Heir's Journey: Hoenn (Chapter 3 Up)

Detective Calvin · Jun 9, 2015

Chapter 1
 
On the 10th of August, a ten-year-old boy was riding a ferry to the Hoenn region from Castelia City. Said boy was Calvin O'Brien, heir to Unova's biggest technology manufacturing company. Despite being well off, Calvin didn't dress it, going with a casual look consisting of an open steel blue track jacket over a white short-sleeved shirt, steel blue track pants, and blue and white striped running shoes. His short, golden-brown hair blew freely in the wind, and the sparkling water reflected off his clear blue eyes. He was slightly tanned, an indication that he hadn't spent much time outside. As he stared out to sea, the XTransceiver on his left wrist rang, and he hastened to answer it. The screen showed a pleasant-looking woman who appeared to be in her early twenties with black hair and chestnut brown eyes.  
 
"Master Calvin, how goes the ferry ride?" The woman asked, displaying a rich British accent. At this, several other people nearby looked in Calvin's direction, causing him to blush slightly. 
 
"I thought we agreed you wouldn't call me 'Master' in public!" Calvin hissed quietly. "I'm supposed to be keeping a low profile until we make landfall in Slateport." 
 
"My apologies, Calvin. Anyway, how goes the ride?" The woman asked again.  
 
"It's not bad. Weather's nice, nobody bothers me," Calvin answered. "Cuisine could be better, though. I miss your cooking, Dorothy."  
 
"I'm not surprised," Dorothy giggled. "It's all you've had for the last five years."  
 
"True. Anyway, we're supposed to be landing in about a half hour. I can almost see the harbor from the deck," Calvin said, looking out at the horizon. 
 
"Good. I'm on my way there now to meet you," Dorothy replied. "Your father sent your backpack full of supplies in advance for me to hold onto. Oh, and before I forget, did you remember to take Hoenn's climate into account when you picked your clothes?" 
 
"Yes, Mom," Calvin said, rolling his eyes with a playful scowl. "I remembered it's tropical year-round in Hoenn, so I'm wearing light colors." 
 
"Good to hear," Dorothy said, looking away for a second as a distant voice was heard offscreen. "I have one more matter to which I must attend before I leave to rendezvous with you. Enjoy the rest of your trip. When you arrive, go to the Pokémon Center and wait for me there." She gave a formal bow and the connection cut before Calvin could respond.  
 
"Huh. Wonder what that was about," Calvin muttered. "Where was she, anyway?" In the now-five years Calvin had known Dorothy, he had never seen her spare an ounce of detail when she spoke to him. The fact that she had ended the call so abruptly caught his attention, and someone appeared to be telling her something, though he couldn't make out what was said. Perhaps she was planning on surprising him with something? It made sense, considering the fact that he hadn't gotten any birthday presents from her yesterday, nor from his father. Add his attendant's secrecy so far with whatever she was doing, and it seemed like a birthday surprise. Oh well. Maybe he was over-thinking it. In the end, he decided to emulate the Kermit the Froakie meme and sip his tea and mind his own business. One problem: the tea on the ship tasted like Octillery ink, and he hadn't thought to ask for any of Dorothy's Earl Grey to bring with him. He'd ask when he saw her. 
 
"Excuse me?" Calvin turned to see a kid who looked to be in his early teens addressing him. Based on his Trainer gear and overall swagger, he knew the guy was some sort of Trainer. "I'm sorry, but did the woman you were talking to call you 'Master'?" 
 
"I'm sorry, but didn't anyone ever tell you not to eavesdrop on other people's conversations?" Calvin countered, eyeing the boy belligerently. Aw, hell, people heard that? Dammit Dorothy! 
 
"Great, another one of these snobby rich kids starting a journey. We don't have nearly enough of those," The boy grumbled to no one in particular. 
 
