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 Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 5:33 pm
Bravo, Sting! M.A. thought momentarily; it had been a nice attack, but she had to quickly remind herself that she was not a spectator in this round. That reminder soon reared its ugly head and nearly knocked her off her feet as this strange, high-pitched, bone-penetrating sound blasted through, practically sending ripples through the air. "Ay!" she yelped, clamping her hands to her ears; it was nearly impossible to concentrate with the piercing screech, and her body quivered with the discomfort of it. Of course, on Daemyn's side of it, he fared far worse with his sensitive ears -- humans weren't nearly as susceptible to supersonic sounds, naturally. The sound seemed to penetrate his entire being, throwing off every single sense and thought and warping them into a huge mess into his head. When the attack ended, M.A. saw to her dismay that the canine was badly Confused -- the Houndour wobbled to and fro, snapping at nothing with his jaws only to bite his own gums and bleed.
"Daemyn! Listen to me! Don't attack so rashly," the girl called out, taking care to enunciate her words well. If the dog attacked on pure instinct at the moment, he'd keep on biting himself like that. A moment or two latter, Daemyn stopped, having more or less comprehended her for the time being. The girl thought furiously; well, Daemyn's eyesight was fooling him, certainly, and she doubted that his sense of smell would make it to his muddled noggin (definately not his hearing, for although M.A. was all but a human, her ears were still throbbing). "Ah! Daemyn, use Smog in any direction!" she said now, watching Daemyn's clouded eyes spin around frantically, not even certain of whether her voice was a friend's or foe's. He listened a little while later, however, releasing a purplish haze throughout the field -- Sting and the Zubat were unlikely to be affected, but. . .
The Noctowl twin saw the danger in this. "Try to blow it away, Noctowl!" he cried, unwilling to have his Pokemon poisoned. Unfortuately, after Sting's strong attack, the bird was somewhat disoriented and couldn't comply immediately, or too well, with its vital points aching and making its movements sluggish. Although in a few slow flaps the field was cleared, by then the Noctowl had breathed in some of the fumes and had light, black rings around its eyes -- not a severe poisoning, but a poisoning nonetheless.
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:43 pm
"Okay! Now that all the introductions are over with, how about we get this game started?" Dylan tossed up a bright red pokeball high into the air. In a burst of white light a small brown pokemon with a white skull on it's head popped out. "Cuuuu!" the Cubone exclaimed as it pointed it's slightly thicker bone at the opponents in a 'Bring it on' movement.
This was actually one of Dylan's newer pokemon. Anthony and he had come up with a new team pokemon after thier last defeat and Cubone was a vital tool with his TM move (thought the TM had been particularly difficult to obtain).
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Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 7:13 am
If any doubt had been passing through Keegan's mind at that point, the reassuring look Kasiya had given him caused any of it to fade away. Then again, he knew they worked well as a team, and this too served as a confidence boost. He quickly followed the girl to the grassy area indicated, quickly assessing the size of the makeshift 'arena' and the surrounding terrain. There were a few trees lining either side, and the ground was free of grass and trampled down in places, obviously pointing out that this place had been used for battles and scrimmages many times before. He glanced at Kasiya once more, amused by the stance she'd taken and the confident look she wore. He'd been expecting her to send out a Pokemon, but quickly realized that she was waiting for Anthony and Dylan to send theirs out first. He smiled at this; deciding to do the same. He folded his arms across his chest and waited for the boys to show their hand first.
He'd been expecting Anthony to be the first to choose a Pokemon, and he was a bit surprised to see Dylan take a step forward and make the first choice. Instantly he recognized the small, tawny Pokemon that stood before them, waving a thick bone at them dauntingly. Cubone... he thought, scratching his chin. He'd had a bit of trouble with one of those before, not realizing it was a ground type until after it had quickly handed Themis his defeat. Let's see what Anthony has up his sleeve, the redhead thought, a stoic expression stamped across his features.
