Nathan's Story
_Authors Notes: Well, for those reading this, Thank you for your time! This is the first actual story I've written since 5th grade some odd ten-ish years ago for a writing assignment. This is also the second time I've had to write this. My laptop sorta freaked out and deleted all my Microsoft Word documents, including my writing assignments for class. Please forgive any grammar/spelling errors. I don't have a beta reader, so this is solo. Closest thing I have to a beta is a friend who told me they liked the first chapter. Please, give me any feedback you can. I want to improve this as much as I can. I now present to you, Chapter 1 of "_Nathans Story".
"Speech" = Pokémon Speech
(Speech) = Thought
"Speech" = Normal Speech
------ = Scene Change/Break
Copy Right: I do not own Pokémon, etc, etc. Only things I own in this story are, OCs and plot.
As the automatic doors to the department store slid open, I felt the rush of wind like a, punch to the face as the wind blew my black hair to and fro. Winter had taken a hold of Veilstone and refused to let go, even the slightest bit. It was a different experience than my home town Sunnyshore where it was usually warm, so in a weird way it reminded me of home. Well, what used to be my home. Once I turned 16, I had moved to Solaceon to help my grandparents run the day-care. I thought it would be a good experience since I wanted to become a Pokémon doctor and my parents whole-heartedly agreed regardless of what they wanted me to do. My mom wanted me to be a coordinator and my dad wanted me to become a Pokémon professor like he had when Professor Rowan passed. Thinking back to my parents house I chuckled because I couldn't find a spot in the house where a Pokémon wasn't lounging about, as both of my parents had full teams.
"Nathan!" Hearing my name I turned my head towards the direction of the voice to see Joe, the little blonde 8 year old who lived down the street from my apartment. "Nathan! Do you wanna play?"
"Sorry buddy, I've got a surprise for Karen and Grace." At the mention of the Lucario and Kirlia that lived with me, Joes face lit up with, a large smile. He loved Pokémon and couldn't wait to get his own when he turned 10.
"Cool! What kind of surprise?"
"Well, you remember when I told you about how they want to challenge the league?"
"Yea, I think you told me about it."
"Well, since I'm done with my studies on Poké medicine, I've decide to take on the league challenge."
"Oh yea, you never picked a starter and how old are you again, 20? But if you did you might not have met Grace or Karen! So, what 'cha got in the box?" The speed at which he spoke and the mention of the box in my hand brought a grin to my face. Kneeling down I opened the small box showed Joe its two small contents. "Wow, cool." Joe had said "Cool" In that drawn out way everyone used to do when they were his age. Inside the box was, Grace and Karens poke balls, after I had sent them off to be modified.
"Pretty cool looking huh?" Joe just nodded slowly, the grin never leaving his face. Karens poke ball now had a dark blue, like that of her fur on top instead of the traditional red, and the bottom remained white. The top of Graces had a light green, almost mossy color also like her hair, while the bottom of hers was still white as well. "This is a part of the surprise too. I'm going to tell them tonight. How excited do you think they'll be?"
"They'll love it! I've gotta get home, It's getting late. Bye Nathan!" As he began walking away I smiled. Joe was a good kid. I could tell he would make a good trainer. He even told me he had his team already thought out. Every time he played with Karen and Grace he would tell me before he went back home. I laughed as I remembered the Pokémon he listed off.
(Torterra, Noctowl, Heracross, Weavile, Arcanine, and Blastoise.) I always laughed at the last one. Not to be mean, but because Squirtle and its evolutions are very rare in the Sinnoh region. Hell, they're rare in Kanto and they were supposedly native to that region. But he was always adamant about it. And if he wasn't telling me about his "Dream Team" he wanted to hear about how I met Karen and Grace. He probably knew it better than I did at this point.
--------------------------------------------------------Flash Back-----------------------------------------------------
The girl in front of me looked pretty cute. She even looked about my age, maybe 17. She was a few inches shorter than me looking to be about 5'10" to my 6", Brown hair to my black, but we both had blue eyes. Too bad she was only here to drop off her Flaffy. After the usual hassle of paper work, if the Pokémon was male ore female, her telling me what her Pokémon does or doesn't like, how long it'll be before she picks it up, and payment, she handed me the Flaffys ball and headed for the door.
