The Trip to Cerulean City Part 1
Pokemon: Rise of the Pokemorph
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. Only the idea and OC's.
Author Notes:
-- This will be used for scene breaks and for when the story switches to another character, but it does not mean that a new section of the story has started.
xXx This will identify where each paragraph breaks.
'poketalk'
Beta reader: Catsithx
xXx
Chapter 3: The Trip to Cerulean City Part 1
Jeremy spent the better part of an hour explaining to rest of the group what Melody had told him and what he had seen. Melody hung onto Jeremy the whole time not wanting to be left alone again. By the time Jeremy had finished his story, Melody had completely stopped crying, but she still hung onto Jeremy.
"My guess is that if Hellborne has a lab in Kanto, then it will contain some answers to whom and what I am." Jeremy stated.
"From what you have told me of your dreams involving those labs and Hellborne, I would have to say that you are right." Oak replied. "However, that does not mean that I would approve of you going out and finding this lab. It's best to let the police deal with Team Rocket."
"I have to disagree. There is a chance that if the police find that lab, I may very well never find out who I am or how I was involved with Team Rocket." Jeremy countered.
"I'm siding with Professor Oak." Delia said with a firm voice.
"I'm sorry Jeremy, but I agree with Delia and Professor Oak." Misty added.
"I'm with them as well." Ash added.
"I figured as much." Jeremy sighed.
The doorbell rang out twice, the large bell sounded through out the entire house. Jeremy quickly put his hat back on, but bent his ear in the process.
"Ouch." Jeremy rubbed the side of the hat where his ear was. Gary answered the door. Standing outside in her blue police Uniform was Officer Jenny and a Growlithe.
"Can I help you?" Gary asked.
"Hello. Is Professor Oak here? I need to talk with him." Officer Jenny asked her voice was very kind.
"Yes, come with me and I'll take you to him." Gary said.
"Officer Jenny, its not that often that you come out here." Oak said surprised to see the policewoman. "What's wrong today?" Oak asked standing up and shaking hands with Jenny. The Growlithe stayed by Jenny's side the whole time. Melody just watched as she was not to trusting of anyone at the moment. It did take about ten minutes just to get her to come downstairs.
"I'm here to warn you about Team Rocket. We've been having increased reports of Rocket activity in the area. Many of the witness accounts said that they were looking for something and they attacked anyone who even showed the slightest signs of getting in the way." Jenny told the group.
"We already know about Team Rocket being in the area. We were attacked defending this Lucario." Jeremy said still rubbing the side of his hat.
"Really I didn't think Lucario were common in the Kanto Region." Jenny stated. "I'll have to take witness accounts of the attack while I'm here though." Jenny pulled out a note pad and a pen. "I'll also have to take that Lucario to the station so we can help find its trainer." Melody grabbed tightly onto Jeremy not knowing that Jenny only had the intention of helping her.
"I think that's a wild Lucario." Gary said. "When I was cleaning its wounds, I took a blood sample. There were no signs that it had ever been inside a pokeball."
"Alright then, if that's true, it can stay here. But I'll still post a lost and found at the police station just in case. Now then, let's start writing up that report." Jenny opened up the note pad.
--
After another hour, Jenny had written up the draft of her report. Of course Jeremy lied about having fought the Machoke and said that his Quilava did all the fighting. He simply ran into the woods to keep up with Quilava and was burned by a stray Fire Blast.
All that was left for Jenny would be the fact that she have to write up the paper work to go with the report she took, but that would have to wait for her to get back to the station. "I'll be sure to send someone to out this way to keep an eye out for Team Rocket." Jenny said. "I would also have Jeremy try to make a stop at the hospital in Viridian City. That arm looks pretty bad. Until then, take it easy." Jenny walked over to Melody. Melody grabbed onto Jeremy tightly slightly adjusting his hood. The tip of one of his ears appeared behind his head. "It must really frightened." Jenny said.
"She is." Jeremy said. Melody gripped Jeremy tighter as Jenny got closer.
"She seems to have taken a liking to you." Jenny said, but luckily she was unable to notice the tip of Jeremy's ear sticking out from the back of the hat. "If no one claims her, she's yours. Just take good care of her." Jenny said. Reaching a hand out to Melody continued to hold onto Jeremy. Jenny pulled her hand back. "It doesn't look like she trusts humans that much." Jenny said her voice had a hint of sadness to it. She turned away and headed back for the door. Jeremy started to move and Melody let him get up before re attaching herself to him. While Jeremy got up, his hat fell.
"Crap." Jeremy said as he bent over causing Jenny to look back over toward them. Jeremy was holding his ears back trying to quickly replace the hood.
"Umm, what are those?" Jenny asked pointing toward Jeremy's ears.
"What are what?" Jeremy quickly replaced the hood.
"These. What are these?" Jenny walked back over and tore the hood off of Jeremy. His ears went straight up.
"Hey." Jeremy shouted grabbing his ears. "That hurt."
"Care to explain that?" Jenny asked. "I've received a few reports about one of the Rocket grunts have ears like Pokemon's. I guess they weren't so farfetched after all." Jenny stated raising her voice pulling out a set of handcuffs.
"Officer Jenny, please calm down." Professor Oak pleaded.
"If the reports I heard are true, I have to take you in for questioning." Jenny stated.
"You can't arrest me. Team Rocket attacked us, not the other way around." Jeremy shouted.
"I've heard reports of a rocket grunt with Pokemon ears in Viridian City that's been causing trouble for the last few months." Jenny went to go grab Jeremy.
"Then it can't be Jeremy. Jeremy rarely goes anywhere. Besides, he's been living here for the past few months." Gary said.
"Really well, just how many people do you know that have ears like that." Jenny pointed.
"All I know is that Team Rocket did this to me, alright." Jeremy said. Melody still held onto him. "I've been staying here in Pallet town maybe leaving once a month for a few days to go help with repairs on the Cerulean City Gym." Jeremy explained. "Everyone of those time, I had Ash and Misty there with me." Jeremy held one of his ears down and was rubbing it gently trying to ease the pain Jenny had caused him by tearing his hat off.
"Is that true?" Jenny asked.
"Yes it is. He's been living at my house for the past five months." Delia said.
"And he never travels around without us." Ash stated.
"Very well I'll let you off. It seems that you haven't been to Viridian City that much. But don't think that I won't have one of my officers keep an eye on you." Jenny said.
"Just don't go telling everyone about this, please. I'd rather not have everyone come looking for me." Jeremy hated the thought of suddenly having everyone come looking for him just to see his ears.
"I'll keep the ears a secret, but I'm still going to have an officer keep an eye on you got it?" Jenny said.
