Tale 134: The Juniper Rod, part 1 (Brock)

(real tale: The Witch of Lok Island)

"A long time ago, in a land far away, there lived a boy named Hideki and a girl named Sora." Brock begins. "They had grown up together, and loved each other like sister and brother. When their parents died, leaving them almost nothing, they were obliged to go into the world and seek their own fortunes. By sheer coincidence, they wound up in service at the same house."

He waits for a beat, then continues "Now, you'd think that they were happy, but every day they found something new to long for or wish for. "One day, it was a little house of their own, then the next day, they would long for a field to go with the house, then they would yearn for a Ponyta to till the aforementioned field..."

Giggles go up at this as Brock goes on. "They complained like this every day until finally, Hideki went to the threshing-floor--where Sora was winnowing grain--and told her he was going to set out to seek his fortune elsewhere."

"Poor Sora..." Misty brushes away a tear.

"Of course, Sora was very sad on hearing the news and tried to persuade Hideki not to go." Brock continues. "But he didn't listen. Sora relented a few minutes later, and gave Hideki the most precious treasures her parents had left to her--a bell, a sword, and a rod."

"Pika pi?" Pikachu asks, excited at the prospect of magic.

"The bell could be heard anywhere, no matter where it was rung--so Sora had used it to warn her friends of any danger." Brock explains. "Whatever the sword touched would escape from any evil spell, curse, or hex. The rod would guide the bearer to wherever they wanted to go. She gave Hideki the sword so he would have something to defend himself with, and the bell so that it would warn her when he are in danger. But she asked to keep the the rod, so that she would be able to reach him if he needed her."

"Wow!" Ash is impressed.

"Hideki thanked his beloved, and promised to return to her safely." Brock continues. "They shed a few tears together, which is understandable when one has to say goodbye, and Hideki started off toward the mountains. Then he decided to turn south, and after several days reached the town of Vertania, where Viridian City is today."

[And then?] Korra asks.

"One morning, he was sitting in the common room of the inn and saw two merchants pass, leading their Ponytas." Brock continues. "Hideki happened to overhear their conversation, and discovered that they were talking about the witch said to live where Cinnabar Island is today. Hideki caught up to them in the town square and asked to learn more about the witch. They told him that the witch of Guren Island--as Cinnabar was called in those days--was actually a fairy who lived in a lake somewhere on the island."

"Hm..." Ash pictures what the island and the witch possibly look like.

"The merchants also told Hideki that the witch was richer than all the wealth of the kings and queens of the world combined." Brock intones, to some stunned gasps. "Many a boy and girl in search of fortune had gone to the island to find her treasure but not one of them had ever returned."

"So did Hideki decide to go?" Misty is curious.

"When Hideki heard this, he was eager to go to the island to seek adventure." Brock continues. The merchants tried to dissuade him, saying that he was tempting fate. When Hideki still wouldn't take 'no' for an answer, they threatened to keep him back by force."

"So, what did Hideki do?" Ash wonders.

"He thanked the merchants for the information, and said he would forget the whole thing if they would take up a collection for him to buy a little house for him and his beloved Sora." Brock replies. "The merchants quickly changed their tune, saying that if Hideki was really going to travel to the island, they were not in any position to stop him. So Hideki went down to the port, and set sail for Guren Island..."

Everyone is at the edge of their seats, but Brock just smiles and concludes "But I will tell you what happened next on my next turn."

"Not a cliffhanger..." Ash groans.

"I'll hold you to that promise." Misty cautions, seething that Brock ended with a cliffhanger..