"We'll take good care of her while you're gone." I doubt she heard me. She had closed the door before my sentence was even finished. (Well, she seems nice.) I almost laughed at how much sarcasm was in that thought. Turning around and heading into the back area I looked around seeing some of the Pokémon that were left here. There was a Remoraid in the small lake that was added a few years ago after the whole "Team Galactic" fiasco. A Mightyena was sleeping under a tree, a Honchkrow slept on a branch above it, two Machoke were sparring again, and a Persian, Dratini, and Vulpix all sat together eating a variety of berries next to a sleeping Fortress. I was amazed at how well my grandparents kept track of all the paper work for this many Pokémon. There were at least 20 more still inside their balls in the storage room. Releasing the Pokémon I headed back towards the door when I heard the Flaffy.
"Flaffy Flaffy Flaff." The tone sounded questioning, like she wondered where she was, or where her trainer had gone. Possibly both. No way I could've known. I couldn't afford a translator. Things were way too expensive. A league champion like, Lance would be hard pressed to find one he could afford. Some company named, Eko Software made them. Even the cheaper ones were about two hundred thousand dollars.
"Your trainer left you here because she had to a funeral. She said there were no Pokémon allowed. Don't worry though, she said she would be back by Saturday. So you'll only have to wait for 3 days. Think you can do that?" As I kneeled down to be at somewhat eye level with her she backed away, shaking her head.
"Flaff Flaff Flaffy!" She was shaking and her eyes were watering. "Flaffy!" She slowly backed away and began trembling more. I couldn't tell if she was afraid that her trainer might have abandoned her or if she was scared by her new surroundings. I saw sparks fly through her fur. The situation seemed to be getting a little out of control. Gently stretching my hand out, I tried saying soothing things to the Pokémon like, "It's alright" or "You'll be fine" which apparently, wasn't working. The sparks grew in intensity and I began to hear cracking, like someone was popping their knuckles in my ear.
(I guess it was too much for her to tell me her Flaffy had separation anxiety.) Slowly reaching for her poke ball with my other hand, I tried to recall her so I could put her in storage until Saturday came around and her trainer could pick her up. Bad idea. As soon as I brought her ball up the electricity she had been building up flew towards me. Ever been hit with a thundershock? It hurts. Pain was the most prominent thing in my mind. Trying to sit up hurt, so I wasn't looking forward to trying to walk. Sitting up with a gasp of pain, I looked around and everything looked the same. Except for the fact that the Flaffy was missing.
Machoke Ma Macho mach.
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I felt a large pair of large arms help me to my feet. Looking at the arms I followed them to the face of one of the Machoke that was left here about a week and a half ago. Guy was a fighting type enthusiast or specialist or something along those lines. Trying to stand up by myself proved to be a challenge, as any type of movement seemed to send small waves of pain through my body, and my legs felt like jell-o. The Machoke must have seen my struggle because it grabbed my right arm and put it over its shoulder.
"Thanks, can you get me up the stairs?" I asked, glad that at least Pokémon could understand humans. The day care had gotten a re-modeling a few years back. Hence, the small lake and the second floor which had a bed room for my grandparents, guest room (currently serving as my room while I was here) and a bathroom with decently sized shower. The first floor also had a kitchen installed where my grandmother cooked food for us and made treats for the Pokémon who were staying. "Hey, Grandpa! A little help! Thanks big guy. I can take it from here."
Ma Machoke. The Pokémon took my arm from around his shoulder, and set me against the wall gently. As it headed back downstairs and outside I saw my grandparents bedroom door open and once my grandpa saw me his usual peaceful demeanor, changed to one of shock.
"Arceus above Nathan, what happened to you? Your shirt looks it was lit on fire!" Looking down at my shirt I noticed it did look burnt. The shirt was a normal plain white t-shirt. It was now a dirty looking white with a large black spot in the center that seemed to expand and the blackness faded into the white where they met in the middle, so to speak where they made a dingy grey. The black spot obviously were the thundershock had struck.
"Some girl dropped off her Flaffy, and it must have separation anxiety or something. It got scared, attacked me, and ran off."
"Well that means I'll have to go chase it down won't I?"
"I'll do it, just go man the desk."
"Nathan, you can barely stand, there's no way you chase this run away Flaffy-"
"Come on grandpa! You're the one who told me that I'm responsible for any of the Pokémon someone checks in when I'm at the desk!"
"-By yourself. I'll let you go if you take Ed with you. He can help you find the Flaffys trail." Ed was grandpas first Pokémon. A very old Aracanine. Probably as old as my grandpa.
"Like one of the Arcanine the police use?" I couldn't help but laugh at the thought of that old, old Pokémon walking slowly, with its nose in the dirt. "Fine, as soon as I get a hold of that Flaffy, I'm going to cram that thing back inside its ball." My grandfather laughed at that last remark.
