Setting:
•Suburbs, New Bark Town•
•Gold aged 15•
•Late February•
•Gold POV, continued •
Chapter Six
The Long Way to Cherrygrove City
Off Gold dashed while tightly clutching Cyndaquil's pokeball. The mousey form inside shrunk away in fear but also seemed to cock its head slightly in curiosity. Halfway down New Bark's main road, Gold realized that in his hurry to catch up to Totodile, he forgot his bike back at the lab. Shrugging off his error as he ran, he continued chasing the ever-fading blue form down the road.
Five minutes of endless running, turning down side roads, jumping over backyard fences, and passing through neighbors' yards, and Gold was already exhausted. He had no clue his first day on the job would turn out so strenuous. Panting, he continued onward, dismayed to see Totodile's fleeting figure disappear as it turned down yet another side road.
Upon reaching the end of the road he was currently running and looking upon the road Totodile just chose, his heart sank. Totodile was nowhere in sight now.
"This sucks," he said slowing his pace, gasping for breath. "Maybe the little guy is hiding somewhere around here," he continued half-heartedly.
Deciding to search this new area, he slowed to a walk, scanning the neighborhood. He recognized it as being the "downtown" section of New Bark, though really, New Bark wasn't too big to begin with. This neighborhood was filled with multiple houses that looked identical, each with a small patch of grass for a yard. He furrowed his brow upon reaching the end of the road, which was also the exit of New Bark Town.
Clueless as what to do next, Gold decided that he needed help, and that two would be better than one. With that, he pressed the center button on Cyndaquil's pokeball as to release the mousey figure.
The cowering figure emerged on the sidewalk and looked up at Gold. Crouching down to become more level with the Pokémon since he towered over the small being, Cyndaquil flinched, too frozen with fear to move.
"Hey, Cyndaquil, it's okay. I'm your new trainer, Gold. I'd like to be your friend if you let me," Gold smiled addressing his new Pokémon.
Cyndaquil, temporarily regaining movement, compacted himself into a ball as best he could. Gold sighed as he sat down on the edge of one house's lawn next to the sidewalk on which Cyndaquil tried his best to hide himself. Taking off his bag, which he had hastily slung over his shoulder earlier, he rummaged through it to find a sandwich his mother had kindly made and packed earlier. He took it out, broke off a piece, and offered it to Cyndaquil as a peace offering.
Cyndaquil cocked his head at Gold and scrunched his snout before he moved away from the food that Gold offered.
"Hey! I'm not trying to poison you or anything," Gold scoffed. "See?" Gold took a bite of his own sandwich, chewed, and swallowed. "Mmm. It's pretty good. Go ahead, try some," he offered the piece again to Cyndaquil.
Slowly and very tentatively, Cyndaquil reached his two tiny front paws forward and grabbed the bit of sandwich from Gold, making certain not to actually touch Gold's hand. He then nibbled a bit on the end and found it acceptable; he then proceeded to jam the rest of it in his mouth, swallowing it in one gulp. "Cynda," replied the fire mouse happily.
Seeing how he was making progress, Gold tore off another piece and offered it to his new partner. Cyndaquil took it with no objection this time, swallowing it whole once more, contented in having his small stomach filled. Smiling, Gold slowly extended his hand and placed it gingerly on Cyndaquil's head. Cyndaquil flinched but did not move otherwise.
Gold then began to pet Cyndaquil slowly, who in turn, became more relaxed by the second. Looking down to find Cyndaquil contented, Gold scooped up the small Pokémon in his arms and cradled him like a baby, all the while smiling at his new Pokémon.
"See, Cyndquil? I just want us to be friends," he caressed the Pokémon's soft, fuzzy fur.
"Quil," replied the content Pokémon who nestled himself snugly in the crook of Gold's arms.
Just then, a rustle in the nearby grass interrupted Gold's focus on Cyndaquil. Totodile then emerged from the grass of Route 29, looked directly at Gold, and then smirked.
"Totodile!" Gold hurriedly fumbled for the blue Pokémon's ball, the sudden movement temporarily spooking Cyndaquil into jumping down.
The small blue Pokémon, in seeing Gold's attempt to recapture it, leapt further into the tall grasses.
Turning to Cyndaquil, who regained his composure, Gold stated, "Hey Cyndaquil, you saw that Totodile, right?"
