Categories > Anime/Manga > Pokemon > Made of Stone

Taking Sides

by IWCT 0 reviews

Sometimes proving that you are strong is insane

Category: Pokemon - Rating: PG - Genres: Drama - Characters: Other - Published: 2006-01-16 - Updated: 2006-01-16 - 2031 words

2Insightful
When Mel reached the sycamore Matt was already there, participating in yet another glaring contest with his bulbasaur. Lapis nodded at the saurian pokemon, and then followed his human around the tree where she stood stock still.

"Today just isn't my day, is it?" she muttered, looking at Alex and Corazon, sitting against the other side of the tree.

"No, it isn't," Alex confirmed, not looking up as he was going through his pokedex.

Mel sighed, and went to sit between the two. Matt was not what she would call communicative, and Alex was not her choice of company after this morning. She hoped the others would show up soon.

Holding her knees up to her chin in a one armed embrace she looked down at Lapis. He had gone into his shell. Hardly a ringing endorsement.

"How much longer until ten?" she asked the silent air.

"Twenty three minutes," Alex replied emotionlessly.

Mel got out her pokedex, and began amusing herself by looking up the information for the other pokemon that had been given out. She wondered how their battle would be, considering that there were six of them and no pokemon center until they reached Viridian. Pallet was too small to have its own center - plus, most thought that the Professor's lab was a fine place to heal pokemon. And it was, of course, just that Mel doubted that anyone felt like starting out their journey by running back to the Professor to have a quick heal up.

"Heeeeeeeeey, now! Why the long face?" Mel looked up into the cheerful grin that was ardorning Chris's face.

"Just bored, when'd you get here?" Mel asked.

"Oh, I was here first, I just went to take a bit of a walk when Mr. Happy and the Vampire showed up," Chris told her, sitting down next to Mel. She noticed his abra was still in the pokeball etched with the All-Seeing Eye that was the symbol of psychics everywhere.

"Really? What are vampires, anyway? I've always meant to ask," Mel said, feeling very brave for questioning him.

"It's something my sister told me about," Chris replied easily. "She told me once long, long ago before pokemon existed there used to be monsters that roamed the night seeking blood to make people's lives a misery. Somehow, I thought it fit tall, dark, and arrogant, over there."

"It seems a little weird that seeking blood makes someone's life a misery," Mel suggested, not daring to turn and see the black expression on Alex's face, in case it sent her in a fit of giggles.

"Not only that, we all know that pokemon have existed on this planet since before human beings evolved," Alex said coldly, not turning to look at either Mel or Chris. "It's the only explanation as to why they are more genetically advanced than we are. You're just spouting stories that we leave behind with the nursery."

"I can see why you went for a walk," Mel told Chris dryly.

"Yeah, hey, just so I won't have to deal with his gloating face when he wins, can I battle you, Wash Pot?" Chris asked pleadingly.

"Well," Mel began, she had rather wanted to destroy Alex's good opinion of himself.

"Yeah, I know, but I don't want to lose to Scott, and Matt would pound Raindancer into the ground. Alex wouldn't be much better. You're the only sensible one when you battle, and even if you want to wipe the smirk off his face that badly, we all have a reason to want it at one time or another so you've got to get in line," Chris continued, winding down, as he saw her expression. "What?"

"How did you know - ?" Mel began.

"He is a psychic, Girl. Don't you ever listen in class? The only way to get a psychic pokemon as enthusiastic as Raindancer was this morning is to bring them in to contact with a psychic human, particularly if both the human and pokemon are in the developmental stages of their powers," Alex said patronizingly from one side of the tree. "And I do suggest you take his offer. It's the only way that your squirtle will have a hope in Heck of winning with you training him."

"So, you think that just because I'm me I'll need to face an abra who only knows teleport in order to win?" Mel said, her fist shaking beside her on the grass.

"Yes."

"Stuck up twat," Chris muttered in annoyance at Alex. "When Raindancer becomes a kadabra then you'll be laughing out the other side of your face."

"Hmph," Alex managed to insert an audible smirk in that sylable.

They were quiet for a while, young tempers cooling off, and switching to another topic of interest without much thought.

"So - what's it like being psychic?" Mel wanted to know.

Suddenly only the sound of rustling from the long grass near by filled the silence that had bloomed around the tree.

Chris was looking nervous, as all ears were suddenly riveted on what he had to say. For the first time in his career as a comedian and class clown he was at a loss for words.

Raindancer/, he asked uncertainly, /er, what can I do?

At the moment almost nothing, /the abra told him from the depths of the pokeball. You can tell when people are lying, occassionally even what they're thinking if they're thinking it loudly enough, or are in close physical proximity, and there's the bond between us, but nothing else./

"Well, uh, not much different from being normal, I think. I can feel Raindancer in my head all the time - and I know if someone's lying, but that's about it," he finally managed after Raindancer supplied the answers. Even from her pokeball she could contact him, and that made him nervous.

"Oh," said Mel. She heard a soft scooting sound, and suddenly noticed that both Matt and Alex had moved towards the side of the trunk furthest away from Chris.

