AN: forgive me the double post but I like to put the first chapter right after a prologue but not in the same post.
Chapter 1. Meant to be
The next day found Di as Karen on a bus to Vermilion City where she'd be picking up her new partner at the Triad project center located there. Seated alone at the back she placed her feet up on the seat with her, it was going to be a long three hour ride and Di would prefer to be comfy. With Butterfree dancing in her stomach the masquerading Ditto girl looked out the window and hoped the scenery would help her relax.
However as the bus trundled through down and then sped up as it hit the open road everything merely became blurs of green and blue. Well not exactly, Di could make out trees, fence posts and the sky . She could still see people and Pokemon moving about, it was just all boring and repetitive so to her it was a blur, a sort of vague memory of things seen but not really noticed
Left with only her thoughts to occupy herself Di went over what she knew about the Triad Project in her mind. One could never be too prepared and besides if she thought hard enough perhaps she could ignore the smell of the perfume and colognes the other passengers were wearing. Even with several windows open the the air was still thick with the sickly sweet smell of them mixing together to create a rather potent wave of smell.
Trying not to think of the smell Di dove into her mind and began her review. The Triad Project was the amalgamated league's way of trying to promote harmony between Trainers and Coordinators as well as promote the Dual Coordination. It was also one hell of a challenge. Di had to admit that its set up was complex and that it must have taken a truly massive effort to get the project off the ground. Though it had only been active for almost three months there had been some buzz about it for quite some time that she had apparently missed.
The basic premise of the project was for a single person to work with Pokemon in both traditional training and coordination and later if they qualified dual coordination. Extrapolated it was much more complicated.
First off all participants had to be registered with the project and they would be tracked on the project's website, Pokedex's recording every battle they were in and contest halls recording the results of every contest. Secondly the Pokemon each person worked with were different and were all previously owned but had been donated to the project for usage. The ideas was to take Pokemon from one style and train it fore the other. Therefor a Pokemon that had only ever battled in gyms and other matches would have to learn how to take all it's power and harness it in a beautiful and yet still effective way.
Likewise a Pokemon used only for contests would have to learn the ins and outs of battles. How to make snap attacks and to not always focus on style and flourish in their moves. They'd have to adapt to changing environments and battles lasting much longer than just five minutes.
Di thought it was an interesting project if possibly a cruel one. Sure some Pokemon had been donated out of kindness and so people could see their former partners rise to fame and show their versatility. Some however , she was certain had been all but thrown at the project, branded rejects and left to get over their abandonment as best they could. Even those who'd agreed to it probably felt bad, after all weren't Pokemon and people were supposed to have deep bonds? How could they be expected to just turn around and work with whoever they were assigned to.
Of course the trainers suffered just as much as the Pokemon, no one was assigned just one Pokemon overall. You were issued one which you had to work with and send reports in on. When the person in charge of your case decided you'd made enough progress you got issued a second Pokemon. However there was no guarantee they had the same background as your last one which meant that a person could spend forever running around to do gym battles with some Pokemon and then trekking across the regions to contest with others. Complicated and highly challenging indeed.
Finally if someone was able to have high enough ranking by the end of the first year of the project's end then they and their team would be shipped to the Orange Islands to compete in the dual coordination championships. It was believed that anyone who could successfully rise to the top of the Triad Projects ranking would be able to swiftly adjust to the concept of the dual coordination and make the most of the time they had before the championships to make a good showing.
This intrigued and worried Di. Not that she thought she had a snowflake's chance in hell of getting that far but what if? What if she did and Karen did and they had to fight? Di couldn't imagine pitting herself against Karen and actually being able to give it her all. Sure they had competed before but not like that, besides if on the very very small chance that it happened and she won Di would never forgive herself for getting in the ways of Karen's dream.
Still the possibility was a good nine months off and really it wasn't something she shouldn't worry about too much. For now Di needed to focus on thinking positively about getting started and giving this her all. It wouldn't bode well to get off on the wrong foot.
Di would have continued to stew in her thoughts if someone hadn't ended up sitting down next to her in the other back seat. Well she might have ignored it had that person not had headphones on that didn't quite contain the music inside them. The tune playing that filtered out was an favorite of hers and it attracted her attention right away.
