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A Single Step
Topic Started: Jun 9 2009, 09:26 PM (242 Views)
Chaos Shadow
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"Is this okay?"

The woman nodded. "Yes," she said. "It's okay. I'd be more worried if you hadn't asked, really."

"I don't mean about the journey," the girl said, nervously chewing on a stray strand of white hair. "I mean... setting off here. In this... place." She shuddered visibly. "This isn't home."

The woman, her mother, looked down with a faint smile on her lips, then knelt, bringing herself eye level with the girl. "I know, hun," she said. "But we're stationed out here for the time being. And we'll probably be here a while. I'm afraid that if you don't take an opportunity to journey now, it will be quite a while until we get back to Kanto. You'll start late."

"A lot of people start late around here," the girl murmured. "Everybody I see leaving looks a lot taller..."

"Not everybody," her mother said. "That young man you met, Valen. He's about your age and only just picked up a Pokémon in the area."

The girl snapped to attention upon hearing this. "Oh!" she cried. "That was today, wasn't it!"

Her mother laughed. "Yes," she said. "If I recall what his father said, it should have been today. You didn't miss anything," she said quickly, realizing that her daughter's face had dropped at the news. "It was a private family ceremony, he said. Valen got his Pokémon early today and spent the rest of the day packing. He's setting off tomorrow."

The girl's expression did not heal. "Why didn't he remind me?" she murmured. "I would've liked to say something..." She looked up again. "Do you suppose he'll come around and say goodbye?"

"Goodbye?" a voice suddenly cut in, causing both mother and daughter to look toward the source of the sound. "Why would he be saying goodbye?"

Her father walked into the room, a tall and lean man with hazel-gray eyes and graying hair, still faintly brown but silvering obviously. Her parents were not a young couple when they had her, and their age was beginning to show. Even her mother was beginning to get gray streaks through her black hair, and her brown eyes were surrounded by wrinkles.

The girl bit her lip.

"Valen," she explained quickly. "He got a Pokémon today. Mom says he'll be leaving tomorrow for his journey."

"I know," her father said. "I doubt he'll be saying goodbye."

The girl was aghast at the statement. "What! Why wouldn't he-- isn't he my friend? Why would he just leave without..."

Her father laughed and cut her off. Her mother was glaring, but at the same time the edges of her lips were tugged back into a barely contained smile. "Dear..."

Her father reached down to his belt beneath his shirt, and with a faint clicking noise unclipped something from his belt. The girl was confused, but after a moment she began to think and consider and wonder what, what, what he was getting, what he was talking about, what, what...?

"Reia," he said, and with a flick of his wrist sent something hurtling toward her. "You'll be going with him."

She reached out and caught the object, and her mother pulled back and stood up again, giving her space. Reia pulled the object closer to her and looked it over. A sphere, half red and half white, with a button on one side, a latch. Experimentally -- not so experimentally, she knew exactly what it would do -- she pressed the button, and the sphere sprang open in a flash of light. It crashed to the ground in front of her, congealed, took shape and then faded away...

It was a small creature, hardly half her height, standing on two legs, thin arms and too-large hands held close to its chest, protective, defensive. Bright, large eyes looked at her over a short muzzle, two long ears pressed back against its head. It was covered in fine, red fur, pale across most of its body, although its ears and hands and the tips of its feet were almost burgundy, and its belly and long tail were vibrantly red.

Reia regarded it for several moments. In the same time, she was aware that it was doing the same to her, sizing her up, its stance still defensive, but slowly becoming a bit more comfortable. No sudden moves, she knew that much; slow, deliberate. Don't startle the poor dear.

But Reia had to admit that she did not recognize it.

"It's adorable," she said. "What is it, though?"

"One of the native species," her father said. "They aren't particularly rare, but they're still somewhat difficult to get without going through a laboratory." Of course, her father worked at a laboratory; the entire purpose for their family having moved to this archipelago was for him to study the newer species found out here. "This one's called a Pyroo."

