Tophat Dragoneye
Because I like Tophats
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2009
- Messages
- 1,034
- Reaction score
- 27
Well, this will be my second attempt of a fic series, but instead of something like a journey-fic like the previous one (which I've officially discontinued (for the time being)), I'll try something new that I think hasn't been done before here in the Writer's Workshop (if it has, please correct me). Bear in mind, the prologue only introduces some of the characters and gives a general idea of what is going to happen.
This fic has been marked as TEEN because of swearing, possibility of injury and/or death.
And as a final note, this fanfic is not related in any way with the Pokémon Online battle simulator, or the fan made MMORPG Pokémon Online currently in development. The only thing they have in common is their names.
With that out of the way, I hope you'll enjoy reading the prologue.
"Bloody annoying, stupid, useless piece of crap of an alarm clock for not waking me up!", he almost shouted while running down the stairs halfway dressed. The teenager barely managed to put on his green t-shirt and tighten his belt before placing his foot on the stair's last step. However, In his haste, he fell down forwards and landed flat on his stomach on the wooden floor the moment he did so.
"Erick, what happened? If it's what I think it is, you know you shouldn't run down the stairs!", a familiar voice coming from the kitchen appeared, which the young teenager recognized the owner of the voice as his mother's.
"Nothing happened, mom! I'm fine!", said Erick while he stood up again. He happened to see the mirror in the hallway and saw his mirror image in it. His brown hair were quite messy as usual, his cheeks were covered in freckles, his eyes had a sharp, greenish color and he had a fair skin color. He saw that his t-shirt's color was fading from multiple washing in the washing machine in the mirror, his khaki-colored trousers had a hole where his right knee was and his white sneakers wasn't as white anymore.
"What the heck am I doing!? I don't have time to stand here!", he shouted and started running to the door, only to be stopped by being pulled backwards at his collar.
"You're not going to leave this house before you have eaten breakfast.", said his mother in a strict voice, pulling him back to the kitchen.
"Mom, it's already ten A.M. already, can I not just skip it for today?", begged Erick, "Otherwise, I'll be late today!"
"Late or not, you're going to eat breakfast right now", she said once again in a strict tone. It was by that point that Erick realized it was futile to attempt to talk out of this. He sat on the chair the moment his mother let go of him and saw some bread and butter in front of him. Not thinking twice, Erick began straight away to eat it, with his mother keeping an eye on him.
Like Erick, she had brown hair, but it was smoother than his and it was also longer, reaching down to her shoulders. Her cheeks were, like Erick's, covered in freckles and her eyes were colored blue and her skin were fair. She was wearing a red apron, which covered her white shirt and her blue skirt, which went down below her knees.
"Don't eat too fast now, Erick", said his mother in a more calm tone, though it was already too late, as he had managed to eat everything in less than two minutes.
"Too late, mom! I need to hurry to the Pokémon Online Center right now!", said Erick before running towards the door once again.
"What about your Nintendo 3DS and your pass to Pokémon Online? Don't you need those, dear?", asked his mother, which caused him stop and turn around towards the stairs and into his bedroom. He had completely forgotten about them in his hurry and immediately started searching for them.
He quickly found his white 3DS, which had a Zekrom motive on its back, alongside some games for both the 3DS and the Nintendo DS. They were easy to find, since he had a drawer dedicated to them. He picked them up from the drawer and placed them in a backpack, before continuing searching for the pass he would need to gain entry to Pokémon Online.
The reason he needed the pass was because it gave him three years worth of playtime in the MMO known as Pokémon Online. It was currently the largest MMORPG in existence, and its popularity was only increasing, because users were put in a virtual reality of the Pokémon franchise. Originally, because the game required a monthly subscription payment, Erick couldn't afford to play it. But when he won a competition and was given the pass as a price, he finally got the chance to play it.
But no matter where he looked, he could not find it. He was beginning to get desperate when his mother entered the room, holding his red cap.
"Erick, I found your pass. It was lying inside your cap", she said and showed him the pass. Sure enough, it was the pass he needed, he knew that because it had a Pokéball logo on the left side and some text to the right that said "Pokémon Online 3 Years Pass".