"Thank you." Jeremy said. Jenny turned and left. "I'm gonna go play that piano of yours for a while." Jeremy said. "It'll help me calm my nerves a bit."
"Alright." Professor Oak said. "That was a close call. I'd hate to thin what would have happened if you had to go the station like that."
"I'm going to head over and play some music, wanna watch?" Jeremy asked Melody who had finally softened her grip on Jeremy.
Melody nodded her head as she walked with Jeremy to the one of the larger rooms in the house that Oak had kept his piano in. It was a gift from Professor Ivy who said that there was no room at her lab for it.
--
Jeremy sat down at the piano. Melody sat in a chair next to him. The piano was of a basic rectangular design. It was nothing fancy in terms of size, but it did have a wonder pattern of Pokemon etched into each side. Even the keys had Pokemon painted on them. Jeremy sat down and stretched his fingers before placing them on the keys. He started with something simple, just playing a few bars. After a few minutes of this, he showed his true skills with music. He began to play a soft and slow tune, something he had made up off the top of his head. His fingers moved slowly across the keys pressing each key lightly.
Melody just sat and listened to whatever string of notes Jeremy played. Jeremy continued with the seemly random song that he had made, slowly picking up the speed. The song he was playing had hints of sadness to it, but it was also a very kind song. Jeremy just played whatever his emotions told him to and soon enough, he had a wondrous song going. He felt happy to a point that there was a chance he could find out who he was and that he had friends who would accept him for it. He felt hopeful that there was a chance that he might learn of his past. He also felt a bit scared that he would not like who he was. Melody quickly found herself lost in the music that Jeremy played. This piano sounded through most of the lab and all the Pokemon that were out seemed to enjoy it. Jeremy just played and played thinking about who he could have been. Jeremy's music was cut short when his arm suddenly cramped up. The music stopped and everyone wondered what had happened.
'Why did you stop?' Melody asked kindly.
"My hand cramped up." Jeremy replied flexing his fingers, and then yawned. "I guess I should get some rest."
'What should I do then?' Melody asked.
"That's up to you. You have no master or trainer right." Jeremy said.
'Could I come with you?' Melody asked as she stood up next to Jeremy.
"I don't see why not." Jeremy walked back to the room Professor Oak had given him, but stopped on the way. He sniffed the air. "What is that smell?" Jeremy asked. "It's messing with my head." Jeremy shook his head.
Melody sniffed that air and giggled. 'You really are part Pokemon.' She said holding onto him.
"Care to tell me what that smell is then?" Jeremy asked. Melody giggled again.
'That's your friend's Pikachu. She'll be going into heat in a few days.' Melody informed Jeremy.
"Then why is it affecting me?" Jeremy asked.
'Because of whatever they did to you.' Melody walked with Jeremy back to his room. 'Your Pokemon instincts are acting up. Or they are trying to.' Melody laughed.
"Like I really need to deal with that as soon as possible" Jeremy said. "Any idea how long this could go on for?" Jeremy asked.
'About a week.' Melody replied.
"I guess I should get some nose plugs." Jeremy concluded. Jeremy sat down on the bed. He leaned back against the headboard. Melody curled up with him. Melody just lay there against Jeremy for while. Jeremy quickly fell asleep, his chest rising very slowly, then falling again matching his breathing. Melody wrapped her arms around him while she lay there.
'Perhaps this might not be so bad. He does seem to care for me.' Melody said thinking out loud. 'Maybe I should travel with him.'
Gary's Umbreon pushed open the door. 'That smell is driving me mad.' Umbreon had signs of agitation in his voice.
'You too Jeremy here just noticed it before he fell off to sleep. He had no idea what it was.' Melody said.
'He really is one of us. There is no way he is more human then Pokemon.' Umbreon laughed a little.
'I'm sorry about earlier. About the fact I just kept running from you. I just thought you were with those people who tried to hurt me.' Melody stated.
'Don't worry about it. I kind of guessed that something happened when I saw Ash and Misty carry the two of you in here.' Umbreon said.
'How well do you know Jeremy?' Melody asked.
'Well, he's nice. He cares for all of his Pokemon.' Umbreon began. 'There was that one time that he took the full force of a Thunder attack protecting his Riolu from an enraged Jolteon that had gone berserk. He was knocked instantly from the attack, but he bought me and my trainer enough time to get there.' Umbreon said. 'Of course, he probably could have taken the Jolteon on his own if he didn't recklessly jump down that chasm in the first place.' Umbreon added.
'You'll have to tell me more about that.' Melody said with hints of curiosity in her voice.
'I've got time. It started over by the ocean. Jeremy and Gary had decided to go do some research while Ash and Misty enjoyed the beach they found. Jeremy decided that it was better to avoid the large crowd and that's why he went with Gary and me. He let his Riolu Ricky come too.' Umbreon began his story. 'We found a small cave in the hillside and decided to explore it, only it wasn't so small. About halfway in, Ricky fell and Jeremy jumped down after him. It was a good 100 foot drop on a steep cliff side. Jeremy almost broke his ankle on the landing when a Jolteon showed up. It must have been mad because it attacked Jeremy and Ricky endlessly while I and Gary worked our way down. In the end, I managed to knock out that Jolteon while it was busy shocking Jeremy with a Thunder attack.' Umbreon said proudly. He sat down on the floor next to bed.
'He really cares for his Pokemon.' Melody looked at Jeremy who was sleeping peacefully.
'Not every trainer would do that.' Umbreon said.
"I might have to consider travelling with him.' Melody said as she rested her head on his shoulder.
'That's your call.' Umbreon said. 'Now then, if you'll excuse em, I'm going for a walk.' Umbreon turned and left the room.
Melody quickly found herself sleeping next to Jeremy.
xXx
Jeremy woke that morning with Melody by his side. He looked around. The sun must have just risen because of the low levels of light. Jeremy slowly moved Melody's arm off of himself freeing him from her hug. He turned and got off the bed. Melody stirred a bit as Jeremy moved, but she did not wake. Jeremy headed for his pack. He pulled out an extra set of clothing he had. Taking off the damaged shirt he had on showed that many of the scars he had were still visible. The two biggest ones were the ones on his back that were placed beside his spine. Even after years of having these two scars, they had not even begun to fade. They still looked new compared to all of the other scars he had. Jeremy put on a blue T-shirt . He took off his pants. Unlike his upper body, there were barely any visible scars on his legs. They were some bruises, but only one scar on his left knee. Jeremy ran a finger over the scar slowly. For some reason, this scar was different from the others he had. This one was a dark shade of purple about three inches long at a slight curve and was not given to him by any surgery, at least that's what Professor had told him. It had been given to him in some sort of accident before his surgery turning him into what he was now. Jeremy put the pair of denim jeans he was holding on.
