Journey of Kleeto, Chapter 1 - New Start

Journey of Kleeto
New Start, Chapter 1

The streets were busy once again. Bustling with rushed movement that included a mesh of traffic, and a horde of people hurriedly walking to wherever their destination was in the methodical city. In the midst of people, a young boy followed its stream, trying his best to flow with it instead of being swept away by it and by his thoughts of his surroundings that plagued him.

Silver City... The name once again ran through the boy's, Sky Selevern's, mind. A metropolis of bright, shinny buildings, doing it's name justice was where he now lived. It felt efficient to the point of constriction. Cutting edge city of technology, and located in a region as foreign to Sky as the tall buildings surrounding him. Kleeto, huh.... It had an odd sound to it. It was a region located farther north of Kanto and Johto, and as such, held some similarities to the other two regions. Sky didn't see any. Being from Kanto, humble Pewter City specifically, the change of moving to such a big place in a different region felt like stepping into another world. Sky sighed.

This town doesn't even have trainers, I'd bet... it's all business... Sky knew at least part of that must be wrong, the city was home to Kleeto's Pokemon Laboratory. That alone would have boosted his mood about his move considerably, but the fact that the lab didn't currently have any Pokemon to distribute to starting trainers damped things a bit. The people around him, predominantly dressed in formal business wear came in stark contrast with Sky's sorrel-brown hair, usually messily spiky, and plain white tee shirt and silver vest, along with fairly average blue jeans and white and blue sneakers. The youth felt out of place.

Sky would have been happy to stay in Pewter City, with his friends... and one day challenge Brock. That was the first step to become a regional Champion, naturally. Well, Kanto's regional Champion. Sky glared down at the ground as he walked, trying not to let the fact that he didn't even own a Pokemon yet at age thirteen bring him down too much. His birthday wasn't far off, so that didn't inspire hope in matters much either.

The sorrel, spiky haired boy had moved from Kanto due to his father's job. Businesses were tough, and they hardly took into consideration the dreams of their employee's kids. The business move had all but torn Sky away from his old life...

The only redeeming factor was that Sky's father had promised him a Pokemon.

That particular thought though drew a moping pout to Sky's face and he sighed. “But it's been a week already and Dad still hasn't found a good Pokemon...” the sorrel haired trainer wasn't letting his father get away with giving him a Ratatta, even if his father made no such move... yet. He figured it was taking so long since his old man was adapting to life here. They both were.

His rounds of his new city had led him to discover some familiarities with his old town. A PokeMart and Pokemon Center further on the outskirts of town nearby a forest, for starters. Conveniently placed too, Sky smiled. It'd make recovering trips after forest training easier.

Even though he was walking, Sky soon found he wasn't getting anywhere, and decide to head home early. He had no sense of direction, but luckily, after getting lost the first five days of his time in Silver City, he was beginning to pick up landmarks, and this time, it only took him an hour and half to get home instead of the usual four. Personal record. Sky grinned.

Sky lived on the outskirts of the city as well, put unfortunately the Lab and Pokemon Center were on the other side of town. When he made his way to his house, a certain sight---his father's blue SUV specifically---sent a pulse of pure excitement through Sky's system and he couldn't help but break into grinning. “Dad's home early!” He rushed to the front door; there was at least a chance his father had found something...

Inside their home was pretty boring. Not everything was even unpacked, but Sky doubted that would brighten things up too much anyway. Sky's dad was just too old fashioned, but it was an endearing trait. He stepped inside to see his the shaggy dark-brown haired head of the man rise after setting down another unpacked box.

“Hey, pops. What's up, need any help with---”

“Sky!” His father's excited and somewhat surprised exclamation cut him off. “There you are! You won't believe it, have I found the one for you!”

Sky's couldn't contain the widening grin that threatened to break his face. “One what?” he played dumb.

The tall formally dressed figure of his father hurried over to him. “Quit joking around! You wouldn't stop bothering me for a Pokemon! And THIS little guy is perfect for a restless type like you!”

“Awesome! Is it a Charmander?! They have TONS of energy! It's totally a Charmander...!” Sky looked around for any sign of a PokeBall, so his father didn't keep the suspense going any longer and brought the red and white orb out of a pocket and enlarged it with a press of its button.

