Pokemon Ivory - Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Loyalties Engaged

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Not only did Professor Juniper walk Ivory home, but she helped Ivory's mother clean the deep scratches and other injuries to the sixteen-year-old. Apparently, Nora Nox and Sakura Juniper had long been loosely acquainted. Once Ivory was disinfected, patched up, and bandaged, Nora ordered the teenager to go lay down before she fell down.

"It's not even dusk," Ivory complained. "The sun's still up!" But her voice was strained with weariness, so her mother ignored her and motioned for her to go upstairs. With heavy legs the teenager climbed the ladder to her attic room. Only after the trapdoor fell shut did Nora turn to the Pokémon Professor.

"What happened? She didn't look like she wanted to talk, but if something happened, I need to know." Nora dumped the bloody paper towels in the trash can and wrung out the wet, blood-stained wash rags before dumping them in the hamper. Finally, she put the first-aid kit back in the cabinet and sat down on the sofa. "Spill it, Sakura. What happened to my girl?"

"Rabid Liepard," the scarred woman replied. "You got any soda around here?"

"Bottom drawer in the fridge," Nora said. "Help yourself. So, what happened? Your Serperior kill it?"

"Yeah. Didn't even have to give her an order, she just jumped right in between Ivory and the Liepard. But your girl was ready to take on that Liepard with a stick. She's brave. Brave and stupid. But I was impressed, I'll give you that. She impressed my Serperior, too."

Nora arched one delicate eyebrow. She knew that Professor Juniper hadn't planned on even considering Ivory for the position of Pokédex Researcher, due to the identity of her mother. Sakura Juniper didn't consider Nora to be a real Pokémon Trainer because Nora, at nineteen, had made her way to Victory Road, failed to defeat the Elite Four, and gone home. And furthermore (and this was the thing that really rankled the battle-scarred Pokémon Professor), Nora Nox had managed to get through her time as a Trainer without losing any limbs, or even any fingers. She'd come home to Nuvema without more than a few superficial scars. Unlike Professor Juniper, who had returned with her right pinkie and ring fingers permanently crippled, a piece of her ear missing, and barely-healed acid burns on seventy percent of her left leg.

Yet somehow, Ivory had managed to acquire Juniper's admiration. "Does that mean," Nora asked, careful to keep her tone politely interested, "that you're considering her for the Research positon?"

"She's got fire. Out of the three kids I've considered, she's the best. The other two don't have drive. Cheren Gozen is too intent on the rules and regulations of the game for him to care about the experience. And Bianca Noire..."

"Her father's an idiot," Nora said shortly, scowling. "If he'd raised her differently, she'd be just like Ivory."

Juniper shrugged. "Be that as it may... how long has your girl wanted to be a Pokémon Trainer?"

"Seems like since she was born."

"Good," the half-blind woman replied. There was a smug smile stretching across that scarred face. "If she's going to do what my Serperior thinks she's going to do, then that's good."

Nora raised a laconic brow. "And what exactly does your inestimable Serperior think my girl's going to do?"

"Your girl is going to take one of my boys all the way to Victory Road. You mark my words. And it all starts tomorrow morning, because I'm bringing the Pokémon. I'll make sure Cheren and Bianca know to be here."

Upstairs, in the twilight-cooled attic room, Ivory stretched out on her futon, a smile on her face. Her mother didn't realize she could hear every word of the very interesting conversation downstairs through the vents. So, through the age-old technique of ventilation-eavesdropping, Ivory Nox learned that Professor Sakura Juniper, one of the most famous Pokémon Professors in the world, was going to offer her a job filling the Pokédex. And not only that, but tomorrow, the Pokémon Professor would bring a Starter Pokémon for not just her, but her two best friends.

I wonder, the sixteen-year-old thought as exhausting pulled at her, if I'll get a Snivy. I'd like to have a beautiful and deadly Serperior as my partner one day, just... like... Professor...

And Ivory slipped easily into dreams of battle and adrenaline, of razor-edged leafy whirlwinds and Victory Road... and eyes like the blood of ancient redwood trees, framed by ferny lashes. The most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen in her life.


