the night as well.
She kicks some dirt onto the fire and makes her way to the tent. After she closes up the entrance she sees that RJ is asleep in his bag and next to him is a blanket folded up to make a nice bed for her. She lets out a smile again admiring his kindness. She curls up on the folded blanket and quickly falls asleep.
xXx
The next morning, Rachael wakes up to find that RJ is not in the tent with her. She gets off of her folded blanket, stretches, and then makes her way out of the tent. RJ is outside making sure everything is packed up and ready to go other then what is left in the tent.
"Good morning sleepy head." RJ says while tossing her an oran berry.
"I went to sleep later then you of course I would want to sleep longer."
"Well that is why I let you sleep later. But now it's time to get going on the road again. We should be able to make it to Luka Town by nightfall. Hopefully we can add another member to the family along the way."
"Family? I thought we were just friends?"
"We are friends, but I like to think of the group as my family away from home, and at home as well I guess."
"So do I have to start calling you uncle RJ then?" she said with a hint of laughter.
"Very funny. Now eat up, we have to get moving if we want the pokemon center to have a room open for the night. Nicer then sleeping out on the hard ground right?"
"True. Well let's get going then."
The two finish breaking down camp and proceed on their way to Luka Town. Along the way, Rachael gets to practice her moves on the occasional Pidgey or Patrat, but nothing their either of them believe could help them out much on their journey. Soon Rachael hops on onto RJ's shoulder.
"What, you already tired after a few practice battles and the walking?"
Rachael slaps him lightly on the back of his head. "I want to practice my aura sight and its easier when I'm not walking around."
"Alright." After a few minutes of her practicing RJ gets curious. "So what exactly can you see with your aura sight."
"Honestly, I can see everything close by. Everything has its own aura and I can see them all."
"Doesn't that get confusing at times?"
"It does for me. I never quite got the hang of it. I can see so many different auras, but I can't identify what they are. That 's why I'm practicing, because half the time I can't tell the difference between a human and a tree."
"Sounds annoying."
"You're telling me. The only time I can tell when it's a living thing is when it's injured and it's aura is weak or unstable."
"Well that can be useful sometimes."
"True but in a way I think it's kind of depressing."
"I see your point. How far can you see with that?"
"About half a mile I would estimate."
"Really? That's amazing. I wish I could see like you could."
"I wouldn't say so, remember everything seems to be a bunch of blurred auras that I can't make out to me."
"Well keep practicing, someday you'll perfect it."
"Thanks."
As the day continues on, lunch time comes around and the two have a simple lunch of tea and berries. After their quick lunch they continue walking along Route 74 towards their destination. Rachael continues to practice her aura sight since she has nothing better to do with the lack of battling.
"RJ is it just me, or is today going by really slow?"
"I feel it to, but we haven't had anybody challenge us, not even any wild pokemon. They do say that boredom makes the day feel like it's going by slow."
"I thought so. So how much longer until we get to Luka Town?"
RJ checks his map on his Xtransfer. "Well, looks like we are traveling slower than I thought. So we might have one more night outside. But we will get there by tomorrow morning at the latest."
"That's good, I kind of miss sleeping on your couch or that weird chair at the edge of your bed."
"Well, only one more night out here and we can relax for a day or two in Luka Town. There is a lot of things there I think you would like to see."
"Sounds like fun."
xXx
RJ and Rachael continue their small talk while they walk for a few more hours. Soon the sun is setting and RJ decides it's time to set up camp. While he is setting up the tent and the cookware, Rachael goes out to find some wood for the fire. After several minutes she has gathered a descent amount of firewood and just as comes back with the final armful, she stops in her tracks, sensing something. She holds out her paw and uses her aura sight to look around. She still can't indentify anything, but in the distance she can see something's aura, and it's fading fast. Rachael bolts out into the woods without saying anything.
"Rachael what's wrong?" RJ asks, but Rachael is too focused on what she is seeing to give him a response. He takes off after her but he can't seem to catch up.
xXx
Using her aura sight as a guide, Rachael runs for a few minutes until she comes across an injured and unconscious Poochyena. She can also see that it has several cuts and gashes on its body and it is losing a lot of blood. After staring at it for a short time, RJ shows up.
"Finally I found you, why would you run off like that? I was worried something...." RJ goes silent as he sees the injured pokemon on the ground. "Now I see what you ran off for. We have to get it some help." He takes off his shirt and wraps the Poochyena in it and carries it towards their campsite. "Come on, if we get it back to the site I can help it until tomorrow and we can get it to the Pokemon Center."
RJ and Rachael run back to the site as fast as they could without risking further injury to the small pokemon. As soon as they get back, Rachael gets the fire going while RJ pulls out some potions and bandages to help the Poochyena as much as he can. As soon as RJ finishes helping Poochyena, he allows it to rest more and gets started on dinner. As he is just finishing his cooking, the Poochyena wakes up with a slight start and looks around.
"Glad to see that you're ok, you had us worried for a while." The small pokemon puts its head back down and starts staring at RJ. "Do you want something to eat? I made plenty for all three of us." He doesn't get a response, just more staring. "Ok then, well if you want any feel free to speak up."
RJ and Rachael continue to eat their dinner while the Poochyena continues to stare at RJ. Rachael starts to wonder why she won't do anything but stare at him.
Rachael starts to talk to RJ with her aura speak so the Poochyena can't hear.
RJ something isn't right about this Poochyena.
What do mean Rachael?
I took another look at its aura and it is far too big for its size.
Calm down, you said you have trouble indentifying things by their aura anyway.
I KNOW THAT! RJ starts to rub his from the slight pain. But when the object is this close to me it's pretty obvious.
I wouldn't worry too much.
"Well Poochyena I'm going to find you some berries to help you heal faster. Are there any kind you like?" Again the Poochyena just stares at him. "Alright then, I'll be back soon."
RJ then leaves to go find the berries he wants. Rachael continues to look at the Poochyena who is now just staring in the direction that RJ walked off in. Rachael Finally speaks up.
"You know it really isn't polite to stare at someone who saved your life and offered you food."
The Poochyena turns to look at Rachael and finally speaks.
(Why did he help me?) The Poochyena says in a surprisingly feminine voice.
"Because that's just how RJ is. He helped me when my life was on the line without thinking about personal gain."
(Don't make me laugh. He might be acting nice, but sometime in the future you will see his true self. He and all humans are alike, I've experienced how they treat us. I'm sure he gave you that scar of your face.)
"You're wrong about RJ, when he finished healing me he said I was free to go."
(Why would you stay with him?)
"He has done nothing but treat me like family ever since we first met, even when I didn't trust him."
(Believe what you want, someday you will see for yourself.) The Poochyena starts trying to stand up. (Now I am going to get out of here before he tries to do anything and I suggest you do the.....) As she tries to finish her sentence she falls back to the ground unconscious. Rachael checks her aura quickly and sees she is not in any danger.
Just as soon as Rachael stops using her aura sight and opens her eyes, she stares in shock and horror as the small Poochyena's body begins to expand, breaking all the bandages wrapped around her. Rachael continues to stare in shock as she is no longer looking at a defenseless Poochyena, but an unconscious and intimidating Zoroark.
To Be Continued...............
Finally Chapter three is up. Took longer than expected but when you have about five different parties to celebrate your 21st birthday, you tend to wake up in strange places and not get your writings done. Chapter 4 should be up a lot quicker, but with my other story, who knows.