Leaving At Last

Pallet Town was always quiet. Logan had to admit, that was probably the main reason he always liked it so much. He had always been a contemplative sort, and having the open air around him with nothing to distract him from his musings was something he appreciated a great deal. Most mornings, he would wake up simply to take a slow walk around the neighborhood, wandering aimlessly around the worn dirt paths that led from house to house, even though he knew the layout of the town by heart now.

Today was a bit different. True, he woke up early like every other day, and he meandered about the town for some time. To a casual observer, it would seem no different from any other early morning walk. Look closely, though, and one would see that he walked with a much brisker stride, and that his direction seemed more steady.

I need to head to Oak's Lab, true, but I want to stick around a bit longer, he thought. Just one last walk around town. He'd made certain to path his course in just the right way so that he would walk down each path before heading to the laboratory. Pallet was a small place, so this didn't take nearly as long as one would think, and Logan was finding out that he was running out of places to go. His excited pace was partly to blame for that, he assumed.

I never thought I'd ever leave home like this. Training was something I thought I'd never do, and now I'm all but forced into it. In retrospect, it was a silly thing to believe. Pokémon Training was something most everyone had experience in, regardless of eventual profession. It shouldn't have been that much of a surprise that higher education would require some field time as a prerequisite for enrollment, but Logan had been caught off guard nonetheless. If he was to even come close to becoming a respected researcher like one of the great Professors, he'd have to do his time as well.

Logan shook his head. I guess I shouldn't stall any longer. Besides, Enki will be waiting on me at the Lab. Best not to be rude. Enki was a Squirtle that had assisted Logan when he'd worked as one of Oak's aides, and was an invaluable help. While Logan had never officially been given ownership of the Pokémon, they were very close friends even today, despite Enki still residing at the Lab.

Logan's pace quickened to a jog, and he eventually reached the large yellow building where Professor Oak did most of his work. Logan stepped up to the door, somewhat breathless now from the extended run (he noted with this how terribly out of shape he was), and allowed himself into the building after a quick rap at the door.

"Professor? Enki?" Logan called into the lobby. "It's me, Logan. I've come to pick up Enki. Is anyone here?" He patiently awaited to reply, throwing glances to all the open doorways.

"Logan, we're in here," the Professor cheerily called from the back room. He emerged not a second later with Enki in tow. He had a large grin on his face, having the complete opposite opinion of Logan's adventure than Logan did. He carried a PokeDex in his hand, and was hurriedly configuring all of the necessary settings.

"It's always special when someone starts their journey, especially those that are close to my heart. This reminds me of when my Grandson first set out on his own journey... I seem to have forgotten his name. Anyhow, you should be much more excited. Field work was my favorite part of my career, and it was over too fast. I'm quite envious."

The PokeDex suddenly buzzed and beeped, signalling the configuration had been complete. Professor Oak held out the device toward Logan, offering it to him.

Logan allowed himself a slight smile. The Professor's enthusiasm was catching, and he was always grateful for it each time he entered the Lab. He leaned down and pet Enki on the head as he spoke with the Professor, simultaneously pocketing the Pokédex as he did.

"I don't doubt it was, Professor," he said, smiling despite his doubts. A Pokémon Journey just seemed like a hassle to Logan, and he was certain he was too old for it nowadays. Still, if Oak was so enthusiastic, he wasn't going to let him down, and with Enki around, this wouldn't be too bad.

He grabbed Enki's Pokéball from a nearby table, and returned the Squirtle into it, lightly tapping the side of the release button that shrunk the Ball to a more compact size and placed it at a hook on the leg of his jeans.

He bowed lightly towards Professor Oak and waved as he stepped backwards through the door. "I won't let you down, Professor. And I'll try to have fun out there!" He slowly began to shut the door, and stepped away from the entrance and towards the north of town.

