Not Too Far From Home

careful, creature (#3)

Writing Key:

+1 = a day in advance

Line = scene change

Outside of the Lab: 11:41 AM

Lucas stepped onto the route, holding his dad's briefcase. He looked around for a short second, trying to figure out where his dad went. Venturing around the corner to look more thoroughly, he saw the direction of the scream. His dad was lecturing a group of kids that decided to step in the tall grass. Putting a combined look of scorn and disappointment in his face, he decided to walk up the hill to the group.

"Hey! Dad! You forgot something! Who are these people?" Lucas brought the briefcase to him, holding it out for the Professor to take.

"Ah, yes. You said you bunch were enthusiastic about Pokemon, right?" The professor took the case, taking a nod to Lucas.

"Yea! We are!" the blonde boy stated. He was taller than Lucas, but seemed younger. The blue-haired girl looked upon him with a look of confusion, almost as if she was questioning what the blonde was getting himself into.

"You sure? It seemed pretty irresponsible for you kiddos to step into the tall grass without Pokemon..." the Professor stated. Lucas agreed, showing a look of dismay on his face at the group.

"Yea-" the blonde boy tried to comment, but the blue-haired girl butted in.

"Listen, Professor. I'm sorry that we stepped into the tall grass and got ourselves into trouble. And you're right- that was very irresponsible for us and we could've gotten ourselves hurt or worse! But I can assure you that we are very responsible otherwise, and Pokemon have come to be a very integral part of our lives. To answer your question, yes. We are very enthusiastic about Pokemon." The girl obviously took AP Pokemon Care- and AP Speech.

"Hmm. Well, that was a very brave thing to say, dear. Tell you what," the Professor readied his briefcase, "if you can promise me to not act like that again, I'll give you these Pokemon." He un-clicked the locks and opened the briefcase to reveal 3 encased Pokeballs.

Lucas had been standing there with a look of concern on his face ever since the "Pokemon" comment. "Hold up. You're giving Pokemon to people who don't have experience with the outside world of Pokemon, from what I can see, and also just appeared on the side of the road??"

"I took a Pokemon Care class," the boy interrupted, "and I failed it with a 32." The blue-haired girl elbowed him in the stomach.

"Oh, relax. It's not like a certain friend back in Johto stole from a freaking lab just to prove that he was powerful." The professor coughed a bit and smirked.

Lucas scoffed. "Fine. But I can go out and actually explore something for once."

"You'll see them in Sandgem, where we're going tomorrow. It'll give you enough time to pack for the journey ahead. Now, where was I?" Lucas stood, flabbergasted.

'The professor let the blue-haired girl pick first, since she was so "bold," followed by the boy. He tossed the last Pokeball to Lucas, saying it'd help him in the journey. Lucas was still surprised that his dad would really let him go explore. About time, it seemed to be. After further questioning, he'd found out that his parents had been planning this for months. He was excited to leave and actually enjoy something for once.

Bedroom: 9:59 AM (+1)

Bzzzzzzzzzzt. Bzzzzzzzzzzt. Bzzzzzzzzzzt.

Lucas stirred awake, barely opening his eyelids. He slammed his hand on his Pokegear's screen to make it stop ringing. It was habit at this point. Cozying up to his blanket, he tossed and turned until he eventually ended up on his other side. Opening his eyes slightly, he saw Chikorita and his new acquisition, a Chimchar, sleeping on the floor next to each other. He still marveled at his little green ball of joy, but he also enjoyed the warmth of Chimchar. They were a power duo together.