Pokemon: Quartz Version (Violet Arc)

Wow, sorry this took forever but, i've been havin trouble stayin motivated what with school and all. -_- That and, I somethimes get bored and anxious when I know what parts I wanna get to quickly so that dosen't help matters much. Anywho, the next chapter's in-progress so hopefully it won't take an entire three months to compete like this one did. Enjoy.

Save No. 4 - Blue Game Start

Deep orange-red light radiated through the windows and reflected beautifully off of the almost mirror-like floor, and the entire lobby of the pokecenter became rich with light. A chansey and blissey were chatting amongst themselves about the highlights of thier workshifts, while a certain pink-haired woman had just finished sorting out today's patient and doctor records as a pikachu, bearing a small metal hoop earring on the left ear, tapped a foot impatiently from it's perch upon the lobby desk, never taking it's eyes from the building's sliding doors. Besides this quartet there weren't many other people about at this hour -mostly trainers caught without umbrellas- thanks to the ongoing rain, and even though it had thinned down further it was still going strong. Overall the hour was quiet and it was easy to see that thoughts of sleep hovered over the minds of all who were there, it was something right out of one of those paintings that make you feel as if you wanted -and even wished- to be there. So naturally noone, save for perhaps the nurse and the pikachu, were ready for what had come bursting through the doors. Even then the nurse herself, was surprised upon closer inspection.

Nurse Joy was first to move, quickly taking the limp, blood and rain-soaked body from the pokemon's arms while the electric-type tackled it's owner to the ground (getting a yelp of surprise out of the boy, and vulpix) with an angry jolt to boot (which again earned alarmed yelps from them both). "Kachu! Pi pi pika?!" It asked in a most demanding tone while the chansey and blissey were already ready with the stretcher.

"Take her to the trainer's ward, i'll be there shortly." Instructed the lead staff member and not a second later was the stretcher being wheeled off, disappearing into a hall not far from the receptionist's desk. She then turned to help the boy to his feet as she spoke.

"Raikun? what brings you here? and what happened to that poor girl? Who're all your new friends by the way?"

She asked, leading him down another hall toward the pokemon ward, the most well known area of the hospital. Trainers who lounged about heard his name and turned to get a look themselves, but before they could confirm it he had disappeared into the hall behind Joy, a small rag-tag group of pocket monsters following behind.

Rai-kun ran a hand through the bangs of his soft but messy shock-yellow hair,which was longer in uneven lengths in front than it was in the back, where it only reached the base of his neck. Layered and full of streaks -and even pieces from root to end- of dark blue, the overall look was very reminisent of a zapdos. For attire the combo wasn't much unlike that of Outkast, but it had it's distinct differences.... His coat was mustard-coloured including a very big hood, with thick bands of ultramarine round the upper arms and the hem being ultramarine as well. The sleeves were cuffed up to the upper arms, leaving the thick sleeves of the black shirt underneath in plain view. The coat itself bore a closed black zipperline from top to bottom ending with a large matching zipper piece, and the garment was topped off by a small, half-shadow pokeball design with speedlines on the left upperarm, just below the shoulder. The pants were a navy blue, whose hems covered all but the tips of the stylish black runners on his feet. Last but certainly never least were Rai-kun's eyes. If Kazuo's own were considered unusual.... The left was a yellow so pure and yet transparent, that the shade itself always changed according to time of day and lighting while the right, while blue, was no less confusing playing tricks with the light and shadow in exactly the same way. Of all who've seen him noone yet could agree on what shade the lad's eyes were, which only added to the fame and sense of mystery surrounding him.

Those eyes followed the nurse as she sat him down and checked him over for any wounds, before tending to the pokemon. While his beauty was apparent it wasn't the main reason for Rai-kun's popularity (although many say it could be, should he ever decide to retire.) no, it was his voice, and his group. He was the lead singer of a band that while small in terms of popularity, had grown a loyal and quite-rabid fanbase. A cult-hit if you will whose number slowly, but steadily continues to grow. He himself had been taking a break, wanting to continue his career as a trainer before he was dragged away for more practice, appearances and preformances, as juggiling both occupations wasn't as easy as it looked...

"I was out visiting this little guy during my stay here in town, he was having trouble hunting it seemed." The blond explained, placing his hand over the glass dome under which the vulpix rested comfortably during the healing process. As Joy nodded her understanding, the pikachu sat atop the dome, watching the canine with a look of great curiousity while it's master continued.

"He seems unable to use even the most basic of fire-based moves, so I wanted to gain his trust and take him to someone who could help him out."