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Don't wake up, Ivory ordered herself the next morning, rolling to face the shadowy wall so the blinding sun lancing through her bedroom window couldn't attack her eyes anymore. The early autumn heat - an unwelcome farewell gift from summer - prickled along her skin beneath her thin blanket. She ignored the discomfort and kept her eyes squeezed tightly shut. Don't wake up. Go back to sleep. She planned to sleep until she was positive the Pokémon Professor had deposited the gift-wrapped box on her nightstand. If she had to be conscious while waiting for it, Ivory was fairly certain she'd go crazy.

She began to drift off again.

Something rattled. Her eyes flew open, then scrunched shut against the sickly yellow glare of the autumnal morning sun. Had Professor Juniper been here already? And why was her bed positioned right next to the window?

The trapdoor that led to the rest of the house flew open and Cheren climbed up. "Ivory! Get up! Jeez, what is wrong with you? Professor Juniper left the Pokémon on your nightstand!"

Groaning, Ivory rolled out of bed and scrubbed a hand over her face. Sleep crud crusted her eyes. Drool whitened the corners of her mouth. Spitting into her hand, she wiped it over her mouth to clean her skin and then scraped the grit from her eyes with half-numb fingers. Then, finally semi-conscious, she peered blearily up at Cheren, who looked down his long, tapered nose at her with friendly disdain. If she knocked his glasses off, she wondered, would he go away?

"Dude, first day after near-death experience," she informed him in a mumble, shoving hanks of brown hair out of her face. "Morning off. Go far, far away."

"Pokémon, Ivory!" Cheren grabbed her by the arm and hauled her to her feet.

She tripped over the super-long legs of her black, yellow, and pink plaid pajama pants and grumbled, "I hate you, Cheren. A lot." But since the box was there, she let the faux-hate fade away under the sparkles of red, white, and black wrapping paper. Now they just had to wait for Bianca, and they could choose their Pokémon.

"Am I a little late?" A soft, cooing voice snagged Ivory's attention. She and Cheren turned to see blond, frothy Bianca pushing through the trapdoor. Seeing them looking at her, the sixteen-year-old twisted her green beret in her hands. "Oooh. Sorry about that!"

"Jeez, Bianca! We've known you for more than ten years and you've never managed to be on time!" Cheren growled. One jabby finger shoved his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. Ivory ignored him; she only had eyes for the prettily wrapped box on her bedside table.

"Sorry," the blonde said again. She wiped her hands on her silky, pumpkin orange top. "I had to sneak past my Dad. Are they here yet?"

The three of them gathered around the shiny, wrapped box. Stillness gripped them tightly. Anticipation hummed under Ivory's skin, sizzled through her veins. Without a second thought, she pulled the loose end of the bow, untying the ribbon. Her hands shook as she lifted the lid.

And there they were: three gleaming, full-sized poké balls. One half gleamed like the red of candied apples, the other like white ribbon candy. The center buttons glowed a soft rosy color, indicating the poké balls were occupied. Each ball hummed with the power of its captured creature. There were no labels, markers, or anything else to indicate what kind of pokémon were inside the poké balls.

"Maybe we're supposed to let our hearts guide us," Bianca mumbled. When Cheren gave her an exasperated look, Bianca merely shrugged. "Just a thought."

"This one," Ivory blurted. She reached for the one on the left. The poké ball sent tingles through her fingertips when they brushed the smooth titanium sphere. Tiny sparks sizzled up her arm. Whatever was inside called to her on a level she couldn't even describe. A sweet ache filled her chest as she laid her palm against the cool metal. Holding her breath, she scooped up the pokéball with a trembling hand. Warmth seeped into her palm. She suddenly smelled the sharp spice of pine sap and the sweet green of grass after heavy rain. "This one," she repeated, her voice soft as wind blowing gently through trees.

The other two picked their pokéballs, but Ivory didn't pay much attention. Instead, she cradled her poké ball to her chest. Her heart beat hard against the metal through her skin. She almost didn't want to press the button and open it. What if the pokémon didn't listen to her? What if it didn't like her?

But she had to do it. She had to.

