[IC] Pokémon: A Tale of Gold and Silver 1x1

[Pacifista]

Sneakers thumping down the dirt roads that made up so much of the quiet New Bark Town, the sweaty owner felt fresh air as his black and gold cap slipped from his head. Skidding to a stop, Gold glanced around, only to find the nearby area quiet and peaceful. Chest heaving under his red and white hoodie, he went back to scoop up his head wear, brushing it off before slipping it back onto his black hair.

Putting his back to rest against a nearby tree, he collapsed against it, catching his breath. "Why don't people keep their pets leashed?" he groaned, so very tired of the morning routine of avoiding the notice of his neighbor's Poochyena. Pulling out a fairly new Pokéapp Gear, the protective shutter opening with the input of a security code, his glance at the current time was interrupted by a ray of the rising sun, poking through the branches and poking him in the eyes. Shifting away, he kept to the shade, playing a quick app game to calm himself. Partway through, he stood back up, glancing around to check his surroundings, spotting a Caterpie in the tree above him. Grimacing, he skittered away, starting his walk back to the center of town, head buried low in a desire to shut himself off from that world around him. His walk through the woods was familiar, but it wasn't as though he truly had much direction.

As the woods started to thin, buildings becoming a bit more common, Gold gawked as his Gear vibrated with a new text messages, distracting him and leading to yet another loss. Glaring, he closed the game in frustration before giving the message a read.

I wanted to talk to you this morning before you left.
Before you come home can you see Professor Elm?
It would help a lot sweetie:)

Gold cringed at the smiley face, a little to close to the prior text for his liking. And dated at that. But it wasn't as though he had room to complain. She was more comfortable with talking in person, while Gold didn't feel like talking to her if he didn't need to.

Bing bing!

Gold jumped a the sound of a bicycle bell came up from his side. "Don't stand in the middle of the road," the police officer said, casually scolding him as he drove by.

"Yes sir," Gold replied, not even trying to concealing his bitterness. Stomach growling, he took a quick stop at the Mart to get a bite to eat, munching on some banana bread as he looked down the side road that he knew would take him to Elm's lab. Another groan escaping his lips, he started down that path, knowing he couldn't simply ignore his mom. He never had, he'd always been obedient, if obstinate otherwise. As he worked himself through the problem, he recalled that the lab, one full of valuable equipment, couldn't be full of Pokémon, right? It would be fine inside...most likely...probably...hopefully...

Kicking a nearby stone, he walked on, horfing down his banana bread with anger flaring in his yellow eyes. Crumpling the wrapper in his hands, he stopped in front of the lab the large door looming in front of him.

...

...

Gold slipped his hands into his pockets, meandering for a moment. Nervously, he crept up to the door, placing his ear against it, but was unable to hear anything inside. Realizing there might be windows he could peek into, he crept around the side of a building, before coming to a dead stop as he spotted someone else, about his age, already engaged with the lab's windows.

"Oi! What are you skulking around for?" called the would be skulker to the red haired one.

[Hillan]

Wandering into the unfamiliar city of New Bark Town, the scarlet head teenager hadn't ever been here before. Not really, at least. Sure, he had seen Tojo Falls and he had heard about Cherrygrove - and it's proximity to Blackthorn certainly made it something of a hotspot in the city, it was also the easiest way to cross back on over to Kanto, the boy's home region. He fiddled with his passport in his hands, he had arrived with the ferry just a few hours earlier. Opening up his Pokégear case, he plucked out the wireless headphones with the red and black pokeball logo on, 'Beats by Drake' - showing the sailor like visage of the Dragon trainer from hoenn.

As he pressed play, he felt his feet get lighter as the electric guitar and drums kicked in, the all familiar song filling his mind as he put his thoughts to his goals. He had one desire with today. But it relied on him making his way to the professors Lab. The Johtonese structure of infrastructure rarely made sense, and even less so today. He passed the Mart before the Pokemon Center, not to mention that the entire region was really, really ugly. A pidgey flew by him, and he saw a wild trio of rattata run across the street, he could tell the rats were wild by their scruffy fur and unmaintained teeth. As the song kicked into gear, he started humming.

♫ Too-doo-doo too too-doo.

