TEEN: Wandering the Pokemon World...

[GoldenrodGOD]

NOTE: This is my first fanfic, so please don't bite my head off if I make an error or something! Scary! I have a rough idea of what I'm doing, but if I'm doing something wrong, don't...kill me. Thanks and enjoy

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Chapter One: Happy Birthday Spike!

Sunlight flooded the room as I opened my eyes groggily to sleepily take in my surroundings, as if I didn't see my room every day. I slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes, just before the door to my room flew open and hit the wall with a deafening crash.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPIKE!!!”

“Mmm” I mumbled quietly, blinking rapidly, trying to adjust my eyes to the bright sight in front of me

My little sister, Topaz, began hopping up and down and started singing ‘Happy Birthday’, whilst my baby brother, Turquoise, decided to clamber up onto my pathetic excuse of a bed and began gurgling in time with Topaz’s singing.

“Alright kids, that’s enough, leave Sapphire alone now, go get ready for school” My mother shooed Topaz and Turquoise out of my room whilst I cringed at the sound of my proper, birth name. Sapphire. What kind of name was that? Although my nickname, Spike, wasn’t much better and made me sound like the family pet, at least it was a tad more common and a lot less precious than Sapphire.

“Happy birthday, sweetie. I know it’s your birthday, but it’s still a work day and you have to get up. C’mon, the cafe opens in twenty minutes! Have a good day, dear!” My mother kissed me on the cheek before leaving my room in a hurry, in case my siblings had tried to burn down the house within the space of two minutes.

I sighed, and swung my feet out of bed, only to discover Turquoise had left a drool puddle on the floor. I began to get dressed and after ten minutes I was ready. Did I dare look at myself in the mirror?

I peeked into the mirror hanging on the wall, and almost died at what I saw. A heart shaped face, sea-blue almond-shaped eyes, an ordinary nose dashed with freckles, an average-sized mouth and wavy mid-length chocolate-coloured hair. Fine. But...my uniform invented a whole new level of humiliation. A black dress with a skirt so stiff that it looked like it was held in place by a hoop, a white apron and matching doily headdress, and to top it off, a black collar lined with white frills that made me feel more trapped than ever. Unfortunately, it was now 7:45 and far too late to kill myself. I sighed, picked up my bag and went off to work.

It took ten minutes to walk out of Solaceon Town to Route 210, giving me five minutes until the Cafe Cabin opened. I sighed and weakly smiled as the other waitresses wished me happy birthday as I made my way into the kitchen, but I was anything but happy. I took my place on one side of the sink and began to wash the dishes and mugs. On the other side of the sink was Sylvia, happily singing away as she scrubbed the dishes.

“There’s a Ninetails in your closet! Open up and set it freeeeee! Awooooooo!!! There’s a Ninetails in your closet! Let it out so it can brea-oh, hey Spike! Happy birthday!” Sylvia suddenly stopped singing to wish me happy birthday. I sighed and didn’t bother trying to smile.

“Hey, birthday girl, what’s wrong?” Sylvia stopped scrubbing, and studied my face, concerned.

“Oh, nothing. It’s just that...” I took a deep breath before continuing. ‘Do you ever feel like you’re gonna be stuck here forever? Destined to be a milk maid forever, trapped? I’m sixteen and I’ve spent all of my life in Solaceon. I don’t want to be trapped here in Solaceon, Sylvia. There’s nothing here. I’m sick of it. I want to get out, but I just don’t know how...” I trailed off and looked up to meet Sylvia’s gaze, who was frowning and chewing her lip. Oh God. I never should have told her.

“Come meet me outside my house after work” Sylvia said abruptly. I looked up, confused. “Don’t worry, you’ll see, I promise. Now cheer up, Spike! Everything’s gonna be okay!”

I wanted to believe her, but I just didn’t know what to think. Although I was a year older, I was still as confused as ever...

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What do you think so far? Not that bad, right?

 

[Kantomasta]

this is.....GOOD . I like how its not the same procedure of first chapter the charecter gets a pokemon. I'll be reading!

 

[Zekurom]

No, it isn't that bad.

You're doing a good job setting up your character's initial premise, at any rate. As a waitress? Nice job.

 

[GoldenrodGOD]

Thanks for the positive feedback, you two! Would've liked more comments from people, but I guess some people just don't like this style. Ah well. Moving on.

