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Chapter 3: Welcome

“That egg ain’t gunna hatch if you just sit there with it, son,” a booming voice resonated off the walls of Risiko’s room. Startled, the thin boy tensed and looked to his door. Risiko’s father stood in the center of the wooden door frame, a broad smile stretching across his tanned face.

“It won’t…?” Risiko replied softly. He had been sitting with the egg for close to two weeks. The egg never left his sight, but Risiko had rarely left the house recently. Thoughts of Shiki and Urban, Risiko’s missing younger brother, weighed heavily on his mind. The young man had lost himself in writing, and so had not noticed just how much time had passed.

“You need to get out of the house,” Risiko’s father suggested. “Give yourself and that egg some fresh air. That’ll cheer you up.”

“Sure…” Risiko's voice trailed off as he arranged the notes on his desk. He took the egg from his lap and supported it steadily in his arms. “I’ll see you later, Dad.”

“Alright, see ya!” Risiko’s father waved enthusiastically as his son ventured out of the house.

Shiki once again entered his mind when he walked passed the Dance Theater. Though the dance theater was built in the traditional Japanese architecture, like most of the buildings in Ecruteak, the Dance Theater surpassed most of the other houses in size. Risiko imagined sitting under the large tree nearby, watching Shiki train her Umbreon.

Shiki was still on Risiko’s mind as he walked northward. The city was beginning to fill up with tourists. People from all over the world came to the humble city of Ecruteak in order to visit the Tin Tower, where the legendary bird pokémon Ho-oh was said to roost at one time. Its partner tower, the Burned Tower, was said to house Ho-oh’s counterpart Lugia; it too drew attention to Ecruteak, but only limited access was granted in the Burned Tower. The building seemed to be unstable after it had burned in a mysterious fire long ago.

“And they two birds were never heard from again,” Risiko said to himself, as if reciting a line from one of his own stories. After the fire, the two birds were said to have flown from the two towers. It was rumored that Lugia now slept at the bottom of the sea, while Ho-oh roams the world in search of a trainer with a pure heart.

Risiko wandered to the entrance of the Tin Tower. A girl selling tickets stopped him before he could enter the building. He gave her a small smile before pulling out an ID card from his pocket. On the card was official proof the Risiko resided inside Ecruteak City, and so could enter the tower without charge.

The girl took it from him and examined it for a moment, then handed it back. “Go on,” she said.

The crowd of people caused Risiko’s muscles to tense up as he waded through them. He kept the egg pulled in close to his chest as he made his way through the sea of bodies.

Risiko finally escaped the sea of people to find a monk guarding a remote doorway. “Hello, sir,” Risiko greeted the bald man while he fished in his pockets for his identification card.

Seeing the trouble Risiko was having while carrying the egg in one hand and fishing in his pockets with the other, the elderly monk offered, “Let me hold that egg.”

Risiko reluctantly obeyed as he retrieved his ID. “Thank you,” he said as he held out his arms to receive the egg again.

The monk held up his hand as if to halt Risiko’s actions. He ran his hands gently over the egg while studying it with a glassy gaze. After a long moment of gazing at the egg, the monk said softly, “This is very dear to you, isn’t it?”

Risiko nodded as he recalled Shiki handing the egg to him.

“But there is a guilt within you,” the monk continued. “That guilt will be trouble for this creature if you fail to resolve it.”

Fascination filled Risiko’s dull grey eyes. He stared at the monk for a long moment before saying, “How did you know I was feeling guilty?”

“I trained with your father before becoming a monk,” the monk replied. “He visits every once in a while. He told me about you and Vulpix.”

An embarrassed blush spread across Risiko’s face as he bowed his head silently.

The monk handed the egg back to Risiko before moving away from the door. “Go on in,” he said.

Risiko murmured a small, “Thank you,” but could not find the will to lift his head. He kept his eyes lowered as he passed through the door to find a long stairway. Permission to enter the second floor was given only to select trainers and residents of Ecruteak City in order to prevent yet another mysterious fire.

