Don’t Take Others at Face Value
By rchcc122
Part 1 of 10

Ned sighed in exasperation, looking at the door to a pokemon lab. More correctly, it was THE pokemon lab in which he and Christie would start on their ‘pokemon journey,’ “and the boss will just LET us?”

“Why not? We DO have six months off thanks to that last heist. That one was enough to get us on the boss’ good side for life!”

Ned looked up at the door again, “And how did you convince me to do this all in the first place?”

”Well…” Christie put her thumb to her chin as she reflected back on only a day earlier….

Ned yawned as he stretched his arms out wide across the bed located in Christie’s room at Headquarters, “Hey Christie? I have an idea….”

”\/\/|-||_|7?” (Translation: What?) Christie said, not even looking up from her computer as she moved the mouse on the screen with one hand while typing rapidly with the other. Ned sighed; few people could understand her when she was like this. As Ned called it, she was in her ‘leet’ mode. She would spew off entire sentences in leet, leaving Ned as the only one who could translate due to the sheer fact that he was used to it.

”I was thinking-“

”|-|0ld 0|\|…” (Hold on…)

Ned looked at the computer screen as Noir finished him off, Sim-Ned landed on his rear and bounced a little while the surrounding sims cheered, “What started the fight?”

”He cheated on you,” Christie replied as she moved her mouse to the ‘quit game’ button before clicking it. The familiar message of ‘Do you want to save before you quit?’ popped up as the girl moved the mouse to the ‘yes’ button, clicking once again.

“He was getting close to my girl?” Ned raised his eyebrow as Christie shook her head, taking a sip of the Sprite sitting on her desk as she whirled around in the rolling chair. She crossed her legs on the seat as a strand of her hair fell into her face from the messy bun her hair was pulled back into. Ned looked at the clock, it was two o’clock PM and she was still in her PJ’s. Ned cursed himself as he caught himself staring at her most prominent face feature: Her scarred eye. It had happened a long time ago, but the fact still remained that she could see nothing out of it. When they were alone in her room she didn’t wear the sunglasses she wore outside to hide it.

”No, see, you were going out with him,” Christie explained, he wasn’t sure if she had seen him looking and decided to ignore it, or if she just didn’t notice his stare. Finally registering what she had said, Ned sighed and rolled his eyes. For the past few weeks Christie had been on a yaoi drive, and when she started playing The Sims, Ned knew nothing good would come from it, “And then L showed up. He started spending more and more time with L, and since they’re majoring in the same field they see each other more. One thing led to another and one day after you set the dorm on fire while trying to make Macaroni, you two got into a fight. You went into your room to finish your assignment and came out to see them making out on the couch. Naturally you got angry and hit L. But Noir would have none of it, despite being your best friend since you were little he started fighting you…” Christie wiped a genuine tear from her eye, “It’s so sad….”

“And you just stood by, watching as I got my heart broken. You could have set the guy on fire, drowned him, had a satellite fall on him, have him attacked by flies…” Ned played along, really not caring in the least that he was cheated on by Noir, “What kind of friend are you?”

”I know! I’m sorry!” a tear formed in the corner of her eyes; Ned looked at her in shock. She really took her sims lives personally, “What can I do so you forgive me?”

”Hmmm,” Ned swung his legs off the side of the bed as he stood up, his eyes scanning the room as if seeing if there was anything he wanted. His eyes landed on her Sprite, “I want a sip!”

”Here! You can have it if you want!” Christie lifted the drink to him. He took it and lifted it to his lips for a quick sip before handing it back to her. As he was doing so his eyes landed on hers. She was taking it all too seriously, and he couldn’t take it anymore. He burst out laughing.

”What?” She asked, cocking her head in confusion. Ned continued to laugh as he wrapped his arms around her.

“I love you Christie,” he said as she hugged him back. It was something they always told each other. Even though it wasn’t a romantic love, it was still love. Love for each other. They had been best friends since he joined Team Rocket eight years ago- when he was nine years old.

His laughter triggered something for Christie and she started cracking up too. For the next few moments, everything in their lives was perfect. They both had their best friend, right by their side, both laughing, just enjoying each other. Finally, they’re laughter slowed to giggles, then to wide smiles, “Oh! I almost forgot!” Christie looked at Ned, releasing her grip on him as he took a few steps back, sitting on her bed again, “You said you had an idea? An idea for what?”

”Right, my idea,” He looked to the ceiling- in truth he had forgotten too, “Um…oh, yea, Christie, you know how the boss gave us six months off because we pulled off that heist so successfully?”

”Yea.”

”Well, I was thinking, we could take a road trip, I’ve always wanted to, but with work it was like: eargh…” he brought his hands up as if strangling something invisible to demonstrate his frustration.

“What was it like?”she laughed.

”Like: eargh…” he repeated the motion.

”That’s what I thought. A road trip? Sounds like a blast!” she leaned over towards him, excitement etched in every muscle in her face. Then her smile widened. He recognized that expression.

