Gooblefly

The Start of a New Adventure (Pokemon)

Thaaat wasn't my best post ever, my brain is kinda kaput tonight. If you want to, take the first battle with Brock go on ahead, otherwise there's a chance for more socially stuff with Brendan having left 'n' stuff, I dunno... Brain is tired.

The Start of a New Adventure (Pokemon)

Matthew nodded.
"Y-yeah, I'm ready." he mumbled, pushing his glasses up his nose and watching the guy walk away. Matthew had just assumed that he was some random asshole, but apparently he knew Rose in some way. And, if he had already beaten the gym leader in this town, then he was a stronger trainer than Matthew was. That meant he was someone to beat. The guy seemed like a sleaze, and the face that someone like him could possibly be a better trainer than Matthew made him angry. The fire inside him was starting to ignite and he was ready to take on Brock now. He began to move towards the gym, but hesitated for a moment, glancing at Rose. He could tell something was up and knew it probably had to do with the asshole that had just walked away. Part of him wanted to ask, but he felt like it wasn't his place, so he shut his mouth and walked in silence towards the gym.

The Pokemon center was pretty close to the gym, which meant the walk wasn't as awkward as it could have been, but it was still so awkward that even Matthew recognized it. He had never been good with people, and part of him regretted asking her to join him. As they walked, he felt obliged to make conversation, but for the life of him couldn't figure out what to say, his one track mind was solely focused on the gym fight. He had no idea what type this Brock fellow used, and he only had one Pokemon to battle with. Hope trotted along side Matthew with Whirlygig sitting comfortably on the top of Matthew's over-sized rucksack. As he walked, he wondered if Hope was really ready to fight a gym leader by herself.

Pfft, of course she was. Hope was much stronger than Matthew was, she had true fighting spirit! A grin spread across his face as he reached the door to the gym.
"Good afternoon my name is Brandon and welcome to the Pewter City... Oh, hello again!" A man approached them as Matthew stepped inside the gym, smiling at Rose. He continued to speak, more so to Rose than to Matthew "I'm assuming you are here to fight the gym leader, Brock. Did you manage to get your Budew to evolve yet?" Matthew understood that the guy had no intention on really talking to him, so he took a moment to bask in his surroundings.

The gym was pretty plain, a battling arena littered with a few large boulders stretched out below them, in the center of a pretty large set of stadium-style bleachers. Matthew's heart was ready to explode with excitement as he ran over to look down onto the battlefield. He could just picture, him and Hope battling through whatever pokemon Brock had to offer, this was going to be a cake walk!
"Hell yeah." He whispered to himself before turning back to face Brandon, whose attention was still firmly set on Rose "Hope and I are ready to take on this Brock guy, bring it on!" He practically shouted. Brandon sighed and rolled his eyes, turning to face Matthew.
"Show some patience kid, I'll go inform Brock that he has a couple of challengers, I should only be a couple of minutes." And with that, he walked away, deeper into the building.

Matthew could barely hold in all of his excitement, even Hope who usually kept herself quite calm and collected was starting to hop from foot to foot, totally unable to keep still. Completely forgetting about his previous bout of shyness, he spun around to face Rose, a look of sheer craziness ablaze in his eyes
"Holy hell, are you as hyped as I am?" He was possibly talking a little louder than he should have, like a young child on Christmas morning "Isn't this just the greatest thing ever? I mean, look at all this!" He turned with a grand flourish to the stadium below "I mean, wow, am I right? We're really trainers, really going to beat a gym leader!"

The Start of a New Adventure (Pokemon)

"Is that everything for you sir?" The bored looking teenager behind the counter drawled as Matthew stuffed the last of his new supplies into his new rucksack. The Poke Mart was cooler than the particularly warm day outside, so Matthew had taken his time wandering around the aisles and picking out everything he was going to need for his adventure. As he picked up things, such as a basic camping set and bountiful Pokemon supplies, he started to wonder why he didn't think to grab this stuff before. He had seen pictures of trainers camping under the stars with their Pokemon and always knew that that was how he wanted to live. Matthew had craved the adventure since he was a child, desperate for something different from the pampered life he had lived before. Part of him knew the reason, but his natural arrogance refused to admit that he was simply scared. It was up to him now, there was no-one else he could rely on. He was a lone wolf, taking on nature with just his wits and his Pokemon.

