A Doolittle of Pokemon

[classy_cat18]

This is my first fanfic, so don’t be too cruel. I just woke up with all these ideas for a story, so I decided to try them out. Depending on your reaction, I might do more than one chapter.

The Beginning

“Uhh…,” I moaned as the killjoy of good dreams commonly known as an alarm clock tore me out of a good night’s sleep. “No matter how late I set you, you always make me very upset,” I muttered to my inanimate, mechanical enemy.

Hi, my name’s Rebecca Shonta Jones, and I’m inspired to become a prime Pokemon watcher and researcher. I’m eighteen years old, just got my Pokemon trainer’s license, and I’m still worried about when I’m going to go for my driver’s license. Someone call Ripley’s.

“Rebecca! I’ve been calling you for half an hour! Get up or you’ll miss your meeting with Professor Cedar!” Mom yelled. Good ol’ Mom. She calls me by my first name when she’s edgy. If she’s this edgy about something like this, imagine her at the day of my high school graduation. She was bouncing off the walls! She knows that Professor Cedar normally schedules his appointments with the new trainers in the afternoon. It was just 10:00 in the morning.

I rolled off my soft daybed complete with warm sunshine and stumbled into the kitchen complete with electric light. My fourteen-year-old brother Rod was already seated at the table and inhaling his food. That Rod: not getting younger and probably will never get any thinner.

“Careful, Hot Rod. You’re already shaming Lickitung. Don’t make the Snorlax stare,” I commented as I went for my usual bowl of cereal. My family calls him Hot Rod because if he worked as much and as fast as he ate, we could send him away to be part of a race car pit crew. My favorite nickname for him is Mario.

“You shouldn’t talk, Becky. You just now have your Pokemon trainer’s license, and you still can’t drive. At this rate I’ll have my driver’s license before you,” he countered as he finished off his breakfast, his mouth still full of food. He likes calling me Becky because he knows I don’t like that version of my first name. His favorite nickname for me is Luigi. Together we are the Mario Brothers.

“You still have one more year,” I shot back. “A lot could happen in a year. And you don’t have a trainer’s license at all. At this rate I’ll be laughing at you from Indigo Plateau before Mom lets you have your first Pokemon.” Of course I knew that my heart wasn’t in being a Pokemon master. I just wanted a Pokemon for a friend and companion when I go to Ecruteak College, Johto’s answer to Pokemon Tech.

“You two stop bickering and get ready to get out of this house. You know my co-workers are waiting for me to call them about which Pokemon you get, Rebecca,” Mom yelled from the living room.

“You should call the crazy house before Becky starts hearing voices, like the time we went on that camping trip,” I heard Rod quietly say. But I was too busy finishing my cereal to listen to him.

I walked back to my room and put together my clothes for the day. As I was slipping on my favorite clothes, the boom box was blasting the newest Missy Elliot hit. As always, I found myself bouncing to the music as I slipped on my favorite purple T-shirt, baggy blue jeans, and slightly dirty Air Force Ones. I frantically searched for my light blue bead bracelet and found it next to my sketch pad.

I slipped on my bracelet then sat on the daybed while flipping through my sketch pad. One thing about me: I was terribly antisocial but a very good sketch artist. All through high school, I would always rather read about and draw Pokemon than go to a prom. I viewed some pictures I drew of my brother (“I do not look that fat!” he’ll always say), my mother, and some fairly good drawings of Dragonball Z characters. Then some Pokemon pictures. There was a sketch of a running Rattata, a flying angry Spearow (that one cost me some pain), and….that sketch. My pride and joy. My secret treasure. My Raikou sketch. As soon as I laid eyes on that drawn Raikou, the memory of the night that Rod was commenting about earlier flashed in my mind.

It was one year ago, in the summer before my senior year in high school. We decided to go camping with my uncle. Too bad we didn’t think about the weather, for soon we were faced with a thunderstorm warning. I took advantage of this and managed to make a sketch of a couple of electric-types that were growing excited of the coming lightning while everyone was sleeping. With all I was doing, I didn’t notice a mischievous Pichu zooming by and snatched the pencil from my hands until it was too late.

I chased the Pichu through the woods, only half aware of the Pokemon that could be lurking behind the trees. I finally caught up with it when it stopped from exhaustion at the edge of a small meadow. “Okay you little rugrat, that’s my last pencil and I’m taking it back!” I demanded as snatched the pencil from the electric rodent’s mouth and glaring at the small teeth marks indented in the wood. Unfortunately, the demand took the last of my energy and I plopped down in the soft grass.

I didn’t like the look on that Pichu’s face. It didn’t look angry or scared; it looked shocked. It was staring at me, its little mouth and eyes as far open as it could possibly go. “What’s the matter with you? Cat got your tongue?” I finally said after a moment of silence. I regretted the words as soon as they left their mouth. I thought it would shock me, or run back to its family, like I should be doing. Instead I got the first shock of my life.

“AHHH! TALKING HUMAN!” it screamed, its body seemingly paralyzed in place.

I scooted a foot back from the rodent, my heart trying to get back online. “WHAT DID YOU SAY?” I screamed back. The two of us spent what seemed like forever screaming our heads off, our voices almost as loud as the incoming thunder. Then, as I looked around for the prankster that must have been behind this, I spotted something across the meadow that took my mind off the incredible speaking Pichu.

A intimidating Pokemon stood across from us. Yellow with a lightning bolt pattern streaked across its body and showing its steak knife-sized teeth, I was looking at the legendary dog of thunder. I could hardly see it when it was dark, but when the lightning flashed, it might as well be just an inch from my face. The Pichu, which seemed to have stopped screaming, turned its gaze to look at Raikou. At that point we were both totally paralyzed. The Raikou was staring at the two of us; no, at me. For the next two minutes, I took in everything, from its muscular-looking paws to the electricity that was radiating from its body in the form of mini lightning bolts. Then, as just disappeared, just as mysteriously and suddenly as he came.

The Pichu and I just stared at each other until the small electric-type darted back into the woods. Too tired to try to stop it, I shakily stood up and managed to find the campsite. I crept in my sleeping bag without my family noticing. The next morning, I sketched the Raikou I saw with surprising detail.

“Hey, Becky! Mom’s about to leave you!” my brother rudely yelled in my ear. I snapped out of my trance, called Rod a name that not even eighteen-year-olds should know, and dashed to the car. My brother followed, told Mom what I called him, and threw my purse at me. My adventure’s about to pick up where it left off.

[classy_cat18]

Okay, your lack of response is making me nervous. Does it suck or what? Someone say something!

[Powarun]

It is different, and most people don't post unless if you continue any way. Just keep writing chapters and they will come.

[Master Kirby]

I think it is an interesting concept; being able to talk to pokemon. This opens up many possibilities for adventures Rebecca could have. You should keep writing.

Even if noone else responds, you should still write. More people may come when they see more than one chapter. Plus, the more you write, the better it gets.

[Ho-oh2001]

I love the idea! Keep writing, because I can just imagine how much better this can get as it goes on. ^.^ More people will start reading and picking up on it as the story progresses and they see the true genius of the idea.

[PancaKe]

This TOTALLY exceeded my expectations. I expected a really shabby fic about Dr Doo little helping a hurt Arcanine cuz he can talk 2 pokemon.

How mad is this fic! Omgosh its got great characterization, it leaves you in wonder a bit about what she might accomplish, but Becky's character is developing very nicely. It's a very good fic with potential so continue it. Even if it wasn't good still pursue it. Things are only made better with practice.

~Mist

[classy_cat18]

Thanks, everyone! Next chapter, coming up!

Enter Artemis, Exit Normal Life

I sat in the backseat while staring out the car window, heading toward Professor Cedar’s lab in my hometown of Sunflower Town. Just in case you haven’t heard of the place, and you’d be crazy if you have, it’s just about smack dab in the middle of the Ilex Forest. The only safe access in and out of the town is one main unpaved roadway. You could go out there yourself, but unless you have the internal instincts of a migrating Wingull, you practically would be writing your will. But just because the place is hidden in a forest, doesn’t mean it’s a backwoods village. Sunflower Town’s pretty well sized. It reminds you of Pallet town, only with more trees.

My mind was still stuck on the Raikou incident. After it happened, the little talent of mine stayed suppressed. That made it tough to prove that it happened. I told myself that the Pichu did not talk, that the sight of the legendary dog was just a dream. But every time I was close to convincing myself this, the teeth marks on my pencil and the lack of sleep told me otherwise. So I decided to keep silent on the issue, because I was afraid that my family would throw me in the nearest nuthouse if I kept trying to prove it to them.

I snapped back to reality at the sound of Mom’s voice. “Rebecca, which starter will you get?” Chikorita, Totodile, and Cyndaquil were Pro. Cedar’s regulars, but sometimes he’ll offer something different to test a trainer’s flexibility, or just because he’s like that. “I don’t know. I heard he gave the last beginning trainer a Pidgey because he wanted to see if he could cope,” I replied. I secretly hoped it would be a Pokemon that could fit inside the house or refrain himself from terrorizing Rod in the middle of the night, although once everyone sees my brother that’s the first thing on their minds.

We passed through restaurants and small apartments, and finally arrived at the gates of Professor Cedar’s lab. Since he was expecting us, the gates were already open. Driving up the long driveway, we saw some of the Pokemon that he had in his nature reserve. I could see that Pro. Cedar was comfortable with leaving the gates open as I took a look at was definitely a swarm of Scyther. As we drove by the Scyther, they glared at us as though we were interrupting something personal.

“Hey Becky, wonder what they’re thinking?” Rod asked while glaring back at the mantis Pokemon.

“Judging by the way they’re licking their lips, I’d say they’re thinking ‘Wonder how much barbeque can we make with that little porker?’” I joked.

“Rebecca, what have I said about making fun of your brother’s weight?” Mom sternly said. I kept quiet while my brother made a face at me while Mom was busy trying not to crash into anything.

I went back into staring at the scenery. There was a grassy field, a clear blue pond, and the Ilex Forest in the background, virtually untouched. Numerous Pokemon lived their everyday lives here, some wild, others trained. I felt like a kid in a Toys-R-Us, hoping I’d get one of the tougher Pokemon out there. Although I had almost no desire of becoming a Pokemon master, I had a thing for tough Pokemon. I guess it’s from that close encounter of the legendary kind.

Finally we reached the lab. Professor Cedar was standing outside of the door with a slight look of amazement on his young face. Unlike most of the other Pokemon professors, this guy was young, plus you could tell he had people skills. By his looks, he may not be more than ten years older than me. “Good afternoon!” he said warmly with a smile. “I wasn’t expecting you for another hour. Fortunately I always prepare ahead of time. Come inside and we’ll give you your first Pokemon immediately if you want to.”

He shook Mom’s hand, then Rod’s, then gave me a more secure handshake. “You’re excited, Shonta?” he asked me.

“Not as excited as Mom,” I replied, pointing to my nervous parent. “I’m guessing that she’s afraid that it’s going to be one of those oversized, uncontrollable Pokemon.”

“Don’t worry,” he said to Mom. “I wouldn’t be responsible if I gave her something like that.”

We walked into the living area of the lab, where I could see that this professor definitely had a life outside of Pokemon. It was decorated with nice furniture, books from all kinds of authors (even J.K. Rowling), and even a Gamecube. We walked past the living area and into the part of the lab that contained hundreds of pokeballs, some empty and others full. “Wait here,” Pro. Cedar instructed us while he walked to a shelf and picked a pokeball. He inspected it, probably making sure it was the right one, then returned to us.

“I wanted to give you something to suit your personality, Shonta,” he excitedly said while handing me the pokeball. “I think she’s perfect for you. I got this Pokemon from a close friend of mine. Go on, open it!”

I pushed the button on the pokeball with shaking fingers and opened it. A big flash of light, and my first Pokemon appeared on the floor: an Eevee. She was small and brown, with a white tip at the end of her tail. The Eevee looked up at me with big black eyes and called out happily. “She’s so cute!” I exclaimed, and picked her up. Pro. Cedar smiled at me I while stroked her long ears and the bushy fur on her chest.

“That’s it? Man, I hope you evolve it as soon as possible, Becky. This thing’s too small and wimpy,” Rod said disappointedly.

“Okay, Hot Rod. This is not your Pokemon, so you can shut your mouth until you can get your own! And stop insulting her! Don’t judge a book by its cover,” I shouted him, so close to his face I could smell his unbrushed mouth. I looked at the Eevee, seeing that she was angrier than I was. She was growling and snapping her teeth at him! “Besides, you better hope that I don’t evolve her. Mom might have to take you to the clinic to treat your burns or to thaw you out,” I added while trying to soothe my new friend.

“Wow, she obviously likes you! You two most have more in common than I thought,” Pro. Cedar said to me.

“You mean we both feel like KO’ing Hot Rod right now?”
“Ha ha, very funny. Why don’t you take your new Pokemon outside and enjoy the reserve while I talk to your Mom?”

I set the Eevee down on the floor and started walking to the door, occasionally looking back to see if she was following. And she was, and quite eagerly as it seems. We walked back outside and into a big grassy field where grazing Pokemon were eating. I turned to the Eevee and said, “Don’t worry about my brother Hot Rod. He’s just jealous. He doesn’t like having to wait for anything.” The Eevee looked up to me, smiled, and spoke.

“Don’t worry. Brothers are supposed to be annoying jerks,” she said, and laughed.

I plopped down on the grass, held my hand over my quickly beating heart, and stared at the Eevee like the Pichu stared at me one year ago. Luckily, I managed not to scream. “What…did…you…say?” I asked slowly and quietly.

“I said that brothers are supposed to be jerks. Are you deaf or something, Becky?” she replied.

“No, of course not. Can you understand me?”

“Yeah, and I guess you know what I’m saying too!”

“Aren’t you freaked out of something, ‘cause I can’t believe this!” I remembered how the Pichu reacted, like I was an alien coming to abduct it.

“I guess I am a little surprised, but it’s more cool than freaky! Finally, someone to talk to!” the Eevee said perkily, and laughed again.

Now my heart was back to normal. So my talent came back, I thought. No use screaming my head off for something that I was half-expecting to happen. I turned back to the Eevee, my first Pokemon partner.

“I guess I should give you a name.” Then I noticed the spot on her head. It was white and shaped like a crescent moon. “What about Artemis? Feminine yet tough.”

Artemis blinked at the sound of the name. “Why Artemis? It sounds like something out of Sailor Moon.”

“What’s Sailor Moon? I read something out of Greek mythology that said that Artemis was the goddess of the moon and the hunt. It came to mind when I saw that mark on your forehead.”

Artemis rubbed the moon-shaped mark and shrugged. “Oh well, at least it’s a better name than Becky.”

I almost fell out at the sound of my nickname. “It’s not Becky; it’s Rebecca. Better yet, just call me Shonta. I like it better than Rebecca.”

“Okay! Wait, I hear something.” Artemis’s ears perked as the sound of soft footsteps grew louder. We both turned around and spotted Rod walking and laughing at me.

“Oh man! You are crazy! What are you doing talking to that runt?” Rod exclaimed while approaching Artemis. “You still think you can talk to Pokemon? You are in so much trouble!”

“Okay, so I can talk to Artemis. That doesn’t make me crazy; it just makes you stupid and rude for listening in on our conversation!”

“At least I can have a conversation with someone! This runty idiot probably has the intelligence of a two-year-old.” Rod was crouching down in front of Artemis and poking her as if she was a dead Rattata. She responded to the poking by biting one of his pudgy, fat fingers as if she was a dead Rattata that wasn’t really dead at all.