Jeremy headed for the kitchen. He took a pot and filled it with water. He put it on the stove before going to get some tea bags. Jeremy let the water boil before pouring the water into pitcher. He finished making the tea and poured himself a cup before moving about the house. Jeremy walked outside and looked around.
Jeremy confirmed his guess that the sun had just risen when he walked outside. The sun has just risen over the ocean. Jeremy sipped his tea. His arm was still bandaged, but the pain was no longer there. Jeremy peeled back the bandage a bit. The burn marks had already subsided about an inch in length. At the rate they were vanishing, it would take just a few days to rid of mark. The door opened up behind Jeremy. He turned and saw Gary.
"It's a little early to start the day." Jeremy commented.
"Then what are you doing up?" Gary countered.
"Thinking I guess." Jeremy replied.
"Hopefully, you're not thinking about the possibility of going off to find that lab." Gary took a seat next to Jeremy on the steps.
"The thought has come to mind, but I don't think I'll go through with it." Jeremy took another sip of his tea. "Besides, the dream I had all took place in Johto Region, or at least, they said I was in the Johto Region."
"Don't worry. You'll remember everything one day." Gary stated looking out at the ocean that had been next to Pallet town.
"That's kind of what worries me. I've already seen a few images of past that weren't too pleasant. I have no way to tell if they are fake or real." Jeremy said.
Jeremy and Gary talked for a few hours waiting for everyone to get up. They talked about who Jeremy could have been and where he could have come from.
Finally, once the sun had completely risen up over the horizon, the rest of the group started moving about. Ash and Misty had decided to spend the night at the lab to help out in case anything happened. Professor Oak made breakfast and everyone had eaten peacefully. Melody still refused to leave Jeremy's side while there were others around, but she wasn't so scared of them anymore.
"I'm all set to go." Ash put his belt with his pokeballs on.
"Me too." Misty said. "We can leave whenever you're ready Jeremy."
"I'm all set." Jeremy stated nodding his head.
'You're leaving?' Melody asked.
"I've got to go help out my friends. They wasted enough time here on my part when they could have been working on the Gym." Jeremy told Melody.
'Can I come too?' Melody asked.
"Sure, but I'll have to get you a pokeball that way other trainers can't capture you." Jeremy said with a smile on his face.
'No, I won't stay in some cage.' Melody grabbed tightly onto Jeremy's arm.
"I'll let you back out right away. The pokeball will just be used to keep other trainers from catching you." Jeremy explained.
'Alright, but let me out again once I've been caught.' Melody released Jeremy's arm. Jeremy took one of the Great balls off his belt. He held it toward Melody.
"Whenever you're ready." Jeremy said as he held the ball out. Melody closed her eyes and placed her hand on the ball. The ball opened up and in a flash of red light, Melody was gone. The rolled a little bit in Jeremy's hand before coming to stop. Jeremy hit the button on the ball and Melody returned to her position with a flash of white light. She dove for Jeremy and tightly latched onto his arm.
'I never want to go back in that thing again.' Melody whined.
"And you won't have to." Jeremy held her close. "Well then, I guess we can leave now." Jeremy walked over to the door. All three Eevee were ready to go as well, each one waiting by the door.
The group of two humans, five Pokemon, and Jeremy, whatever he could be called, walked along the dirt road toward Viridian City. It was a quite walk for the most part. They were just about to enter Viridian when a pair of trainers stood in their way.
"Would you look at that? Not one but three Eevee and a Lucario." The first trainer commented. He wore a black baseball cap, black shirt, and black sweat pants. He even had a pair of black fingerless gloves and black shoes.
"I see, and I want to battle. Seeing that you all have so many Pokemon, you must be trainers." The second trainer added. She wore the same thing as her friend, but her cloths were pink. The two of them had to be in there early teens.
"We challenge you to two on two match." Both of them shouted at once.
"We're kind of in a hurry." Jeremy said. "We've got to head to get to Cerulean City to finish up the Gym repairs."
"Come on, let's just battle already." The kid in black shouted throwing a pokeball into the air releasing a Blastoise. The large turtle Pokemon roared upon its release eager for a fight.
"We don't have time, weren't you listening." Misty said obviously a little annoyed by the two kids.
"And we said let's battle." The kid in pink shouted throwing a pokeball up which contained a Charizard. Charizard roared releasing a large jet of flames from its mouth.
"We said no." Ash said. He would have been ready to battle, but he knew that he had to help Misty get her gym fixed. Jeremy could see the urge to battle in his eyes.
"Perhaps you didn't hear us. We said let's battle." The kid in pink said more forcefully. Her Charizard let loose a short burst of flames in front of the group.
"What do you think you're doing? Keep that Charizard of yours under control." Jeremy shouted.
"How about you make us keep him under control." The kid in black countered.
"Look, we're gonna miss the next bus, so back off." Jeremy said.
"Not until you battle." The trainer in pink shouted.
"Fine, just remember. You told us too." Jeremy said a bit of anger in his voice. "Go, Quilava." Jeremy threw Quilava's ball into air. "Pikachu would be the best bet for this match, Ash." Jeremy said as the flames on Quilava's back erupted like a magma vent.
"You got it." Ash said as Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder landing easily on her feet. Ash knew that it was time for a fight now and he was ready just like his Pikachu.
"Pika." Spark flew from Pikachu's cheeks while a larger number of sparks danced over her body.
"I'll start this fight off then." The kid in pink shouted. "Charizard, Fire Blast."
Charizard lifted its head back sucking in air as a light appeared in the back of its throat. A quick burst of immense flames shot out of the large orange lizard's mouth.
"Quilava, Counter Flame." Jeremy shouted. Quilava wasted no time and fired a single ball of fire into the heart of the five-armed projectile that was heading for him. Upon impact, the small fireball released a powerful blast wave and the fire blast seemed to collapse in on itself.
"How the?" the kid in pink exclaimed.
"Counter flame releases a blast wave that uses up most of the oxygen in the immediate area, and without oxygen, fire can't burn." Jeremy explained. "It's a low damage fire type move, but also a fire types worst enemy."
"Pikachu! Use thunder!" Ash commanded. Pikachu ran up to the large blue tortoise as it fired blast after blast of water at the small yellow rat.
Pikachu ran right under Blastoise and released a fully charged bolt of electricity upon the creature above her. Blastoise cried out in pain, but did not fall. Instead, it tried to take a seat... on top of Pikachu. Pikachu moved out of the just in time.
Quilava was running circles around Charizard.
"Quilava, Fire Storm." Jeremy shouted hoping to put a quick end to the opposing Charizard. Quilava drew in a big breath as a deep red light grew in its mouth. A stream of large fireballs erupted from Quilava's mouth searing everything they come in contact with including Charizard's wings. The Charizard had attempted to use its wings to fend off the attack, but instead found that they were no match for this powerful Quilava. Charizard roared in pain as the attack continued while its wings were starting to burn.
