Title – Back to the Beginning
Author – Psychotic Chaos (yes – psycho
me!!)
Disclaimer – I don’t own the characters – I
just like to make them suffer… muauahahahahaha.
Intro - Hey People – it’s me
Psychotic-Chaos again – aren’t you just SICK of me… lol. This is officially my
second pokémon fic – which is pretty sad cuz I’ve got two other stories that
need completing. Anyway – I’ve been reading a lot of pokémon fanfics lately
(and those of you who know me KNOW how that gets my imagination running) and my
muse thought it nice to help me come up with another little idea for a new
pokémon fic.
On a side note, this is me just doing a light brush
over with the whole story. You might want to go back and re-read all of it, cuz
when I say ‘brush up’ sometimes it means changing things drastically. But the
basic journey plot is there.
The Deal – Okay, this is following the
Journey of one Taylor Brooks from Pallet Town. And y’all remember when Prof.
Oak told Ash and Gary that they were the only two Pallet Trainers that made it
to the Indigo league? Well, in my little world, he could’ve been wrong (I still
haven’t decided yet - lol).
All right, I know this has been done to death, but
really and truly I couldn’t resist.
There
comes a time in every Pokémon Trainers life when they must look into the
not-so-distant future. When they reach such an age that they are forced to hang
up their pokébelt and spend the rest of their lives reflecting on the past.
Such is
retirement. When road-weary trainers chalk up their wins, and have their
trophies and badges displayed proudly on mantelpieces and pinned up on walls
for the world to see. Compelling the next generation of trainer-hopefuls to go
out and achieve such honors for themselves.
In most
cases, these accomplished trainers have only a few of their pokémon left. Their
trusted companions, who’ve fought long and hard for their Trainer’s honor, have
also become weary of longer journeys. Preferring now to help their masters in
teaching those that are younger in the ways of Pokémon.
Such is
the story of a once great pokémon trainer, now in her late Seventies, running a
pokémon breeding center and hatchery. After a hard day of tending to numerous
eggs and their parents, she reclines in a well-worn armchair, with a baby Charmander
curled in her lap, and in contrast to that, a wizened old Tyranitar (who’s
grown dull in color and sluggish with age) crouches next to the chair, growling
low in his throat as he sleeps.
“Aunty,
Aunty!”
A high,
girlish voice calls, waking Tyranitar from his blissful slumber. The old
pokémon, however, does not appear to be vexed at being woken. Instead he shares
an amused look with his trainer, gives a large-pokémon’s equivalent to a
chuckle, and closes his eyes once more. Only hearing the sound of thundering
little feet as the small form of five-year-old Kristy enters the room, dressed
in pink, Igglybuff patterned PJ’s, clutching a toy Mew in her arms, her blond
pigtails flailing out behind her as she stampedes into the room.
The
elderly woman instantly smiles down at her Great Niece, the youngest of her
brother’s grandchildren.
“Why, my
little Skitten, you are supposed to be in bed,” the woman scolds teasingly.
Kristy
looks up at her favorite Aunt with wide blue eyes. “I had a bad dream” she squeaks
frightfully, “And there are wild pokémon under the bed.”
The woman
smiles gently, moving the baby Charmander onto the armrest as she pulls Kristy
into her now vacated lap. The little girl let herself be pulled up, one of her
tiny hands clutching the tail of her Mew Plushie.
“I
wouldn’t be too worried about those Wild Pokémon, Skitten,” ‘Aunty’ smiles,
using the child’s nickname affectionately. The name originally was what she
usually called Skitty’s that had just hatched, “after all you’ve got Mew here
to protect you.”
To
emphasize her point, the elderly woman tugs on one of the Plushie’s ears. Her
eyes crinkling in amusement – an action that makes the crow’s feet around them
look deeper than they actually are.
“But Mew
can’t fight them all by herself” Kristy says insistently, hugging the doll
tighter to her chest.
Her Great
Aunt looks thoughtful, “No I suppose not – should we send Titan here to help
Mew fight?”