That's the one, mom! Thanks for finding it!", he said while taking the pass and his cap from his mother. He placed the cap backwards on his head and the pass in his backpack.
"Ok, I'm off now, mom! Remember that you can contact me through the Pokémon Online Chat Service on my computer. The password is on the table!", said Erick in a very fast speed before running down the stairs once again and out through the door.
"Have fun, dear!", was the last Erick heard his mother said before he closed the door.
***
"Shit, I'm late I'm late I'm late I'm LATE!", Erick kept repeating while running as fast as possible. The Pokémon Online Center would open its doors in less than twenty minutes, and he wanted to be sure he was among the first to arrive. He had always been the type who preferred to arrive in time, especially when it is something important to him.
Before long, he could see a white building with a Pokéball logo in the distance and he knew that it was the Pokémon Online Center. He started running even faster, but when he approached the building, he saw that a long queue of people were already standing in front of it, much to his dismay.
"Damn, I really wanted to get here earlier", he panted as he approached before slowing down.
"Impatient as usual, Erick Jackson?", a familiar voice appeared from behind. Erick turned around and recognized a familiar girl with neck-length, bright red hair tied into two pigtails. Her skin color were fair, she was about a few inches smaller than Erick and was quite slim. She was wearing her usual clothing consisting of a red vest, with a white shirt with a red heart in the chest area underneath, blue jeans and sandals, exposing her feet and toes.
"Well, excuse me. Of course I'm impatient because I'm late, Anna!", Erick said loudly, followed by people looking at his and Anna's direction, seemly to Anna's dismay.
"Uuuuuhhhhh, why do you have to be embarrassing whenever I'm around?!", exclaimed Anna just as loud as Erick beforehand, catching people's attention once more, much to her dismay once again.
"Speak for yourself", said Erick wryly in a lower tone than before. Ever since they got into the same class, both shared a strong dislike for each other, though Erick don't remember the reason. "Anyway, what are you doing here? Wasn't it you who said Pokémon were for "little kids"?"
"What kind of stupid question is that? I'm here because of this!", she said while taking out the exact same kind of pass Erick had won in a contest.
"Y-y-y-you won a pass to Poémon Online?!", Erick's exclaimed in surprise. Of all the people he knew, he never expected Anna to have a three-year pass for the game. "But why are you interested in-"
That was all Erick managed to say before he was dragged away from the rest of the crowd by Anna and into a nearby alley.
"I might as well tell you now, otherwise you'll keep plaguing me like an annoying mosquito", stated Anna somewhat reluctant. She took a deep breath before she continued, "I'm entering Pokémon Online be-because I wish to see how it works, but I'm also hoping to meet my fu-future boyfriend!"
Erick immediately burst out laughing the moment she said boyfriend, so much that he was beginning to get hiccups.
"It's not funny, you idiot!", Anna snapped at him.
"Of *pfft* of course it is!", Erick attempted to say, "You, who says that Pokémon are for kids, are going to enter a said "kids" game, just to find your one and only!"
He couldn't hold it anymore and started laughing once more like no tomorrow.
"Shut up, Romeo!", Anna snapped at him, which caused Erick to shut his mouth tight and stop laughing. She regularly called him Romeo because like the actual Romeo in Shakespeare's tragedy, he was unfortunate when it came to love. Either his previous girlfriends would break up with him, dump him for another, or they would move away from town.
"Ugh, you really know how to hit my nerves, right?", Erick growled at her.
"Well, what do you expect in return for mocking me!", Anna nearly yelled at him.
"Now, now. There's no need to fight, you too", a voice interrupted the two. They turned around and saw a tall person with fair skin and wearing glasses standing in front of them, who looked like he was a few years older than them. He had short, black hair and behind his glasses were grayish blue eyes. He was wearing a white shirt with a red tie, blue trousers and white sneakers. Overall, he gave Erick somewhat a geeky impression on him.
"Who are you?", asked Erick the person.
"My name is Marcus. I couldn't help but notice the commotion you two made from the alley", he said while adjusting his glasses, "I've heard what you've talked about, but does it matter in the end? Besides, the queue is almost gone already."
"What? The queue is almost gone already?!", Erick exclaimed in surprise. He took a quick over at the Pokémon Online Center and sure enough, there were only about a tenth of the queue left.