"Pikachu, Volt Tackle." Ash shouted. The Blastoise had looked over to see how Charizard was doing and Ash wasn't about to let this opening pass him by. Pikachu charged in, electricity covering its body head to tail. Pikachu landed a direct hit on the Blastoise. Blastoise fell over. The trainer in black called back his Pokemon.
Quilava was still bombarding Charizard with the Fire Storm attack. Pikachu ran up behind the large lizard and delivered a full force Thunder attack knocking out the large Pokemon.
"Good match. We'll see ya around." Both trainers walked off.
"What was that about?" Misty asked.
The trainers turned a corner and once out of sight, they pulled out a cell-phone. The black trainer dialed a number and waited.
"This is Agent Leroy. We've got a big catch for ya." The black trainer smiled. "Three Eevee, a Lucario, and some other very powerful Pokemon. They said that they were headed for Cerulean City by bus." The pink trainer peaked.
"They're headed for the east bus station." The trainer in pink stated.
"They're headed for the east bus station which means they'll be an easy target. That new route they just opened up hasn't had a chance to fill with trainers which means minimal resistance." The black trainer said. "What ever we can't use for the project directly can be turned into spare parts."
--
Ash, Misty, and Jeremy made to the station without any other faults. The bought their tickets plus an extra for Pikachu and Melody since they wouldn't be in their pokeballs during the ride over there. The next bus left in about an hour, which gave them time to go and get a meal.
"So, where can we grab a quick bite to eat around here?" Jeremy asked.
"I'd like something with fruit in it." Misty said.
'Fruit sounds good.' Melody added.
"I'm wanting a salad myself." Jeremy stated.
"And I could go for a burger." Ash pointed his hand toward the edge of the city. "There's a diner over that way that. They got fruit bowls, salads, burgers, and even a variety of pokefoods." And with that, Ash led the way to diner.
The diner was a simple place, nothing too big. It had some tables outside under a large set of sunshades. The building was light blue in color and had all sorts of water Pokemon painted on it like Starmie, Goldeen, and even a Suicune. On the very top was large Golduck. The group of eight took an outside table as one of the waitresses came up.
"Hello and welcome to the Golduck Diner. Here are your menus." She said passing out three menus. Ash and Misty took a seat on one side while Jeremy and Melody took a seat on the other. Pikachu and the Eevee just up on the open bench that was left as the last side was up against the wall of the diner.
Jeremy opened the menu and looked for the salads. The diner had four salads. Jeremy decided to go with the chef salad before he flipped over to the fruit menu for Melody. "Pick anything you want." Jeremy offered.
'I'll take that one.' Melody said pointing to a large fruit bowl with pineapple, watermelon, Oran berries, and a few other berries and fruits in it.
The waitress came back a few minutes later and took their orders.
"I'll take a specialty burger with fries and a coke please." Ash handed back the menu.
"I'll have a large fruit salad with a glass of orange juice." Misty said.
"I'll take a chef salad with ranch dressing and a large fruit salad with berries and two glasses of orange juice." Jeremy said.
"Will that be all?" the waitress asked.
"We'll also have four orders of your finest pokefood and two bowls of orange juice for them." Ash added nodding to the Pokemon sitting on the third bench that went with the table.
"Alright, I'll be back with your drinks in a few and I'll bring your meals when there all set." The waitress said.
Melody looked around. There were a lot of people around and she held on to Jeremy like her life depended on it.
"It's ok; they're not going to her you." Jeremy told her calmly. Melody still held onto Jeremy though.
The waitress came back with their drinks and passed them out.
"So, how much is left do finish up on the gym?" Jeremy asked.
"Not much, just a section of the room and the gym arena." Misty replied. "We should have it done by Friday."
"Just in time for the show on Saturday." Ash took a sip from his drink.
A very short wait later, the waitress came back out with the food. She passed it out and everyone dug in.
Everyone enjoyed the meal as they finished, although Jeremy had a little trouble as Melody always held onto his left arm with her right one while she ate. It seemed that she was afraid to lose anyone else. She had been there during the time that her mother and father were killed and she just left her brothers behind at the lab. They could both very easily be dead.
"I'll pay for this one." Jeremy said. During the five months that Jeremy had been living at the Ketchem residence, he had made a small fortune helping out the local breeders and Professor Oak. While the breeders were unable to understand how he was so good with Pokemon, they didn't care. He had been a big during the time he was there and would be welcomed back any time that they needed an extra set of hands. Jeremy picked up the bill and walked inside with Melody to pay the bill. Jeremy paid the bill and left a four dollar tip for waitress. He then looked at the time. It was almost time for the next to leave.
--
The group headed back for the bus station. They had made just in time for the next bus to pull out.
"Sorry, you three, but you've got to head back into your pokeballs for now." Jeremy told the three Eevee who didn't really complain. All three of them were returned to their pokeballs before the group boarded the bus. They all took the back four seats in the bus. Melody took a window seat and leaned against Jeremy. Misty took the window seat on the opposite side of the bus with Ash taking the other isle seat. Pikachu sat on his lap.
It would be a six hour ride by bus on the new route that had just opened up a few weeks ago. It wasn't on most of the maps yet which was the reason it wasn't flooded with trainers yet. The route headed for the coastline and traveled along the coast east of Viridian heading for Celadon City before heading north to Cerulean City. It wasn't the quickest of trips, but it was much better then the four day walk that it used to be.
The bus filled up and left the station. Several other trainers and passengers filled the bus. It was a long ride so the group decided to just watch the scenery pass them by. They didn't have a care in the world right now, they just relaxed and waited to get to Cerulean City. Once there, they could finish up the gym repairs. The bus traveled along at a fair speed along the coastal road. The bus had been traveling for about an hour and all was good until there was a loud bang and the bus had to stop because of the sudden bumpy ride they seemed to pick up. The bus driver went outside and found that the bus had picked up a flat tire.
"It's alright ladies and gentleman, We just got a flat. Give me a few and I'll get us back up and running. This can't be more then a fifteen minute delay." The bus driver shouted, so no one panicked. It didn't seem like that big a deal anyway. No one was in that big a hurry. Jeremy looked out the window and had to look again. He thought he saw something like a human looking at the bus, but when he looked again, no one was there.
"What's up?" Misty asked Jeremy who had tilted his head slightly, a sign that something confused him.
"Thought I saw something." Jeremy replied. "But it's gone now." Jeremy looked to Misty for a second, and when he looked back, there were a few Rocket Grunts approaching the bus. "Then again, I could have been wrong." Jeremy corrected him self with a bit of fear in his voice.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. Only the idea and OC's.