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Chapter Two: Day Care Discoveries!

Now that I think about it, work wasn’t too bad. I was too busy concentrating to think about the pain of being trapped her forever. But the day took forever to pass. When I had a moment to myself, my mind went into overdrive. What did Sylvia mean when she said everything would be okay? Why did she want me to go to her house after school? Oh God. She better not be in on any sort of surprise birthday party. Surely she knew I would be too tired after work to show any sort of enthusiasm about my birthday? What was the point of celebrating birthdays, anyway? I was a year older. So what? I didn’t want to be old! How boring would that be?! My life would practically be over already! It seriously shouldn’t be something to be celebrate. Really.

As soon as the clock struck 5:30, I rushed back home so I could change out of my completely embarrassing work uniform and into something that didn’t feel like cardboard or made me look like an idiot. After putting on a hoodie, jeans and trainers, I headed over to Sylvia’s house. I’d never been there before, but she said that it was on the other side of the road leading through Solaceon and that she would be standing outside. That seemed simple enough. Solaceon was tiny. It wasn’t like I could get lost in my hometown. It was basically a town that had been formed on a road.

“Spike! Over here!” My eyes followed the voice to see Sylvia waving, standing outside the building. What was that building? It looked nothing like the other buildings in town. It was bright and looked new and colourful. There was definitely something special about it.

“Oh, this isn’t my house if you were wondering!” Sylvia joked, trying to see if I was okay. I guess I’d gotten a little carried away when I was staring at the building.

“What is this place?” I breathed. How had I never noticed it before? I guess I’d never really been on the other side of town before. That was where the richer people lived. Funny. I’d never thought of Sylvia as rich. She had the same job as me, and all the people who worked at the Cafe Cabin came from the same side of town as me. Sylvia was full of mysteries. Little did I know she had another surprise for me.

“Come inside” Sylvia led me through a door leading into the amazing building. The inside was just as colourful and breathtaking. Photographs, posters and drawings covered the walls and the carpet was soft and my feet sank into it as soon as I stepped onto it.

“Welcome back, Sylvia, dear! Oh! I see you’ve got a friend with you today! Might I ask who she is?” An old woman came in through another door on the other side of the room.

“Oh, hi, Grandma! This is Spike! I told you about her just moments ago, remember?” Sylvia raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, yes, of course! Hello, Spike, dear!” The old woman shuffled over to me and smiled me whilst not so subtly looking me up and down.

“Um, hi” I mumbled awkwardly. I quickly looked at Sylvia then looked away. Why was she letting her Grandma check me out? Things were getting kinda weird...

“A Munchlax would be perfect for her” The old woman suddenly announced. Sylvia nodded in agreement.

“A Munch-what?!” I blurted without even thinking. The old woman gave me a funny look before chuckling.

“Has she ever-“

“Only the Miltank on the farm”

“Of course.”

The old woman smiled at me gently before taking my hand and leading me back out the door she had entered the room through. Outside was a field surrounded by a white picket fence, like the ones you see in the movies. Creatures of all sizes and shapes were running around happily. They didn’t look like animals, but somehow did at the same time. They had to be Pokémon.

“Spike” The old woman began gently. “Have you ever heard of creatures called ‘Pokemon’?”

“Well, I guess. I mean, I’ve met some Miltank on the farm and my Mother had a pet Glameow when I was born, but that’s about it...’” I trailed off, watching the Pokemon. The old woman nodded.

“I see, I see. So you’ve never actually owned a Pokémon, is that right?” The old woman asked. I nodded, mesmerised by the Pokémon.

“Have you ever considered owning a Pokémon?” The old woman peered at me cautiously. The question did the trick and snapped me out of my trance.

“What?! Me? Have a Pokémon? But-but-how? And where would I get one? And-and-“ I took a deep breath. “Oh, it’s no use. I’d never have time to look after it. I’m so busy with work, that I barely get any time to myself nowadays!” I sighed, gazing at the green grass growing at my feet. It was short and tiny, but it still seemed free, blowing about in the breeze. How was it that something so small and lifeless had more freedom than me? It was probably a sign to show I was doomed.