"I'm sure you will. Eds ball is under the desk. I'll find you later and help with Johnson once your grandmother gets back from the store." At the mention of the Noctowls name I chuckled.
"Gramps, don't you have any young Pokémon?"
"Hey, I still have my original team. I still think you should have chosen a starter from your father and become a trainer."
"But then we couldn't have these little witty banter sessions." This elected a chuckle out of the old man.
"Ah, that's true. Well, go on. You've got a Flaffy to catch."
"Yea, yea." I said with a wave of my hand. Heading back down the stairs with slightly less trouble than before, I grabbed Eds ball from behind the desk and released the old Pokémon. He appeared in the traditional flash of with light.
Arcanine. He slowly said as he stretched his body. While he stretched, I noticed that the number of grey furs he had rivaled that of his orange furs. He looked almost grey and black. I remember seeing him as a kid when I came to visit my grandparents, he was always outside in the back acting as the peace keeper. Now he usually spent his time curled up in my grandparents room or in his ball.
"Ed, I need you to help me find a Flaffy. A girl checked it in and it kind of...ran off." When Ed turned and saw me, his tail started slowly swishing back and forth. I really had no idea what I was supposed to do to make him pick up a trail, so I just held out the Flaffys poke ball. It seemed like the right thing to do so, why not? Ed yawned as he bent his neck downward to sniff the ball. "So, anything buddy?" A quick sniff to the air and an "Arc!" told me yes. Ed was right behind me as I went towards the door and as soon as it was open he ran like, he was a young Growlithe again. "Hey wait!" I might be able to walk and stand by myself but running was another story. My legs still felt like they weren't really there.
--------------------------------Slight Flash Forward-------------------------------------------------------------------
"Come on Ed, I thought you had it!" We had been walking for two hours and found nothing involving the Flaffy but moving no longer hurt and I had complete feeling back in my legs so, there was that. It was getting dark and the sun was almost completely behind the tree line. "Ed, maybe we should just head home. Grandpa never showed up anyway. If he had given me you and Johnson we could've found the Flaffy and been home by now."
Arcanine! And with that he was off. He must've smelled something because he hadn't taken off like that since we left the house. As I ran to catch up with the Arcacnine, I began to hear something that sounded like crying. Then I heard something that made me want to jump for joy.
"Flaff" *_sob* "_Flaff Flaffy" *sob* Ed stopped dead in his tracks causing me to almost trip over him. He turned to me and said something in poke speak and turned back around. I looked up from the Pokémon in front of me and looked straight ahead. Sitting there on a rock was, the Flaffy. But beside it were two other Pokémon. A Riolu and a Kirlia. I knew Ed could beat them easy but I'd rather avoid a conflict. I slowly took a step towards the three of them and a *snap* filled my ears. All three of the Pokémon in the small moonlit clearing snapped their heads in my direction.
"Uh, hi there. I need to take that Flaffy back with me. You see, her trainer had to-"
"Be quiet!" Huh, for a second I thought I heard a voice tell me to be quite. "Hey! Over here!" Oh yea, Kirlia is a psychic type. Damn, I'm stupid. "Hey! Why did you steal this Flaffy from her trainer?!"
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_"_St- steal?! What are you talking about?"
"You know what I'm talking about. This Flaffy said that you let her out of her ball, not her trainer. Explain that!"
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"My grandparents run a Pokémon daycare! Her trainer left her there because she had had to attend a funeral! I tried explaining to her, but she attacked me and ran off. I've been searching for her since!" My sudden shout had apparently shocked the Kirlia. She looked as if she had just been slapped. The Riolu simply looked at me with an unwavering gaze. Behind me I heard Ed start growling. Calming him down, I turned back to the Kirlia to resume our little..."chat"
"But she told us that-"
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"I tried explaining to her why she was at the day care!" I shouted, cutting her off in my mind. I was angry and didn't know why. Maybe because I'd been searching since dusk and now a wild Pokémon was accusing me of stealing the Flaffy. Maybe I just wanted to take my anger at being shocked, out on something. I still had no clue as to what the Riolu thought of the situation. I thought Riolu and Lucario could talk to humans using that "aura" stuff? I was taken from my thoughts when I heard the Kirlia start talking with the Riolu.
" Kir Kirli Kiria Kirl Kir"
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"Ri Ri Riol Rio"
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"Kirlia Kirl Kirli Kir"
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Being completely in the dark as to what they were talking about, all I could do was stand there and wait for...whatever it is they were talking about. My thoughts were interrupted again when I heard, the Flaffy join the conversation.