The gold colored panels near the window seemed to call to Risiko. The young man walked over to the window and sat down to look out of it. Being only on the second floor of the tower, he could not see much of Ecruteak City from where he was. He could barely see the roof of his own house from where he was seated.

The tower had always had a calming effect on Risiko. The Tin Tower was where pokémon were rumored to come and rest and Risiko felt this was true for humans as well. He began to wonder if the huge rainbow colored bird still roosted at the top of the tower. No one was permitted to ascend any further than he had now, though. Not even the monks who guarded the door to the upper levels of the tower had traveled to the top-most floor.

Risiko was pulled from his thoughts when the egg began to move in his lap. He looked down at the egg curiously before a gasp of excitement escaped him. The egg began to crack open, bits of the shell falling off of it in large chucks. Patches of tawny brown fur poked out from the places the egg had cracked, and soon a small fox-like pokémon burst out if the egg.

In Risiko’s lap sat a newly hatched Eevee. Risiko began plucking bits of the eggshell from Eevee’s fur as he looked upon the pokémon in wonder. “Hello there,” Risiko said to the small pokémon, surprised by how easily the words came to him. The only other living being he ever felt comfortable conversing freely with had been Shiki, and he was astonished that he could feel this comfortable with the new pokémon.

The Eevee looked to Risiko first with curiosity, but curiosity was soon replaced with adoration. The little Eevee squeaked happily as he looked up at Risiko, his tail moving back and forth in a content manner.

“A little Eevee,” Risiko said to himself. “Would you like to be my partner, Eevee?”

The small pokémon gave another tiny satisfied sound. The little pokémon set his front paws on Risiko’s chest, eager to be as close to his new trainer as possible.

Risiko returned the gesture by encircling the little pokémon in his arms. He enjoyed the warmth the two now shared, and the unconditional love that Eevee seemed to regard him with. “I won’t hurt you,” Risiko vowed to the newly hatched pokémon. “I will protect you. I’ve been waiting for you to come out of that shell for a while now, did you know that?”

The Eevee curled himself up in Risiko’s arms as he stared wide-eyed at his new trainer. He yielded happily to Risiko’s touch as his trainer rubbed his head affectionately.

“Since we met, we’ve never been apart,” Risiko explained to the young pokémon. “And I’ll do my best to make sure we’re never far from each other.”

The Eevee gave a happy chirping noise when he heard this. He wrapped his brown, furry paws around Risiko’s arm as if to hug his trainer.

Risiko chuckled at this and held Eevee close to him as he stood up. “We need to visit the Pokémon Center,” he said to Eevee as they descended the long stairway.

Again Risiko pushed his way through the crowd of people, though this time he held the warm ball of fluff close to him in a protective manner. He shielded the little Eevee with his arms, careful not to harm the pokémon while he shifted his way to the exit.

A few people caught sight of the Eevee in Risiko’s arms. Risiko bowed his head to avoid their interested gazes. He barely knew about his new pokémon himself; he could not find the confidence in himself to discuss the said pokémon.

Finally Risiko reached the large, gold colored doors, only to be stopped by a large blond haired woman who appeared to be in her mid-fifties. “How did you obtain such a rare pokémon?” she asked in a polite yet suspicious tone.

“Um, I… My friend…” Risiko stuttered as he searched for the words. Panic gripped him as he stared the woman in the eye, unable to bring forth the words to explain himself. He broke her gaze and spat out, “I’m sorry!” before rushing to the exit.

Risiko fled to a small crevice in the side of the building. The opening was barely large enough for he and Eevee to fit into comfortably, but the need for privacy overwhelmed Risiko. His heart continued to thud in his chest and he had to force himself to breath deeply.

Eevee looked to Risiko, stress evident in his large brown eyes. He pawed at Risiko’s face and gave a small worried squeak.

Risiko patted Eevee’s head to reassure the pokémon that he was alright. His breath began to even out, and he found that he could finally speak. “I don’t know why, but talking to strangers does this to me,” he explained to the small pokémon. “I just get really nervous. I know it’s not normal.”