“Who said you had to have a Pokémon as a pet?” The old woman asked carefully. “Pokemon are used for many different things, you know. Take the Miltank from the Cafe Cabin Farm as an example. They’re Pokémon, but they’re not pets. They’re milked for their milk which is then sold. Pokémon can be very useful. They can be used in Pokémon Contests, for coordinators who wish to show off their Pokémon’s skills and looks. But the main use and most popular love of Pokémon is for battling!” The old woman sounded happy and wistful when she said the word ‘battling’, almost like it was something from her past that she’d never forget.

“Battling? With Pokémon? But how?” I wrinkled my nose. Did people fight with Pokémon? Like martial arts? That seemed pretty strange and tough and complicated, so why was that the most popular use of Pokémon?

“Pokémon battles are when two Pokémon trainers have a Pokémon each and they battle each other using various moves and display hard work, training and skills. Pokémon trainers are people who travel around the regions to catch Pokémon and train them so their Pokémon grow stronger and stronger, so they can defeat other Pokémon easily in battle! When they are good enough and have gained eight badges from very strong trainers known as Gym Leaders, they may enter the Pokémon League and battle the strongest trainers known! When they defeat the Pokémon Champion, they become the new Champion of the region! That is known as a Pokémon journey! Oh, Pokémon are also every good travelling companions! And of course, lifelong friends!” The woman seemed a little tired but happy when she’d finished her speech. Suddenly, Sylvia appeared next to me.

“So, Spike. Would you like to have a Pokémon and go on your very own Pokémon journey?” Sylvia asked quietly. It suddenly occurred to me that this was what Sylvia was talking about earlier. When I was asking her for a way to escape Solaceon. This was my ticket out!

“Of course I would! But, how would I get a Pokémon? I barely know anything about them!” I shook my head. To my surprise, Sylvia smiled and gave a soft tinkle of a laugh. I frowned at her, giving her a look that said ‘What’s so funny?’.

“Oh, Spike! Look around you! This is a Day Care Centre for Pokémon! Trainers leave their Pokémon here and we raise them for them whilst they’re off on their Pokémon Journeys!” Sylvia smiled.

“What’s that got to do with me and getting a Pokémon? I can’t just take somebody’s Pokémon!’ I gasped. Sylvia smirked in a strangely uncharacteristic manner and nodded slowly.

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Gasp! What will Spike do? Will she steal somebody's Pokemon? And if so, whose? And which one? Or will she refuse and stay stuck in Solacoen forever? Stay tuned to find out! BTW, sorry if I'm going too fast!

 

[Zekurom]

Well, you're missing a few punctuation marks... but onto the story.

A girl, living in Solaceon City where trainers regularly come to do their stuff...you'd think she'd know about Pokemon battling by now.

No, you're not going too fast. The pacing is fine. And that's a fine little ditch you've gotten Spike into.

 

[Kantomasta]

this pace is fine, and the speech that the grandma gave sounded somethin like rowans speech at the beggining of Diamond, pearl and platinum.

 

[GoldenrodGOD]

Chapter Three: They Choose You!

“Oh, Sylvie, Sylvie, Sylvie! You’re so bad! Don’t tease!’ Sylvia’s Grandma chuckled.

“Sorry, Grandma. I just couldn’t help it!” Sylvia smiled at me sheepishly before giggling.

“Sorry about that, Spike. Sylvia was just joking.” The old woman smiled as she shook her head. “No, what she really meant was that because this is a Day Care, the Pokémon that trainers leave with us sometimes breed and make an egg. Or, we assume they breed, but nobody actually knows how an egg is formed. Anyway, some trainers can’t deal with having to constantly carry an egg until it hatches, so if we find an egg from their Pokémon and they don’t want it, they give it to us and we keep it! The egg eventually hatches into a baby Pokémon and it stays here and we raise it!”

“So, um, Spike, what Grandma’s saying is that-“ Sylvia took a deep breath. “We would like to give you a Pokémon egg for your birthday so when it hatches you can go on your Pokémon journey!” Sylvia anxiously looked at my face for my reaction. Her Grandma nervously shifted her weight on her calloused, old feet.

“Are-are you serious?” I began. My face expressed pure shock.

“Oh, but, Spike! No! We’re not trying to give you a bad Pokémon! Honestly! We just want to help you and-“ Sylvia desperately protested, but I silenced her with my hand.

“This is officially the best day of my entire life.”

Sylvia’s face broke into a grin and her Grandma looked down but I could tell she was pleased with herself.