Walking some more, he started to get a grasp on the lay of the land. Sure, the town wasn't massive. It wasn't like Saffron Or Celadon, it was a hick town in the middle of nowhere where frankly, the least capable Pokemon professor in the entire world was holed up. He had seen Elm's PokéTalks and the professor was truly terrible, Birch had to come out and save him from further embarrassment when he started talking about where Pokemon Eggs come from. The boy pulled his hair back from his face as he chuckled, hair running through his fingers. Pokémon making eggs? What a ludicrous idea. Speaking off the silly professor, the boy saw a man carrying a briefcase coming right at him as he was caught up in his, admit ably, embarrassing taste in music.

♫To stand alone in the victory circle
Stake their claim when the music starts

Nodding his head and mumbling along to the lyrics, the boy was annoyed when he bumped into the older man with the briefcase, stunning the teen as he took a step back, and quickly realized he had been singing out loud.

"Uh-- Uh. DRAGON RAGe, DRAGON RAGE!" Silver shouted pretending to sing, making the rock-n-roll sign with his fingers, headbanging, pretending to be listening to a heavy metal song instead of the top 5 popsingle from 4 years ago. The man scolded him about his carelessness.

"W-watch where you're going kid! Don't play that darn Dark-type worshipping music so loud. It'll make you go deaf!" the man yelled, the man seemed quite neurotic with his weird hairstyle and halfrim glasses, posturing at the red haired boy. The boy let out a puff of air in defiance.
"Whatever, man." He said, carrying on his walk. It wasn't until a few minutes later he realized that the man he had bumped into was the Pokemon Professr, Hubert Elm.

"Ahhh Shuckle me sideways." The boy let out his frustrations, realizing he missed his chance to talk to the professor. Instead, he decided to bolt to the lab, that was now in eyesight. He banged on the door, locked. Maybe someone was around in the back? The boy snuck around, peering through the window, he stood on his tip-toes to get a better look. Empty, only thing that was visible was the machine running scans on the three red-and-white balls inside of it. Pushing his hand against the window, he felt the window give way slightly.
Maybe he didn't have to convince the professor to give him a Pokemon if he used the ol' Five-finger-discount...

Before the boy could prod further, he was interrupted.

"Oi! What are you skulking around for?"

The new boy caught him off guard, whom stumbled as his eyes widened and he panicked to put himself into a completely different position, leaning against the wall next to the window, putting on a neutral facial expression that exuded coolness. Hitting his lower registry, he peered the boy up and down. He didn't look like a cop. Little bit like a nark, though. The boy decided to take the chill approach, maybe he could still salvage this almost-heist.

"Sup. I just snuck out for a smoke." He lied, realizing he didn't have anything to smoke, he corrected himself.
"A smoke of some sick tunes. You heard Assault On Dragonites latest album?" His earpieces still blasting the chorus to the popsong he had been listening to.

♫It's a whole new world we live in
(Too-doo-doo too too-doo)
It's a whole new way to see
(Too-doo-doo too too-doo)

[Pacifista]

Gold stared. It was a blank stare, accompanied by an upturned lip of disgust. Does he think he's smooth?

Against his better judgement, Gold slipped his hands into the center pocket of his hoodie. "No, I don't listen to them. Or much of any music really. Actually I really don't do much of anything..." The light faded from his eyes, a wave of raw, pathetic energy dripping off of him like sap from a tree. Shaking his head, he stomped forward, Silver's overly loud music finally meeting his ears.

"...Why does that sound like it belongs on a Saturday morning kids show?" slapping his forehead, he growled, "Don't answer that, it doesn't matter." Grabbing Silver by the scruff of his shirt, the normally awkward boy was similarly gripped by an ill fitting sense of justice. "We're going to see the Professor, I don't trust you."

Dragging him back to the front of the lab, Gold grabbed the handle of the door, only to find it rather locked. Knocking with the butt of his fist, he called, "Hello!?" Silence. Letting go of Silver he said, "Fine then. You're still not leaving my sight though. You're sus."

[Hillan]

"You don't do much of anything?" Silver asked, raising an eyebrow. "That sounds dull." He simply pondered, before noticing his earbud leaking sound outwards, he quickly turned it off while being slightly red in the face.

