I do not own Pokemon.

However, I do own Riyu Malia and all other characters that do not appear in the television show or game.

You must have permission from me to use any of my characters.

The Arcanine Acolyte

The Acolyte's Intro

            It was coming on sundown in Fuchsia City when a pack of Arcanine bounded across the plain, tirelessly leaping in great strides. Their fur was brilliant orange, with jagged black stripes running along their backs. Their pale ivory fur breezed back in every vault each Pokemon made, throwing their heads back as they ran and howling in enjoyment. Crouching on the largest Arcanine's back, which stood as the leader, was a small girl with wild, dark chocolate brown hair and glinting gray eyes.

            Tied around her was a rugged little dress, sewn from an amateur. It was made from large, round leaves. Crowned over her head was a circle of petals, varying from all sorts of flowers. As her ride let out a deep, long howl, she joined in chorus with him, rearing her neck back and sending a higher howl to the sky.

            Peering through a window curiously, a young boy had a puzzled look on his face. The boy was new to his job and did not know everything about the Safari Zone yet. "Who is she?" he inquired to his older partner. "The Safari Zone is already closed, isn't it?"

            His partner sighed, shaking his balding head slowly. "Yep. It's closed alright," he paused temporarily, trying to think of an explanation. "Do you remember that article in the newspaper about four years ago? The Kangaskhan Kid?"

            The boy nodded, his attention caught on his partner's hook. "Well, she's the same sorta thing. Just appeared here one day about a year ago and started hanging around the Arcanine. Called the Arcanine Acolyte. A follower. A little kid, but she's got brains. We've pretty much given up on catching her, since her lovely"—At this point he scowled—"friends tend to keep her away from us."

            The young boy seemed deep in thought after those words, thinking and pondering. His soft blue eyes were far away, only blinking occasionally. The man seemed to know what he was thinking. "Don't even think about it, Taro. You'll get fried. Roasted. Nice and toasty for the Arcanine." The man then added, with even more seriousness in his voice: "She belongs out there."

            Taro's mind turned. No one belongs out in the wild. I bet she's just hostage of the Arcanine. They're making her do that stuff, I bet, Taro's imagination spilled out into his thoughts, making them less logical and more to his fascination. Maybe they're not actually Arcanine at all! Maybe they're psychic Pokemon trying to take over the human race! Then he shook his head, coming back to reality. I think she wants out, though. She wants out of this cage and into the real world, with her own kind. Of course she—

            "TARO!" his partner screamed for the seventh time. "Did you hear what I just said?"

            Taro blinked, and then stuttered, "Uh—um, yes, I did, actually. So—so it's 6:30, now is it the next person for guarding, Mr. Hiroshi?"

            The man rolled his eyes in that adult way and answered, "Yes. Now, you stay out of trouble and keep your fool self safe, got it?" Without waiting for an answer, Mr. Hiroshi scurried his thin body out of the doorway and down the hall, making squeaky skid marks with his shoes.

             Taro gazed once more out of the window, watching the Arcanines finally trot off into the forest to rest for the night, the Arcanine Acolyte swinging along the branches beside them, grunting and barking with them, conversing as the Kangaskhan Kid had done four years ago. Slicking his charcoal hair back, Taro turned his eyes to slits as he planned for the Acolyte's ultimate escape.