Eevee rubbed his head against Risiko’s chest, then looked to his human friend with reassurance. He placed his forepaws on Risiko’s shoulders as if to give the young man a reassuring hug.

Risiko found himself smiling at the young pokémon, then proceeded to return the hug. He scratched the fur behind Eevee’s large brown ears before saying, “Thank you. But if I’m going to protect you, I’m going to have to become stronger than this.”

Eevee gave a small squeal of joy and rubbed his face against Risiko’s.

“And you’ll become stronger, too,” Risiko promised the young pokémon. “We’ll help each other, just like Shiki and Umbreon.”

Eevee gave Risiko a slightly confused expression, having no knowledge of who Shiki or Umbreon were, but quickly returned to his happy state of being.

Risiko rose to his feet and squeezed out of the crevice in the building. The people all seemed to be in the Tin Tower at this time, as Risiko felt comfortable walking to the local Pokémon Center. “Luckily, I’ve talked to Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center a few times,” Risiko explained to Eevee. “I think I’ll be able to talk to her now.”

The glass doors of the Pokémon Center slid open as Risiko passed through them. The young woman working behind the desk had long red hair tied into low pig-tails, as was common for all the Nurse Joy sisters. Her blue eyes lit up upon seeing Risiko with Eevee in his arms. Her normally polite greeting was lost at the sight, and she asked informally, “You have a pokémon?”

“Um…” Risiko turned his gaze to the floor, his face flushed. “Yes, he just hatched a little while ago… Can I…?” His voice trailed off.

The polite smile was restored to Nurse Joy’s face as she rubbed Eevee’s head. “Would you like to register as a trainer?”

“Yes, please.” Risiko smiled at the nurse, grateful she knew what was on his mind.

“It’ll just be a moment,” Nurse Joy gave a small bow before disappearing behind a door in the rear of the building.

Risiko sighed and looked about the waiting room. He became more aware of himself as he noticed the other trainers around him. Many were seated beside large, impressive pokémon in the waiting room. Risiko felt his shoulders tense as he turned toward a wall, hoping to avoid meeting a trainer’s gaze.

Nurse Joy soon returned with a small card in hand. She handed it to Risiko with a polite smile. “This is your trainer card. We’ve updated them so that they work electronically. Radio waves in the air will transmit to your card and update it automatically every time you catch a new pokémon, or if your pokémon learns a new move. In fact, you can even see what moves your pokémon knows just by looking at your trainer card.”

On the card was a picture of Risiko; the same picture that was used on his Ecruteak City ID. Beside his picture was a picture of an Eevee, though Risiko doubted that this was his exact Eevee. “How do you see that?” Risiko asked, his voice barely audible.

“Just press here,” Nurse Joy explained as she touched Eevee’s picture. Risiko’s trainer information disappeared, and Eevee’s pokémon information came up. Eevee’s name appeared at the top left hand corner of the card, and his gender was displayed next to it. Under Eevee’s name the words displayed were, “Jolly nature. Met inside Tin Tower. Happily eats anything.” The moves Eevee knew were listed: Tackle, Tail Whip, Helping Hand and Return.

“Wow,” Nurse Joy commented upon seeing Eevee’s move list. “It looks like your Eevee inherited a TM move from one of his parents. ‘Return’ is a great move if your pokémon likes you. The closer you are to your pokémon, the stronger that move will be.”

Risiko’s grey eyes lit up upon hearing this. “That’s interesting,” he said as he took the card from Nurse Joy. “Thank you very much!”

“You’re welcome,” Nurse Joy replied with her ever-present smile. “Remember to visit us if your pokémon ever needs healing. We’re always here to help injured pokémon.”

“I will,” Risiko gave a quick smile before leaving the Pokémon Center. “That wasn’t so bad,” Risiko said to Eevee. “I couldn’t stay in there long, but at least I held a conversation with a person for a reasonable amount of time. Um, kind of anyway…”

Eevee gave his human friend a congratulatory hug.

Risiko smiled at the small pokémon in his arms. “Well, looks like it’s time for you to meet Mom and Dad.” With those words, Risiko uneasily headed toward his home.

