Jon Chapter 01

Chapter 1-Cement City

Over the next hill they could see the city before them finally, and none too soon. It was now well into the afternoon, with dusk quickly approaching, and that meant that the less savory types would come out and begin their sojourn. Not many people were out far from the city at nights, as it was known that many less friendly Pokémon chose that time to come out and traverse the fields. Murkrow could be nasty customers, especially since they even scared off ghost types at times and would be relentless in their attacking. Even if that was the case, the ghost types were hard to deal with unless you had a well trained Pokémon.

They had no trouble coasting down the slope into Cement city. It was a city that was known for the amount of stone it exported to other regions, as well as the variety of rock, ground, steel, and fighting type Pokémon that were employed to do this kind of hard work. Some of the buildings had a look like they were carved directly from rock and it gave the city a solid, if cold feeling to outsiders. At the northern end of town they could see the familiar red and white pattern of the Poke-center.

They deposited their Pokémon to be checked while they had a quick look around town. It wasn’t a particularly large city, but there were a good number of people out in the streets still just going from place to place. They spent a little while at a local restaurant enjoying a local specialty and some vegetables. After the meal they called home and checked to see that things were ok with their parents. “You made it ok then? No fighting?” Marc was quick to quell any doubts, since having a parent have to track you across the region would have been very embarrassing.

They finished their call and headed back to the poke-center to rest for the next day’s travelling. The poke-centers had in recent years come to function as hostels for the myriad of Pokémon trainers. They charged a minimal fee for a nightly stay, and would normally offer a simple breakfast as well. It was certainly a lucrative business, all the ‘Poke’ industries across the regions and the world as a whole. People would occasionally come from different regions and spend time in new parts of the world. Some of Marc’s more recent friends had visited from the Kanto region, and that was certainly a new experience for the whole family.

“Did you remember to set the alarm for 8:00 a.m.? We need to start early if we’re going to check this area.” Matt wanted to double check so they would have lots of time for work tomorrow. “Yeah, I set it already. Can we go to bed now?” Matt and Marc finished brushing their teeth and put on their travel pajamas. “I call top bunk!” Marc rushed up to the top bunk before Matt had a chance to even voice his preference. Either way Matt didn’t care much about the bunks, but the fact that Marc had gotten to pick first still rankled him a bit.

Outside the moon was only a quarter tonight, and it would be a fortnight before a full-moon. The two siblings settled into their beds and fell asleep quickly, and all was silent for the night’s sleep. It was still early in the summer, so the atmosphere at the poke-center was very lax, the real crowds would start in a few weeks, when all the trainers moved beyond their home areas. There was only one other trainer staying at the same center, so they had their choice of rooms. It was a known fact that most centers stayed open 24 hours, though it was rare for people to ever need their services so late unless there was an accident or an emergency.

Matt was looking up at the sky from a grassy field. The clouds rolled lazily by, across the lightly orange sky of an afternoon. In the distance he could see a tree atop a large mountain. The rest of the mountain had some smaller trees, but this tree dominated the field of view, and seemed to be lording over the smaller trees below. At the foot of the mountain several hikers were walking by on a trail that wove around the mountain to the south.

A top the tree a lone figure was balanced among the highest branches, looking out over the vast stretches of land. It had an odd figure, as the head didn’t seem to turn, but it gave the impression that it was watching Matt’s every move. Matt suddenly had this strange feeling that the creature, whatever it was, was trying to talk to him. His head felt strange, almost as if there was a weird energy flowing through it, and he could sense things outside of his body.

Matt woke up suddenly. It was still dark outside and he checked his watch just to see what time it was. “Oh no! Why so early?!” 5:34 a.m. The night sky wasn’t as dark as it had been the night before, and in the distance he could see the horizon with a few shafts of light peaking over the trees. “Why do these things happen to me?” Matt took a quick trip to the bathroom before returning to bed. “Maybe, I can still get a few more hours before the alarm goes off.” He thought hopefully as he rolled into the bed sheets. He had a lot of work in the morning, and this dream may just put him off focus trying to find something that may not be able to be found.

