As Joey's Caterpie entered the battlefield, I beckoned towards Aqua to do the same, before nodding towards Chase, who was looking at me.
"Are both tariners ready? You may now begin!" Chase exclaimed with a flamboyant expression as he scurried away from the centre of the field.
"Caterpie! Use StringShot!" Joey exclaimed as the green caterpillar quickly conjured a web of white strings, preparing to launch them at Aqua.
"Aqua, use Sand Attack," I said to Aqua, as he immediately kicked a gust of sand, weakened but not rendered useless by the rain, towards the Caterpie, causing it to missfire its String Shot in the wrong direction.
Although Aqua is slower as a species than Caterpie, in the end, it all comes down to training. Aqua, having trained harder and longer than Caterpie, could bridge the small gap in speed, essentially nullifying Caterpie's sole advantage. In ancient terms, it could be simply said that Aqua was at a higher level than Caterpie, but such ancient concepts have no place in Modern Fighting.
"Caterpie! Use Tackle!"
"Aqua, Tackle."
As the two Pokémon collided with each other, a small puff of dust engulfed the battlefield.
*Cough* "Aqua, return." I said as a waddling shark rushed out of the dust, dissipating under the force of the rain, and settled comfortably by my side.
'Aqua's higher ATK stat combined with his ability, Rough Skin, was bound to have overpowered Caterpie's tackle. Although I could've finished the match with a single Thrash, it would've achieved nothing. The goal of this battle was to teach these little ruffians, not win most efficiently.'
"Caterpie is unable to battle! The winner is Syl!" Chase shouted after regaining his bearings as Joey rushed towards the injured Caterpie.
"Hey Joey, catch this," I said as I threw a potion towards the boy, crouching by his tired Pokémon's side.
"This should be enough for Caterpie. The potion should cure most of his external wounds with an ample amount of rest, he should be back to his peak in a few hours."
"Thanks, Syl," The dejected boy muttered as he sprayed the potion on his Caterpie.
"Alright, I'll meet you all at the dock later, make sure to see me off, okay?" Saying which, I leapt on my feet and started running towards Mr. K's house, having already delayed the meeting by a few minutes, my waddling shark with stubby legs in tow.
As I rushed towards Mr. K's house, located at the other end of the island by the coast, I passed through a vibrant market, a hub for trading all things Pokémon, a Pokémon Centre, adorned with vibrant neon hues of blue & red, an internationally mandated requirement and a few pokemon farms, though most of them were barren, courtesy the howling rain and raging winds, giving the island a gloomy but aesthetic atmosphere.
"Phew! Finally here," I exclaimed as I took a moment of respite under the shade in front of Mr. K's house, drying my clothes and wringing out my umbrella.
*Knock* *Knock*
"Mr. K? Are you there? It's me, Sylvester," I said as I knocked at the sturdy wooden door, engraved with graceful markings and adorned with a mural of the Sun at the centre.
"Come in and close the door behind you, boy. I don't want a drop of water in my house." A gruff voice sounded from within as I opened the door and entered the wooden cottage, a distinct smell of summer wafting into my nostrils, contrasting with the raging storm outside.
"Did you call for me, Mr. K?" I cautiously asked as I stepped into the living room at the centre of the house, illuminated by an embracing hearth, comforting warmth radiating from the fireplace at the crux of it all."
"Sit down." The man said as he deeply stared at the blazing fire.
Mr. K was an enigma. He was a tall man with an imposing physique and a blazing red mane for his hair. He was quiet, eerily so, with an almost reverent feeling welling up from him, making him seem divine. He had the face of a battle-hardened soldier, an anomaly in these parts, rough features and two molten orbs, brimming with rage and fury for his eyes. But he was a quiet man, living a quaint life in his little cottage, attending to his fireplace.
Once, a rampaging Wailord, a juvenile by modern taxonomic standards, almost spelt doom for Nevermore Island, but Mr. K, mysteriously subdued the beast with his enigmatic means, calming it down and sending it on its way. Nobody knows how he did it, nobody dares ask, but since then, he has become a part of Nevermore Island, living as its Silent Guardian, accepted by all.