"H-Hey you don't listen to music you wouldn't know!" He blew Gold off, about to walk away, as he felt a tugging on his shirt. "What the hell are yo-" Cut off by the other kid grabbing him by the collar, Silver tried to break free, failing to do so. "Why the heck are you so strong?!" he yelped being dragged, fighting off the kid best he could to little avail.

They arrived at the door again, still locked. Knocking, no answer.
"Not leaving your sight?! I knew you were a narc. Do I look like a Amoonguss to you?" Silver asked in regards to him seeming suspicious.

"You're as suspicious as I am, at least! Not only were you sneaking around back there, you're also freakishly strong for such a scrawny kid!" Silver proclaimed, pointing Gold up and down, paying no mind to the fact that he himself was an inch shorter and a little skinnier.

Peering in, he got a smug smile on his face.
"First rule of getting away with trouble is putting the blame on someone else. So what kind of trouble are you making?"

[Pacifista]

"I-I have strong fingers! So what!" Gold retorted, getting pink in the face. "And I'm not making trouble! You're making trouble! I'm supposed to be here! My mom..." Gold's words died on his throat, as he realized how profoundly embarrassing they were, turning from pink to red.

Doubling down, he admitted, "My mom asked me to run an errand, okay!?" Jabbing a finger right back he was clearly losing his compsure. "It's none of your business anyway!"

"Why are you yelling in front of my lab!?"

Gold gawked as he turned to see Professor Elm, briefcase and set of keys in one hand. Gaping like a fish, Gold aimed his finger at Silver. "He was being sus!"

"...Use full words please." Gold was too busy beating back the tears in his eyes to respond.

[Hillan]

Silver was confounded by how upset the other kid got by his line of questioning. Was it this easy to get into the heads of everyone in Johto? He couldn't help but to find it a little amusing. Gold spoke of his mom and Silver was about to dig into him for it - when Gold cleared himself up.

"An errand? Go to the professor to pick up milk?" Silver teased, as Gold poked him with a finger Silver slapped his hand as Gold pulled it back "Ow! What the hell do you do to get so strong?!"

"Why are you yelling in front of my lab!?" Silver froze as he heard the yelling of the professor from behind them. His expression turned cold as he turned around.
"He's the sussy one! And he's an idiot! I bet he's xenophobic just because I'm from Kanto!" Silver shouted and Elm rubbed his forehead.
"Gold, is that true?" The disappointment in his tone was measurable.

"Wait, aren't you that Dark-Type-Music kid that bumped into me so rudely?"

"Oh Shiiii... Heh, whatever." Silver put on his fake cool demeaner, leaning against the door.

"I just came back because I realized I forgot my keys to the lab." The professor said, walking towards the two boys. Shooing them both away from the door, leaning down to the welcome mat and flipping it over, revealing the key hidden underneath.

Silver wasn't happy.

[Pacifista]

Gold glanced between the key pulled from under the mat, and the set of keys in Elm's hand. Gold felt as though it was wiser to say nothing. As Elm moved to go back into the lab to search for his missing keys, Gold explained, "I'm not xenophobic! I didn't know this nerd was from Kanto!"

The door to the lab opening, Gold sighed in relief as he saw that it was empty of other people or Pokémon. Forcing Silver to come along, he kept talking. "Mom told me to take care of an errand, and I saw this guy being suspicious!"

"See, were those extra syllables that difficult?" Elm responded as he took a seat at his desk, setting his briefcase down. There was a slight clatter as his keys came free, but he didn't notice. "Oh, that's right. You were going to take care of that."

Gold raised an eyebrow as Elm cracked open the briefcase. Lodged within the the cut, protective filling was an egg shaped...egg, patterned with red and blue hollow triangles. "I was going to deliver this to Mr. Pokémon for his educated opinion. He lives outside of Cherrygrove. The trip should take more than a few hours."

Gold went cold. Mr. Pokémon sounded like the last person he'd ever want to meet. "Ch-Cherrygrove? You mean, 'not-New Bark Town' Cherrygrove?"

Elm's eyes went empty. "Galdino..."

Don't pull out the first name on me! Gold anguished. "B-but there's wild Pokémon! I can't do anything about that."

"I'll give you one of mine!"

"But I've never been outside of town before."

Elm's neck turned at an odd pace as he looked to Silver. "He can go with you."

"Wat," Gold grunted.