”Uh oh.”

“Omigosh I have the BEST idea EVER!”

”Enlighten me.”

Not catching the sarcasm in his voice Christie started, “We could go on a POKEMON JOURNEY!

”No. Are you insane?!”

“Come on Ned, don’t be such a stick-in-the mud. All we have to do is stay in normal clothes and no one will suspect anything. Especially since no one saw us when we pulled off that last robbery. No one knows we’re wanted criminals! Come on!! It will be so much fun! Please? Please? Please?”

Ned just sighed heavily. At the sigh Christie knew she had won despite the next word that came out of his mouth, “No.”

”Short or long?”

”Short, I’m not in the mood for a long argument.”

”Please?”

”No.”

”Pretty please?”

”Definitely not.”

”Pretty, pretty please with a cherry on top?”

”Fine.”

”And that was how I convinced you,” Christie concluded, “Hey, at least I agreed in taking the jeep instead of walking,” she pointed to the red jeep parked at the curb. Ned looked behind them at the car, well, that was true….

”So, we’re just going to waltz in there and ask for a pokemon? Don’t we already have pokemon? What will Ponyta think? Huh?” he brought up her favorite pokemon.

”Ponyta doesn’t care, besides; I’ve always wanted a starter pokemon, like a Bulbasaur! And don’t lie, Ned, I’ve seen the way you look at Charmanders,” Christie pointed out. He shrugged, he couldn’t really argue with that. Without another word she adjusted her sunglasses and walked up to the door to the lab, tapping her knuckles on the wood.

There was a loud crashing that could be heard from inside, “Please! Skitty! Will you please calm down? I knew I shouldn’t have given you any caffine!” Ned and Christie exchanged a glance. It wasn’t too late to turn around….

”Hi, uh, sorry about the wait- Skitty! Don’t chew the electrical wire!” a young, black haired boy opened the door quickly before running off, picking up a Skitty before it electrocuted itself. He held the pokemon in his arms as he looked from Ned to Christie, “Um, I suppose you two want a pokemon, right?”

”Why else would we be here? The wonderful sites?” Ned said coldly, gesturing out to the miles of nothingness surrounding them and bland buildings. Being around regular people- regular people meaning not in Team Rocket- always got him in a bad mood. The boy looked shocked by Ned’s coldness.

”Ignore him, he missed his nap today and is now cranky,” Christie shot Ned a look.

”Don’t treat me like a baby!” Ned defended himself.

”Then stop acting like it,” She then noticed the boy looking at the two of them. He seemed to be biting back laughter at their arguing. She smiled, “Oh, we forgot to introduce ourselves! Our bad, I’m Christie, and Mr. Cranky here is Ned.”

”I’m Noir,” he smiled as Skitty looked at everyone curiously. Ned and Christie exchanged another glance, Ned cracked a slight smile before turning serious again.

“You expect me to be nice to him? He CHEATED on me! He broke my heart!” He said, tearing up. Noir just looked at Ned in shock before looking over at Christie.

”How dare you break my best friend’s heart?” she defended him, poor Noir looking from one to the other, flustered beyond belief while Skitty just turned its head from one boy, to the other boy, to the girl. At his expression neither Christie nor Ned could contain themselves any longer. They both burst out laughing, “Sorry ‘bout that Noir. Inside joke. Anyway, can we get some pokemon so we can head out on our epic journey?”

Noir looked as if he was recovering from the little joke before snapping out of it, “Oh, yea, of course. Um, let me go get the professor. You can come in here and take a seat if you want,” the two walked inside, noticing the couch that Noir had motioned too. The boy put down the Skitty and looked at it sternly, “Now I want no more trouble from you, you understand?” the Skitty’s response was a tilt of the head, “I don’t think it understood…” he sighed before looking at Ned and Christie, who were watching from their seats, “I’ll be right back,” he said as he vanished through a door in the back.

Once Noir left the two Rockets looked around the lab, it was the first time either of them had been trusted alone in a lab like this. It was kind of nice….Christie spotted a picture on the wall, she nudged Ned, “Hey, is that the professor?”

Ned groaned. “What?” Christie asked, “He’s a sexy beast-“ as soon as she said that she heard a door shut. She turned towards the door to see the Professor standing there with a grin on his face. He had heard her.

”Why thank you,” he chuckled as Ned couldn’t help but laugh at Christie too, her face was red as a tomato, “I’m Professor Domelvo,” He stuck his hand out to both of them and shook each, Christie trying to avoid eye contact. Ned looked at Domelvo curiously. He was a well known researcher; he had made tons of discoveries to better society. He was an amazing scientist. He smiled as he asked, “So, you two want your first pokemon? Have either of you given any thought to what kind you want?”

“Um…I-I-I have,” Christie spoke quietly, still humiliated from earlier, “I’ve always liked Bulbasaurs….”