“Thank you so much! This means so much to me! I-I just can’t express it!”
I hugged both of them tightly, but not so hard that they’d snap in half.

“How can I ever repay you?”

“It’s a present, Spike! Your birthday present! I know how much you want to get out of Solaceon! And this is it!” Sylvia looked very proud of herself for doing such a great thing and her Grandma batted the air as if to say
‘Oh, it’s nothing!’.

“Right, now to get you a Pokémon Egg!” Sylvia and her Grandma led me back into the Day-Care Centre and into a room that was warm and dimly lit. The atmosphere felt friendly and cosy. Once my eyes re-adjusted to the darkness, I noticed there were shelves everywhere, all holding what I assumed were Pokémon Eggs!

“This is where we keep Pokémon Eggs until they hatch. Because they aren’t being carried, it takes a lot longer to hatch when they’re still and not moving. We check this room every half hour or so if to see if any of the eggs have hatched.” Sylvia’s Grandma whispered as she lovingly stroked one of the eggs that was orange with black stripes.

“Do you know which Pokémon hatch from the eggs?” I whispered. It felt wrong to speak at ordinary volume, like it would disturb the eggs.

Sylvia shook her head. “Sorry, no, we can only guess. It’s usually quite obvious, though. Like this one is going to hatch into a Happiny!” Sylvia held up a pretty pink egg.

“Um, okay. So, which one do you think you’re going to give to me?” I asked nervously. This was it. My first Pokémon. Well, nearly.

Sylvia and her Grandma exchanged swift glances before Sylvia picked up a teal coloured egg that had cream coloured patches on it.

“Take it” Sylvia said gently as she passed the egg to me. I held the egg close to me. It felt warm and almost like it was moving, or perhaps I was just imagining it...

“How long until it hatches?” I asked quietly.

“Not until quite a bit of time if you keep it in your house. But it will hatch faster if you walk around with it. But...” Sylvia trailed off.

“What? What’s wrong?” I asked quickly. There couldn’t be any flaws in my new life. I couldn’t allow it. I wouldn’t.

“You can’t go on your Pokémon Journey until the egg’s hatched. I’m sorry, Spike” Sylvia looked down at the floor.

“But-but-why?!” I asked, my voice rising in volume and with hysteria. Sylvia’s Grandmother looked at the eggs worriedly, as if the loud noise would disturb them.

“I’m afraid it’s just too dangerous if you just wonder around the region with no Pokémon of your own to defend you. Wild Pokémon can attack very suddenly without any warning, and without any Pokémon, the consequences can be fatal” Sylvia shook her head apologetically, still staring at the floor. “I’m sorry I got your hopes up, Spike”

“It’s okay” I tried to smile, but it hurt so much. But then, I properly smiled. “I mean, at least I got a Pokémon Egg, right? That means I’m going to eventually get a Pokémon, just...not right away.”

Sylvia’s Grandma nodded in agreement, glad I was taking this not so badly.

“Thank you so much! I’ve got to go now!” I thanked the two one last time before wrapping the egg up in my hoodie, bolting out of the brightly coloured building, back across the road and into my house. I didn’t stop running until I was in my room, my door safely locked.

“Hi, there!” I whispered gently to the egg as I unwrapped it from my hoodie. I stroked the egg softly. It felt warm and smooth. I wanted this moment to last forever. I had got my first Pokémon!

“Spike? Are you in there? It’s your Mother! I need to talk to you about what you were doing across the other side of town! Open your door!” I heard a sudden rapping on my door, which made me jump. I froze. It was seconds until I had to open the door or my Mother would get suspicious. Where would I put the egg? Was there anywhere safe to hide it? What if I had to go downstairs for a long time and the kids found it? I scanned my room for a safe and warm place to hide the egg. I decided to wrap the egg in my hoodie and hid the warm package on the shelf. There. Now it looked like my hoodie had been bundled on the shelf.

“Coming, Mother!”

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...You don't think I'm going too fast posting a chapter once a day, do you?

 

[Black Rainbow]

$50 it's a munchlax

 

[GoldenrodGOD]

$50 it's a munchlax

I semi-stated that she would be getting a Munchlax here:

“A Munchlax would be perfect for her”

 

[Kantomasta]

theres also alot that have creamm colored spots....

 

[The Anonymour]

Nice cliffhanger, but that's way too short.