“AHH! MOM! HELP ME! SHONTA’S NEW POKEMON BIT ME! I MIGHT BE INFECTED WITH RABIES!” Rod screamed frantically while I coaxed Artemis into letting go of his finger. Rod ran back to Mom who was now beside the car. I calmly walked back to Pro. Cedar with an alibi ready while Artemis trotted beside me.

“Idiot my paw. That guy should stop biting his nails. And since when did someone as cute and sweet like me carried rabies?” Artemis mumbled while going back to the car.

“Shonta, did your Pokemon bite Rod?” Mom asked me.

“Yeah, but Rod shouldn’t have been poking Artemis. She’s not used to him, plus she’s very sensitive.” I picked Artemis up and held her like a newborn as Mom cooed and petted her.

“Oh Shonta, I forgot!” Pro. Cedar ran up and gave me a Pokedex and some pokeballs. “I know you’re not crazy about being a Pokemon master, but the more the merrier, right?”

“Yeah, and thanks for giving me Artemis.” I climbed in the front seat with Artemis while explaining to Rod how taking turns are done.

“Hey, Mom! Aren’t you going to tell Shonta that she’s in trouble? Her Pokemon just bit me and she’s saying that she can understand it!” Rod was desperately trying to ruin my day again.

“Rod, be quiet before I leave you outside with the Scyther!” Mom threatened Rod while giving him the universal “I’m getting a headache” sign. Meanwhile, Artemis and I were laughing at Rod’s failed attempt to tattle.

“Hey Shonta, what’s my new home like?” Artemis asked me.

“Not very exciting, but you won’t have to worry about that,” I quietly replied.

[PancaKe]

That was pretty cool. Now i see how the doolittle thing comes into it. It's very very funky ^_^ Go you! I like Artemis (cant spell) cuz like she's got a cool attitude. Rod is just a cow.

~Mist

[classy_cat18]

More Bark Than Bite

Artemis seemed really excited on the trip home. It was still about mid-afternoon, so Mom stopped by the store to get dinner for the evening and supplies for Artemis. Artemis was humming happily to the music while Mom was talking to her friend Ms. Steele on the phone.

“Hey, girl! How’s it going? Fine for me. Shonta just got back from the lab and she has the sweetest little Eevee! How’s your son doing? That’s good. I think I remember you saying that he’s going to get his first Pokemon tomorrow. I still think it’s nice that he decided to wait to get his starter until Shonta got hers. Don’t they make the cutest match?”

I groaned at this remark while Artemis quietly giggled. Mom was talking about Ms. Steele’s son, Ryan. We grew up together, played together, and shared each other’s secrets. He was the first one that believed me when I told him about my first experience with my gift of gab. We promised each other that we would go to Ecruteak College together and be the best duo of Pokemon researchers ever. Mom’s so crazy about Ryan that she constantly takes us places while Ms. Steele always makes sure that I stay full and sane. Ryan can’t help but blush when Mom calls him “her little son-in-law to be”.

“Hey Luigi, aren’t you going to put what’s his name back in its pokeball?” Rod sneered as he and Artemis exchanged glares.

“When and if she feels like it,” I said simply as I stroked Artemis’s fur. I looked down at Artemis’s sad eyes and added, “I don’t think she wants to go back in.”

“Mom, make Shonta call back her Pokemon!”

“Rod! Stop pestering Shonta! She doesn’t have to put her back in if she doesn’t want to,” Mom said as she pulled into the driveway.

Artemis hopped out of the car and inspected the yard of her new home as I picked up a couple of grocery bags. “This is a lot smaller than the reserve,” she said as she sniffed around the grass and flower beds.

“Well, not all of us get paid big bucks for having one of the coolest jobs in the Pokemon world,” I commented as I checked Artemis's food to make sure it was the brand that Pro. Cedar recommended. “Wow, this sounds tasty. Hope you like your veggies.”

“I have my favorites,” she said with a funny face. “Good thing I’m hungry. Hurry up and get that bag open!”

“Talking with your new friend, Shonta? Tell her that dinner will be ready in half an hour. But before you do, let me have a word with little Artemis.” Mom put the rest of the bags in the house, returned, and looked down at Artemis with a sudden expression of extreme seriousness. She was going to lay down “The Rules”.

“Let me get this straight right now. No jumping on the furniture. No tracking any kind of impurities on my clear floor. No eating from any other dish other than yours. No making a lot of noise in the middle of the night. And if you ever, EVER, use any kind of attack in the house and break or hurt anything or anybody, you will be in so much trouble that YOU’LL WISH YOU WAS INVISIBLE!!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?”

Artemis quickly nodded and hid behind me.

“Good. Now get ready for dinner. Both of you.”

Mom was strange. Sometimes I thought that she shared the Doolittle talent with me, because she was always so cool about the way I explained myself last year. Every time I told her I thought the talent was coming back, she’ll just smile and say “That’s nice, dear.” I didn’t know if she was joking about the matter or if she was believing me and just staying cool with it.

Artemis watched Mom walk casually back in the house and said, “Your mom freaks me out, Shonta. I’ll make sure I don’t break one rule.”

“You understood her?”

“It was hard not too!”

We walked behind the house to the backyard. There stood a large tree and some sunflowers. Sunflower Town is famous for their giant sunflowers and their special Sunflora. During the spring Sunflora are everywhere and are a favorite target for Pokemon trainers of all kinds. The bad thing is that the Pokemon come and go within a couple of months.

“Cozy, huh?” I said while testing my most recent purchase from the Goldenrod Department Store Online: a hammock with a stand.

“It is pretty, but where are the Pokemon?” Artemis asked while jumping on the hammock with me.

“Well, with the exception of the tons of Pokemon that calls Pro. Cedar’s reserve home, small wild Pokemon, and the trained ones of course, they mainly live on the outskirts of the town. Most of the wild Pokemon stay in the Ilex Forest, but a few gutsy ones have been known to sort of terrorize the neighborhood. Even then, they either get chased back by someone or end up getting caught.”

“Oh. Hey, who’s that Pokemon?” She was looking up at a small bird circling overhead that looked like it was going to dive-bomb us.

“It’s Spearow!” I replied frantically. I managed to snatch Artemis off of the hammock seconds before it flew right through it and landed on the ground below.

I sadly looked at the shredded remains of the hammock and felt myself go to pieces. “Oh man, there goes three months’ payday! You’re KFC now, birdy!” The Spearow just laughed and ran to a teenage boy wearing a leather jacket.

“Ah, Shonta. Long time no see. I just got back from vacation and thought that you might want to see the pictures that I took,” he said to me with a sneer.

“Sorry, Tony. I don’t feel like hearing about your pleasant time in juvie. Speaking of juvie, how did you get out? Did you escape or did they just get tired of you and threw you out?” Tony was the bully to end all bullies. Growing up, he would push around everyone, even if they were two or three grades ahead of him. Rumor is that everyone is scared of him and his ever shrinking gang because his father is a certain infamous Gym Leader.

“I got bail. My father has ‘connections.’” Oy, again with the connections. The only reason that Tony got as far in school as he did was because of the connections. In fact, the only thing that stood between him and graduation was the police. Man, those Jennies are something! Tony’s favorite pastime is catching the strongest Pokemon, even if they already belonged to someone. A real Team Rocket wannabe.

I put Artemis down and stood in front of her. Tony just laughed as though I were Drew Carey doing stand-up comedy. “Is that what you got from the Professor? Oh man, I knew there was something wrong with that birdbrain! That runt couldn’t hurt my Pokemon if she tried!”

Now I see where Rod gets if from.

I looked down at Artemis and Tony’s Spearow. It sounded like the Spearow was doing his own gloating. “Hey squirt, you look more like a featherweight!” it crowed.

“Why are you being so mean? I don’t want any trouble.” Artemis was saying as she was slowly backing up and heading back to the house.

“You can’t do anything! Come try me! Whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do?” It was bouncing up and down, flapping his wings like a professional wrestler would flex his muscles.

Artemis suddenly stopped and looked down at the ground. She had gotten very calm all of a sudden. “I’m gonna do…this!” She scooped a handful of loose dirt and flung it in the Spearow’s eyes. A perfect Sand-Attack! She wasted no time in running up and tackling it. The Spearow rolled and stopped in front of his trainer’s feet, KO’ed in one hit.

“Never underestimate the little guy,” Artemis said, and stuck her tongue at Tony.

Tony was startled as he bent over and roughly picked up the unconscious bird. “Spearow, wake up! Useless pile of flesh.” He called back his Spearow and glared at me. I had a big smug look on my face as Artemis walked back and sat beside me.

“You were saying, Mr. Soprano?” I was smirking and at the same time getting ready to run for it. No telling what other Pokemon he had.

“I’ll show you not to mess with me. Houndour, go!” He was getting ready to throw a pokeball when a voice yelled out to him.

“Tony Stellar! What are you up to now?” Behind Tony stood a stern-looking blue-haired woman who was wearing a police uniform. A Growlithe stood by her side, his expression matching that of the police officer.

Tony turned around and walked past Officer Jenny. Jenny looked back at me, her expression softening.

“Are you and your Pokemon okay?” Officer Jenny asked me while she and Growlithe walked toward me. She approached Artemis and petted her. “So this is your new Pokemon. She looks healthy and happy!”

“Yeah, and you could add hungry to the list. When are we going to eat?” Artemis slightly whined.

“Yeah, we’re just fine. I can’t believe they let that slime out!” I said.

“I don’t either, but be careful. He’ll surely go back to his old tricks.” Officer Jenny stood up and started walking away. “Have a good evening!”

“We will!” Artemis and I said together. As Jenny went back to the station, I started walking back to the front door of the house.

“You sure showed that Spearow who’s boss! I bet it’ll think twice before pushing anyone around again!” I said to Artemis.

“I doubt it, but that makes it all the more sweeter to kick its butt again!” Artemis said and laughed as we through the front door.

[classy_cat18]

A Doolittle of Pokemon

Meet Shonta, a seemingly ordinary eighteen-year-old with a once suppressed talent. Together with her Pokemon Artemis and her best friend Ryan, they'll go on wild adventures, meet new friends and reunite with old ones. Sounds dopey, but check it out anyway, please.

[classy_cat18]

Sorry the chapters are so short. I don’t have a lot of free time on my hands, plus I’m making this story up as I go. Improvisational chapters I call them!

Artemis’s Story

Dinner was ready by the time Artemis and I were done with our little scrap. As we walked to the front door, Artemis suddenly stopped at the doormat and wiped her paws on it. “Almost forgot your mom’s rule about no dirty floors,” she remarked.
Dinner was delicious. It was so good that Artemis and I wolfed down our food almost as fast as Rod did. Rod commented on my smacking. I ignored him while Artemis showed him her “seafood”.
After dinner I showed Artemis around the house. I made sure she saw the laundry room, the bathroom (then had to wait while she ran outside to use the bathroom on the tree), and then the bedrooms. She held her nose while in Rod’s room (“What does he do in there?” she said repulsively), was really careful in Mom’s room, and we stopped at my room.
“Wow! Look at all the stuff you’ve got!” Artemis exclaimed as she looked around my room.
“Mom didn’t mention it, but the rule about no jumping on the furniture doesn’t apply to my room,” I informed her while watching her running toward my daybed. We were both full from our dinner and would try to move as little as possible. “Make yourself comfortable while I go take a bath.” I grabbed a fresh set of underclothes and my pajamas and walked to the bathroom.
Once in there, I drew a nice hot bubble bath, dressed down, and hopped right in. My bad thoughts just drifted away as I lied there soaking. I didn’t think about Tony, what happened a year ago, not anything. I did hear the door creak open, but who cares? To me the door might as well be a mile away. I just closed my eyes and let my stress melt into nothing.
“Hey!” a voice squeaked.
I jerked upright and turned my head to see Artemis slip and fall over the rim of the bathtub and into the water. “What are you doing in here? How did you get in here?” I yelled at the now soaked Eevee.
“Taking a bath with you! The door wasn’t closed all the way.” She blew the bubbles out of her face and smiled at me.
“Well, I could’ve bathed you after I was done. I wanted to take one in private!”
“Why? We’re both girls, plus this saves you time!”
“Oh, alright. But this is the last time. Now let me scrub your back. Good thing no one noticed. Mom would’ve been taking a picture of us.”
After our little bath time, Artemis found out how interesting my Dell Inspiron was. “Hey, Pro. Cedar has one of these! What can you do on yours?”
“Well, there are games, music, schoolwork, Internet, e-mail…”
“E-mail? You mean those things that ask you if you want to see their webcam?”
“Uhh…that’s one way of putting it.”
“What kind of music do you have on your computer?”
“Let’s see.” I opened Windows Media Player and scanned my digital library. “There’s Aaliyah, Destiny’s Child, Dixie Chicks…”
“Let’s hear Dixie Chicks!”
I clicked on the only song I had that was from Dixie Chicks, “Goodbye Earl”. Call me stupid, but I think that song is one of the funniest I’ve ever heard. Artemis was lip synching the words and giggling every now and then.
“You’ve heard this song?”
“Yeah, the Professor has it on his laptop too! He loves it!”
Yep, Pro. Cedar definitely had a life. In fact, I wonder where he gets the time to do his job.
“Wow, the Professor has one of these, too!” She was now at my Gamecube. “Are you playing that Smash Bros. game?”
“Yeah, why do you ask?”
“The Professor loves that game. Wow, you two have a lot in common. He keeps muttering about something called ‘Event Match 51’. Wonder what that is?”
“Yeah, I wonder.” I’m going to have to call that guy. He might have a clone somewhere in that lab of his.
I sat on my bed and looked at the window. The sun was now down and stars were starting up in the sky. In Sunflower Town, there were hardly any streetlights. That makes it an ideal place for stargazers.
“Hey, Artemis. You seem really smart for an Eevee. No offense, of course. How did you get like that?”
Artemis jumped on the bed and sat by me, also looking at the stars. “I get it from my mom. She was very smart and very strong.” She looked kind of sad while saying this.
“What was your mom like?
“She was the greatest Umbreon that ever lived. All opponents that tried to beat her failed miserably. Her trainer and she were best friends for a long time. Her trainer was Pro. Cedar’s close friend. His name was Professor Willow.”
“Oh, Willow! I’ve heard of him.” It was impossible not to. Willow was a very famous Eevee breeder and researcher. He was known for his Umbreon.
Artemis continued. “Pro. Willow believed that all Pokemon were intelligent. There’s just that problem with communication that made them unable to understand complex human speech. But my mom Luna could understand everything he said. Not only that, she could speak human, too. And when I was born, she taught me the same things that she learned, like how to read.”
“Wow! That’s amazing! But why are you here? Wouldn’t you rather want to be back in Stone Town with your mom and Pro. Willow?”
Artemis broke out in tears when I said this. “I can’t! She’s dead and Pro. Willow is too! Our home was attacked by some stupid thugs. My mom thought she had them beaten, but one of them had a gun! I tried to help her but I was too scared. After they killed my mom they set the house on fire. Pro. Willow managed to put me in a pokeball and toss me out the window, but he couldn’t make it out himself. They found me in the morning and instructed Pro. Cedar to take care of me. I didn’t find out about Pro. Willow’s death until days later.”
“I’m sorry. Hey, cut it out with the waterworks, you’re getting your fur soaked.” Sorry folks, but I could get a little insensitive. If I get just a little sad, I’ll be crying harder than Artemis. Anyway, I didn’t even know about the incident. I thought he was still living.
Artemis wiped her eyes. “Pro. Cedar didn’t know what to do. He had an intelligent Pokemon and he couldn’t understand a word I said. See, Mom didn’t teach me the human language. Then he found out about you! See, he heard about your little run-in with the Pichu. That’s why he gave me to you!”
Oh man. How many people did Mom tell?
Artemis looked happy to get that burden off her shoulders. “Can I ask you a favor, Shonta?”
“Sure, what?”
“Help me evolve into Umbreon. I want to be just like my mom!”
“Sure. I guess you would want to grow up to be like your mother.”
“Great. I don’t want to do any heavy battling, but neither did my mom. She was a natural.” She yawned and flopped down on the blanket. “I’m getting sleepy…” She muttered to herself as she sank into a good night’s sleep.
“Goodnight, little one.” I saw that it was later than I thought. I slithered under the covers, careful not to push Artemis off the bed. Thoughts on what Artemis said about her past ran around in my mind as I also drifted off to sleep.

