Till The End

Till The End

Chapter 1: This Stuff Must Be Worth A Fortune

My vision was dark and I couldn’t hear anything except my own breathing.  All I knew was that I was awake and I was a man who very much so enjoyed sleep.  I was a heavy sleeper, and there wasn’t much that could get me to wake up.  However I was up and that meant that I most likely wouldn’t be going back to sleep anytime soon.  The ground was hard and there were many rocks that I was laying on top of but I was too lazy to get up.  I was hoping in vain that I would be able to fall back into my blissful slumber, so I did just that.  Seconds turned into minutes, minutes turned into several minutes, and I felt myself entering twilight.  I was just about to get my wish but the universe wouldn’t have that.  A tingling sensation traveled up the side of my right leg until it turned into a horrible itch.  I scratched my leg until it bled, cursed under my breath, and I sat up.

Before I go any further it is important to describe myself to you for clarification sake.  My name is Justin, and I am a man…a boy of age 17.  I am 6 foot 3 inches and I am robust to say the least.  I weigh 240lbs, and I am of white and Serbian descent.  I have hazel eyes and black hair usually gelled and combed back creating my signature “poof”.  I am wearing a bright red polo shirt with black stripes along the side.  I am also wearing grey cargo shorts that have black symbol-like patterns etched into the cloth.  (I like to call it my Charlie Sheen casual)  I have white shoes that have seen many miles and were starting to fall apart due to the heavy use of them.  I also am wearing a gold ring with a ruby on it upon my right ring finger.  It was my most prized physical possession.  In my supplies I have a black backpack that holds all the things that any aspiring Pokémon Trainer would need.  I have my Potions, Revives, Berries, food, Pokedex, Cell Phone, and TMs.  My belt holds all the essentials: 6 Pokéballs and a foot long survival knife.  You never know when you’re going to need to cut or carve something…or use it for other conventional methods.

My surroundings were unlike anyplace that I had been before.  There were crystals lining the walls of the entire cave, and they were huge.  They glittered with many colors ranging from dark green to purple.  I grabbed my belt and Pokéballs from my backpack and looped them through my shorts.  I put on my backpack and yawned while rubbing crust from my eyes.  My eyes were now seeing cash signs while looking at all the potential loot.  I couldn’t begin to imagine how much these gems could possibly be worth.  I had some room in my backpack to carry these, but I couldn’t do the job all by myself.  I knew just who to call.  [I just know the comments will be talking about Ghost Busters.]  I clicked the buttons on my Pokéballs and one by one a new Pokémon would appear in a flash.

The first one was robust like me.  He stood over 6 feet tall, and he enjoyed sleep more than I did.  [Now readers that is saying something.]  He was my first Pokémon I caught, and he is the one who best describes my personality…Relaxed and lazy.  I would occasionally feed him berries before battle to ensure he wouldn’t fall asleep or at least he would wake up instantly if he did.

The second creature was a black quadruped with yellow rings aligning his entire body.  He could glow in any darkness and his fur was like velvet.  He was the support of the team, because he could heal the party of any damage taken and stall for time.  He wore a small blue charm around his neck that he could use to restore his health.

The third creature was more machine than animal.  It (He) was a solid blue color and he had 4 mechanical arms that came out from his sides.  His item of choice was a small blue, white, and black orb that was attached to his front right arm by a metal band secured to it.  Because of this item he was gifted with the power to Mega Evolve.

My next Pokemon was a bug type whose fire burned so bright it could light up any darkness and become almost like the sun.  Her wings allowed her to glide across the battlefield and leave glowing crimson scales in her wake.  She was also able to increase her own power just by battling.  Her garment of choice was a red sash that would keep her from fainting in battle.

Our next contestant was the purest example of destruction.  The Pokedex has nothing but negative comments about how he snaps bones and destroys buildings with his tail and horns, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.  True he was a king amongst many other Pokemon but he was not the monster that he is made out to be.  His life orb was able to increase the power of his sheer force.

The last friend of mine was unconventional even by Pokemon standards.  It looks like as if it was man made, but this was not the case.  His ability to control technology meant that I never had to charge any of my electric devices and it was super convenient.  It (He) had the power to change into any machine, but he usually only traveled in only 5 or 6 select forms.  He sported a cool pair of shades that he could “lend” to battlers.

