The Adventures of the Zito Twins
-Disclaimer- I don't own the Pokemon franchise or anything like that. My fics are for free entertainment only.
"I can't believe this is finally happening, can you?" seventeen-year-old Karen Zito asked her twin brother, Zack.
"I just can't wait to get started!" Zack replied.The reason for the twins' excitement was their destination. Their hometown was Pewter City, and while many young people they knew had begun Pokemon training at the minimum age of 10, Mr. and Mrs. Zito insisted their children complete high school first. Zack and Karen had both pleaded with their parents, saying that trainers take special correspondence courses while on their journeys, and while their parents understood that, they really wanted their children to have a solid education BEFORE travelling on their own. It wasn't that they were overprotective, they just highly valued education. Their father, John Zito, was an electrician. Their mother, Cindy, was a schoolteacher at Pewter City Elementary. She had taught in the same school her kids had attended, but had asked not to teach any of their classes to avoid accusations of favoritism by the other students. Their parents weren't opposed to Pokemon training either. John had a Magneton that helped him in his work, and Cindy's Jigglypuff got along well with her students. The two had recently agreed to let Zack and Karen have their starter Pokemon early, since they would graduate twelfth grade in just a few months. They did it partially as a gift to their teenage children for keeping their grades up, and partially to stop their constant begging. So now they were in the family sedan, driving down to Pallet Town to meet with Professor Oak.
Karen was an attractive girl whose long, frizzy blond hair was almost always tied back in a ponytail that stuck out from the back of her white Goldenrod City Electabuzz baseball cap. Her favorite pair of purple sunglasses was perched on top of the cap, where they always were when they weren't in front of her eyes. Not having much interest in clothes, she usually just wore a plain t-shirt or tank top tucked into a pair of cutoff jean shorts. She was never seen without that baseball cap, and that was an easy giveaway of her tomboyish nature. She loved sports, especially baseball, and planned to take her favorite glove along with her on her journey when she graduated. She was currently staring out the sedan window, hoping to catch a glimpse of some Pokemon before they reached Pallet.
At an even 6 feet, Zack was about 5 inches taller than his twin sister, but it was easy to see the resemblance between the two. He was also blond, and shared his sister's love of baseball. He didn't share her favorite team though--his black t-shirt bore the logo of the Pewter City Rhydon. He also wore a white baseball cap, but his had been given to him as a surprise gift by his parents the year before. The cap sported what Zack called his "personal logo". His initials, ZZ, were drawn diagonally on the front of the cap, with a lightning bolt zigzagging through them. The whole thing was superimposed over a picture of a baseball. He and Karen were both on their school's baseball team, and his love of working out and weightlifting gave him natural ability as the team's best power hitter, while Karen batted leadoff and played second base. Zack's weight training also rewarded him with a fairly muscular frame, much to the delight of many of the girls at their high school. Despite his physical gifts, when a confrontation arose, he preferred to hang back and think things through before deciding on a course of action.
The twins shared a deep love for Pokemon, and were counting the days until they graduated so they could start their journeys. The fact that most of the rookie trainers they'd come across would be several years younger didn't bother either of them. The tougness and powerful physical attacks of Rock-type Pokemon appealed to Zack, while Karen had long been in love with Grass-types for their beauty and the pleasant smells many of them gave off. Her favorite colors were green and purple, so Grass-types were a perfect fit for that reason as well. Karen was the impetuous one of the two. She was often the first to speak her mind, and it occasionally got her in trouble.
Zack and Karen had studied as much as they could about Pokemon while still in school, and because of that they felt they had a psychological advantage over most of the other rookie trainers. According to them, that was about the only good thing about waiting so long to start their journeys. The agreement that they'd finally reached with their parents for today was their parents would drop them off in Pallet to meet with Professor Oak, and they'd walk back to Pewter on their own, catching whatever Pokemon they could on the way. They had time, since they were just beginning a week's vacation from school. .
By now they had reached Pallet Town, and the car pulled up in front of the long stairway leading up to the famous Professor Oak's estate. "You didn't forget anything did you?" Cindy asked the twins.