[classy_cat18]

All right, now for some news. I’m off Good Friday, so I won’t be able to post any new parts after this one until Sunday because the family computer’s sucky and I store all of my files on my notebook computer. Also, I’m going to change the way I organize the chapters. All of the parts that I’ve posted earlier are part of the first chapter. This post marks my second chapter. Just think of the Sonic games, when each zone is broken down into two or three acts. Finally, I know I should keep writing because my mind hasn’t run dry yet, but it would still be good to hear some feedback. I’m used to this in my writing class – I don’t get feedback, I don’t know what to improve, so I fall apart. So without further ado, let’s get it on!

Meet Ryan and Cinder

Pleasant day.

“Shonta…”

Soft bed.

“Hey, Shonta…”

I could stay here all day.

“SHONTA!!!”

Unfortunately, I didn’t count the Artemis factor.

I slowly opened my eyes and saw Artemis on my chest. “Do you know what time it is? You need to set your alarm clock,” she said as she jumped down to the floor.

I sat up and looked at the alarm clock. It was actually earlier than I thought: 9:30. “I do. But that thing gets on my nerves; it’s just too accurate and annoying. You’re my new alarm clock.” I got out of bed and walked to the dining room with Artemis following. “Are you hungry?” I asked Artemis.

“Nah, your Mom fed me and put me out. That food’s tasty, but it sure makes you go pretty fast!”

Okay, note to self: check to see if they have Tums or Gas-X for Pokemon at the Pokemon Center.

I prepared my usual bowl of cereal while Artemis walked back to my room. I was all alone this morning. Mom was at work and Rod was at summer school. In times like these, I usually sleep in and loaf around the house. But now there were two reasons why I couldn’t do that today – Artemis was anxious for fun and Ryan would be too.

I did the usual preparations for the day, such as brushing teeth, ironing and putting on clothes, fixing hair, and checking my E-mail. Clothes are always a t-shirt and denim jeans, although I sometimes go Capri in warm weather. I always put my hair in a ponytail unless my hair is braided. Artemis was also preparing by grooming her fur.

E-mail consisted of a bunch of junk mail and something from Ryan. He was asking me if I heard of the sequel to Jak and Daxter and informing me that he was getting his new Pokemon this morning. He’ll then come by my house to hang with me for the rest of the day. “Looks like you got a new friend on the way, Artemis. Actually, two friends.”

Artemis’s ears perked. “Really? Who?”

“My best friend Ryan and his first Pokemon. Ryan and I grew up together and are working toward being Pokemon researchers. He’ll love you!”

“Okay, as long as he doesn’t ask me on a date.”

I giggled and closed my inbox. “Let’s go outside. It will be a shame to let all this sunshine go to waste.”

Outside in the backyard is my favorite place to loaf. Too bad that rude Spearow tore apart my hammock; it would’ve been perfect for loafing on. Oh well, the soft grass will just have to do. I lied down in the mowed grass and watched the clouds float by.

“Don’t you do anything besides relaxing? Let’s go somewhere!” Artemis whined.

“I need to reserve my energy for today. Besides, I don’t want to go anywhere without Ryan. Last time I did, he rode my back all of the next day. Luckily, he sent that E-mail pretty early. That means he should be here pretty soon. So relax with me.”

Artemis sighed and lied down next to me, closing her eyes. I copied her and let my mind drift. Ah, mind drifting. No need for thinking, caring, worrying, breathing…

Breathing!?!

I can’t breathe!

Someone was holding my nostrils shut!

I opened my eyes and mouth and stared into the blue eyes of another person. “Mind drifting again? Sometimes I wonder if you don’t think enough, Shonta!” the person said. He let go of my nose and watched me shoot up into an upright position.

“Hey Ryan, how was your visit with Pro. Cedar?” I said while poking Artemis. It seemed she relaxed so much that she was sleeping.

“Alright. Looks like your visit went just as well.” He picked up the Eevee and looked over her. Artemis woke up and smiled at him. “Hey, nice mark,” he said while rubbing Artemis’s crescent moon mark.

“Her name’s Artemis. Where’s your Pokemon?”

“Well…” He sidestepped and revealed a Cyndaquil. It looked like it was really nervous. “His name is Cinder. I’m not sure, but I think he’s afraid of humans.”

“Hi, Cinder! How are you?”

Cinder squeaked and hid behind Ryan again. “H..H..Hi…” he stammered. “I…I…ammm…f-fine.”

“Yeah, I think so too. Either that, or he really needs to use it.”

I stood up and shared a high five with Ryan. “Oh! Guess what? It came back.”

“Yeah, they should’ve kept Tony in juvenile hall.”

“No, my gift!”

“That airhead slime sent that gift back to you? What a snob!”

“NO, MY ABILITY TO TALK TO POKEMON!!!”

“Oh, that. No need to scream at me. You really need to specify. When did it return, yesterday?”

“Yeah, while I was talking to Artemis at Pro. Cedar’s lab.” Oh, boy. Although Ryan and I were best friends, we did have our little arguments. Maybe Ryan was joking with me. He’s never this flaky.

Ryan set down Artemis and started messing with his spiky blond hair. “I am having one serious hair day. Mom thinks I should cut it.”

“No way! Let it grow a little more and find you some funky sunglasses. People will think you’re Vash the Stampede.”

“Trigun. Oy.” Obviously he hadn’t caught the new series on Cartoon Network yet. “Hey, why don’t you translate what Cinder said to Artemis just a few seconds ago?”

“He said, ‘Please don’t hurt me.’”

“Okay, maybe he’s just a wuss.”

Ryan and I sat down and watched Cinder talk to Artemis. Artemis was asking Cinder question after question. The last one was a doozy.

“Hey Cinder! Did Ryan’s mom tell you ‘The Rules’?” Artemis asked the scared Cyndaquil.

“Wh-What rules?”

“The ones where she looks really creepy and almost makes you pee on yourself!”

“Oh…those. Yeah.”

Ryan sighed. “Mom made Cinder pee on himself just minutes after she met him.”

I laughed. “She probably laid down ‘The Rules’. I’m surprised Artemis stayed so cool.”

Ryan laughed back. “Our moms are weird. By the way, Pro. Cedar wants to see us sometime today.”

“Okay. Let me grab my bike and backpack and we’ll go over there now.”

Cinder tugged on Ryan’s shirt and said something to him.

“Um…translation, Shonta?”

“Cinder said that he wants to go back in his pokeball. It’s safer in there.”

Artemis sighed. "He's definitely a wuss."

"Am not!" Cinder shot back.

[classy_cat18]

One more thing folks. Sometimes I make little changes to the story, so make sure you check to see if I edit any parts. Love you all!

[Master Kirby]

You're doing a great job. I think that was funny when Shonta's Mom laid down "The Rules".

Cinder looks like it needs to do some battling to lift up it's confidence.

[Reptilius Pyrus]

Wow! Excellent story. I love the plot idea. I will be eagerly awaiting the next installment. Keep up the good work!

[PancaKe]

Classy - I mentioned your fic as the Fic of the Week in the Fanfic News. feel proud, its a very good fic. I'm really impressed with the flow of the story and the developlment of characters. You're going great - just the chapter numbers are a bit confusing me. that all

~Mist

[classy_cat18]

Whoa! You rule, Mist! By the way, I’ve decided to do away with the chapter numbers so it won’t be so confusing. I’m glad to be back from vacation! I don’t want to go on another one like that again.

Fanning the Flames

I ran inside and grabbed my backpack with my essentials for the day. I made sure I packed my lunch; Pro. Cedar was sure to feed Artemis while we were there. I looked for my newest sketch pad because I wanted to observe and draw the Scyther that I saw yesterday. After I found it under my bed, I stuffed it and some other things into my backpack and ran back outside, almost forgetting to lock the door.

“Okay Artemis, I guess you’ll be traveling in my backpack,” I said to her while setting my backpack to the ground. “Will Cinder be traveling in his pokeball or is he comfortable riding in your backpack?” I asked Ryan.

Artemis climbed in my backpack and looked up at me. “Why do you even ask, Shonta? You know he’ll probably be scared riding in Ryan’s pack! Besides, what if he gets sick and throws up in there?” I put the pack on my back and climbed on my bike.

“I’m not scared! I just don’t want to tumble out and bruise myself! I’ll go in the pack. I’m claustrophobic anyway,” Cinder said to Artemis.

I told Ryan what Cinder said and waited for Cinder to slowly and nervously climb into Ryan’s backpack. He nervously smiled as Ryan strapped it on his back. “See? I’m alright. As long as no one decides to…”

“Race!” I said before Cinder finished his sentence.

“You’re on!” Ryan replied while he climbed on his bike.

“Oh no…” Cinder murmured as both Ryan and I sped off.

“Yeehaw!” Artemis yelled happily.

We quickly passed the scenery on our way to the reserve. Although some people do have cars, they’re not really needed. That’s the only reason that I can give for not having my driver’s license.

“I’m going to hurl!” Cinder groaned.

“As long as you don’t do it on me,” Artemis said.

We finally stopped at the gates of the reserve, almost exhausted. “Ha! I beat you so don’t try to deny it like you did last time!” Ryan crowed.

“Oh please! You need to get glasses, because I was in first from start to finish!” I told him.

“Maybe in your daydreams, but you need to get back to reality!” Ryan said as we started up the driveway to the lab. We always raced to the driveway, but we never had the energy to go all the way up it at full speed. Both of us knew that we always tied although neither of us admitted it.

We stopped at the door of the lab and let Artemis and Cinder out of our backpacks. Artemis blinked at Cinder who was practically hugging the ground. “Weirdo,” she simply stated.

“Hey! You shouldn’t be saying anything, Artemis! Ryan kept popping wheelies! I was lucky I didn’t make skid marks on the pavement,” Cinder whined.

“Okay, you two stop arguing before you both go in your pokeballs,” I said to the two. “And stop popping wheelies before I pop you one, Ryan.” All three of them made faces at me.

We left our bikes next to the entrance of the lab and walked out into the grassy field. If Pro. Cedar was anywhere this time of day, chances are he would be anywhere outside in the reserve. That was the problem. The reserve was well sized, and even goes into the forest. Plus, not all of the Pokemon were friendly.

“What are you doing, Artemis?” Cinder asked. Artemis had her nose to the ground, sniffing here and there.

“What does it look like? I’m tracking the Professor! I have a good sense of smell, and it smells like he went…that way!” Artemis darted off toward the forest in front of us.

“Hey Ryan, Artemis has Pro. Cedar’s scent!” I said to Ryan.

“Looks like it. We better hurry up before we lose her!” He sprinted after the Eevee with me following.

“Oh, man! I’m still wiped out from the bike race,” I panted out.

“Wait for me!” Cinder shouted.

We all followed Artemis to the edge of the forest, then waited as she stopped, sniffed some more, then turned and ran along the edge. Soon we came to a well-hidden path, almost invisible from a distance. We were careful as we ran after Artemis, pushing branches out of the way as we went. When we finally caught up to her, we found a sight that made us stare in awe.

It was a huge tree in a small clearing. What made it different from the other trees was that it was as wider than tall. And on it were lots and lots of Kakuna. And where there are this many Kakuna, there’s bound to be some Beedrill nearby.

“Whoa…” Ryan and I said together.

“You said it,” Artemis and Cinder said together.

“Where’s Pro. Cedar?” Ryan wondered.

“I’m right here,” we heard a voice whisper from behind the tree. Pro. Cedar emerged from there and waved. “You have to be quiet. One sudden noise and we’ll be in big trouble.”

“What are you doing here? I’m surprised you’re not full of holes already!” I whispered.

“I’m doing some research on the behavior patterns of guard Beedrill,” he replied.

“Guard Beedrill? I don’t see any Beedrill,” Ryan said.

Cinder was frantically looking for the Beedrill, whimpering. “I want to go home, I want to go to bed, I want to get out of here, I want to…AHH! BEEDRILL!” He suddenly screamed at a sleeping Beedrill. In one second, the sleeping Beedrill was no longer sleeping.

“Nice going, Einstein! Now he’ll go after your cowardly butt!” Artemis shouted at Cinder.

“I’m not a coward! I just don’t want to be stung!” Cinder shouted back. Apparently, there was no more need for whispering.

The Beedrill responded to the shouting intruders by loudly calling for reinforcements. Soon the whole clearing rang with the sound of angry buzzing.

“Shonta, why don’t you tell them that we don’t mean any harm?” Ryan nervously suggested.

“Ryan, we just violated their space and gave them a rude awakening. DO YOU THINK THEY WANT TO LISTEN TO US NOW!?!”

“Let’s quit arguing and run!” Pro. Cedar said.

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the Beedrill appeared from the hiding places above our heads and swooped at us. Ryan scooped up Cinder as I picked up Artemis and we both ran behind Pro. Cedar. Behind us was the buzzing of what could be thirty or more Beedrill, all wanting to use us as human pincushions. It almost seemed as if they wanted to wear us down before finishing us off.

We finally reached the field. Artemis jumped out of my arms and got into an attacking position. Cinder just clung onto Ryan, whimpering like before. Any Pokemon that heard the buzzing stood ready for an attack.

“Hey Cinder! Help me out, would you?” Artemis called out.

Cinder looked sadly up at Ryan and jumped down. “I knew it was going to be a bad day today,” he said.

The Beedrill then emerged from the forest, and the little courage that Cinder managed to gather quickly dissipated as he ran back to Ryan. Even Artemis was starting to back up. As I thought, about twenty-five to thirty Beedrill were hovering in front of us and starting to surround us.

“I don’t get it. We’re out of their territory. Why are they still after us?” I asked the Professor.

“As you already know, Beedrill are very territorial and quite aggressive. They rarely stop chasing the intruder before attacking them. Think of it as them making sure we ‘get the point’,” Pro. Cedar explained.

“Ha ha. So funny.” Ryan said dully.

One of the Beedrill was significantly larger than the others. I was thinking it was the leader. It was shouting orders to its “soldiers”. “On my signal, we will attack the small loudmouth that is 5 meters away,” it commanded.

I quickly did the math in my head. “Okay, one meter is about slightly more than a yard, right? Dang, I never did get the hang of the metric system! So that means…Ryan, put Cinder back in his pokeball! They’re going to gang rush him!”

Too late. The Beedrill general definitely knew what I was talking about, and zoomed toward Cinder. Ryan quickly took his pokeball and pointed it at Cinder. “No you don’t, human!” the Beedrill shouted. He flew to Ryan, tackled him to the ground, and raised one of his large, cone-shaped arm needles at him. All of this in a little more than a second!