Description
Chapter 3: Welcome

“That egg ain’t gunna hatch if you just sit there with it, son,” a booming voice resonated off the walls of Risiko’s room. Startled, the thin boy tensed and looked to his door. Risiko’s father stood in the center of the wooden door frame, a broad smile stretching across his tanned face.

“It won’t…?” Risiko replied softly. He had been sitting with the egg for close to two weeks. The egg never left his sight, but Risiko had rarely left the house recently. Thoughts of Shiki and Urban, Risiko’s missing younger brother, weighed heavily on his mind. The young man had lost himself in writing, and so had not noticed just how much time had passed.

“You need to get out of the house,” Risiko’s father suggested. “Give yourself and that egg some fresh air. That’ll cheer you up.”

“Sure…” Risiko's voice trailed off as he arranged the notes on his desk. He took the egg from his lap and supported it steadily in his arms. “I’ll see you later, Dad.”

“Alright, see ya!” Risiko’s father waved enthusiastically as his son ventured out of the house.

Shiki once again entered his mind when he walked passed the Dance Theater. Though the dance theater was built in the traditional Japanese architecture, like most of the buildings in Ecruteak, the Dance Theater surpassed most of the other houses in size. Risiko imagined sitting under the large tree nearby, watching Shiki train her Umbreon.

Shiki was still on Risiko’s mind as he walked northward. The city was beginning to fill up with tourists. People from all over the world came to the humble city of Ecruteak in order to visit the Tin Tower, where the legendary bird pokémon Ho-oh was said to roost at one time. Its partner tower, the Burned Tower, was said to house Ho-oh’s counterpart Lugia; it too drew attention to Ecruteak, but only limited access was granted in the Burned Tower. The building seemed to be unstable after it had burned in a mysterious fire long ago.

“And they two birds were never heard from again,” Risiko said to himself, as if reciting a line from one of his own stories. After the fire, the two birds were said to have flown from the two towers. It was rumored that Lugia now slept at the bottom of the sea, while Ho-oh roams the world in search of a trainer with a pure heart.

Risiko wandered to the entrance of the Tin Tower. A girl selling tickets stopped him before he could enter the building. He gave her a small smile before pulling out an ID card from his pocket. On the card was official proof the Risiko resided inside Ecruteak City, and so could enter the tower without charge.

The girl took it from him and examined it for a moment, then handed it back. “Go on,” she said.

The crowd of people caused Risiko’s muscles to tense up as he waded through them. He kept the egg pulled in close to his chest as he made his way through the sea of bodies.

Risiko finally escaped the sea of people to find a monk guarding a remote doorway. “Hello, sir,” Risiko greeted the bald man while he fished in his pockets for his identification card.

Seeing the trouble Risiko was having while carrying the egg in one hand and fishing in his pockets with the other, the elderly monk offered, “Let me hold that egg.”

Risiko reluctantly obeyed as he retrieved his ID. “Thank you,” he said as he held out his arms to receive the egg again.

The monk held up his hand as if to halt Risiko’s actions. He ran his hands gently over the egg while studying it with a glassy gaze. After a long moment of gazing at the egg, the monk said softly, “This is very dear to you, isn’t it?”

Risiko nodded as he recalled Shiki handing the egg to him.

“But there is a guilt within you,” the monk continued. “That guilt will be trouble for this creature if you fail to resolve it.”

Fascination filled Risiko’s dull grey eyes. He stared at the monk for a long moment before saying, “How did you know I was feeling guilty?”

“I trained with your father before becoming a monk,” the monk replied. “He visits every once in a while. He told me about you and Vulpix.”

An embarrassed blush spread across Risiko’s face as he bowed his head silently.

The monk handed the egg back to Risiko before moving away from the door. “Go on in,” he said.

Risiko murmured a small, “Thank you,” but could not find the will to lift his head. He kept his eyes lowered as he passed through the door to find a long stairway. Permission to enter the second floor was given only to select trainers and residents of Ecruteak City in order to prevent yet another mysterious fire.