At the
mention of his nickname the slumbering Tyranitar cracks open one of his eyes,
sending a mocking glare in his Trainers direction.
“What’s
wrong, Ty?” she teases, “Too old now?”
Never one
to fall for such petty provocations, Titan snorts and closes his eyes once
more, ignoring his ‘master’ pointedly. The elderly woman chuckles at her old
friend’s enthusiasm – or lack there of – as she pets his spiky head
affectionately. Luckily, though, Kristy did not wish for Tyranitar to get up
from his sleep.
“No, I
don’t think he needs to, Aunty,” she shakes her head, letting her pigtails fly,
“the wild pokémon will go ‘way if I stay here. Can you tell me a story while we
wait?”
Big blue
eyes practically begged her. Her Aunt sighed, knowing she was powerless
against such an attack, and nodded in resignation.
“What
story would you like to hear, my little Skitten?” she asked, leaning further
back into her armchair, wincing inwardly, as she was almost able to hear
her bones creak.
The bright
grin on her niece’s face was a clear indication of victory, “Tell me the story
of the girl from Pallet Town.”
“Oh, a
pokémon quest, is it?” came the throaty chuckle, “Very well then, the tale of
Taylor Brooks…”
Chapter
1 – And so
it Begins…
--Dear Journal,
This is it – I’m finally starting my pokémon journey
tomorrow. --
Eleven-year-old, Taylor Brooks paused, her pen hovering
over the page, contemplating what to write next.
--I know I’ve never been the outwardly emotional type –
but hey, I’m psyched! I only hope that the extra year I spent as a Temp at
Professor Oak’s lab will pay off in due time.
Of course, working with the Professor is not the
dream job of most. I might’ve started when I was ten, but the opportunity to
work under one of the world’s greatest pokémon experts was just too good an
opportunity to pass up.
And it also did wonders for my knowledge on Pokémon
care and nutrition, as most of my duties (along with the other trainee’s)
consisted of assisting Professor Oak in caring for the pokémon sent to him by
traveling trainers.
I found out who my rivals are when I start training
this year. Zack of course will be starting too – it was part of our pact since
we were little. He was also the only other wannabe-pokémon trainer out of
Professor Oak’s small band of volunteers. The others want to be breeders,
researchers, scientists, and there even this one guy who wants to be a pokémon
Psychologist.
The other starting trainers are ten-year-olds Ash
Ketchum and Professor Oaks own grandson, Gary. It’s funny, but I’ll be the only
girl-trainer representing Pallet this year. Go team me!
There’s a halfway decent group this year, in my
opinion, … Zack has been my best bud since Kindergarten. I don’t know Ash very
well, only in passing, and he comes to mom’s shop a lot to look at the pokémon
merchandise. He seems the enthusiastic sort, I suppose. Though with Gary Oak, that
puts an end to the ‘decent’ in our group. I never really liked him much, though
I got to know him more while working at Professor Oak’s lab. He was seemingly
such a nice boy when he was little, but got worse when aged. I pity the poor
pokémon that gets him for a trainer. But one day he’ll get his – I hope.
There are four of us in all, which brings me to
another conundrum; if there are only three starter pokémon who’s going to be
left out? Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle are the starters. One Grass, one
Fire and one Water. And believe it or not, I still haven’t decided on one of them.
Heck I haven’t even met the three in particular yet,
as Professor Oak takes it upon himself to catch and look after the starters
until they get chosen. I’ve only seen the Bulbasaurs, Charmanders and Squirtles
belonging to other trainers – all of them unique from each other, and seemingly
very powerful in their own ways.
Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle? How on Earth can I
pick just one? --
Closing the black, leather-bound journal, Taylor smiled
softly to herself. Capping the fountain pen and tucking into her pocket,
silently reminding herself to take it out when she got home, less it leaked and
stained her pants.