Candy red and ivory gleamed. The rosy glow called to her. With bated breath, she pressed the button. The lid of the poké ball flipped up, the sphere cracking open, and there was a flash of silvery light. And there, right there in front of her, was a small, sleepy-looking Snivy, huge liquid brown eyes framed by incredibly long, fern-like green lashes. It blinked, amber eyelids sliding slowly over its eyes.

"It's a Snivy," Cheren said softly, as if afraid of startling it. "Male, by the plumage." He gestured to the long ferny lashes, the elegant cresting collar of golden scales around its neck, and its tail shaped like a palmate leaf. The little Snivy glanced at the boy, turned up his snout. Then he studied Bianca with a cocked head for a long moment before turning up his snout again. Finally, he waddled over to Ivory, who knelt down in front of him.

"Hello," she whispered. Those fathomless eyes of russet and gold studied her face, roving over her every feature. Ivory swallowed hard. Her heart thudded against her ribs like a hammer. The whole world seemed to fall silent, listening to this one moment. She just didn't know what to say. So she simply held out her hand and murmured, "I'm Ivory."

Very thin, sharp teeth closed over her fingertips, but didn't pierce the skin. She didn't tense up or cry out. Only met the Snivy's challenging eyes. Her heart thumped once, twice. Three times. Each possible choice reflected in her heartbeat. His teeth pricked the pads of her fingers. She felt blood well up.

Then the Snivy blinked slowly, the light shining off his golden eyelids, and released her from its tiny jaws. Crimson lightly smeared her fingertips. Calm acceptance filled those golden brown eyes. He chirped softly, as if to say, "You'll do, human." And then the Snivy tentatively brushed its smooth, scaly nose against her palm. Slender vines, covered in soft green fuzz, reached out from beneath his arms and caressed her wrist with tiny leaves as soft as velvet.

"Hello, dearest heart," Ivory said. She breathed in the scent of aloe gel, pine needles, and forest green. Fern-lashes tickled her palm. The tip of the pale green nose nuzzled the inside of her wrist. She had never, she realized, loved anything on sight as much as she loved this little Pokémon. "Hello, my brave warrior. What should I call you?"

There was wary acceptance in those russet eyes. He would answer to whatever she decided to call him – as long as it wasn't something absolutely ridiculous, like Fluffy. Which meant she'd have to choose carefully. Ivory knew the Snivy would eventually evolve into a Serperior, a regal and aristocratic emerald snake monster. What name she chose would have to reflect his final form – noble, strong, elegantly lethal, a creature of the forests.

"Galen?" She asked. One of the young, handsome forest gods in the mythology of the Tuatha region, a brave warrior and one of the six consorts of the Tuathan dark fertility goddess. When she explained that, the Snivy blinked again. Chirped. Tightened his grip on her wrist with his fuzzy vines and nodded slowly, regally, as if to say, "It will do."

"Galen," Ivory murmured softly. Caressed one his eyebrow ridges. He gave an encouraging little hum. "Hello, Galen."

"A Tepig!" Cheren yelled. "Mine's a Tepig!"

Bianca didn't say anything. She watched Cheren lightly rubbing the top of his little fire pig's head as the Tepig oinked and grunted in pleasure. Watched Ivory melding her mind, her heart – her soul – with the small, slender, incredibly arrogant grass serpent. Then she depressed the button on the poké ball she held. Silver light flashed. And before she could even blink the spots from her eyes, something soft, furry, and warm shimmied up her leg and rubbed against her shoulder, purring like a cat.

"It's an Oshawott. The Sea Otter Pokémon," Bianca murmured, stunned by the vigor of its affection. Cheren's Tepig was enjoying being loved on, but wasn't really doing much loving in return. And Ivory's Snivy... the thing had barely spared his trainer more than a second glance, though it was wrapping vines around her arm now and demanding the human girl pet his scaled eyebrow ridges. As for her Oshawott... it purred, rumbling with pleasure, and butted its head against her chin.

"What do we call them?" Cheren asked, scratching under the Tepig's chin. "We can't just be like, 'Tepig, I choose you! Fire Brand Attack!' Some other pokémon might get confused and could totally throw off a match."

"I doubt it," Bianca replied.