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Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 7:24 am
The aftermath of the battle with Lisa was still fresh in his mind, and Jaeshan could only reflect upon it as he found himself wandering in the direction of Celadon City. His next gym challenge lie there, although he didn’t want to challenge Erika until Torchic had grown much stronger. Lisa sure gave us a good battle that time, he thought, smiling to himself. The outcome hadn’t been quite what he’d expected, as after Lisa’s Nidoqueen had infatuated Nidoking, he’d been unable to pull himself together, which in turn, had lead to his defeat. The tall youth scratched his chin as he walked, wondering when he’d see his blue-haired friend again. They’d both won a battle and lost one now, and at some point they’d have to have a tiebreaker match, because neither of them was content with things remaining at a draw. He knew that by that time, though, their Pokemon would be a lot stronger, and it would make for a very interesting fight the day it finally did happen.
His Pokemon were fully healed after the fight, and the duo had said their goodbyes and parted ways. He didn’t know where Lisa was going, and now that he thought of it, he really didn’t know where he was going either. He could see the tall buildings of Celadon City rising up out of the horizon, and he suddenly wondered why he was heading this way in the first place. Sighing, he continued to make his way along, soon passing through the city limits and into the bustling city itself. He continued to wander aimlessly, paying little attention to the people he encountered, although he did subconsciously keep his eyes open for any signs of a pretty little blonde girl, with possibly a Vulpix or an Espeon in tow. I wonder what Ryka is up to, he thought, looking up at the Celadon Department Store somewhat blankly. Their parting of ways had been swift, and a bit harsh, and for a moment he pondered calling her, but remembered that she’d told him she’d call him when she’d found what she was looking for.
He kicked the ground with his shoe, frowning slightly. Here he was, alone again. Why was it that he couldn’t keep anyone with him? He could never keep traveling companions for more than a day or two, and he stopped walking and stared at the ground for a moment, lost in thought. It was the shrill whistle of a nearby train that pulled him from his dreary thoughts, and he looked up, and quickly made a decision. His lips were set in a tight line as his feet pounded the concrete path that lead to the train station, and after purchasing a ticket (he’d somehow lost his old one, not that it was valid anymore anyways) he handed it over and climbed aboard. I’ll go home to Littleroot, he thought. Perhaps I just need to get out of Kanto for a while. He chose a small, empty compartment and slid the door shut behind him, sliding into a seat and staring out the window. With a lurch, the Hoenn-bound train started to move forward, and Jaeshan leaned back in his seat, preparing to enjoy the ride back home.
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Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 8:02 am
The train sped onward, and Jaeshan found himself somehow devoid of thought as he stared out the window at the scenery zipping past him. He didn’t know why he wanted to go home, and a part of him was certain that he wouldn’t even go to his actual house per se, but to be home again in the Hoenn region would most likely be enough in itself. He glanced down at the row of Pokeballs decorating his belt, and unhooked the last one in line, which contained Torchic. He let the small, fiery chick out of her confinement, and she yawned sleepily. Jaeshan picked her up and held her in his lap, where she quickly went back to sleep. Jaeshan watched her for a moment or two before deciding that he would indeed go back to Littleroot Town. At one point, he knew that Professor Birch had in his possession a trio of then-newly discovered Pokemon, one of which had been Torchic. He wracked his brain for the other two, but was only able to remember one other, the small, green gecko-like Pokemon called Treecko. He could vaguely make out the bluish body of the Water-type, but couldn’t recall its name. Either way, he’d bring Torchic to the Professor’s lab (that would be if the advantageous Professor were even there and not out doing field work) and have him assess the young Pokemon for himself.
“Maybe we should take a break from collecting Kanto Gym badges,” he mumbled to himself, looking out the window once more. Perhaps he could work as an assistant to the Professor for a while. He could study under Birch’s watchful eye and learn a lot more about the Pokemon he had in his possession, and perhaps gain some insight to others that he could possibly find should he choose to adventure again at all. He closed his eyes, resting his right hand on Torchic’s head while gently stroking her soft, downy feathers with his left. He knew the young Fire-type had plenty of potential, and he silently wondered how long it would be until she would evolve. Images of the swiftly-moving Blaziken entered his mind, and with these thoughts he slowly drifted off into a half-sleep, listening to the sound of the train racing along the tracks.