Calvin turned away for a moment, sucking his teeth in annoyance. "Okay, let's get a couple things straight," He started slowly, taking a deep breath as he turned to the man and narrowed his eyes. If there was one surefire way to piss him off, it was to pass a judgment about his rich upbringing. "First off, I am Calvin O'Brien, son of Arthur O'Brien and heir to O'Brien Enterprises. Just thought you might like to know the snobby rich kid at whom you're currently staring down your nose. Second, not every kid who grows up rich is spoiled. While true for the majority of us, it is and always will be a stereotype. Third, not that it's any of your business-" 
 
"Don't you lecture-" 
 
"I'M STILL TALKING!" Calvin was quick to shut him up, and was quite literally seething at this point, if his red-tinged face and tightly clenched teeth were any indication. Seeing the horror on the boy's face, he settled down and continued. "Sweet merciful Mew, first you try to judge me, then you interrupt me while I'm talking? You don't have any home training, do you? Not that it matters. As I was saying, I have worked for everything I have, as everyone in this world should. Lastly, and I can't stress this enough... Who the hell do you think you are passing judgments about other people? If, of course, I'm talking to Arceus in a human guise, tell me now and I'll gladly withdraw that last part." He leaned forward, waiting expectantly for a definitive answer, and after three seconds of stunned silence, he stood up straight and crossed his arms. "No? Not Arceus? Thought so. Now, as I was saying, the only person allowed to pass judgment on anyone is Arceus. If you're not Him, don't assume to be. I'll not bear any sort of irreverence in my company. Now, this conversation is over. Good day, sir." 
 
After he finished, he turned around and hunched over the railing again. What he saw surprised him. Either the ship had picked up speed, or he spent more time on that tirade than he thought, because the ship was just about to pull into Slateport's harbor. "Wow, I have no concept of speed, distance, or time." He muttered to himself as the ship pulled into the indoor harbor. "I wonder why the harbor is indoors..." 
 
Once the ferry was safely docked and the passengers were cleared to disembark, Calvin was quick to do so, since he had no luggage other than what was on his person. Dorothy had everything else. He just had to wait for her. 
 
As he walked, someone walked past him, bumping his shoulder unnecessarily hard, almost making him trip. As he regained his center of gravity, he looked up, and recognized the boy who had addressed him earlier. He was wearing sunglasses now, and had a red hat over his eyes that matched his jacket. 
 
"Alright, that's it, you passive-aggressive pissant! Come here!" Calvin growled, catching up to him. Once he did, he got in front of him and glared. 
 
"What? Don't tell me you're gonna lecture me again," The boy huffed, looking down at him. The boy had a few inches on Calvin, and was noticeably more well built. Despite this, Calvin didn't seem threatened at all. 
 
"We both know you have a problem with me. It was evident from when you first addressed me, and especially evident the way you bumped me as you walked past. You were acting all high and mighty towards me at first, now you bump me as you pass? Why'd you turn all passive-aggressive about it?" 
 
The boy looked a bit confused and bothered. "What are you even on about?" 
 
"Don't you play dumb with me," Calvin was getting even more annoyed. "You were strutting around with a pair of Iron Balls in your trousers before, now you don't even wanna look at me, but you still have a problem with me. We both know it, so pull those same Iron Balls outta your purse and face me like a man!" By now, a crowd was starting to gather, everyone was watching with keen interest. Both boys noticed, and although Calvin wasn't bothered much, the other boy was looking uncomfortable. 
 
"There's too many people here," The boy muttered, trying to push past him. Calvin wasn't buying it. He blocked the boy's path again, much to his annoyance. 
 
"At least let me register you in my Xtransceiver," Calvin was taking a calmer approach now, much to everyone's confusion. Everyone thought a big fight was gonna break out, but here he was trying to get his contact information? 
 
"What the hell for?" The boy demanded, not doing a very good job of concealing his confusion and discomfort. 
 
"When I've officially started my journey and have made some headway, I'm gonna let you know, and we're gonna meet up and settle this like proper Pokémon Trainers," Calvin said, tapping a button on his XTransceiver. "Now, what do you say?" 
 
The boy seemed to consider this a moment, then sighed heavily and shook his head. "If you're gonna be travelling here, we'll run into each other eventually. Then I'll think about it." Then, before anyone knew what happened, he tore through the crowd, and disappeared into the city. 
 
Calvin looked a bit lost, as did everyone else, but he shook it off. The way he saw it, even if it wasn't definite, he had a rivalry to look forward to. The more he dwelled on it, the more energized and motivated he got. Was this was being a Pokémon Trainer felt like? If so, this was going to be a great adventure. 
 