 

[-Gray-]

I could've sworn that chapter was longer the last time I read it...

 

[Zekurom]

Oh, come on. That's Chapter 4?

Anyway, why is her mom so dis-inclined to let Spike out? Or is she just saying "Nooooooooooooo" because the egg will break and spill its contents out?

Anyway, you haven't really started anything yet, so I can't say much.

 

[GoldenrodGOD]

I don't know what happened, I type two and a 1/8th pages on Word...
I'll repost.

 

[GoldenrodGOD]

Chapter Four: Finders Keepers!

“Yes?” I asked breathlessly as I opened the door to my room.

“Where were you, Sapphire? Work ended at 5:30 and the time now is 6:15! What happened? Did you go out? Why didn’t you ring me to tell me? I was worried sick!” My mother told me sternly as she stepped into my room and made my bed, even though I’d already made it.

“I-I-I offered to work extra late in case you wanted me out of the house for some strange reason” I rolled my eyes. It was no secret that my Mother would try and throw me a surprise birthday party if I was out of the house.

My mother pretended not to listen and instead strode over to my shelf.

“Don’t bundle your clothes like that! You’ll get creases all over them and then I’ll have to iron them!” My mother reached up to pull a hoodie down from the shelf. Suddenly, I realised which hoodie it was.

It was as if everything was in slow motion.

‘NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!’ My heart screamed. I ran over to my Mother just as the hoodie unravelled and the egg fell off the shelf. No. No! This couldn’t be happening! I was too far away! I wouldn’t be there in time to catch it! I closed my eyes and braced myself for the sound of an egg cracking.

Then, suddenly, like an angel from heaven, two small hands reached out and caught it.

“Spike, what is this?” I opened my eyes to see Topaz staring at the egg in her hands, amazed.

“Oh, Topaz, thank you!” I hugged Topaz, who nearly dropped the egg.

“Is that a-is that a-a Pokémon egg?!” My mother cried.

Oh, crap. I had half forgotten she was still here. I swivelled around to face her. There was a mixture of shock and confusion on her face.
“Um, well, you see, um...” I began, but I couldn’t find any reasonable explanation to cover up the fact that I had gone to the other side of town. And I had hidden the egg from her.

“You went to the other side of town to get this from the Day Care Centre, didn’t you?” My mother said calmly.

“Um, well, uh, yes?” I looked down at my hands as if they held the secret to the universe.

“Come downstairs into the kitchen. Immediately!” My mother thundered before she stomped downstairs.

“Thanks, Topaz” I tried to gently prise the egg from my little sister, but she was holding on to it firmly.

“It’s mine!”

I rolled my eyes. Typical child. Alright. Only one way to do it.

“Do you even know what this is?” I put my hands on my hips and looked down at my little sister. She shook her head, but she still had a tight grip on the egg.

“It’s a bomb” I swiped the egg from Topaz before she could drop it, which she probably would have if she was still holding it.

“I’M TELLING!!! MOOOOMMMMMYYYY!!! SPIKE HAS A BOOOMBBB!!!” Topaz yelled, running down the stairs. I rolled my eyes and checked to see if the egg was okay.

“You okay?” I asked the egg softly before wrapping it in my favourite Christmas scarf and carrying it downstairs into the kitchen.

Our kitchen. It used to be my favourite place in the house, but after visiting the Day Care Centre, it just seemed plain shabby. The paint on the wall was old and peeling, the tiles were stained with grime, mud, dirt and who knows what else, none of the chairs matched out tiny kitchen table which had a few splinters, the cooker was old and sometimes didn’t work and worst of all, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed how noisy it was.

“What’s this about a bomb?” My mother sighed as she stirred something in a pan on our tiny kitchen stove.

“Oh, nothing” I rolled my eyes and sat down at the table. Topaz sat in the chair opposite to mine, obviously sulking about me lying about the bomb.

“So, then. What’s this egg and how did you get it? Did it have to do with you coming home late?” My mother asked as she set the timer on before sitting down next to Topaz, Turquoise on her other side. I suddenly felt nervous. It felt like the whole family was against me and my egg. I took a deep breath before deciding to tell the truth.