"Most people are here to log in, and it doesn't take a very long time for them to do. Most likely, the remaining queue are the people who's going to register to Pokémon Online. I suspect you two are among the latter", said Marcus to the two.
"Y-you seem to know quite a bit about Pokémon Online", said Anna in a surprised tone. Erick couldn't help but noticed that her cheeks were beef red.
"Of course. That's because I'm regular player in the MMO", stated Marcus with a slight hint of pride in his voice, "anyway, shouldn't you two go to the queue now?"
With that, Marcus left the two alone in the alley. When he was gone Erick noticed that Anna's face was even more red than her hair and that she seemed speechless. She quickly noticed that he was looking, though, and her facial expression changed into that of a more confident one.
"Now who said it was funny trying to find a boyfriend in Pokémon Online, huh?", she asked with a grin on her face. Erick realized to his dismay that she had (already) found a possible candidate as a boyfriend in Marcus. Then again, he knew she had a tendency to fall for nearly everyone.
***
Ten minutes after the two of them had entered the queue, it was Erick's and Anna's turn to register them to Pokémon Online. As they entered the building, they found themselves in large room with multiple reception desks inside, all of them with the iconic Pokéball logo. The walls were colored in a neutral white and the building was brimmed with people of all ages, both employees and players alike. Some of them went into a neighboring room, but it was impossible to see what was inside it from where Erick was standing.
"Can I help you, young man?", a voice caught his attention. Erick turned his head to where the voice came from and saw a woman sitting on a nearby reception desk. She was wearing a red lipstick and some makeup around her amber eyes. Her blonde hair were tied into a ponytail and reached down to her shoulders and she was wearing a red business suit with a shite shirt and red tie underneath.
Before Erick walked over to her, he noticed that Anna wasn't with him anymore. He saw that she had walked over to another nearby reception desk, which he didn't mind, as they never really liked each other.
Yes, I am new here", said Erick while walking over to the reception lady. He took out from his backpack the pass he needed for Pokémon Online and showed it to the receptionist.
"Ah, I see you were one of the lucky ones who won a pass worth 3 years of playtime. Congratulations, young man!", she said to him with a smile, "Now then, let's begin registering you to Pokémon Online. Is this your first time experience to Pokémon Online?"
"Thanks. And yes, it's my first time in Pokémon Online", answered Erick.
"Very well then, I would like your name and age, please", she asked him.
"My name's Erick Larson and I'm fifteen years old."
"Erick Larson, fifteen years old…", said the reception lady while typing on her keyboard, "Alright, what will your in-game name be then?"
This came as a surprise to Erick, as he didn't knew he needed a new name inside the game. He asked for a minute before thinking of a possible name, but couldn't think of one. He was about to decide to just use his real name when a thought hit him. Why not use that name? It wasn't a very unique name, but the name was important to him in a way.
"Is it possible to use the name, "Dalton"?", asked Erick with a smile. The reception lady immediately began typing on her keyboard to see if it was possible.
"Looks like you're in luck, Mr. Larson", said the reception lady, much to Erick's delight, while she continued to write with her keyboard, "and finally, we need to find out a starter Pokémon for you."
The reception lady turned her computer screen so it faced Erick. He saw the entire screen was filled with Pokémon, much to his dismay. He had hoped that only a few Pokémon was available, even the various original starter Pokémon would have been fine for him.
"Ughh… I can't really decide with this many Pokémon", he said while scratching the back of his head.
"Then may I then suggest you to use our Shuffle Program?", asked the reception lady Erick, whose look was more than enough to tell her that he didn't knew what she was about, "The Shuffle Program is a program that picks a Pokémon for you. Bear in mind that it is completely random, but you're allowed to try as many times as you like."
"OK, let's try it then!", said Erick with excitement. The reception lady then proceeded to press a button, which began shuffling all of the Pokémon visible on the screen. Eventually, they merged together and changed shape into a red and white Pokéball. However, the moment it happened, the screen went black.
