Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ The Forgotten Son ❯ Alive and Kicking ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

A frown had found a resting place on Luke's mouth and he silently trod into the Azalea Town pokecenter. It was late, he knew that, but he didn't bother to check the time as he sat down at an open table, lost in thought. The rockets were out of here, he should be celebrating… but he wasn't.
 
He felt bad.
 
He reviewed everything that could happen to cause this feeling, but nothing seemed to be worthy of causing it. There was nothing that should have him down, he thought.
 
He turned around in his seat, studying the center. It smelled strongly of generic cleaning products. It was brightly lit for so late at night, and the entire downstairs floor was bleak of any living thing save for the nurse who napped comfortably on the counter, arms folded into a pillow for her head.
 
It had been years since Luke had entered a pokecenter… he didn't even recall when it was, only that the setup was very familiar to him. To most trainers this would be a sin above all others, but Miltank's healing abilities were vast enough to hold them through any injury.
 
The true reason for his ill mood had by now begun reaching him in the back of his head. He could feel it there, but did not dare to acknowledge it. He didn't want to believe it, but deep down he knew that it was true.
 
He wanted to be stronger.
 
He felt ashamed for his weakness. The feeling had never occurred to him; this wasn't something that applied to his ideas. Strength was meaningless to him, right?
 
But it was there, with little time for contemplation, he silently sunk into slumber.
 
***
 
“Hey! Hey!”
 
Luke grumbled and blinked his eyes open, as if they were made of lead. The dull view of the poke center swam into view and a feeling of numbness faded into his cheek, which he uneasily peeled off the table. He had fallen asleep at his seat.
 
He looked around again; everything was the same as last night, but there were trainers in various areas and the nurse now seemed more alert. As he completed his check-through, he felt a hand shaking his shoulder vigorously and turned again to see Ken, looking at him eagerly.
 
“Hey, hey! You finally woke up, huh man?”
 
“Ken…?” Luke blinked sleepily.
 
“The one and only, man. I was getting worried; your pokemon found my room in the center last night and I woke up to them being all over the place!”
 
“My- my pokemon!”
 
Luke jumped up in a fluster as he recalled his pokemon, which he left unattended when he fell asleep. He leaned over to see them looking at him grumpily, save Woop who grinned as giddily as ever.
 
“Man, you shoulda put them in their pokeballs before dozing off like that!”
 
“I, uh… well, they don't have any.”
 
“NO POKEBALLS?!”
 
Ken jumped forward and shoved his head into Luke's, drawing attention from the entire center. Luke rubbed his hurt forehead in annoyance and added with some anger in his voice;
 
No, Ken. No pokeballs.”
 
“Well… why not?”
 
“It's a different story for each, but only my treecko is technically registered under my care. The others aren't bound by pokeballs.”
 
Ken blinked, then rambled off in his preteen voice. “Well, in Goldenrod City they've got the league records center- I'm sure it would be a piece of cake to gain legal ownership of them there. Then you can give them all pokeballs.” He sniffed, and then continued. “I'm on my way there myself. Do you wanna come?”
 
Luke sighed, then turned to Ken, opening his mouth to decline the offer; but for a brief moment, he was stopped. He made sudden eye contact with Ken, and in his eyes he saw a yearning for adventure and a childish sense of justice.
 
They were Griffe's eyes. Those same bright eyes that looked over the horizon and starved to see what was on the other side; those eyes that were captivated by pokemon and wanted nothing more than to train them.
 
Luke was overwhelmed by the similarity, and managed to utter a very quiet “H-how old… are you?”
 
“Ten.” Ken said bluntly, a bit confused by the change of subject.
 
Ten. He was five years younger then Luke, the exact age difference between him and Griffe. Now more than ever he saw the ghost of Griffe in Ken, but was able to shrug it off mentally to declare “Yeah, I'll come. I'll meet you out front in twenty minutes.”
 
* * *
 
Luke swayed uneasily in place as he awaited Ken's arrival. When he had agreed to go he felt confident he was doing the right thing, but now he was rather offset by the idea of journeying even farther from home. His pokemon seemed to enjoy the idea of traveling however, talking amongst each other excitedly about the coming departure.
 
Ken's voice sounded from the corner of Luke's hearing, and he turned to see Ken jogging over. He stopped in front of Luke, out of breathe. “Aw-right! You ready to go?”
 
Luke nodded solemnly.
 
Ken grinned from ear to ear, turning around and beckoning Luke and his pokemon to follow him. Off they marched, through Azalea town and through a small building connecting the town to Ilex Forest.
 
The first thing Luke felt as he stepped into the poorly lit forest was the chilly air. The thick trees seemed to stop all forms of sunlight from entering this domain; continuing through the forest was a difficult task indeed. They took many winding turns and wandered aimlessly, hitting a dead end more than once; oftentimes the same dead end.
 
It was an admittedly dull trek, as well as time-consuming; the day seemed to pass quickly under those trees, and before they knew it nightfall had come; although to them the light made no difference. They realized it was nightfall finally when they came to a large clearing in the trees, revealing a starlit sky. It was possibly the only source of light in the entire forest, located close to a small wooden shrine to the forest protector.
 