I quickly formulated a plan to collect these crystals in a timely fashion, and the group and I got working on that.  With the first, third and fifth’s great strength breaking crystals was easy.  The rest of us would either break the gems into smaller pieces to fit in my backpack or toss them into the recesses of the cave.  I just knew that these crystals would be worth some money.  Taking that a small nugget of gold was $5,000, and stardust could range from $2,900-$4,900, these should fetch me a nice profit.  Maybe I could finally afford a new Mach Bike.  My old bicycle may or may not have been totaled by yours truly.  I take that back, because I think I would look into the purchase of a few S.S. Anne tickets.  I hear the parties are great, but I had never been to one.  Soon after this process we had filled my backpack full of valuable gemstones.  I couldn’t wait to get out of here and sell these to the highest bidder.

In my greed I had failed to recollect on one simple fact.  I had no idea where I was and weirdly I still retained all of my possessions.  I couldn’t remember much from the last couple of days so there was no information I could call upon.  Although I did somewhat remember something about a mountain.  Thinking things over, there was no way that this could have been a kidnapping or a theft.  I don’t think that people would look at me as a kidnapping target due to my size, and if I was robbed why did I have all of my things.  Why was I in this cave?  Even my Pokémon were unharmed it seemed.  I began to stroke my chin in a thinking manner and I decided that there would be no good in just waiting.  I returned all my Pokémon to their retrospective balls, and I started to walk off further into the cave in hopes of finding a way out…or people, I was really wasn’t  looking forward to a battle, and I really, really wasn’t in the mood to try and outrun wild Pokémon.

Those caves all looked the same.  Everywhere I looked all I could see were crystalline structures and they all looked the same.  This would be one of the few times that escape ropes would actually be useful.  I never kept a stock of them.  I could always find my way out of caves, but this one was really messing with me for some reason.  There was a hole in one of the crystal walls, and I think I passed the same one over 5 times.  This gap in the wall looked artificial.  It looked as if someone or something blew it up.  If that were the case why wasn’t there singed ground or large amounts of debris?  The more I looked at it the more it began to look like a prison or hidden cage.  One could only enter the small cave from one way, and there was no other way in or out.  It could have been caused by natural processes.  This looked too well kept to be accidental.  I took out my knife and I attempted to carve a symbol into the rock.  It was a simple Pokéball design, but it wasn’t very good.  I was still able to tell what it was.  I took off my pack and I reached in for a drink.  I had a single bottle of water and a few lemonades.  I took out the water and I slammed it in 10 seconds flat.  I didn’t come to me that I was so thirsty.

Walking…more walking…even more walking.  “Hey it’s that same crystal structure again.”  That was what I said to myself for the last several minutes I’m sure.  I was about to stop and take a break but something was compelling me to head off in the direction I came from.  I think it was the direction that I came from, but at this point I wasn’t even sure which direction was which anymore.  As I walked the surrounding areas seemed to be clearing out.  Up ahead there was just flat bluish ground and…there was something else off in the distance.  I was beginning to think that it was a Pokémon, probably rock or steel type based on the surrounding area, I ran towards the thing and I still couldn’t tell what it was.  The object/thing grew closer and I slowed my pace in case it actually was a Pokémon.  Low and behold it wasn’t.  It was a metal mine cart attached to a track.  There was something shiny in it.  I leaned over the cart to reach for the object and I embarrassingly fell in.  The cart was deeper than it looked from the outside.  The sudden change in weight acted on the cart and momentum took over.  It started rolling along the track and I was quickly picking up speed.  “I hate roller coasters!” I yelled.  There was a deep corkscrew that seemingly went on for a couple hundred feet.  I attempted to hold in vomit, and the following swallow tasted horrible.  After the spiral descent there was a large drop ahead and I was falling at a 230 degree angle from the horizontal.  Looking ahead there was a large chasm filled with jagged looking gemstones.  I was too young to die.  I reached for the fourth’s Pokéball.  I only had 2 Pokémon who could levitate, but I only had 1 Pokémon with a set of wings.