"Wait, what just happened?", asked a confused Erick. The reception lady immediately turned her monitor to see what was wrong, but even she looked perplexed about the problem. Just then, the sound of a machine at the reception desk could be heard and the reception lady took a quick look at it. Erick himself couldn't see it, but he saw that she took something out of it.
"It's unfortunate, but it seems an error has occurred. We cannot find out what Pokémon you'll be starting with, nor can we change that", said the reception lady while handing over to Erick what looked like an ID-card. It contained his name and his username, age and how long he could play, which was three years.
"If it's alright with you, you'll have to wait to find out which Pokémon you've got until you log in."
"Guess it can't be helped", lamented Erick, "but thanks, anyway. So where do I go to log in?"
"You see those doors over there?", the reception lady pointed at the doors Erick saw some people walking through a few minutes ago, "Behind them, one of my colleagues will tell you where to go. I hope you'll enjoy your experience in Pokémon Online."
Erick thanked her for her help and walked over to the doors. When he passed through them, he saw several other reception desks near some elevators. Like in the previous room, the walls were mostly colored white, though one wall was covered in pictures. All of them contained pictures of people battling each other with their Pokémon, which Erick realized quickly that the pictures where taken inside the game itself.
"Can I help you with something, young man?", asked a nearby voice. It belonged to a man wearing similar clothing as the secretary Erick met before, with the difference being that he was wearing a black suit instead of a red.
Erick walked over to the man before asking, "I need to log in to the game. Where can I do it?"
"May I have your ID-card?", asked the man. Erick quickly handed over his newly acquired ID-card and waited a for a moment while the man scanned it, before he got it back.
"Take the elevator and go to the third floor. Show them your ID-card and they'll explain the rest."
Erick thanked him and walked over to the elevator. He pressed the button and the door opened shortly after. As he entered, he saw, to his dismay, Anna running towards the elevator he entered. She made it just in time when he pressed the button with the "3" on it, with a just an annoyed face as Erick's.
"Sooo, which floor are you going to?", asked Erick somewhat coldly.
"Third floor", Anna quickly answered.
"Oh…", muttered Erick in annoyance. He had hoped that she at least were heading for a different floor.
Before long, the door opened and they entered the third floor, which contained a room just as big as the one both saw when they entered the building. The room was colored the same as the other ones Erick passed, and near the walls was several round, metallic capsules that was large enough for a person to fit inside, with multiple people walking between them. Standing near some of them was a man dressed in similar clothing as the two he met, though he wasn't wearing a tie. He looked like a middle-aged man with short, black hair, was wearing a pair of glasses and wasn't much taller than Erick.
He was standing at a computer and was working with it until he saw Erick and Anna exiting the elevator.
"Ah, welcome. You must be here to log into the game, correct?", asked the man in a formal tone. He then gestured the two to come closer and directed them to the capsules. Erick had heard that they were used to log players into the game, but he still felt some uneasiness.
"Now that I think about, I've never seen you too here before, correct?", asked the man.
"I am, but I don't know about him", answered Anna while pointing at Erick, much to his annoyance.
"I'm new as well", said Erick while giving Anna a quick glare. The man seemly didn't notice that and led the two over to two capsules. He pressed a button on each of them, which each opened a door. Inside one of the capsule, Erick could see a comfortable-looking seat, a sci-fi-looking helmet above and to the left of the seat, he saw some small slots and a large one, which he figured out is meant for DS and 3DS cartridges and either a Nintendo DS, DSi, or 3DS.
"So, what's going to happen? We just sit inside the capsules and put on the helmet?", asked Erick.
"Correct. When you do that, your mind will be put into the game. Consider the experience to be like lucid dreaming", explained the man, "any of you two have a Nintendo DS and some games, or something similar?"
Erick responded by taking his 3DS from backpack and showed it to the man.
"Ah good, good. Just put the 3DS and the games into the slots where they fit."
After seeing Anna walking into her capsule, Erick did the same. After placing his 3DS and games into where they fit and put his backpack in front of the seat, he sat on the seat and placed the helmet on his head. The door then closed and some red lights switched on.
"Are you ready? Put your ID-card into the slot to the right of you and you will log into Pokémon Online", said the man through a speaker. Erick did as told, taking out from his pocket his newly acquired ID-card and placed it inside the slot. When he did, he could hear some machinery buzzing somewhere inside the capsule. He began feeling tired for some reason, yet he couldn't figure out why.
