Post by sandragon13 on Nov 19, 2006 16:02:04 GMT -5
This is a project I've been working on for over a year. I'm really proud that it's finally getting the time it deserves, and count on more updates as the holidays approach.
so now, I present to you, reader, Class of '06!!!
Chapter 1: Meetings and Mysteries
The first reaction as the loud buzzing voice wakes me from a particularly comfortable night’s sleep is that the Ninjask are swarming again. Turning over it becomes clear that the alarm clock, registering 9:00 in red digital numbers, has completed its task, droning at a seemingly inhuman volume for the early hour. The raspy voice through the worn speaker reports typical summer temperatures: mid-to-high 90’s, low humidity; a long, hot, normal summer day in Lavaridge Town.
With great effort I attempt to rouse my still-sleeping arm, cold and powerless next to me. Finally I muster the strength to draw the lifeless limb upwards, fighting the pins and needles that rack my skin. Deactivating the alarm, I sit up and stretch the stiffness from my arms and shoulders. Looking down towards the foot of the bed, I can see Mystic shift her paws and open her brown eyes, blinking sleepily at me. She knows it’s Saturday, she also knows what time to get up on the weekend. Gazing into her auburn eyes, I can sense an intelligence beyond that of a house pet, beyond that even of some people. She knows that something is amiss today, something unusual and fresh. The playful sparkle returns to her eyes, as if reassuring me of my slight nervousness.
My name is Ashley. I live in Lavaridge Town, on the slopes of Mt. Chimney, in the Hoenn region. I’m 15 years old, living with my parents in a residential area a few blocks from the Gym. I don’t have any brothers or sisters, but I have Mystic. She’s a Vulpix, my partner since I adopted her from a breeder who visited the Gym when I was 12. Mystic and I are apprentices under Flannery, the Lavaridge Gym Leader. Flannery’s so cool, the way she handles Fire Pokemon with intense, but temperate, training. Sometimes she lets us fight Gym challengers if she’s skeptical of their ability.
Putting my feet on the cool wooden floor, I take a look around my room…I try to take in all of the memories, the friends, the people I have met and Pokemon I have seen. On the pallid walls hang some of my medals, awards for various athletic achievements from Lavaridge Middle School. Soccer, track…I guess I’m an OK athlete. I love playing soccer with Mystic in the meadow down near the Jagged Pass, to the East of town. It teaches both of us to stay on our toes, to never get caught flat-footed, and use speed to our advantage. Today, however, my walls and closet are rather bare, many of my possessions packed away in trunks and bags and piled downstairs.
I get dressed, and look at my reflection in the mirror on the closet door. First a black short-sleeve teeshirt, then my favorite shirt, the red one with the collar. My shorts are gray, with a black belt. For footwear, I don my boots, brown, slightly worn, and comfortable. All of my clothes and other things are packed, stored in the luggage sitting by the front door. On my nightstand, I pick up the envelope, torn open along the top, and slide it into my pocket. I sling my bag, simple and red with a black drawstring, over my shoulder, and, Mystic at my side, I head downstairs.
My parents are both already at work on the other side of town. There’s some leftover pancakes on a plate on the kitchen table, alongside a handwritten note. I recognize my mom’s penmanship, flowing and rushed. I drizzle syrup onto the pancakes, put some Pokechow into Mystic’s bowl, and pick up the letter. I’ll read it later, I say to myself, as I fold it and put it in my bag. Hastily my partner and I eat our breakfasts, we can’t be late for the train out of Mauville City. We still have a bike ride to get to Mauville, since the rail line doesn’t reach this far north. The message, folded in my pocket, said that in Mauville, I’m to meet up with four other trainers at the MagLev station. The letter also said that all luggage would be accounted for, letting me ride my bike to Mauville City instead of needing a ride. All it required was that luggage was to be left outside.
Glancing at the Meowth clock on the wall, I realize that I’m running late. “Hurry up, Mystic, we’ve got to get going!” “Vul! Pix!” came the reply, as she finished the last bits of Pokechow in her bowl. “Alright, Mystic, return,” I stated, holding out the fox Pokemon’s ball. The Vulpix disappeared in a flash of red light, drawn inside the red-and-white sphere. I clipped the ball to my belt, re-slung my bag over my shoulder, and turned to look, one last time, at the dwelling that had been my home for all of my 15 years. A slight sigh escaped my lips, as I turned and opened the door. Dragging my bags of clothes over the threshold, I piled them against the plaster wall outside the door. I unchained my bike from the side of the garage and wheeled it to the front of the house. Again I turned, and, with one last glance at my home, climbed onto my bike and began pedaling downhill, towards the pass that connected Mt. Chimney and the surrounding mountains with the bustling Mauville metropolis.
As if on cue, as Ashley rode down the hill towards the main road, a man arrived at her house. He appeared in a flash of light, accompanied by a Kadabra. The man, wearing a long coat despite the sunny weather and summer heat, reached into an inner pocket and drew out a pair of pokeballs. Releasing them, two Abra materialized before him. The sleepy psi pokemon each took a seat atop a large trunk. The man and his Kadabra each laid a hand on the last remaining trunk, each resting his other hand on the other’s shoulder. The quartet closed their eyes, and in a silvery flash, all of them; Pokemon, man, and luggage, were gone.