“Ryan! Oh man, looks like Twinneedle! Artemis, Quick Attack!” I was not going to let my friend get pierced by an oversized insect.

“Get out of the way, Artemis! That’s my trainer, and I’m going to save him!” Cinder said, much to my surprise. His back grew hot, and burst into flames. “Ember!” Fire sprang from his mouth and engulfed the Beedrill general. It looked like it completely missed Ryan, although it must have been pretty hot down there.

The general barely managed to fly back to his troops. “Retreat! Return to the base!” he instructed the smaller Beedrill. The swarm flew back into the forest with two of the soldiers helping the general.

We, on the other hand, were just staring at Cinder as the flames disappeared from his back. He stood on his shaking legs for a while then collapsed on the grass.

“Umm…wow,” I said in amazement.

“Yeah. That’s the last time I call anyone a wuss,” Artemis agreed.

“I didn’t know you could be so gutsy. What a pal!” Ryan said while hugging Cinder.

“I’m sorry about teasing you, Cinder. You just acted like a scaredy cat to me, that's all,” Artemis told Cinder.

“Okay, maybe I was a little scared then, but I just had to do something about the Beedrill."

“But you did know that the general could have just commanded his whole swarm to attack you, right?”

“Umm…no.”

“You are so cool.”

[classy_cat18]

Nice to be here today! Here’s the next chapter. Just keep coming with the feedback!

An Old Friend…Sort of

All of us decided to keep away from the forest for the rest of day after the Beedrill attack. Pro. Cedar told us that they also like to carry a grudge for a while. We followed the Professor into the lab where he informed us of some news.

“I got the news from the Symposium. You guys have the scholarship! Congrats!” he exclaimed.

Ryan and I exchanged a high five. Ecruteak College was very expensive, and this was a scholarship that would pay for everything on the bill. The Symposium only gives out a handful of these each year. We worked hard for days on the essay for the scholarship application.

“Is that where you’re going, Shonta? Are you and Ryan going to leave me and Cinder behind?” Artemis said softly.

“Don’t be silly! Of course we’re not. Besides, we checked out the college. They allow trainers to let their Pokemon roam the college. Of course, they lay out strict rules for that. If I can remember, one Pokemon of a maximum size per trainer can stay in the room with them while the others can live in this giant park. They even give classes and sessions to strengthen the Pokemon’s skills and attacks. I’ve heard of gym leaders all over the world coming and giving classes.”

“Plus good food and new friends,” Ryan added.

“That sounds good!” Artemis chirped. “Hey Cinder, what do you think?”

Cinder looked like he was still shaken up from the fight. “I think I better eat before I collapse.”

“Sounds good to me. Pro. Cedar, think you can feed Artemis and Cinder for us?” I asked.

“No problem. It’s time for some of the Pokemon in the reserve to eat anyway.” He walked into another room with Artemis and Cinder closely following him.

Ryan and I walked back out to the field where some Pokemon were feeding. I quickly recognized Rosie, Ms. Miller’s strongest Miltank. Rosie was a chipper Pokemon that rarely fought but had a mean Rollout. She made some of the best milk outside of Goldenrod City. I bet she could outdo Whitney’s Miltank. She looked busy so I didn’t bother her. I would see her tomorrow. I turned to Ryan who was making a sketch of the oversized Beedrill that attacked him.

“Hey Ryan, did you see Tony yesterday?” I asked him.

“Yeah. Strangely, he moved back out.”

“Really? He was only here for one day.”

“I know. From what I heard, he just gathered a few of his belongings and creeped out of here last night. Ilex Forest is dangerous, but his high-level Spearow should be enough protection.”

“Wait a minute! That Spearow couldn’t have been that strong! Artemis knocked it out in one hit!”

“No way! That Spearow was so close to evolving! Artemis must be one tough cookie.”

The news of Tony’s disappearance actually worried me. Sure Tony was a low-down jerk, but he was more of a rebel without a cause than anything. Who knows what might happen to him?
My stomach growled as loud as an angry Houndoom. I forgot how hungry I was. I took out my lunch and inspected it. Sliced oranges, pears, and kiwi with bottled water. I like taking fruit for lunch sometimes, especially when it gets hot outside. Guess Ryan had another big breakfast because all he had was a pack of peanut butter crackers. “Do you run on Energizer batteries or something?” I asked him.

Artemis, Cinder, and Pro. Cedar then walked toward us, Cinder looking like he had one too many helpings. Pro. Cedar was pushing a cart of Pokemon food. “Anyone want to help me pass around the grub?” he asked us.

“Sure!” Ryan and I said together. I took a couple of small bowls while Ryan grabbed a huge bowl. I stared at the big bowl and laughed. “Who’s this for? Wait, let me guess. Rod’s coming over for lunch.”

“Unless your brother turned into that Lickitung over there, I doubt it,” Pro. Cedar said. He pointed to a Lickitung that was near the pond across from us. It was drooling and standing impatiently.

“A little advice, Ryan: set the bowl down, smile, and get the heck out of there before that thing decides to eat you too,” I told Ryan. I walked toward some grass-types with the bowls I had. There sat a couple of Oddish and a Bellossom. “Eat up!” I told them. I returned to the cart for some more food.

Ryan, on the other hand, was having some trouble. He set down the food in front of the Lickitung but was having trouble avoiding being licked. “Just to save you the trouble, I do not taste like chicken,” he nervously told it.

I felt a tugging on my pants leg and looked down at a bunch of Pichu and Pikachu. I set the bowls down in front of them and smiled. “Must have been starving, huh?” All the Pokemon nodded at me and went back to eating except one of the Pikachu. It was staring at me like I was…

Artemis noticed the staring Pikachu and ran toward it. “What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue?” she asked.

“It’s you! I found you! By gum, it’s you! I remember you!” the Pikachu yelled. The other electric-types didn’t seem to care about this amazing discovery.

“What do you mean? I haven’t seen…wait a minute! You’re the Pichu that I met last year!” I suddenly remembered the Pichu that I spent time screaming with. It must have grown up and separated from its family. I looked down at Artemis and saw that she had a different reaction. She was rolling on the ground laughing.

Ryan and Cinder ran to see what was so exciting. I told them about the Pikachu and told the Raikou story to Cinder. Cinder looked at Artemis who was still laughing. “What’s so funny?” he asked.

“Yeah, what’s so funny?” the Pikachu repeated.

“Oh man, you sound like the Crocodile Hunter if he inhaled helium!” she finally said. I had to admit, that’s exactly how he sounded.

“That’s not nice,” Cinder scolded.

“Yeah! Shut it or I’ll knock your block off!” the Pikachu threatened.

“On the other hand…ha ha!” Cinder joined Artemis in her moment of laughter.

“This is not an Australian accent, anyway! It’s British, and I got it from my mom,” the Pikachu explained. “My mom” kind of sounded more like “me mum”. His accent almost made me laugh.

“So, how’s it going, uh…what’s your name again?” I asked the Pikachu.

“Oh, I forgot! I didn’t tell you my name. It’s Static.” His cheeks sparked to show how tough he was.

“My name’s Shonta, this is Ryan, and the Pokemon that could show a little respect over there are named Cinder and Artemis.” Cinder and Artemis finally stopped laughing and stood up with tears in their eyes. “Nice to properly introduce ourselves. Why are you here?”

“Why Shonta, aren’t you glad to see me? I looked all over that forest to find you. When I finally found this town two weeks ago, this bloke caught me and put me in this place.” He pointed to Pro. Cedar. “Which is why I want to give a request.” He pulled me closer and made sure no one was listening.

“Get me the heck out of here! I’ve been going bonkers in this hellhole. Everyone I’ve met in this friggin’ prison either wants to kill me or bore me. I want adventure, I want security, I WANT MY LAWYER!” He clung to my shirt for dear life.

I sweatdropped and pulled him off of my shirt. “Okay, let me clear it with the Professor.” I walked to Pro. Cedar and mustered up my best sad face. “Professor, is it okay with you if I keep this Pikachu?” I looked down at Static who was shyly standing behind my leg. “It really likes me and wants to go with me.”

“I don’t know, Shonta. I already have a trainer in mind for him,” Pro. Cedar.

“But he knows me! Besides, giving a Pikachu to a beginning trainer is like giving a chainsaw to a five-year-old.”

“Like you?”

Dang, he got me there.

“But he does seem attached to you, so go ahead. Of course, he does need a pokeball.”

I told Static what he said. Static was hesitant at first but agreed. “It’s a deal!” I said.

I reached in my pack and pulled out a pokeball. “In you go!” I threw it at Static and waited as the pokeball shook once, twice, and three times. Static was mine! I ran to the others and told them of the good news.

“Alright! A new friend to play and battle with! Now where’s that brother of yours, Shonta?” Artemis said.

“I know what you’re thinking, Artemis! At least make sure Mom isn’t looking before you and Static jump him,” I told her. I let Static out of his pokeball.

“Is Shonta’s brother mean and dangerous?” Cinder asked Artemis.

“He’s mean, but he’s not dangerous! You and I can take him down easily! And Static can show him his ‘shocking’ personality.” She gave an evil laugh.

“I’m game,” Static said.

“No you’re not! I don’t want to get in trouble for your ideas. You do remember ‘The Rules,’ do you?” I asked Artemis.

“Yeah, I remembered. But she said no attacks inside the house. She didn’t say anything about outside.”

“What’s ‘The rules’?” Static asked me.

“Let me explain this, Shonta,” Artemis told me.

“Static would be cool to have around the house,” Ryan said.

“I don’t know. With that personality of his, I could in for one heck of a ride,” I said.

Pro. Cedar approached us with some more bowls of food. “Changing your mind already?” He asked me.

“Are you kidding? I like wild rides!” I checked my watch. 1:00 p.m., but I didn’t feel like exploring the reserve anymore. I considered getting out of the reserve and exploring the town when I heard a voice call out from the driveway.

“Hello, everyone!” It was Ms. Miller, Rosie’s trainer. “Professor, is my dear Rosie ready?”

“Yes she is,” Pro. Cedar said back. “Don’t worry, she’s alright. She’s still very healthy.” Health is a big factor on how delicious and nutritious a Miltank’s milk is, and Rosie was the prize Miltank at Ms. Miller’s farm. Ryan’s and my family were her favorite customers, and Rosie adored our visits. Ms. Miller could take Rosie to the Pokemon Center, but sometimes Rosie preferred the reserve.

Rosie heard her trainer’s voice and came running. She stopped at me, smiled and waved. “Hello, children. It’s so nice to see you. I thought I heard you during that little scrap with the Beedrill, Shonta. Tell Ryan to stop by the farm later today for his mother’s order.”

“You know I can understand you?”

“Of course! News travels fast, you know!”

“Nice to see you today!” the Pokemon said. Seems like Rosie was such a frequent visitor to the lab that the Pokemon recognized her.

I told Ryan what Rosie said. “We should get out of here. See what everyone else is doing.”

“Sounds good. Let’s walk this time,” Ryan told me. “See ya, Professor!”

“Bye, Rosie!” the Pokemon said.

[classy_cat18]

Hope you’re enjoying my fic! Just tell me if there’s anything wrong with it.

Every Rose Has Its Thorns

Ryan and I exited the reserve with the Pokemon following us. We still had some time before our mothers came back from work, so we decided to show the Pokemon the town. Artemis and Static were in front of us while Cinder was walking beside Ryan.

The first stop was Madame Francine’s Flower Shop. Madame Francine kept the tallest sunflowers in Sunflower Town: the tallest of them was seven feet tall. She’s the perfect person to go to for flower arrangements for all occasions; she gave me a good discount on a bouquet for Mother’s Day. Madame is also a grass-type Pokemon fan, so I had to say hi to her and Tulip, Poppy, and Lavender.

Madame gave us her best smile from the porch of her shop/house. “Hello! It’s always nice to see children your age enjoying the sunshine. Are you here to browse? The girls are out back and I have a new selection of potted plants.” Her voice rang with the tone of the French. She looked down and saw the Pokemon. “Oh my, what cuties! I never saw silkier fur on an Eevee before. And I never saw one with a mark like the one on her forehead.” She picked up Artemis and cuddled her.

“She looks nice,” Cinder remarked.

“Yeah, for someone that looks like she should be one of Harry Potter’s professors,” Static said.

“And I see that you have a new Pokemon too, young Ryan.” Madame put Artemis down and patted Cinder’s head. “Just make sure he’s careful around the plants and the girls. They’re sensitive to intense heat, you know.”

“Madame, is my ‘special order’ ready?” Ryan asked her.

“Which one?”

“The one for my mom’s birthday.”

“Oh, that one! Give me until tomorrow and it will be ready to deliver.”

“Thanks! Let’s go see the others, Shonta.” We walked to the greenhouse, where she keeps her sunflowers.

Artemis sniffed her fur and smiled. “Wow, whatever perfume she’s wearing sure smells nice. I remember spilling something on myself long ago that smelled just like this. I smelled like I rolled in a flower bed for three days.”

“That’s nice for you, but I don’t want to smell like flowers,” Static said.

“Hey Artemis, do you know anything about these girls that the lady kept talking about?” Cinder asked her.

“No, I don’t. Shonta, who are these girls that are supposed to be back here?”

“They’re Madame Francine’s grass-type Pokemon; Tulip, Poppy, and Lavender. Most people joke that they are the ‘guard dogs’ of the flower shop. I don’t know about Poppy and Lavender, but Tulip is the toughest of the three. She tends the plants when Madame’s not there and will definitely attack you if you damage the goods.” I looked at Cinder who was already starting to shake. “And she really hates fire-types.”

Cinder gulped.

I opened the door to the immense greenhouse and looked around. Hanging plants, potted flowers, and herbs of all kinds were strewn throughout here. I checked out the potted flowers while the Pokemon went straight for the sunflowers close to the northwest corner of the greenhouse. Ryan just walked around, probably looking for “the girls”.

Cinder looked up at the sunflowers in awe. “Wow, they’re huge!”

“Yeah, but where are those Pokemon that Shonta talked about? I thought I smelled them when I came in,” Artemis wondered.

“I can’t smell anything but your perfume,” Static said while holding his nose.

“Maybe they’re outside,” said Cinder. He stuck his head in the sunflower field for a good whiff. Very bad idea.

“What are you little monsters doing!?!” said an angry voice coming from the other far corner of the greenhouse. A pissed-off Bayleef stomped toward the Pokemon and glared at Cinder. “Dirty little monsters sticking their noses in my flowers! And what’s this? A Cyndaquil? Madame has gone mad! This destructive little rodent will set everything on fire! This will not do! Get out of here before I throw you out!” Her accent had a touch of French to it.

“I-I’m s-s-sorry! Please don’t throw me out!” Cinder stammered.

I looked over at the Pokemon and winced. “Uh-oh. Looks like Tulip is fussing at your Pokemon,” I said to Ryan. “You better do something before she trashes the greenhouse in the process.”

“Okay. I talk while you translate.”

Ryan and I rushed to Tulip while she was picking Cinder up using her Vine Whip. “Wait, Tulip! Don’t be mad! Cinder wasn’t going to do anything bad with the plants. Shonta, translate.” He released Cinder from the Bayleef’s green clutches.

I told Tulip what Ryan said. “He’s just appreciating your hard work,” I added.

Just then there was a rustling in the sunflowers as a Skiploom and Jumpluff emerged. Tulip changed her glare from Ryan and me to the other “girls”. “And what were you two doing in there?”

The Skiploom yawned and rubbed her eyes. “We were taking a break, Madmoiselle Tulip,” she said sleepily.

