Story Notes:
Based mainly on how the game goes, but I'll add things to my own accord here and there. Still not sure if this will turn adult or not... Mentally debating with myself it if will. Rated R for language to come.
Journey's Start
Chapter 1: Journey's Start
Pokémon
A Sinnoh Region Story
Disclaimer: I do not claim rights over anything Pokémon, Nintendo, or any other possible video game/movie/etc reference I might make. That being said, however, I do own the imagination that thought this story up. It'll be sad. It'll be funny. It'll be awe striking. And it'll be a blockbuster hit this fall! ... Okay, maybe not the last part so much as the rest of it was suppose to be taken serious. . Enjoy and review/give some tips since I'm still kinda new at writing!
Chapter 1: Journey Starts
'There goes another one...' Tangi sat near his window just staring out at the road that leads to outside Sandgem Town. For living in the town of the esteemed Professor Rowan, people here seem to leave a lot. And Tangi was planning on it too. He was nearly eighteen and still hadn't left home to be a trainer. Though that all changed quickly; after watching the championship title match that is.
Cynthia, a new, unheard of challenger, swept through the Elite Four as if they were merely the trainers you'd face prior to a gym leader. No, even then they seemed lesser to her. Tangi remembers the live broadcast well, it have only aired not but a month ago. Her grace, her technique, her elegance. And even after the match, she self-treated her Pokémon. His friends would joke about him having a "hard-on" for her, but that wasn't it; far from it. He just loved how she seemed merciless and still human. Like fire with a mind of it's own; a will. Able to decide what lives and what burns...
After that one airing, he began to think of ways to ask the professor for a starter. Small problem... Tangi wasn't quite fond of any of the starter options. Still, where there's a will, there's a way! He was getting a starter today, and it doesn't have to be a Sinnoh one! The professors of Pokémon (Rowan, Oak, Elm and Burch) all decided to try a swap. They'd trade starter Pokémon among themselves and give three lucky trainers a taste of another region. Oak and Rowan were making the swap today and Tangi was asked to come over when Oak arrived so he could help get them ready for their new trainers, unbeknownst to him that Tangi wanted to ask for one himself.
"I don't care which one really, so long as it doesn't try to kill me..." he told himself while shuddering at the memory of when Piplup, Chimchar and Turtwig all basically tried to off him. He told Rowan after he said they were trying to rough house with him, "Being playful is one thing! Those things are sent from Darkrai himself!"
"Tangi, it's Professor Rowan! He said Professor Oak is at the lab and he needs you now!" He snapped out of his flashback after what his mother had said registered in his mind. He grabbed his bag and flung the door open. After taking one step down on the stairs, he jumped the rest like he's always done, grabbed his shoes, and bolted out the door before his mother could start the stairs lecture.
"Wish she would just give up on that," rolling his eyes as he muttered. He ran while slipping on his shoes, gaining speed after they were finally on. About five minutes of speeding through town paid off as he neared the gate leading to the lab. After walking up the path, he went to a window to try to regain his composure. His hair was brown, spiky, and messed up in the front apparently. He brushed it back into place with his hands and decided to give the rest of him a look. His red over shirt was falling off his shoulders, he only had one of his fingerless gloves on, his shorts were drooping cause of his tug-belt, and the straps on his shoes were crocked. 'Damn, I'm pretty self-conscious about my outfit,' he noted while fixing himself up.
Finally done with the prep, he knocked on the door. ... No answer. He tried again, then heard a crash and yelling. Tangi opened the door at full speed. "Is everyone alr-MUMF!" He was meet with something warm, smacking him in the face and knocking him over before jumping off. As the thought of getting up entered his mind, something jumped just below the bridge in his ribcage, then off him the next moment. Having had the wind knocked out of him from the force, he rolled over on his gut, then looked out to the yard to see what got him. There was a Squirtle, running around with a mischievous, bullying look on his face chasing something familiar. There, running away from the turtle was a Charmander, though... "Why is it so brightly colo-OW!" Tangi's face was back into the ground as a third creature jumped onto it. "Lemme guess... Bulbasaur?" he muttered into the wood. He turned his head up to see the green Pokémon trying to hold the blue horror in place with it's vines. "Hate it when I'm right..."