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Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 4:49 pm
If Ky wasn't in the heat of battle, he'd have given a strong sigh of relief. Now that both of the opponents' Pokemon were taking damage over time, it was now up to Sting and Daemyn to just endure, though that was hard to say for both of them, since Sting was at a type-disadvantage and Daemyn was, at the moment, hurting himself.
Ky's eyes were constantly following Sting and the Noctowl, waiting for an open chance to attack. As soon as the bird's focus was diverted towards the incoming Smog, that's where Ky found his chance. "Sting, again, Fury Attack!" he called. Seeing the opening himself, Sting pounced immediately and struck unmercifully with his forearms, each of the three hits digging deep into the bird's vulnerable sides, right under its wings.
Meanwhile, the Zubat twin was laughing at what he had done to M.A.'s Houndour. "Now that I've got that mutt out of the way... Wing Attack!" he cheered, pointing directly at Sting.
"Sting, look...!" Ky screamed desperately, but it was too late. Whether it was revenge for missing its previous attack, or just pure adrenaline, something drove the Zubat past its natural abilities. Its movements rivaled that of a Quick Attack and gave Sting no room to avoid the sickening blow that was about to come.
The bluish-purple blur crashed straight into the Bug's abdomen, forcing Sting to collide into the nearest tree with a disgusting crunching sound. For a brief moment, Sting was held pinned to the tree, keeling over in mid-air. His body was beyond the state of shock and the force of the blow had sent a small visible stream of insect dribble flying from the Beedrill's mouth. The impact had been so strong, anyone watching would have sworn that time had stood still. And with that, the Zubat retreated, leaving Sting to fall to the forest floor.
Ky was already sprinting by the time the attack ended and after guessing what was about to happen, Little Guy left his shoulder. With a heroic dive, Ky landed just before Sting, offering his back to cushion the landing. Being a fairly heavy Pokemon, it hurt quite a bit, but nothing could really hurt him as much as the guilt he was feeling at that moment. Ky coughed twice. "Sting? Sting... you all right... buddy?" he asked in a miserable tone of hope. As expected, there was no answer, not even a twitch. Now buried in regret, Ky slowly reached back to grab Sting's Pokeball as he lay face first on the ground, and by aiming it behind his back, returned Sting to rest.
In the background, the Zubat boy cheered, "Way to go, Zubat! You taught that stupid wasp who's boss!" but Ky ignored him.
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Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 5:05 pm
Anthony nodded after Dylan sent out his Pokemon, but was a bit disappointed to see that Keegan and Kasiya were waiting for him as well. He was hoping that they would've sent a grass Pokemon in response, but it seemed they were being properly cautious. With a swift motion of his hand, he grabbed a Pokeball with a Greek letter that looked exactly like an 'A'. "All right! Let's go Alpha!" he called, throwing the ball right next to Dylan's Cubone. Out of its white light came a duck-like Pokemon with a sprig of green onions held in its left wing. It pointed its 'sword' in a very similar way as the Cubone, and gave its partner a wink. They had just recently become teammates, but they knew just as much as their trainers how well a Flying-Ground team would work.
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Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 7:46 pm
The vicious attack had done quite a number to the Noctowl, and it wavered uncertainly in the air. All those critical hits on these critical areas had taken its toll on the bird, and with that last attack, its side ached so terribly that the bird could not find the strength to continue flying; rather, it plummeted to the ground with an ungainly heap. "C'mon, get up, Noctowl! You're not done and out yet!" its trainer cried -- and apparently, he was right, for after a few moments of regaining itself the bird pushed itself back to a standing position. It seemed more or less unable to fly at the moment, however, as seen from its feeble (and apparently painful) attempts at flapping its wings), and anyone could see that every breath pained it from the poison that was steadily doing its damage. Its trainer bit his lip, but did not recall it -- there was no way his bird could succumb to just a little bit of poisoning and a few attacks from a wasp!