“You mean sleeping on the job! We have work to do today and you let this fiery mouse poke around in Madame’s prize sunflowers! What a pitiful excuse for you to give, Poppy,” said Tulip furiously.

“But you pushed us so hard last night, Madmoiselle Tulip. We worked while you bossed us around,” the Jumpluff said quietly. She and Poppy also had French accents.

“An even more pitiful excuse from you, Lavender! For this I will dock pay from both of you for the next two weeks!” I don’t know where she got this attitude from, but it definitely wasn’t from Madame.

“But Madmoiselle, we don’t get paid!” the two smaller grass-types said together.

“Then I shall take away your break time for two weeks!” Tulip practically screamed.

“This doesn’t sound good, Ryan. Get ready to run out of here,” I told him.

“Why? What’s happening?”

“The boss is close to firing her employees.”

“Oh.”

“Hey, shouldn’t you be yelling at us instead of them?” Artemis asked Tulip. “I mean, they did stay up during the night, didn’t they?”

“Stay out of this, little dog! I do not need some puppy to tell me how to run things!” Tulip demanded.

“How rude,” Artemis muttered.

“This coming from the Pokemon that said I sounded like the Crocodile Hunter if he inhaled helium,” Static pointed out. He stepped forward and pushed his face into Tulip’s. “Look, I don’t know much about business ethics or anything, but these are my friends and if you don’t apologize to them I’ll have to get busy with you.”

Poppy and Lavender gulped and ran back into the sunflower field. They knew what was coming. I hope Static knew as well.

“Get out of my face you rude, stupid, filthy little rat,” Tulip said harshly.

“RAT!?! I’ll show you who’s a rat!” He unleashed a Thundershock on the bossy Bayleef with great satisfaction.

Guess not.

Tulip just stood there like nothing happened. “I knew you were stupid, but this takes the cake. One simple static bolt cannot hurt me.”

“Oh, bite me,” Static said. He stuck his tongue out at her.

“THAT DOES IT!!!” Tulip roared. She yelled at the top of her lungs as she unleashed a ton of Stun Spore from her curled up leaves at us.

“Let’s get out of here!” I yelled. All of us bolted for the door, trying to exit before the attack took effect. Ryan reached the door first.

“Open it, open it!” we all yelled at Ryan.

“I’m trying!” Ryan yelled at us. Then he turned to us with a horrified look on his face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked him.

“I forgot. Madame put a security lock on this door after the last time she got robbed. We can’t open it from either side without the key.”

“Don’t just stand there!” Static exclaimed frantically. He started banging on the door with us joining him.

Madame finally came and opened the door. She looked down and saw our pitiful forms laying down, completely paralyzed. “My goodness, what happened here?”

Ryan barely was able to open his mouth. “Your Bayleef is a bad motha…”

“Shut yo’ mouth!” the rest of the paralyzed said.

“I’m just talking ‘bout Tulip.”

“We can dig it.”

[totodilelover]

Hye, you really got a good story. I think it will go far. You use great detail and you dont make your chapters short. Your a great writer. Keep writing

[mr_pikachu]

Two words: Umm... wow.

Are you sure you've never written a fanfic before? Maybe in a past life or something? *Smacks self and reminds self that I do not believe in reincarnation* Never mind. The dead mother of Artemis reminds me of Harry Potter, though. Don't worry, I've been seeing Harry Potter in everything lately, and I have no earthly idea why. Or unearthly for that matter.

Only one thing I can suggest: Try putting a full line between each paragraph. This makes a fanfic more coherent, flow better, and just plain easier to read. The reason we do this is because we don't really have a way to indent easily on this forum. Here's an example of what I mean:

-----------------------------------------------------
Molly walked over to the flowers. The flowers were very pretty. She stooped to smell them. She jumped as suddenly she heard a noise. She turned very angrily.
"Hey, Molly, what are you doing?" It was her good friend Tony, who was on his bike.
"Oh, I'm just stopping to smell the roses," she replied.
-----------------------------------------------------


Now, look at "Fanfic Mode."


-----------------------------------------------------
Molly walked over to the flowers. The flowers were very pretty. She stooped to smell them. She jumped as suddenly she heard a noise. She turned very angrily.

"Hey, Molly, what are you doing?" It was her good friend Tony, who was on his bike.

"Oh, I'm just stopping to smell the roses," she replied.
-----------------------------------------------------

In any sort of story, it becomes a bit more difficult to read if you don't know where one thought ends and another begins. However, some writers prefer to leave it like the first example. It's just a matter of personal preference, but most of the writers here use the second method, since it does make it a little easier for the reader to understand.

All in all, this is a great fic, and an excellent idea! Many writers have toyed around with having humans and Pokemon actually understand each other's speech, but few have come up with a good reason for it! Maybe we'll find out in the end just why Shonta has that ability... and where the heck is her dad? Did I miss something about that? Well, I'm sure your fic will live up to all expectations! Keep it up!

[classy_cat18]

mr. pikachu, I am sure this is my first fanfic. The only heavy writing I have done outside this are essays and research papers. I'm eighteen years old; does that lower your amazement? About the death of Artemis's mother: you're right. It does sound like something from Harry Potter. But I was not thinking about the books when I came up with that. But on the other hand, doesn't Shonta's little brother remind you of a certain pudgy relative of Harry's? Just thought you'd like to know!

[Master Kirby]

_I like how you give the pokemon their own personalities. Shonta can get to know them so much better since she can understand them now.

_You are doing a great job with your first fan fic. The reading flows very naturally. Seeing the ending of the chapter, I just hope it doesn't turn out to be another one of those fics that are ruined because the author wanted to throw profanity all over the place. The story is great without that junk.

[The_Missing_Link]

This is a pretty good fanfic so far. I like the individuals personalities of the Pokemon and the Harry Potter feel to it, although I didn't really realize it at all. Keep it up

Ryan barely was able to open his mouth. “Your Bayleef is a bad motha…”

“Shut yo’ mouth!” the rest of the paralyzed said.

“I’m just talking ‘bout Tulip.”

“We can dig it.”

One of the funniest quotes ever XD

[classy_cat18]

I guess I should let the cat out of the bag. You know that the main character’s full name is Rebecca Shonta Jones, right? Well, I’m using my full name. In fact, my brother and mother’s names are also used. Differences? We refer to Rod as Hot Rod all the time, not just when we’re making fun of him. He grew up with that name. No one calls me Becky unless they want a fat lip. In fact, only a couple of cousins of mine call me Rebecca. And I asked permission from a few of my friends before I get ready to use their names. And a simple description of what the main character is this: she’s African-American, short, and although I turned eighteen before I started college, she’ll be nineteen. One more thing: the start of the story took place this summer, about mid-July, two days before her (and my) birthday. That means that the next chapter will be about what happens on her birthday. Now on with the story!

Forgotten Memories

“We were lucky that Madame had some Paralyze Heals,” I said as we left the flower shop.

“We would have been luckier if someone hadn’t closed the door to that greenhouse,” Ryan stated.

“Don’t be blaming the wind; it was all Tulip’s fault. That stupid, stuck-up, overgrown weed should have left us alone,” Static said.

“Yeah, that Bayleef is scary and bossy,” Cinder added.

“Well, it was rude of you to Thundershock her, Static,” Artemis commented. “Besides, saying ‘bite me’ is not the best way to solve an argument.”

“You’re right. I should’ve told her to kiss my…”

“Say it and you go back in your pokeball, Static!” I shouted. “Ryan, want to trade Cinder for Static?”

“Now let me see. A polite, soft-spoken fire-type for a rude, electric-type bigmouth. Let me think about that…no.”

“Fine! I didn’t want a wuss for a Pokemon, anyway,” I joked.

“Hey! I heard that!” Static said.

“I’m not a wuss,” Cinder whined.

“I’m just kidding!” I said.

Artemis stopped and looked toward the edge of town. Most shops like Madame’s are usually near the edge, where there is a lot of green space. That’s the best place to go to catch wild Pokemon without having to go into the forest.

“What is it Artemis?”

Artemis sat down and sighed. “Can we rest? I feel so tired.”

“Me too,” Static agreed. “Let’s sit over there and take five.”

“Come on guys,” I told them. “Where’s your energy?”

“We ran out after that thrilling moment with Miss Hands Off The Merchandise,” Static groaned.

“I pretty much ran out after the fight with those Beedrill,” Cinder said.

Come to think of it, I was wiped out as well. I must have realized it when the adrenaline in my system wore off. “Feel like relaxing for a while, Ryan? The Pokemon and I are spent.”

“So am I. Let’s take a rest and then head home.”

The field was full of soft, green grass and flowers of all kinds of colors. Oddish and Rattata as well as lowest-evolution bug-types were going through their daily lives there. Flying-types such as Pidgey and Tailow were flying overhead. Although Tailow are native to Hoenn, they’re at home here as well. It was a perfect opportunity to sketch my new Pokemon in an outdoor environment.

Ryan and I sat down on the grass while the Pokemon talked with each other. I pulled out my sketch pad and started drawing Artemis. She looked a little smaller than the average Eevee, but that was probably because she wasn’t full grown. Her tail was almost as long as her body. After I was done with her I continued with Static who seemed to be bragging about something. Slightly larger than Artemis, he seemed to carry a tough guy look. Don’t ask me how – he looked like other Pikachu. He just had that sort of aura around him.

I looked over at Ryan’s sketch pad. He was drawing Cinder while muttering about something. “Penny for your thoughts?” I asked him.

“No thanks, it’s on the house,” he replied. “I was just thinking about when I was very little. My father used to show me pictures of all these fire-types when he had the time for me, which was hardly ever. That was why Mom and Dad divorced; they were growing apart. Now my mom thinks Dad’s a deadbeat, but I still thank him for my extreme interest in fire-type Pokemon. Do you ever think of your father?”

I paused. When was the last time I ever thought of my dad? I never thought about him. Heck, I never even knew him, much less about what happened the first years of my life. It was like my memory was blank those few years. My memory began when I first opened my eyes in that hospital room when I was six and saw Ryan and his mom, and as far as I know, so did my life.

“Never. My mom thinks that Dad’s a deadbeat, too. Divorce is a drag, you know?” I told him.

“You never thought of your dad? Have you even asked your mom about it?”

“Once. I’ll never ask again.”

“What happened?” I told him about the conversation two months ago.


I was in the kitchen watching Mom wash the dishes.

“Hey, Mom?”

“Yes, Shonta?”

“What was Dad like?”

A shocked look appeared on Mom’s face as she dropped the mug she was putting away. I stepped back as it shattered on the floor.

“Don’t you ever speak of your father! You hear me? Never! Go to your room and clean it up NOW!” she roared.


“She yelled at you? Your dad’s that much of a jerk?” Ryan asked me.

“Yeah. I never brought the subject up again. I don’t know where he lives or what he does or why he doesn’t even talk to me. The way Mom reacted that time told me that I didn’t want to know.”

“That’s really weird. Hey, does this look alright?” He held up the finished sketch of Cinder.

“Looks cool.” I heard the sound of a car horn and stood up. It was Mom and Rod. “Time to go back home.” Mom and Ms. Steele work at the same office building in Goldenrod City. They both leave home and come back at the same time.

“Need a ride?” Mom asked Ryan.

“Sure! Come on, Cinder!”

“Artemis and Static, it’s time to go!” I called out. Then I remembered. “I forgot! How are we going to take our bikes home? They’re still at Pro. Cedar’s lab!”

“Don’t worry. Pro. Cedar called me and said he would drop them off at the house,” Mom said.

“Ms. Jones, may I stay at your house for a while?” Ryan asked her.

“Of course you may! You can even eat dinner with us.” She looked at Static and Cinder and smiled. “They’re so cute! Of course, they need to learn the rules of the house.”

“Don’t worry, I filled them in.” I told her.

Rod glared at the new Pokemon as they climbed in the car with us. “How come the Professor always gives starting trainers such runts?”

Static lowered his eyes at Rod and frowned. “Is this the jerk that you were talking about, Artemis?” he asked her.

“The one and the same. He’s just blowing steam,” Artemis reassured him.

“He’s mean. I don’t like him,” Cinder said quietly.

“Me neither, but I’m not scared of him one bit. He tries anything and he’ll have enough electricity in him to turn on a TV just by brushing up against it,” Static said boldly.

“Remember ‘The Rules’, you guys,” I warned them.

“Oh yeah. Better wait until the guy’s outside,” Static said.

Static definitely was going to be trouble.


“Wow! Look at this computer!” Static exclaimed. “Do you have music on this thing?”

“What kind of games did you ask for your birthday tomorrow?” Ryan asked me.

“Wow, your birthday’s tomorrow? Why didn’t you tell me?” Artemis said.

“Oh man, I forgot my birthday! I was so excited about getting Artemis that it never even crossed my mind!” I couldn’t believe that I would be nineteen in a matter of hours.

“You forgot your own birthday? Gee, what’s next? Where you live?” Static joked.

“Wow! Are you going to have a birthday party?” Cinder wondered.

“A small one. And like every year, my cousin Terri is coming to visit with her Vaporeon named Aqua,” I said. “Terri comes from Goldenrod City, where she’s the queen of her favorite sport: shopping. Every Princess Day she comes by and drags me to the finest department stores in Goldenrod. The best reason I go with her is because those stores sell everything, from clothes and music to everything a Pokemon could want or need.”

“Wow! Sounds like a ball,” Static said.

“Yeah, for girls,” Artemis replied.

“What’s Aqua like?” Cinder asked me.

“She’s strong and cool. She’s the only Pokemon that ever violated ‘The Rules’ on purpose.”

“Which one?” he asked me.

“The one about not using any attacks inside the house. She used Water Gun on Rod when he made her angry. Almost sent him through the wall.”

“Cool!” the Pokemon said together.

Ryan turned his back to me and sighed. “I’m disappointed in you, Shonta. You changed for the worst.”

“What do you mean? What’s with you?”

“I’ve been in your house for thirty minutes and not once have you challenged me to Super Smash Bros. Melee.”

“Oh, I thought you were tired of having your butt handed to you, but we can play if you’re feeling lucky.”

“You’re on!”

After ten matches and about an hour, Ryan left for home. Our bikes were waiting for us outside. Since their house is only a couple houses down, he and Cinder walked there. I couldn’t wait until tomorrow so Ryan and I could try out my new games that I would be getting. Mom gives me my presents in the morning and waits until the party in the evening until she gives me the best one.

The night went by faster than I thought. Dinner was normal except for the fact that now both Artemis and Static showed Rod what they were eating. Luckily bath time was quiet and in private. The night ended with a little Amateur Night with the two Pokemon singing their favorite songs. That’s when I found out that Static was into rap.

“Gee, you’re pretty good!” Artemis said about Static’s rapping.

“Yeah, for some reason I heard it all the time where I lived,” Static replied.

I went to bed earlier than usual with Artemis on the bed with me and Static curled up in a blanket that I gave him on the floor. Ever since Ryan asked me about my father I could hardly concentrate on anything else. It’s not like my memory’s that bad; I had to remember something about him. After all, Mom sometimes did say things that indicated that Dad lived with us for a while. Now because of this I couldn’t even sleep, but the Pokemon sure could. Lucky.

I watched as the radio clock beside my bed reached midnight. I was now a nineteen-year-old insomniac. “Happy Birthday to me,” I quietly said to myself.

Suddenly there was a sudden chill in the room. I sat up and got ready to check the air conditioner when I heard something. It sounded like voices whispering amongst themselves. My blood froze as I looked around the room.