"We hope you will enjoy Pokémon Online", was the last Erick heard from the speaker before falling asleep.
This fic has been marked as TEEN because of swearing, possibility of injury and/or death.
And as a final note, this fanfic is not related in any way with the Pokémon Online battle simulator, or the fan made MMORPG Pokémon Online currently in development. The only thing they have in common is their names.
With that out of the way, I hope you'll enjoy reading the prologue.
Prologue
"Bloody annoying, stupid, useless piece of crap of an alarm clock for not waking me up!", he almost shouted while running down the stairs halfway dressed. The teenager barely managed to put on his green t-shirt and tighten his belt before placing his foot on the stair's last step. However, In his haste, he fell down forwards and landed flat on his stomach on the wooden floor the moment he did so.
"Erick, what happened? If it's what I think it is, you know you shouldn't run down the stairs!", a familiar voice coming from the kitchen appeared, which the young teenager recognized the owner of the voice as his mother's.
"Nothing happened, mom! I'm fine!", said Erick while he stood up again. He happened to see the mirror in the hallway and saw his mirror image in it. His brown hair were quite messy as usual, his cheeks were covered in freckles, his eyes had a sharp, greenish color and he had a fair skin color. He saw that his t-shirt's color was fading from multiple washing in the washing machine in the mirror, his khaki-colored trousers had a hole where his right knee was and his white sneakers wasn't as white anymore.
"What the heck am I doing!? I don't have time to stand here!", he shouted and started running to the door, only to be stopped by being pulled backwards at his collar.
"You're not going to leave this house before you have eaten breakfast.", said his mother in a strict voice, pulling him back to the kitchen.
"Mom, it's already ten A.M. already, can I not just skip it for today?", begged Erick, "Otherwise, I'll be late today!"
"Late or not, you're going to eat breakfast right now", she said once again in a strict tone. It was by that point that Erick realized it was futile to attempt to talk out of this. He sat on the chair the moment his mother let go of him and saw some bread and butter in front of him. Not thinking twice, Erick began straight away to eat it, with his mother keeping an eye on him.
Like Erick, she had brown hair, but it was smoother than his and it was also longer, reaching down to her shoulders. Her cheeks were, like Erick's, covered in freckles and her eyes were colored blue and her skin were fair. She was wearing a red apron, which covered her white shirt and her blue skirt, which went down below her knees.
"Don't eat too fast now, Erick", said his mother in a more calm tone, though it was already too late, as he had managed to eat everything in less than two minutes.
"Too late, mom! I need to hurry to the Pokémon Online Center right now!", said Erick before running towards the door once again.
"What about your Nintendo 3DS and your pass to Pokémon Online? Don't you need those, dear?", asked his mother, which caused him stop and turn around towards the stairs and into his bedroom. He had completely forgotten about them in his hurry and immediately started searching for them.
He quickly found his white 3DS, which had a Zekrom motive on its back, alongside some games for both the 3DS and the Nintendo DS. They were easy to find, since he had a drawer dedicated to them. He picked them up from the drawer and placed them in a backpack, before continuing searching for the pass he would need to gain entry to Pokémon Online.
The reason he needed the pass was because it gave him three years worth of playtime in the MMO known as Pokémon Online. It was currently the largest MMORPG in existence, and its popularity was only increasing, because users were put in a virtual reality of the Pokémon franchise. Originally, because the game required a monthly subscription payment, Erick couldn't afford to play it. But when he won a competition and was given the pass as a price, he finally got the chance to play it.
But no matter where he looked, he could not find it. He was beginning to get desperate when his mother entered the room, holding his red cap.
"Erick, I found your pass. It was lying inside your cap", she said and showed him the pass. Sure enough, it was the pass he needed, he knew that because it had a Pokéball logo on the left side and some text to the right that said "Pokémon Online 3 Years Pass".
That's the one, mom! Thanks for finding it!", he said while taking the pass and his cap from his mother. He placed the cap backwards on his head and the pass in his backpack.