"We're fine, Mom," Zack replied. "You checked everything yourself before we left, remember? You can stop worrying now." Zack was a little annoyed, but he knew it was only natural for his mother to worry. Still, he WAS 17 now.
"They'll be fine, Cindy, they can take care of themselves," John reassured his wife from the driver's seat.
The twins thanked their parents, grabbed their backpacks, and got out of the car. When it drove away, Zack turned to Karen. "Ready for this?"
"Are you kidding? I've been waiting eight years! Let's do it." With that she turned to the stairway and took the stairs two at a time, Zack close behind.
Slightly out of breath, but none the worse for their quick ascent, they approached the door to the house together, and Zack knocked. A moment later, the door opened to reveal a young man about Zack's age. His hair was parted in the middle and held in place by a green hairband. He wore a green t-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts with three Pokeballs clipped to the belt. Karen, as usual, spoke first. "Hi, I'm Karen Zito and this is my brother, Zack. We're supposed to pick up our starter Pokemon today."
The young man nodded. "Right, nice to meet you two. I'm Tracey Sketchit, we've been expecting you. C'mon in." Tracey led the twins through a short hallway, stopping at a large windowed door. "Go on in, the Professor's waiting for you. I have to go make my rounds." He left, leaving Zack and Karen in front of the door.
Karen took a deep breath. "Well, this is it," she said, opening the door. The first thing they saw was Professor Oak hunched over a computer, with his back to them. Zack cleared his throat, and the sound startled the Professor out of his wits. His arms flew up in the air, causing a few papers to float to the ground. Gathering himself, he picked up the papers and replaced them, then turned around. "Um...you must be Professor Oak," said Karen. The Professor was a white-haired man, apparently in his late fifies or so. He wore a white lab coat over a red golf shirt and khakis.
"I must be," he agreed. "And you must be Karen and Zack Zito. OK, come right over here." He went over to a mechanical, circular platform and pushed a button on its side. Three Pokeballs rose from three holes on the edges of the platform. "So, have you decided who your starter Pokemon will be?" The twins both nodded.
Karen stepped forward and looked over the three Pokeballs. There was a label next to each one that gave the name of the Pokemon it contained. "I love Grass Pokemon, so this was an easy choice," she said, picking one of the Pokeballs. "My starter will be Bulbasaur."
Zack was next. "I love Rock types, but since there are no Rock-type starters, this was a harder choice for me. I finally decided to go with a Pokemon that I know will help me catch Rock-types later, so I choose Squirtle."
"Very well, excellent choices," said Professor Oak. "Now, you each get a Pokedex and five extra Pokeballs." He handed the items to the twins, who excitedly took them. "One more thing too...they've been doing this in the Hoenn region for a while now, and I've just started giving them out here too. Are you going travelling together?" The twins both nodded. "Good. I have a limited supply of these, so I hope you don't mind sharing one." He handed Zack a handheld device that resembled a PDA. "This is a PokeNav. It contains a map of the entire Johto region. You can also use it to keep track of contact information for any other trainers you might meet. When you come in contact with a trainer, as long as he or she has either a PokeNav, a Pokedex, or a PokeGear, his or her contact information will be automatically downloaded to your PokeNav. It has instant-messaging capabilities, and you can use it to send a message ahead to the next Pokemon Center. It also has a section for keeping track of any ribbons your Pokemon win for various things like contests."
The twins thanked the Professor profusely and turned to leave. "Oh, one more thing..." he said, and they turned around. "Be very careful when you go through the Viridian Forest. Team Rocket has been spotted around there over the last few days. I strongly suspect they may be up to something. They could be waiting to ambush new trainers and steal their Pokemon."
"Thanks, Professor, we'll be on guard," said Zack. "C'mon Karen, let's go outside and let our new Pokemon out for some fresh air, then we'll start back towards home." Zack didn't mention it, but he was a little worried as well. Two of his cousins back in Pewter had repeatedly gotten in trouble with the law over the years, and a few weeks ago he'd spotted a Team Rocket Grunt near their house. He hoped they weren't mixed up with Team Rocket, but had a feeling they were.