"Flaffy Flaff?" As before, when I first let her out of her ball, her tone sounded questioning. I could only assume she was asking me something. But what the question was? No idea.
"She wants to know, if what you said about her trainer coming back for her was true." The sudden voice in my head visibly startling me.
"Yes! Of course! I told her she would only have to wait 3 days and her trainer would come back to pick her up." I was getting fed up with this quickly. I needed to get the Flaffy back.
"Kirlia? Kir Kirli"
_ _
(Aaaand they're talking again. Great.)
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"I heard that!"
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(Awesome, and she's reading my mind.)
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"Kirlia Kirl"
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"Flaffy Flaf"
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"Kirlia"
"Riolu Ri Riol"
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"Flaffy? Flaffy Flaff"
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"Riolu"
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"Kirlia" I stood there, witness to a conversation I couldn't understand, wondering what words were transpiring between the three Pokémon. They continued talking for at least another 3 minutes. I had gotten bored waiting, and had sat down beside Ed, who had dozed off. Petting him gently on his mane covered head I waited for the conversation to end. "Well, you owe us. We convinced her to go back with you and behave while she's there." I surprisingly wasn't startled by her voice this time. I guess I was expecting it on some level.
"And just what do you want? Food? You and your friend there looked very malnourished." I must've hit the nail on the head, because the Kirlia looked shocked. Then, I began to hear her laughing. Physically and in my head.
"I thought I was supposed to be the psychic. Yes, we want food. If you have any to spare." At the last, she seemed crestfallen. I simply smiled at her. Walking over I quickly recalled the Flaffy and pocketed the ball.
"Come on. We've got plenty of food back at the house."
"Wait, house? I thought you were going back to the day care?"
_ _
"It doubles as my grandparents house. Ed! Come on buddy, we're finally going home." The Arcanine yawned and stretched his body, shaking it afterwards to wake himself up. I started back to the path that lead to Solaceon and the three Pokémon followed. "So, why hasn't your friend there said anything to me? Does it have something against humans?" At its mention the Riolu stepped closer to the Kirlia. "I thought that Riolu and Lucario could talk to humans using that aura stuff they can control?"
"Well, you have the whole "_control" _part right. But only Lucario can use it to speak to humans."
_ _
_"_Why is that?" My curiosity had grown at her statement. She simply shrugged her small shoulders.
"Dunno. She thinks it's just something that kind of happens when they evolve."
_ _
_"_She?" Damn my stupidity. I had almost called her a boy too.
"You know I can hear you still, right? Don't worry, I won't tell." She giggled once her thought was finished. I mentally thanked her, as we continued walking. "How much farther?"
_ _
"Well, Ed and I walked at least two hours trying to find that Flaffy. It'll be awhile before we're there."
"I don't think so! Can you call that Arcanine back?" Puzzled, I looked at her with a quizzical expression. "Just do it please." Still confused as to what her intentions were, I recalled Ed and turned to the Kirlia.
"Well? What now?"
"Ok, now picture the daycare." As she grabbed the Riolus hand she stepped towards me and grabbed my pants leg. "Got it?" Unsure of what she was planning I pictured my grandparents home. 2 stories, white painted wooden door, light blue paint decorating it.
"Yea, I got it."
"Good." And with that word, the world seemed to blend together and I felt weightless. Then I saw a bright flash and it all stopped. Nothing was blending together and I felt my feet on solid ground. Looking at my surroundings, I noticed we were at my grandparents. I turned to look at the Kirlia who had let go of my pants leg.
"Did you just-"
"Yes. You said it would be long walk and the two of us are hungry, so I teleported us. We haven't eaten in about two days. Come on." Two days? I felt sorry for the two of them. I started towards the door as they followed. Opening the door I was greeted by the smell of my grandmothers cooking. I also needed to explain why there was a Kirlia and Riolu following me.
"Gramps! I'm back!" From somewhere in the house, mostly the kitchen I heard his reply.
"It's about time! You were gone almost three hours!"
"Well I could've been back earlier if you had remembered to come help me with Johnson!" Was my tired reply. Today I had been, shocked by a Flaffy, walked around for three hours following an Arcanine that may as well be as old as my grandpa and walked slower, and gotten yelled at by a wild Kirlia. I wanted to eat and fall asleep. "I've made some new friends too! Think we have enough for them?" This time it was my grandmother who replied.