"Sir? Is that everything you want?" The teenager coughed, pulling Matthew from his daydream.
"Yeah, uh that's Everyth..." Matthew began to mumble when something flickered in the back of his mind "Actually, throw in an extra potion." He shrugged. The cashier rolled his eyes, obviously used to customers changing their mind at the last minute and hating the twenty extra seconds of work that entailed.
"That'll be..." The cashier grumbled. Matthew took a deep breath and plunged into his pockets, handing over the required amount. It was a lot, a little more than most newbie trainers would be able to afford. Matthew had managed to steal a fair amount of money from his parents before he made his great escape, but this little shopping spree had practically devoured what funds he had. From now on, he was actually on his own, with this purchase, he severed the last tie to his parents he could think of.

Whirlygig and Hope were waiting outside the store, not permitted to go inside unless contained in their Pokeballs, and seeing as Whirlygig didn't technically have a Pokeball, Matthew simply decided to leave both Pokemon outside rather than just one.
"Hey guys. I've got everything we're going to need." He grinned as he hefted the rucksack onto his back. It was heavy, the straps dug into his shoulders somewhat, but he gritted his teeth and marched on. You'll get used to it he thought as he walked. Matthew wasn't the tallest for his age, a little shorter than average height, which meant he looked rather ridiculous with a backpack this size balanced on his back, especially given that Whirlygig took the opportunity to land on top and hitch a ride. Everything he had just bought was crammed inside, everything except the potion he owed Rose, which he was carrying in his hoodie pocket. He felt he was ready to go to the Gym and at least meet the Gym Leader, maybe ask a couple of the trainers inside for a battle first, but he had something he needed to do before he could even think about that.

With a whole city to search for Rose, Matthew decided to first check the bench where he had met her, but when she wasn't there, he decided to check the Pokemon Center. As he approached the Pokemon Center, he noticed her instantly and his face lit up. He was more excited to see her again than he had expected to be, maybe it was because he had previously resigned to giving up and never seeing her again. She was still a stranger, but she was a stranger who listened to him when he needed someone to talk to. He started to make his way over when he noticed a red head guy standing with her. Matthew wasn't particularly good at social situations, but even he could see that Rose was looking uncomfortable around him. The guy looked like a real piece of work too, somewhat tough looking and Matthew could see Pokeballs on his waist so he was obviously a Pokemon trainer.

Before Matthew really knew what he was doing, he sauntered over to Rose, doing his best to ignore the other guy there but still ever aware of him looming nearby. Matthew was not normally the sort of person to help others in need, he would normally much rather walk away. But, right now, Matthew desperately wanted to give Rose the potion he had in his pocket, so much so that he was willing to step between Rose and the stranger and smile at her.
"Hey R-Rose" He stammered, aware of the guy glaring at him "I owe you this, right?" He pulled out the potion from his pocket and held it out to her. He waited for her to take it, trying his hardest not to acknowledge the other guy in any way. If he had learned anything from his family it was how to ignore a problem until someone else dealt with it. But, even if he walked away, he couldn't help think about Rose being stuck here with the creep. "A-also, Hope and I were going to go challenge the Gym, you wanna come along?" The words escaped his mouth without him even realizing he was speaking, but once they were said there was no way to take them back."

The Start of a New Adventure (Pokemon)

Sounds like a blast! Never worry about post length, I really don't mind. Post what you feel comfortable posting each day!

The Start of a New Adventure (Pokemon)

The Pokemon center bustled around Matthew as he hopped from foot to foot by a pay phone. He stood motionless with the receiver held to his ear, simply soaking in the monotonous ringing sound, a coin hovering over the slot. He couldn't bring himself to drop it in just yet. He didn't need to to know how things would pan out. His mother would cry, his Father would calmly explain step-by-step how he would bring Matthew home. They would tell him how worried they had been, how they thought it was all their fault (even though that part was true) and tell Matthew that they missed him. Then, when he finally made it back, they would explode and it would all be back to normal. But, that's what Matthew deserved. With one final sigh, Matthew dropped the coin into the slot and punched in his home number. His throat went dry as the dial tone disappeared and was replaced by a phone ringing. He stood, holding his breath in anticipation.