Of course, all these happened before I was even born, reading more like a folklore crafted by the drunks in the market than actual facts. But the crux of the matter is, Mr. K was a mysterious man.
"What do you think of Pokémon, boy?" Mr. K asked.
"What do you think of your Aqua?" He asked again as Aqua happily waddled over to him, climbing onto his lap.
"What do I think of Pokémon?" I blurted absent-mindedly, Nobody had asked me such a question before. I was baffled.
'What do you think of the air? What do you think of the water? How was I supposed to answer such abstract questions?'
"Pokémon...are an integral part of our society?" I muttered slowly, almost questioning the words coming out of my mouth.
'Why was I answering him with a phrase I learned in first grade?'
"This isn't a test, boy. Don't waste my time with such manufactured answers. Now, I'll ask again, what do you think of Pokémon?" Mr. K said, sneering at my answer.
"Pokemon..." I began, clearing my throat, my mind racing.
"They are a part of this world. A vibrant colour of green in this canvas of the world. They are the missing pieces in a human's incomplete soul, as if they were destined to be our partners, completing us. Creatures of power, responsibility and innocence."
"They complete us, they complete this world, serving their purpose, while accompanying us humans to find our purpose." I steadily said, not quite understanding what I said, but the words came out of my mouth before I could even articulate them.
"I see," Mr. K said, as he turned his head away, gazing at the fireplace, contemplating.
"Boy, I want you to have these," the man said as two spheres materialised in his hands, hovering over his palms, one a brilliant violet, the other a radiant gold, humming with existence.
'Am I hallucinating, or did he just conjure stuff out of thin air? Is magic real? Is Harry Potter real? Am I a wizard, Hagrid?' I thought as my mind churned, trying to decipher the magical phenomenon occurring before my eyes, impractical, unexplained by science, rejected by reality.
'Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it. Magic isn't real, it can't hurt you, these are just some clever party tricks, probably a one-way reflective mirror or something of the sort.' I recited in my mind as my mind went into overdrive, seeking explanations, trying to understand the magic occurring in front of it.
"This is a little something that will help Aqua," he said as he pushed the violet orb towards me, making me scramble to catch it mid-air.
As the violet orb settled in my palm, the glow surrounding it diminished, forming a violet marble with an S-shaped design in its midst, colored by a molten orange. It looked unremarkable, but by the way Aqua was drooling over it, with eyes as big as saucers, it was anything but so.
"And this..." He trailed off, staring at the golden sphere with his molten eyes, hesitating.
"This is something which will decide your path. It will become what you make of it, Sylvester. Use it wisely." Mr. K said, addressing me by my name for the first time since I was born, accentuating the seriousness of the situation as the golden sphere slowly floated towards me, hovering in front of my eyes.
As it settled in my lap, I couldn't help but observe it. It was a single parchment, made of shining gold, with scarlet characters inscribed upon it, trying to tell me something I couldn't quite decipher. It looked like a relic.
'What are these things? What am I supposed to do with them?' I thought curiously as I placed the violet marble and the golden parchment into my pocket, nestled against a spare potion and Aqua's Cherish Ball.
"Off you go, boy. I won't be entertaining you any further." Mr. K said as he continued gazing at his hearth, ignoring my existence.
I had questions, but I knew I wouldn't get any answers today, and thus, I sat up from my seat, beckoning towards Aqua, who leapt up from Mr. K's embrace, although begrudgingly, before we swiftly exited his house, again in the embrace of the rain, with more questions than answers, & unaware of the weight of destiny which just embraced our inexperienced shoulders.
The balance of the world shifted, as a young man and his beloved dragon trudged through the rain, taking their first steps towards an adventure, one so spectacular & one so ripe with emotions, but of course, the duo were none the less wiser about it.
*
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In the confines of a gloomy cottage, the silhouette of a man could be seen, slumped against a wooden chair with scarlet hair like a lion's mane. In his palm, a swirling Orb of molten lava rested, filled with primal reckonings and illustrated by a symbol, resembling an Omega, coloured by primal orange.
THE RED ORB.