She sat in silence for a few minutes more, breathing
deeply as the salty sea wind blew into her face, as she gazed over the amazing
blue hue of the ocean. Watching, from her spot atop the cliff, the multicolored
sunset, and the flock of Pidgey that just seemed to pass through the fluffy
white clouds above.
Letting the ocean breeze shamelessly mess her chestnut
brown hair, her powdered-blue eyes unconsciously staring at a ferry in the
distance - bound for Cinnabar Island no doubt.
As Taylor felt the last few rays of the sun leave her
lightly tanned skin, she sighed contentedly, tomorrow she’d have her first
pokémon, she’d be starting her pokémon journey and she’d be… an urgent beeping
suddenly emitted from her wristwatch, snapping Taylor out of her blissful
reverie.
With a hasty glance down at her watch, she gasped and
leapt to her feet.
“Oh my god, I’m late!”
From the outside, the Brooks family home seemed peaceful.
A rather aged Victorian-style house, complete with the oh-so-clichéd white
picket fence, a red doghouse for the family Growlithe and a spacious, flower filled
yard.
Peaceful, almost tranquil – but Taylor knew better. She
entered the house with nervous anticipation and bit her lip as she shut the
door behind her and kicked off her roller blades.
Taking a deep breath, she plunged forth into the unknown,
as she entered the living room. It was mayhem! The twins chased each other
around the house with their pokémon plushies; the baby of the family had
crawled under the tea table after the families pet Growlithe, attempting to
pull her tail. The third eldest of the children, and the one in charge, was
trying to retain some control over his younger siblings, whilst the
middle-child remained oblivious to all the chaos, stuck in front of the TV with
a game consol that seemed permanently attached to his hands.
“Tay!” TK cried in relief, now holding a struggling baby
in his arms, “You gotta help me! I can’t control them!” Taylor’s younger
brother pleaded, picking up a few random toys and nudging Rika (Growlithe) with
his slipper clad foot.
In a movement that had been perfected ever since she was
six years old, Taylor stuck two fingers in her mouth and gave a sharp whistle.
Time seemed to stop, and all eyes in the room that were not looking suddenly
snapped towards her.
“Everyone, upstairs, bath, change and if you have time,
clean your rooms” Taylor ordered, “Mom and Dad will be home any minute, and if
they find the house like this we’ll all be in for it. Hup-too!”
One by one they marched up the stairs, leaving only TK,
Taylor and the Baby in the living room.
“And that wash goes double for you, Kurt!” Taylor yelled
to her six-year-old brother’s retreating back.
Taylor took the baby from her brother’s arms and put her
safely in the cot that was set up in the living room as her playpen, so she
could stay there whilst her older siblings cleaned up.
TK – real name, Terrence Kyle Brooks – sunk on the couch
and sighed. Running frustrated fingers through spiky blond hair. His blue eyes
(the same color as Taylor’s and the rest of the Brooks children) closed in
exhaustion.
“Rough day?” Taylor snorted, like she didn’t care one way
or the other.
“If this was a trial run of what it’s gonna be like
without you to keep us in line, I’m begging you to take me with you” TK
told her frankly, without even opening his eyes.
“Not a chance, Teek – here, help me with this would’ja?”
Taylor rolled her eyes, at him and started picking up the toys that were strewn
all over the floor and furniture.
TK hoisted himself off the couch and started to assist his
sister.
“So, you’re just gonna leave me here with these
monsters?” TK demanded, jerking his head towards the staircase where the others
had gone up.
“Call it sweet revenge for nine years of torture” Taylor
grinned impishly, making her brother pick up the nearest pillow and throw it at
her.
“You’re evil,” he told her frankly.
“Shut up and help me clean this mess before the ‘rents get
home.”
The Brooks family had seven kids in all. Taylor’s
fifteen-year-old brother, Adrian, was already a pokémon trainer and currently
traveling the Orange Archipelago, last she’d heard. He was the eldest. Then
Taylor came next, then TK who was nine, then Kurt (six), the twins Ashley and
Andrew (four) and the baby of the family, Cassie, was a year and a half.