Elm smiled at Silver, but it was not a gentle one. It was full of cunning and a knowledge forbidden to this world. "If he helps you, I'll overlook his prior indiscretions. Sounds good to me!"

[Hillan]

"OW WHY are you pulling on my HAIR?!" Silver cried as Gold dragged him into the lab. Once they stopped in front of the now opened briefcase, silver dusted himself off. Eyeing the pokéballs in the machine.

"Bastard." He spat at Gold, listening to what the Professor was saying. Elm wasn't such an absolute moron in person, maybe he had grown a little since Silver had seen him on TV a couple of years ago.

Gold was horrified at the prospect of leaving town, which made a smile creep up on Silver's face.
"C'mon Galdino. You scared to leave your precious little hometown? Afraid to be away from mommy?" He taunted him with bile. Then came the suggestion of Gold taking one of the Professors Pokémon with him...

And what was worse.

Elm suggested they would travel together.

"What the hell?! I'm not going anywhere with this brute! I came here to ask you for a Pokémon, nothing else."

[Pacifista]

Gold clenched his fists, but despite his exterior, Silver's words had cut, Gold once again beating back tears.

Not noticing Gold, Elm responded, "Oh, you wanted one? Well, labs distributing them is a limited, local service, so Gold is the only one eligible. However, for a foreigner like yourself, I might make an exception if you give Gold a hand."

Quelling a sniffle, Gold kept his head turned away, arms crossed. "I don't need help."

"Well, still sounds like you agree to take the errand!" Elm said, walking back to the machine a short ways away. Snapping up the three Pokéballs, he returned. "No takebacks."

Gold pouted, relenting. "What is that anyway?"

"It's an egg! If Mr. Pokémon and I have our suspicions confirmed..." Elm's eyes went dark, gaze distant as though it gazed into the past. "They'll see. They'll all see! No more will I be mocked!"

Clearing his throat, he ignored the slight fear on Gold's face. "Anyway." With a flick of his wrist, the three balls clattered on the ground, bursting open. Cyndaquil, Totodile, and Chikorita appeared, looking around as they took note of their surroundings.

The astute observe might have noticed that where Gold formerly stood, instead a dotted outline took his place, blinking for a few moments before fading away. Close to the entrance now, Gold stood, visibly unfettered despite having crossed half the lab in moments.

[Hillan]

"Are you trying to bribe me with a Pokemon, professor?!" Silver accused, feigning disgust for the Professor's sneaky tactics.
"But fine. I'll help Galdino. But I'm sure he'll just slow me down." Silver scoffed. The professor brought up pokeballs and as soon as they opened, Silver was amazed to find Gold completely gone from where he had been standing, instead being found in the other end of the room.

Silver's long red hair blew in the wind caused by Gold's mad dash, and as soon as the teen realized what had happened his face broke into a smile, and then into a chuckle and finally devolving into a hearty laugh, the kind that made his eyes tear up and his stomach rumble.
"HAHA. HE'S..." Silver couldn't catch his breath, eventually falling into his hands and knees laughing too hard.

"HE'S SCARED OF POKEMON, PROFESSOR! PFFFFF" Silver kept cackling, Elm holding back from laughing too, his face turning red. The three starters were confused. Totodile, quite reserved. Cyndaquil was taking a nap, rolling around on the floor and lastely, Chikorita, found it's way to the red haired man laughing like a maniac, nibbled at his hand and butted it's leaf-clad head against his shoulder.

Elm noticed it and spoke

"My my. This starter Pokémon certainly doesn't seem to find you suspicious at all, seems Chikorita's taken quite a liking to you." The little green form tried to climb onto Silver's arm, whom now was standing back up, Chikorita struggling to hang onto his arm, using his elbow as a ledge with it's paws. Silver scooped it up with his other hand and placed Chikorita on his shoulder. His demeanor softened, from the mean spirited laugh, different from the cool facade he put up, and even different from the dorky interior he showed in private. He scratched the green pokemon under the chin and smiled with utmost sincerity.

"Hi there lil' fella. My name's Silverado. And I think I'm gonna call you Bjork." Chikorita let out a happy bleet at the suggestion of a nickname. "Riiitaaa!" He cried out. Picking up the Pokéball his new partner had been in, Silver headed to the door, passing Gold.

