The Bridge

The new day of adventure begins as Yoake walks out of the train with Kirlia on his shoulders. The two synchronously took a deep breath from the fresh air of Cerulean City, and stepped on to the station as they mapped their way to the gym.

"A new day, and a new adventure say Kirlia, how about we have some breakfast before we take some training?" Yoake asked the Pokemon, they didn't take their breakfast in Pewter city since they don't want to get left by the train but they realized that they were too early, and had no choice but to take it here. The little Pokemon nodded, and so the two left the station and found some nearby cafe to get his daily caffeine and bread while Kirlia can eat some macaroons.

"Good thing while we waited at Pewter Station, we caught a new friend." Yoake remarked as he took out a newly used Pokeball from his belts and revealed it to his Pokemon.

"With the speed and damage of a bullet, I can say, we are quite lucky." Yoake complimented the newly caught Pokemon, who was still inside its Pokeball.

After their talk, they found a nearby cafe and decided to take their breakfast there. Yoake prefers the fine Mocha with garlic bread for today's breakfast while Kirlia went with a diverse flavour for the macaroon package. While eating, Yoake got a message from a familiar name, Ren.

'Hey, are you in Cerulean City?' Ren texted to him, Yoake began to text for his reply.

'Yup, and I'm guessing you're also in the city?' Yoake texted back to her.

'Yeah, I'm just training my Pokemon on the other side, how about you?' Ren texted back. Yoake took another sip of coffee and replied with a compliment.

'Early bird, huh.' Yoake texted. Kirlia then noticed how the trainer was busy on his phone, like he was hooked on talking to Ren this early in the morning, probably this might be his first time talking to others. She brushed it off and continued eating.

'Always has been, anyway, wanna come by for training so we can both be prepared for the later Gym.' Ren asked him as she was aware that both of them want to fight the gym later so she convinced him to join her training.

'Sure, where are you?' Yoake texted her as he likes the idea of a dual training to prepare him, and his Pokemon later at the gym. He finally finished his coffee and Ren has replied her exact location in the big city of Cerulean.

'Meet me at the Nugget Bridge, you know where it's located right?' Ren texted. He finished his last garlic bread, picked up his phone, and saw her message. He then searched the nugget bridge and saw that it was a few blocks away from the cafe.

'Yeah, okay.' He texted as he put his phone in his pocket, and looked at Kirlia, who had finished her macaroons and was looking at her trainer for the entire time.

"Right, we'll be heading to a bridge nearby, are you ready Kirlia?" Yoake stated where they will be going and asked her if she's okay with it. The Pokemon nodded, she puts the plates in a proper position so it can be cleaned easily by the waiters of the cafe, hops on to Yoake shoulder and leaves a tip as they leave.

The two left the cafe, and went on finding the bridge. They asked some directions from the locals and by 8, they found it, and approached it. While heading to the bridge, they saw a familiar face on the other side, the iconic white hair of Ren.

"You're nearly late." Ren shouted as she saw the trainer and his Pokemon on the other side of the bridge. Yoake scratched his neck and gave an excuse for his reason for being late.

"Well, there was a bit of confusion on asking directions, and people said that this is the Golden Bridge not the Nugget Bridge." Yoake stated as he recalled what the locals corrected the location while they were asking for directions.

"To be fair, this used to be called the 'Nugget Bridge' since trainers often get Golden Nuggets whenever they cross this bridge, around six years ago." Ren remarked as she explained about the bridge.

"So how do they get their nuggets though?" Yoake asked her as he was fiddled with the nugget giving fest about this bridge since Golden nuggets are often in jewelries instead of a hand of a trainer.

"The trainers? Well, once in a while, trainers have to compete with five other trainers to determine their strength. If they were victorious, a man in full black will compete with the trainer once more, and if the latter won against the former, they get a free golden nugget. It is a usual event in the bridge, and now it was a barren public bridge, with its prime use of connecting Cerulean City ever." Ren explained about the backstory of this bridge, Yoake noticed despite the timeskip being six years, it was long enough to cause a big change in this bridge.

After listening to Ren's explanation, there was a phrase that locked his interest, 'a man in full blak'. He recalled the man he fought last night, and what he did to Kirlia, he can still remember the Pokemon's screams in his head, echoing throughout the night, even if he tries to ignore it.

"A man in full black?" Yoake asked her.

"Yeah, they were called Team Rocket, often called the 'Black shirts'. From what I know, they dissolved twice, six years ago and three years ago." She said as she described the infamous team that ran throughout Kanto for the years before.

"And they are known for?" Yoake asked her.

"Torturing, selling and experimenting on Pokemon, the usuals." Ren stated. This leaves the two shocked but not surprised, knowing how this world works.

The two continued to have their talks on the bridge, and later had training for the gym match. The two got along, and slowly have a tied friendship, a friendship that will thrive the course of the journey ahead.

A friendship that started on the bridge, the two split and went their own path, Yoake went on to the Cerulean Gym while Ren decided to stay around so she could practice more.

To be continued in, A Reflection in the Past

(Short author's note, I was surprised that I got busy this weekdays, and now, I will be publishing new chapters back in the usual weekends instead.)