Pokemon Kanto adventure-Ghostly beginnings

The school of hard knocks

[A thick blanket of fog covered over the dense forest they were in, making visibility a near zero as the pair of traveling Pokémon Trainers walked through the woods. It was hard to see their hand in front of their face, let alone the path they were walking on. The intense fog was unnerving for everyone, but moreso for Marcus, who kept complaining the whole time]

Marcus:I can't see where I'm going. We're never gonna get to Vermilion City if this fog doesn't clear up.

Marcus:How can I even battle against other Trainers if I can't see them?

[Finally, Brock had enough, and he stopped in the middle of the trail] Brock:I think we all need a little break! [he announced, placing his backpack on the ground and rummaging through it. Opening the top pocket, he began to unpack everything from a little fold-out table to little tableware and plates for them to eat on while Marcus looked on in silence. It was still so interesting to watch Brock set up for afternoon lunch and see the former Gym Leader's motherly side kick in] Why don't I just throw a little something together. Ah! [Standing up, Brock was holding a coffee pot] There's nothing as satisfying as a cup of one hundred percent Cerulean coffee. A kid like you is too young for this stuff, but it's really quite good [Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a purple container with a pop-tab] How 'bout some prune juice?

Marcus:I think I'll pass... [He murmured with a disgusted look on his face]

Brock:Well, I have some tea if that's not your thing [Brock continued, not looking at Marcus, but suddenly whipped around and showed him a beautiful china set with Pokémon engraved in blue on the surface of them] Lucky for you, I brought my official Pokémon tea set [Marcus stared at the tea set, flabbergasted and unsure of what to say] Now, of course, the key to good tea and coffee is good water and Placing the tea set down on the fold-out table, he went back into his Mary Poppins bag] And I just happen to have a generous supply of sparkling, delicious Mt. Moon spring water! [Finally pulling it from his bag, he held forward a bottle of water with a label showing Mt. Moon in all its glory like it was a trophy he had just won at a special conference] And for 'ze special snack I 'ave for you some crepes [he said with a French accent, and immediately started to prepare it in a mixing bowl with a whisk] Uh, by the way, I can't cook crepes and I can't boil water if I don't have a fire. You're going to have to go into the forest and carry back some firewood.

Marcus:Yeah, I'm going... [He moaned, knowing that it was going to come to this eventually. He let out a sigh, and dragged his feet off the path, leaving Brock behind to prepare everything for lunch as he went off to find firewood]

-=0=-

[Hands folded behind his head, Marcus's feet crunched over the pine needles that he could barely see, as his eyes scanned through the thick white cloud that seemed to follow all around him and preventing him from finding anything at all. He had been searching forever, though in reality it was probably only fifteen minutes, but he was still empty-handed] Marcus:Here, firewood! Here, firewood! [he called, as if it were going to come bounding up to him] No firewood here [His arms slumped down as if something had drained all his energy, and he let out a moan] Why do I have to do all the dirty- [Before he could continue, a light through the thick fog caught his eye up ahead] Hm? Hey, that looks like a fire!

[Though the fog made it hard to see, it wasn't doing much for sound, and as he got closer, he could hear murmuring about Pidgey, and the whirring of a machine. But as Marcus got closer, he heard a crash, and a figure fell and was thrown off from a treadmill, where it collapsed onto its knees] ???:I'm sorry... I forgot...

????:You forgot, huh? [another voice repeated, and Ash realized that there were five other figures standing around the treadmill, the light coming from the five figures holding candles] And you call yourself a Pokémon Tech student? Well, we don't want to study with the likes of you.