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Wander

Chapter 1

"Get a job," ordered the man, taking the youth across the breakfast table by surprise, who required a moment to brace himself for the upcoming discussion and carefully compose his response.

"Nah," he said abruptly, the single syllable both disappointing its recipient and aggravating him with the tone it was spoken in.

"Why not, Dod?" the gruff giant responded curtly.

"But why?" this 'Dod' whined back, in the most irritating voice he could be bothered to muster at that time of day.

"You could use the experience, maybe actually do something worthwhile for a change, rather than laze about when you're not in school..."

"I'm only 15!" he yelled defensively, before adding, "And only by a day...this can't be a coincedence."

"So?" scoffed the tall, pushy individual whose head bore a striking resemblance to that of a goat, ignoring the latter statement entirely, "People these days allow their children to travel around alone through the wilderness at the age of ten. And even THEY manage to make some cash along the way, Dod."

"Then why the heck am I still here?" Dod retorted.

"Because," his guardian replied exasperatedly, "You always refused to leave home and you weren't bothered to carry out any tasks nearby!"

"But they're so taxing!" he complained.

"Nobody's gonna pay you to play video games or fluff pillows," the older man lectured, "Of course you're going to need to put EFFORT into your WORK."

The boy took another moment to try and think of a witty comment, but was soon unconcerned with his caretaker as breakfast was served, a nice, simple dish consisting of two heavenly slices of perfectly buttered toast and two steaming, irresistible poached eggs. He then complimented the chef responsible for this masterpiece, showering him with praise, which was unnecessary, as the chef happened to be a prideful, extremely talented psychic, well aware of his capabilities and taking every opportunity to make sure everyone else in the vicinity was aware. Had he been human, he probably would've raised a campaign to spread awareness of his brilliant, unique takes on common dishes.

In short, an arrogant show-off of an Alakazam, named Carrac, who wasn't afraid to flaunt his talents, be they culinary or otherwise.

Immediately after the plates had been cleared and faces wiped clean, the built, buff giant resumed the conversation, though only to veer it towards its end.

"Lately, your old man has been getting on my case about you more than ever..." he began quietly, softly at first, his voice steadily growing stronger as he spoke. "Now, finally, as your caretaker, I, Kurt Palin, am putting my foot down."

Dod suspected from the start that he'd be serious that day, and now that his full name was announced, it was a certainty.

"You have a week to find a job, or you'll be kicked out of the house to travel. Granted, we'll make sure you don't die in a ditch or starve to death, but you're out."

The silence that followed unsettled the boy, who felt a sudden urge to break it. "So would that really mean you're putting your foot down NOW, or AFTER the week's up?" he pondered aloud.

He then ducked out of the room and covered his ears to block out the frustrated howl that ensued.


Author's Notes:

I guess I'll write some stuff at the bottom of each release since it seems customary for most writers on the site.

I swear by conversation number 3 I'm going to run out of synonyms for 'said'.

So this story is set in Sinnoh, since Diamond was the first version I actually owned myself and played to the end. No, they're not in Twinleaf Town. Or Sandgem. Like so many guides and writers have encouraged, I'll go out of my way to make this fic at least a bit different. Unique.

*gives Dod a pikachu*

This is my first story, and only the first little snippet of it, but don't worry, I have the basics more or less outlined, so I probably won't get stuck in a rut or anything. If I do, I'll just pull the FIRST TIMER card and hand-wave whatever gets in the way, so no worries. :p

For those curious, I've planned out some characters and teams already, though they're clearly subject to change since I actually haven't written about them at all yet. In fact, I have something cool in mind for the ending and epilogue stuff. I even wrote some random scene in advance!

Definitely not going in blind.

Please read and review...it'd be good to get rid of any pressing errors or horrific habits ahead of time (especially if it's spelling/grammar/etc.)