Taylor felt sorry for TK. He was the sibling she’d grown
the closest to over the years and now she’d be leaving him to deal with her
younger siblings all by his lonesome. A task he was not looking forward to,
usually being the one to help make the noise rather than stop it.
In a way, Taylor thought it might be good for him, if
would give him more of a sense of responsibility before he started pokémon
training, as he had planned to when he turned ten.
Taylor and TK had managed to get the living room into some
kind of order, just as Mr. and Mrs. Brooks walked through the front door.
Taylor’s father worked as a teacher on Pokémon Species at the local school. And
the Brooks family owned a pokémon novelty shop called ‘The PokéCorner’, selling
everything from trainer supplies to stuffed toys; Taylor’s mother ran the shop.
“Hmm… it looks clean in here” Mrs. Brooks noted, raising
an eyebrow, “It must have been pretty messy.”
Taylor and TK exchanged sheepish looks – you could never
get anything past her mother. Eyes of a Pidgeot that one – Taylor swore she
noticed everything.
“But it’s clean and I suppose that’s all that matters”
Mrs. Brooks smiled finally.
“How’s my little pokémon trainer?” Mr. Brooks exclaimed
loudly, sweeping his eldest daughter into a big bear hug.
“Dad!” she coughed through a fit of giggles, “Breathing’s
an issue here!”
Mr. Brooks chuckled warmly and let his daughter down with
a proud smile, “Eleven already,” he mused, though it had been several weeks
since her birthday, “I suppose we should consider ourselves lucky that you
wanted to stay an extra year.”
Taylor’s mother suddenly got teary, “Here, darling, I
brought you a little something from the shop. Now you’d better go to your room
and pack. You want to be all ready for tomorrow don’t you?”
“And our families new pokémon trainer, of course deserves
a Master-sized feast - I’ll start dinner,” Mr. Brooks announced, removing his
coat and hefting the groceries into the kitchen.
Taylor nodded with a broad grin, accepting the box from
her mother and climbing the stairs with TK only a few steps behind her.
“’Oh, our little girls all grown up’ ” TK sniffed
mockingly, taking pleasure at laughing in her face.
Taylor stuck her tongue out at him immaturely, “Shut it
you. You think they’re gonna be any better when you leave?”
TK smirked, “Well, they’ll be so used to losing kids by
then, I doubt they’ll get teary on my departure.”
“Or, they may suddenly realize all their children are
leaving home one by one, and get even more clingy” Taylor told him, sending the
smirk right back in her brothers direction.
The smile suddenly vanished as realization dawned. TK
suddenly threw himself at his sister’s feet.
“Please take me with you!” he begged dramatically, barely
able to suppress a grin as he gripped her ankles, “Don’t leave me here with
them!”
Taylor grinned at his little show and pried his fingers open with some
difficulty as one arm was still around the box her mother had given her.
Leaving her brother, who’d just laughed heartily and
walked back down the stairs to help set the table, Taylor continued her climb
to the attic of the house. A place also known as her bedroom.
Of course the room was a little small, but Taylor liked it
there, as it was pretty much the only place in the house where she could be
alone with her thoughts, and it was quiet. A rare thing for a house with seven
children – or six children now that Adrian had left.
Though, it was strange to think that she’d miss all the
noise when she was on the open road. Travel was great of course, but there’s no
place like home.
With that thought, Taylor looked down at the box in her
hands. She was fairly sure she knew what it was; her parents had given Adrian
the exact same thing when he left home on his tenth birthday.
Opening the box, her suspicions were confirmed. Inside was
a dark gray travel knapsack, the kind that was made especially for pokémon
trainers, what with its durability, comfort and many compartments.
Also in the box was a brand new pokébelt; black to stand
out against her clothes. It was a good thing her parents knew she favored dark
colors.
Taylor smiled in spite of herself at the thought that
she’d be leaving home. With one look to the picture of her family on her
bedside table, Taylor shook her head and started packing.