"Enough, all of you," a voice boomed behind him. "Return, now!" Three beams shot from the door hitting all but the Charmander, which yelped in surprise and ran away out the gate that Tangi left open. He pushed himself so he was up on his knees, holding his head with his right hand while his left acted as a support. "I'm so sorry about that! Are you alright son?"
"Y-yeah. Not the first time I took a Pokémon to the face," laughing as he realized what he just said. Tangi stood up and dusted himself off. "But man, why the hell would someone leave them unsupervised like th-" he froze. There Tangi was, suggesting (in question formant) that Professor Oak had just made a mistake.
"Ahahah... Sorry about that!" Oak merely laughed it off, much to Tangi's relief. "Thought they could use some air!" He looked back at the boy, who was just standing there. Gaping at him... Like a zombie of sorts... "Err, well I better get to finding Charmander before he gets too far... Not exactly the best time to run off when he's a good distance away from home..."
This snapping him out of his daze, Tangi shook his head. "I'll go find him sir!" Oak turned to him, having already walked past him down the steps. "Well, I left the gate open. And I opened the door leading outside, so really he got out cause of me." They stood there, Oak staring at him with a kind of deep glare that seemed like he hated Tangi for bringing this thought up, but at the same time not hatful. Finding the silence awkward, he continued, "Um, you don't have to worry, sir. You can ask Rowan about me, I wouldn't harm him..."
"Oh no, it's not that... It's just..." Oak began, then shook his head. "Never mind. Here, you'll need this," handing the Pokéball to Tangi, the proceeded up the stairs again. "Just tell me your name son..."
"Tangi, sir..." then he ran off.
"... Hmph! Boy bad mouths me, then takes charge..." Oak looked back inside. He smiled, then reentered the lab.
Charmander, finally slowing to just a walk, realized he was near some lake he's never seen, and on the verge of tears. 'Why does Squirtle always have to pick on me... Why can't I stand up for myself instead of Bulbasaur or the professor protecting me...' Though he was staring at the ground as he walked, he was too tired and lost in thought to notice a tree stump root sticking out of the ground slightly, causing him to trip. Looking up from there, tears beginning to roll down from his eyes onto the dirt. 'I-I can't cry... Bulbasaur says I can't cry... But...' but that was all he felt like he wanted. He turned his head back down into the ground and let out some silent sobs... Wishing nothing more for this to be okay for him to do... For some sort of comfort...
"Damn!" Tangi leaned up against a tree, catching his breath. "Little guy sure runs fast... How far could he have gotten?" He's already looked for half an hour, and the sun was going to set soon. "I gotta find him before sunset... Though I guess maybe night time would be best, what with that glowing tail and all... No, I have to find him now." His determination returning, Tangi began to run again, stopping a few feet away from the tree he stopped at. He heard something... Like a low moaning... "Is that coming from the lake path...?"
Not even a minute of sprinting, Tangi came across the now crying Charmander. Now that he had the dirt-sand pathway to compare him to, the Charmander did seem more yellow then orange... 'Stop that... He might be hurt...' He shook his head, then walked up to the tree stump and sat down without the little 'mon noticing him.
"Hey there..." trying to sound as peaceful as he could, reaching towards the Charmander. He shot up, obviously spooked, and turned towards Tangi. "Whoa whoa whoa! It's okay! I just wanna see if you're okay!"
"Char?" Charmander cocked his head to the left, recognizing the smell of his Pokéball on the human. He wanted to go home, but not like this; still having tears and now some dirt on him where the tears ran down his face. 'Squirtle would only make fun of me more and I'd get lectured about 'being a big boy'' Turning from Tangi, Charmander let slip a few hiccups he was suppressing.
"Were you crying?" Tangi couldn't think of anything else at the moment.
"Char..." he said while nodding.
"Are you hurt?"
"Char..." with a shake of his head.
"So you were crying cause you wanted to?"
Charmander lowered his head, thinking he knew where this was leading to; another lecture. 'Same thing, different human...' he pouted to himself about remembering all of the previous ones he received from the professor.