The gold colored panels near the window seemed to call to Risiko. The young man walked over to the window and sat down to look out of it. Being only on the second floor of the tower, he could not see much of Ecruteak City from where he was. He could barely see the roof of his own house from where he was seated.

The tower had always had a calming effect on Risiko. The Tin Tower was where pokémon were rumored to come and rest and Risiko felt this was true for humans as well. He began to wonder if the huge rainbow colored bird still roosted at the top of the tower. No one was permitted to ascend any further than he had now, though. Not even the monks who guarded the door to the upper levels of the tower had traveled to the top-most floor.

Risiko was pulled from his thoughts when the egg began to move in his lap. He looked down at the egg curiously before a gasp of excitement escaped him. The egg began to crack open, bits of the shell falling off of it in large chucks. Patches of tawny brown fur poked out from the places the egg had cracked, and soon a small fox-like pokémon burst out if the egg.

In Risiko’s lap sat a newly hatched Eevee. Risiko began plucking bits of the eggshell from Eevee’s fur as he looked upon the pokémon in wonder. “Hello there,” Risiko said to the small pokémon, surprised by how easily the words came to him. The only other living being he ever felt comfortable conversing freely with had been Shiki, and he was astonished that he could feel this comfortable with the new pokémon.

The Eevee looked to Risiko first with curiosity, but curiosity was soon replaced with adoration. The little Eevee squeaked happily as he looked up at Risiko, his tail moving back and forth in a content manner.

“A little Eevee,” Risiko said to himself. “Would you like to be my partner, Eevee?”

The small pokémon gave another tiny satisfied sound. The little pokémon set his front paws on Risiko’s chest, eager to be as close to his new trainer as possible.

Risiko returned the gesture by encircling the little pokémon in his arms. He enjoyed the warmth the two now shared, and the unconditional love that Eevee seemed to regard him with. “I won’t hurt you,” Risiko vowed to the newly hatched pokémon. “I will protect you. I’ve been waiting for you to come out of that shell for a while now, did you know that?”

The Eevee curled himself up in Risiko’s arms as he stared wide-eyed at his new trainer. He yielded happily to Risiko’s touch as his trainer rubbed his head affectionately.

“Since we met, we’ve never been apart,” Risiko explained to the young pokémon. “And I’ll do my best to make sure we’re never far from each other.”

The Eevee gave a happy chirping noise when he heard this. He wrapped his brown, furry paws around Risiko’s arm as if to hug his trainer.

Risiko chuckled at this and held Eevee close to him as he stood up. “We need to visit the Pokémon Center,” he said to Eevee as they descended the long stairway.

Again Risiko pushed his way through the crowd of people, though this time he held the warm ball of fluff close to him in a protective manner. He shielded the little Eevee with his arms, careful not to harm the pokémon while he shifted his way to the exit.

A few people caught sight of the Eevee in Risiko’s arms. Risiko bowed his head to avoid their interested gazes. He barely knew about his new pokémon himself; he could not find the confidence in himself to discuss the said pokémon.

Finally Risiko reached the large, gold colored doors, only to be stopped by a large blond haired woman who appeared to be in her mid-fifties. “How did you obtain such a rare pokémon?” she asked in a polite yet suspicious tone.

“Um, I… My friend…” Risiko stuttered as he searched for the words. Panic gripped him as he stared the woman in the eye, unable to bring forth the words to explain himself. He broke her gaze and spat out, “I’m sorry!” before rushing to the exit.

Risiko fled to a small crevice in the side of the building. The opening was barely large enough for he and Eevee to fit into comfortably, but the need for privacy overwhelmed Risiko. His heart continued to thud in his chest and he had to force himself to breath deeply.

Eevee looked to Risiko, stress evident in his large brown eyes. He pawed at Risiko’s face and gave a small worried squeak.

Risiko patted Eevee’s head to reassure the pokémon that he was alright. His breath began to even out, and he found that he could finally speak. “I don’t know why, but talking to strangers does this to me,” he explained to the small pokémon. “I just get really nervous. I know it’s not normal.”