It was the music that got Di's attention but it was the patch sewn onto the navy back pack beside her that kept it. It was a standard pokeball with a small ribbon over the button and in the center of the ribbon the letter T. It was the symbol of the Triad project, one of things given in the registration kit participants were mailed along with an ID card, rule booklet and some other merchandise.
All of Di's kit stuff was in her own backpack minus her ID card which was in her wallet. Nervously she cleared her throat and smiled at the stranger “ Hi,I um noticed the triad project badge, have you been doing it long.” Di would have loved some thoughts and pointers from people already on the road. She just hope she'd spoken loud enough and that the other girl wasn't mad if she chose to answer.
A hand moved to pause the music and dark orange eyes flicked in Di's direction as the girl's head turned “ Hi, No I'm just starting out, would have gone with the first wave but I broke my leg roller skating and I've been out of commission since. I take it you're just starting as well?”
Di nodded, glad for a friendly reception from the pink haired girl .” Yes, I'm Karen Banks, it's nice meeting you.” Maybe just maybe the girl would be friendly enough to travel with her. She was a stranger yes but she seemed nice enough and Di really didn't want to go about this alone, she'd never been alone in four years except for last night.
The girl slid her headphones down to her neck only briefly disturbing her bangs, the rest of her pink hair being tied back in a ponytail. “ I'm Elena Sassine just Lena for short though, I hate Elena it sounds stuffy. Nice meeting you to, so you wanna make a go at this together? It's gonna be hell traveling hither and yon on foot except when regulations allow other travel. Truth be told I don't fully trust the inspectors and if one of the pokemon I get assigned suddenly turns on me in anger I'd like some backup you know.” Lena grinned the whole time she talked and acted as if her bold and blunt way of speaking was nothing new.
Di blinked a bit surprised “Um sure, I'd like that” It'd make keeping her true nature a secret a bit harder but again she didn't want to be alone and she'd never thought of the possibility of the Pokemon rebelling despite having gone through a screening process. “ Did you have a specific route you wanted to travel depending on what type of Pokemon you received?” Di had figured she'd just go wherever the next location for a battle or contest was and train along the way.
Elena nodded “ There's a few specific stops I want to hit that offer both gyms and contests halls so I've got at least part of the trip planned out. Once we're off my plans you can navigate for a while and then we'll switch off.” A bit of glaze seemed to filter into Lena's eye's “ I'd love the make it into the final part of the project you know. The dual part. Don't know how well I'd do though, I'm not exactly the most agile person around and I'm not quite fond of pain inflicted upon my person.”
Di nodded amazed at how much Lena talked and how swiftly she could change subjects. She had no problem with Lena leading them for a while and as for Lena's dream. Well she wished her the best especially starting late, For herself she was sort of hoping she didn't make it. Partially because of the whole Karen thing and partially because she had no talent as far was she was cornered and the dual system required both Coordinator and Pokemon to appeal and fight together. Di even in Karen's slim and fit body was likely to trip over her own Pokemon rather than dance gracefully around it or something of the like. “ I just want to give it a good effort. If I make it that far I'll be shocked, my previous attempts at both training and coordination didn't exactly end well. I'm just hoping to do better.”
Lena nodded and stretched out on her seat “ I'm sure you'll do fine and if you start faltering I'll let you know. No slacking allowed human or Pokemon.”
Di laughed at that and felt the Butterfree in her stomach settle. Lena was loud and boisterous but she was still nice. Blunt but her truthfulness was as like to heal as it was to hurt. She was perhaps all the things Di wasn't and it felt comforting somehow.
For the rest of the bus ride the girls continued to talk and get to know each other. Di learned that Lena was sixteen and the baby of her family with two older brothers. That the simple jeans and t shirt she was wearing today was not her usual garb but something to placate her mother who'd insisted on walking her into town to the bus. She'd learned that Lena had trained Pokemon since she'd been allowed at age ten but that she'd never won anything big because she'd spent most of those years catching and releasing Pokemon who simply never meshed with her . Di had wondered about that wondered how many people caught and tried to train Pokemon who just weren't meant to work with them.