“I don’t want to be stuck here forever. In Solaceon. I want to be free, and go travelling or something. I dunno. So I told Sylvia, and she told me to go see her after work, which turned out to be going across town to the Day Care Centre to meet her Grandma who told me all about Pokémon and stuff and then they gave me a Pokémon egg so then I came home and hid the egg because I thought you’d be mad for getting a Pokémon and not telling you and then you found out. So, yeah.” I looked down at the table, too ashamed to look at my mother’s face.

“Fine. Do whatever you want.” I looked up, shocked, to meet my mother’s stony gaze. It was cold and unfamiliar. “If I made you stay, you’d just moan about how you don’t want to be stuck in Solaceon. Plus, if you go, there’ll be one less mouth to feed.” My mother sniffed.

“Really?” I asked, bewildered.

“Yeah, sure, whatever. Go, have fun, you’re young. I didn’t get a chance to go on my Pokémon Journey, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to stop you from going” My mother gazed out of the window, her eyes slightly moist.

“Thank you” I whispered before rushing upstairs to my room. I placed the egg gently on my bed before sprinting around my room, packing my only rucksack with essential survival necessities. Food, water, my savings and a spare change of clothes. That was it. I didn’t need anything else.

“See you around, Topaz and Turquoise! I’ll ring you sometime, Mom!” I called before I threw open the front door, leapt out, and never looked back. I began strolling at a leisurely pace to the south of town, my egg in my arms, heading straight to my destination of Professor Rowan’s lab in Sandgem Town. I’d once seen on TV that all beginner trainers went there to get a Pokedex and a starter Pokémon. That was where I was going. It was going to be perfect.

“SPIKE! Stop! Wait! What are you doing?!” I heard a frantic voice call my name. I turned around to see Sylvia chasing after me.

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Yes, I know Spike's assumptions are ridiculous, she's clueless when it comes to Pokemon.

 

[The Anonymour]

OH MY GOD! SPIKE FORGOT THE EGG! GO BACK!

 

[Zekurom]

Ahaha, yeah, she forgot that the egg hasn't hatched yet. Priceless XD

 

[GoldenrodGOD]

She hasn't forgotten it, she's just forgotten it hasn't hatched so if Sylvia doesn't stop her it's gonna go all spazzy.

 

[GoldenrodGOD]

Chapter 5: What weren’t you thinking?!

“What?” I stopped, annoyed that Sylvia had just ruined the start of my new journey.

“Please don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten what I told you earlier” Sylvia gasped for air, panting from sprinting.

I sighed. “What have I forgotten, Sylvia?” I rolled my eyes, tapping my foot impatiently.

For a second, calm, gentle, sweet Sylvia looked like she wanted to hit me on the head with something hard. But then her face went back to being serene, as it always was.

“Silly old Spike! Your Pokémon is still an egg! It hasn’t hatched yet! It’s not even been born yet!” Sylvia shook her head and laughed lightly, each giggle floating into the late afternoon breeze like a flower petal.

“Bu-bu-what?!” I blustered. I looked down to see I was carrying an egg, not a Pokémon.

“I mean, um, yeah, must’ve forgotten what with all the excitement!” I chuckled nervously, embarrassed that I had forgotten that detail within less than half an hour. “So, um, how long will it take to hatch? A couple of hours? A day?” I asked, running my hand along the smooth surface of the teal and cream egg.

Sylvia’s eyes nearly popped out of her eye sockets.

“A day?!” Sylvia squawked, shaking her head with disbelief. “Spike, did you not learn anything in school when you were younger?”

Her question just so happened to ruffle my feathers. I was from the ‘bad’ side of town, so obviously my education was a lot different than Sylvia’s education. On the ‘bad’ side of town, barely any kids went to school, and if they did, they joined when they were five years old and then dropped out at the tender age of fourteen to get a job so they could support their families. On the ‘good’ side of town, all the kids went to school when they were five years old and stayed all the way up until senior year. Only a few people dropped out before that year, and that was probably so they could go on their Pokémon journey.

“No, I didn’t actually, because I left when I was fourteen years old so I could get a job!” I informed Sylvia with a touch of frostiness to my voice. I inwardly smirked with satisfaction when Sylvia’s mouth open and closed wordlessly with shock. Finally, she reassembled her usual sweet self and began to explain.