'Hmm, that's it,' thought Tangi with a smile, setting his backpack down on the ground. "Ya know, it's okay to cry. That is, if ya want to." Charmander's eyes widen a bit, then he turned towards the human. "Sometimes, all anyone really needs is a good cry. It gets out all the feelings in ya you can't handle at once in any other way. It's sad at first cause crying is only ever thought of being related to saddening things, but really... It's a nice way to get everything off your chest at once. Well, one of the ways... One of the safer ways actually..." he mused to himself while looking at the ground, remembering how one of his friends had a terrible day once and just threw chairs at a wall, ending up throwing one too high so it smacked a window. Shaking the memory off his mind, he turned back to the Pokémon. "Anyway, after it's all over, you just smile. And that's all that matters; that you can smile again," he said with a grin.
Charmander stared at him with a shocked gaze, followed by his eyes watering up again and his face scrunching up, then he leaped at Tangi's chest, crying into him. He cried and cried, knowing this one person wouldn't care. Knowing this one person would let him. Knowing this one person must have been through what he has been...
He stared at first, but then Tangi cradled the lizard-mon in his arms and stood up. 'Guess he understood me...' He stood there just holding him, letting him bawl out to his heart's content. By the time the sun was setting and the stars were coming out, Charmander's tears settled down to just a few hiccups ever now-and-then. Shifting him to one arm, Tangi reached for his backpack.
"Come on boy... Everyone's waiting for you. He wiped Charmander's face off with his over-shirt. When he was done, the Pokémon placed his head on Tangi's shoulder, closing his eyes and resting there as he headed back to the lab...
As they neared the gate, Charmander gained a sudden boost in energy. He climbed up onto Tangi's shoulders and just rested on his head, with Tangi laughing at this. "You sure are hyper when you're not pouting!" This was replied with a swift smack on the head from the yellow critter. They both laughed as Tangi climbed the steps, reaching for the door just as it flew open. There was Professor Oak and Professor Rowan standing there, both giving Tangi "the look"; that one look that you can tell an adult was worried, but then gets angry at the fact that you were fine and well and laughing the night awa- 'Oh... Night time... Riiiiight...' having just realized the only light they had on the way home was from the moon and Charmander's tail. "Ahahah... Um..." he grabbed Charmander off his head and continued, "I found him! He's fine and well and stuff! Eheheh..." The laughter wasn't helping with shaking off the feeling of fear their gazes caused him. He asked what god would be so cruel as to make him forget to watch the time. "Look, I can expl-"
"There's no need to. You both seem unharmed." Rowan's voice seemed to boom every time he spoke, whether he was angry or not, making it hard for Tangi to determine if he really was upset.
"Yes, yes," Oak continued, his voice sounding gentler so Tangi relaxed. "You both are unharmed, that's all we cared about. We both saw how you two were laughing up the pathway here." He smiled, then it left his face as fast as it appeared. Tangi didn't like where this was going. "But, I'm afraid we have to take Charmander back now. He has a trainer, and they're picking him up tomorrow.
Somewhere in it all, Tangi's heart just died a little. "Oh... really? You got trainers already?" They both nodded at him. "I see." He turned Charmander to himself, just staring at the Pokémon, then lowering him to the ground. "Whelp, looks like you get to start traveling tomorrow Charmander!" He smiled at him, but felt his left eye watering up. He wiped it, leaned closer to the 'mon and whispered, "Now it's my turn to cry..." Feeling the paw on his cheek, he had to wipe another tear off his face before standing up again. He handed Oak Charmander's Pokéball to him, bowed to the professors, waved one last time to Charmander, and ran off before the tears returned.
Morning came, but Tangi was in no mood to move. He felt like staying in bed all day, mainly because he blamed himself that Charmander wasn't with him right now. He understood that he had a trainer set to pick him up this morning, but still... 'Maybe I should have ran away with him... I had his Pokéball already...' Tangi smacked himself for having that thought. That wouldn't make him any better then those thieves out there. Still, he was gone and Tangi had the need to blame himself...
"If you don't come down here this instant and eat, I'm coming up there to recap your knowledge about gravity using your computer!" Tangi tried, but he couldn't repress the laugh that followed. His mother hearing this, she yelled back to him, "Funny, is it?!"