Author Notes:
-- This will be used for scene breaks and for when the story switches to another character, but it does not mean that a new section of the story has started.
xXx This will identify where each paragraph breaks.
'poketalk'
Beta reader: Catsithx
xXx
Chapter 3: The Trip to Cerulean City Part 1
Jeremy spent the better part of an hour explaining to rest of the group what Melody had told him and what he had seen. Melody hung onto Jeremy the whole time not wanting to be left alone again. By the time Jeremy had finished his story, Melody had completely stopped crying, but she still hung onto Jeremy.
"My guess is that if Hellborne has a lab in Kanto, then it will contain some answers to whom and what I am." Jeremy stated.
"From what you have told me of your dreams involving those labs and Hellborne, I would have to say that you are right." Oak replied. "However, that does not mean that I would approve of you going out and finding this lab. It's best to let the police deal with Team Rocket."
"I have to disagree. There is a chance that if the police find that lab, I may very well never find out who I am or how I was involved with Team Rocket." Jeremy countered.
"I'm siding with Professor Oak." Delia said with a firm voice.
"I'm sorry Jeremy, but I agree with Delia and Professor Oak." Misty added.
"I'm with them as well." Ash added.
"I figured as much." Jeremy sighed.
The doorbell rang out twice, the large bell sounded through out the entire house. Jeremy quickly put his hat back on, but bent his ear in the process.
"Ouch." Jeremy rubbed the side of the hat where his ear was. Gary answered the door. Standing outside in her blue police Uniform was Officer Jenny and a Growlithe.
"Can I help you?" Gary asked.
"Hello. Is Professor Oak here? I need to talk with him." Officer Jenny asked her voice was very kind.
"Yes, come with me and I'll take you to him." Gary said.
"Officer Jenny, its not that often that you come out here." Oak said surprised to see the policewoman. "What's wrong today?" Oak asked standing up and shaking hands with Jenny. The Growlithe stayed by Jenny's side the whole time. Melody just watched as she was not to trusting of anyone at the moment. It did take about ten minutes just to get her to come downstairs.
"I'm here to warn you about Team Rocket. We've been having increased reports of Rocket activity in the area. Many of the witness accounts said that they were looking for something and they attacked anyone who even showed the slightest signs of getting in the way." Jenny told the group.
"We already know about Team Rocket being in the area. We were attacked defending this Lucario." Jeremy said still rubbing the side of his hat.
"Really I didn't think Lucario were common in the Kanto Region." Jenny stated. "I'll have to take witness accounts of the attack while I'm here though." Jenny pulled out a note pad and a pen. "I'll also have to take that Lucario to the station so we can help find its trainer." Melody grabbed tightly onto Jeremy not knowing that Jenny only had the intention of helping her.
"I think that's a wild Lucario." Gary said. "When I was cleaning its wounds, I took a blood sample. There were no signs that it had ever been inside a pokeball."
"Alright then, if that's true, it can stay here. But I'll still post a lost and found at the police station just in case. Now then, let's start writing up that report." Jenny opened up the note pad.
--
After another hour, Jenny had written up the draft of her report. Of course Jeremy lied about having fought the Machoke and said that his Quilava did all the fighting. He simply ran into the woods to keep up with Quilava and was burned by a stray Fire Blast.
All that was left for Jenny would be the fact that she have to write up the paper work to go with the report she took, but that would have to wait for her to get back to the station. "I'll be sure to send someone to out this way to keep an eye out for Team Rocket." Jenny said. "I would also have Jeremy try to make a stop at the hospital in Viridian City. That arm looks pretty bad. Until then, take it easy." Jenny walked over to Melody. Melody grabbed onto Jeremy tightly slightly adjusting his hood. The tip of one of his ears appeared behind his head. "It must really frightened." Jenny said.
"She is." Jeremy said. Melody gripped Jeremy tighter as Jenny got closer.
"She seems to have taken a liking to you." Jenny said, but luckily she was unable to notice the tip of Jeremy's ear sticking out from the back of the hat. "If no one claims her, she's yours. Just take good care of her." Jenny said. Reaching a hand out to Melody continued to hold onto Jeremy. Jenny pulled her hand back. "It doesn't look like she trusts humans that much." Jenny said her voice had a hint of sadness to it. She turned away and headed back for the door. Jeremy started to move and Melody let him get up before re attaching herself to him. While Jeremy got up, his hat fell.
"Crap." Jeremy said as he bent over causing Jenny to look back over toward them. Jeremy was holding his ears back trying to quickly replace the hood.
"Umm, what are those?" Jenny asked pointing toward Jeremy's ears.
"What are what?" Jeremy quickly replaced the hood.
"These. What are these?" Jenny walked back over and tore the hood off of Jeremy. His ears went straight up.
"Hey." Jeremy shouted grabbing his ears. "That hurt."
"Care to explain that?" Jenny asked. "I've received a few reports about one of the Rocket grunts have ears like Pokemon's. I guess they weren't so farfetched after all." Jenny stated raising her voice pulling out a set of handcuffs.
"Officer Jenny, please calm down." Professor Oak pleaded.
"If the reports I heard are true, I have to take you in for questioning." Jenny stated.
"You can't arrest me. Team Rocket attacked us, not the other way around." Jeremy shouted.
"I've heard reports of a rocket grunt with Pokemon ears in Viridian City that's been causing trouble for the last few months." Jenny went to go grab Jeremy.
"Then it can't be Jeremy. Jeremy rarely goes anywhere. Besides, he's been living here for the past few months." Gary said.
"Really well, just how many people do you know that have ears like that." Jenny pointed.
"All I know is that Team Rocket did this to me, alright." Jeremy said. Melody still held onto him. "I've been staying here in Pallet town maybe leaving once a month for a few days to go help with repairs on the Cerulean City Gym." Jeremy explained. "Everyone of those time, I had Ash and Misty there with me." Jeremy held one of his ears down and was rubbing it gently trying to ease the pain Jenny had caused him by tearing his hat off.
"Is that true?" Jenny asked.
"Yes it is. He's been living at my house for the past five months." Delia said.
"And he never travels around without us." Ash stated.
"Very well I'll let you off. It seems that you haven't been to Viridian City that much. But don't think that I won't have one of my officers keep an eye on you." Jenny said.
"Just don't go telling everyone about this, please. I'd rather not have everyone come looking for me." Jeremy hated the thought of suddenly having everyone come looking for him just to see his ears.
"I'll keep the ears a secret, but I'm still going to have an officer keep an eye on you got it?" Jenny said.
"Thank you." Jeremy said. Jenny turned and left. "I'm gonna go play that piano of yours for a while." Jeremy said. "It'll help me calm my nerves a bit."