Pyro kangaroo. Cute.

And it was cute. It was small and meek and though Reia had been confused, the more she looked at it the more her heart thrilled and subsequently melted in its nervous gaze. Slowly, she reached a hand toward the creature, and it slunk back slightly, its fur standing on end, nervous. Reia realized her mistake and lowered her hand, revealing it palm-up to the creature. It leaned forward slightly, nose close to her extended hand, and quickly sniffed. This seemed to reassure it, and it nuzzled its muzzle into her palm. She reached over with her other hand and began to scratch it behind its ears.

"Relatively newborn," her father was saying. "It's a boy, too. I also have something else for you."

She looked up, and as she looked up the Pyroo turned slightly to face her father's voice. He reached into his back pocket and withdrew another device, sleek and silver, and this one he did not toss. Instead, he leaned in and handed it directly to Reia. She accepted the device and clicked the latch on the side, opening it completely.

"A Pokedex?" she murmured.

"Orange Islands registration," he said. "Everything in this archipelago is covered in that little device."

"Are you authorized to hand that out?" her mother asked suddenly, her voice terse but her expression sly.

Her father grinned darkly. "In a manner of speaking."

Reia let them talk. She turned the device upon the Pyroo, and it beeped immediately, laying out a bevy of information about the small creature before her. She looked it over briefly, taking in every word only to immediately disregard it once she moved on to the next line. She was fascinated, but by the time she got to the end of the reading she realized she had failed to take in any of the information. She looked it over a second time, suppressing her rising excitement and reading it for comprehension.

She understood quickly, and smiled broadly to herself.

Pyroo. Level 5; young, unexperienced. They would grow up together.

"He's mine?" she asked, almost unbelieving that this had happened.

Her father nodded. "He's yours," he said. "You were planning on setting off on your journey soon, right?"

"We were just discussing when you came in," her mother said.

"Well," he said, "I can think of no better time than tomorrow. You can set off with Valen, journey together for a ways. It gets kind of lonely with no human company, and I'm sure he'd appreciate it as much as you will."

She was nearly shaking again, but this time with barely bridled excitement. She wanted to say something, but then she wanted to say something else, but then a million things crowded into her mouth at once and none of them managed to get said. She pushed them all aside and looked up again. "Do you know what Pokémon he has?"

"Yes," her father said, and his smile broadened. "But I won't ruin the surprise."

"Get some things together and get some sleep," her mother said. "You'll likely be getting up early in the morning."

Reia nodded, looked down to the Pyroo, and gestured toward the back of the house. The joey understood immediately, and took off where she had pointed. Reia allowed him a few steps head start before scurrying after him, and the two raced into her room. The door slammed shut shortly afterward.

Her mother's smile faltered. "I didn't expect you to get your hands on one so quickly."

"I gave them extenuating circumstances. Mentioned her friend. Also said it was her birthday."

"Her birthday was nearly five months ago."

"A bit belated." His grin turned wry. "They didn't check. I knew they wouldn't. They gave me the Pokémon as a journey gift and the Pokedex as a birthday gift for her."

"That's sweet of them."

"After they made me pay our way down here, it's the least they could do."

Mother snorted. "I suppose."

"She'll be fine," her father said.

"I know," her mother said. "But I'm allowed to worry."

- - - -

Reia was up with the dawn. For a few confused moments she could not remember why she had been so eager to wake up so early, only that she apparently was, and that she had been eager enough to get up without aid of an alarm. She glanced around her room and saw, curled up on the rug, the small red joey, and quickly remembered what had happened.

She was a flurry of activity after that. A brief trip to the bathroom, and once she was out she tossed her possessions into a backpack, picked up her meager savings and shoved them into her pocket, and picked up the Pokeball she had been given the prior day. She looked at it for a moment, then clipped it to her belt. Next was the Pokedex -- she had almost forgotten about it completely -- and that slid into her other front pocket.

