[PW!] Open Discussion

((OOC: the farf is f***in' BACK baby))

---

It was a lazy evening in Pallet Town, and the shadows of the imminent sunset
played through the trees. The patterns they left on the ceiling of that
bedroom in the O'Reilly household found its occupant deep in thought.

Andrew had been restrained to the house for the past month. It felt kind of
embarassing, a man of twenty-four living back home, but he wasn't grounded -
it _was_ doctor's orders, after all. He'd been lying in Saffron General
Hospital for at least three years, unconscious, before returning home. The
diagnosis was a peculiar type of coma, never fatal but never predictable.
The abbreviation was "AOC" - the full name a tangle of medical linguistics
that would challenge anyone not qualified to treat it - but the popular term
was "author-onset comatosis," coined by an obscure sect of
Goddish-worshippers who believed in the concept of an uber-pantheon of
entities, each looking over an earthly soul, guiding them, leading their
mortal charges as one would their own Pokémon...

But that's a story for another day. The point was, Andrew had been
unconscious for nearly a half-decade, and although AOC had never claimed a
soul, Andrew still needed time to rehabilitate. Having been away from home
for so long, he chose to return home rather than spend another day cooped up
in such a bland setting. Finally, however, this imposed medical
house-arrest was over. The caretaker assigned to check on Andrew had
arrived the previous afternoon with a clean bill of health, and Andrew was
free to leave whenever he wanted.

It was that question, to where he was to head now that he could, that had
the former trainer so pensive. Luckily, he had lost nothing from his
so-called heyday, which meant his old team was still intact, which meant he
had a sounding board. Grabbing his belt, he ran outside for some fresh air
and released his Pokémon. As they materialized, each looked immediately to
Andrew. The question of what he was going to do when he could finally hit
the road again had been running through Andrew's mind since nearly the day
he woke up, and these little brainstorming sessions had become at least a
weekly occurence.

Snicker the Pikachu, knowing he'd have nothing to contribute to the
conversation but atmosphere, ran back into the house to grab the harmonica
Andrew had given him early on from his backpack. Yuugi the Ivysaur followed
suit, fishing an old ragged soccer ball from a bush and casting a sidelong
glance at Blaze. Although the Growlithe occasionally stuck around for talks
like this, this time, the game won out, and the two headed further into the
backyard to see if they could get some use out of the ball before it
disintegrated.

"Kada..." David, the Kadabra, was the first to pipe up. "<You know my
suggestion.>"

"Eh, I'm still not sure about going back there. Remember how your 'little
brother' joined us." Andrew shudders for a moment, remembering the last
time he saw Andrew Renev and Enimuram Yortsed, and the circumstances that
separated him, them, and the suspicious traveling partner they were with.
As if he were reading Andrew's mind, Snicker went into a melancholy riff,
punctuating the already dreary memory. 'Nori... or should I say Tsunade?
Two faced little...' Andrew shudders again. "I've got too many bad memories
in Johto."

David rolled his eyes in mild consternation. "<Well, you won't stay in
Kanto, for whatever reason -->"

"I told you, I either need to start anew or go somewhere I'm at least...
established? It'd be too awkward starting over here. And since I'm not
well-traveled anywhere else..."

"<Whatever.>"

Next up was the Mankey, MC2. "<I hear Hoenn's nice this time of year...!>"

"Well..." Andrew paused, the lilt in his voice ambivalent, equal parts
interested and noncomittal. The pause soon turned into a fantasy about life
as a Hoenn Trainer. "I've never been to Hoenn..."

"<Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's pack up and head out!>"

"Yeah, I'll -- wait."

"<Here he goes again.>" David rolled his eyes. "<The swimming excuse.>"
Andrew gave David a mean look at that remark, although with his usually
easygoing demeanor, it wasn't very effective in changing David's outlook on
the impending defense. He continued, with what passes for pointed sarcasm
coming from the Kadabra's lips. "<'But guys! There's an _awful_lot_ of
water in Hoenn! What if we can't get around?'>"

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with being a terrible swimmer! Plenty of
trainers get around without swimming a day in their life!" Andrew's voice
dropped to a sheepish mumble as he added, "Of course, none of you know how
to carry me and surf, either..."

The harmonica bleated a loud, sharp note as Snicker suddenly piped up. "<Oh!
What about> pichuu <then?>"

"I'm sorry, what?" The word wasn't familiar to Andrew, as well-versed as he
was in Pokemon-speech. "What about where?"

"<I... the new place, north of here! You know,> pichuu!" Seeing the lack
of comprehension in Andrew's face, Snicker sighed. "<Here, I'll show you.>"
Snicker rushed back inside, and bounded out holding that day's Celadon
Tribune. Opening up to the Metro section, he chuckled as he pointed to an
ad. "<I can't believe it slipped my mind all this time.>"

Andrew picked up the paper and read the blurb Snicker had pointed out. It
was an ad for a small travel agency, offering "low, low deals" and "limited
offers" on trips to... Sinnoh? The region name was vaguely familiar to
Andrew. Trade routes or what not must have just been opened by those on the
mainland during his coma... was this the region he'd heard his parents
talking about? "'Variety of climates... suitable for berry collectors...
rich cultural heritage... trainers, explorers, collectors, and tourists
welcome.' Sounds interesting..."

"<And,>" Snicker adds, glad to see his interest rise, "<there's barely any
swimming or surfing to be done. There *is* a huge mountain range through
the center, though... you don't mind digging, or climbing, or spelunking, or
anything like *that*, do you?>"

"No... I suppose I don't..."

Andrew stared at the ad again. Was it really time for him to start all over
again? Would he have to meet another Professor, become re-equipped, or
goddish knows what else?

His train of thought derailed when the doorbell rang inside. "Andrew, we're
home!" Realizing who it was, he took one last look at the ad, then nodded
to himself and yelled in excitement for his parents to come around back.
Mr. and Mrs. O'Reilly came around the side of the house to see the whole
team out again, and Roger, Andrew's father, smirked at the sight. "Another
'board meeting,' son?"

Andrew grabbed the newspaper and ran over to his parents, giving them a big
hug. He flipped back to the advertisement and held it aloft as he beamed,
"I finally know where I'm headed!"

TBC?

((OOC: AOC was described in my May 16, 2004 post, aka THE LAST ONE... OF
2004. If there's ANYONE who still writes in Kanto; might be near Pallet,
Lavender, or anywhere reasonably between the two, and wishes to head to
Sinnoh, I'd be willing to make the cruise for two. Sorry, no epic St.
Anne-ness here, unless there are a lot of takers (yeah right) and you really
want to brainstorm something. If there's no takers, I'll just write him
docking in Sunyshore or something.))

--
you step into the lights, it'll take you to new haights
dancin' is the thing that you do
aim: Azure Haights e-mail: newhaights _ comcast _ net
Diamond friend code: Andrew, 2320 3873 3614

CAT g ON k: AND REMEMEBER
CAT g ON k: purin > you