"Nathan Ethan Warner! What have I told you about bringing unexpected guests?" As her sentence finished she walked through the door way that led to the kitchen. She had a ladle in hand, and was shaking like an old woman you would expect to see in an old cartoon. Her shaking ceased when she saw the two Pokémon standing on either side of me. "Who are those two?" I could see her hazel eyes through her glasses. Her facial expression was once of slight confusion and curiosity.
"These are my new friends." I joked. "They helped convince the Flaffy we weren't going to hurt her or take her away from her trainer." They said that they haven't eaten in two days and I promised I'd give them some food for helping me. Is that ok?" Her confused, quizzical expression changed a smile.
"That was very nice of you Nathan. Come on, lets get these dears some soup." After a moment of silence I heard my grandma say "Thank you" I assumed the Kirlia had broadcast her thoughts to my grandmother. The Riolu followed her friend, who followed my grandma into the kitchen for the first meal they had had in days. The next few minutes found myself, the Kirlia and Riolu, and my grandparents at the table enjoying my grandmothers vegetable soup. The two Pokémon had each devoured two bowls each. As the Kirlia asked me to thank my grandparents for letting them eat here. After we had cleared the table the two of them made for the door.
"Hey." I called to them. "Where are you going?"
"Back to the woods. Where else?"
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_"_You two don't have anywhere to really go to do you?" Once again, I seemed to have hit the nail on the head. The Kirlia stopped meeting my gaze and turned her head down. "Alright, come with me."
"What? Why?" She looked over to the Riolu, as if expecting an answer.
"You two are staying here from now on." The look of shock on their faces was almost funny.
" But, why? All we wanted was some food!" The voice in my head now was different than before. Before, it was almost serene. Beautiful I would dare say.
"Because you two need somewhere to stay. My room is big enough for both of you. My bed can fit the three of us." The two Pokémon just stood there, dumb founded by my offer. I couldn't in good conscience let both of them go back out with no real "home". "Come on, it's late. Let's get to bed." But still, they just stood there. Stepping towards them I knelt down and snapped my fingers. I wasn't prepared for what happened next. The two of them leapt at me trying to hug me.
"Thank you. Thank you so much." I heard in my mind. The beautiful graceful voice was back.
"Hey, that works." I chuckled at the confused expression the two of them gave me. "Grace. How do you like that?"
"Like it for what?"
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_"_Your name. If you two are going to stay here you need names, don't you?" The Kirlia, now named Grace, slowly nodded as tears filled her eyes.
"Riolu Rio?" I sighed. I really wish I could understand her too. Grace, hearing my thought, translated.
"She said what about her?"
_ _
"Hmm, How about...Karen." She quickly nodded as her small arms tried to hug me tighter. "Come on, let's get some sleep." This time both of them followed me to my room.
Opening my door I flipped the light switch and went to my dresser for a pair of shorts to sleep in. I quickly changed and made a note to shower in the morning. The girls were walking slowly as they entered the room as I put my jeans in my dirty clothes bin. Waiting for the girls to hop into the bed I turned out the light and followed suit. Pulling the sheets up the two Pokémon slept on either side of me, as the three of us closed our eyes, and let sleep overtake us.
-----------------------------------------------------Morning-----------------------------------------------------------------
As I opened my eyes I felt two others presences in my bed, and the events of yesterday filled my mind. Slowly sitting up I stretched my arms and arched my back, popping it involuntarily in the process. Waking the girls I told them I would make some breakfast. Grace let out a small yawn and rubbed her eyes. I turned to wake up Karen and instead of doing any of the things someone would normally do after sleeping in a cozy bed, she looked at me, and of all things started crying.
"Karen, what's wrong?" Is what I would've said if I hadn't been cut off by Karen being enveloped by a bright light. I couldn't believe it. Karen hadn't been here 24 hours, and she was evolving. Once the light had faded, as expected a Lucario had taken the place of the Riolu. But she was still crying. "Karen, are you all right?" I asked, worried I had done something without realizing it. But she surprised me by speaking.
"I have a home." Her voice was almost reminiscent of Graces. Not quite as seren, but beautiful none the less.
Smiling, I got up from the bed.
"Let's get some breakfast." They both eagerly nodded. I could tell, I was going to enjoy having them around.
-------------------------------------------------Present Day--------------------------------------------------------
I was snapped out of my memory when the street lights came on. Joe was nowhere to be seen. I must've been standing there for quite a while. Shrugging, I headed towards my apartment to tell the girls about their surprise.
_Authors Notes: Well, this was a bit of a hassle to get done. But I enjoyed writing it immensely. Please, leave any feedback you can or want. I want my writing to improve as much as it can. And thank you for reading the first chapter of "_Nathans Story"
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