"Send out your next Pokemon already, ya weakling!" the boy bluffed, trying to cover up his shakiness from his own Pokemon's decreasing stamina. "Let's make it four on four, and please don't waste our time with your next one!"
Mary-Anne had watched with horror as Sting crashed into the tree, her teeth grinding harshly as she cringed from the sound of the impact. Oh god, I hope he's okay, she thought. . . That last blow, Sting. . . But upon the twins' words. And apparently, Daemyn had calmed down his mind enough to at least not see triple and comprehend his trainer's voice from all the other sounds. His sense of smell was returning quicker than the rest, and although it hurt his head to think too much, he could at least know the general area of his opponents. "Daemyn! Hang in there, buddy! Let's give one back for Sting, and --" the girl stopped. No, she couldn't have Daemyn use Ember now, especially when he was confused as he was; if he missed, he'd set the forest on fire. And as Zubat was in the air, the only sure target he could hit physically was -- "hit that Noctowl with Bite, right in front of you!" The dog bounded into action with a snarl, biting into air viciously once too soon but found his target afterwards, his fangs sinking into the bird. Mary-Anne averted her eyes as the bird screeched before tripping over itself; her anger was gone now, and was only filled with compassion for the poor thing. Really, she was too soft for this. . .
"Aw. . . you. . . You'll pay for that one! Go, Wopper!"
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Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 8:39 pm
"Weakling?" Ky thought as he pushed himself up from the ground. This was no time for regret; this battle was still going and he needed to back M.A. up. "Nice one Daemyn!" he called when the Noctowl was taken out, but grumbled a bit when a Wooper took its place. "These guys are playing our weaknesses too well," he thought. What worried him the most was whether the Zubat's trainer knew about Natu's weakness to Dark-attacks. If he didn't, Ky needed to take the Zubat out before he figured it out.
Ky didn't need to release the bird since it was already out, though Little Guy wasn't very sure what to do as he glided in circles around the battlefield. "Night Shade the Zubat!" Ky called out finally. With little hesitation, Little Guy began charging up the dark black energy around his body before releasing it like a shadow missile up towards the Zubat.
Since its wing was still badly burnt, the Zubat had no choice but to take the Shade. Its body reacted as if pure energy was simply sucked straight out of it, causing it to falter as it attempted to keep itself in the air. With the burn still causing further damage to its wing, it was obvious that the Zubat would faint with one more attack. "Zubat! Astonish!" the boy called out. The Zubat then disappeared from where it was and reappeared right above Little Guy's flight path.
Unable to dodge the Ghost-attack, Little Guy braced for the impact. Because of his weakness towards Ghost attacks, it hurt much more than normal and forced him into a spiral until he crashed into a nearby bush. Ky knew Little Guy was all right, but things were still not looking good at the moment. The boy's Zubat was still flying after all.
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Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 9:02 pm
Oh yeah. That's a type weakness for Daemyn. xD Didn't actually think of that.
By the end of Ky's compliment, Daemyn had snapped out of his confusion. Granted, he still felt a bit woozy, but at least he could see and smell about as well as he ever did -- his ears still ached a bit, but no matter. The Houndour was back in action and ready to get some real kick-butt in. Besides some self-inflicted damage and the light throbbing in his head, he wasn't too injured after all.
The Pokemon looked back at its trainer, nodding with a wolfish grin to assure that he was fully there again. Mary-Anne could only smile softly before her eyes spun up towards the battlefield once more and hardened. This was what a trainer did; she wouldn't hesitate from it now. Besides, Daemyn, Little Guy, all the Pokemon on the field. . . They didn't look like they'd hesitate either. Hesitate from the pain.
Or maybe they didn't see it as inflicting pain. . . Maybe they saw it as a pure battle. A challenge. A way to grow stronger.
