Episode
3:
Gaining Approval
The next morning brought a slight
drizzle as Nick walked home from Adam’s house. The rain merely prompted him to
walk faster, but Nidoran loved the rain and little puddles that were forming.
Nick kept reflecting on the day before, and how in such a short time his entire
life had altered. A week ago he was trying to decide what classes to take next
semester, and Adam was trying to weasel his way up to assistant manager at his
job. Yet now both of them were on a crash course to be pokemon trainers, and
neither was regretting it. Nidoran had beaten a few more pokemon yesterday, and
Adam finally found a good sized clearing for Rhyhorn to really have room to
train. It was a day unlike any other for them, and they knew there would be
even better days in the future.
However Nick was not looking forward
to return home this morning. After walking out on his parents yesterday and not
coming home last night, he didn’t think the reception would be warm.
As Nick walked in the door, he was
greeted cheerfully by his mother. “Hey, Mom, I’m sorry about last night.”
“Oh stop,” Cecilia said, “I was
there yesterday, I heard what your father said.”
Nick’s smile died a little. “Has he
said anything else about it?”
Cecilia shook her head. “He hasn’t
said a thing. When I woke up he was already gone for the gym. I figure he’s
blowing off some steam.”
“Well I came back for some stuff. I
figured maybe if he was here we could talk. I really thought he’d be happy
about this.”
“So did I, honey,” Cecilia said,
forcing a smile. “He has his reasons though. Just give him some time.”
Nick sighed and walked past up the
stairs to his bedroom. An hour later he came back down, Nidoran nipping at his
heels, excited for going back out to train. Halfway down the stairs Nick
stopped, hearing voices coming from the backyard. He walked up to the glass
door and saw his parents sitting on their back porch with Arcanine sunbathing
next to his mother. The massive dog pokemon was lying on its side with a tongue
dangling out its mouth, however Nick knew in a moment’s notice the pokemon
could be on all fours, heat radiating from its red and orange coat and
breathing scorching fire.
He could tell his parents were having a
serious conversation, and he did not want to intrude. However his mother saw
him and waved for him to come outside.
“Your father and I were just
discussing this latest endeavor of yours,” she said with a half-smile as she
continued petting Arcanine. “I have yet to change his mind.”
Julius looked up at Nick and shook
his head. “Not that she hasn’t tried.” The raw anger was gone from his voice,
but the disapproval was still there. “I still do not believe you are mature
enough for this.”
“Mature enough? Dad, there are
little kids wandering Bug Bay with their pokemon all the time. I’m more than
mature enough.”
Julius sighed, “Yes, there are lots
of young children with pokemon. But they are not trainers, in the same sense
you want to become. You want to travel much farther than Bug Bay. It will be
more dangerous than you can imagine.”
“I don’t understand,” Nick said,
starting to get tired of arguing, “people travel every day. It’s not like we
are going into completely uncharted territory.”
“But you are going out into this
world looking for trouble. And with Adam with you, it makes it double. You’re
purposely going to go out of your way to battle other trainers, and not every
trainer out there plays by the same nice rules as you do. You need to make sure
you can defend yourself, even without your pokemon.”
“I get it, this is all things you’ve
told me before. I’ve been in fights before, I can handle myself.”
“Honey, you’ve been in one fight,
and Adam was there to help you win.” Cecilia shrugged her shoulders as she
spoke, seemingly to say she’s not on anyone’s side particularly.
Nick sighed and ran a hand through his
hair. “Well how am I supposed to know if I’m ready unless I go out and try?”
Julius stood up. “I’ll know when you’re
ready.”
“Sure,” Nick said, looking him in
the eyes, “but I’m not so sure you’ll let me know when you do.”
“What do you want from me, Nick?”
“How about your blessing for me to
do this?”
“And I can’t give that to you until
I know you are ready.”
Nick shook his head, trying to
figure out a way to get through to his dad. After a moment he thought of
something. “What if I beat you in a battle? I mean, I’ll have to eventually to
get the badge.”
For a moment Nick saw a spark of
something in Julius’ eyes, but then it was gone, and the look of disapproval
returned. “Beat me? Son, from one man to another, you’ve got awhile to go
before that.”
“Well then I better start right
away.” Nick turned and walked back into the house to finish packing what he
needed. When the door was closed, Julius sighed, and Cecilia stood up and put
her arm around his waist.
“He’s not going to stop, darling. He’s
your son all right.”
“I know,” Julius sighed again, shaking
his head. “I just hope I can help stop him from making my same mistakes.”
High up in the trees, the bird
pokemon all sang their different songs. Most of the calls reminded Adam of the
pokemons’ names, but strung together the notes made enchanting music.
“I need one of those,” he whispered
to Rhyhorn, who was walking slowly next to him. “I have you to control the
ground, but I need one of them to control the sky. Now the decision is which
one?”
A flock of Pidgeys flew away, leaving
the area quieter. Still, one tree had a single song being sung. Adam walked
carefully up to the base and craned his neck to see what bird pokemon was still
singing. Halfway up the tree Adam saw a little bird sitting alone, crying out
in a noisy tune. It was only about a foot in height, with a gray feathered body
and black feathers on its head and wing tips. Its face was white, along with a
white spot on its chest. A sharp, orange beak tipped with black adorned the
bird’s face. Even when it opened its wings, it was still a tiny bird pokemon.
“That’s a…hmm wait I know this. Not
a Taillow, or a Pidove. A Starly! Yes, that’s it. Damn if Nick was here he’d
have known that in heartbeat. But I’m sure it’s a Starly. And soon it’ll be my
Starly.”
Adam shuffled through his backpack,
looking for a pokeball. “Here it is. Now I know I should try weakening it
before I throw the ball, but I have a feeling Rhyhorn here isn’t going to be
able to catch that thing if it doesn’t wanna fight. So, I guess here goes
nothing!”
Adam threw the pokeball at the
Starly. The pokeball bumped into Starly, startling the pokemon. But as soon as
the ball hit it a flash a light came from within the device. Starly’s body was
transformed into the red light and sucked into the pokeball. The ball fell to
the ground and bounced once, then shook. Adam held his breath as he watched the
ball shake again. The clerk at the pokemart told him the pokeball would shake
three times, and then the red light in the center would go out if the pokemon
was caught. But until that light went out, the pokemon could break free.
Adam sucked air in as the ball shook
slightly again for a third time, and then let the air out in one big sigh when
the red light disappeared from the pokeball’s center. The whole woods seemed to
get quieter, and Adam simply started at the pokeball for a minute. He slowly
walked over and picked up the pokeball, looking at the round two-inch sphere in
his hand which now contained his second pokemon. Then it hit him. He had just
caught his first pokemon.
Adam jumped up into the air, yelling
and laughing in joy. He tossed the pokeball up, and in a flash Starly appeared,
crying out its name.
“Starly!” Adam yelled, “I choose
you!”
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