Just at the exit of town, with a look of daze and confusion, Yoku had just entered. Her scarlet hair stood out like flames against the natural and woodsy look of the town, a mark clearly showing her as an outsider. She wore her usual cotton sweat shirt, this time a black one, and was somewhat doubting her choice. It was sunny and hot today in Kanto, and she had packed for colder weather.

On the girl's shoulder was a bored looking Quilava, who was swiping her paws at a strand of Yoku's hair. The trainer didn't seem to notice it, having been preoccupied by the Togepi that sat nestled in her arms. The younger Pokemon was happily squirming around, as if trying to make Yoku drop him, and laughing as she tried to keep her grip.

In fact, she was so occupied that she didn't see Logan heading up the path toward her. While she struggled with and glared at her Togepi, Tamogo, she would run straight into the other trainer if he weren't quick enough to jump out of the way. Dansei, her Quilava, jumped off of her shoulder hastily, as if knowing the two would probably collide.

It would probably had been a good idea for Logan to have been watching the road instead of dreamily gazing at the houses around him. This would probably be the last time he'd see any familiar surroundings for a long time, and he knew these roads well enough that he didn't need to pay attention to his heading. Besides, he knew no one would be this far from the center of town at this time of day.

He was half correct; none of the locals would be here.

He heard the shuffling of small feet-- likely a Pokémon he presumed-- and quickly glanced ahead. He saw a flash of red and gold-- hair, he later realized-- before slamming head-on into another person.

He almost fell to the ground, but backpedalled well enough to regain his balance. He looked up to see a young woman, likely around his age, holding a small Pokémon. The skittering noise he heard earlier must have been the Quilava at her feet, who'd made tracks to avoid the collision.

Logan's face flushed. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention! Are you okay?"

Unaware of what was happening, Yoku was walking one minute, then suddenly sprawled on the ground the next, with a searing pain shooting through her legs and back. She groaned and rubbed her sore back as Logan spoke. Before responding, she swiveled around and worked her way to her feet.

"I'm fine," she replied, her face glowing red hot with embarrassment, even more so because of her pale features. As if wanting to divert attention from herself, she hurriedly glanced around, her sharp gaze falling and resting on her Togepi. "But Tamogo here might not be."

What she said was slightly true, he was on the ground like Yoku had been, but instead of moaning in pain like his trainer, he seemed to have a different problem. He was on his back, struggling to get upright, not unlike a turtle. His arms and legs squirmed and waved in the air, but to no avail. Giggling, Yoku moved toward him to help him up. Once she did that, Tamogo was now the one embarrassed, and ran to Dansei with an angry huff, mad that the Quilava hadn't warned him.

Yoku turned toward Logan with a sly smile, and extended her hand. "The name's Yoku," she said, "and I believe you need glasses." She was joking, knowing she was also at fault, though she'd never admit to it.

Logan accepted her hand immediately, shaking it firmly. "Logan Kavanagh. Nick to meet you, all things considered."

Taking her unintended advice, Logan took his glasses case from his pack, and put the black-rimmed eyewear atop his nose. Now that he had a moment to calm down, he took a closer look at her Pokémon, noting the Togepi communicated frustratedly with the larger fire Pokémon.

That and the Quilava were enough for Logan to make a deduction. "You wouldn't happen to be from Johto, would you?" he asked. "If that's the case, it seems kind of strange for you to be out in the sticks like this." It was entirely possible she'd come to visit the Professor, but one could never be too certain.

"Yeah, I'm from a town similar to this one, New Bark. And I'm just visiting Kanto, I still have some unfinished business with an organization here, they did me a wrong six years ago, one that they'll pay dearly for. I was just getting a general tour of the Region, and ended up here." She didn't indulge Logan any further, not wanting to bring up her dark and dreary past. She had always been as bent on extracting revenge just as greatly as she wanted to follow in her brother's footsteps, both to honor his brief life.