"No mom, I'm coming now!" 'Good old mom...' he mused to himself.
"And get dressed! We have a guest!"
'A guest?' Tangi pondered about it a moment, then shook it off and headed down stairs after grabbing a shirt.
Upon entering the dining room, Tangi saw his mom sitting at the table laughing and nodding at someone across of her. A few more steps down revealed the guest to be Professor Rowan, sipping away at some coffee. 'Ah crap, this has gotta be about how I ran away last night...' "Good morning Professor, sir. Is there something you needed?"
"Oh, nothing really." He took another sip of coffee. "Professor Oak left for Kanto. I managed to get all the trainers that came to the lab their starters," he said with a smile.
"Ah, I see." 'I don't need a reminder that he's gone...' Tangi thought of bitterly.
"Yes. You know, I was thrilled when we agreed to swap the starters. This is a good change to further my research. Same with the other professors."
"How so, sir?"
"I have no idea at the time," Rowan chuckled.
"Ah, I see. Well, I gotta get back to-"
"Now just a minute." Tangi let a sigh slip him, then turned towards Rowan again. "You didn't understand me clearly enough, so I'll have to repeat myself." Tangi's curiosity perked a bit. "I said that I managed to give every trainer their starter that came to my lab this morning."
"And you poin-" it hit Tangi. "Someone didn't show up?"
"Exactly."
"Are they okay?"
"Oh, from the looks of it when I checked on them, they are quite fine. He just didn't show up"
"... What the hell is wrong with that fool then?! I hope ya at least nagged him out or something Professor!"
"I'm about to if you keep acting that way," he finished with an eyebrow raised.
Tangi stared for a minute, not sure how to take it. "Wait... I never told you that I wa-"
"No," corrected Rowan. "You never told me directly. Come now, you think I'm old and senile? The constant questions you asked me. The battle practice videos you watched that I had. Why, you went as far as to contact some of my trainers already traveling for some advice!" Tangi felt bad, and upset that his "source" broke his promise about keeping it quiet.
"Sorry sir. There's only one Pokémon I would have started traveling with. And it's 'first come, first serve' in the case of starters so he's probably gone..." Tangi look towards the corner of the room, trying to avoid eye contact.
"Char!" Tangi was smacked in the side by a flying blur of yellow, knocking him onto the stairs. Tangi, turning his head, saw Charmander, latched to his shirt. Tangi's mouth just gapped open as the Charmander gave another excited "Char!"
Tangi turned to Professor Rowan, dumbfounded, making Rowan chuckle. "He absolutely refused to go with any of the trainers that showed up. Almost set my lab on fire trying to roast one of them that was bold enough to pick him up with his back to them."
"Wha... But... But that shouldn't have mattered. Normally you calm them down if they get like that..." Tangi turned to him while trying to keep the lizard under control.
"Ah, but you see I am not the professor they grew to listen to. And that certain person decided to leave before the trainers showed up. Rest assure that all three did get a starter; just one of them had to settle for an Eevee." Rowan smiled a bit. "Besides, you honestly can't trust something as rare as that Charmander to any normal old trainer."
"Huh?" Tangi looked back at him. "Ya mean his yellow skin?"
"Exactly. See, Oak and I have reason to believe that he might be something else. See, trainers call Pokémon with different coloring then normal 'shinnies,' but honestly, from studies, there's something different in their behavior patterns compared to their relatives. So, I thought I should have an assistant that would be willing to travel raise him," he finished, resting his head on his knuckles.
"Me..." Tangi turned from the professor to Charmander, who was just fiddling around with his shirt buttons. He fell backwards onto the steps into a sitting position. 'Me...' Tangi stared at the floor till Charmander nudged his face. They faced each other, then he licked Tangi on the cheek a few times before Tangi brought him in for a hug. Charmander didn't like being hugged too tightly, so he let an Ember slip out of his mouth onto Tangi's shirt. He panicked, put it out, glared at Charmander, then just started laughing. "You little fire starter!" Tangi shouted, still laughing. "Hey, that's it!" Rowan and Charmander looked at him. "Flint!" Charmander stared blankly at Tangi. "It's a stone that starts fires. So, how about it? Wanna be called Flint?"