“Who’s there? Show yourself!” I demanded as bravely as I could.

The voices went from whispering to giggling. “Don’t worry, you’ll remember soon enough,” they said creepily.

“What do you mean ‘remember’? Remember what?”

Drowsiness overcame me very quickly. The last thing that I remember before going to sleep was a single voice cackling.

[mr_pikachu]

...Whoa. I can't get over this fic. Probably cause I can't find anything that needs revising. Plus, I don't recall a single cuss this entire time! Not many writers can achieve high drama without at least a little language!

“She’s strong and cool. She’s the only Pokemon that ever violated ‘The Rules’ on purpose.”

“Which one?” he asked me.
“The one about not using any attacks inside the house. She used Water Gun on Rod when he made her angry. Almost sent him through the wall.”

“Cool!” the Pokemon said together.

Ryan turned his back to me and sighed. “I’m disappointed in you, Shonta. You changed for the worst.”

“What do you mean? What’s with you?”

“I’ve been in your house for thirty minutes and not once have you challenged me to Super Smash Bros. Melee.”

“Oh, I thought you were tired of having your butt handed to you, but we can play if you’re feeling lucky.”

The second best quote in recent memory, only to this:

Static lowered his eyes at Rod and frowned. “Is this the jerk that you were talking about, Artemis?” he asked her.

“The one and the same. He’s just blowing steam,” Artemis reassured him.

“He’s mean. I don’t like him,” Cinder said quietly.

“Me neither, but I’m not scared of him one bit. He tries anything and he’ll have enough electricity in him to turn on a TV just by brushing up against it,” Static said boldly.

“Remember ‘The Rules’, you guys,” I warned them.

“Oh yeah. Better wait until the guy’s outside,” Static said.

Static definitely was going to be trouble.

Love it!

EDIT: Yeah, yeah, I use the longest quotes feasible. Is that any different from the rest of my replies? Just check the sig; first line says it all.

[classy_cat18]

It’s going to get a little dark now!

A Dark Past

I finally opened my eyes, prepared to meet the sunshine of another day. Instead, all I saw was darkness. Complete and penetrating darkness. This couldn’t be my room. “Okay, I’m waking up now!” I told myself.

“I’m afraid you can’t awake or do anything right now. My Hypnosis is very powerful. You’re stuck in here with me until the morning.” It was that voice I heard. It sounded very close. It gave a cold laugh.

“I want to know three things: where am I, who are you, and what do you want with me?” The darkness was growing unsettling. Who knows who or what was talking to me.

“Why, we are in the very deep recesses of your mind.” The darkness got lighter as the voice spoke to me. In front of me floated a Haunter, smiling at me. “My name is Cackle, with a C, of course. I belonged to your father. I want to help you find who you are and what your father is like.”

“You knew my father? Tell me what you know.”

Cackle cackled happily. Now you know how he got his name. “He was a very great man. Very interesting and very inspiring. His body was like an eggshell for the darkness within. You could see it in his eyes.” The darkness returned to its original state.

I looked around for Cackle and heard something. It was my own whimpering. I tried to stop but couldn’t. “What do you mean? I don’t really understand you.”

Cackle appeared in front of me and smiled again. “Poor baby. So afraid and confused. I guess you need some sort of …visual. Let me see what I can bring up.”

The black background changed into an outdoor scene. It was like we were in a TV and someone turned it on. I looked around and found a little girl with her Pidgey. The girl looked so familiar.

“Can you remember anything about that child?” Cackle asked me.

In a split second, all of this data poured into my memory bank. Someone not only turned on the light bulb of my brain, they turned on the high beams! “I not only remember that girl, but I’m pretty sure that was me when I was at least five! But where are we? This isn’t Sunflower Town.”

“You’re right! It’s not; it’s Ecruteak City. You were born and raised here. At least, for a while you were.” Cackle showed off the city, smiling like he was Vanna White.

“That’s nonsense! I’ve lived in Sunflower as long as I can remember!”

“And how much can you remember?” he reminded me.

“Not much,” I admitted. “Is that…Feather? Is that my Pidgey on my shoulder?”

“Yes, it is. You and that weakling were meant for each other.” He gave a small grunt.

“I would go and say hi to her, but I think this is one of those ‘Christmas Carol’ moments, huh?”

“You would be right about that.”

I watched Feather fly off Young Shonta’s shoulder and into the starlit sky. “Feather was my best and only friend. She was a good singer and good company. There was one little problem…” I watched Feather crash into someone’s weather vane.

“You could say that she was the George of the Jungle of Pokemon,” I finished. How could I talk about my early childhood when I couldn’t remember a second of it a few minutes ago?

“I remember it just like it was yesterday. Your father used to love being in the darkness. He would make you spend every night outside with Feather,” Cackle told me.

Another Cackle appeared in front of my younger self and scared her silly. She yelled at him and ran into the house. Feather zoomed by the ghost-type and barely managed to fly through the open window of Young Shonta’s room. “Yeah, but I didn’t seem to like you. You were the scariest thing I’ve ever seen,” I told Cackle.

The scene changed from outside to inside the house. I quickly recognized my mother but was curious about a man standing beside her. I must be my father. He looked handsome but reeked of something extremely creepy. You could almost see and smell his true nature. Now I knew what Cackle was talking about when he gave his “eggshell” description. It was like you couldn’t feel anything inside that man. Nothing but cold, dark emptiness.

Young Shonta ran to her dad, crying. “Daddy, make Cackle stop scaring me!” she pleaded.

“Shut up, you little brat. Cackle was just being himself. Now dry your tears and go back outside,” he growled.

“Can I just go back in my room, Mommy? I’m sleepy,” she asked Mom. Mom looked like she was pregnant with Rod at that time. And was that a black eye I saw? It was! She looked like she had a broken nose, too.

“Well, I suppose so…” Mom said undecidedly.

“Thanks, Mommy!” She ran to her room with Dad glaring at her.

“I’m starting to remember it all now,” I told Cackle. “I loved looking at the stars and the moon, but I didn’t like being in the dark. I was afraid what was hiding in there, or worse, what wasn’t. I believed in demons and real ghosts. I even had a nightlight in my room!

“Mom told me that I was born at exactly midnight. She said that very special people are always born at midnight. But when I told the other kids about this, they got scared and stayed away from me. I found out what she meant to tell me.”

“Yes, the myth is that there are very powerful half-demons called Umbra that are born at midnight,” Cackle explained. “They embrace the darkness because they are darkness themselves. They are said to grant wishes to anyone that could catch them at night at the price of someone’s life. Also known is their ability to fill people’s minds with fear and drive them insane. Umbreon are very close to being true Umbra. Your father seemed to believe this so much that he was angry when his daughter turned out to be a sunny little girl couldn’t stand to be by herself at night. Of course, I couldn’t blame him. He had the legend only half right, though. Umbra are born at exactly midnight under a full moon.”

"That doesn't make sense. There's always someone or something being born at every minute of the day," I said to him.

"That's true, but not everyone who's born is normal, am I right?" he answered.

We were in my old bedroom now. Young Shonta was hugging Feather as she was crying. I heard shouting and cursing through the closed door. Feather was singing softly to try to comfort me.

“Every night Dad would yell at and curse Mom for giving birth to something like me. I got so tired of this that I decided to run away one night. This must have been that same night.” I watched my younger self pack some things into a backpack, then put Feather in her pokeball and climb out the window.

The scene again switched to Young Shonta sitting under a tree in the woods someplace. “I ran to a place where I’d hoped that Dad would never find me: the woods near the Tin Tower. The only thing that was wrong with it was that it was crawling with nocturnal Pokemon, including ghost-types. That and the fact that it was darker in the forest than it was at the house. I was scared to go anywhere until a thunderstorm started. It just came out of nowhere. Strangely I was comforted by this sight and fell asleep soon after.

“I knew then that thunderstorms usually had lightning, and I loved to look at the lightning. I thought that lightning was so cool, and I was not afraid of it at all. It was bright and astounding. If you went close enough to it you could feel its heat as well. My mom to this day thinks it’s weird that I would rather stay outside and enjoy the lightning rather than watch it from inside.”

The background, instead of gradually fading to the next part, decided to just change the channel in my brain. I must not have known what happened between the last scene and the current scene. Now my young self was hanging upside-down over a raging river with her hands and feet bound with rope, and my father was holding me by the ankles. The younger Cackle was floating by my father, laughing at me. Both I and my younger self watched in horror as the pokeball containing Feather slipped out of her pocket and into the river. Younger Shonta was next.

“You’re useless to me, just like that bimbo for a woman and that cursed life inside her!” he thundered. “You have no reason to exist.” He dropped her into the river without a second thought. Young Shonta screamed on her way down. Everything went black after that.

I dropped to my knees and felt tears stream down my face. “There’s no way to doubt myself since these are my memories. So Cackle, what happened to me? How did I survive? And where’s my father?”

“How should I know? Your father and I never lived to make sure you were dead,” he replied. “Right after we dropped you, this big, yellow, tiger-like Pokemon came and put us both out of our misery.”

“Raikou killed you? So you really are a ghost! At least something good happened during this nightmare. But why did he do that? I’m sure that he doesn’t go after every person that drops their helpless child in the river. And don’t tell me you went through all this mess just to tell me about this.”

“Not really. You see, I’m just following the rules.”

“What rules?”

“Just try to remember this: when did we try to kill you?”

“How should I know? It’s not like I was wearing a watch when it happened.”

“It was midnight on this day! I can’t haunt anyone until the day I was killed!”

“But where’s Dad? Shouldn’t he be haunting me, too?” Then it dawned on me. “Wait a second. You went from ‘we’ to ‘I’. Did you try to kill me or was it a group effort?”

Cackle was starting to crack. “Well, um…”

“Dad had no part in that scheme, did he? He was just a puppet and you were pulling the strings!”

“You’re right on target, kiddo! Well, almost. He did do some of the dirty work.”

“Tell me now, Casper!”

“Well, do you remember the legend of the Umbra? Well, it’s true. You’re looking at one right now. He managed to catch me in that dreaded pokeball and force me to grant him a wish. He said he was willing to take a life. But I got to choose which life.”

“So you took his. He was a soulless puppet, no, a ventriloquist’s dummy. You were talking through him the whole time.” I remembered his cold, empty eyes. He was just a shell. “So what did he wish for?”

“Who cares, he didn’t live to enjoy it.”

I had enough of this beast. “Thanks for the info. Now get out of me.”

“Like I said, you can’t get rid of me until morning.”

“Oh yeah? This is my mind. I can eject you whenever I want!” I watched as he faded away.

“Go ahead, get rid of me. But first, don’t you want to know whose life your father wanted to take for that wish?” He was trying to stall.

“I’ll bite. Whose life did he want to end?”

“Yours.” He laughed one last time before disappearing completely, leaving me alone in the darkness.

[classy_cat18]

I kinda had to make a few changes in my last chapter so it made more sense. Sorry 'bout that!

[classy_cat18]

It will be a while before I do the next chapter. I'm tied up with this monster of a research paper, I mean, researched argument. Plus I'm having a bit of writer's block. But I'm still in need of feedback, any kind of feedback!

[mr_pikachu]

Just curious, but does anyone else feel like roasting Cackle?... Hmm... "Cackle's roasting on an open fire..." Then again, seeing as he's so evil he's like the devil, that'd probably only help him. Very interesting! I'm suprised it got this dark this fast! Even her father seems pretty evil! I'm wondering what direction you're going to take on this! Sorry about not replying earlier, but I own the worst net connection inexistence. Anyway, good luck with that... uh... "researched argument"!

[Master Kirby]

Wow! Thats some ending.
Cackle was controlling Shonta's dad making him evil, but hea had already wanted to take her life? She has a lot of thinking to do.

I wouldn't want to get haunted each night when I sleep. hopefully she can block him out whenever she wants.

[classy_cat18]

Sorry so late. I think my professor liked my researched argument. Guess what the topic was? “We Don’t Need Violence in Video Games”! I guess I should put down Metroid Prime and get back to writing for my fans, huh? This chapter will be told in Ryan’s point of view, ‘kay?

Under A Full Moon

I looked down at my now seven-year-old hands as the teacher spoke. “We have a new student who comes from Ecruteak City.”

I looked up at a small black girl donning pigtails and wearing sunglasses. She was standing in front of the class, looking down at the floor with a nervous look on her face. “Hi, my name’s Shonta Jones. I am pleased to meet you.”

“There’s a seat right next to Ryan. Why don’t you sit there and we’ll get straight to our lessons?” the teacher asked her while pointing to the empty seat next to me.

Shonta slowly walked to the desk and sat down, trying not to make eye contact with anyone. My attention was caught by her wrists, which looked like they were burned in some way. I finally gathered the courage to talk to her.

“Hi, my name’s Ryan. I don’t want to sound mean, but why are wearing sunglasses? Do you have a black eye or something?” I asked her quietly. Don’t ask me why, but she almost looked like the type that would punch your lights out if you said anything stupid. Maybe it was just the sunglasses.

She looked up at me and bit her lip. “No, my mom just wanted me to wear them. She said my eyes looked weird.” She went back to looking at her desk.

Tony got up from his desk in front of Shonta’s and glared at her. “I’m curious, too. Come on, take off those stupid glasses!” His hand shot forward and snatched the sunglasses from her face.

“Stop, Tony! That’s not a nice thing to do! Teacher, make him stop!” I yelled. The other kids were just looking at the blackboard. They weren’t real and neither was the teacher.

Shonta got up from her desk and stood in front of Tony with her eyes closed. “He’s right, stupid; it’s not nice. It’s not nice to mess with someone who’s not normal.” She opened her eyes and glared at him. They were glowing yellow! “It’s not smart, either.” She gave an unearthly growl while the classroom was engulfed in darkness.

“Shonta, what are you doing? Are you okay?” I asked her. “Tony, say you’re sorry before she hurts you!” I looked around. Tony was gone!

She looked at me with tears in her eyes and stopped her growling. “Why am I like this? Make it stop, please!” Her eyes returned to normal. She took a step forward and fell to her hands and knees. “Why can’t I stay normal? Why do I have to be so alone? Everyone hates me!”

“What do you mean? I don’t hate…whoa!” She was pulling a disappearing act! I started to panic. “Are you doing this, Shonta? Don’t go away!”

“You don’t need me. No one does. I have no reason to exist.” She slowly faded to nothing, leaving me alone in the darkness.

I woke up with a start and looked around. Good, it was just a dream. I remembered when I first met Shonta at school, and fortunately her eyes were not glowing. But what was with the burns on her wrists? They looked like they rubbed against something rough too long. And the glowing eyes and her saying that she wasn’t needed didn’t make any sense at all. I could ask her in the morning, but that’ll be quite the birthday killer.

Cinder was awake and looking at me from the other end of the bed. I must’ve woken him up when I was turning in my sleep. “Cynda…quil?” He rubbed his head and yawned.

“Sorry if I disturbed you. Did you have nightmares, too?” Man, I wished I could understand him.

Cinder shook his head and looked outside the window beside the bed. I looked out the window and saw everything outside soaking wet. “Oh, the storm kept you awake. I didn’t even hear it.” I looked at the clock: two in the morning. It only lasted two hours or less.

Cinder dived under the covers as thunder sounded far away. Although the storm looked like it was intense when it came, the sky was now clear and star filled. The only evidence that there was a storm was the wet scenery and the occasional thunder and lightning.