In a sudden blur of tan and blue, Dansei hopped onto Yoku's shoulder. Quickly following was Tamogo, still huffing with anger. Laughing at his expression, which curled into a deep scowl, Yoku picked him up and held him firmly in her two arms.

It was now she noticed Logan's slightly offput demeanor, and she cocked her own head slightly to the side with curiosity. "You don't seem very happy about something," she observed, "I know barreling into someone like a mindless guerilla can make people mad, but don't worry, I'm not." She enjoyed teasing this teen for some reason. Usually, the thought of speaking to another person wasn't something she looked forward to, but the air of calm Logan had around him was encouraging enough. "So, what's up with you?"

"Small town dweller like me, huh?" Logan said brightly. He enjoyed living in his small, backwoods town, to be honest. He wasn't sure where this New Bark place was, but he did hope he'd get to go there some day. Really, he guessed he'd like any small, remote town, and silently hoped he'd get to rest at a few on his travels.

That was a bit far off, though. Right now he was still at home talking casually with a stranger. He noticed the ominous tone with which she referred to this "organization," but didn't question her on it. It seemed like a sensitive subject, and Logan didn't trust she'd be willing to say anything more substantial about it to him. He did note how happy she seemed around her Pokémon, though. That and her teasing was enough for Logan to note she wasn't entirely morose.

He realized she was talking to him again and snapped away from his musings. "Oh, I'm just a bit distracted. I'm was just leaving home to train Pokémon. I'm a bit nervous, among other things," he said, his voice far-off. "That, and I never actually considered myself much of the 'journey and adventure' type, to be honest." He rubbed the back of his head and wore a sheepish grin as he said this, loosening up a bit.

"Really?" Yoku asked with genuine interest, her brow furrowing slightly, "I've never encountered a trainer that didn't want to go on their journey. I guess I'm quite the opposite, ever since I remember, I've always wanted to be a Pokemon breeder, like my brother." She gazed off into the distance with a haunted look in her eyes then turned them downcast, not wanting to show the stranger the moisture that formed in the corners of them. "He was good at what he did," she said, slightly gloomily.

Shaking her head and looking back toward Logan, she turned the corner of her mouth into a slight half smile. "So where exactly does your 'journey and adventure' take you? I was never really much of a gym battle person, but it's an interesting idea. Contests can be appealing too."

(Pardon the short post, I like to keep dialogue short so it's easy to respond to)

Was? Logan picked up on the implication almost immediately. He frowned, not wanting to touch upon what he realized was a sensitive subject. He felt kind of bad being so sullen about his personal problems, which were minor inconveniences in comparison to whatever past Yoku was keeping buried.

He shrugged in response to her last question. "Well, I was just gonna head to Viridian first, and then to Pewter to pick up a Gym badge. After that, well, I haven't really got a clue.

"It's a weird deal. I've always wanted to be a researcher, like good ol' Professor Oak back in his lab there, but I'll need proper schooling, and no college or university worth anything will accept me unless I have a decent amount of field experience already under my belt, and by that I mean a history in Pokémon training."

He shifted on his feet a bit. "I like Pokémon, I really do, but I've always been more comfortable indoors." He shrugged. "Well, I suppose I can think of this as another experiment. Maybe I'll try a bit of everything while I'm at it, like those contests or do some studying on breeding. It couldn't hurt, right?"

"Nope, it couldn't," Yoku replied cheerily, "besides, you may come to like the field work. I was hesitant about my adventure at first: wandering the world alone at such a young age was scary, but I'm glad I left when I did," she smiled.

"Research does sound interesting, and dabbling in a bit of everything couldn't hurt. Do you have a specific field you want to study? I've always looked up to Professor Elm, and not just because he lives in my home town," she chuckled, "but because he was the first to truly look into Breeding, he's what inspired my brother, who inspired me.

She finally glanced down at the happily nibbling Dansai, who now had many strands in her mouth. She looked up to her trainer and spit them out, making the illusion of a breath of fire.