The Path of the Guardian A “General” category By Mr. Highwind Since it’s Spring Break and I have a limited time here, I’m going to write as many as I can this week. Last time, Sparks and his friends were just hired by Lawrence. This is the next day... --------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4: Boat Voyage Sparks woke up from yet another strange dream, basically the same one he’s been having. He turned to his friends’ beds to see that they already were up. So he quickly got ready for the day and hurried to join them. He found them in a lounge eating breakfast; Lawrence was also there. “Ah, about time you come to. Please, sit, for I’m going to explain a few things,” he said. Sparks sat down, taking a plate with sausage and bacon on it. Lawrence then cleared his throat and displayed a map that was hung off a wall. “Ok then. Like Josh was hoping for, pokemon are hidden on some secret islands. Now the real question is why? I’ll tell you: the UN-yes, all the other countries know what they are-fears that if America found pokemon, they’d use them for their own benefits. The most feared one is game, as in hunting them. Well actually, the UN is supporting this, but hiding the pokemon goes all the way back to when America was slowly growing.” “When the Spaniards saw the colonists hunting animals and consuming them very fast, they worried about those animals being endangered, in which they were. When they found pokemon, they knew what would happen if the American colonists found them. So they shipped them to an island that would never be shared with America, which is why you don’t see them on your maps. But in the Middle Eastern countries, they’re locatable.” “We can trust you not to hunt them, right?” asked Lawrence. Sparks replied, “Yeah, why would we want to hunt an ally down?” Lawrence then answered him, “Oh, it’s just that we found a deer rifle in the back of your van and-.” “Lorenzo! I thought I told you to bring only the essentials!” said Sparks. “Oops, I forgot that was there,” said Lorenzo. “Moving on,” said Lawrence. “We’ll all be taking off for the islands by a cruise ship after breakfast. You will be accompanied by a third of the crowd you saw yesterday. Oh, here are your first-class tickets and starting cash. See you soon.” ----------------------------- The crowd was huge, even if it was only a third. Thankfully, Sparks and his friends managed to find a spot on the boat away from it all, and stared out into the ocean. Lawrence came by to see how his special trainers were doing. “Are you all ok?” he asked. Josh answered, “You don’t have a barf bag?” “Sorry, you’ll have to go overboard.” At that idea, Josh grabbed a rope, swung all the way down to the surface of the water and vomited, then slowly climbed back up. Lorenzo replied, “What are the ages of those other trainers? They seem a bit immature.” Lawrence answered, “They’re mostly 13 to 17, but most of them are older than you guys.” Lorenzo was disgusted. “Well this is going to be a fun boat trip. Sparks was the only one to ask, “Are we the first Americans, or did one colonist in the past get lucky finding the islands?” Lawrence wasn’t surprised, but he started liking Sparks more and more for his keen mind. “Actually, there was one colonist in 1753 who found the islands.” Josh, reaching the top of the boat, and Lorenzo got interested in this. “He was roughly around 16, and a very adventurous teen. Didn’t really like East America that much. He traveled across the nation to the West, then took a boat and crew with him to south of Japan, where the islands were. He lost his crew in a storm, so everyone in his family presumed him dead. When waking up on the shore, he found a pikachu, and was shocked...literally. Being a kind soul, he befriended the pikachu and went exploring all over the islands, befriending more pokemon thus starting pokemon training. He was the best of the best, a legend. Johnson Highwind.” “They say he found a way to live for two centuries longer. But of course, it’s only legend,” finished Lawrence. “Yet, you have broken many legends, so he might be real,” replied Sparks. Lawrence grinned at that idea. “So I have. Well, I’ll leave you three to yourselves.” Lawrence then walked off thinking... “Yes, I’ve broken many legends, which means legendary pokemon can be broken too. Heheheh.” ----------------------------- “C’mon