A few years priorCharles kept silent in the back seat of Ted’s car as he drove out of Calgary and into some outskirt of the city. He had no clue what to expect, but he was hoping nothing bad would happen. After all, he was doing exactly the opposite of what his parents taught him all his childhood; he got in a car with a total stranger. Aw well. He could defend himself if the scenario turned for the worst. After a long drive, the old man finally stopped his car near some old house that, to be honest, Charles probably wouldn’t have noticed if they hadn’t stopped. Ted stepped out of the vehicle and told Charles to follow him inside. Charles, hoping he won’t regret this decision, came into the house.
The house in itself wasn’t that fancy. It seemed more like an apartment than an actual house. The small kitchen was right beside the even smaller living room. A couch and TV set, a table, and two rooms a bit farther, one for the bathroom and the other for the bedroom.
“This is your house?” questioned the young boy.
“Yup. I know, nothing beautiful, but I prefer small and cozy to large and empty. But this area doesn’t matter. What matters is down here.” Ted said as he headed for a small trapdoor that Charles didn’t notice. He lifted the door up, and went down, telling Charles to come along. The boy went up to the trapdoor and looked down. A long ladder leading down to a nicely lit room. Charles slowly climbed down the ladder, and once he reached the ground, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
In front of him stood a dojo. It was very large, much larger than the house upstairs. The floor was a nice straw like carpet that was still rather soft. The whole place was made in wood, and it really looked like a dojo you’d see in a kung fu movie. A meditation area laid off to one side, while different weapons were in the other corner of the room. A few punching bags hung from the roof, along with some exercise machines on the ground beside it.
“Impressive, don’t you agree? This is where you’ll do your training.” Ted said, with a smile.
Just then, some long, green vine came up and touched Charles’ hand a bit. He jumped, and turned to where the vine was coming from. In the corner of the room, he saw some strange creature; a rather chubby, green four legged creature with a stubby tail and two antennas on its head. Its eyes were a bright yellow, and it had what looked like a large pink flower around its rather long neck. It was lying on the ground, cuddled in the corner where a small bed was made just for her. It gave Charles a heart-warming smile as one of the vines, which came from behind her flower, shook his hand.
- Spoiler:
“Ah, yes. Charles, Blossom. Blossom, Charles.” Ted said.
“Uhh…hi.” Charles said as he shook back the vine. The creature’s smile widened. “But, uh, Ted…not to be rude or anything, but-“
“What is it? It’s a Meganium, and my best friend.”
“A…a Meganium? But isn’t that from…”
“Pokemon? Yup. You gotta know, kid, that this earth contains many secrets. One of them is that Pokemons is not a work of fiction. However, only a few people seem to open their eyes long enough to notice them.”
Charles couldn’t believe his eyes or his ears. Pokemons are real? What other secrets did this world hide?
Ted continued to talk as he walked a bit around the dojo.
“Usually, Blossom would help you with your training, but she has to rest a bit. She’s almost as old as me, and that’s something. But the main reason why she can’t help today is because she’s currently pregnant.”
“O-oh! Umm…congrats!” Charles said, blushing a bit. Blossom and Ted smiled.
“Thank you. Anyways, do you have the sunglasses?"
"Yup. Right here." said Charles as he took them out of his bag.
"Well, put them on, and let's start with the training."
NowCharles looked around as Dewmann and AM were talking about blowing up a wall. They were so close to Rare...and to his glasses. He had no clue what she wanted with them, but, if he knew Rare, it usually wasn't good. This small garden was nice, but he felt more anxious by the second. Where are all the bees? Shouldn't Rare's lair be guarded by swarms of bees and beecats constantly? So why can they get this close to Rare's lair without any alarm?
Unless...
The realization of it hit Charles like a ton of solid bricks. The guards knew they were here. They were being watched. They were going to be attacked soon. He knew it. He could almost
sense it.
"Guys, let's not waste any time, just grab what you can, and-"
He was interrupted by the sound of a large, angry buzz coming in their direction.