Charmander continued to stare blankly, then let out an energetic "Char!"Chapter End Notes:I hope it didn't suck too hard. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read
Pokémon
A Sinnoh Region Story
Disclaimer: I do not claim rights over anything Pokémon, Nintendo, or any other possible video game/movie/etc reference I might make. That being said, however, I do own the imagination that thought this story up. It'll be sad. It'll be funny. It'll be awe striking. And it'll be a blockbuster hit this fall! ... Okay, maybe not the last part so much as the rest of it was suppose to be taken serious. . Enjoy and review/give some tips since I'm still kinda new at writing!
Chapter 1: Journey Starts
'There goes another one...' Tangi sat near his window just staring out at the road that leads to outside Sandgem Town. For living in the town of the esteemed Professor Rowan, people here seem to leave a lot. And Tangi was planning on it too. He was nearly eighteen and still hadn't left home to be a trainer. Though that all changed quickly; after watching the championship title match that is.
Cynthia, a new, unheard of challenger, swept through the Elite Four as if they were merely the trainers you'd face prior to a gym leader. No, even then they seemed lesser to her. Tangi remembers the live broadcast well, it have only aired not but a month ago. Her grace, her technique, her elegance. And even after the match, she self-treated her Pokémon. His friends would joke about him having a "hard-on" for her, but that wasn't it; far from it. He just loved how she seemed merciless and still human. Like fire with a mind of it's own; a will. Able to decide what lives and what burns...
After that one airing, he began to think of ways to ask the professor for a starter. Small problem... Tangi wasn't quite fond of any of the starter options. Still, where there's a will, there's a way! He was getting a starter today, and it doesn't have to be a Sinnoh one! The professors of Pokémon (Rowan, Oak, Elm and Burch) all decided to try a swap. They'd trade starter Pokémon among themselves and give three lucky trainers a taste of another region. Oak and Rowan were making the swap today and Tangi was asked to come over when Oak arrived so he could help get them ready for their new trainers, unbeknownst to him that Tangi wanted to ask for one himself.
"I don't care which one really, so long as it doesn't try to kill me..." he told himself while shuddering at the memory of when Piplup, Chimchar and Turtwig all basically tried to off him. He told Rowan after he said they were trying to rough house with him, "Being playful is one thing! Those things are sent from Darkrai himself!"
"Tangi, it's Professor Rowan! He said Professor Oak is at the lab and he needs you now!" He snapped out of his flashback after what his mother had said registered in his mind. He grabbed his bag and flung the door open. After taking one step down on the stairs, he jumped the rest like he's always done, grabbed his shoes, and bolted out the door before his mother could start the stairs lecture.
"Wish she would just give up on that," rolling his eyes as he muttered. He ran while slipping on his shoes, gaining speed after they were finally on. About five minutes of speeding through town paid off as he neared the gate leading to the lab. After walking up the path, he went to a window to try to regain his composure. His hair was brown, spiky, and messed up in the front apparently. He brushed it back into place with his hands and decided to give the rest of him a look. His red over shirt was falling off his shoulders, he only had one of his fingerless gloves on, his shorts were drooping cause of his tug-belt, and the straps on his shoes were crocked. 'Damn, I'm pretty self-conscious about my outfit,' he noted while fixing himself up.
Finally done with the prep, he knocked on the door. ... No answer. He tried again, then heard a crash and yelling. Tangi opened the door at full speed. "Is everyone alr-MUMF!" He was meet with something warm, smacking him in the face and knocking him over before jumping off. As the thought of getting up entered his mind, something jumped just below the bridge in his ribcage, then off him the next moment. Having had the wind knocked out of him from the force, he rolled over on his gut, then looked out to the yard to see what got him. There was a Squirtle, running around with a mischievous, bullying look on his face chasing something familiar. There, running away from the turtle was a Charmander, though... "Why is it so brightly colo-OW!" Tangi's face was back into the ground as a third creature jumped onto it. "Lemme guess... Bulbasaur?" he muttered into the wood. He turned his head up to see the green Pokémon trying to hold the blue horror in place with it's vines. "Hate it when I'm right..."