"Daemyn, glad to see ya back! Give that Zubat another taste of your Ember!" she called out finally, no longer afraid. Daemyn was more than happy to comply, fueling himself off of Mary-Anne's confidence -- with a feral snarl, he released a ball of flames hotter than the last, said fireball spiraling through the air towards the Zubat.
The Wooper wobbled from side to side, simplistically happy to be out and about. "Hey, hey, now, let's get going! Wooper, let's make sure that puppy doesn't keep spouting out fire like that! Mud Bomb!" The Wooper gave an aloof grin before blowing its cheeks up, reaching backwards, then shooting forwards a huge ball of what seemed to be mud. For such a playful Pokemon, it sure was quite skilled -- the attack landed square, blinding Daemyn and inflicting quite a bit of damage. A super-effective hit, no doubt. The Pokemon roared with ill-humored surprise and frustration. Goodness, he'd just gotten his senses back, and now he couldn't see again?
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Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 11:01 pm
"Zubat, return!" the boy called out. A red beam soon hit the Zubat just moments before the fireball did, leaving the fireball to shoot off towards the high canopy, where it eventually burned out without harm. "See? I'm not stupid enough to let my Pokemon get knocked out," the boy said with a sly smile. Though Ky had been able to shrug their previous insults with ease, this one seemed to hit home, giving him a very sinking feeling in his gut.
The boy then brought his finger up to his chin with an even broader grin. "Speaking of stupid, I wonder if my Totodile can actually help in this battle. There's no way he could lose against that mutt over there, though I wouldn't be surprised."
Ky raised an eyebrow. "What's this kid getting to?" he thought.
The kid then gave a sigh and said very seriously, "Sorry bro, but I don't have any other choice." With a very disappointed look on his face, the boy lazily threw a Pokeball out, where instead of landing and bursting open, it simply rolled to an unanticipated stop. Ky looked very curiously at the ball. Did he throw out an empty one on accident? This almost made Ky laugh until he looked back up at the boy, who looked absolutely fuming with rage. "Get OUT! Get OUT! Get out you.... YOU.... STUPID HEAD!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. With almost every word, the boy threw down his foot to stomp, as if trying to knock the Pokemon out of the ball that way. It wasn't until he was finished yelling though, that the Pokemon came out, and when it did, Ky couldn't help but stare at it.
At the Academy, Ky learned a lot about the starting Pokemon offered by Professor Elm, and knew almost everything about their basic stats and attributes. The one sent out by this kid was... well... small. Not terribly small like a baby Pokemon, but it was noticeably not the 2 feet that it should have been. And along with that, it had a terrible scar leading from its right nostril all the way to its unopened right eye. And finally, along with the scar, the Totodile wore a look that was full of loathing, loathing... and sadness.
Ky almost stood speechless, but couldn't keep it in. "What... what hap...?" he started to ask before he was cut off by the kid.
"It doesn't matter. Hey Stupid, Water Gun at the dog!" the boy said quickly. The boy's Totodile seemed to give off a very hesitant sigh before rearing back to launch the attack.
"Little Guy, Teleport! Deflect its attack!" Ky countered. Still tangled in the bush, Little Guy made quick work to spot the Totodile. Once he did, he immediately disappeared and reappeared right above the Big Jaw Pokemon. Though it wasn't technically an attack, Little Guy found a means of 'deflecting' the Water Gun; that scar looked quite vulnerable.
As soon as Little Guy dug his claws into the Totodile's eye, the Water-Pokemon immediately released its attack, though the weak spray careened off towards the other twin. The Totodile then screeched in unimaginable agony, trying unsuccessfully to pry the terrible little bird's talons out of its eye with its stubby arms. At first it seemed normal, but when it continued at such a high-pitch for such a long time, Ky could tell something was wrong. This wasn't any simple cry of pain; this was torture.
"Stop Little Guy!" Ky shouted in horror at what his Pokemon might have been doing. The bird immediately backed down, leaving the small crocodile to roll on its side, trying to comfort its eye with its short arm. Instead of getting back up, it continued to roll back and forth, seeming to try very hard not to whimper. Every once in a while though, it would let out a snort, one that sounded a lot like crying.
