Author Notes: I came up with this idea after watching the first pokemon movie. It's the first part of a pokemon writing project a friend and I are working on. There should be plenty of action and romance involved. This story also contains mild Yaoi, so if you don't like that sort of thing then be warned. I don't own pokemon, but I do own any original characters.
Without warning, a large group of fearows flew from the bushes, heading straight for them. Pikachu jumped up and electrocuted them, but they were too strong. Some of them fell down but the strongest one flew at Pikachu and knocked him down. Another picked him up then dropped him. Pikachu was knocked out cold.
"Pikachu!" Ash yelled as the fearows came in for another attack. He ran and dived in between them and picked up Pikachu. "Come on Ash!" Brock called. "Let's get out of here!"
They began to run. After a minute or so, Ash looked back and saw that the fearows were flying back the other way. He slowed down to a walk and looked down at Pikachu, who was lying still in his arms. "Pikachu" he said sadly. "Wake up. Please"
"He looks pretty bad, Ash" Brock said, glancing over Ash's shoulder. "We have to get him to a Pokemon centre quick."
"Guys, we're lost in the woods," Misty said looking at the map. "There are no Pokemon centres around here"
"Then what can we do?"
"Pikachu is in a very bad way Ash. If we don't help him soon…" Misty left her sentence unfinished. Ash hugged Pikachu tightly. "He'll make it," he said. "I know he will." Misty looked at the ground. "I hope so," she said softly
They started walking again, this time in silence. Then Misty put her hand on Ash's arm. "Ash stop," she said. "Look. Over there" The two guys looked over to where she was pointing. Underneath a tree, just a few yards in front of them, there was a strange shape. "What do you think it is?" she asked. "I'm not sure" Ash replied. "Let's go a bit closer," Brock suggested.
Slowly they made their way forward. "I don't believe it" Brock whispered. Lying under the tree was a strange pokemon, which none of them had ever seen before. It was the size of a large growlithe, and it was covered with red and grey fur. A strange mask was fitted over its head. Ash pulled out his pokedex and pointed it at the strange animal. "Pokemon unknown" it said. Ash sighed and put it back in his pocket. "I'm gonna catch it" he said, taking out a pokeball. "Are you sure that's a good idea Ash?" Misty asked. "Yeah Ash" Brock agreed. "It looks like it's waiting for someone"
"I guess you're right" Ash put his pokeball away. "Come on guys, let's go," he said.
They were just about to leave when they heard a voice from above their heads, saying "Hey!"
"Hello" they replied as the person jumped down from the tree. It was a young guy, slightly older than Brock. He was tall and he had jet-black hair and green eyes. He was wearing black jeans, a black shirt which was slightly too large for him and a white cap. He had three pokeballs on his belt.
The strange pokemon started to go mad and jumped up at the guy, whining. "Good old Sol-leks" the guy said. "Did you miss me?" Then he turned to Ash and the others and his eyes narrowed. "Who are you?" he asked. "Why are you hanging around my pokemon?"
"Oh is this yours?" Ash asked. "It's an unusual pokemon"
"It is. Team Rocket would give their lives to get their hands on him. That's why I was suspicious of you at first."
"But not now?"
"No you're just kids."
The guy suddenly noticed Pikachu. "Hey kid, what's with your Pikachu?" he asked. "It looks in bad shape. Want me to take a look at it?"
"Well, if you wouldn't mind…"
"Wait a minute, Ash" Misty butted in. "We don't even know this guy"
"My name's Vincent. I'm 16. I live not far from here. Now who are you?"
"I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. These are my friends Brock and Misty."
"Well Ash I'm very pleased to meet you. Now guys, follow me and I'll have your Pikachu better in no time."
"Thank you, Vincent"
The group followed him silently until Misty said, "So what pokemon is that?" Vincent grinned at her. "It's called Wolfang," he said. "It's a fighting and fire type pokemon. It's so rare that he's the only one in the world."
"How did that happen?" Brock asked. "I'm not too sure about his past history" Vincent replied. "All I know is that Team Rocket created him in a labatory experiment and when he got injured in battle he was passed on to a trainer named Joe. Joe treated him very badly and finally the Elite Four took him away from Joe. Then they let my brother, Jack, have him and Jack gave him to me. I call him Sol-leks. It means 'the angry one'" They fell silent again.
Soon they came to a small house hiding deep in the woods. "Here's my house" Vincent told them. "Just wait here a minute." He walked quietly up to the house and knocked softly on the door. After a minute he turned to Ash. "Be very quiet," he told them. Then he took a key from his pocket and opened the door.
Ash, Brock and Misty followed him inside. Vincent paused in the hallway. "Jack" he called softly. "Damon. Are you home?" Getting no answer, he relaxed. "Give me your pikachu," he said. Ash handed him over. "I'll be five minutes," Vincent said. "Wait here for me" They all nodded and Vincent carried Pikachu upstairs.
"That's a weird guy," Misty said, as soon as the door closed behind him. "Do you two really trust him?"
"He seems to be a nice guy" Brock replied. "Right Ash?"
"I guess"
Misty began to look around. The room they were standing in was a tip. There were empty beer bottles and dirty cups and plates everywhere. Various articles of clothing were scattered around. "This place is a tip," she said. She stuck her head into the kitchen.
The sideboards were piled high with dirty plates and saucepans. A few more empty beer bottles lay around. A small bowl of food lay on the floor. Another small bowl lay next to it. Sol-leks went over to the bowl and sniffed at it. He lapped up a few drops of water.