The conversation died and Chris picked up a blade of grass in order to make it into a whistle. Mel watched with a detatched air, until Lapis shot out of his shell, and Raindancer released herself from her pokeball, and they both began to berate Chris about the godawful noise. Pokespeech overlayed with thought, however, wasn't any better.

"Okay, okay, I'm quitting!" Chris gave in. "Hey, who just chuckled?!"

Melamine stuck her head around the tree trunk and looked to see Alex smirking and Matt restraining his bulbasaur. Corazon was not looking happy, either. However the charmander had curled herself comfortably in Alex's lap, and it did not look as if she intended to move. Mel sighed. She wished she got on as well as that with Lapis.

"Hiya guys, have fun waiting?" Scott called.

He and Adam were walking up the track together. Bolt was sitting on Adam's head, holding onto the spikey hair and surveying the landscape with the interest of someone who doesn't get to be high up very often. Scott had stuck his zubat in her pokeball, senseibly. The bat wouldn't enjoy the glare of the morning sun all that much.

"So, I thought to be fair to everyone," Scott continued, "we could roll dice to see who gets to battle who, and who gets to go first. I have a die with me. We could match up oppisite numbers. Who ever rolled one would have to battle whoever rolled six, and two would battle five, and three would battle four, see? And if you got a number that someone else already rolled then you would just have to roll again. Okay with everyone?"

Alex stood up and nodded curtly as Mel, Adam, and Chris chorused "Yes," while Matt just shrugged.

"Right, we'll do this oldest to youngest," Scott said, "I'll roll first, then Chris, then Matt, then Wash Pot, then Adam. Alex won't have to go."

He rolled a two, and Chris scooped up the die, shook it around half heartedly, and let it drop. He rolled another two, and sighed. Picking it up he began again.

"I think I see the flaw in your system," Matt commented shortly. "We could be at this until the sun goes down."

Chris rolled a six, and then handed the die off to Matt. Matt took it and rolled a three. Mel picked it up, and shook it, her heart in her mouth. This would be her first real pokemon battle.

"We're not doing this for money, are we?" Chris voiced the question that she had been thinking as Mel dropped the die.

She had rolled two, and scooped that false roll up as Scott answered, "nope."

"And what about healing our pokemon?" Mel wanted to know as she let the die fall once more. Two again! " Hey, are these rigged?"

"No, you're just unlucky," Adam joked, although he looked concerned. "What about healing, Scott?"

"Er," Scott began.

"I have a spare potion," Alex volunteered.

Mel felt guilty as she picked up the six her third roll had produced. She should have thought of that. She had enough healing supplies with her to last for a month. How dare Alex upstage her?!

"I can toss in a few potions as well," she told them all. "And I also have a few berries. Between what we all have I think we can start on the right foot. Oh, not another six!" she groaned.

"Hey, you know what they say," Adam quipped, "third time's the charm."

"This is my fifth," Mel told him, before revealing another two.

"Yeah, this really is a flawed system," Chris yawned. "Why don't those who have rolled just choose who they want to battle, in order of highest to lowest. I'll take Wash Pot."

Scott was about to protest (after all, he had rolled two,) but Matt cut in. "Alex, your charmander versus my bulbasaur."

The other five young trainers stared at Matt incredulously. Why on earth was Matt doing this? He didn't dislike Alex any more or less than the rest of them did, and Alex had never singled out the brown haired boy for any special tounge lashings.

Alex smirked. "You really want to take on fire with grass? At least tell me the name of your bulbasaur so we'll know what to put on the tombstone. Unless you want to reconsider."

"I don't. She'll make her own name."

"Well, I guess that just leaves Adam and me," Scott said, sounding far away.

Matt was too suicidal for anyone to challenge his choice of battle at the moment, and Alex's last comment about grave stones had crossed a line that shouldn't have been crossed.

"Well, um good," stated Chris, in the same distant voice. "Can me and Wash Pot go first?"

"Sure."

((AN: Thanks to all of you still reading this. I've had midterms and haven't been able to update regularly, what with getting used to school being back in session, and all (hey, it only took four months, I'm improving). I'll try to correct that.

As a side note, I actually did try the thing with the die to see who would pair up against whom, and yes, I got bored when it seemed that I could only roll six and two, so I just decided at random who to pair together. I didn't want Alex and Mel to face off immediately, and while Chris and Scott will become unfriendly towards one another as the story progresses I didn't want to start that rivalry until the gang meet up again, and everyone has time to gloat about the pokemon that they have (or haven't) caught. Plus, I wanted you guys to get to know Matt and his bulbasaur (she will get a name, don't worry) a bit more. He's a fun character, and going to be quite important.

Anyway, coming soon is the next chapter Chris vs. Mel. Not a very original title I know, but this isn't the most original story.

Any comments, questions/ suggestions can be given to me via the reveiw button, or the metarate function. I wish you all (in Vash the Stampedic terms) LOVE AND PEACE!))
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