“Well, not quite. I caught him outside of a swamp a small ways out of town... he's a tricky one, that's for sure...” his father's face darkened with what must have been an unpleasant memory , but he quickly shook it off. “But here. See for yourself.”

Sky beamed joy and grinned widely while trying to find something to say, but couldn't and just accepted the PokeBall from his father. "Awesome! Okay... come on out, whoever you are!" he called, anxiously wanting to meet his first Pokemon and realized all the waiting was worth it as the Pokeball opened in a burst of red light.

After the red flash faded, Sky saw a small azure crocodile with dark ruby red eyes and spines trailing from the back of its head to its tail. It had a wide golden stripe running across its chest, but before Sky could observe it any longer, the small reptile began looking around frantically.

"Toto? toto to! TOOOO! (What the? This isn't home! AHHH!)" The Pokemon screamed while running around the living room in a fit of panic. For some reason, it took to biting and chewing anything in sight except Sky and his father to try and calm down.

"Whoa... you found a Totodile!" Sky exclaimed happily... until he noticed the gator was successfully chewing through the sofa. "Uh..."

"Oh my... Hey! Don't do that!" Sky's father called out in alarm. The gator stopped immediately, looked at him, and a look of enlightenment crossed its face before it spewed out a harsh series of syllables from its name that translated, “Hey, you're that human who hit him in the head with that ball! How'd you like that faceful of mud,  you jerk! Now---Oh, what's that?” The Totodile began running again toward something else.

"He sure is... energetic..." Sky remarked, bewildered by both facts that the little guy running around was his favorite Pokemon, and by how much energy the gator seemed to possess. Sky walked over to where the Totodile was now trying to claw through a box. The gator tensed at first, until Sky descended down on one knee and smiled warmly at the apprehensive Pokemon. “Hey, bud... calm down, I'm a good guy. Can't say the same about that guy over there, but you don't have to worry.”

“Hey...” Sky's father tossed out the reproachful comment.

“Anyway,” Sky continued, grinning brightly, “I'm Sky... and mind being my new buddy? I kinda just moved here.”

The gator stared at Sky for a short moment. He seemed nice, sincere... and even a little anxious... perhaps toward if the gator even wanted to be here. The Totodile tilted its head just slightly. He didn't have much else back at that swamp, and... he could tell by looking that he might like this human. So why not?

“Toto! (I'm in!)” The gator agreed cheerfully and and raised its arm.

“Awesome!” Sky beamed again. “So... I think I'll name you... Spike. How's that sound?” Sky smiled, a fondness for the hyper-active Totodile developing already.

With a nod, Spike the Totodile accepted his new nickname. It wasn't much different from what he was called at the swamp. 'Course, a lot of them did call me 'brat'. Jerks.

Sky's father was watching with a smile and decided it was time to speak up again. "Good, and now that he has a name, he's all yours, son. Just remember to take care of him, he was pretty tough to find... and catch." He glanced at the sofa. "Oh, and... keep him from running around the house from now on..." Though he spoke in a light-hearted, humorous manner, there was a certain sense of a seriousness there, too.

"Affermative!" Sky agreed and jokingly saluted before he ran to the door and yanked it open. "Thanks a ton, pops! Come on, Spike! First stop: the park!" He called this time to Spike, his very first Pokemon.

The little azure alligator quickly followed suit after its new trainer. "All right! Hanging around these weird humans could be fun after all!" Dashing outdoors, this marked the beginning of Sky's friendship with Spike, and the beginning of their adventure.

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They reached the the park a few minutes after leaving Sky's house, seeing as how they both ran the entire way there. Thankfully, the streets weren't as crammed as before, so the two had no problem keeping track of each other. The park was, as many others, infested with a fleet of happy-go-lucky children playing around on the rather standard playground equipment such as slides, swings, and jungle gyms. The grassy area a bit further off from the playground equipment looked perfect for training exercise and battles.

"Here we are, Spike, Silver Park." Sky announced to the Totodile standing beside him. "Now let's find a couple of trainers to battle. This city's lame, but there should be at least be some around..." He began examining the area for any one who looked even remotely like a trainer. Even kids younger than ten these days carried Pokemon. It was a dangerous world.