Even as he spoke the effects of his voice alone were very subtle, but neverless far from non-existent. All the creatures there seemed to relax further, and even Joy found herself staring off into space for a scarce few moments, but she caught herself and hastily got to her feet after wrapping up the mid-section of the zangoose's left foot and applying an 'X' shaped cooling bandage to the ghastly's upper right side.

"Things were going somewhat well today... until we were attacked by a member of Team Rocket."

"Oh my--!" The woman's eyes widened at this news, at around the same time the blissey entered the room. Turning toward the door Joy glanced back at Rai-kun, the worry quite evident.

"And that girl, she.... Well don't you worry. We can discuss details later but for now, rest. All of you are in good hands."

And with that she was off to the trainer ward. Little did the lad noticce, that his littlest friend had disappeared from the room.
"Hey... Where'd Ren go?" The sound of something being dragged against the floor grew steadily louder until that familiar little figure returned to view, dragging into the room a guitar case. Once it was laid at the trainer's feet a smile crept across his face, knowing full well what his partner wanted.
"Heh heh, alright. I just hope I don't wind up disturbing anyone..." A nervous glance round the room as the case was unzipped open and back down he sat, instrument in hand.

The trainers that chatted amongst themselves and milled about all paused at the sound of a guitar, being accompanyed by a melodious voice so skilled, that even the higher notes were no problem. the lyrics themselves were somewhat depressing as they told a sad story, but eventually that tale came out on a slightly lighter note.... When that voice went on to sing another song -one fans would recognize as one of the band's chart-toppers- a much more upbeat aura seemed to return to both the rained-in trainers and thier pokemon alike, who went back to relaxation refreshments and banter. But this time, most of the conversations involved a certain musician/trainer, and phrases such as 'Wow, that's gotta be him back there! Wonder if I can get his autograph' and 'Man, what are the chances!? I mean of all the places they could have been...' In the trainer ward Shinobu stirred in her sleep, turning onto her stomach under the covers as the three nurses smile to eachother, before leaving the room to let her rest, yawning heavily on the way out.

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Dimmed lights welcomed weary eyes, and after taking a couple minutes to carefully stretch herself Shinobu turned to hop off of the bed, or anyways that was the plan but an arm wrapped round her waist from behind (to which the patient blinked wide-eyed out of surprise) and dragged the purple-haired one backward into a soft bundle of fur, which turned out to be that same cat-ferret from eariler. The voice she heard sounded about her age if not a couple years older not to mention it held a more mature tone to it, like someone beyond thier years in wisdon -or in other words, a bit more grown up than appearance would tell you.

"And where do you think you're going? Incase you haven't noticed, you've got a couple holes in your chest!"

"So it wasn't a dream.." She thought, turning round to face a somewhat grumpy-looking zangoose, who merely stared back at her with a bored expression. "...What? Something wrong?" Shinobu could no longer contain her joy, and with little warning tackled her friend to the floor, flinching when the pain from her wounds spiked warning the kid to take it easy. Afterall, he wasn't going anywhere. Soon enough a pale purple ghastly floated through the dooray, with bright rose red eyes set in windows of black where the eyes would otherwise be white. It dropped the backpack onto the bed before floating over to his human friend, greeting her with a lick across the cheek. “Garuda!” The trainer squealed, reaching out to embrace the ghost when her hands went right through… Things fell quiet then, the ghost’s happy face slowly sagging into a frown. While most spectral types were quick to become adept at talents such as solidification, this particular individual still had trouble. But the sad silence was short-lived when a gentle hand rested close to the pokemon’s bandaged side for a few moments… And the ghastly hovered in close the overall cheerful disposition returning to the room –minus of course, the zangoose that currently lay beneath his oh-so-beloved friend who wasn’t making matters much more comfortable since said girl was now chatting way with the mentioned ghost, bouncing lightly in his lap with her back turned to him. And with those flimsy hospital gowns… well… he had a pretty good view of her backside. He was about to say something, when curiousity –along with another fleeting, more foreign emotion- was quick to hold that thought, while others still wandered to the feline one’s mind and come to think of it, he had never seen an unclothed human before.