“Pokémon Eggs take quite a bit of time to hatch, but not that long. Around a few days or a week, if I recall correctly. We’ve held this egg-“ Sylvia pointed to my egg before continuing. “-for two or three days, so it shouldn’t be too long until it hatches. But it’s still irresponsible and reckless to go running around without an actual Pokémon to protect you! C’mon Spike, I told you this earlier today!” Sylvia tutted. I hung my head in shame. I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten. I did tend to get a bit forgetful sometimes, but not this forgetful!

“Sorry, Syl. I guess I got so worked up about my whole Pokémon Journey that I didn’t stop and think about what I was actually doing.” I shook my head apologetically. Instead of accepting my apology, Sylvia pursed her lips and took a deep breath.

“Spike...” Sylvia began, tracing the indents on a nearby tree with her hand.

“Um, yes?” I asked nervously. I had no idea what she was going to say next, and it terrified me just thinking about it. What if she demanded the egg back? Declaring I was unfit to look after a Pokémon?

What she asked me next stunned me.

“Do you even like Sinnoh?” Sylvia asked, her eyes fixed on the tree.

“Wh-what?!” I asked, confused and shocked. Where was the big rant about how I was such a bad Pokémon trainer and the egg hadn’t even hatched yet?

“Do. You. Like. Sinnoh. Y’know, the region we live in?” Sylvia stated slowly as she looked me right in the eye.

“Um, well, uh...” The truth was, I hadn’t been in any other town in Sinnoh apart from my own. Oh, apart from that one school trip to Celestic Town to visit some sort of cave in the middle of town. I couldn’t really remember, after all, I had only been five years old at the time.

“I guess I don’t really know. I haven’t been to any other towns apart from Celestic Town, but that was back when I was in school.” I shook my head, trying to get rid of the heat that was creeping onto my cheeks. It was pretty embarrassing that I had basically gone nowhere in my whole life.

“I see.” Sylvia nodded, as if she were absorbing amazingly interesting information. Yeah, right.

“I may just have an idea. An idea that would mean you could start your journey now, and I could get some work done” A grin crept onto Sylvia’s annoyingly perfect face.

“What? What do you mean?!” I asked, shocked. How could I get somewhere without a Pokémon? Unless...

“I need to go to Canalave City, in the West of the Sinnoh region. It has a library there, and Grandma needs me to pick up some books that date back to ancient times that could reveal the secrets of Pokémon Eggs. Canalave also happens to be a city with a port.” Sylvia emphasised the word ‘port’.

“Okay. So what does that mean?” I asked, not really sure of where this was going.

“A port. That means boats that will be travelling to different towns, places and even regions” Sylvia explained.

“Wait. Are you saying I-I could begin my Pokémon Journey not in Sinnoh but in a-another region?” I asked excitedly. This was the greatest plan ever. Everything would be perfect. I’d be starting from fresh, from a new town in a different region. There was no chance I would run into anybody I knew like my Mother or my siblings. Sylvia was a genius.

“But wait, what about the egg? And are you coming with me? And which region would I be going to?” I turned to Sylvia, suddenly panicking.

“Wow, a lot of questions there!” Sylvia laughed nervously. “Um, well the great thing is that the egg will hatch by the time we reach Canalave. I don’t know about the regions, I guess you’ll just have to hop on any random ship that’s heading to a distant region. And I’m really sorry Spike, I’d love to come with you on your journey, but I need to help Grandma with the Day Care. She’s teaching me the ways of Pokémon Breeders, you see” Sylvia explained. I nodded. I couldn’t stop her from doing what she wanted.

“Yeah, I get it. It’s cool. Anyway, when were you thinking of setting off?” I asked, dreading Sylvia’s answer. I prayed she’d say today. There was no way in hell I was going back to my house.

“Um, well, I hope you don’t mind but I was thinking...now? I’ve just gotta go get some stuff, I’ll be two minutes...” Sylvia looked at me hopefully.

“Yeah, that’s fine! I’ll be waiting at the South of town. I mean, if that’s the way to Canalave?” I asked, feeling a bit stupid and oblivious.

‘Yes, it is. I’ll see you there!” Sylvia laughed before she ran back towards the Day Care Centre. I began making my way to the edge of town, filled with newfound hope.

 

[Marik]

The ending of Chapter 4 doesn't really match up with the beginning of Chapter 5. Anyway, I like this. A lot of fanfics I read are very fast paced and this is a nice alternative to that. Keep going, and good luck with ideas!