Spike, however, could hardly hold back his excitement; the delightful prospect of exploring human territory without the threat of being chased off was too great, and with no warning Spike burst into the park, heading straight towards the playground section where the kids played.

Sky watched his Pokemon with a faint sense of foreboding. "Uh oh..." he murmured, "This might not end well... er, Spike?"

Spike stopped in front of the kids and stared blankly at them. They stared back, also blankly.

"Hey! That's a Totodile!" One shouted in awe.

“Aw, no way! Cool!”

“Nu-uh! It's a Lombre!”

“No, it's not!”

At first Spike was calm. But at the kids' excited chatter, Spike lost the will to stay calm. The Totodile hyper-actively charged one of the slides and repeatedly began biting it... until it broke.

"Mad Pokemon!"

"Run for your lives!"

With that, all the small children ran away screaming in pure terror.

Sky said nothing as he just stood there, staring ahead with a blank expression of being shocked wordless. If we stick around, we're getting yelled at and slapped with repair fines... NOPE.

"Spike, return!" The trainer called quickly as he pointed Spike's Pokeball at him. A red light appeared and the hyperactive alligator disappeared with the red beam. Sky turned, tired to recall which way was home, and prepared to make the mad dash for it, but was stopped right before taking off.

A girl with long blonde hair and eyes a shade of emerald green blocked his path. She wore a light-green tee shirt, aquamarine shorts, and forest-green shoes with white stripes. A sense of style, looks like... and the girl looked as if she was the same age as him. She was the first teenager even remotely like him he had seen since moving here. She stared at Sky intently.

"Hey, where are you off to in such a hurry?" The blonde asked, seeming to intentionally cut off his escape, her green eyes suspicious.

Oblivious to her words, Sky couldn't help but to stare. She's... kinda pretty... he thought distractedly. The sorrel haired trainer remained starting for a second longer before realizing what he was doing and turned away in embarrassment, feigning a laugh. "Well, um... it's just there's this... thing I gotta take care of and--"

"That's a really crazy Totodile you have there," She prompted, giving him the blank stare that shouted she knew what Spike had just done.

Sky was torn from his awkward state, instantly shifting to the defense of his new friend. "Hey, Spike is not crazy! He... just gets a little worked up some times.” All the time, from the looks of it...

The blonde raised an eyebrow, then smirked. "Calm down, I didn't mean anything by it." She stated casually, her tone losing its suspicious edge. "Actually,  I stopped you because I would like to battle you and your Totodile." She flashed him a slightly mischievous grin.

Sky's face exploded into happiness again. "You would?! Alright! Let's go!" He said anxiously while hastily drawing Spike's PokeBall. "Come on out, Spi--"

"No, not here!" the girl waved her arms.

A vain bulged on Sky's forehead at yet another interruption."Why does everyone cut me off?!"

The girl pointed to the demolished slide. "If you stay here much longer, you're likely to get in some trouble for that slide your Totodile just wrecked. And this place doesn't make for a very good battlefield anyway."

Sky blinked in realization. "Oh yeah. Well... okay, then...thanks for that."

"No problem. Of course, we'll still battle..." she reassured, grinning with confidence. "How about the forest? I know where this really nice clearing is near the entrance where there aren't many trees."

Sky smirked, and held in his excitement through a confident grin. "Sure."

"Great! Then follow me." The blonde waved as she turned and headed for a road that led onto a higher elevated ledge above the city that led to the forest. Sky followed, and while they walked, it dawned on him they had both forgotten to ask very basic questions.

"By the way, what's your name?"

The girl turned around again, and flashed another smile, this one seeming sincerely happy, seeing as how they were finally introducing themselves. "Pearl. And you?"

"Pearl, huh..?" Sky echoed, turning the name about in his mind. "I'm Sky Selvern, best Pokemon Trainer in town. Nice to meet ya!" He grinned widely at his exaggerated title.

Pearl smiled, "You too."

----

So thus ends the first rewrite. ^^ For anyone wondering, Kleeto is pronounced “CLEE-EH-TOE.” I only realized that gets skewed when my friends once said the name aloud as “CLEE-TOE” and I was all like o.O “Wha?”

Stick around for more! ^^ And if you don't feel like waiting, you can go read the story in all its current progression at fanfiction. I posted a link to it in my latest journal. Thanks for reading!