Di had told her about Karen's life, about her childhood and her parents, though most stuff was Di related, adventures they'd had etc. She'd lamented about having to leave Di behind but that she was sure she'd be ok, commenting that then she wouldn't have to fight her for the t.v. Lena had laughed at that and said the few Pokemon she did have were probably going to use the time to laze about.
All in all the bus ride to Vermilion City was pleasant from that point on. Even if the bus smelled and the road was bumpy. It's easy to forget those kinds of things when you had someone to share them with.
Upon arrival in Vermilion City the girls had stretched for a few moments before walking in the direction of the Triad Project Center. It was early afternoon and the sunlight warmed Di's skin while she breathed in the cool breeze from the sea. The wind not only smelled salty but tasted it as well , it was a strange experience for someone one who'd never been to the sea before.
Wingull and Pelippar floated lazily in sky calling insults to each other that Di found ranged from amusing to crude. On occasion they dived to the ground after a dropped french-fry or piece of pizza. Di had always wondered if bird Pokemon considered it cannibalism to eat the Doduo slices on pizza. Of course she'd never asked them… because she wasn't sure she'd like the answer.
To Di the city was huge, buildings rose high into the sky to be lost among the clouds. The sun gleamed brightly off the metal frames and glass windows. To someone from a rather small down the booming tourist city of Vermilion was a sight to behold. There were malls filled with clothes and Pokemon items, and houses were placed periodically between stores along the streets. There was so much going on Di wasn't sure she could keep track of it all.
Not that she really got a large view of the city since it was only a few blocks from the bus stop to the Triad Project Center. The building was made of red bricks and was in the standard rectangle shape. Over the doors in large black Plexiglas letters read the words Triad project. Through the glass door Di could make out a reception desk and some people moving around inside.
She followed Lena inside content to let the older and more experienced girl lead them even in this. The two walked into the building, and Di was amazed to see so many Pokemon and children milling about As far as the eyes could see, there was an endless sea of them, even when she and Karen had made it to the occasional contest there hadn't been this many people. It was almost unnerving. Di was just glad that the pokedex around her couldn't detect her. Because her genes were so highly rearranged she registered as a human and not a Pokemon. Though psychic type Pokemon wandering through her mind would be able to tell the truth.
As the girls waited in line Di looked around trying to get a feel for the project . On some of the walls of the complex were pictures of trainers and their Pokemon, many had action scenes of them battling or posing to show of strength. Opposite walls showed Coordinators with their Pokemon showing off beauty in grace in what Di thought were amazingly well taken pictures.
The amount of skill showed just on the walls made Di sigh, those Pokemon had worked hard, persevered and had become great. She.. she had given up on battling easily and fought Karen because she disliked contests. She'd been great as friend, a study buddy and maybe even as substitute sibling but as a Pokemon Di could see she had failed miserably.
“It's almost my turn, when I'm done I'm going to head to the rest area and get us a room ok? ”Lena's voice broke Di from her thoughts and she nodded..
That was something she's almost forgot. The triad project buildings functioned a bit like Pokecenters. They had help available from nurses, free food and places to sleep for those who needed or wanted them. It was to take the strain off of Pokemon centers as well as to encourage project members to interact.
When it was finally her turn Di stood in front of the gleaming oak desk and smiled at the receptionist;a young man with corn silk blond hair, eyes bluer than her own and a smile that made Karen's body jittery. She handed him her I.D card and waited a moment while he entered her PIN into a computer.
When he looked up again he returned the smile “ Welcome Karen, to the Vermilion Triad Project Center. I see you're just starting today so if you'll wait a moment I'll retrieve your Pokemon and its file for you.”
Di nodded wondering what sort of Pokemon she'd receive. Part of her thought it would be ironic if it was a Ditto. Although she was certain it would lead to some interesting conversations and explanations if such a thing happened. She also wondered what in Karen found the receptionist interesting much the same as she had wondered this about the boys Karen had asked to ask out on occasion. Di understood many things about human but some of their biological responses to certain things still confused her.