"This is Galen," Ivory murmured. "My Galen." The Snivy deigned to spare the other two humans a glance before returning to his task of utmost importance: forcing Ivory's hand to continue petting him while he hummed in pleasure.

"Mulan," Cheren said after a moment. "Mine's a girl."

"Starter pokémon are never girls, though," Bianca objected, momentarily distracted from Oshawott's head caressing her cheek. "Are you sure?"

Cheren traced the heart-shaped tawny splash on the little fire piglet's snout, the little heart-shaped bit at the end of the curly tail. Male Tepigs had oval-shaped facial markings and spherical tail-ends. "See?" No doubt about it, the little pig was female. "What about you, Bianca?"

"Um..." She looked into the sloe-dark eyes. Her fingers combed through the sleek, white head fur. Tiny, pearl-white paws patted her cheeks. Then the Oshawott patted the razor-edged tawny clam-shaped scalchop shell on his pale, blue-furred belly. She knew that the Oshawott would eventually evolve into Samurott, the Forbidible Samurai Pokémon, and would become a great sword master. His name should reflect that.

"I know!" Bianca cried suddenly. "Yoichi."

"As in Nasa no Yoichi?" Cheren asked. "The samurai from the famous hanging scroll in the Watanabe Museum?"

"Yeah. It's perfect. He'll be a fantastic samurai pokémon," Bianca said. "Won't you, Yoichi?"

Ivory wasn't listening. Galen had wrapped his tiny, leaf-like arms as well as his slender vines around her wrist, chirruping happily as he forced her hand to move back and forth over his head. She was surprised his arms could reach that far. Now she was busy combing through the leafy tufts of "fur" on Galen's head with gentle fingers. Her heart had melted into syrup at the first sight of those crimson-gold eyes, and the Snivy was lapping it up, though he still eyed her warily. She knew it would take him a while to trust her. That was all right; she could wait her entire life if she needed to.

"So," Cheren said after long moments of silence punctuated by happy pokémon sounds. "How about a Pokémon battle?"


TBC
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Author's Note: so here's chapter 3 of Pokemon Ivory. I'm trying to get better about updating this fic regularly. One way to help with that is me getting great Pokemon art from the internet and looking at it for inspiration. Right now some of my favorite peeps on DeviantArt are: all0412; rannylk; aya-mei (I think that's her name); Hapuriainen; yuzahunter; and kiwchu. They rock my socks super hard. =) So check them out on DA, yeah? And of course, reviews are loves. Huggles! And Merry Christmas and happy... I can't spell Haunahahdka. *fails* But happy that, too.

- LA Knight

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Concerning the Details of Snivies: I don't really know if Snivies have fern-lashes or "fur" that's really bits of plant matter, but I want a lot of details and there really aren't any. My non-cannon changes in this matter are mostly because I don't know if Snivy is a reptile (it says he's a grass snake, but his tail is literally a leaf and can do photosynthesis, so I tried to combine traits from living plants and reptiles, hence the "fur" and "eyelashes"). I really want to show what it's like to bond with a Pokémon the way it happens in the games. I mean, obviously the Pokémon doesn't automatically think you're the best thing since sliced bread, but you've basically been given a baby Pokémon (they're only level five) so they're going to either love or hate you. I want to really show the bonding process. For that, among other things, I need physical details.

About Tepigs: As for Tepig, the gender-markings are inspired by the difference in Pokémon Pearl between male and female Pikachu – a male's tail is shaped like a lightning bolt, but the end of a female's tail looks like... well, a valentine-style lightning bolt, I guess. The end is heart-shaped. And the reason I made the Tepig female was because Tepig is supposed to be of Chinese design, so I wanted a Chinese name, and the first one I thought of was Mulan. So I made her a girl. If Ash Ketchum can have a female Snivy (which he caught in the episode Snivy Plays Hard to Catch), then Cheren can have a female Tepig.

Where is the Tuatha Region?: The Tuatha region doesn't exist. Galen is (I think) an Irish vegetation god. Since they don't have continents and countries in Pokémon, I came up with the name "Tuatha Region." The Tuatha de Danaan were, in Irish mythology, the first inhabitants of Ireland. Most English-speaking countries know the Tuatha de as fairies.