Then he remembered that he needed to go somewhere and wait for Dorothy to arrive. He couldn't do anything without her, unfortunately. All he could do was wait. So he decided to try and get his bearings and find the Pokémon Center like Dorothy instructed. 
 
Chapter 2
Calvin was in awe at the beauty of Slateport City. He had never been outside of Castelia City, so everything was new to him. The air, while exponentially saltier than Castelia's many harbors, was far cleaner than the urban setting to which he was accustomed. The sky was a lighter shade of blue than his jacket, beautifully so, and not a cloud dotted the sky. It was also quite hot, in a tropical sense, without being unbearably hot. Calvin knew instantly that he liked Hoenn, and wondered if all of Hoenn was this nice. 
 
As he walked along the white marble streets, he easily found the Pokémon Center. It looked far different than Castelia's Pokémon Center, but that was to be expected. The red roof was the only constant between them, but there were no windows on this one. The walls and door were all a metallic silver that hurt Calvin's eyes due to the sun's glare. He saw a similar building with a blue roof not far off, and he had no idea what it could have been. Fighting down his urge to explore the city, he entered the Pokémon Center as per Dorothy's instructions. 
 
Once inside, he was hit with a sense of familiarity, The color scheme was the same as he remembered it, but this Pokémon Center but smaller on the inside as well as the outside. He quickly attributed the cause to the lack of a Poké Mart counter. There was just one counter towards the back, immediately across from the door, behind which he spotted someone who could only be Nurse Joy, but looked quite different. Waving it off as regional differences, he went ahead and approached the counter. As he did so, he became aware of the ambient music that played in Castelia's Pokémon Center, but there were a lot of differences. 
 
"Welcome to the Pokémon Center. Do you need your Pokémon healed?" Nurse Joy greeted Calvin with a familiar smile. 
 
"Oh, I don't have any Pokémon yet." Calvin answered, slightly disturbed by the fact that this Nurse Joy sounded the same as Castelia's Nurse Joy. "I just got here from Unova and was told to come here." 
 
"I see," Nurse Joy looked thoughtful for a moment. "Forgive my presumptuousness, but are you Calvin O'Brien?" 
 
Calvin cast a wary look at Nurse Joy, and took a step back. "How do you know who I am?" He asked slowly, feeling a bit creeped out that she knew who he was almost immediately. 
 
"Oh, I'm sorry. I was told to expect you when the ferry from Castelia City arrived," Nurse Joy clarified. "The woman who told me to expect you gave me a roundabout description of what you looked like." 
 
"...I see..." Calvin muttered, turning away for a moment before turning back to her. "Oh, where's the Poké Mart? I'm so used to it being in here." He motioned to where it would have been. 
 
"The Poké Mart is a separate building in Hoenn," Nurse Joy explained. "It looks just like the Pokémon Center, but has a blue roof instead of red." 
 
"Oh, so the building right nearby, then. I had no idea what that was," Calvin nodded to himself and looked around once more, finding a chair against the wall. Perfect, he needed to sit down after standing for several hours straight. "Thank you, Nurse Joy. I'm going to sit down now."  
 
"No problem. Let me know if you need anything else," Nurse Joy replied as he went to sit down. 
 
As soon as he sat down, Calvin was amazed by how comfortable the chair was. Combined with the ambient music, he found himself asleep without even realizing it. When he came to, he smelled Earl Grey tea, and woke up thinking he was at home. Dorothy had a habit of waking him up with tea, something he thoroughly enjoyed. When he realized he was in the Pokémon Center, he became fully alert, unsure how he could be smelling Dorothy's tea when she wasn't even- 
 
"9 minutes, 18 seconds," A voice with a rich British accent said from next to him, causing him to turn to the voice. A tall woman wearing a light blue sleeveless knee-length dress with white leggings and a white undershirt with elbow-length sleeves was sitting in the chair beside him. In her frilly white glove-clad hands was a teacup, half full of tea. A steel blue backpack with a Luxury Ball on top sat at her feet, which were clad in the same black flats Calvin remembered. "That's a new record low for you, Master Calvin. Not surprising, these chairs are comfortable." 
 