I watched Cinder crawl under my blanket and poke his head next to my pillow. “Oh man, I can’t go back to sleep! I wonder if Shonta’s up as well? If she is, she’s probably on her porch watching the lightning.” I took another glance out the window and ended up doing a double take. She was outside, but not on the porch; she was walking toward the forest north of our houses in her pajamas! She was walking like she was drunk.

“What is she doing out there? I thought she was weird, but walking outside in her pajamas and barefoot when it’s wet outside? Where’s Artemis and Static? At least one of them should have known she was gone!” Then I noticed two shapes running behind her: Artemis and Static. They were shouting at her and probably coaxing her to go back to her bed.

“Cynda cynda quil! Quil quil!” Cinder panicked. He jumped down and ran to the front door of the house.

“Whoa, wait up! I’m wearing less than she is!” I slipped on a shirt, some jeans, and a pair of shoes and ran after Cinder.

I ran outside and looked around for Shonta. “Where could she have gone in such a short amount of time? Cinder, think you can sniff her out?” I asked him.

“Cynda!” He sniffed around on the ground and pointed toward the forest. I caught a sight of Shonta stumbling through the trees. The sound of Artemis and Static shouting came from the same place.

We sprinted toward the sound, not bothering to run back home and grab a flashlight. We ran through trees and eventually into a clearing with a stream at one end. The stream looked deep and rough, probably from the storm. I finally found Shonta sitting near the stream with Artemis and Static sitting next to her. She looked back at me and smiled sadly.

“Shonta, what are you doing out here? You could get…” I took a good look at her face and gasped. She looked terrible. I could get over her bad hair day easily, but her eyes looked glazed and she was breathing heavily. Chances are she had a fever, too.

“I wanted to look at the full moon. I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to get out and take a walk,” she said drowsily. She was talking as though she was still sleeping. It was as though her energy was completely zapped.

“Yeah, but at two in the morning in your pajamas and no shoes? And in the middle of the forest? Look at you! You look like the last place you should be is somewhere like here!” I felt her forehead. She was burning up. “Let me take you to my house at least.”

“I had a dream. My dad was in it,” she said dreamily. “He wasn’t very nice.” She laughed weakly and showed me her arms. Her wrists had the same burns that I saw on her in the dream. “Rope burns. Daddy was angry.”

“He did that? But I’ve never seen them before; don’t tell me you did that to yourself.” I noticed the same kind of burns on her ankles.

“No, he did it. Cackle said so,” she said. She was starting to sound delirious.

“Who’s Cackle? Did he know your dad?” I pulled her to her feet.

She slowly nodded. “He was Dad’s Haunter. He refreshed my memory about my past. I think he did something else.” She fell back to the ground. Artemis and Static futilely tried to pull her back up while Cinder pushed.

“If it was a Haunter, it was probably Nightmare. It should’ve stopped when you woke up. But it’s just a nightmare; it doesn’t mean that it was real.”

“It was and don’t you try to make me think anything else!” Her look of drowsiness temporarily disappeared as she stood up and glared at me with tears in her eyes. “My dad hated me and tried to drown me! I saw myself tied up and dropped into the river! I don’t even know what happened to me after that! My past is cloudier now as was then! Why did it have to be like this?”

“Whoa, no need to be shouting at me about this! Your mom knows about these things!”

“What’s the use? I’m useless; Dad says so and he’s right. Why else would he try to kill me? He wanted me dead even before I was born. Why else would he think that if I…I…” She stopped there and went back to sitting on the ground, crying full force.

“Because he’s an extreme jerk and needs to be taught a lesson.” I looked down at the Pokemon and saw their tears.

Artemis climbed in Shonta’s lap and wiped her tears with her paw, coaxing her while doing so. Static jumped on her shoulder and licked her cheek lightly.

“I don’t think I’m normal, Ryan,” she said quietly.

I was suddenly hit with flashbacks from the dream, how she made her eyes glow and the classroom disappear into darkness. “Of course you’re not normal. Who is?”

“I mean a bad kind of not normal. I mean, how am I able to talk to Pokemon? Maybe there’s something wrong with me.”

“If you can talk to Pokemon, that’s not something wrong. I’d give anything to do that. It’s not like your eyes were glowing or anything.” That didn’t help me with the dream, it just made me remember it more.

Shonta stopped crying and stroked Artemis’s fur. She was still breathing heavily. That wasn’t a good sign. “But when Dad dropped me, how did I survive? There was nothing to hold on to and I was sure there were sharp rocks down there, plus there was a fast current.”

“Are you trying to tell me that you don’t think you’re human?” I asked her skeptically.

“I don’t know. Do you think I’m human?” she said with a small smile.

“Don’t know and, quite frankly, I don’t care. You’re you and that’s all that matters.”

“But I feel so alone. No one knows the way I feel about this. I wish I could find someone as weird as me.” She set down Static and rubbed his head.

“Don’t worry, Ryan’s just as weird as you,” said a voice.

“Yeah right! He can’t stand storms and he can’t understand a word you say,” Shonta said.

I suddenly had the urge to scream. “Uh…Static said that?” I asked Shonta.

“You knew what he said?” Shonta asked me slowly.

“If he said that I was as weird as you, then yes.”

Shonta laughed out loud like she just saw heard something out of Who’s Line Is It Anyway. “I can’t believe it! I wonder how that happened?”

“I have no idea. Now we’re both weirdos!”

“Oh boy, you’ve really lost it,” Static told me.

“Thanks, Static!” I said back.

“No prob, psycho!” he said.

Shonta coughed and slumped forward. She was getting worse. “I think I’ll go home now,” she said.

“You can stay at my house for the night. We’ll then go to the clinic and have the doctor check you out in the morning.” I helped her to her feet.

“I don’t think you should be going anywhere,” a gruff voice said from the shadows.

“Who’s there? Cinder, get ready to attack!” I told him.

A group of Pokemon emerged from the trees. Small, grey dogs with yellow eyes cut us off from the way home.

“Oh no, they’re Poochyena! I hate those things!” Static said shakily.

“We’re going to be dog chow!” Cinder said.

“We’re going to have to go through these guys just to get home,” Artemis said.

Static looked up at me and shook his head. “Boy, you sure picked the wrong time to get weird,” he said to me.

[classy_cat18]

If I don't post any more chapters this week, it's because I'm busy with another essay (not another researched argument, thank God) and with studying for my Psychology exam. But still, keep up with the feedback! See ya later!

[classy_cat18]

Just in case you looked at the name of the chapter first, yes, I know it sounds lame. This is still Ryan’s point of view. Just thought you’d like to know. Oh, and after I post this chapter, I’m gonna make some changes to the previous one. Have fun!

Dog Fight

I stood there with one of Shonta’s arms slung around my neck as I looked at the pack of Poochyena. Their drooling mouths gave an ominous sign as to why they were there. I just hoped they didn’t want who I thought they wanted.

“I’ve heard of these guys. They’re part of a pack of renegade canine-types who definitely don’t like humans,” Static explained. “I don’t know much, but most of them are rejected first-level evolutions, especially Poochyena. They’ll go out and gang up on humans. I don’t know how, but they sometimes get their greedy paws on some sick and injured human and…eat them.”

“That’s not good!” Artemis said.

“But they’re so…little! What harm can they do?” I asked Static. Artemis glared at me for the remark.

As if on cue, a dark shape slithered across the grass and stopped in front of the Poochyena. It was a snake-like Pokemon with long front fangs and menacing markings.

“Not much, but a Seviper can soften the threat for them,” Static answered.

“See, that’s what you get from walking outside barefoot,” I told the limp form of Shonta.

“Like I would know a snake would sneak up and bite me on the foot,” she muttered.

One of them stepped forward and spoke to the Seviper. “I see you’ve taken the liberty of preparing our dinner. Yes, the female will do nicely.” The others nodded in agreement.

“Sorry to see you go, Artie!” Static said.

“He’s talking about Shonta. And call me Artie on more time and I’ll let them have you!” she replied.

She stepped up to the lead Poochyena, trying to look as intimidating is she could (which wasn’t much). The leader of the Poochyena was barely inches taller than Artemis. He didn’t look like much, but his teeth looked like they were made to tear us apart. “Listen you underdeveloped mutt, my trainer needs help. And you need to go back to your mommies and daddies before I start going crazy on you!”

“Is it just me or is Artemis starting to sound like me?” Static asked us.

“Great, this is going to be worse than Stun Spore,” I said while remembering our little run-in with Tulip.

The Poochyena leader started to laugh uncontrollably. “Hey guys, did you hear that? The runt here says she’s going to get crazy on us!”

Artemis slightly growled at that remark.

“Maybe it’s the full moon! It can make anybody crazy!” another Poochyena chimed in.

“Oh yeah? It can do more than that, suckers!” Artemis practically roared. As soon as she finished her sentence, her body started to glow and change. Her legs grew longer, her fur shortened and her whole body became sleeker.

“Whoa, evolution time! Hey Shonta, are you getting this?” I asked her.

“Huh?” She was practically asleep. “Oh. She must be inducing evolution.”

“Wow, you must be so excited,” I said sarcastically.

“Very.”

By the time Artemis stopped evolving, she was two feet taller and twice as intimidating. “Okay, which one of you made that runt crack?” she asked the gang.

Half of the Poochyena were gone in seconds. That left four that still had the guts to take on the Umbreon, including the leader and the Seviper. The Seviper was the only one that could have any chances of bringing Artemis down, and even he didn’t look too strong.

“I can defeat you with my fangs!” the Seviper hissed as he slithered away from the Poochyena.

“Sure, if you can catch me!” Artemis said. Suddenly one Umbreon became seven in two seconds, completely surrounding the Seviper.

“Whoa, Double Team! She must have known that attack when she was still an Eevee!” I said.

“Which one is the real Artemis?” Cinder asked.

“They all are…in a way,” I said.

“Go, Artemis! Show that lowdown snake in the grass who’s boss!” Static cheered.

“Sorry, but this snake in the grass is splitting this scene!” the Seviper said.

“Not without a parting gift you’re not!” the seven Umbreon sisters said. They all dashed forward and tackled the Seviper on all sides. The snake was as good as KO’ed.

Six of the Umbreon disappeared as we all stared at what happened. I didn’t ask the others if they saw it; I already knew the answer. Even Shonta looked temporarily recovered from the poison as she had her mouth wide open.

The leader of the Poochyena closed his mouth and growled at Artemis. “You will not get away with this!”

“Check your eyesight, loser, because I already have,” she said quietly. She calmly started walking toward the trees between the clearing and home and turned her head at us. “Come on guys, let’s go back. I’m exhausted.”

“You think I would go on a hunt without backup?” the Poochyena leader asked her. “Think again!” He tilted his head back and let out a long howl.

“I thought those wimps were the backup!” Artemis said.

“Yeah, but every now and then, something called evolution happens,” Static replied.

“We’re still gonna be dog chow!” Cinder whined.

“No, we’re not!” Artemis snapped.

In front of Artemis emerged four more dog-types, only they were bigger and meaner with a more wolf-like appearance. Oh man, Mightyena.

“Yes, we are!” Cinder snapped back. “I’m going back in my pokeball!”

“Wait, Cinder! What type is Mightyena, Ryan?” she asked me.

“If I’m not mistaken, they’re dark types,” I told her. “That means you can take them out, Cinder!”

“What? Why me?” he asked.

“Because fire is strong against dark-types!” I said.

“Okay, but next time Static does it,” he said.

“Sure, and why not shock everyone else while I’m at it? The ground’s wet, and wet things conduct electricity!” he yelled.

Cinder walked out from behind my leg and lit up his back. He was preparing an Ember when we heard something: more howling, but deeper and creepier this time.

“Now what? Hasn’t Snoopy’s family bothered us enough already?” Artemis groaned.

“That’s not anything related to Snoopy, unless he’s part Houndoom!” Static panicked.

“WHAT!?! Now we have a dog show going on?” I said.

“I’m sick of this babble! You’re first, Blacky!” one of the Mightyena said. He took a step toward Artemis and froze. At first, I thought he changed his mind about Artemis being able to be beaten by him. Then I looked behind me and realized what he was so scared of.

Two more canine-types were standing at the far end of the clearing: a Houndoom and an Absol. Behind them were a bunch of Houndour and more Poochyena. The Houndour and the Poochyena stayed in the trees while the Houndoom and the Absol ran across the clearing and stopped at me and Shonta.

“Enigma and Athena, it’s so nice to see you,” the lead Poochyena said. “I was just talking to these charming humans when a Seviper came and bit the female on the heel. She would’ve been in more danger if I didn’t…”

“Stop lying! You know you have connections with that snake!” the Houndoom roared. “I’ve heard that you’ve been using it to help you with your hunting like you can’t do it yourselves. But I’ve also been told that you’ve been targeting humans instead of the usual. Is that true?”

“Well…”

“Actions like that make you and your pack lazy and dishonorable,” the Absol said. “You should only hunt other Pokemon, and should never ask for outside help.”

“Athena speaks the truth,” the Houndoom agreed. “Now take your pack and that snake and get out of here. If I here news about this again, you will be exiled from Ilex Forest.”

“Can they do that?” I quietly asked Static.

“Yeah! Like you humans have a certain government for Johto, so do Pokemon. The Ilex Forest is so big they need someone to call the shots. That’s where Athena and Enigma come in. In rank they’re second only to Celebi himself,” Static explained.

“How do you find out about this stuff?” Cinder asked him.

“An ancient version of the Internet, of course.”

“Which is?”

“Word of mouth!”

The Poochyena groaned and retreated into the forest while the Mightyena picked up the Seviper and also retreated. That left us alone with Athena and Enigma. I had this strong urge to drop Shonta and run, but that would make me a spineless coward.

The Houndoom name Enigma came and inspected the bite on Shonta’s heel. “How did this happen?” he asked Shonta. Shonta was so out of it she could only groan in response.

“Um, she did mention a Haunter. My guess is that she was knocked out by Hypnosis and was still partially drugged when the Seviper bit her,” I speculated.

“Was she outside when it bit her?” Athena the Absol asked me.

“Needed fresh air,” Shonta managed to say.

“And how long has it been since it bit her?” Enigma asked.

“Quite a while. She’s gotten worse since then,” I said.

The two canines stayed silent for a while. Artemis walked toward us and sat by Shonta while this moment of silence was happening. Finally Enigma started walking away from us and toward the trees on the east side. He stopped at a berry tree and inspected it.

“Is this girl your trainer, Umbreon?” Athena asked Artemis.

“The name’s Artemis, and yes I am,” Artemis replied.

We heard a loud thud as Enigma slammed himself against the tree. He did this three times and then stopped.

“Come here, boy, and bring your friend with you!” Enigma called out.

I dragged Shonta over to where Enigma was standing. I looked down at the ground and saw a few small berries.

“Eat a couple of these and you’ll recover rapidly,” Enigma told Shonta.

“So I take two and call you in the morning, Doc?” Shonta said. She was always well enough for humor. I lowered her to the ground and waited as she picked up two berries and popped them in her mouth. “Just like medicine; you don’t want to take it even though you know you have to.”

Enigma smiled slightly and walked past us toward his partner. “I suggest you take care from now on. If you need help, chances are we’re never far away,” he said while walking. He approached Athena and they both ran back to their group.

“Well, that was weird. Let’s go home before we get caught in another gang war,” Shonta said brightly. The berries worked faster than I thought.

“Wow, everyone must be heavy sleepers. All this happened and I don’t hear anyone shouting for peace,” Static said as we started walking back to our homes.

“We’re smack dab in the middle of Ilex Forest. This is as peaceful as it’s going to get around here,” I said.

