Adventures in the Insane: A Pokemon Story

Three Thumbtacks and a Picnic Basket

     "If you had come quietly, all this running about could have been avoided," Alan spoke matter-of-factly. Sam squirmed in his grip and I could see Kai trying to work out what to do to get out of Grovyle's clutches. Jay, however, just stood there looking rather amused and giving me a weird look, I would go so far as to say his eyes were twinkling with the slowly rising moon. 
     "You had to know we'd look for you here if you ran," Jay smiled coolly. Big dumb jerk with his tall lanky figure and sparkly hazel eyes that didn't seem to miss a thing. Unlike Alan, our little plot in escaping back at the house, wouldn't have worked on him; he pretty much noticed everything in a fight. 
     "I'm going to rip your stupid tongue out through your nostrils," Sam hissed between Alan's fingers, her dagger eyes set on kill mode. 
     "Tut tut, dear Samantha," Sam flinched- she hated when people called her by her full given name. "Now I know you don't mean that." Alan's index finger slid down Sam's jawline, tucking under her chin and making her face him instead of glaring sideways at him. 
     "What makes you say that?" She hissed, or purred, it was very hard to explain how she spoke. Most everything she did was hard to explain, she had such an animalistic air about her both admirable and terribly frightening; but, Alan was looking at her so strangely, exuding such confidence that I feared an explosion of arrogance and anger was going to be ignited. 
     "How soon you forget Lavaridge," Alan faked a blow to his ego no one believed, especially after Sam blushed and turned away plastering another vile grin on his face. "Ah, I knew you'd come around. Now then, about our pl- What's wrong?"
     Alan finally looked back at us- Jay, Rebecca, Keiko, and I- startled by our collective stare of confusion. 
     "Lavaridge?"
     "Soon?"
     "Forget?"

Grovyle
     Flaming cakes? See I can do it too. 
Kai
     Shut up!

     "What are you guys talking about? We never went to Lavaridge. Or at least its been a few years." My face was still pulled up on one side as I stared mystified at the rarely blushing Sam and frequently egotistical Alan. 
     "Forget it!" Sam shouted. 
     CHOMP!

Grovyle
     OW!
Kai
     Neener, neener!

     Kai dropped out of Grovyle's arms, having recently placed a bite mark on one, and rolled down the steps executing a perfect somersault into the air and landing in my awaiting arms. 
     "Your turn, Sam!" Rebecca yelled. "Bite him!"
     "I don't think she will," Alan teased Sam by loosening his grip, but she made no effort to escape, a very unlike Sam thing to do. 
     At this point Jay took the jibes as a distraction and rushed at Rebecca and I, scooping up Keiko to replace the lost hostage and standing a good distance away so we couldn't try anything. Though that didn't stop Keiko from acting; she immediately licked the full length of Jay's exposed arm. 
     "Ugh! Keiko! That's so gross!" She wiggled out of Jay's arms and ran back towards me. "Kristen! What have you been teaching her?!" 
     I shrugged. "Bad manners. What else?"
     "Is this all really necessary?" Rebecca was blocking the Squirtle twins and I from another offensive strike Jay might attempt, her glare set on Alan trying not to hover between him and Sam to discern what exactly happened in Lavaridge. 
     "Very well put, Rebecca." 
     "Aaaaaahhhhh!!" I just about jumped two feet out of my skin nearly squeezing poor Kai to death, the new voice being directly behind me. I whipped around to glare at the intruder. "Ken!" 
     "Ken!" Rebecca glomped Ken happily. A great deal taller than her, his hair color suggested he was old enough to be her father, but Ken was actually a few years older than I was and very proper. 
     "Hello," he laughed. What can I say? Rebecca is too cute and spirited to not love, even when she's attacking you with hugs upon arrival. 
     "Ken, so nice of you to finally join us. Will you help us convince these lovely ladies to come along on our journey to the North," Alan had promptly let go of Sam per Ken's arrival. 
     "Convince? Ha! That would've been at least a little courteous! Chasing us across the region, is not the proper way to persuade someone into doing something you want them to do!" I shot Alan a glare and gave Jay a look challenging him to say they had done otherwise. 
     Ken sighed. "You didn't even ask them if they wanted to go first?" He shook his head in exasperation. 
     "Well," Jay tried and failed. No one gets past my look~
     "Ladies," Ken turned, looking the three of us in the eyes. "Would you like to join us on our expedition from Snowpoint to Sunnyshore? There is no time constraint, we simply would like to traverse the terrain on foot." 
     "Fine," Sammy responded. 
     "I'm game," I said without really needing to think about it.
     "When do we leave?" Rebecca asked politely. 
     "Tomorrow afternoon. The plan is to fly to Snowpoint, get a room for the night and start early the next day." 
     "Sounds good."
     "WHAT?!" Alan nearly fell over himself. "We chase you all the way here to get you to come and he just asks and you say yes?!" I saw Jay twitch out of the corner of my eye, making me grin. 
     "Of course," Sam descended the steps to stand with Rebecca, Ken, and I, her normal demeanor having been revived, she smirked up at Alan's irritation. 
     "Then it is settled," Ken clapped his hands with some sort of finality. "We leave tomorrow!"

     Let's skip ahead a bit to the morning of the day after tomorrow: the day we begin our insane journey~

     We woke up late. Remember Ken saying we'd have an early start the day we began? So did not happen. Not a single one of us had set an alarm and our internal alarm clocks had gone on vacation, or for a couple of us, had never showed up for work. 
     To save money, we slept in the same room at the Inn in Snowpoint City, a set of bunk beds and random assortment of pull out sofa and arm chairs becoming places to sleep with the girls getting the real beds. Not that it mattered. Everyone was able to sleep so soundly we missed our start time and it took Sam dragging me off the top bunk to even wake me up and she woke me up first! In my sleepy state I made rounds of the room, slapping Alan and Jay awake with a flop of my arm, while I slurred a bunch of nonsense into Ken's ear until he agreed to let the Mareep make my tea. 
     "Come on! Everyone up! You all slept long enough!" Why was Sam a morning person? You'd think she'd be all for another hour of sleep. "Come on! Let's get brunch and blow this pop stand!" At that point she started banging extra pots and pans together, making a deafening racket which roused a sudden need and knowledge that only I could end the horrendous cacophony. So I tackled her. Alan and Jay were suspiciously very awake now and Rebecca snagged the kitchen ware to start cooking the groceries we'd bought for breakfast at the inn. 
     Once we all had some food in us, things became a lot clearer and there was a great deal more movement. 
     "Who isn't packed?" I asked, tossing a biscuit at Jay's face that he irritatingly caught. 
     "Just you, Krissy," Alan sang. 
     "Fantastic," I grumbled. 
     "Hurry up and pack," Sam hit me in the rump with her shoe as I got up to put my stuff together. 
     To save you the boring details of my organization in packing my gear, we finally were ready to begin. 

~~~~

Woo! Starting the journey at last! Still no Pokemon battle, but don't worry, I'll need something to do to entertain you in the next part. 
As for the title of this chapter, it has something to do with Alan and Sam's shared experience in Lavaridge. I'm waiting for later to tell you that story. :3