"Dorothy... so that's what took you so long," Calvin muttered, eyeing Dorothy's outfit. It was a departure from the usual black gothic lolita dresses she usually wore. Fitting, considering where they were, but it was still new to him. Then again, so was his outfit. Still, she looked better in that outfit. "You were buying new clothes?" 
 
"No, I did that yesterday, when I got here," Dorothy replied, meeting Calvin with a knowing smile that made him look away sheepishly. "I was catching your starter Pokémon. It's in this Luxury Ball. Go ahead, open it." 
 
"Really? Wow!" Calvin exclaimed, picking it up. He pushed the button, and the ball released a reddish-white light which formed into a Pokémon and let off red sparkles as it finished forming. What stood before Calvin was a large quadrupedal Pokémon with luxurious white fur, black claws and face, a sickle-shaped horn on its forehead as well as a black jewel-like adornment, vicious ruby red eyes, and a wickedly sharp black tail. "You got me an Absol!"  
 
"Happy belated birthday, young Master," Dorothy said, clearly enjoying the look on Calvin's face. "Your father told me you had an attachment to your mother's Absol, so I caught one for you." 
 
"Thank you, Dorothy..." Calvin whispered breathlessly, kneeling down to focus on the Absol, who regarded him with curiosity. "Hi there. I'm your new Trainer. My name is Calvin." He reached a hand out to touch it, and the Absol immediately sniffed his hand warily before stepping back hesitantly. Before Calvin could ask what was wrong, it raised its own paw and placed it in Calvin's hand before looking up at him as if awaiting a response of some kind. Calvin smiled and turned to Dorothy, who was taking pictures. "Just out of curiosity, do you know its gender?" 
 
"I'm afraid I do not," Dorothy answered. "However, once you have your Pokédex, you will be able to check. When you're ready, we'll go to Littleroot Town to get it." She sat back down and finished drinking her tea. 
 
"Okay. Could you make some tea for me before we go, please?" Calvin asked, watching Absol walk over to his backpack and sniff it. 
 
"Of course. It will take a few minutes. In the meantime, you can start bonding with Absol," Dorothy replied, getting up and going off somewhere else. 
 
Calvin smiled and sat back in his chair, motioning Absol over. Absol came over and sat at his feet, looking up at him. "You and I are going to go far together, Absol," He declared, rubbing its head as he waited for his tea. 
 
~*~*~*~*~
 
Chapter 3
 
 
Calvin had been trying with little success for the past eight minutes to make some headway with Absol, but Absol turned out to be more or less aloof about the whole endeavor. Calvin was steadily losing his patience with it. 
 
"Okay, come on Absol, what's wrong?" Calvin asked, smiling patiently at Absol.  
 
"Sol," If Absol had shoulders, it likely would have shrugged, but it settled for disregarding the question and licking its forepaws.  
 
"Okay, I'm trying to understand you, so could you meet me halfway, open your mouth and tell me what's bugging you?" Calvin tried vainly to reason with Absol, and Absol seemed to consider it. After a moment, it raised up on its hind legs, resting its forelegs on his knees, opened its mouth wide as wide as it could, displaying four sharp canines, and uttered a very loud, deadpan, "ABSOL". 
 
"Pff. Smartass," Calvin muttered, though he couldn't help but chuckle. "Of all the Absols Dorothy possibly could've caught, she had to find the snarkiest of them all." Absol looked indifferent, and got down, going back to licking its forepaws. "So you're just not gonna talk to me." Absol gave him a deadpan look. "Oh, right. Can't understand you." Absol sighed and went back to licking its forepaws. "Fine, a simple question. Are you a boy or girl?" Absol simply nodded 'yes'. "Oh, I give up." Just then, Dorothy came back with a teacup in her hands.  
 
"Here you are, Earl Grey tea," Dorothy said, handing the cup to him. "It's hot." 
 
"It's better that way," Calvin replied, blowing once and taking a sip. "Thank you, Dorothy." 
 
"My pleasure, Master Calvin. Once you're finished, we can leave for Littleroot Town," Dorothy replied, sitting down next to him. 
 