"I'm sorry, the number you rang is currently unavail-" Matthew almost slammed the receiver down, his hand trembling slightly. After standing in silence for a couple of moments, it dawned on him. He hadn't considered for the time difference. At this precise moment, both of his parents would be busy at work, probably regaling their underlings with the tragic story of their dear, beloved son's disappearance. They were probably milking it for every drop of sympathy they could, the thought of which made Matthew laugh. He stood by the phone, his mind slowly churning over what would really happen if he went home, and how his parents would really be feeling right now. It didn't take him long to realize who he really needed to speak to. He took the coin out of the return slot and flicked it back into the machine, dialing a different number.

"Emily?" He spoke, the second he heard the ringing end.
"Matty" He let out an audible sigh of relief when he heard his old friends voice on the other end "What can I do y'for? Having fun?" Her voice was filled with a familiar excitement, she was always happy to hear from Matthew. To be perfectly honest, Emily was always happy about something, a true optimist. When Matthew failed to see the brighter side of things, she was always able to find a spark of joy. Matthew took a seat on the floor of the booth, the handset just stretching far enough for him to do so. Slowly and surely, Matthew told his story to Emily who sat and listened in response, only interrupting to ask the occasional question. He told her about Hope, the Beedrill, the Pidgeot, about Rose and about his plans to return home. When he was finally finished speaking, Emily was quiet for a moment, an almost stunned silence before speaking again.

"Is that it?" Her voice rang with disbelief, not at the story, but at Matthew himself. "Matty, you're a lot of things, but I never thought you were a quitter. I would have never given you Hope if I thought you were going to bail like this."
"Emily..." Matthew began to retaliate, but Emily shushed him instantly
"No excuses. If you're going to run back to your asshole parents after one little shake-up, then we 'aint talking no more." Matthew had never heard his friend adopt this sort of tone before, she was normally so bubbly, it was unlike her to get angry at all let alone anger directed at him. "You're a trainer now. Suck it up and move on idiot. Yeah, watching your Pokemon get hurt sucks, but you planned to battle with her. What did you think was going to happen? You're a newbie, you need to practice. Have you even tried to battle anything yet?"

Slightly dazed, Matthew soaked in his friend's words, the phone limp against his ear. Now he thought about it, he had never even been in a Pokemon battle. The closest he had got to fighting was watching Hope punch a Spinirak.
"Here's the dealio bub, I've got a break from the gym and you're in luck. I'm going to go for a walk, I'll head to Vermillion City. You have a week to make it there, if you don't come, I'll assume you've given up. So be it, but don't call me again if you do. If I meet you there, I'll know you're serious about this trainer thing and we can talk some more. I hope you get there, it's been a while since we've seen each other." And, with that, she hung up on him.

Matthew placed the phone down and stepped out of the booth, fist clenched slightly. No-one, not even his parents, had ever spoken to him like that. As he stepped out of the booth, he noticed Whirlygig waiting for him. He had been perched on top of the booth, waiting for him and as he walked out, the Pokemon began to float by his side. He stared at the grass Pokemon before taking a deep breath and grabbing the Pokeball on his belt, dashing outside of the center, Whirlygig in pursuit as normal. Even though Matthew had resigned to Whirlyig following him around indefinately, he was still technically a wild Pokemon. That meant Matthew could have his first actual Pokemon battle, right here.

He found a clear space near the front of the Pokemon center. There were a couple of people wandering around, but still plenty of room for his Pokemon to fight. He grabbed his Pokeball and without so much as a second thought, pressed the button. with a burst of red light, Hope stood in front of him, blinking in the light. She looked a little tired, Matthew had no doubt that she was still recovering somewhat from the Beedrill 'battle'.
"Hope, this is Whirlygig. He's following me around now." He explained "Whirlygig, this is my Pokemon, Hope. I was wondering if you would mind letting us battle you. I'm a new trainer and I could... I mean, we could use the training." The pink blob of a Pokemon beamed happily as he spoke, before giving a definite nodding motion. Matthew grinned as he looked down at Hope "You ready for this?" He asked. Hope seemed surprised, but after looking between Matthew and Whirlygig, she nodded and readied herself.