"Alright." Professor Oak said. "That was a close call. I'd hate to thin what would have happened if you had to go the station like that."
"I'm going to head over and play some music, wanna watch?" Jeremy asked Melody who had finally softened her grip on Jeremy.
Melody nodded her head as she walked with Jeremy to the one of the larger rooms in the house that Oak had kept his piano in. It was a gift from Professor Ivy who said that there was no room at her lab for it.
--
Jeremy sat down at the piano. Melody sat in a chair next to him. The piano was of a basic rectangular design. It was nothing fancy in terms of size, but it did have a wonder pattern of Pokemon etched into each side. Even the keys had Pokemon painted on them. Jeremy sat down and stretched his fingers before placing them on the keys. He started with something simple, just playing a few bars. After a few minutes of this, he showed his true skills with music. He began to play a soft and slow tune, something he had made up off the top of his head. His fingers moved slowly across the keys pressing each key lightly.
Melody just sat and listened to whatever string of notes Jeremy played. Jeremy continued with the seemly random song that he had made, slowly picking up the speed. The song he was playing had hints of sadness to it, but it was also a very kind song. Jeremy just played whatever his emotions told him to and soon enough, he had a wondrous song going. He felt happy to a point that there was a chance he could find out who he was and that he had friends who would accept him for it. He felt hopeful that there was a chance that he might learn of his past. He also felt a bit scared that he would not like who he was. Melody quickly found herself lost in the music that Jeremy played. This piano sounded through most of the lab and all the Pokemon that were out seemed to enjoy it. Jeremy just played and played thinking about who he could have been. Jeremy's music was cut short when his arm suddenly cramped up. The music stopped and everyone wondered what had happened.
'Why did you stop?' Melody asked kindly.
"My hand cramped up." Jeremy replied flexing his fingers, and then yawned. "I guess I should get some rest."
'What should I do then?' Melody asked.
"That's up to you. You have no master or trainer right." Jeremy said.
'Could I come with you?' Melody asked as she stood up next to Jeremy.
"I don't see why not." Jeremy walked back to the room Professor Oak had given him, but stopped on the way. He sniffed the air. "What is that smell?" Jeremy asked. "It's messing with my head." Jeremy shook his head.
Melody sniffed that air and giggled. 'You really are part Pokemon.' She said holding onto him.
"Care to tell me what that smell is then?" Jeremy asked. Melody giggled again.
'That's your friend's Pikachu. She'll be going into heat in a few days.' Melody informed Jeremy.
"Then why is it affecting me?" Jeremy asked.
'Because of whatever they did to you.' Melody walked with Jeremy back to his room. 'Your Pokemon instincts are acting up. Or they are trying to.' Melody laughed.
"Like I really need to deal with that as soon as possible" Jeremy said. "Any idea how long this could go on for?" Jeremy asked.
'About a week.' Melody replied.
"I guess I should get some nose plugs." Jeremy concluded. Jeremy sat down on the bed. He leaned back against the headboard. Melody curled up with him. Melody just lay there against Jeremy for while. Jeremy quickly fell asleep, his chest rising very slowly, then falling again matching his breathing. Melody wrapped her arms around him while she lay there.
'Perhaps this might not be so bad. He does seem to care for me.' Melody said thinking out loud. 'Maybe I should travel with him.'
Gary's Umbreon pushed open the door. 'That smell is driving me mad.' Umbreon had signs of agitation in his voice.
'You too Jeremy here just noticed it before he fell off to sleep. He had no idea what it was.' Melody said.
'He really is one of us. There is no way he is more human then Pokemon.' Umbreon laughed a little.
'I'm sorry about earlier. About the fact I just kept running from you. I just thought you were with those people who tried to hurt me.' Melody stated.
'Don't worry about it. I kind of guessed that something happened when I saw Ash and Misty carry the two of you in here.' Umbreon said.
'How well do you know Jeremy?' Melody asked.
'Well, he's nice. He cares for all of his Pokemon.' Umbreon began. 'There was that one time that he took the full force of a Thunder attack protecting his Riolu from an enraged Jolteon that had gone berserk. He was knocked instantly from the attack, but he bought me and my trainer enough time to get there.' Umbreon said. 'Of course, he probably could have taken the Jolteon on his own if he didn't recklessly jump down that chasm in the first place.' Umbreon added.
'You'll have to tell me more about that.' Melody said with hints of curiosity in her voice.
'I've got time. It started over by the ocean. Jeremy and Gary had decided to go do some research while Ash and Misty enjoyed the beach they found. Jeremy decided that it was better to avoid the large crowd and that's why he went with Gary and me. He let his Riolu Ricky come too.' Umbreon began his story. 'We found a small cave in the hillside and decided to explore it, only it wasn't so small. About halfway in, Ricky fell and Jeremy jumped down after him. It was a good 100 foot drop on a steep cliff side. Jeremy almost broke his ankle on the landing when a Jolteon showed up. It must have been mad because it attacked Jeremy and Ricky endlessly while I and Gary worked our way down. In the end, I managed to knock out that Jolteon while it was busy shocking Jeremy with a Thunder attack.' Umbreon said proudly. He sat down on the floor next to bed.
'He really cares for his Pokemon.' Melody looked at Jeremy who was sleeping peacefully.
'Not every trainer would do that.' Umbreon said.
"I might have to consider travelling with him.' Melody said as she rested her head on his shoulder.
'That's your call.' Umbreon said. 'Now then, if you'll excuse em, I'm going for a walk.' Umbreon turned and left the room.
Melody quickly found herself sleeping next to Jeremy.
xXx
Jeremy woke that morning with Melody by his side. He looked around. The sun must have just risen because of the low levels of light. Jeremy slowly moved Melody's arm off of himself freeing him from her hug. He turned and got off the bed. Melody stirred a bit as Jeremy moved, but she did not wake. Jeremy headed for his pack. He pulled out an extra set of clothing he had. Taking off the damaged shirt he had on showed that many of the scars he had were still visible. The two biggest ones were the ones on his back that were placed beside his spine. Even after years of having these two scars, they had not even begun to fade. They still looked new compared to all of the other scars he had. Jeremy put on a blue T-shirt . He took off his pants. Unlike his upper body, there were barely any visible scars on his legs. They were some bruises, but only one scar on his left knee. Jeremy ran a finger over the scar slowly. For some reason, this scar was different from the others he had. This one was a dark shade of purple about three inches long at a slight curve and was not given to him by any surgery, at least that's what Professor had told him. It had been given to him in some sort of accident before his surgery turning him into what he was now. Jeremy put the pair of denim jeans he was holding on.