"Enough, all of you," a voice boomed behind him. "Return, now!" Three beams shot from the door hitting all but the Charmander, which yelped in surprise and ran away out the gate that Tangi left open. He pushed himself so he was up on his knees, holding his head with his right hand while his left acted as a support. "I'm so sorry about that! Are you alright son?"
"Y-yeah. Not the first time I took a Pokémon to the face," laughing as he realized what he just said. Tangi stood up and dusted himself off. "But man, why the hell would someone leave them unsupervised like th-" he froze. There Tangi was, suggesting (in question formant) that Professor Oak had just made a mistake.
"Ahahah... Sorry about that!" Oak merely laughed it off, much to Tangi's relief. "Thought they could use some air!" He looked back at the boy, who was just standing there. Gaping at him... Like a zombie of sorts... "Err, well I better get to finding Charmander before he gets too far... Not exactly the best time to run off when he's a good distance away from home..."
This snapping him out of his daze, Tangi shook his head. "I'll go find him sir!" Oak turned to him, having already walked past him down the steps. "Well, I left the gate open. And I opened the door leading outside, so really he got out cause of me." They stood there, Oak staring at him with a kind of deep glare that seemed like he hated Tangi for bringing this thought up, but at the same time not hatful. Finding the silence awkward, he continued, "Um, you don't have to worry, sir. You can ask Rowan about me, I wouldn't harm him..."
"Oh no, it's not that... It's just..." Oak began, then shook his head. "Never mind. Here, you'll need this," handing the Pokéball to Tangi, the proceeded up the stairs again. "Just tell me your name son..."
"Tangi, sir..." then he ran off.
"... Hmph! Boy bad mouths me, then takes charge..." Oak looked back inside. He smiled, then reentered the lab.
Charmander, finally slowing to just a walk, realized he was near some lake he's never seen, and on the verge of tears. 'Why does Squirtle always have to pick on me... Why can't I stand up for myself instead of Bulbasaur or the professor protecting me...' Though he was staring at the ground as he walked, he was too tired and lost in thought to notice a tree stump root sticking out of the ground slightly, causing him to trip. Looking up from there, tears beginning to roll down from his eyes onto the dirt. 'I-I can't cry... Bulbasaur says I can't cry... But...' but that was all he felt like he wanted. He turned his head back down into the ground and let out some silent sobs... Wishing nothing more for this to be okay for him to do... For some sort of comfort...
"Damn!" Tangi leaned up against a tree, catching his breath. "Little guy sure runs fast... How far could he have gotten?" He's already looked for half an hour, and the sun was going to set soon. "I gotta find him before sunset... Though I guess maybe night time would be best, what with that glowing tail and all... No, I have to find him now." His determination returning, Tangi began to run again, stopping a few feet away from the tree he stopped at. He heard something... Like a low moaning... "Is that coming from the lake path...?"
Not even a minute of sprinting, Tangi came across the now crying Charmander. Now that he had the dirt-sand pathway to compare him to, the Charmander did seem more yellow then orange... 'Stop that... He might be hurt...' He shook his head, then walked up to the tree stump and sat down without the little 'mon noticing him.
"Hey there..." trying to sound as peaceful as he could, reaching towards the Charmander. He shot up, obviously spooked, and turned towards Tangi. "Whoa whoa whoa! It's okay! I just wanna see if you're okay!"
"Char?" Charmander cocked his head to the left, recognizing the smell of his Pokéball on the human. He wanted to go home, but not like this; still having tears and now some dirt on him where the tears ran down his face. 'Squirtle would only make fun of me more and I'd get lectured about 'being a big boy'' Turning from Tangi, Charmander let slip a few hiccups he was suppressing.
"Were you crying?" Tangi couldn't think of anything else at the moment.
"Char..." he said while nodding.
"Are you hurt?"
"Char..." with a shake of his head.
"So you were crying cause you wanted to?"
Charmander lowered his head, thinking he knew where this was leading to; another lecture. 'Same thing, different human...' he pouted to himself about remembering all of the previous ones he received from the professor.