[classy_cat18]

Listen, I’m getting desperate for any kind of feedback! Hear me? Anyone? *hears crickets* Oh well, here’s the next chapter, you mimes! Oh, and now it goes back to Shonta’s point of view.

Nineteen And Not Feeling It

I thought I would welcome the sunshine with open eyes. I thought that I would look forward to my birthday. I thought I could take on anything, even that Porky Pig of a brother.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHONTA!”

I thought wrong. I was still exhausted and grouchy, even with Artemis evolving and meeting Enigma and Athena. Unfortunately, I felt more ninety than nineteen. The good thing is that my family’s such heavy sleepers that they didn’t hear me going out or coming back in last night.

I opened my eyes anyway to see Static jumping up and down on my bed and shouting at me. “Did Mom feed you rocket fuel or something for breakfast?” I drowsily asked him.

Static shook his head and jumped down on the floor. “What’s with you girls and sleeping?” he asked me.

“What do you mean by that?”

“You’re sleeping the day away and so is Artemis!” He pointed to a sleeping Umbreon nestled in a blanket on the floor.

“Well, she did do all of the fighting. Plus she evolved, adding to that sleepiness. And I had the worst nightmare in my life and got poisoned by a Seviper. So what did you do?”

“I can’t believe you guys! Just wait until I evolve into a Raichu! I’ll be the one carrying all of you!”

“Fine with me, I’ll just let you start by picking me up and carrying me to the kitchen.”

“Oh, never mind.” He started tugging on Artemis’s black ears.

Artemis opened an eye and stared angrily at Static. “Would you like me to pull your ears off?” she asked him.

Static shook his head.

“Then I suggest you stop immediately.” She opened the other eye and slowly stood up. Her attitude seemed to have changed to suit her appearance. She definitely wasn’t the Eevee she once was. Now she was more serious and intimidating.

“Man, take a look at those peepers! I think you need eye drops, Artie,” Static commented.

“They’re supposed to be red. And what did I say about you calling me Artie?”

“Shutting up!”

I slid out of bed and walked to the bathroom. Those berries worked like a charm, but now I was so tired. Maybe a little test run on some of my presents will charge me up. I checked my reflection and winced.

“Dang, nothing can save me from this monster of a bad hair day,” I said to myself.

“Why don’t you just shave it all off?” Static asked me. He was also wincing at the bird’s nest that was my hair.

“Then my head will look like a big melon. Thanks but no thanks, buddy.” I looked around the hair care products and sighed. “I’m a mess.”

“You’re a what?” called a voice from the hallway.

“Who’s that?” Artemis said from beside Static.

“I don’t know. Mom’s at work and Rod’s at summer school so that leaves…”

“Hey, cuz! How’s my favorite nineteen-year-old?” A girl slightly taller than me came from behind and held me with a bear hug. She was wearing an AKA sorority shirt and blue jeans. A bandanna covered her hair like mine would be in a couple of minutes. Beside her sat a Vaporeon that was looking over Static and Artemis.

“Hi, Terri. How’s it going with college hunting?”

“All right. Are those your Pokemon? That Umbreon looks tight! The Pikachu looks cool, too.”

“This is Artemis and Static. Guys, this is Terri and her Vaporeon, Aqua.”

“Guess what? I’m going to Ecruteak, too! I just found out about this scholarship and applied for it before anyone else did. Now Aqua and I will be visiting you everyday!” she said. She released her grip on me and smiled brightly.

“That’s…great. I’m glad to hear the good news,” I said with false enthusiasm. Terri was a great cousin, but she could get into a lot of trouble. Remembered when I told the Pokemon about the incident between Rod and Aqua? Well, she thought it would be a good idea if Aqua tried out her Ice Beam on Rod after that. Fortunately that part was outside the house. She didn’t hit him, but she did give Rod a good reason why he shouldn’t leave the house for a while after he taunts the Pokemon.

“I don’t think she’s too happy about that,” Aqua said.

“Of course I am!” I told her and quickly covered my mouth. I’ve never told Terri about my gift.

“Who are you talking to?” Terri asked me.

“Well…promise you won’t laugh?”

“Not really.”

“I’ll tell you anyway. I can…talk to and understand Pokemon.”

“You lie!”

“Oh yeah? If I can prove to you that I can understand Aqua, then you owe me ice cream.”

“Okay! Ask her who my new boyfriend is.”

“Hey Aqua, who’s her man?”

Aqua thought about it for a moment. “She doesn’t have a man! She dumped him for that spiky black-haired guy on Yu Yu Hakusho!”

I laughed hysterically. “Oh boy! You have a crush on Hiei?”

“I do not! Okay, maybe a small one,” Terri said.

“Yes! Ice cream time!” I said.

“Shonta’s got a man at home,” Static sang.

“Hey, all quiet in the Peanut Gallery,” I told him. “I better send an Instant Message to Ryan so he can come over.” But I knew that on my birthday, he comes early. Even with a night like we had.

There was a knock at the door. “There’s your man,” Terri said.

“He’s not my man,” I said bluntly as I walked toward the door.

“Hey, I got Hiei and you have Vash the Stampede,” she said.

“At least my man’s for real. The only way you can get close and personal to yours is in your dreams.” I opened the door and waved at Ryan.

“So I’m your man now?” he said with a slight blush.

“Well, you’re my boy,” I said in a slightly embarrassed tone.

“Because if you’re not serious about me, I could easily get another woman.”

“Fine. But Terri prefers swords over guns.”

“Kenshin got here first?”

“Nah, Hiei just played with her heart and snatched it from her.” I spotted a wrapped gift under his right arm. “Ooh, present alert! Gimme gimme!”

“Gimme gimme never gets. Say the magic word,” he said. Cinder walked in the house and eagerly watched us.

“Now!” I snatched the present and ripped it open. “Webcam! Now I can see your nasty face in the morning.”

“And I can see your nappy hair. Put on a bandanna before you go outside today.”

“Thanks, Ryan. When Mom gets back, we can see what big gift she gets me.” Mom always saves the best present until the party. With me graduated from high school, this one was bound to be a doozy.

“What about the other presents?” Terri asked us.

“To Mom’s room!” I yelled old Batman style. I thought that this birthday was going to be just like the others, with the exception of my gift coming back. Shame on you for even thinking that, Shonta.

[Count von Dark]

Ahhh... Thought I'd check this out. It's homorous, attractivr, and just like a chorus sang by a group of juppies. I really like this one, and the length, description are all perfect. The plot is moving slowly, but only then we can savour the taste of this story. Definately one of the best.

[PancaKe]

^_^ I love this. I always read, just it took me a while to catch up! Well this is certanantly not what i expected to happen. Okay, I have a feeling that Cackle and her father are going to come in and make a big part of this soon, and also, even though i dont think Terri is really that important i have a feeling thta Ryan has like some secret as well. ^_^ but its soo cool i luv dis classy cat dont get discouraged when peeps dont reply. Cuz there are peeps who luv dis fic. *like me!*

~Mist

[mr_pikachu]

Sorry I haven't replied for awhile, but I've been busy with finals (as I've said twice already...) and I haven't even been online since about Sunday. Great chappies! Woo hoo! Ryan's got the "gift" now! Is that ability contagious or something? So Shonta's nineteen... gotta love that hyper Pikachu! But he does deserve to have his ears yanked by Artemis. Even though I love Pikachus! Can't wait to see how the situation develops with Terri! And, in case you didn't know, I'm a were-cricket! Yeah, that's me you heard! .................

[classy_cat18]

Mist: Aw shucks, it can’t be that good! Well, although Cackle and Shonta’s dad are dead, they will be of great importance in the story. I’m kinda playing around with the idea of the Umbra, probably add a few more. But for now, let’s get on with the show!

Hit And Run, Part One

“Whoa, jackpot! Sonic Adventure 2 and DX! Thanks, Terri!”

“It’s no big deal. But these clothes are off the hook!” She held up a one piece swimsuit.

“Nice, but I’m not going to beach anytime…oh, I get it. Senior trip. Must have been Mom’s idea.” So much for the secret of the big gift.

“Whoa, you got a lot of games! Is that a Playstation 2 over there?” Ryan said while pointing to a black box.

“I thought your brother already had one,” Static told me.

“Yeah, but Mom said something about him pawning it for money to buy something,” I said. “Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy X? Let’s hook this baby up!”

“But I wanted to try out The Wind Waker,” Ryan said.

“I wanted to watch him play that,” Cinder said.

“Well…,” I started, but then there was another knock on the door. “We’ll decide after I get the door.”

I ran to the door and opened it. Officer Jenny was standing stiffly with her Growlithe by her side. “Good morning, Shonta. How’s the family?” she said.

The others came and stopped. “Uh-oh, we’re busted,” I heard Static say.

“Okay. Is there a problem?” I was starting to get nervous.

“I need to ask a few questions about an incident that happened last night,” she said.

“We’re definitely busted,” Artemis said. The Growlithe looked toward her and blinked.

“Did something happen with you last night?” Aqua asked Artemis.

“Long story. Very long story,” Artemis said.

“I knew I should’ve stayed in bed today,” Cinder squeaked.

“What happened?” Ryan asked Officer Jenny. He could barely keep his voice straight.

“Someone or something broke in the flower shop, destroyed Madame’s prize sunflowers, and badly injured her Pokemon,” Officer Jenny explained. “Madame’s safe, but the Pokemon are at the Pokemon Center and are in bad shape. Unfortunately, they’re key witnesses to the crime and they’re too scared to tell us anything.”

A big sigh of relief came from the Pokemon. “Sorry, we didn’t see or hear anything that night,” I told her.

“Actually, I came to ask you a request.”

“Sure, tell me.”

“I was wondering if you could come and, uh, act as translator for me.”

“Who told you about that? Mom?”

“Actually, Professor Cedar informed me of it.”

“And he got that from your mom,” the Growlithe added.

“Sure, why not? It’s not like we have anything important to do,” I said with a slight touch of disappointment.

“We can go in my car,” Terri told me.


It was quite the scene at the Center and the flower shop. There were cops at both places and a lot of observers trying to get a look at the crime scene. We walked in the Pokemon Center and met Nurse Joy and Madame Francine.

“Excuse me, but I’m here with Shonta Jones to interrogate the witnesses,” Jenny told Joy.

“But my girls need rest!” Madame exclaimed.

“Maybe we do need to let them get their beauty rest,” Cinder whimpered. After what happened yesterday, I guess the last thing Tulip wanted was to see Cinder.

“Forget beauty rest. They need to get their attitudes adjusted!” Static said angrily.

And the last thing I wanted was to get paralyzed for Static’s big mouth.

“Trouble with the ladies, shorty?” Aqua asked him.

I ignored Static and turned back to Joy and Madame. “I’ll only need a few minutes,” I said. “Of course, I’ll need my partner on this.”

“Partner?” Joy and Madame said together.

I pointed to Ryan. “Ryan Steele is a trusted friend of mine and has great skills as a detective. Together this case will be closed in no time.”

“Um, excuse me? You’re the detective,” Ryan told me.

“Fine, if you want. He’ll translate since this is his first day on the job,” I told Madame.

“Yes, boss,” he said jokingly.

“The Pokemon are in the recovery room. Just go down the hall and it’s the last door to the right,” Nurse Joy indicated.

“Thanks. Hey Terri, can you look after the Pokemon while I’m doing this?”

“Sure,” Terri said.

I went through the double doors and followed the directions that Nurse Joy had given. I found the three girls sleeping in there, each on a different bed. Tulip looked the worst; it looked like there wasn’t a single place where she wasn’t scratched. The others looked more exhausted than injured, although they had their share of bandages.

I walked to Tulip’s bed first to inspect her wounds. She wasn’t scratched, she was cut! My mind raced through what kind of attacks would produce such results. I was going to walk to Poppy’s bed next with Ryan when Tulip woke up. She took one good look at me and sprang up on the bed.

“What are you doing here? I knew you were bizarre and crazy, but now you’re here to take advantage of me!” she screamed at me.

“Take advantage of you? You making it sound like…hey, that’s not funny Ryan!” Ryan was losing his poker face quickly. “I’m trying to help you by finding out who attacked you that night.”

“Well, I don’t know and I’m not telling anyone, especially disrespectable trainers and their bratty Pokemon!” She turned her back to me, almost hitting me with her head leaf while doing so.

“Well, that’s too bad, because if we don’t know who it is, it may try a second attempt to do away with you.”

Tulip thought about this at first and looked at me. “Okay, I do know a bit. It was a humid night in the greenhouse, so Madame decided to leave the door open to let air in. She was worried about the chance of robbery but she figured we wouldn’t let that happen.”

“I’ll say,” Ryan commented.

“It was the middle of the night when it happened,” Tulip continued. “I woke up and saw this big, scary monster eating the fruit for the fruit sale. I tried to fight it, but he attacked me some way. I don’t know how, but I hurt all over and smelled blood, so I screamed for Madame. The monster then started swinging his arms all over the place and finally escaped…right through the glass.”

“Ouch,” I said.

“Hope Madame’s got insurance for the place,” Ryan said as he walked to Tulip. “You didn’t get a good look at the Pokemon?”

Tulip lay back on the bed and shook her head. The spicy aroma from her leaf filled the room. “It was completely dark. I wouldn’t know if it was Pokemon or human.”

“If it was human, it was a crazy one,” Ryan said.

“We remember something,” said two quiet voices. Poppy and Lavender were awake. “For one thing, the Pokemon seemed to wait to attack until Madmoiselle Tulip attacked it. Then we heard the monster scream before it started attacking her.”

“Was it an angry scream?” I asked them.

“No, it sounded more like a scream of pain,” Lavender said.

“I remember something, too!” exclaimed Poppy. “Before it started screaming, it looked like it was trying to escape us, like it was afraid of us.”

“Okay, thanks for the info! And sorry about the sunflowers,” I told them.

A look of horror streaked across Tulip’s face. “What…happened to the sunflowers?” she asked slowly.

I started to tell her, but Ryan stopped me. “Nothing! They’re just fine and in perfect condition!” he said.

“Gee, no need for sugarcoating it,” I said.

“Something happened to them, I know it!” Tulip panicked. She jumped down and ran out the room. Ryan and I ran after her, followed by Lavender and Poppy. We chased her down the hallway, through the waiting room, and out the front door. We all ran to the greenhouse, where we heard a scream and a thud.

Terri and the Pokemon were behind us looking at the fainted Tulip. “That’s not a good sign,” Terri said.

“I’ll say! That place looks to’ up from the flo’ up!” Aqua said.

Ryan and I walked into the greenhouse where we saw why Tulip freaked out so badly. We saw the sunflowers, and they weren’t just destroyed, they were decapitated. The flower part was completely separated from the stem.

“Oh boy, it executed the sunflowers,” Ryan said.

“And with one swipe, no doubt,” I added. I looked up and saw its escape route. Through the roof.

“So it chopped off the sunflowers…” I said.

“With a single swipe…” Ryan said.

“And flew the coop…”

“Through the roof…”

“Of solid glass.”

We looked at each other and exchanged a slight expression of fear. “Scyther,” we both said together.

[mr_pikachu]

Scyther? Could it be one of Prof. Cedar's? I hope he doesn't get in trouble...

Anyway, nice chappie! I liked the comic relief, and it was cool how Shonta got a PS2! Although, the people here just might kill you for not making it a GameCube.

Just thought I'd let you know so you can defend yourself. Anyway, nice work, and keep it up! I can't wait to see what happens with the Scyther incident!