“Hm. They look kinda neat, I guess.” Zantetsuke mused inwardly, tilting his head in the hopes of seeing some of what the front looked like, but it would seem that opportunity would elude him today, since Shinobu was moving to get back up, the voices of their conversation drowning back in.
“..If they have sodas?”
Wait, was she planning on leaving the room like that?! Didn’t people usually enter rooms with other people with all their clothes on?? Somehow the normal-type had a sinking feeling that the girl was going to embarrass herself, so this time he sat up, and held her in place before she could stand.
“She’s so small she fits right into my arms!”
Another thought as he held relatively tight, the feeling of smooth skin against fur almost instantly turning his curiousity into amusement, and just as quickly it shifted again, into that odd feeling he had just a moment earlier. It was something the zangoose suddenly wanted to divert all attention to exploring –and he probably would have too, if Shinobu and garuda hadn’t reminded him of why he was even holding them up in their quest for soda… whatever that is…

“HA! I knew you missed her just as much as I did!” The ghastly taunted, his voice was a little on the smooth side, sounding a little older than that of his human companion, but still younger than that of the monster he was addressing –who in turn loosened his grip entirely whilst scoffing at them both, thoughts of exploration all but forgotten for the time being.

“I was only about to tell her to throw on some clothing! Tch.” While those two went on to bicker about it, that simple reminder brought the trainer to her knapsack after she had finished re-dressing, her jacket and pants were clean now and the shirt, good as new. She’d have to thank Joy and her staff for that one. Yet that wasn’t all… It was the package that Oak had given her that became the object of her attention and more importantly, the contents and letter included. As Outkast picked up the letter and started reading, the two partners stopped and gathered to either side of the girl to listen.

“Hey kiddo, off chasin after your big bro and father huh? Well just be careful, there are all sorts of whackjobs who’d want a piece of your prettys elf, and I don’t mean just trainers! Well, can’t be helped, you did get your looks from yours truly and that sexy father of yours. Speaking of which, he needs to get that handsome rear of his back over here so we can --- oh, right, I’ll tell ya when you’re older (Or maybe not. You’re a clever young lady, you can fill in the blanks, or better yet, don’t for your own sake.)”

A pause to smirk and raise a brow, before going on. “Anywho, I remember when you and kaz used to play your flutes together, I always loved the music you two could make. So did the pokemon for that matter. Well I thought I’d send you your flute since you obviously forgot it in your rush to get out of the house, and a nice pair of blades to make the going easier –or at least until you can get your hands on a pair of blade-shoes and maybe a bike. Be sure to send me whatever cash you don’t need to carry on you, no need to get into an accident and lose it all. Do your best and next time, wake me up and tell me you’re leaving damnit! Don’t make me have to come down there. Love you always, mom.” A pause to let out the rest of her laughter, before reading on, as…

“Hmm? There seems to be more. PS: When you find Kazuo, tell him to write back and visit once in a while! And that I said I’m sorry, deeply sorry for everything. Don’t ask why, just tell him that. And PPS: I apologize for all the times I’ve yelled at you, I can see now why you snuck away. Just… Be safe.”

After reading all that silence filled in, and the girl sighed heavily, all the mirth seeming to leave her in that one breath. Before the pokemon could ask however their trainer had up and left the room, not before swiftly packing the letter and parcel into her bag. The main hall was quiet and all the windows pitch black, the trainers from earlier having long left. It was comfortably soundless save for the subtle whirr of machinery, fans and the like, Shinobu almost failing to notice Nurse Joy talking to a familiar-looking someone over the pictophone until she recognized that someone as Oak, who must have spotted the girl across the room since Joy turned around to wave her over, zangoose and ghastly close behind. The professor seemed jovial as ever in greeting, and Shinobu seemed to forget about being upset over the letter. In fact, she had some questions that needed to be answered such as.

“Why did you give be a bunch of empty pokeballs?! I nearly DIED out there!”

The content look on upon the researcher’s face turned then, to one of down-to-earth seriousness.
“Ah yes. That. You have my most sincere apologies, please allow me to explain. An hour prior to your arrival two pokemon showed up, and from the stories you’ve told me, they were looking for you.”

Oak glanced past towards the two mentioned monsters, before continuing. “Why they didn’t manage to find you until you had fallen into a pinch with that rocketeer however, is beyond me. Not to mention the way you handled that situation. It was reckless, but brave of you to help out that boy, Shinobu. But that dosen't mean it could have turned out for the worse, you have to be more careful.”

“I know, but what else could I have done...? Oh -I never even got his name! Is he still here?” The nurse shook her head slowly as she spoke. “Rai-kun had to leave early I’m afraid, but he told me to give you this.” From her pocket a sheet of paper had been drawn, and handed to the trainer while Oak spoke again.

“Well Shinobu, you have your starters now, so hopefully you won’t wind up in bandages a second time hmm? By the way did you open that parcel yet?” A nod in response, and he smiled. “Good to hear, I’ll let your mother know. I’d better get going so take care of yourself now, alright?”

“Okay, and I will. See ya around Professor!” The camera shut off in a flash, leaving behind a black lifeless screen. After replacing the receiver Joy headed back to the desk while Shinobu read the letter.

