ONE
"Aunt Sheh-wee! Lookie! Pokey-mon!"
"Hold on, Lana, I'm coming."
A little girl about the age of three bounced up and down in front of a fenced-in meadow, pointing at a small group of Poochyena and Houndour that were playfighting in the grass. Behind her followed a young woman with an extraordinary poof of red hair, curled in the back and swept to the side in the front. She was decked out in a combination of blue and black, which interestingly, made her curls stand out even further. A smile was creased on her face as she watched her young niece observe the Pokemon.
Shelly allowed her niece to watch them for a while and took the time to admire the landscape. It was very clean, with little, if any, presence of trash or waste. There was a little ranch house some distance away, but she couldn't tell if it was inhabited or not. And around this little piece of grassland, she could see a few other groups of Poochyena, Mightyena, Houndoor, and Houndoom mingling together. They were obviously very happy here.
But a squeal from one of the Pokemon instantly wiped off the beam gathered on her face. Shelly saw that a couple of the Houndour was holding down a Poochyena.
"Aunt Shelly! They're going to hurt it!" Shelly saw the coming bite from the bullies the same time Lana did. Just as she was about to jump the fence to help - she wasn't one to stand by and let tormentors win battles, after all - a snarl came from behind the two females. Shelly turned to see a Mightyena bounding up the slope with some type of package in its mouth. It squeezed through the fence, dropping the item it was carrying, and proceeded over to the troublemaker Houndour. After a few series of yip and barks, the two were sent sulking to the cabin.
Shelly gasped. That Mightyena that had leaped past them had seemed utterly familiar. In fact, it reminded her of the Pokemon that belonged to her former rival… Harlan. If she remembered correctly, Harlan had a Mightyena with a black nose, not a pink one. And this one had a black nose. It approached her warily, as if still thinking she was an enemy and not one to be trusted.
"Hi, Mightyena," Shelly murmured as she knelt down. She tried her best to look unthreatening, a nervous smile on her face and moving slowly. Instead, the Mightyena froze in place, a growl sounding resonating from its chest. Lana, not seeing the danger, giggled and ran up to throw her arms around the Pokemon known for its deadly bite. "Lana, I don't think you should-"
"What's the commotion around here, and what's that kid doin' strangling my Mightyena?"
Shelly turned to see a man marching up the road, a brown sling bag hanging from his shoulder. On top of his head was a black cowboy hat, and his hair had a familiar shaggy texture that was colored purple. It was Harlan. He wore a casual red shirt and dark grey jeans instead of a red hoodie and black packs, but it was Harlan all right. The purple hair was not unrecognizable. Field Commander Harlan of Team Magma. And the minute they both made eye contact him, both of them stopped their movement, shocked expressions on their faces.
"Owie! It bit me!" Shelly's attention swiveled back to her niece, whose shoulder was now oozing red liquid. The Mightyena, frightened half to death, had bounded back toward Harlan.
"Are… you okay, kid?" Harlan walked forward to study the bite wound inflicted on Lana's shoulder.
"Meanie Migh-yena!" Lana's bottom lip stuck out in a pout as she saw the Mightyena close by. It let out a whine of denial.
"What did you do, Mightyena?" Harlan mumbled. "Come on, kid. I'll go fix up your shoulder. You come too, Shelly, since I'm sure you'd suspect me of hurting her." A grin flashed across his features as he walked past her annoyed stance. She could only sigh as she followed Harlan past the fence and toward his cabin.