After a few seconds of watching this, the boy was looking furious once again, even more so than before. "GET UP YOU STUP...!"
"SHUT UP!" Ky screamed at the top of his lungs, startling the boy and giving him such a glare that the boy actually gulped and stepped back in fear. Ky's attitude had changed drastically. This trainer; this kid; he couldn't believe it. How could this kid be so cruel; couldn't he see his Pokemon was in terrible pain? How could he... how could he be so...? For once, Ky had the urge to simply beat this kid senseless. He didn't care how much older he was. This kid needed to feel pain, real pain. Ky wanted to see him cry, cry while he kicked him on the ground. Slowly and dangerously, Ky started to step forward.
"I... I..." the kid stammered. He almost looked like he was going to whimper as well. "I..."
"Send out another Pokemon...," Ky said quietly, "before I MAKE YOU!" he growled.
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Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 6:58 am
Cubone... Kasiya thought, watching the small Ground-type swinging its bone club in a frightful manner. Her gaze then turned to Anthony as he sent out his first Pokemon. She instantly recognized the duck-like Pokemon, remembering the sweet boy she'd battled a while ago had one. The Farfetch'd stood easily double the height of the Cubone, but neither Pokemon looked like it seemed to bother them. The smug looks plastered on both of Anthony and Dylan's faces over their choices, though, were a bit frustrating to look at, and Kasiya narrowed her eyes at the two Pokemon before glancing at Keegan. They must think we're too dumb to see the combination they've got all planned out. she thought angrily, already quite certain she'd figured out the main part of the boys' strategy. Already she knew exactly what Pokemon not to send out, and her hands lightly graced the sides of each of her Pokeballs, making it seem like she was unsure of which Pokemon to send out. She selected one from her belt, and smiled at it before enlarging it with a click of the silvery button. "Let's show them who not to mess with! Let's go, Fang! It's playtime!" With a fluid, graceful motion, the red and white sphere flew from her hand and sailed straight up into the air. The fourth Pokemon she'd ever captured burst from his confinement in the usual shower of green and golden sparkles, making for quite a spectacular entry into the battle. The shiny green Crobat let out a terrible, ear-splitting screech as his four powerful wings carried him up into the skies, and he did his routine three laps of the battlefield before coming to stop in front of his trainer. Not one of his wings made a sound as he treaded the air above the ground, patiently awaiting the entry of Keegan's Pokemon.
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Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 8:15 am
The manor was silent and utterly devoid of light, save for the dim brightness coming from a small desktop lamp from one room high up on the second floor. A boy of approximately sixteen was still awake despite the late hour, pouring over several think books, his pen scratching at an equally thick notebook as he struggled to make notes of all the information he was taking in. Sighing deeply, he ran a hand through his stubborn, blonde hair and let his pen clatter to the desk before he noisily cracked the knuckles of his writing hand. "This is impossible," he muttered, placing both elbows on his desk and burying his face in his hands. Through the spaces between his fingers, he glared at the various medical tomes taking up the majority of room on his desk with ire, wishing there were a way he could get out of this nonsensical studying he'd had forced upon him by his parents. Then, looking around with almost obsessive paranoia, he slid open his desk drawer as quietly as he could, and pulled a much smaller, but far more friendly book from its depths. He ran his fingers over the smooth cover a few times before opening it and beginning to read, even though he already had every word, from cover to cover, committed to memory.
It was then that there was a gentle, yet familiar knock at his bedroom door, and the boy let out a startled gasp, quickly shoving the book underneath his notebook just as the door opened a split second later. A middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair, and kind grey eyes stood in the doorway, wearing a clean, white apron around his midsection. He carried a silver tray with a steaming mug of something and a scrumptious-looking sandwich, and he was still dressed in his uniform in spite of the hour being very late. He cleared his throat and strolled across the room, setting the tray on the corner of the desk. "Master Jaeshan," he said, his voice soft and a bit tired, "still burning the midnight oil, are we?"