"Right. Maybe Absol will feel better once we're actually moving-huh?" He looked down to see Absol up on his lap again, eyeballing the teacup enthusiastically. "Hey, what's got you so chummy all of a sudden?" Absol didn't respond, simply sniffing at the teacup and becoming more enthralled with it as a result.  
 
"Perhaps its wants to know what's in the cup?" Dorothy offered, studying Absol closely. It kept sniffing the cup and looking up at Calvin with the best puppy eyes it could muster, all while its tail went to town and back. "I had no idea they were capable of such excitement." 
 
"Yeah, well, this tea is mine," Calvin replied, taking a long sip. Absol grew disappointed, and Calvin smirked in response. "Yeah, that's right. I can be mean too."  
 
"Perhaps you shouldn't anger it..." Dorothy suggested, holding out her hands as her expression grew increasingly nervous in response to Absol's left paw glowing black. "You are holding one of my tea cups." 
 
"Hey, Absol was mean to me, so it's not getting any-" Calvin stopped short when Absol jumped up, knocking the teacup out of Calvin's hands and towards Dorothy with a backpaw swipe. "What the heck was that?" 
 
"The reason why you shouldn't have angered it!" Dorothy griped, having barely caught the teacup, examining it to see if it was damaged. "I believe she used Knock Off."  
 
"Knock Off, huh? Hey, wait, why did you say 'she'?" Calvin asked. "I thought you said you didn't know its gender." 
 
"Only a woman would have done exactly what she did out of sheer spite from you taunting her with the tea and denying her," Dorothy explained, kneeling down and rubbing Absol's head, eliciting what sounded like a purr. "If a woman wants something and can't have it, nobody can. Though she shouldn't have wasted my tea, or put my cup in danger." 
 
"Yeah, because the chance of your teacup being broken is way more significant than the chance of an angry Absol mauling me," Calvin scoffed, causing Absol to growl at him.  
 
"Just for that, you're going to clean up this mess," Dorothy said pleasantly, packing away the teacups. 
 
"Oh, fine," Calvin muttered, leaving to get paper towels. He came back a few seconds later with a large wad of them, and started cleaning up the mess. "So how are gonna get to Littleroot Town?" 
 
"We're flying," Dorothy said matter-of-factly.  
 
"We're flying?" Calvin parroted, looking up at her quizzically.  
 
"We're flying," Dorothy repeated. "I don't know how you could possibly be confused."  
 
"You do realize that I've never flown before, right?" Calvin asked, raising an eyebrow.  
 
"I'm aware. There's a first time for everything, though," Dorothy replied offhandedly, walking outside. "I'll be outside waiting for you." 
 
"Okay," Calvin tossed back, finishing up and throwing the paper towels away. Absol was sitting next to his pack, watching him the whole way with a spiteful glare. "So, if you're a girl like Dorothy said, I think I know what your nickname is gonna be." Absol nodded, then cocked her head, as if asking what it was going to be. "How does 'Pandora' sound?" She seemed to consider it, and nodded after a moment, still staring viciously at him. "It's settled, then. Your new name is Pandora." Her facial expression didn't change. "Still mad at me about the tea, huh?" She nodded. "Fine. We're flying, so I have to put you back in your ball." He picked up the Luxury ball from the table and recalled her, attaching it to his belt afterward. "Maybe she'll feel better after some time in there. These Luxury Balls are supposed to be really comfortable for them." He said to himself, picking up his backpack and heading outside. Dorothy was standing there waiting, and next to her was a very large Salamence. Having never seen one before, he was quite shocked and understandably intimidated by it.  
 
"Are you ready to go?" Dorothy asked.  
 
"On second thought... I'll be right back," Calvin stammered nervously, heading back inside in nothing short of a hurry. He came back a few minutes later, looking a lot better. "Okay, we can go now."  
 
"Okay, good. Go ahead and get on Salamence's back," Dorothy instructed. "Don't worry, he won't attack you." 
 
"It's not him I'm worried about..." Calvin muttered under his breath, climbing on the large dragon's back. Once he was settled, Dorothy climbed on behind him. 
 