"You gonna pick one so we can get a move on?" Silver asked, the green of his Pokemon clashing with the black of his jacket and the red in his hair.

[Pacifista]

Gold felt his guts twist as his face went red. "I-I am not! I just thought it would be better to observe from a distance!" he choked. Fists clenched, he was once again tearing up as even the professor was laughing at him.

Silver(ado) making his pick, Gold furrowed his brow at the name Bjork. Moving back into the lab, letting his anger at Silver and Elm fuel him, he got as close to the lax Cyndaquil and modest Totodile as he dared. Gold swallowed as he reached his hand out to the Cyndaquil. "I think-"

Before he could finish, the Cyndaquil yawned, and with it, flame burst from its back as Gold had reached down. Feeling heat, Gold cried out, bouncing back. Luckily, his skin wasn't burned, but emotionally he had been. Gold grumbled, "Fine, I'll take that one." He nodded towards the Totodile before turning off.

"Shouldn't you give him a nickname?" Elm said, nudging Totodile after Gold.

Gold stopped, putting his hands into his hoodie pocket. "Like what?"

Elm tossed Gold and Silver the Pokéballs for their respective Pokémon as Cyndaquil lazily returned to his. "Well, something that captures the mood of the Pokémon, or your feelings towards it."

Totodile hopped up to Gold expectantly, bright eyes looking up at his new trainer.

Gold grimaced. "Antipathy." Totodile's mouth had already been hanging open, but at that, his jaw dropped low before Gold returned him to his ball. "Anti for short."

Elm let out a sigh, scratching his head. "Well, be safe."

Grabbing the case, Gold followed after Silver. "Cherrygrove's to the west." He remembered. "Also it's not Galdino, it's Gold."

[Hillan]

Silver had to put his hand in front of his face to not laugh out loud at Gold's fear of the little fire rodent. Bjork bleated a cheerful giggle at the display from where he was perched on Silver's shoulder. As Elm gave them his goodbyes, Gold turned to Silver and had a confident look on his face. "Also it's not Galdino, it's Gold." Silver smirked.

"I get it. Everyone who's called me my full-name since I was a little boy, I've punched." Bjork's leaf fell over his face, covering one of his eyes as he was trying to blow it back up, Silver gently used his finger to flick it into place, the green critter beamed with excitement, making sure to hold onto the red-haired boy's jacket.

"Why are you so scared of Pokémon anyway? Were you around when Blackthorn happened?" Silver asked, the two of them making their way out through New Bark Town.

[Pacifista]

"Who's scared of Pokémon?" Gold muttered, turning his hat around so that the visor covered his face. As the two moved from the lab, getting closer and closer to the edge of town. Within minutes, Gold would be further from home than he'd ever recalled. Luckily, the path of route 29 was clear, the dirt road stretching on, with signs noting the distance to Cherrygrove and Violet City, but still. The array of buildings and the view from his bedroom window was all too familiar to him, his step becoming a bit hesitant as he crossed the threshold into route 29 proper, quickening his pace to match Silver, who hadn't slowed down at all.

"...What are you even doing here anyway? In New Bark, I mean." Gold kept to the other side of Silver from Bjork, habitually.

[Hillan]

As Gold avoided his question, Silver figured it best not to prod the freakishly strong boy anymore, while Gold seemed to be afraid of Pokémon, Silver was far more afraid of the other boy giving him a nuggie or a galarian burn or something. He shuddered at the thought. They made their way through town, Silver keeping up the pace while Gold slowed down for some reason, as he caught the other boy getting a glazed look in his eye and hesitation in his steps.

"Holy Corphish. You've never been this far away from home, have you?" He was both amazed and intrigued.

"I've traveled all around Kanto since I was a kid. I'm here looking for someone, family actually." He said, there was a finality to his words like he wasn't interested in keeping that particular conversation going. They approached the calm Route 29, it was past noon so Silver would've assumed a route like this to be a little more lively.

[Pacifista]

"Hmmmm..." Gold mused, taking in Silver's words but not responding further, the hint very much taken. However, with that, the two were left in awkward silence as they journeyed on.