Jeremy headed for the kitchen. He took a pot and filled it with water. He put it on the stove before going to get some tea bags. Jeremy let the water boil before pouring the water into pitcher. He finished making the tea and poured himself a cup before moving about the house. Jeremy walked outside and looked around.
Jeremy confirmed his guess that the sun had just risen when he walked outside. The sun has just risen over the ocean. Jeremy sipped his tea. His arm was still bandaged, but the pain was no longer there. Jeremy peeled back the bandage a bit. The burn marks had already subsided about an inch in length. At the rate they were vanishing, it would take just a few days to rid of mark. The door opened up behind Jeremy. He turned and saw Gary.
"It's a little early to start the day." Jeremy commented.
"Then what are you doing up?" Gary countered.
"Thinking I guess." Jeremy replied.
"Hopefully, you're not thinking about the possibility of going off to find that lab." Gary took a seat next to Jeremy on the steps.
"The thought has come to mind, but I don't think I'll go through with it." Jeremy took another sip of his tea. "Besides, the dream I had all took place in Johto Region, or at least, they said I was in the Johto Region."
"Don't worry. You'll remember everything one day." Gary stated looking out at the ocean that had been next to Pallet town.
"That's kind of what worries me. I've already seen a few images of past that weren't too pleasant. I have no way to tell if they are fake or real." Jeremy said.
Jeremy and Gary talked for a few hours waiting for everyone to get up. They talked about who Jeremy could have been and where he could have come from.
Finally, once the sun had completely risen up over the horizon, the rest of the group started moving about. Ash and Misty had decided to spend the night at the lab to help out in case anything happened. Professor Oak made breakfast and everyone had eaten peacefully. Melody still refused to leave Jeremy's side while there were others around, but she wasn't so scared of them anymore.
"I'm all set to go." Ash put his belt with his pokeballs on.
"Me too." Misty said. "We can leave whenever you're ready Jeremy."
"I'm all set." Jeremy stated nodding his head.
'You're leaving?' Melody asked.
"I've got to go help out my friends. They wasted enough time here on my part when they could have been working on the Gym." Jeremy told Melody.
'Can I come too?' Melody asked.
"Sure, but I'll have to get you a pokeball that way other trainers can't capture you." Jeremy said with a smile on his face.
'No, I won't stay in some cage.' Melody grabbed tightly onto Jeremy's arm.
"I'll let you back out right away. The pokeball will just be used to keep other trainers from catching you." Jeremy explained.
'Alright, but let me out again once I've been caught.' Melody released Jeremy's arm. Jeremy took one of the Great balls off his belt. He held it toward Melody.
"Whenever you're ready." Jeremy said as he held the ball out. Melody closed her eyes and placed her hand on the ball. The ball opened up and in a flash of red light, Melody was gone. The rolled a little bit in Jeremy's hand before coming to stop. Jeremy hit the button on the ball and Melody returned to her position with a flash of white light. She dove for Jeremy and tightly latched onto his arm.
'I never want to go back in that thing again.' Melody whined.
"And you won't have to." Jeremy held her close. "Well then, I guess we can leave now." Jeremy walked over to the door. All three Eevee were ready to go as well, each one waiting by the door.
The group of two humans, five Pokemon, and Jeremy, whatever he could be called, walked along the dirt road toward Viridian City. It was a quite walk for the most part. They were just about to enter Viridian when a pair of trainers stood in their way.
"Would you look at that? Not one but three Eevee and a Lucario." The first trainer commented. He wore a black baseball cap, black shirt, and black sweat pants. He even had a pair of black fingerless gloves and black shoes.
"I see, and I want to battle. Seeing that you all have so many Pokemon, you must be trainers." The second trainer added. She wore the same thing as her friend, but her cloths were pink. The two of them had to be in there early teens.
"We challenge you to two on two match." Both of them shouted at once.
"We're kind of in a hurry." Jeremy said. "We've got to head to get to Cerulean City to finish up the Gym repairs."
"Come on, let's just battle already." The kid in black shouted throwing a pokeball into the air releasing a Blastoise. The large turtle Pokemon roared upon its release eager for a fight.
"We don't have time, weren't you listening." Misty said obviously a little annoyed by the two kids.
"And we said let's battle." The kid in pink shouted throwing a pokeball up which contained a Charizard. Charizard roared releasing a large jet of flames from its mouth.
"We said no." Ash said. He would have been ready to battle, but he knew that he had to help Misty get her gym fixed. Jeremy could see the urge to battle in his eyes.
"Perhaps you didn't hear us. We said let's battle." The kid in pink said more forcefully. Her Charizard let loose a short burst of flames in front of the group.
"What do you think you're doing? Keep that Charizard of yours under control." Jeremy shouted.
"How about you make us keep him under control." The kid in black countered.
"Look, we're gonna miss the next bus, so back off." Jeremy said.
"Not until you battle." The trainer in pink shouted.
"Fine, just remember. You told us too." Jeremy said a bit of anger in his voice. "Go, Quilava." Jeremy threw Quilava's ball into air. "Pikachu would be the best bet for this match, Ash." Jeremy said as the flames on Quilava's back erupted like a magma vent.
"You got it." Ash said as Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder landing easily on her feet. Ash knew that it was time for a fight now and he was ready just like his Pikachu.
"Pika." Spark flew from Pikachu's cheeks while a larger number of sparks danced over her body.
"I'll start this fight off then." The kid in pink shouted. "Charizard, Fire Blast."
Charizard lifted its head back sucking in air as a light appeared in the back of its throat. A quick burst of immense flames shot out of the large orange lizard's mouth.
"Quilava, Counter Flame." Jeremy shouted. Quilava wasted no time and fired a single ball of fire into the heart of the five-armed projectile that was heading for him. Upon impact, the small fireball released a powerful blast wave and the fire blast seemed to collapse in on itself.
"How the?" the kid in pink exclaimed.
"Counter flame releases a blast wave that uses up most of the oxygen in the immediate area, and without oxygen, fire can't burn." Jeremy explained. "It's a low damage fire type move, but also a fire types worst enemy."
"Pikachu! Use thunder!" Ash commanded. Pikachu ran up to the large blue tortoise as it fired blast after blast of water at the small yellow rat.
Pikachu ran right under Blastoise and released a fully charged bolt of electricity upon the creature above her. Blastoise cried out in pain, but did not fall. Instead, it tried to take a seat... on top of Pikachu. Pikachu moved out of the just in time.
Quilava was running circles around Charizard.
"Quilava, Fire Storm." Jeremy shouted hoping to put a quick end to the opposing Charizard. Quilava drew in a big breath as a deep red light grew in its mouth. A stream of large fireballs erupted from Quilava's mouth searing everything they come in contact with including Charizard's wings. The Charizard had attempted to use its wings to fend off the attack, but instead found that they were no match for this powerful Quilava. Charizard roared in pain as the attack continued while its wings were starting to burn.