You know how there are just some days when your alarm
clock rings and you feel like just reaching over, smashing it to pieces and
going back into blissful sleep? This wasn’t one of those days. Taylor had been
up hours before her alarm clock had actually gone off.
By then she had already showered and dressed in what she
picked as her training clothes. This little ensemble consisted of a gray,
long-sleeved shirt with a black T-shirt over it, a pair of blue, army-patterned
pants, and a pair of white socks. Taylor had done nothing special with her hair
except brush it back and keep it in place with a blue bandana over her chestnut
locks.
She tucked a pair of black Combat Boots into her bag for
when she was walking. She planned to roller blade to the Lab and perhaps a bit
of the way towards Viridian – at least, as long as the road remained smooth. She’d
already packed most of the things she’d take from home, mostly a few sets of
clean clothes, a sweater, her sleeping bag and other bits and pieces of
traveling gear.
Her new Potion and Antidote kit was fully stocked –
another gift from her mother, as the woman always believed in preparation. Any
other items she might need in her training, Taylor made a mental note that
she’d have to make a stop in the next town. Preferring of course to actually
support herself on her pokémon journey, instead of mooching off her parents, as
some trainers in the same situation might.
With one last glance around her room, Taylor clipped her
discman onto her new pokébelt, letting the headphones hang around her neck as
she headed downstairs.
When in the kitchen, she scribbled a note and pinned it on
the fridge before stuffing a bottle of water in her bag. Taylor raided the
cupboard for a pack of Oreos and a box of Pop Tarts, filled her bag with some
ready-made sandwiches and fruit and grabbed an energy bar for breakfast, before
strapping on the black roller-blades and literally speeding out the door.
Taylor glanced at her wristwatch as she bladed down the
familiar path to Professor Oak’s Lab. It was seven-thirty – all right, so she
was quite early, but she knew what people said about the early Pidgeotto
getting the Weedle.
The lab suddenly came in to view. Taylor increased her
speed, if that was even possible. Approaching the oddly shaped house and
skidding to a stop (an action which sent dust flying), Taylor rang the
doorbell. A few seconds later the door clicked open, revealing the lab-coat
clad Professor Oak with what looked like a bowl of water in one hand.
“Good morning, Taylor” he smiled warmly, moving aside to
let her in “You’re the first one here – and a little early if I’m not mistaken.
Come in. Come in.”
Taylor smiled back. Taking off her blades upon entering
the lab, and looking around the familiar surroundings where she’d spent many a
day over the course of the year simply watching the professor and helping him
take notes for his research.
A Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle sat on the recently
polished floor, and were all gathered around a large bowl of pokémon food,
happily eating what would be their last meal as trainer-less pokémon.
“I just thought to give them breakfast, they’ll need the
energy” Professor Oak explained from his position beside her, bending to place
the water bowl on the floor. Squirtle stuck his face (her face?) in it happily.
Taylor smiled down at the creatures, “No doubt they will.”
The professor straightened with a groan and brushed off
his lab coat, “Have you decided which one to take?”
Taylor shook her head with a sheepish look, “I never
thought that choosing a starter pokémon would be so hard. Now I understand why
Adrian was so jittery a few days before he started training. At the time I just
thought he needed to switch to decaf or something.”
The Professor chuckled appreciatively, “Take a closer look
if you like,” Professor Oak gestured to the pokémon before them, “take your
time, I have to prepare a few things before the others arrived.”
“Need help, Professor?” she asked, a question that was
automatic since she started as one of his temps.
“Relax, Taylor, you don’t work here anymore remember,”
Professor Oak smiled, “stay, observe the pokémon and start thinking about your
pokémon journey, all right?”
Taylor nodded obediently as the Professor left the room.
She then shrugged her pack off her shoulders and sat herself down on the cold
floor, just watching the pokémon intently. She still had no idea which one to
choose, and she found herself asking the question out loud to no one in
particular.
Squirtle stopped eating long enough to smile at her.
