Chapter 3: On the way!

It was the night before camp. Ark was sat browsing his mothers laptop next to her. He begged his Mother for his own laptop but was denied, however he managed to convince her to buy one for herself so that he could borrow it with her supervision. The top of the screen displayed tens of tabs all linked to his homework. With a sigh of relief, Ark closed the browser and shut the lid.

"I'm done Mother, just in time. Any longer and I wouldn't wake up to leave tomorrow"

Ark stretched as he smiled to his Mother who was sat next to him watching the television. The television showed a competitive Pokemon match between two up and coming trainers who are set to win the next Kanto Pokemon League. Ark found it very hard to focus on his studies when such an exciting event was happening, luckily he had recorded it or he many not have been able to go to Professor Oak's camp.

"Go wash your face then, after that it's straight to bed. I don't want you being grouchy tomorrow morning"

Ark nodded and headed upstairs to wash up and go to bed. A while later, Ark jumped into bed a closed his eyes, he let his mind rest and slowly fell into a deep slumber.

*brrring* *brrring* *brrring*

Ark's alarm clock sounded, only to be quickly shut off by the awakened boy. He checked the clock and found it was 6am. With plenty of time, Ark headed to the bathroom to take a shower. Due to his early morning lethargy, Ark took 30 minutes trying to clean himself. Feeling refreshed and ready, Ark headed downstairs fully clothed with his suitcase. The moment he looked onto the dinner table, his heart was filled with sweetness. His Mother had made him a bacon and egg breakfast while he was getting ready.

"Thank you Mother! You're the best!"

Ark shouted into the kitchen. He thought about how much effort his Mother always put into raising and helping him. He made sure to reinforce his resolve to make sure his Mother lives the rest of her days in happiness with no more loneliness. Despite her constant smiling, Ark knew of the deep-rooted loneliness she felt everyday. With the death of his father, its not suprising that she feels a sense of loneliness that plagues her everyday, yet she remains smiling. This made Ark grateful for all of her effort and feelings but sad that he could not do anything right now.

As he was contemplating the future, his Mother double-checked his suitcase and carried it to the door. He walked up to his mother after putting his light-blue jacket on and hugged her tightly.

"I'm off Mother"

His Mother smiled and opened the door.

After 10 minutes of walking, Ark arrived at the laboratory with minutes to spare. Approaching the intercom, Ark pressed the button but was immediately let in.

"Good Morning Ark! Its nice to see you!"

Professor Oak followed by a childish looking boy with black hair and a vest-top on, walked to the entrance.

"Just in time, we are about to head to the car, come let us go"

Professor Oak led them both to an open roof jeep. He grabbed all of the luggage with a bit of help from Ark and loaded it neatly.

"Right boys no need to be shy, jump in. You two have been silent this whole time"

Ark and the young boy awkwardly looked at each other before getting in the car. Once they started to drive, Ark took the initative to start a conversation.

"Nice to meet you, i'm Ark"

"Ah! You're Ark? Hey i'm Ash and i'm going to be a pokemon master!"

Ark just smiled wryly to this out of context proclamation.

"I see, well we are both from Pallet so we should look after each other Ash"

Professor Oak chuckled at his comment.

"Thats a good idea, the world is full of rivalry so helping each other out is a good way to progress as a trainer"

Ark nodded while Ash smiled and said.

"Yep, don't worry Ark. I will always help out my friends"

Ark just nodded while rubbing his forehead, he instantly realised that too much exposure to Ash may result in a migraine. The car ride continued with many conversations, mainly about pokemon between Ash and Ark, with Professor Oak pitching in every now and then.

1 and a half hours passed by leisurely. Ark looked out the window and noticed that amongst the endless amount of trees and bushes, numerous log houses were scattered surrounding a small meadow hosting a pokemon pitch in the center.

"We are finally here"

With those words, Professor Oak stopped the car. He took the keys out and opened the door. Following him, Ark and Ash hopped out of the car and shut the doors. The moment they stepped outside, the soft forest dirt cushioned their feet as the various sounds of pokemon calls assailed their ears. Peaceful. That was the only word that could sum up what Ark was feeling right now. The natural elements left him in wonder as Professor Oak smiled at his reaction.

"Beautiful isn't it? There is many places like this all over the world. For now we should head to the reception area."