"Ok, I'm off now, mom! Remember that you can contact me through the Pokémon Online Chat Service on my computer. The password is on the table!", said Erick in a very fast speed before running down the stairs once again and out through the door.
"Have fun, dear!", was the last Erick heard his mother said before he closed the door.
***
"Shit, I'm late I'm late I'm late I'm LATE!", Erick kept repeating while running as fast as possible. The Pokémon Online Center would open its doors in less than twenty minutes, and he wanted to be sure he was among the first to arrive. He had always been the type who preferred to arrive in time, especially when it is something important to him.
Before long, he could see a white building with a Pokéball logo in the distance and he knew that it was the Pokémon Online Center. He started running even faster, but when he approached the building, he saw that a long queue of people were already standing in front of it, much to his dismay.
"Damn, I really wanted to get here earlier", he panted as he approached before slowing down.
"Impatient as usual, Erick Jackson?", a familiar voice appeared from behind. Erick turned around and recognized a familiar girl with neck-length, bright red hair tied into two pigtails. Her skin color were fair, she was about a few inches smaller than Erick and was quite slim. She was wearing her usual clothing consisting of a red vest, with a white shirt with a red heart in the chest area underneath, blue jeans and sandals, exposing her feet and toes.
"Well, excuse me. Of course I'm impatient because I'm late, Anna!", Erick said loudly, followed by people looking at his and Anna's direction, seemly to Anna's dismay.
"Uuuuuhhhhh, why do you have to be embarrassing whenever I'm around?!", exclaimed Anna just as loud as Erick beforehand, catching people's attention once more, much to her dismay once again.
"Speak for yourself", said Erick wryly in a lower tone than before. Ever since they got into the same class, both shared a strong dislike for each other, though Erick don't remember the reason. "Anyway, what are you doing here? Wasn't it you who said Pokémon were for "little kids"?"
"What kind of stupid question is that? I'm here because of this!", she said while taking out the exact same kind of pass Erick had won in a contest.
"Y-y-y-you won a pass to Poémon Online?!", Erick's exclaimed in surprise. Of all the people he knew, he never expected Anna to have a three-year pass for the game. "But why are you interested in-"
That was all Erick managed to say before he was dragged away from the rest of the crowd by Anna and into a nearby alley.
"I might as well tell you now, otherwise you'll keep plaguing me like an annoying mosquito", stated Anna somewhat reluctant. She took a deep breath before she continued, "I'm entering Pokémon Online be-because I wish to see how it works, but I'm also hoping to meet my fu-future boyfriend!"
Erick immediately burst out laughing the moment she said boyfriend, so much that he was beginning to get hiccups.
"It's not funny, you idiot!", Anna snapped at him.
"Of *pfft* of course it is!", Erick attempted to say, "You, who says that Pokémon are for kids, are going to enter a said "kids" game, just to find your one and only!"
He couldn't hold it anymore and started laughing once more like no tomorrow.
"Shut up, Romeo!", Anna snapped at him, which caused Erick to shut his mouth tight and stop laughing. She regularly called him Romeo because like the actual Romeo in Shakespeare's tragedy, he was unfortunate when it came to love. Either his previous girlfriends would break up with him, dump him for another, or they would move away from town.
"Ugh, you really know how to hit my nerves, right?", Erick growled at her.
"Well, what do you expect in return for mocking me!", Anna nearly yelled at him.
"Now, now. There's no need to fight, you too", a voice interrupted the two. They turned around and saw a tall person with fair skin and wearing glasses standing in front of them, who looked like he was a few years older than them. He had short, black hair and behind his glasses were grayish blue eyes. He was wearing a white shirt with a red tie, blue trousers and white sneakers. Overall, he gave Erick somewhat a geeky impression on him.
"Who are you?", asked Erick the person.
"My name is Marcus. I couldn't help but notice the commotion you two made from the alley", he said while adjusting his glasses, "I've heard what you've talked about, but does it matter in the end? Besides, the queue is almost gone already."
"What? The queue is almost gone already?!", Erick exclaimed in surprise. He took a quick over at the Pokémon Online Center and sure enough, there were only about a tenth of the queue left.
"Most people are here to log in, and it doesn't take a very long time for them to do. Most likely, the remaining queue are the people who's going to register to Pokémon Online. I suspect you two are among the latter", said Marcus to the two.