Bulbasaur looked like it didn’t care one way or another. The Charmander
snorted, as if to say ‘Don’t even think about it, human’.
The look on the little fire-lizards face made Taylor grin
as she reached out to pet the Charmander. The pokémon snapped at her with its
sharp little teeth, but she was too quick snatching her hand out of its reach
and tapping him lightly on the nose. Charmander blinked and rubbed its snout
with its tiny claws, all the while glaring at her.
“You’ll have to be quicker than that” Taylor told him,
“I’ve got little brothers and sisters.”
Charmander removed its claws from its face and snorted
again, making small flames come out of his nose. The expression on its face
plainly saying, ‘Siblings are all very well – but they’re not ME!’
Taylor couldn’t resist snickering a bit. This Charmander
had attitude. But there was something different about it. It was smaller than
your average Charmander, a lot smaller actually. And now that she was closer,
Taylor could see that it’s eyes were a compelling shade of blue.
“Ah, I see you’ve met Charmander” Professor Oak said,
coming back into the room “That was the one I caught last month. He was the
runt of the pack actually, though with quite a big attitude problem. I thought
I might have trouble finding a trainer for this one.”
‘Not if I can help it’, Taylor thought to herself.
Taylor frowned, putting all the pieces together in her
head. Technically speaking, Bulbasaur’s were said to be the best beginning
pokémon – strong, easy to handle and apparently quite hard to capture in the
wild due to their attitude. But to Taylor that seemed too easy – she wanted a
challenge.
Now Squirtle, being a water pokémon, was naturally slow on
land. But a water pokémon trained for land-speed was a real winner. And being
so cute people didn’t expect much from it, until Squirtle used powerful water
attacks and blasted it’s opponent sky-high. Yeah, Squirtle had definite
potential.
But Taylor fixed her gaze on the small Charmander. It was
also very cute, and being small people would always underestimate it. Taylor
liked that in a pokémon – small with spunk. And this Charmander had serious
attitude. It would be tough to train it, and it may not even like her at first
– but she could work with that. And Taylor never, ever, backed down from a
challenge.
Taylor was about to make her decision when there was a
knock on the door.
“Looks like the others are here” Professor Oak said,
recalling all the starter-pokémon into their designated pokéballs and placing
them on the circular table.
Professor Oak went to answer the door, a few minutes later
Zachary Addams walked into the room, with a cheerful grin plastered on his
face. Taylor smiled back at her best friend, glad that he was here.
Zack was a little taller than Taylor with messy jet-black
hair and strangely pale skin. He had black, almond-shaped, eyes and was wearing
a pair of black cargo pants and a dark-green, hooded sweater.
“Taylor, you’re early,” Zack teased, shifting the black
trainers-knapsack on his shoulders. Taylor also noted the dark brown pokébelt
that just peeked out from under his sweater “Couldn’t sleep, huh?”
“Hardly a wink,” Taylor shrugged, grinning back at him.
“Hey, Gramps, I’m here,” a new voice announced.
The voice belonged to none other than Gary Oak.
“Good morning, Gary,” Taylor said, trying hard not to
sound sarcastic, but barely succeeding.
“You’re darn right it’s a good morning,” Gary smiled,
running a hand casually through his brown spiky hair “Now, bring out the
pokémon!”
“Shouldn’t we wait for Ash?” Zack asked, looking around,
as if trying to spot the missing trainer-to-be.
“Aw… we’ll be here forever if we wait for that loser,”
Gary said snidely, “He’s probably sleeping in – sounds just like the dweeb.”
“Now, Gary…” Professor Oak scolded, then he sighed, “Oh,
we should get on with this now.”
“I want Squirtle,” Gary said instantly.
Taylor and Zack shared annoyed expressions – Gary could be
such a jerk sometimes. Neither protested though, after all he was Professor
Oaks grandson, and picking their starters was what they were here to do.
Besides, Taylor had decided that she hadn’t wanted Squirtle as her first pokémon.