Matthew didn't want to actually make the two Pokemon fight, but he wanted to get a feel for battle. He knew it wouldn't be the same as a battle with an actual trainer, but it was something. He ordered Hope to land a few blows on Whirlygig, while Whirlygig floated around gently, occasionally firing off bullet seed attacks back at Hope. It was very basic, but he could feel the pressure of the situation. Whirlygig seemed somewhat accustomed to fighting, undoubtedly having to fend of wild bug Pokemon who fancied eating his leaves in the forest, but simultaneously seemed to be the clumsiest Pokemon Matthew had ever seen. It wasn't long before Hope landed a force palm that knocked Whirlygig out of the air and into the grass, which made Matthew's grin grow even wider.
"That's what I'm talking about Hope!" He whooped as Whirlygig shook off the blow and floated back into the air, accepting defeat "Now, you remember Emily? Your old trainer? We're going to go see her, but first... We're going to battle some actual trainers!" Matthew felt a burst of energy inside of him that utterly drowned out his previous worry. His friend had challenged him and Matthew Dancer never backed down from a challenge! He would make it to Vermillion city and he would show Emily he wasn't a quitter. But, first, he needed to stock up on items. It was a long journey ahead of him.

The Start of a New Adventure (Pokemon)

It's no problem, there's absolutely no rush so take your time!

I was thinking he would just wander back to the Pokemon center and try to find a phone there in an attempt to call home. As for the Pokemon, it depends on what you want. If you want something unsuited to Rose, I'd say a fire or fighting Pokemon... No idea on species though.

Dear Anonymous...

Matthew huffed gently to himself as the for was slid onto his desk. This was, to put it lightly, a total waste of his time. With as little effort as humanly possible, he lifted up his pen and scrawled out a series of half-assed answers before dropping in on the teacher's desk as he sauntered out of the room and towards the lunch hall. If there was one thing Matthew hated, it was being told what to do and this entire project was just a way for his teachers to force him to 'interact more' or whatever. Of course, he still intended to pass the assignment, he just intended to do so with the absolute minimal amount of effort from his end. It was pretty simple, he'd let his partner do all the talking and sit back and relax for the year. He didn't really care about his English grades anyway.

Matthew found a table near the back of the hall that was totally deserted and slumped down in a chair, before taking his wonderfully over-priced headphones and flipping them over his sandy mess of hair. He was working on mixing a song by a couple of songs by Scottish bands that he had recently discovered. They both sang depressing songs about sex and love and other sad stuff, but Matthew didn't really care about the themes. He liked the accent, the way they sounded and just wanted to know how they would sound together. As he listened, he ate from a lunch his Dad had prepared this morning, and dashed notes and ideas down in a notebook he carried around entitled 'We Were Promised Terrified Bunnies', the name of his latest mix ideas. With his headphones turned up to the volume they were, he could totally tune out the rest of the world and sit in his corner, totally isolated and totally okay with it.

The Start of a New Adventure (Pokemon)

This girl is kinda strange... The thought flashed through Matthew's mind as she held the sandwich out before him.
"I really can't accept that." He mumbled quietly, still taking a seat on the bench "I mean, I already took a potion that you paid for, I can't really take your food too." He truly appreciated the gesture, but even though the girl didn't seem to mind that Matthew had used her potion, he couldn't bring himself to take anything else from her. As she told her story of the time in the forest, Matthew's mind was racing as he began to put the pieces together. Medicine, he didn't think to buy any potions of his own, or antidotes or anything else for that matter. That was the most basic thing, any Pokemon trainer would know to do that. And, to make matters worse, he realized that the Kakuna that he had encountered must have been the same one the girl had ran from, meaning that she had narrowly escaped an encounter with the Beedrill herself. It was his pointless curiosity that had brought on his Pokemon's bad luck.