"Y-you seem to know quite a bit about Pokémon Online", said Anna in a surprised tone. Erick couldn't help but noticed that her cheeks were beef red.
"Of course. That's because I'm regular player in the MMO", stated Marcus with a slight hint of pride in his voice, "anyway, shouldn't you two go to the queue now?"
With that, Marcus left the two alone in the alley. When he was gone Erick noticed that Anna's face was even more red than her hair and that she seemed speechless. She quickly noticed that he was looking, though, and her facial expression changed into that of a more confident one.
"Now who said it was funny trying to find a boyfriend in Pokémon Online, huh?", she asked with a grin on her face. Erick realized to his dismay that she had (already) found a possible candidate as a boyfriend in Marcus. Then again, he knew she had a tendency to fall for nearly everyone.
***
Ten minutes after the two of them had entered the queue, it was Erick's and Anna's turn to register them to Pokémon Online. As they entered the building, they found themselves in large room with multiple reception desks inside, all of them with the iconic Pokéball logo. The walls were colored in a neutral white and the building was brimmed with people of all ages, both employees and players alike. Some of them went into a neighboring room, but it was impossible to see what was inside it from where Erick was standing.
"Can I help you, young man?", a voice caught his attention. Erick turned his head to where the voice came from and saw a woman sitting on a nearby reception desk. She was wearing a red lipstick and some makeup around her amber eyes. Her blonde hair were tied into a ponytail and reached down to her shoulders and she was wearing a red business suit with a shite shirt and red tie underneath.
Before Erick walked over to her, he noticed that Anna wasn't with him anymore. He saw that she had walked over to another nearby reception desk, which he didn't mind, as they never really liked each other.
Yes, I am new here", said Erick while walking over to the reception lady. He took out from his backpack the pass he needed for Pokémon Online and showed it to the receptionist.
"Ah, I see you were one of the lucky ones who won a pass worth 3 years of playtime. Congratulations, young man!", she said to him with a smile, "Now then, let's begin registering you to Pokémon Online. Is this your first time experience to Pokémon Online?"
"Thanks. And yes, it's my first time in Pokémon Online", answered Erick.
"Very well then, I would like your name and age, please", she asked him.
"My name's Erick Larson and I'm fifteen years old."
"Erick Larson, fifteen years old…", said the reception lady while typing on her keyboard, "Alright, what will your in-game name be then?"
This came as a surprise to Erick, as he didn't knew he needed a new name inside the game. He asked for a minute before thinking of a possible name, but couldn't think of one. He was about to decide to just use his real name when a thought hit him. Why not use that name? It wasn't a very unique name, but the name was important to him in a way.
"Is it possible to use the name, "Dalton"?", asked Erick with a smile. The reception lady immediately began typing on her keyboard to see if it was possible.
"Looks like you're in luck, Mr. Larson", said the reception lady, much to Erick's delight, while she continued to write with her keyboard, "and finally, we need to find out a starter Pokémon for you."
The reception lady turned her computer screen so it faced Erick. He saw the entire screen was filled with Pokémon, much to his dismay. He had hoped that only a few Pokémon was available, even the various original starter Pokémon would have been fine for him.
"Ughh… I can't really decide with this many Pokémon", he said while scratching the back of his head.
"Then may I then suggest you to use our Shuffle Program?", asked the reception lady Erick, whose look was more than enough to tell her that he didn't knew what she was about, "The Shuffle Program is a program that picks a Pokémon for you. Bear in mind that it is completely random, but you're allowed to try as many times as you like."
"OK, let's try it then!", said Erick with excitement. The reception lady then proceeded to press a button, which began shuffling all of the Pokémon visible on the screen. Eventually, they merged together and changed shape into a red and white Pokéball. However, the moment it happened, the screen went black.
"Wait, what just happened?", asked a confused Erick. The reception lady immediately turned her monitor to see what was wrong, but even she looked perplexed about the problem. Just then, the sound of a machine at the reception desk could be heard and the reception lady took a quick look at it. Erick himself couldn't see it, but he saw that she took something out of it.
