Beyond the Adventure - A Pokémon Story

Chapter 4: New Friends, New Enemies pt2

Darius, Jaws, and I walk through the door of the dock house.  The place is relatively small, compared to the rest of the city.  The wall to our left is lined with windows where people are purchasing tickets, and at the far end of the dock house is a small noodle stand.  The place is pretty packed.  I look at the schedule postings and notice that the next ship leaving for Slateport City in Hoenn departs an hour from now.  That should give us enough time to pick up some supplies and get something to eat.  I also remember that I need to pick up that package from the Pidgey Post Office.  Darius and I get in line for our tickets, but Jaws wanders toward the noodle stand.  He watches the lady at the stand cook the noodles, stir the broth, add the toppings, and serve customers.  I watch him watch her and could not help noticing him drooling a little.  I chuckle, and let Darius know I am heading over there.  He nods and continues waiting in line.  I approach Jaws, who looks up at me, then points to the noodles.

                “Are you hungry?” I ask.  He nods and rubs his stomach.  I smile.

                I ask the lady for three bowls of noodles.  She whips them up quickly and hands them to me.  “That will be six hundred Pokédollars, please.”

                I hand her the cash and take the bowls.  I hand one to Jaws, who receives it with the biggest grin yet.  I chuckle and we walk back the line.  Darius met us halfway, tickets in hand.

                “You owe me two thousand,” he says.  “Pokémon are free only if they are inside their balls.”

                I check my wallet.  I am running pretty short on cash, with only three thousand left after the tickets.  I will have to figure out how to earn some more.  I hand Darius the money and take the tickets.  He then takes his bowl.  “Thanks, buddy!  How much do I owe you?”

                “Nah, don’t worry about it, it was cheap,” I say, smiling.  We sit at a table and eat our meals.

                After we finish, we head out of the dock house.  The wind has picked up some, feeling good against my skin.  Darius stretches, then looks at me.  “We have about an hour before the ship starts boarding,” he says.  “We have time for some training.”

                “Hmm, okay,” I say.  “What did you have in mind?”

                “First things first,” he says.  “How many Pokémon do you have with you?”

                I scratch the back of my head and smile awkwardly.  “Well, I have three, if you include the two back home…”

                Darius’ eyes go wide.  “So you only have one with you??”

                I shrug.  “And Jaws technically isn’t mine…”

                Darius grabs my arm.  “Let’s go,” he says, dragging me along.

                “Hey, where are we going?” I shout.

                “You need more than just one, especially if that one is not even yours,” he says.  “So let’s go get you a Pokémon of your own.”

                He pulls me along to the city’s main gate.  We head out and walk around for a bit.  After a few minutes, I spot a Rattata creeping through the grass.  “Hey, there’s one,” I say, pointing.

                Darius frowns.  “Certainly, there are better ones around here.  Keep looking.”

                After a few more minutes, another Rattata appears.  I suspect it is the same one, but who knows.  Darius frowns.  “All right, it’s okay.  We can work with this one.”  He tosses me a Pokéball.  “Go catch that.  The first thing you want to do is…”