I could have just done this myself... Gold considered as the silence stretched on. Then, as if to curse him, flapping of wings erupted from a nearby tree. Despite himself, Gold jumped up, barely keeping a shriek at bay, the sound coming out as a low hiss of air. Watching a small flock of Pidgey move on, Gold glared at their behinds before turning back to Silver, getting a word in before he could. "Family, huh? Who would that be?"

[Hillan]

Silver snickered as Gold started losing it upon the sight of a startling murder of Pidgey. Bjork bleated cheerfully upon seeing other Pokémon. But his expression soured before he could tease Gold for his fear. "My parents. It's a complicated situation. We're what you'd call 'estranged'." Silver spoke as the two continued further into the Route, reaching a crossroads. One of the paths lead up into the old trail to Blackthorn, the one people had hiked on for generations but was now closed due to the situation up there. Silver longed to investigate, but he knew it would be tough to make it up the path this way, maybe impossible. And he certainly wasn't strong enough to handle whatever waited up there. Gold was moving ahead to the left as Silver pondered, before taking a quick few steps to jog back into pace with Gold.

Bjork held onto Silver's shoulder and hair with it's paws as the boy sprinted, the little green pokemon blowing in the wind.
"So, how you liking being away from home so far?" His tone was cheeky, yet not mean.

[Pacifista]

Gold didn't respond immediately. A sign nearby observed the way to Blackthorn City, and once Gold saw it, her kept his eyes away, intent on the ground he walked, as though it didn't exist.

At first Gold's expression was indignant, but after a moment, he relaxed, turning his hat so that the visor pointed backwards again. "Well, it's not that different. New Bark is practically wilderness as it is. There not being a lot of people around is weird." And my feet hurt.

Clasping his hands behind the back of his head, he admitted, "Not like it's going to be a regular thing though. After this I'm just going to go back home and do whatever until school starts again." Though Gold made that claimed, really, he had know idea what was to come. Most of the kids he grew up with were out and about on journeys with Pokémon partners on their coming of age rituals and all that junk Gold didn't care about at all. He did wince as he recalled the monster kept in a ball in his pocket, but that hardly counted if he was going back home anyway.

"Heytheekidsyounew? WannalearnhowtocatchPokémon?" Gold's heart nearly exploded, the boy crying out in surprise as a young adult pounced on them. "It'sprettyeasyyoujustdothis." He ran off, looking around until he spotted a Rattata sleeping under a tree. Arm flailing, he shot out a Pokéball, which hit the Rattata and encapsulated it. The ball shook, before bursting open, the Rattata Growling indignantly before running off. "Ohwellyouwinsomeyoulosesome. It'seasierifyouweakenit."

"...What is your problem!?" Gold cried. He just couldn't get a break, it seemed. Perhaps man was the real monster.

[Hillan]

Silver was baffled at the raw speed of the random kid who had decided to give the pair the fastest tutorial on how to catch pokémon Silver had ever seen or heard off. Gold was more annoyed than impressed, something that made the red haired boy chuckle.
"... Think he had been using some of that X Speed on himself?" Silver joked as the two made their way to cherrygrove town, finally entering the city that dwarfed New Bark Town in size.

As the two approached, they saw the police officer talking to the locals, Silver instantly turned his face away, putting his hand on Bjork to make sure his free-roaming grass critter didn't make a sound that could draw the attention of the law. Not that Silver thought he was wanted - but officers never sat right with him.

"Let's take a shortcut." He told Gold, leading them away from the cop.

[Pacifista]

"Guh," Gold grunted as Silver pulled him aside. Not even spotting the cop, he simply mumbled, "You just got here too, how would you know any shortcuts?" Still, he didn't have much choice as he was guided around, through an alleyway. As they were pulled away from any people mulling about the town, one slightly larger and more open than New Bark's forested makeup, Gold realized he had felt a relief he couldn't quite place, until a minute or so later when they came out. Feeling glances on him, Gold felt his heart starting to beat faster as his nerves got the better of him. Pulling the rim of his cap over his eyes, he grumbled, "Where the hell is 'outside Cherrygrove' supposed to be?"

"What are you two doing, skulking around!?" came a cry from above. Gold froze, not looking back towards the voice of a younger girl at the edge of the rooftop, and not moving away either. "Hey, over here!" they called in the direction of the police officers mulling about. At that point, Gold, sweat budding on his forehead, broke into a run.