guys, it’s getting late. Let’s head back to our rooms,” said Sparks. The entire crew had a huge party for making it be trainers. It was midnight, and everyone was tired, so yawns could be heard from everyone but the night crew. Sparks opened the door to his cabin and entered. There was a bedroom, a computer, a window, and a closet. The only difference it made from the other classes is that it had more space, was carpeted with a blue rug, and the window was not a porthole. Sparks eyed the computer and decided to do some research on Johnson Highwind. He was easy to find, since he was a legend of the Hoenn Island. Looking for Johnson made Sparks learn what the different islands were: Kanto, Jhoto, Hoenn, and Orre. When he got to an article of Johnson, he found an old photo of him. Johnson was said to be 32 in this photo, yet he looked like 16. He was wearing overalls, a long sleeve shirt, and a blue British cap. Under the photo was the cap again, except it was said to be found in the ocean, proof that Johnson existed. It looked a bit like Sparks’ gramps’ cap. The article also mentioned that he stayed near a water capital called Altomare, home of the legendary water guardians. With these thoughts in mind, Sparks turned off the monitor and went to get some sleep. Meanwhile, outside the boat, another one, smaller, with a big red R painted on the side quietly snuck up to the cruise liner. Off of it jumped a woman with long red hair, a man with blue bangs, and a cat-like pokemon, all dressed in white. “James, this is the most perfect plan we’ve ever come up with,” said the woman. “Tha boss’ll be vewry happy wit us fo’ once,” said the pokemon, clearly having trouble talking English. “Meowth, keep quiet, let’s go Jessie,” said James. The three snuck around the boat snickering to themselves. “Hehehe! With all the new trainers sleeping in, they’re new pokemon are too weak to fight, seeing as though they’re newbies,” said Jessie. “We sneak in, find all the pokemon-,” said James. “AND BAG EM’ AUL UP!” finished Meowth. “Hahahahahaaa!” “Huh?” Sparks was halfway through his weird dream when he heard a voice from outside. “Lorenzo, Josh, is that you?”...no answer. “Hmm...” Sparks got out of his bed, put his shoes on, grabbed his Indian dagger, and climbed out on the dock. He saw three shadows near a lifeboat, so he quietly went to see what it was. He overheard one of the three figures. “We sneak in, find all the pokemon-.” “AND BAG EM’ AUL UP!” “Hahahahahaa!” Whoever was the last speaker made Sparks cover his ears, because he had a bad voice. “Keep quiet, Meowth!” said a woman’s voice. “Meowth? Isn’t that a pokemon?” asked Sparks out loud. “Eeeek!” said James. Jessie turned toward Sparks. “Who goes there!?” she asked. Sparks got up and replied, “someone that’s gonna knock some for stealing pokemon, if you can even find any.” The Meowth jumped out and laughed. “Haw! You’s just a newbie twrainer. Yas can’t even fight!” “Wait! What do you mean “if you can find any”?” asked Jessie. “Well, first off: we’re heading toward the islands going to get our pokemon, so you came too early to steal anything. As for the Meowth here, I don’t need pokemon to fight.” Sparks pulled out his dagger and slashed at Meowth’s cheek. “YEOWTCH! He hoits me Jessie! Pull out your pokemon!!” “Cool down, Meowth! This boat is empty. Let’s wait until the fishes are ready to fry. Let’s go!” said Jessie. “On the double!” said James. Meowth just hopped on the boat fuming at Sparks. Sparks grinned and yelled, “The name’s Sparks, and you’re welcome to try to steal if you can!” “You can bet on it, twerp!” The three hit the throttle and sped off, giving Sparks their tongues. Since they weren’t looking where they were going, they crashed into some shoals. Sparks laughed and went back to get sleep. Weeks went by, and Kanto was coming into view. Lawrence told them that after they get off the boat, they’re on their own with their pokemon. The person that would keep track of all that are professors in one of the towns of each island. Kanto hosted Professor Oak. Sparks looked down to see a Staryu jump out of the water, then fall back in. He then looked back up to the island with many thoughts. “Time to meet my first pokemon...” ------------------------------------------------------------ End of Chapter 3 The journey officially begins Review me: spat1@sbcglobal.net