-Disclaimer- I don't own the Pokemon franchise or anything like that. My fics are for free entertainment only.
"I can't believe this is finally happening, can you?" seventeen-year-old Karen Zito asked her twin brother, Zack.
"I just can't wait to get started!" Zack replied.The reason for the twins' excitement was their destination. Their hometown was Pewter City, and while many young people they knew had begun Pokemon training at the minimum age of 10, Mr. and Mrs. Zito insisted their children complete high school first. Zack and Karen had both pleaded with their parents, saying that trainers take special correspondence courses while on their journeys, and while their parents understood that, they really wanted their children to have a solid education BEFORE travelling on their own. It wasn't that they were overprotective, they just highly valued education. Their father, John Zito, was an electrician. Their mother, Cindy, was a schoolteacher at Pewter City Elementary. She had taught in the same school her kids had attended, but had asked not to teach any of their classes to avoid accusations of favoritism by the other students. Their parents weren't opposed to Pokemon training either. John had a Magneton that helped him in his work, and Cindy's Jigglypuff got along well with her students. The two had recently agreed to let Zack and Karen have their starter Pokemon early, since they would graduate twelfth grade in just a few months. They did it partially as a gift to their teenage children for keeping their grades up, and partially to stop their constant begging. So now they were in the family sedan, driving down to Pallet Town to meet with Professor Oak.
Karen was an attractive girl whose long, frizzy blond hair was almost always tied back in a ponytail that stuck out from the back of her white Goldenrod City Electabuzz baseball cap. Her favorite pair of purple sunglasses was perched on top of the cap, where they always were when they weren't in front of her eyes. Not having much interest in clothes, she usually just wore a plain t-shirt or tank top tucked into a pair of cutoff jean shorts. She was never seen without that baseball cap, and that was an easy giveaway of her tomboyish nature. She loved sports, especially baseball, and planned to take her favorite glove along with her on her journey when she graduated. She was currently staring out the sedan window, hoping to catch a glimpse of some Pokemon before they reached Pallet.
At an even 6 feet, Zack was about 5 inches taller than his twin sister, but it was easy to see the resemblance between the two. He was also blond, and shared his sister's love of baseball. He didn't share her favorite team though--his black t-shirt bore the logo of the Pewter City Rhydon. He also wore a white baseball cap, but his had been given to him as a surprise gift by his parents the year before. The cap sported what Zack called his "personal logo". His initials, ZZ, were drawn diagonally on the front of the cap, with a lightning bolt zigzagging through them. The whole thing was superimposed over a picture of a baseball. He and Karen were both on their school's baseball team, and his love of working out and weightlifting gave him natural ability as the team's best power hitter, while Karen batted leadoff and played second base. Zack's weight training also rewarded him with a fairly muscular frame, much to the delight of many of the girls at their high school. Despite his physical gifts, when a confrontation arose, he preferred to hang back and think things through before deciding on a course of action.
The twins shared a deep love for Pokemon, and were counting the days until they graduated so they could start their journeys. The fact that most of the rookie trainers they'd come across would be several years younger didn't bother either of them. The tougness and powerful physical attacks of Rock-type Pokemon appealed to Zack, while Karen had long been in love with Grass-types for their beauty and the pleasant smells many of them gave off. Her favorite colors were green and purple, so Grass-types were a perfect fit for that reason as well. Karen was the impetuous one of the two. She was often the first to speak her mind, and it occasionally got her in trouble.
Zack and Karen had studied as much as they could about Pokemon while still in school, and because of that they felt they had a psychological advantage over most of the other rookie trainers. According to them, that was about the only good thing about waiting so long to start their journeys. The agreement that they'd finally reached with their parents for today was their parents would drop them off in Pallet to meet with Professor Oak, and they'd walk back to Pewter on their own, catching whatever Pokemon they could on the way. They had time, since they were just beginning a week's vacation from school. .
By now they had reached Pallet Town, and the car pulled up in front of the long stairway leading up to the famous Professor Oak's estate. "You didn't forget anything did you?" Cindy asked the twins.