C+C, please.
-sandragon13
so now, I present to you, reader, Class of '06!!!
Chapter 1: Meetings and Mysteries
The first reaction as the loud buzzing voice wakes me from a particularly comfortable night’s sleep is that the Ninjask are swarming again. Turning over it becomes clear that the alarm clock, registering 9:00 in red digital numbers, has completed its task, droning at a seemingly inhuman volume for the early hour. The raspy voice through the worn speaker reports typical summer temperatures: mid-to-high 90’s, low humidity; a long, hot, normal summer day in Lavaridge Town.
With great effort I attempt to rouse my still-sleeping arm, cold and powerless next to me. Finally I muster the strength to draw the lifeless limb upwards, fighting the pins and needles that rack my skin. Deactivating the alarm, I sit up and stretch the stiffness from my arms and shoulders. Looking down towards the foot of the bed, I can see Mystic shift her paws and open her brown eyes, blinking sleepily at me. She knows it’s Saturday, she also knows what time to get up on the weekend. Gazing into her auburn eyes, I can sense an intelligence beyond that of a house pet, beyond that even of some people. She knows that something is amiss today, something unusual and fresh. The playful sparkle returns to her eyes, as if reassuring me of my slight nervousness.
My name is Ashley. I live in Lavaridge Town, on the slopes of Mt. Chimney, in the Hoenn region. I’m 15 years old, living with my parents in a residential area a few blocks from the Gym. I don’t have any brothers or sisters, but I have Mystic. She’s a Vulpix, my partner since I adopted her from a breeder who visited the Gym when I was 12. Mystic and I are apprentices under Flannery, the Lavaridge Gym Leader. Flannery’s so cool, the way she handles Fire Pokemon with intense, but temperate, training. Sometimes she lets us fight Gym challengers if she’s skeptical of their ability.
Putting my feet on the cool wooden floor, I take a look around my room…I try to take in all of the memories, the friends, the people I have met and Pokemon I have seen. On the pallid walls hang some of my medals, awards for various athletic achievements from Lavaridge Middle School. Soccer, track…I guess I’m an OK athlete. I love playing soccer with Mystic in the meadow down near the Jagged Pass, to the East of town. It teaches both of us to stay on our toes, to never get caught flat-footed, and use speed to our advantage. Today, however, my walls and closet are rather bare, many of my possessions packed away in trunks and bags and piled downstairs.
I get dressed, and look at my reflection in the mirror on the closet door. First a black short-sleeve teeshirt, then my favorite shirt, the red one with the collar. My shorts are gray, with a black belt. For footwear, I don my boots, brown, slightly worn, and comfortable. All of my clothes and other things are packed, stored in the luggage sitting by the front door. On my nightstand, I pick up the envelope, torn open along the top, and slide it into my pocket. I sling my bag, simple and red with a black drawstring, over my shoulder, and, Mystic at my side, I head downstairs.
My parents are both already at work on the other side of town. There’s some leftover pancakes on a plate on the kitchen table, alongside a handwritten note. I recognize my mom’s penmanship, flowing and rushed. I drizzle syrup onto the pancakes, put some Pokechow into Mystic’s bowl, and pick up the letter. I’ll read it later, I say to myself, as I fold it and put it in my bag. Hastily my partner and I eat our breakfasts, we can’t be late for the train out of Mauville City. We still have a bike ride to get to Mauville, since the rail line doesn’t reach this far north. The message, folded in my pocket, said that in Mauville, I’m to meet up with four other trainers at the MagLev station. The letter also said that all luggage would be accounted for, letting me ride my bike to Mauville City instead of needing a ride. All it required was that luggage was to be left outside.
Glancing at the Meowth clock on the wall, I realize that I’m running late. “Hurry up, Mystic, we’ve got to get going!” “Vul! Pix!” came the reply, as she finished the last bits of Pokechow in her bowl. “Alright, Mystic, return,” I stated, holding out the fox Pokemon’s ball. The Vulpix disappeared in a flash of red light, drawn inside the red-and-white sphere. I clipped the ball to my belt, re-slung my bag over my shoulder, and turned to look, one last time, at the dwelling that had been my home for all of my 15 years. A slight sigh escaped my lips, as I turned and opened the door. Dragging my bags of clothes over the threshold, I piled them against the plaster wall outside the door. I unchained my bike from the side of the garage and wheeled it to the front of the house. Again I turned, and, with one last glance at my home, climbed onto my bike and began pedaling downhill, towards the pass that connected Mt. Chimney and the surrounding mountains with the bustling Mauville metropolis.
As if on cue, as Ashley rode down the hill towards the main road, a man arrived at her house. He appeared in a flash of light, accompanied by a Kadabra. The man, wearing a long coat despite the sunny weather and summer heat, reached into an inner pocket and drew out a pair of pokeballs. Releasing them, two Abra materialized before him. The sleepy psi pokemon each took a seat atop a large trunk. The man and his Kadabra each laid a hand on the last remaining trunk, each resting his other hand on the other’s shoulder. The quartet closed their eyes, and in a silvery flash, all of them; Pokemon, man, and luggage, were gone.
C+C, please.
-sandragon13