”So you want a Bulbasaur? I think I can arrange that,” he said kindly as he looked at Ned, who despite hating people outside of Team Rocket- was really starting to like this guy, “And what may I get you?”

”I was hoping for a Charmander, if that’s okay,” Ned replied.

”A Charmander for you then. I’ll be right back with your pokemon and starter bags so that you can get on your journey,” Prof. Domelvo said as he left the room temporarily, coming back with two bags and two pokeballs. Ned looked inside the black messenger bag at the potions, pokeballs, and the pokedex, “Inside there is everything you’ll need for your journey to start. I’ll be available through any of the phones throughout the region. Don’t be strangers,” he chuckled as he walked them to the door. The two Rockets said goodbye to the Professor before turning and heading to the Jeep. The Professor waving ‘bye’ before shutting the door.

The two friends walked to the Jeep, Ned naturally taking the driver’s seat. He looked over to see Christie staring at the pokeball, “What’s up Christie?”

“Ohmigosh, I have a Bulbasaur now…and we’re actually going on a pokemon journey…and the professor was the hottest dang thing I’ve seen since forever and a half,” Christie seemed to be shaking with excitement, “This is soo totally amazing! We have to get going, now.”

”Well, I’m waiting for you,” Ned chuckled at his best friend’s excitement, motioning towards the fact that she was the reason they weren’t driving off due to the simple fact that she wasn’t even in the car.

Without another word Christie bounced into their red Jeep. She opened the glove compartment taking out what seemed to be a blank CD. Ned looked at her questioningly, “I got Henry to help me burn songs onto disks. There are three disks all together, each with twenty songs. I only got the best for the trip,” she explained as she popped the CD into the car.

As soon as the first song came on, Christie knew she would have one heck of a time sitting still. She looked over at Ned pleadingly.

Ned sighed, knowing exactly what she wanted as the first song started going into its lyrics. “Go ahead.”

”Yay!” she cheered as she started singing:

“Tsutaetai koto ga mou omosugite
Konomama tsuburechaisou desu
Kotoba ni dekinai kimochi oosugite
Todokanaiyo anohito made
Chikakute tooi kyori

Dokomademo aoi sora onajiyouni miterunoni
Anata ni wa kumorizora mieteru ki ga shichau

Guruguru mawaru guruguru mawaru
Guruguru mawaru guruguru mawaru
Furafura-na furi shite anata no mune ni tobikomitai
Guruguru mawaru guruguru mawaru
Guruguru mawaru guruguru mawaru
Fuwafuwa ni ukabu watashi kyou mo hitori kumo no ue

Tsutaetai kotoba mo oosugite
Konomama uta ni narisou desu
Sugusoba ni iruhazu nanoni toosugite
Todokanaiyo anohito made
Umaku ikanaiyone

Dokomademo tsuzuku sora nagameru nomo iikedo
Itsumademo aoi sora miteiru dakeja dame

Guruguru mawaru guruguru mawaru
Guruguru mawaru guruguru mawaru
Furafura-na furi shite anata no mune ni tobikomitai
Guruguru mawaru guruguru mawaru
Guruguru mawaru guruguru mawaru
Fuwafuwa ni ukabu watashi kyou mo hitori kumo no ue

Guruguru mawaru guruguru mawaru
Guruguru mawaru guruguru mawaru
Furafura-na furi shite anata no mune ni tobikomitai
Guruguru mawaru guruguru mawaru
Guruguru mawaru guruguru mawaru
Fuwafuwa ni ukabu watashi kyou mo hitori kumo no ue
((A/N English lyrics can be found at http://www.animelyrics.com/anime/schoolrumble/srsukuranburu.htm .))

While the next song came on, Christie reached into her own personal bag and took out her laptop, connecting in the wifi and plugging the computer into the car.

”What now Christie? ” Ned side-glanced at her as he started driving on the dirt road through the forest, it was roughly four in the afternoon. Pewter City was a six hour drive from where they were, so he guessed they would drive for about two hours and then set up for camp.

”Well, we have some time to kill on our drive. And this is our first pokemon journey, so I feel the only proper way to document it is via blog,” Christie replied as she clicked on a link to start her own blog.

”Christie...” Ned said a bit wary, for some reason, publicity didn’t really seem like a bright idea.

“Chillax, Ned, I have a username, and there are TONS of others going on pokemon journeys, we’ll blend right in.

”And what’s your username?”

”RocktGrl341,” Christie replied simply as she put her hands to the key board. Ned opened his mouth to protest further but decided it would be useless to argue with her as he turned his attention back to the road.

Christie typed away for a good few minutes before looking to Ned, “What do you want your username to be?”

”TehTerminatorWannabe,” Ned responded, joking. But as soon as Christie heard it she started typing again, “No! Christie! I was kidding!”

”Don’t get your panties in a twist, no one cares,” She replied as she kept typing. Ned sighed and continued the drive.

End Part 1