"Now Salamence, he's never flown before, so don't go too fast," Dorothy commanded. Salamence snorted some smoke in response. "Okay, let's go." Salamence let out a deafening roar, causing Calvin to cringe and tighten his grip around Salamence's neck while ruffling Dorothy's hair, and lifted off slowly before gradually picking up speed and flying eastward. They flew over a large inlet of water, then a massive forest before landing in a small town nestled in said forest a minute later. 
 
"Oh my, the scenery from above is so beautiful, wouldn't you say, Master Calvin?" Dorothy gushed excitedly, hopping off of Salamence and looking around. The town was surrounded by forest on all sides, with a small path open to the north leading to Route 101. There were several houses along the main path, and a large building in the southwest part of town. A thud behind her caught her attention, saw that Calvin had fallen off of Salamence. "Oh my, are you alright?" 
 
"I can feel my heartbeat in my ears..." Calvin mumbled, sitting up and trying to regain his bearings. "Why are we in a forest?"  
 
"This is Littleroot Town," Dorothy replied, recalling Salamence and helping Calvin up. "We're here to see Professor Birch and get you started." 
 
"Right. Note: flying is bad for me." Calvin muttered, fixing his hair, prompting Dorothy to do the same.  
 
"Noted. Now let's go. His lab is that way," Dorothy said walking towards the lab.  
 
"Don't leave me behind!" Calvin exclaimed, running to catch up to her. When they got there, Dorothy knocked on the door, and were greeted after a few seconds by Professor Birch.  
 
"Oh! You must be Dorothy and Calvin!" The Professor greeted them, looking at both of them.  
 
"Eh? How do you know us?" Calvin asked, taking a step back nervously. 
 
"I called in advance to let him know we were coming," Dorothy explained matter-of-factly. 
 
"Of course..." Calvin sighed. Dammit Dorothy! 
 
"She also told me you wouldn't be needing a starter Pokémon, so all you need is a Pokédex," The Professor said, leading them inside. Calvin was in awe at all the machines and equipment in the lab, especially a computer displaying detailed information on several Pokémon Calvin didn't recognize. "Excuse the mess, We're always quite busy here." 
 
"We?" Only then had Calvin realized there were other people there as well, working with the equipment. He deduced that they were his assistants. Refocusing, he noticed a small red device on a desk that looked like a tiny computer, and three Poké Balls on another table. "Is that the Pokédex?" He asked, pointing to the red device.  
 
"That's right, the Pokédex is a high-tech Pokémon encyclopedia that gives detailed information on the Pokémon you'll meet on your travels," The Professor explained, handing it to him. "If it's a Pokémon you've caught, you can get even more information on it." 
 
"Wow, cool!" Calvin exclaimed, unclipping his Luxury Ball and letting Pandora out. She looked around curiously before sitting down and looking at the strange thing Calvin was holding. He pointed it at her, and it beeped after a second before speaking in an automated male voice. 
 
"Absol: the Disaster Pokémon. Absol has the ability to foretell the coming of natural disasters. It lives in a harsh, rugged mountain environment. This Pokémon very rarely ventures down from the mountains. Gender: Female. Ability: Super Luck. Moves Known: Quick Attack, Knock Off, Double Team, Bite." 
 
"Fascinating..." Calvin murmured, tucking the Pokédex in his pocket. Pandora continued to stare confusedly. 
 
"Called it," Dorothy giggled.  
 
"What do you want, a medal?" Calvin grumbled.  
 
"Nope, just for you to realize that when I'm right, I'm right," Dorothy replied. 
 
"Anyway, thank you, Professor," Calvin said, shifting his attention from his annoying attendant. 
 
"You're welcome, Calvin. I hope you have a great adventure," The Professor replied, waving as they departed. 
 
"Okay, what next?" Calvin asked once they were outside. "I suppose we could go looking for Pokémon." 
 
"We'll head north to Route 101, which leads to Oldale Town." Dorothy said, pointing north.  
 
"Alright, to Route 101!" Calvin cheered. "Let's go, Pandora!" Pandora rolled her eyes and walked between Calvin and Dorothy as they walked north out of town to Route 101.

Heir's Journey: Hoenn (Chapter 3 Up)

Detective Calvin
Level 1
Youngster

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