"Hope is fine now. She's resting in here." Matthew sighed, tapping the Pokeball on his belt gently as he slumped on the bench, his eyes unable to meet hers, fixated entirely on his own shoes. "But..." Matthew searched his still spinning mind for the right words. As he did so, he noticed Whirlygig land on a nearby bottle of water that Matthew could only assume belonged to the girl. He could see her Budew bouncing around the grass joyfully, a Pokemon who probably believed in its trainer. "After you ran past us, I really wanted to know... What you were running from," Matthew spoke after a short pause "I mean, I thought it'd be a tough Pokemon or something, I wanted to take it on and catch it, to make myself stronger... But there was this Beedrill, a huge one. It was one of the scariest things I've ever seen. This Beedrill, it went straight for Hope and I..." Another wave of worthlessness washed over Matthew and he felt himself having to force back tears, his voice getting caught in his throat "I froze. I couldn't help her. The Beedrill would have wiped out Hope if this Pidgeotto hadn't swooped in and saved her. That's when I had to use your potion to save her, and I was lucky Whirlygig over there was able to lead me out of the forest in time to get Hope to a Pokemon center."

Matthew let his words hover in the air. Every inch of him wanted to run away, to call Emily and go home and give up on this Trainer dream of his, to go back to his crappy life in Kalos where the only people he could disappoint were his parents and himself. He wasn't used to the responsibility that came with training Pokemon, he had no idea what he was doing here. He had no idea why he was even telling this girl he didn't know what had happened to him and his Pokemon. Finally, he stopped looking at his shoes and glanced up at the Pokemon gym that he was sitting in front of. As he did, he pictured Emily when she was younger, first arriving here with her Pokemon and walking through the doors to fight the leader. He wondered how she had felt when she got here, whether or not she believed in herself as a trainer. From what he knew of Emily, there was no way she would have stumbled through the forest as uselessly as he had.

"Crap, I'm sorry to lay this all on you." Matthew muttered, pulling himself to his feet. He had had about as much as he could take. It was time for him to make his way to the Pokemon center, there were phones there he could use to call his family and then they could probably arrange a flight or ferry ride back to Kalos. This dream was stupid and it was time for Matthew to put an end to his own stupidity and get back to the real world. He wondered, in that moment, how his parents would react. They would probably act all relieved as they picked him up, so glad that their little runaway had made it back, safe and sound, before screaming bloody murder at him when they got home. They would remind him that nothing he ever did ended well, and Hope would probably be given to another, better suited trainer.

"Thanks. Y'know, for the potion, for listening and for the sandwich, even though I never took it, it was nice of you to offer." He sighed "But I don't think I'm cut out for this training stuff after all. Time for me to head home. It was nice to meet you..." All of a sudden, Matthew laughed to himself "Jesus, I'm bad with people, not just Pokemon. I never asked for your name." He extended his hand "My name's Matthew. Matthew Dancer. Not that it really matters anyway, after today, I doubt we'll meet again." For the first time since meeting her, Matthew Dancer did two things. First of all, he looked at her face and secondly, he smiled. The two were not connected in anyway, sure she was pretty and all, but Matthew was smiling for a different reason. This girl, whatever her name was, was one of the nicest people Matthew had met. As Matthew planned out his journey home in his head, he smiled as he realized that for all the bad stuff that had happened on this journey, at least he had the genuine pleasure of meeting her.

The Start of a New Adventure (Pokemon)

Too long is never a problem! I'll read it now and reply to it in the morning.

*cough edit* Technically 1AM is in the morning, so I still replied in the morning 'n' all... I guess I'm just enjoying this a little too much!

The Start of a New Adventure (Pokemon)

Matthew collapsed on the grass outside the Pokemon center, Hope's Pokeball in hand. With the help of the Hoppip, he had managed to sprint out of the forest and into Pewter city and once there he had instantly ran to the Pokemon center to get Hope the help she needed. It was still fresh in his mind, the moment that Hope had been hurt, the brute force of the Beedrill and just how hopeless he had been to help. That wasn't what being a Pokemon trainer was about, he shouldn't have been quiet, he should have been telling Hope what to do, helping her fight the Beedrill. The only conclusion Matthew could come to was that he simply wasn't strong enough, not yet anyway.