((It's amazing what kind of things you can think up while waiting out a three-hour rain delay for your race to start again. =P ))
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Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 8:18 am
Jaeshan turned in his seat to study the man, and smiled. "Yeah," he said finally, the exhaustion in his voice quite clear even though he'd uttered but one word. It appeared that he had more to say, but he was unable to word his thoughts into a coherent sentence, and he found himself sighing yet again.
"I've brought you a snack, young Master, as well as a nice hot cup of Chai tea to give you an energy boost while you study." The servant gave a slight bow before pushing a few of the books to the side to make room for the serving tray.
"Thank you, Martin," Jaeshan said gratefully, a wistful look appearing on his face. "I really appreciate it, but shouldn't you be getting some rest?"
"Forgive my presumptuousness, young Master, but so should you."
"Touché," Jaeshan chuckled, reaching for the mug. He held it up; breathing in the delicious aroma and already could feel a bit more energized from the scent alone. He loved Chai tea more than any other beverage in the entire world, and it was one thing that could tear him away from whatever troubles were on his mind. He took a careful sip and set the mug down, looking down at his notes in dismay. "It's just his work," he mumbled, slamming shut a particularly heavy volume. "I never wanted to become a doctor, let alone a surgeon. But it appears I have no choice in the matter. My mother is so adamant about it she won't hear a word of it otherwise, and my father, well..." The disgust in the youth's voice lingered in the air like thick, heavy cigarette smoke, and he closed his eyes, not wanting to think ill of his parents, but he found himself unable to do so.
"I understand your frustrations, young Master, but your mother only wants you to be successful," Martin said gently, already knowing both sides to this argument by heart. "Your father keeps his distance because you know he dislikes confrontation. Perhaps if you tried speaking with him?" He asked, although he was sure he knew what Jaeshan would say in reply. He kept his place, a sympathetic look stamped on his slightly aged features.
"My father won't listen to me," Jaeshan shot back, although he quickly resented the tone he'd taken with his lifelong friend. "He'll take my mother's side. He always does," he said finally, closing his eyes. He could feel the angry tears welling up in the corners of his eyes, and he wiped them away somewhat furiously. "I don't want to study medicine."
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Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 8:21 am
Martin already knew what would come next, and he placed a gentle hand on Jaeshan's shoulder to preempt the boy's upcoming rant. "Then go do what you want to do. You know what you want, so you should go do it before it's too late and you regret the path you've taken." His voice was stern, but filled with kindness, and Jaeshan knew in his heart that Martin was right. He had to follow his own dreams, even though he knew it would upset his parents. "I'll leave you for now, young Master. If you need anything, let me know." The butler bowed slightly again, and turned to exit the boy's room.
"Martin?" Jaeshan called out, causing the butler to pivot on a heel to look at him again. "Thanks," he said finally.
"You're welcome, Master Jaeshan. Good night."
Martin's words echoed in his mind as he sipped his tea and ate his sandwich, and he found he could not ignore the servant's advice, even if he wanted to. Taking up a profession in medicine would just leave him bitter and angry, and he knew that any patients in his care wouldn't receive the full attention they deserved if he was unhappy with his career choices. He glanced at the clock and frowned, realizing it was much later than he'd initially thought it was. Muttering to himself about wasted time, he gathered up the books one by one and set them in their places on his bookshelf, determined to leave them there from now on. The only book remaining on his desk had been the one he'd been hiding from his family for as long as he could remember. It was a well-worn trainer's guide, given to new students at the Pokemon Academy in Rustboro City. He'd stumbled across a copy in the discount bin several years ago when he and his mother had been out shopping for yet another load of medical books, and he'd bought it with his own allowance. Even though he tried to focus on his studies, he always found himself coming back to that guidebook, knowing that the life of a trainer was exactly what he wanted. As he stood there in his room, staring at that book, he made a mental vow to visit with the local Pokemon Professor first thing tomorrow morning, and see what the Pokemon Expert had to offer advice-wise about becoming a trainer.
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