The receptionist returned and placed a pokeball and a beige folder on the desk. “ Alright this is the first Pokemon you've been issued. I've flagged you as active so you're profile will be added to the site soon and you're good to go.”
“ Thank you” With a smile Di took the pokeball and file then turned and headed down the hall in search Lena . She found the other girl just a few rooms down the rest area hall. Already her bed and the surrounding area had papers and clothes scattered about. Lena herself was lounging on the bed deeply engrossed in hr Pokemon's file. Di closed the door and sat down on the unclaimed bed , she placed her pokeball on the nearby nightstand and flipped open her partner's file.
Pokemon name : Solid
Pokemon species : Cubone
Gender: Female:
History:
Solid was formerly trained by Jade Jason and was used for Pokemon contests. Solid participated in multiple contests but often failed to get past the appeal round. On all occasions in which she made it to the next round she was knocked out and therefore never made it to to any final rounds.
It should be noted that when Solid did make it to the semi finals she always had the highest score in the appeal round. Jade Janson attributes this to solid having good days and bad days. Assessors for this project cannot find any evidence otherwise and have noted that in tests done by them Solid showed varying performance levels.
Di's eyes lifted from the page and she eyed the crimson and pearl sphere that held Solid. How unfortunate. It sounded like there wasn't anything wrong with Solid she'd just honestly been doing the wrong thing. Watching battles on T.v with Karen Di had seen plenty of Pokemon have bad days, get bad fields to battle on or have horrid opponents to have to face. Still with the right type of training a bad day could be overcome, enough endurance could allowed Pokemon with a disadvantage to still come out victorious.
With contests though bad days were pretty much a black mark on the whole day. There wasn't time enough to get out of a funk and no near misses or second chances. Hopefully Di could help Solid get over her losing streak and assure her that there was a bright future out there for her. Not that Di could guarantee anything. Not everyone made it in the world of training either. Di had an advantage over many trainers but even she couldn't guarantee success.
With a soft sighed Di returned to her reading. She finished the bio, the reports given by her assessors and ended with a letter written from Jade herself.
Hello there
You've been chosen to work with Solid and I hope that you can love her as much as I do. It was hard letting her go to do this but I think it's for the best. It was really hard watching her struggle with contesting and since I have no real interesting in gym battling i couldn't give her what she needed. I hope you and her make a good team because I'm going to be keeping and eye on the site for you.
At this Di felt a bit apprehensive. Sher was glade Jade hadn't just bailed on her partner but now she had someone else counting in her successes.
I haven't really got a lot else to say just that I'd like if if you could tell solid I'm still thinking of her. Oh and a warning, Solid's a bit skinny right now, not underweight or anything but because of how short her arms are and how thick her bone club is a lot of her appeal techniques kept hitting her body till she lost weight. She's probably going to need to bulk up a bit. Keep her away from milk and milk products though she's lactose intolerant ironic enough.
~ Jade
“I've got a former gym battling Sandshrew named Tank that has a tendency to chew things. Not too bad of a record and he sounds humorous enough in his escapades to make training him for contests interesting. How about you?”
Di looked up from her file and smiled over at Lena “ Cubone named Solid, former contester with no major wins and history of bad and good days. I'm actually looking forward to working with her, I think we'll do pretty well together.”
Lena laughed and grinned “ Tank and solid hmm? Unstoppable force and immovable object. Clearly fate planned for us to be partners.”
Di could't help but laugh as well it was a strange coincidence indeed but somehow it made Di feel better. Perhaps it was fate, some sign that she'd chosen a good companion and that things would work out. Then again an unstoppable force and an immovable object also got nowhere so it could be a sign of endless futile struggles. Di shook her head, she had to stay positive.
She was one step closer to starting the biggest journey of her life but she was really no more assured that she had made the right choice. Still looking over at Lena who'd just released Tank only to have him try and eat his file, she couldn't help but think that if this was a mistake then it was surely one worth making.
End notes: Here's Lena in her typical clothes
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v2...=ladyumbra.png
Next chapter: Pound you to the ground.
Can Lena and Di keep Solid and Tank from killing each other at first meeting? Will the girls give in to lucrative sponsorships deals and can a single incident stop their journey before it starts? Find out in Chapter Two.