Without even thinking Luke and Ken sat down and dozed off in the starlight, exhausted from the day's hiking.
 
* * *
 
Luke awoke to the sound of his pokemon's feet rustling on the thick grassy floor. As he sluggishly blinked open his eyes he caught view of his pokemon, bustling about each other with Ken's pokemon in some kind of battle royal. Luke was able to discern Ken's pokemon from his and identify each pokemon of his with ease; a brown owl hoot-hoot, a blue tadpole poliwag, and a cyndaquil, which struck an uneasy chord in Luke's mind as he remembered his own cyndaquil, stolen by Griffe so long ago.
 
For a good few moments Luke was captivated by the furious exchange; pokemon and pokemon attacks went in all directions, yet the field of battle was kept very dense. Luke soon noticed Ken presiding over the battle, watching the scuffle carefully. After a little while he clapped his hands loudly, disrupting the pace.
 
“That's enough! Good show, guys!”
 
Luke jumped to his feet. Ken controlled their fighting- could it be he set them up to battle each other? Was he secretly plotting to injure Luke's pokemon?!
 
“Ken! What are you doing?” He shouted, stomping over to the youth. The anger in his voice made Ken jump up a few feet into the air with a yelp.
 
“Training!” He gasped, falling back onto his behind. “Just like every day! It's my morning routine!”
 
“Training?” Luke blinked. “Wait, training? Ken, you know I hate it when my pokemon battle!”
 
“Doubt it.” Ken said, with an `I got you!' tone in his voice; “When I saw them yesterday they sure looked pretty beat up. Like they had just been battling, even.” A toothy grin spread across his face. “I think you've been holding out on me, Luke. Besides, battling is among the greatest of joys to pokemon.”
 
Luke winced as he remembered his night at the well. He regretted the event even more now, and then turned around to face where he thought his house was, sighing. Already he was getting a bit homesick.
 
“Also, training daily is how your pokemon stay fit and get stronger.” Ken said, pushing himself to his feet and patting off his shorts.
 
Getting stronger. Luke's first reaction was to argue, but then he remembered the night of the well incident, and how he had wanted to get stronger then. He felt somehow, his experiences that day had changed him. But he wasn't sure how. Was he losing himself, or becoming himself again?
 
“Stronger…” Luke repeated, as if trying the feeling of this word in his mouth. “Yes… maybe it's time I got a little stronger.”
 
* * *
 
After an intense training session with Ken in the morning and some tips on how to continue he daily routine, Luke and Ken set off for Goldenrod once again. They trekked through the forest hardily, and eventually they found themselves emerging from the forest on the outskirts of Goldenrod City. By now the sun was almost setting, and the sky was an ocean of colors that seemed to be different at each passing minute as the two trainers walked on towards the city.
 
Goldenrod City was different since the last time Luke has seen it, passing through as a starved boy with only miltank and the clothes on his back as he fled farther from his home. The city looked dirtier no, with graffiti much more common and the smell less natural; but the light from the setting sun cast it in a beautiful view, which made it looks many times better than it would at any other time.
 
The trainers didn't hesitate for a moment to go to the city Capitol, which housed not only those in power and many documents of importance but also contained a smaller branch dedicated to trainers. It was here after leaving their pokemon outside by the guard's orders and waiting in line for some time they finally reached the main desk, where Luke presented his dilemma to a lady sitting behind a nicely furnished white desk on which sat a computer and several empty mugs which had presumably once contained coffee.
 
The lady herself was slender and pale, with blonde hair that despite her efforts to tie back still left some bangs floating over her eyes, on which were donned small glasses.
 
“Okay, that's no problem, I'll just check your trainer license and make sure everything's good to go.” The lady behind the desk said, typing on her computer. After some time she paused, blinking, then typed again. She was left pausing and blinking again, then slowly looked up. “Uh… according to this, you're dead, Mr. Merluzzi.”
 
Luke blinked, then gave a small gasp as he realized that he had gone missing and had not been found for five full years- it was no wonder that after being gone for so long he be declared dead by the investigators. “uh, well…” he stammered, his hand involuntarily finding its way behind his head to scratch a phantom itch, “…how can I prove to you I'm alive?”
 
The lady lowered her glasses and sighed. “The official rules use a lot of mumbo jumbo big words, so I'll make it simple; we need either DNA verification, which you can't obtain without your parent's consent, or you can get verification from a family member.”
 
Luke gulped. He did not like where this is heading.
 
“Aaaaaand, may you please tell me where I can find a living family member?”
 
The lady raised her eyebrow like she thought he was kidding, but after several uneasy seconds she realized he was being serious and began typing on her computer.
 
“Well,” she began, “It says your father has been declared deceased after going missing for five years. Your mother is currently alive and is living in Mahogany town, where she has been living since before you disappeared. And…”
 
She turned her head up, looking Luke straight in the eye, “Your brother was at one time declared dead, but has since gotten DNA verification to prove that he is alive and is somewhere unknown on a trainer's leave.”
 
Luke almost fainted.