"Cynda," replied his Pokémon in a soft voice, nodding his head at Gold.
"We have to capture Totodile for Professor Elm. That's the same one that was in the lab with you; he escaped. Professor Elm is counting on me to capture him, but I can't do it alone. Would you mind helping me out?"
"Quill!" Replied the Pokémon bravely, as he jumped into Gold's arms to give him a hug.
Gold laughed merrily. "Thanks, Cyndaquil! You know what, how about a nickname for you? What about…Hino?"
"Quil?" The Pokémon tilted his head as if in thought.
"You like it?"
"Quil! Cynda, Quil!" Replied the Pokémon gleefully as it hugged Gold once more.
"Alright, Hino it is. Now, the only question is what attacks do you know? Just in case we have to battle Totodile. Something tells me he won't come back without a fight. Professor Elm said you were low level, so I'm guessing you know Tackle and Leer, right?" Gold mused.
"Quil," the Pokémon nodded his head.
"Okay, let's go, Hino! Let's find and capture Totodile!"
The two ran off into the grassy path of Route 29 in hot pursuit of the fleeting blue figure. As they ran through the tall grass, neither boy nor Pokémon slowed the pursuit as either occasionally spotted the blue figure running in the uncut wild grass. Hino, who by now the grass towered over his small form, perched himself on Gold's shoulder and held on tightly as his trainer continued to run onward.
After what felt like an hour, the panting Gold slowed down as he almost tripped over his own feet. Dying of thirst, he reached into his bag and pulled out his water bottle, which was halfway full. He chugged down a gulp before passing it on to Hino, who drank some as well. Deciding to take in his surroundings, Gold realized he had never been this far out in Route 29 alone before. It had been at least ten minutes since either he or Hino spotted Totodile, too.
"I think we lost him, Hino," Gold said panting. "Heck, I don't even know exactly where we are to tell the truth. I think there should be a town up ahead if we keep walking, though. Maybe if we can get to that town, we can ask if anyone has seen Totodile. But first," he panted, "let's sit for five more minutes. I need to catch my breath."
By then, it was late in the afternoon; the sun would set in a few hours at the least. "The only thing that worries me," Gold started after catching his breath a bit, "is that Professor Elm said someone was moving into New Bark Town. If that person wants to be a trainer, we've got a real problem since Totodile isn't around. That kid would be stuck with Chikorita, and from what I saw at least, I pity any person getting her as a starter. Know what I mean?"
"Quil!" Replied the Pokémon sympathetically; obviously he had some rough times with that Chikorita as well.
Five minutes had passed, and Gold stood up again. Hino leapt back onto his shoulder, and Gold resumed walking at a brisk pace.
After another hour of walking through the grassy terrain, it began to recede, and twenty minutes later they were on a dirt path, which then led to a worn concrete one. As the sun started to slowly sink below the horizon, Gold and Hino had finally arrived in Cherrygrove City, or so the sign they passed had said.
"Cherrygrove City, the town of cute, fragrant flowers, huh?" Gold mused as they passed the welcome sign. "Well, I certainly don't see any city of flowers yet, do you Hino?"
The Pokémon shook his head in reply. After another fifteen or so minutes, Hino began to sniff the air, which in turn made Gold inhale deeply as well. The air had turned from an earthy smell to a sweet and salty tinge. As they looked down the road, Gold spotted distant lights of the small city upon the sunset. Beyond that, he saw the golden waves of a body of water.
"Looks like we're here! Let's go find the Pokémon Center since it's getting dark. Maybe someone there will have spotted Totodile."
They ran quickly to the city's main street, where an elderly man stopped them. "Hello, laddie. Good evening, good evening. From the looks of it, you appear to be a new trainer here, no?" The elderly gentleman kindly asked.
"Yessir I am. My name's Gold, and this here is Hino. We come from New Bark Town. I'm Professor Elm's new assistant," he added the last part proudly.
"Ah, from New Bark Town, eh? Not bad, not bad at all. You've had quite the walk to get here. Well, since you are a new face, would you like a brief tour of the city? I'd be more than happy to point out a few landmarks of this lovely city for you, youngster."
"Certainly! I don't have a map, so tell the truth, Hino and I are a bit lost," Gold admitted.