Eevee rubbed his head against Risiko’s chest, then looked to his human friend with reassurance. He placed his forepaws on Risiko’s shoulders as if to give the young man a reassuring hug.

Risiko found himself smiling at the young pokémon, then proceeded to return the hug. He scratched the fur behind Eevee’s large brown ears before saying, “Thank you. But if I’m going to protect you, I’m going to have to become stronger than this.”

Eevee gave a small squeal of joy and rubbed his face against Risiko’s.

“And you’ll become stronger, too,” Risiko promised the young pokémon. “We’ll help each other, just like Shiki and Umbreon.”

Eevee gave Risiko a slightly confused expression, having no knowledge of who Shiki or Umbreon were, but quickly returned to his happy state of being.

Risiko rose to his feet and squeezed out of the crevice in the building. The people all seemed to be in the Tin Tower at this time, as Risiko felt comfortable walking to the local Pokémon Center. “Luckily, I’ve talked to Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center a few times,” Risiko explained to Eevee. “I think I’ll be able to talk to her now.”

The glass doors of the Pokémon Center slid open as Risiko passed through them. The young woman working behind the desk had long red hair tied into low pig-tails, as was common for all the Nurse Joy sisters. Her blue eyes lit up upon seeing Risiko with Eevee in his arms. Her normally polite greeting was lost at the sight, and she asked informally, “You have a pokémon?”

“Um…” Risiko turned his gaze to the floor, his face flushed. “Yes, he just hatched a little while ago… Can I…?” His voice trailed off.

The polite smile was restored to Nurse Joy’s face as she rubbed Eevee’s head. “Would you like to register as a trainer?”

“Yes, please.” Risiko smiled at the nurse, grateful she knew what was on his mind.

“It’ll just be a moment,” Nurse Joy gave a small bow before disappearing behind a door in the rear of the building.

Risiko sighed and looked about the waiting room. He became more aware of himself as he noticed the other trainers around him. Many were seated beside large, impressive pokémon in the waiting room. Risiko felt his shoulders tense as he turned toward a wall, hoping to avoid meeting a trainer’s gaze.

Nurse Joy soon returned with a small card in hand. She handed it to Risiko with a polite smile. “This is your trainer card. We’ve updated them so that they work electronically. Radio waves in the air will transmit to your card and update it automatically every time you catch a new pokémon, or if your pokémon learns a new move. In fact, you can even see what moves your pokémon knows just by looking at your trainer card.”

On the card was a picture of Risiko; the same picture that was used on his Ecruteak City ID. Beside his picture was a picture of an Eevee, though Risiko doubted that this was his exact Eevee. “How do you see that?” Risiko asked, his voice barely audible.

“Just press here,” Nurse Joy explained as she touched Eevee’s picture. Risiko’s trainer information disappeared, and Eevee’s pokémon information came up. Eevee’s name appeared at the top left hand corner of the card, and his gender was displayed next to it. Under Eevee’s name the words displayed were, “Jolly nature. Met inside Tin Tower. Happily eats anything.” The moves Eevee knew were listed: Tackle, Tail Whip, Helping Hand and Return.

“Wow,” Nurse Joy commented upon seeing Eevee’s move list. “It looks like your Eevee inherited a TM move from one of his parents. ‘Return’ is a great move if your pokémon likes you. The closer you are to your pokémon, the stronger that move will be.”

Risiko’s grey eyes lit up upon hearing this. “That’s interesting,” he said as he took the card from Nurse Joy. “Thank you very much!”

“You’re welcome,” Nurse Joy replied with her ever-present smile. “Remember to visit us if your pokémon ever needs healing. We’re always here to help injured pokémon.”

“I will,” Risiko gave a quick smile before leaving the Pokémon Center. “That wasn’t so bad,” Risiko said to Eevee. “I couldn’t stay in there long, but at least I held a conversation with a person for a reasonable amount of time. Um, kind of anyway…”

Eevee gave his human friend a congratulatory hug.

Risiko smiled at the small pokémon in his arms. “Well, looks like it’s time for you to meet Mom and Dad.” With those words, Risiko uneasily headed toward his home.