“Volcarona, get me out of this thing!”  My friend appeared, flexed her wing muscles, and he flew after the cart.  There was a break in the tracks and a large ramp up ahead.  I closed my eyes fearing the worst. I know that she wasn’t that strong but I was hoping that she would be able to flutter me across the gap.   I flew off the ramp and I felt like I was going to throw up once more, but luckily for me Volcarona was able to catch up and she snatched me out the mid-air cart.  She was gripping me by my backpack and was struggling to keep grip on the straps, however she was able to get me to the other side and she collapsed on the ground out of exhaustion.  I know I must have been a lot of weight for her to carry.

“Thanks for the assist.  You may have just saved my life.  I owe you a couple of poffins or something like that.  Don’t let me forget.”  Volcarona nodded out of approval of my comment and she sat back up.  I returned her to her ball and I slowly approached the edge.  I saw that the cart fell down into the depths and broke into several pieces.  “That could have been me.”

I turned around to keep walking, and I soon realized that the weight on my shoulders felt different.  It was if it was lighter.  It was almost as if… Before I could say anything else I swung my backpack off of my shoulders. I had left one of the pouches open and its contents spilled out along the track.  I didn’t lose any medicine or food.  I didn’t lose my badges or my symbols.  I had lost my TM case.  I lost every TM that I had technique wise and I was surprisingly not that mad.  Don’t get me wrong I had lost several thousand dollars worth of techniques, but that didn’t matter to me.  I could always purchase some of them back when I get to the next PokeMart; I was content with the moves that my friends could perform.  Looking back at the track at certain angles I could see shiny disks aligning the track, but I didn’t care enough to call out my Pokemon to get them.  She deserved a little break.  I’ll just leave them for the next wayward adventurer.  I just wanted to get out of these mines.

Turning my back to the mine cart, I couldn’t believe my eyes.  There was a light emanating from off in the distance.  I knew that this was my way out.  Arceus took pity on a poor lost man and has shown me the way to freedom.  I had never run so fast in my life.  That may or may not have been due to my girth, but nonetheless I made it there in record time.  The distance was further than it looked and I had to stop to take another drink and to wash the horrible taste out of mouth.  ‘Nothing like good old lemonade to quench your thirst.’ I thought to myself.  I put the empty bottle back in my pack and I was now standing in the entry way to my freedom.  I took a deep breath out of sentimentality and I took one brave step into the light.  I was now standing outside and the light hurt my eyes a bit.  I partially closed my hurting eyes so that they wouldn’t hurt as much as they adjusted.  When my eyes finally came to it appeared that I was on the side of a mountain.  The view was breath taking.  The only better vantage point I could think of was on top of Mt. Coronet.  The view somehow resurfaced one of my forgotten memories.  For some reason in remembered that mountain in particular.  “Do You have the right to take away anyone’s future.”    I vaguely remember these words as well  for some reason but that was all I could remember about the last couple of days.  I most likely hit my head somewhere along the way and that was affecting my memory.

I could see for miles all around the mountain.  I saw a fancy looking city carved into part of the mountain a little ways away, and I also barely saw a small village down at the base of the great mountain.  Something compelled me to visit the small town.  I could have really gone for some genuine home cooking.  I would have been willing to pay the people down there anything for a good meal and a plush bed.  I was losing a battle with my stomach, yet the fancy city was closer to my location.  The sky was a golden orange color, and I feared that I might get lost along the mountain path in the dark.  Time was of the essence and I decided that the city in the mountain would have to accommodate for my presence.  I made my way towards the city carved into the mountain.  I was hoping this town was the equivalent of a Celadon or a Lilycove.  At least that way I could replenish some of my missing supplies.  As I walked I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being watched.  I decided to ignore it then.  Whatever it was, I was sure I could handle it.  It wasn’t the first time that I was attacked in the wild by man and beast.  Let them come.  I would be ready for them.

I gave a freebee with mentioning Volcarona by name, but try and guess the other five of my Pokémon.  I already gave you a couple of hints, and I don’t want to give too much away.  Give it a shot!

Congratulations!  You made it through the first chapter of ‘Till The End’.  This was a second attempt at my story.  I wasn’t pleased with how I began the first time and I feel that this start was more eventful.  I also tried to incorporate more of the show into the story with my choice of location and sneak peak of potential next chapters.  All comments and complaints are appreciated, and I will work to fix all issues.  This is my first story, and I hope to get better as I write more of it.  Informing me about what I do wrong will help me to prevent committing the same mistakes again.  Check in next chapter to find out if any of your guesses were correct!

-Homey De Clown.