"No problem at all, laddie. Follow me." The elderly gent led Gold down the main street to a large building, which had double automatic glass doors in front and a colossal pokeball on the roof. "This here is the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy will take care of your Pokémon free of charge; you can also stay the night and get meals here as well. Every trainer relies on this place, so make sure you are well-acquainted with it."
After a brief pause, the man continued down the street to stop at a large building on the side opposite of the Pokémon Center. "This here is our mall. It offers every day items, as any mall, but it also stocks trainer items as well, such as pokeballs and potions. It'd be a good idea to stock up on a few if you are to go on a long journey."
After walking a bit more on the main road, the elderly gent led Gold to another road, which soon turned to a dirt path. A cool, moist breeze whipped up as Gold continued to follow the man. Finally, the man then stopped at a vast expanse of water. Nearby on an island off the coast, a fisherman was packing up his gear for the night and readying his fishing boat for the trip home as the sun sank completely below the horizon.
"Here is the sea that boarders Cherrygrove City. The fresh, salty scent of the sea combines with our luscious flowers, which creates the lovely fragrance of this city's air. Also, the sea itself contains vast amounts of Pokémon, which only thrive in water; it truly is a world all to itself, that it is."
Once more, the man began to walk, turning back from the sea. Gold followed him down a few more roads until they stopped in front of a small brick house, which had smoke billowing out of the chimney. "Ah, laddie, this here is my home. I would have liked to show you Cherrygrove's park, which is where many of our exotic flowers grow, but I'm afraid it would be difficult to observe the beauty of the flowers in the dark. That, and my wife most certainly should be cooking dinner by now; she'd fuss if I stayed out longer," the old man chuckled.
"It's okay, mister. Thanks for showing us around," Gold replied.
"Thank you for letting me give you a tour of my beautiful city; I've lived here all of my life and don't regret a day of it. I know. For your time, I will be happy to part with this map card." He fished a small chip out of the pocket of the blazer he wore and handed it to Gold. "You seem to be a dashing young character. Tell me, you are up to date like the rest of the young-folk and own a pokegear, no?"
"Yessir, I sure do," replied Gold, taking the chip.
"Well then, just insert that chip in the back of the gear, and voila, you should have an entire map of Johto right in that pokegear of yours. I got it for my granddaughter as a birthday present, but her pokegear already came with a map, so I had no clue what to do with it. I'm certain you'll be relying on it often. You'll be able to tell where you are, and where you need to go. It also has a GPS thing if you toy around with it enough. I hope you enjoy it, laddie." The man gave a brilliant smile as Gold inserted the chip into the pokegear.
"Thanks a bunch sir, I'll certainly use it often. I really appreciate it. Oh yeah, one more thing if you don't mind. Have you seen a Pokémon roaming the streets around here?" Gold fidgeted with his pokegear, getting past the installation software.
"Pokémon you say? What kind of Pokémon?"
"It's a Totodile; It's about two feet tall, light blue in color, and has a powerful-looking jaw with some nice-sized fangs. It escaped from Professor Elm's lab, and I need to bring it back. Hino and I had been tracking it all day."
"Hmm, a Totodile you say? I haven't seen one around these parts, though I will spread the word to keep an eye out for it. I'll let you know if it is spotted, if you don't mind giving me your pokegear number that is. Hohoho."
"Not at all. Thank you sir," Gold wrote down both his and Professor Elm's numbers, waved good-bye, and left as the man entered his house.
Now that it was completely nighttime, Gold and Hino headed back to the Pokémon Center, where they enjoyed dinner. After eating a warm bowl of soup and a bowl of Pokémon food for trainer and Pokémon respectively, Gold called his mother using the center's videophone to let her know where he was and that he was all right.
His mother had already been informed by Professor Elm about Gold's mission and wished him luck, as well as scolded him for his unkempt hair, and she also commented on how cute Hino was, which made Hino curl up in a ball in embarrassment.
After he hung up, Gold then called Professor Elm to update him on the situation. After a fifteen-minute chat about the details of all that happened, Gold hung up. From there, he spread the word to other trainers in the center to keep a look out for Totodile for Professor Elm, while Hino informed the Pokémon around the center. With everything finally done, both trainer and Pokémon fell soundly asleep on the center's plush sofa.