"Pikachu, Volt Tackle." Ash shouted. The Blastoise had looked over to see how Charizard was doing and Ash wasn't about to let this opening pass him by. Pikachu charged in, electricity covering its body head to tail. Pikachu landed a direct hit on the Blastoise. Blastoise fell over. The trainer in black called back his Pokemon.
Quilava was still bombarding Charizard with the Fire Storm attack. Pikachu ran up behind the large lizard and delivered a full force Thunder attack knocking out the large Pokemon.
"Good match. We'll see ya around." Both trainers walked off.
"What was that about?" Misty asked.
The trainers turned a corner and once out of sight, they pulled out a cell-phone. The black trainer dialed a number and waited.
"This is Agent Leroy. We've got a big catch for ya." The black trainer smiled. "Three Eevee, a Lucario, and some other very powerful Pokemon. They said that they were headed for Cerulean City by bus." The pink trainer peaked.
"They're headed for the east bus station." The trainer in pink stated.
"They're headed for the east bus station which means they'll be an easy target. That new route they just opened up hasn't had a chance to fill with trainers which means minimal resistance." The black trainer said. "What ever we can't use for the project directly can be turned into spare parts."
--
Ash, Misty, and Jeremy made to the station without any other faults. The bought their tickets plus an extra for Pikachu and Melody since they wouldn't be in their pokeballs during the ride over there. The next bus left in about an hour, which gave them time to go and get a meal.
"So, where can we grab a quick bite to eat around here?" Jeremy asked.
"I'd like something with fruit in it." Misty said.
'Fruit sounds good.' Melody added.
"I'm wanting a salad myself." Jeremy stated.
"And I could go for a burger." Ash pointed his hand toward the edge of the city. "There's a diner over that way that. They got fruit bowls, salads, burgers, and even a variety of pokefoods." And with that, Ash led the way to diner.
The diner was a simple place, nothing too big. It had some tables outside under a large set of sunshades. The building was light blue in color and had all sorts of water Pokemon painted on it like Starmie, Goldeen, and even a Suicune. On the very top was large Golduck. The group of eight took an outside table as one of the waitresses came up.
"Hello and welcome to the Golduck Diner. Here are your menus." She said passing out three menus. Ash and Misty took a seat on one side while Jeremy and Melody took a seat on the other. Pikachu and the Eevee just up on the open bench that was left as the last side was up against the wall of the diner.
Jeremy opened the menu and looked for the salads. The diner had four salads. Jeremy decided to go with the chef salad before he flipped over to the fruit menu for Melody. "Pick anything you want." Jeremy offered.
'I'll take that one.' Melody said pointing to a large fruit bowl with pineapple, watermelon, Oran berries, and a few other berries and fruits in it.
The waitress came back a few minutes later and took their orders.
"I'll take a specialty burger with fries and a coke please." Ash handed back the menu.
"I'll have a large fruit salad with a glass of orange juice." Misty said.
"I'll take a chef salad with ranch dressing and a large fruit salad with berries and two glasses of orange juice." Jeremy said.
"Will that be all?" the waitress asked.
"We'll also have four orders of your finest pokefood and two bowls of orange juice for them." Ash added nodding to the Pokemon sitting on the third bench that went with the table.
"Alright, I'll be back with your drinks in a few and I'll bring your meals when there all set." The waitress said.
Melody looked around. There were a lot of people around and she held on to Jeremy like her life depended on it.
"It's ok; they're not going to her you." Jeremy told her calmly. Melody still held onto Jeremy though.
The waitress came back with their drinks and passed them out.
"So, how much is left do finish up on the gym?" Jeremy asked.
"Not much, just a section of the room and the gym arena." Misty replied. "We should have it done by Friday."
"Just in time for the show on Saturday." Ash took a sip from his drink.
A very short wait later, the waitress came back out with the food. She passed it out and everyone dug in.
Everyone enjoyed the meal as they finished, although Jeremy had a little trouble as Melody always held onto his left arm with her right one while she ate. It seemed that she was afraid to lose anyone else. She had been there during the time that her mother and father were killed and she just left her brothers behind at the lab. They could both very easily be dead.
"I'll pay for this one." Jeremy said. During the five months that Jeremy had been living at the Ketchem residence, he had made a small fortune helping out the local breeders and Professor Oak. While the breeders were unable to understand how he was so good with Pokemon, they didn't care. He had been a big during the time he was there and would be welcomed back any time that they needed an extra set of hands. Jeremy picked up the bill and walked inside with Melody to pay the bill. Jeremy paid the bill and left a four dollar tip for waitress. He then looked at the time. It was almost time for the next to leave.
--
The group headed back for the bus station. They had made just in time for the next bus to pull out.
"Sorry, you three, but you've got to head back into your pokeballs for now." Jeremy told the three Eevee who didn't really complain. All three of them were returned to their pokeballs before the group boarded the bus. They all took the back four seats in the bus. Melody took a window seat and leaned against Jeremy. Misty took the window seat on the opposite side of the bus with Ash taking the other isle seat. Pikachu sat on his lap.
It would be a six hour ride by bus on the new route that had just opened up a few weeks ago. It wasn't on most of the maps yet which was the reason it wasn't flooded with trainers yet. The route headed for the coastline and traveled along the coast east of Viridian heading for Celadon City before heading north to Cerulean City. It wasn't the quickest of trips, but it was much better then the four day walk that it used to be.
The bus filled up and left the station. Several other trainers and passengers filled the bus. It was a long ride so the group decided to just watch the scenery pass them by. They didn't have a care in the world right now, they just relaxed and waited to get to Cerulean City. Once there, they could finish up the gym repairs. The bus traveled along at a fair speed along the coastal road. The bus had been traveling for about an hour and all was good until there was a loud bang and the bus had to stop because of the sudden bumpy ride they seemed to pick up. The bus driver went outside and found that the bus had picked up a flat tire.
"It's alright ladies and gentleman, We just got a flat. Give me a few and I'll get us back up and running. This can't be more then a fifteen minute delay." The bus driver shouted, so no one panicked. It didn't seem like that big a deal anyway. No one was in that big a hurry. Jeremy looked out the window and had to look again. He thought he saw something like a human looking at the bus, but when he looked again, no one was there.
"What's up?" Misty asked Jeremy who had tilted his head slightly, a sign that something confused him.
"Thought I saw something." Jeremy replied. "But it's gone now." Jeremy looked to Misty for a second, and when he looked back, there were a few Rocket Grunts approaching the bus. "Then again, I could have been wrong." Jeremy corrected him self with a bit of fear in his voice.