"We're fine, Mom," Zack replied. "You checked everything yourself before we left, remember? You can stop worrying now." Zack was a little annoyed, but he knew it was only natural for his mother to worry. Still, he WAS 17 now.
"They'll be fine, Cindy, they can take care of themselves," John reassured his wife from the driver's seat.
The twins thanked their parents, grabbed their backpacks, and got out of the car. When it drove away, Zack turned to Karen. "Ready for this?"
"Are you kidding? I've been waiting eight years! Let's do it." With that she turned to the stairway and took the stairs two at a time, Zack close behind.
Slightly out of breath, but none the worse for their quick ascent, they approached the door to the house together, and Zack knocked. A moment later, the door opened to reveal a young man about Zack's age. His hair was parted in the middle and held in place by a green hairband. He wore a green t-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts with three Pokeballs clipped to the belt. Karen, as usual, spoke first. "Hi, I'm Karen Zito and this is my brother, Zack. We're supposed to pick up our starter Pokemon today."
The young man nodded. "Right, nice to meet you two. I'm Tracey Sketchit, we've been expecting you. C'mon in." Tracey led the twins through a short hallway, stopping at a large windowed door. "Go on in, the Professor's waiting for you. I have to go make my rounds." He left, leaving Zack and Karen in front of the door.
Karen took a deep breath. "Well, this is it," she said, opening the door. The first thing they saw was Professor Oak hunched over a computer, with his back to them. Zack cleared his throat, and the sound startled the Professor out of his wits. His arms flew up in the air, causing a few papers to float to the ground. Gathering himself, he picked up the papers and replaced them, then turned around. "Um...you must be Professor Oak," said Karen. The Professor was a white-haired man, apparently in his late fifies or so. He wore a white lab coat over a red golf shirt and khakis.
"I must be," he agreed. "And you must be Karen and Zack Zito. OK, come right over here." He went over to a mechanical, circular platform and pushed a button on its side. Three Pokeballs rose from three holes on the edges of the platform. "So, have you decided who your starter Pokemon will be?" The twins both nodded.
Karen stepped forward and looked over the three Pokeballs. There was a label next to each one that gave the name of the Pokemon it contained. "I love Grass Pokemon, so this was an easy choice," she said, picking one of the Pokeballs. "My starter will be Bulbasaur."
Zack was next. "I love Rock types, but since there are no Rock-type starters, this was a harder choice for me. I finally decided to go with a Pokemon that I know will help me catch Rock-types later, so I choose Squirtle."
"Very well, excellent choices," said Professor Oak. "Now, you each get a Pokedex and five extra Pokeballs." He handed the items to the twins, who excitedly took them. "One more thing too...they've been doing this in the Hoenn region for a while now, and I've just started giving them out here too. Are you going travelling together?" The twins both nodded. "Good. I have a limited supply of these, so I hope you don't mind sharing one." He handed Zack a handheld device that resembled a PDA. "This is a PokeNav. It contains a map of the entire Johto region. You can also use it to keep track of contact information for any other trainers you might meet. When you come in contact with a trainer, as long as he or she has either a PokeNav, a Pokedex, or a PokeGear, his or her contact information will be automatically downloaded to your PokeNav. It has instant-messaging capabilities, and you can use it to send a message ahead to the next Pokemon Center. It also has a section for keeping track of any ribbons your Pokemon win for various things like contests."
The twins thanked the Professor profusely and turned to leave. "Oh, one more thing..." he said, and they turned around. "Be very careful when you go through the Viridian Forest. Team Rocket has been spotted around there over the last few days. I strongly suspect they may be up to something. They could be waiting to ambush new trainers and steal their Pokemon."
"Thanks, Professor, we'll be on guard," said Zack. "C'mon Karen, let's go outside and let our new Pokemon out for some fresh air, then we'll start back towards home." Zack didn't mention it, but he was a little worried as well. Two of his cousins back in Pewter had repeatedly gotten in trouble with the law over the years, and a few weeks ago he'd spotted a Team Rocket Grunt near their house. He hoped they weren't mixed up with Team Rocket, but had a feeling they were.