Bzzzzz!!!!! Marc slammed his hand down to turn off the alarm on his cell phone, but it took a few tries before he managed to shut it off. Matt had had a hard time sleeping fully since this little ‘vision’ so he was up quickly and putting on the rest of his travel equipment for the day. He had been looking forward to trying some of the new devices that Professor Ferne had created for this task. So far they had only managed to count around 10 or 15 different species, but they were mostly weaker bug and flying types. It still irked him that he hadn’t caught the sandshrew yesterday, but that would have to take a back seat.

Matt was already out in the commons area of the poke-center, and Marc was just attaching the rest of his gear. “I think I’ll check out the quarry here and see what other types they have here.” “But I wanted to check that place.” Matt had been slow to react so it seemed that Marc had the choice area today. “Guess that means I’ll check the poke-mart and see what we need.” Matt was a little irritated, as he was hoping to get another chance to catch a sandshrew.

They set out and went their separate paths, Marc across town and into the quarry and work area, Matt downtown to the poke-mart to stock-up on supplies. Matt took his time riding by on his bike. He had to admit it was kind of nice to be free from his brother and be on his own. They may have been brothers, but it didn’t mean they had to get along all the time. There was no rush to do shopping, as they hadn’t had any real challenges yet. Those would start to appear once they headed towards the cities with Pokémon trainers and the gyms. The season may be over for badges, but it was known that some gym leaders liked to use this time to sharpen their skills on trainers.

After about 30 minutes of slow biking Matt could see the large blue and white building at the cross-roads of town. There weren’t many people yet since it was still around 9 a.m., and Cement city wasn’t that large of a city. This poke-mart was only about the size of a regular convenience store, so the selection was limited to say the least. A few different snacks for people and Pokémon alike, just two types of poke-balls, potions, super potions, and a few repel sprays that looked as if they had seen a rough trip. Matt ended up buying two bottles of water, a snack bar, and a six-pack of poke-balls, just in case they had the urge to catch something.

As he paid for his things he noticed a few suspicious people walking towards the poke-mart. They all wore what looked like baggy black-cargo pants, red tank-tops, and black sun-glasses. The whole outfit reeked of someone absolutely out of place in such a small town, where most people tended to just wear what was comfortable. They walked up confidently to the side of the poke-mart where the bikes were parked, and seemed to be waiting. Matt packed his things into the bag and quietly exited the store to leave before things went bad.

“Hey, hands off my Vulpix!” A girl had been surrounded by the group and one of them had just tried to carry her Vulpix away. “Vulpix, flamethrower!” A blast of fire exploded out around the smaller Pokémon, and the man in black backed away quickly to avoid getting burned. “So you won’t hand it over!?” “We’ll just take it the hard way then. Go, Poochyena!” The Poochyena emerged from the pokeball and looked quite ready for battle.

Matt couldn’t help but be a little curious about the battle, as he hadn’t seen a real battle up close. The Poochyena began circling the Vulpix, but it stood firm and remained focused. “Poochyena, bite! See how you like having to fight up close!” But unexpectedly the Vulpix didn’t even flinch. It calmly stood its ground and waited for the right moment to strike. “Vulpix, show them what you’ve got.” The girl’s Vulpix sprayed flames at the Poochyena, and it could only brace for the attack, as it was send off its feet by the attack.

The rest of the group of outsiders started getting ready to step in, readying to send out their own Pokémon into the fray. Just as he got to within range of the battle Matt did something so very uncommon for his character, he sent out his Meowth. “Meowth, Scratch the Poochyena!” At that the group of people dressed in black all turned in surprise as the Meowth threw itself headlong into the Poochyena. The Poochyena had no chance to react as the Meowth went quickly for its face and gave it a solid hit with his paws.

The two other members sent out their Pokémon. It was evenly matched at first glance. Matt and the girl had a Meowth and Vulpix between them, and the team of outsiders sent out a Tangela and a Spearow. The girl’s Vulpix made short work of the Tangela, but not before it used poison powder. The Vulpix was quickly weakening, even as the Tangela went down. Matt tried to have his Meowth protect the Vulpix, but the Spearow was too quick and the Vulpix was nearly knocked out by a glancing Gust attack.