'Hmm, that's it,' thought Tangi with a smile, setting his backpack down on the ground. "Ya know, it's okay to cry. That is, if ya want to." Charmander's eyes widen a bit, then he turned towards the human. "Sometimes, all anyone really needs is a good cry. It gets out all the feelings in ya you can't handle at once in any other way. It's sad at first cause crying is only ever thought of being related to saddening things, but really... It's a nice way to get everything off your chest at once. Well, one of the ways... One of the safer ways actually..." he mused to himself while looking at the ground, remembering how one of his friends had a terrible day once and just threw chairs at a wall, ending up throwing one too high so it smacked a window. Shaking the memory off his mind, he turned back to the Pokémon. "Anyway, after it's all over, you just smile. And that's all that matters; that you can smile again," he said with a grin.
Charmander stared at him with a shocked gaze, followed by his eyes watering up again and his face scrunching up, then he leaped at Tangi's chest, crying into him. He cried and cried, knowing this one person wouldn't care. Knowing this one person would let him. Knowing this one person must have been through what he has been...
He stared at first, but then Tangi cradled the lizard-mon in his arms and stood up. 'Guess he understood me...' He stood there just holding him, letting him bawl out to his heart's content. By the time the sun was setting and the stars were coming out, Charmander's tears settled down to just a few hiccups ever now-and-then. Shifting him to one arm, Tangi reached for his backpack.
"Come on boy... Everyone's waiting for you. He wiped Charmander's face off with his over-shirt. When he was done, the Pokémon placed his head on Tangi's shoulder, closing his eyes and resting there as he headed back to the lab...
As they neared the gate, Charmander gained a sudden boost in energy. He climbed up onto Tangi's shoulders and just rested on his head, with Tangi laughing at this. "You sure are hyper when you're not pouting!" This was replied with a swift smack on the head from the yellow critter. They both laughed as Tangi climbed the steps, reaching for the door just as it flew open. There was Professor Oak and Professor Rowan standing there, both giving Tangi "the look"; that one look that you can tell an adult was worried, but then gets angry at the fact that you were fine and well and laughing the night awa- 'Oh... Night time... Riiiiight...' having just realized the only light they had on the way home was from the moon and Charmander's tail. "Ahahah... Um..." he grabbed Charmander off his head and continued, "I found him! He's fine and well and stuff! Eheheh..." The laughter wasn't helping with shaking off the feeling of fear their gazes caused him. He asked what god would be so cruel as to make him forget to watch the time. "Look, I can expl-"
"There's no need to. You both seem unharmed." Rowan's voice seemed to boom every time he spoke, whether he was angry or not, making it hard for Tangi to determine if he really was upset.
"Yes, yes," Oak continued, his voice sounding gentler so Tangi relaxed. "You both are unharmed, that's all we cared about. We both saw how you two were laughing up the pathway here." He smiled, then it left his face as fast as it appeared. Tangi didn't like where this was going. "But, I'm afraid we have to take Charmander back now. He has a trainer, and they're picking him up tomorrow.
Somewhere in it all, Tangi's heart just died a little. "Oh... really? You got trainers already?" They both nodded at him. "I see." He turned Charmander to himself, just staring at the Pokémon, then lowering him to the ground. "Whelp, looks like you get to start traveling tomorrow Charmander!" He smiled at him, but felt his left eye watering up. He wiped it, leaned closer to the 'mon and whispered, "Now it's my turn to cry..." Feeling the paw on his cheek, he had to wipe another tear off his face before standing up again. He handed Oak Charmander's Pokéball to him, bowed to the professors, waved one last time to Charmander, and ran off before the tears returned.
Morning came, but Tangi was in no mood to move. He felt like staying in bed all day, mainly because he blamed himself that Charmander wasn't with him right now. He understood that he had a trainer set to pick him up this morning, but still... 'Maybe I should have ran away with him... I had his Pokéball already...' Tangi smacked himself for having that thought. That wouldn't make him any better then those thieves out there. Still, he was gone and Tangi had the need to blame himself...
"If you don't come down here this instant and eat, I'm coming up there to recap your knowledge about gravity using your computer!" Tangi tried, but he couldn't repress the laugh that followed. His mother hearing this, she yelled back to him, "Funny, is it?!"
"No mom, I'm coming now!" 'Good old mom...' he mused to himself.
"And get dressed! We have a guest!"