She placed the backpack on her bed and knelt down next to the young kangaroo, gently running her fingers down his back. The Pryoo stirred, yawned deeply, and slowly rose to his feet, looking blearily around the room. After a few seconds he was awake too, at first obviously distressed but slowly calming down over a few more seconds. No doubt he had forgotten the events of the prior day, too. He looked up to her.

"Let's get some breakfast," she said.

The joey let out a small squeak of approval.

Reia picked up her backpack and walked out into the dining room, where she found her parents were already waiting, drinking coffee and looking over the newspaper. Her mother looked up and smiled. "Oh, hey," she said. "You're up early."

"Yeah." She dropped her backpack and got into her chair. "Too excited."

"I'll fix you breakfast." She looked over to the Pyroo. "And you, of course." Her gaze drifted back to Reia. "Does he have a name?"

"A name?" The concept seemed foreign to her for some reason. Once she realized what it meant, she shook her head. "No, he doesn't. I dunno what to call him. Maybe I'll think of something really fantastic soon, but..." She looked down to the Pyroo and scratched the top of his head again. He cooed faintly and nuzzled her palm. "I dunno. I'm blank."

Breakfast was quiet. Reia was too absorbed in her own thoughts, spinning out maps and routes and plans. Her parents were quiet as well, although no doubt for decidedly different thoughts.

Breakfast was done. She stood up and picked up her backpack. Pyroo jumped awkwardly up onto her now abandoned seat and stood there for a moment, surveying the area. She ignored him for the moment and looked at her parents. They were standing, too.

"This is it," her mother said. "Your training journey."

"You'll do fine, kiddo," her father said, tousling her hair slightly. "Go out there and show 'em what you're made of."

Reia smiled. "You got it. I'll make you proud."

"We already are."

She turned quickly, beckoned to Pyroo, and left the house within minutes. She had to get out soon, lest her parents see her cry.

- - - -

She headed immediately for the main road out of town and looked around for a moment. This way to leave, this way to head deeper, which way to--?

She headed at an odd angle to the street and entered another street, going down a short ways before taking another turn and heading down there. After a few minutes, she came to a stop outside of another house, modest as hers had been, and knocked on the door.

A few seconds passed. She prepared to knock again, but heard but the scuffling of feet from the other side and pulled back slightly. She heard a click, click of locks being undone, and in a moment was staring face-to-face with Valen Artema.

He was just about her height, a little shorter, with overgrown white hair and hazel-amber eyes. They had known each other from Kanto; their parents had beent transferred down to the Orange Islands at roughly the same time, and so they had moved together. It made sense, now, that they would both be setting off on their journey together. Friends taking over the world.

"Just in time," he said, grinning. "I was just about to head out and catch you."

"I'm sure," Reia said. "Bet you just got outta bed. Look at your hair."

"You know how much it dislikes me."

"You could get a haircut."

"I don't trust guys who wield razors."

"Point, point."

She stepped off the threshhold and allowed him to pass by. He adjusted his backpack and looked back through the door, tentative for a moment, before calling through. "Goodbye, dad!"

A reply came, although Reia could not hear it, and Valen shut the door.

They headed down the street. Reia tried to start up a conversation -- "Isn't this exciting? Just imagine!" -- but his eyes were past her and instead onto the little red animal just past her.

"That's your Pokémon?" he asked.

Ah. Right. "Yeah," she said. "Pryoo." She chuckled to herself. "Pyroo, this is my friend Valen. Valen, Pyroo."

"Pleasure," he said, and came to a stop. Reia came to a stop as well, curious. Before she could ask what was up, he unclipped the Pokeball at his belt. "Have you fought with it yet?"

She looked at him curiously, then realized what he as saying, and shook her head. "Ah, no," she said. "I only got him last night."

"Convenient. Same with mine. I haven't been able to watch it in a proper environment yet."

The excitement began to ebb away, and that nervousness that Reia had felt the prior night, talking to her mother about the advent of her journey, slowly began to encroach upon her again. "What're you saying?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" he asked, and opened the latch on the Pokeball. "Let's fight."