“Your turn, Zack” Professor Oak said, turning to the
person in question.
When Zack said nothing, Taylor nudged him. Zack looked at
the pokéballs hesitantly, his eyes darting back and forth between Charmander’s
pokéball and Bulbasaur’s.
“You pick first, Tay,” he told her, “I couldn’t decide
last night.”
Taylor nodded, “Then I’ll take Charmander.”
Professor Oak blinked at her, clearly surprised, “Are you
sure?”
“Very.” Taylor affirmed, picking up Charmander’s pokéball,
which had a little flame near the button.
The pokéball felt cool in her hands, and though it was not
the first time she’d held a real one, it meant much more knowing that the
pokémon inside was now hers/
Zack gave a relieved sigh, “That leaves me with
Bulbasaur.”
He picked up the pokéball with a small water drop printed
above the button. Zack’s shoulders sagged, the tension seeming to leave him as
he let out a breath.
“Glad it’s over?” Taylor teased.
“I’ve been tossing and turning for eight nights straight –
I think I might actually be able to get some sleep tonight.”
Taylor laughed, shaking her head. She knew she’d miss Zack
when they both went their separate ways.
“Well – now that you each have your pokémon I want you to
have these,” Professor Oak announced, handing them five pokéballs each and a
small electronic device, “Each of those little machines you hold now are what I
like to call a Pokédex.”
Taylor glanced at hers; it was black. Zack’s was blue and
Gary’s was dark red.
“I invented it – it’s a handheld pokémon encyclopedia, and
the upgraded version is voice operated.”
“Voice response? Cool!” Gary grinned.
“Using them is fairly simple – speak a name or point it
directly at a pokémon to obtain information on said pokémon. If you have
questions about the pokémon you’re training, ask it. It also has your ID. When
you return here from your journey, I’ll run a quick scan and check out the
pokémon you’ve seen.”
Taylor nodded. After a few more explanations from
Professor Oak, Zack and Taylor exited the building with a certain sense of
pride. They’d just taken the first step on their paths to the Pokémon League.
Taylor strapped on her roller-blades and kept a slow pace from Professor Oak’s
door to the main road beside Zack who wheeled his bike. Gary had remained
behind to talk about something with his grandfather.
“How d’you use this thing?” Taylor demanded, flipping open
her Pokédex, letting her fingers slide over the cool black metal of the device.
Taylor almost jumped when a mechanical voice sounded.
“I am Gizmo – an electronic encyclopedia designed by
Professor Oak for Pokémon Trainer Taylor Brooks from Pallet Town.” A picture of
Taylor appeared on the screen. After that it had all sorts of stats, her
height, weight, address and first pokémon, which of course was Charmander.
Taylor gave an amused snort, “Hey, my Pokédex is named
Gizmo – how ‘bout that?”
Zack rolled his eyes and hopped on his bike, “You sure you
don’t want to grab your bike too. We could travel together.”
Taylor smiled and shook her head “We’ve been inseparable
since kindergarten, Zack. Don’t you think now’s as good a time as any to see if
we can live without each other for a few months? Besides – we promised to go on
our own and then challenge each other in the Indigo League. If we already know
each others strategies inside and out, where’s the fun in that?”
Zack grinned at her logic, nodding his understanding and
smiling as he clipped on his helmet and made sure his pokéballs were secure,
“I’ll see you at the Indigo League then. Just don’t change to much – I don’t
want to come back home and have no idea who you are anymore.”
Taylor smirked, “That goes double for you, Zachary
Addams.”
“Be seeing ya, Tay, get ready to battle the next time we
meet” Zack called over his shoulder, as he sped down the path.
“Lookin’ forward to it.” Taylor yelled, watching him
disappear in the distance, with a small sigh she looked from the Pokédex in her
hand to the pokéballs on her belt, the one with Charmander in it in particular,
“Well my friend, looks like we’ve just begun…”
Well then, that’s the end of this
rewritten Chapter. Please review.