'A guest?' Tangi pondered about it a moment, then shook it off and headed down stairs after grabbing a shirt.
Upon entering the dining room, Tangi saw his mom sitting at the table laughing and nodding at someone across of her. A few more steps down revealed the guest to be Professor Rowan, sipping away at some coffee. 'Ah crap, this has gotta be about how I ran away last night...' "Good morning Professor, sir. Is there something you needed?"
"Oh, nothing really." He took another sip of coffee. "Professor Oak left for Kanto. I managed to get all the trainers that came to the lab their starters," he said with a smile.
"Ah, I see." 'I don't need a reminder that he's gone...' Tangi thought of bitterly.
"Yes. You know, I was thrilled when we agreed to swap the starters. This is a good change to further my research. Same with the other professors."
"How so, sir?"
"I have no idea at the time," Rowan chuckled.
"Ah, I see. Well, I gotta get back to-"
"Now just a minute." Tangi let a sigh slip him, then turned towards Rowan again. "You didn't understand me clearly enough, so I'll have to repeat myself." Tangi's curiosity perked a bit. "I said that I managed to give every trainer their starter that came to my lab this morning."
"And you poin-" it hit Tangi. "Someone didn't show up?"
"Exactly."
"Are they okay?"
"Oh, from the looks of it when I checked on them, they are quite fine. He just didn't show up"
"... What the hell is wrong with that fool then?! I hope ya at least nagged him out or something Professor!"
"I'm about to if you keep acting that way," he finished with an eyebrow raised.
Tangi stared for a minute, not sure how to take it. "Wait... I never told you that I wa-"
"No," corrected Rowan. "You never told me directly. Come now, you think I'm old and senile? The constant questions you asked me. The battle practice videos you watched that I had. Why, you went as far as to contact some of my trainers already traveling for some advice!" Tangi felt bad, and upset that his "source" broke his promise about keeping it quiet.
"Sorry sir. There's only one Pokémon I would have started traveling with. And it's 'first come, first serve' in the case of starters so he's probably gone..." Tangi look towards the corner of the room, trying to avoid eye contact.
"Char!" Tangi was smacked in the side by a flying blur of yellow, knocking him onto the stairs. Tangi, turning his head, saw Charmander, latched to his shirt. Tangi's mouth just gapped open as the Charmander gave another excited "Char!"
Tangi turned to Professor Rowan, dumbfounded, making Rowan chuckle. "He absolutely refused to go with any of the trainers that showed up. Almost set my lab on fire trying to roast one of them that was bold enough to pick him up with his back to them."
"Wha... But... But that shouldn't have mattered. Normally you calm them down if they get like that..." Tangi turned to him while trying to keep the lizard under control.
"Ah, but you see I am not the professor they grew to listen to. And that certain person decided to leave before the trainers showed up. Rest assure that all three did get a starter; just one of them had to settle for an Eevee." Rowan smiled a bit. "Besides, you honestly can't trust something as rare as that Charmander to any normal old trainer."
"Huh?" Tangi looked back at him. "Ya mean his yellow skin?"
"Exactly. See, Oak and I have reason to believe that he might be something else. See, trainers call Pokémon with different coloring then normal 'shinnies,' but honestly, from studies, there's something different in their behavior patterns compared to their relatives. So, I thought I should have an assistant that would be willing to travel raise him," he finished, resting his head on his knuckles.
"Me..." Tangi turned from the professor to Charmander, who was just fiddling around with his shirt buttons. He fell backwards onto the steps into a sitting position. 'Me...' Tangi stared at the floor till Charmander nudged his face. They faced each other, then he licked Tangi on the cheek a few times before Tangi brought him in for a hug. Charmander didn't like being hugged too tightly, so he let an Ember slip out of his mouth onto Tangi's shirt. He panicked, put it out, glared at Charmander, then just started laughing. "You little fire starter!" Tangi shouted, still laughing. "Hey, that's it!" Rowan and Charmander looked at him. "Flint!" Charmander stared blankly at Tangi. "It's a stone that starts fires. So, how about it? Wanna be called Flint?"
Charmander continued to stare blankly, then let out an energetic "Char!"Chapter End Notes:I hope it didn't suck too hard. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read