Matt knew he wasn’t a trainer, and wasn’t really one to get involved in battles if he could avoid it. The spearow as holding its position in the air above the Vulpix and the Meowth, waiting for the poison to take effect and drop the Vulpix. If the ruffians won, they would more than likely try and take the Vulpix and his Meowth. The Spearow dived and sent the Vulpix flying off its feet with a solid body blow. The girl ran to catch her Vulpix, leaving only Matt’s Meowth and the Spearow left in the battle.

“Rock throw!!” Somebody’s Geodude began throwing as many stones as it could find at the opposing spearow. Matt thought Marc had returned to helped, but was a little surprised when a tall barrel-chested man came running from across the street. The spearow tried to dodge the rocks, but was clipped by a handful and only just managed to stay air-borne. The outsiders knew they were asking for trouble if they stayed, since most small towns would have some older trainers who would be itching for a fight to help pass the time.

The older man came into view, and Matt could see that he was one of the quarry workers from the overalls he wore. Though his glasses gave the feeling of someone who was not just an ordinary worker. “Guess you can say this is your lucky day.” The one last battling outsider recalled his spearow and joined the others as they turned their backs and started stalking away. It took a little while before they were out of sight and things started to quiet down.

“Are you two alright?” The older man said as he walked up to Matt and the girl. “It’s nice to have a little excitement out here.” “Thank you.” Matt said. He was glad he had been saved the embarrassment of losing his first Pokémon battle and in front of a girl too. The girl brushed her backside off as she put her Vulpix back onto the ground, only to have it slump a little, still weakened by the poison attack it had taken.

"Thanks for the assist.” He didn’t have the chance to get a good look at the girl before or during the battle. She had fairly long blonde hair, and carried a blue satchel pack on her back. Matt also noticed the Pokedex pocket on the left side of her belt. She was really just of average build, and a few inches shorter than himself. “No problem.” Matt was kind of shocked and it was hard to think of anything for him to say without his mind hiccupping.

It took him a moment to realize that his meowth was sitting at attention in front of him, waiting for him to notice. “Meowth?” It was looking quizzically at him now. Matt quickly decided to give it a snack and took a Pokémon food pellet from his right-side pouch. “Meowth!” His meowth reared up as it could see the snack in Matt’s hand, just a few feet above its head. Matt let the food pellet drop and his meowth batted at the food for a moment before finally eating it.

“My name is Matthew.” He offered his hand and the girl accepted. “My name’s Jessica.” “You two should take that vulpix to the poke-center before it gets any weaker. Nothing worse than a fainted Pokémon.” The old man recalled his geodude and left quietly. Jessie lifted her vulpix off the ground and they began walking towards the poke-center. “Why not just recall the vulpix? It would be a lot easier to carry.” Jessie looked with a slight disbelief at Matt for a second. She had just done the lion’s share of the work in the battle and now Matt, the novice, was giving her hints?

“I know it’ll sound strange,” She started. “But, I don’t believe in putting my Pokémon in a pokeball. It must seem like imprisonment for them. To just shut them away and forget about them or carry them like baggage.” Matt had never thought about it before, but there were other people who would usually let their favorite Pokémon roam free when travelling. They continued down the street to the poke-center. It seemed like only minutes ago he had set out, but it had been nearly 3 hours now.

Back at the poke-center Matt checked his messages, and only found a quick reminder note from his mom, but nothing from Marc. Matt wrote to tell him what had happened and then took a seat across from Jessica in the lobby as they waited for her Vulpix to be healed. They ended up using a much larger healing chamber, usually reserved for severely injured Pokémon.

“So, what are you doing in Cement city?” Matt thought it might be nice to make a new friend while he had the chance, especially since he rarely had had these chances before. “I’m here working on my pokedex actually. Well not like a trainer, but more as a networker.” “Are you a researcher by any chance?” “Not exactly, but kind of in a way.” They continued for a while until the nurse called Jessica over to get her vulpix. It looked in much better shape now, and was happy to see Jessica. Matt also collected his meowth and they sat back down at the table.