“Hey, I wanted to thank you for your help but I couldn’t stay. I hope these gifts will be enough until we meet up again. Even though I’m in your debt I have a favor to ask of you. My little friend, the vulpix… he doesn’t know any fire-type attacks and this worries me. I don’t know where to find any move tutors and I was hopin maybe you’d know? Let’s meet up in Cerulean, that way we can discuss this further and I can repay you properly. Sincerely, Rai-kun. PS: here’s my number incase we need to plan a new meeting spot.” And sure enough, there was the number at the bottom of the sheet of paper.

“Oh! Here’s the rest of what he left for you, including the vulpix.” It was Joy, returning from the desk with a bundle of items that Shinobu listed off mentally as she packed them away into her bag.

“Six cans of lemonade, five pokeballs, four escape ropes, three maximum repellant cans, two full restores, one active pokeball…. and one revive. Hmm.”

After all was said and done she came to sit on a bench nearest the doorway, ready to head back into the night much to Joy’s disapproval. But eventually she was convinced that her patient’s partners would see to her safety. Speaking of which…
“So Zan, Ruda, why’d it take you guys so long to find me if you were already in Pallet? –in fact, how’d you even find me to begin with?” The ghastly went first.

“It didn’t take take us very long to realize that you had left, about a few nights, really. We decided that it wasn’t very nice of you to ditch us, so we searched for you as best we could, that and—“ It was the zangoose’s turn then, smoothly cutting Garuda off as he carried the explanation on.

“We’re –I’m- searching for my twin, he left with your brother so if anyone can help me track him down it’s obviously you. In exchange I’ll help you collect those badges you trainers value so much.”

“You will?! Really?!” Shinobu was practically hopping on the spot. Did these two pokemon –the zangoose in particular- value her friendship so much that they had actually spent three years scouring region after region in search of her??? Of the two (after the other cat-ferret mysteriously left) Zantetsuke was always the least friendly, never really expressing any large amount of affection but now… The thought that anyone besides Kazuo cared that much about her somehow made her heart feel lighter, and a little more optimistic about the daunting adventure at hand…. Until Zan-kun spoke again.

“But don’t get me wrong. Once you have your badges or I find my him, I’m going back home. Our partnership is but a means to an end.”

Outkast slowly stopped bouncing on her heels as that feeling abruptly faded, her heart sinking when it was floating merely half a minute ago.

“Right –of course. You have your path and I have mine. Well, anyways…”

With a small, stylish spin two pokeballs were tossed into the air at an angle, and as they came back down Garuda was quick to give his rather selfish partner a pointed glare before flying up to meet the containment device on the way down, disappearing in a flash of light. The zangoose simply looked puzzled, but when those half-closed eyes chanced a glace toward a now-depressed-again- Outkast, his eyes opened fully. Did what he just tell her affect her that much?! Well, he would have the entire night to think about it now that the pokeball had bopped him on the head -as if it too, were scolding him, sealing the normal-type away.

"Great. My mother acts as if she cares for me but couldn’t be more transparent, my chest is killing me, I've left behind a practical santuary and my pokemon are really only using me. This looks like the beginning of a beauuutiful journey."

Unaware that the pink-haired nurse was still very much within earshot of that sarcastic monologue the trainer turned to leave, but not before turning once more toward the older woman.
"Thank you for your help Joy, and for my clothes... Have a good night." And the doors slid shut behind the purple-haired trainer as she disappeared into the night, long before the nurse could even say
"You're welcome.." Much less inquire about what that short and bitter rant was all about. She could only hope the kid would be alright... On second thought.

"Maybe I should have had her stay..."


~Author's corner~
Looks like it's a strictly-buisness situation between Outkast and her partners or at least, one of em'. Pfft, what a jerk of a zangoose, he needs to stop playing tough. XD But don worry he'll come around and start showing a little more concern... Hopefully...

EDIT: Oh and I almost forgot! Oc Trainer listings.

1. Trainer: Outkast
Class: Move Tutor
Pokemon:
Zantetsuke (Zangoose)
Garuda (Ghastly)

2. Trainer: Rai-kun (Or so he's called.)
Class: Pokebard(Or, Hypno-musician.)
Pokemon:
Ren (Pikachu)
Vulpix (Temp-traded to Outkast.)

Yeah, as you can see I still haven't figured out how to make text in italics and bold. *sigh* Tried checking out the FAQ section and either I missed it (which wouldn't surprise me) Or it's just not there. If anyone could provide a direct link, or explain exactly how that'd be much appreiciated.