"I'll make it up to you." Matthew murmured to the Pokeball in his hand "Just you wait Hope, together we're going to do this, we'll take the world by storm." Even as he spoke, Matthew wasn't sure of what he was saying, he had just been so useless in the forest, so utterly pathetic... Not so long ago he was ready to become the best Pokemon trainer ever, now he wasn't even sure if he could really be called a Pokemon trainer at all... Matthew was torn from his spiraling self deprivation by a shadow blocking the sun from his eyes.
"Huh... What are you still doing here?" He muttered to the Hoppip circling around his head. The Hoppip gave no audible response, but seemed to be quite content with rotating gently in the spot just above Matthew's head. "Listen, thanks for everything you did for us... But your home is in the forest, right?" Again, the Pokemon gave no indication of understanding, it just hovered. Eventually, Matthew just gave up, getting to his feet and walking away. If the Hoppip wanted to float there, it could do as it pleased.

As Matthew walked away from the center, the Hoppip began to follow. Matthew span around to face it
"You're not my Pokemon, why are you following me?" He barked at it. The Hoppip gave no response, instead hovered in the spot just in front of Matthew. Matthew had always had a short fuse, and today was not a good day. The Hoppip was, to him, a reminder of how he failed in the forest. Every time he saw the little pink blob of floatiness, he was reminded how he had needed its help for his Pokemon's survival.
"Please." Matthew sighed "I'm not anyone worth following. Go home, there's nothing here for you." And with that, he started to walk away again. The second Matthew began to move, so did the Hoppip. After a mere two steps, Matthew stamped his foot and shouted at the top of his lungs
"GO. AWAY!" The Hoppip didn't even flinch, it just... Floated. By this point, Matthew was was physically heaving, he was so close to exploding. The Hoppip didn't seem to have a care in the world. He just... Floated there, spinning gently in the spot, enjoying the warmth of the sun. Eventually, Matthew gave up entirely, waving his arms in total exasperation. "Okay. Fine. If that's what you want, follow me. You're not my Pokemon though.. You stupid... Whirlygig!" And with that, he huffed off in a random direction, not really caring where he was going. Whirlygig followed along blissfully.

Matthew's random tantrum led him to a large, impressive looking building with a brown roof that Matthew instantly recognized. It had only been a few hours since he had been standing outside an identical building in Viridian city having a strop in front of an innocent janitor.
"Y'must be that kid." A man was hunched over on a nearby bench, cigarette in mouth "M'cousin said you'd be coming. You got here faster than he thought y'would. Taking on the gym then kid?" So, this was the Janitor's cousin. Matthew suddenly had a flash of the conversation he had this morning. Eight badges to become the champion. That's what he had said. Back then, it had seemed so easy. Now, Matthew didn't know if he would ever be able to get one.
"I-I think I'll give it a miss." Matthew's voice was barely a whisper, his voice weaker than it had ever been.
"Suit yourself." The Janitor mumbled, not really caring. A part of Matthew wished that this was one of those cheesy anime shows he had liked to watch, where the unassuming janitor would motivate him to reach his potential and follow his dreams, and all of a sudden Matthew would become a legendary trainer with abilities like no-one had ever seen before... But instead the Janitor picked up his newspaper and continued to smoke away.

Matthew wondered where he could find a phone. It was time to phone Emily, to tell her that this whole being-a-trainer thing wasn't for him after all, to tell her it was time for him to give up, when something caught his eye. She was holding a different Pokemon, so Matthew didn't recognize her at first, but she was certainly wearing the same clothes as before. The girl, the one from the forest with the Caterpie, she had just emerged from the gym holding a Budew. Matthew was about to shrug it off, to turn and wander away, when Whirlygig floated down in front of him and something struck him from the back of his mind. It was her, running past and dropping her potion that meant that Matthew had managed to get Hope to the Pokemon center. Without so much as a second thought, Matthew took a few confident strides over to where she was standing.
"Excuse me. This may seem a little strange, but I saw you drop a potion when you were travelling through the forest." His voice was stronger than before, like a little of his confidence had been restored, but there was still a hint of sadness in his voice "Anyway, I wanted to return it, but my Pokemon got hurt and... Well, I used your potion. I'm sorry, but I needed to. You dropping that potion it... " He swallowed, suddenly the reality of the situation hit him "If you hadn't, my Pokemon may not have made it out of the forest. I know you didn't mean to drop it, and I shouldn't have used it... But, I really wanted to say... Thank you."