“Why are ‘You’ in Cement city, if you don’t mind my asking?” Jessica now asked Matt. “Well, my brother and I are working on the pokedex for a researcher we know. We just started so there isn’t much we have so far.” It seemed as though the two had at least a fair deal in common. Both were more interested in Pokémon behavior and regional preferences than battles, though Jessica admitted to having some minor skills in training. “Where are you headed after this? Any place in particular you’re planning on going?” Jessica posed the question, but Matt actually hadn’t been too keen on planning where he would head next. In fact, Marc was the one who mostly decided where they would go, since he had the most connections across the Michi region.

Thankfully for Matt, he didn’t have to answer that question immediately as Marc just walked into the poke-center as he was floundering for an answer. Marc was dusted with chips from rocks and had dirt on both his knees, no doubt from whatever he had been up to today. “Don’t tell me you stayed here the whole time?” Matt was quickly annoyed by the presumptuous question, but before he could answer Jessica cut in. “Why does it matter to you?” Marc was surprised by the comment, since it came with an attitude he seldom dealt with from Matt. He was even more unsettled, when he saw Matt sitting across from a fairly pretty girl.

“Oh….” Marc slowly sat next to Matt, his eyes quickly darting back and forth between the two, trying to put it all together. “I must look like such a loser saying that. Sorry, he’s my brother, so I assumed…..” Marc tried to relax, and rephrase things so he wouldn’t get on her bad side, nothing like a bad first impression. “Well, just looking at you two now, it’s a little easier to make sense of it. Still doesn’t mean you can’t be a little more polite.” Jessica was glaring at Marc, watching his every move, waiting to see what he would do next.

“So, how did you two meet?” Marc had decided to shift the attention to Matt, and hopefully dig his way out of this unpleasant situation. “I was on my way out of the poke-mart, when she was attacked by a gang of guys in weird outfits.” “Actually they just wanted to steal my vulpix, but same thing.” Jessica interjected. Matt and Jessica explained what had happened that day; about the battle and how close they had come to losing, the old man who helped, and finally how they had ended up back at the poke-mart.

“Sounds like a busy day for you two. I wish I had had something like that to do.” Marc opened his pokedex and started to tell them about his day. Mostly he had talked to other people traveling through the city, and had a long call with one of his friends who lived in Cascade. “It seems they don’t have many types here. A few rock and ground types, but nothing of interest to me personally. Though they did have a few fighting types, but nothing of particular note. Onix, Geodudes or gravler, machop and a hitmonchan. Though there was something that looked like a Steelix, but I couldn’t get any closer to be sure.”

Both of them had hoped to hear news about sandshrew, but it looks like they didn’t really inhabit this town or its routes. Matt went over to one of the vending machines and got a few drinks for everyone. It looked like they would be spending another day in Cement city and they would have to move on tomorrow. “Oh, Jessica….Where do you live? You may want to get home soon so you don’t have to worry about travelling at night.” Matt was hoping she could at least get home safe while it was still daylight, as night time was usually a more dangerous time if travelling.

“Oh, I don’t live here. I’m just passing through.” She was about to continue when Marc’s phone started ringing. “Sorry, I have to get this.” Jessica continued, “I’m going to stay here, and then head south and do some work in Wheatland. I heard there was a fairly well known professor. Have you heard of a Professor Ferne?” “Actually I’m doing some regional research for him.” Matt answered. “We can help you around Wheatland if you need any help.” At that moment Marc re-entered with a heavy sigh. “Looks like we won’t be able to make it to Capital city.” He slumped into one of the open chairs.

“There’s a road-block going north, so we’ll have to go down toward Cascades, and take Granite-way from there, or maybe take a train.” This was the chance both had been waiting for. “Perhaps we could….” “Maybe we should…” They spoke at the same time, but Matt insisted that Marc finish. “It looks like we could split the difference and each go separate ways. I’ve wanted to check out Cascades, and I know you have some other places you want to check out.”

Matt was feeling very good about this chance. They both didn’t like the idea of travelling from Wheatland all the way to Traveler’s City. It was a long trip, and it would mean a lot of boring computing along with a driven sibling pushing him along. It had been a long and eventful day, and now it was about time to call it a day and turn in. Marc, Matt, and Jessica all set off to their rooms and the brothers packed up for the next day’s decisions.