"It's unfortunate, but it seems an error has occurred. We cannot find out what Pokémon you'll be starting with, nor can we change that", said the reception lady while handing over to Erick what looked like an ID-card. It contained his name and his username, age and how long he could play, which was three years.
"If it's alright with you, you'll have to wait to find out which Pokémon you've got until you log in."
"Guess it can't be helped", lamented Erick, "but thanks, anyway. So where do I go to log in?"
"You see those doors over there?", the reception lady pointed at the doors Erick saw some people walking through a few minutes ago, "Behind them, one of my colleagues will tell you where to go. I hope you'll enjoy your experience in Pokémon Online."
Erick thanked her for her help and walked over to the doors. When he passed through them, he saw several other reception desks near some elevators. Like in the previous room, the walls were mostly colored white, though one wall was covered in pictures. All of them contained pictures of people battling each other with their Pokémon, which Erick realized quickly that the pictures where taken inside the game itself.
"Can I help you with something, young man?", asked a nearby voice. It belonged to a man wearing similar clothing as the secretary Erick met before, with the difference being that he was wearing a black suit instead of a red.
Erick walked over to the man before asking, "I need to log in to the game. Where can I do it?"
"May I have your ID-card?", asked the man. Erick quickly handed over his newly acquired ID-card and waited a for a moment while the man scanned it, before he got it back.
"Take the elevator and go to the third floor. Show them your ID-card and they'll explain the rest."
Erick thanked him and walked over to the elevator. He pressed the button and the door opened shortly after. As he entered, he saw, to his dismay, Anna running towards the elevator he entered. She made it just in time when he pressed the button with the "3" on it, with a just an annoyed face as Erick's.
"Sooo, which floor are you going to?", asked Erick somewhat coldly.
"Third floor", Anna quickly answered.
"Oh…", muttered Erick in annoyance. He had hoped that she at least were heading for a different floor.
Before long, the door opened and they entered the third floor, which contained a room just as big as the one both saw when they entered the building. The room was colored the same as the other ones Erick passed, and near the walls was several round, metallic capsules that was large enough for a person to fit inside, with multiple people walking between them. Standing near some of them was a man dressed in similar clothing as the two he met, though he wasn't wearing a tie. He looked like a middle-aged man with short, black hair, was wearing a pair of glasses and wasn't much taller than Erick.
He was standing at a computer and was working with it until he saw Erick and Anna exiting the elevator.
"Ah, welcome. You must be here to log into the game, correct?", asked the man in a formal tone. He then gestured the two to come closer and directed them to the capsules. Erick had heard that they were used to log players into the game, but he still felt some uneasiness.
"Now that I think about, I've never seen you too here before, correct?", asked the man.
"I am, but I don't know about him", answered Anna while pointing at Erick, much to his annoyance.
"I'm new as well", said Erick while giving Anna a quick glare. The man seemly didn't notice that and led the two over to two capsules. He pressed a button on each of them, which each opened a door. Inside one of the capsule, Erick could see a comfortable-looking seat, a sci-fi-looking helmet above and to the left of the seat, he saw some small slots and a large one, which he figured out is meant for DS and 3DS cartridges and either a Nintendo DS, DSi, or 3DS.
"So, what's going to happen? We just sit inside the capsules and put on the helmet?", asked Erick.
"Correct. When you do that, your mind will be put into the game. Consider the experience to be like lucid dreaming", explained the man, "any of you two have a Nintendo DS and some games, or something similar?"
Erick responded by taking his 3DS from backpack and showed it to the man.
"Ah good, good. Just put the 3DS and the games into the slots where they fit."
After seeing Anna walking into her capsule, Erick did the same. After placing his 3DS and games into where they fit and put his backpack in front of the seat, he sat on the seat and placed the helmet on his head. The door then closed and some red lights switched on.
"Are you ready? Put your ID-card into the slot to the right of you and you will log into Pokémon Online", said the man through a speaker. Erick did as told, taking out from his pocket his newly acquired ID-card and placed it inside the slot. When he did, he could hear some machinery buzzing somewhere inside the capsule. He began feeling tired for some reason, yet he couldn't figure out why.
"We hope you will enjoy Pokémon Online", was the last Erick heard from the speaker before falling asleep.