"Rival Information"
 

Rival Name: Valen Artema
Rival Age: 12
Rival Gender: Male
Edited by Chaos Shadow, Jun 9 2009, 09:27 PM.
. REIA FLAURUS .
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OOC: Welcome to OI, just wanted to say wow. Nice post, It is fun to read and fantastically written.

IC:

Valen slowly let his hands unlatch the small sphere. It popped open with a velocity the young trainer did not expect, as the small ball jolted out of his palm and banged into the ground.

The loud clang was interrupted by the Pokémon's call. "Pat, Pat, Patle!" From the recognizable red glow came a small blue Pokémon. It had fur like a mammal, but the beak of a bird, and seemed awkwardly out of proportion. And yet it stood, and faced you.

"Reia this is my first Pokémon, Pattle. Pattle Reia." He introduced. "So are you ready for this battle or what?" He said. Each word in the sentence was unnecessarily blunt. Like the words refused to leave Valen's mouth. Was it nervousness? Or was that really just Valen's hidden aggression.

You couldn't be sure, but you did know that a friendly battle could be good for the young Kangaroo. And so your battle began. Both Pokémon began to stare each other down. A strong wind stirred, and soon the leaves were flying through the air. A single leaf eclipsed your vision of the battle field as you heard Valen call, "Pattle..."

{5} :pattle: 23/23
{5} :pyroo: 24/24
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Chaos Shadow
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[ Thank you. Good to be here; looks like fun! ]


A battle.

A battle a battle a battle. She knew that this had been coming -- of course it had been coming, Pokémon battles were par for the course -- but she had not expected one so soon. Or with-- with him.

Reia took a few steps back. Pryoo almost did the same, but she gestured down to the little Pokémon and then forward, and he understood quickly enough. She wasn't backing away; she was giving them space. The Pokémon hopped forward and assumed an offensive stance, shifting his weight from one leg to the other, never stiff, constantly prepared to move.

She had never seen a Pattle before, no doubt another one of the native species of the islands, but she could tell that it wasn't a fast creature by its build. Probably a demon in water, but on land, the advantage was clear. She almost felt the weight of nervousness lift off of her. Almost.

She waited a few moments, anticipating the first attack. It seemed to stretch infinitely, although there were no doubt only a few seconds before she finally broke.

"Pryoo!" she yelled, far louder than she needed to. "Curve around, approach from the side and attack!" She ran through the Pokedex information quickly. "S-scratch!"
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Pyroo dashed to the side and attacked the platypus but it rebounded to use a Pound attack.

{5} :pyroo: 18/24
{5} :pattle: 17/23
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Pryoo staggered slightly from the blow. Reia winced, but quickly thought back to what she could remember. She had waited too long to take advantage of the opening and go in for another attack, but--

"Pull back a bit and use growl!" she cried. "Try to intimidate it!"
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(5) :pyroo: 12/24

(5) :pattle: 17/23 (-1 Atk)

Pattle was faster and struck first before Pyroo could use an intimidating growl against it.
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One blow in, but the Pattle wouldn't be quite as effective as it had been. Still, it was a dangerous window of opportunity.

"Scratch!" she called again, "and try and put a bit of distance between you and Pattle!"
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Pyroo bounced in on its tail to land a quick scratch, then just as quickly used its tail to bounce off of Pattle, making it miss its own attack.

(5) :pyroo: 12/24

(5) :pattle: 11/23 (-1 Atk)
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"Good, good," she murmured to herself. Turn it back around, keep things at your advantage...

Not for much longer, though. Not likely. Best to press the advantage.

"Scratch again!"
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Pow. And pow again. It all adds up to some serious owwww.

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Pyroo bounced back from the attack and hit the ground. He shifted stance slightly, and then propelled himself forward without waiting for a command, going in for the finishing blow.
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Pyroo unleashed its attack upon the Pattle and the water Pokémon gave a cry and fell to the ground defeated.
Pyroo gains 100% exp; you get 1000p
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