"Found what you're looking for?" Vincent appeared again with a very healthy Pikachu on his shoulder. Misty blushed. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to…"
"Don't worry" Vincent shrugged. "Anyway, here's your pikachu kid" He handed Pikachu back to Ash. "So where are you heading?" he asked. "We're going to Fuchsia City" Ash told him. "We have passes for the trainers party on board a boat."
Vincent fell silent. "Well take care," he said after a minute or two. "We will" Ash began to say, but he was interrupted by the sound of something crashing upstairs. Vincent sighed. "Here comes Damon," he said quietly.
"VINCENT! Where are you, you little jerk? When I get hold of you, I'll…!" Damon's sentence trailed off as he appeared at the top of the stairs. He had black hair, which was matted and dirty. His face was pale. His clothes were crumpled as if he had been sleeping in them. His eyes were bloodshot and from the way he staggered down the stairs, Ash and the others could tell that he was drunk. When he reached the bottom, he glared at Ash. "Who are these guys?" he yelled. "And where the hell have you been all day?"
"You noticed I was missing then?" Vincent shot back. "I'm surprised. You're so out of it these days that I'm amazed that you can remember your own name"
"Don't you dare speak to me like that, you ungrateful little runt. Jack and me have done everything for you and this is how you repay us. Well, I'll give you a lesson you won't forget!" Damon moved forward and aimed a blow at the younger boy's head. Vincent tried to duck but Damon was too fast for him. His fist caught Vincent in the jaw. The force of the blow sent Vincent off his feet. Damon kicked him hard in the ribs as Vincent climbed back on his feet.
Damon moved in and raised his hand, ready to strike again. Suddenly Brock ran over and grabbed his arm. "Stop it!" he yelled. "Leave him alone or I'll call the police!" Damon pulled his arm free. "Mind your own business," he said angrily. "Listen Damon" Vincent said, keeping his voice calm. "Go back upstairs and I'll bring you a drink, okay?" Damon nodded and slowly walked back upstairs, swearing under his breath.
Misty put her arm round Vincent's shoulders. Ash looked down at the floor. The scene he had just seen horrified him, but he had no idea how to deal with it. Brock looked at Vincent, who was pale white and shaking slightly. He had blood running down his face. "Sit down" Brock told him gently. Then he turned to Ash. "I'm going to make him a drink," he said. "Go and see if you can find something to clean his face with. Misty, you stay with him. Talk to him."
Misty and Ash nodded. Brock went into the messy kitchen and sighed when he saw the empty beer bottles. 'Damon has a serious problem' he thought to himself. 'But that doesn't give him the right to knock Vincent around'. He set to work making four hot drinks.
Meanwhile Ash had found some clean cotton wool and Misty had set to work cleaning the blood off Vincent's face. Ash had gone to help Brock and, even thought she wanted to talk, she didn't know what to say to him. He still sat there silently, but he had stopped shaking. Sol-leks came over and licked his hand.
"I'm sorry you had to see that" he said after a minute. "It doesn't matter" Misty told him. "It really doesn't. I'm glad you had us here with you"
"Yeah" Brock said as he came through the door, carrying two drinks, which he handed to Vincent and Misty. "What's up with that Damon anyway?"
Vincent sighed. "Sit down" he told them. They all sat and looked at Vincent. "My parents died two years ago," he said. "They left me with my two brothers, Damon, who's nineteen now, and Jack, who is twenty-one. Both of my brothers took it hard. Damon turned to drink. As you just saw, Damon gets awfully violent when he's drunk. If Jack's here he can reason with Damon, but Jack works most of the time. Our Jack isn't that bad, he's a lot better than Damon."
"So the scene we just saw, it happens a lot does it?" Brock asked his voice filled with concern. Vincent looked down at the ground. "Something like that" he said. "But don't worry about me. I'm used to it now"
"That's terrible," Ash said. "Why the hell don't you just leave?"
"I've got no money and nowhere to go. And besides Damon will only track me down anyway. Lot less trouble to just stay here and avoid him when I can."
"That's bad," Misty said. "It looked really bad, I know" Vincent said. "But it doesn't hurt. Honest."
Then they heard the sound of a key in the door. Sol-leks jumped up and ran into the hall. Vincent stood up with a slight smile on his face. "Here's Jack" he said. The others followed him to the hallway. A man stood there who looked a lot like Vincent but larger. "Hello Vince. Had a good day?" he asked. Then he looked closer. "God, what happened to your face?"
"Damon got me again"
"I might have guessed. Where is he now?"
"Upstairs." Vincent replied, glancing down at the floor. "I'll go up and talk to him in a minute" Jack said softly. He put his hand on Vincent's shoulder. "It will be okay Vince. Don't worry about it."
"I don't"
"That's good. Do we have any food or…" His sentence trailed off as he noticed Ash and the others, who had been standing in silence, listening.
"Who are these guys?" he asked. "We're Vincent's friends" Ash replied quickly. "I see" Jack said. "What are your names?"
"I'm Ash from Pallet Town. These are my friends Brock and Misty"
"That's nice. Vincent tends to be a bit of a loner, right Vince? He doesn't have any friends"
"I guess so"
"Would you guys like to have a meal with us?" Jack asked. Brock and Misty looked at Ash. Ash smiled. "We would like that very much," he said. "Thank you"
"No problem" Jack smiled. "I'll go and talk to Damon. Vincent can you make a start on the dinner?"
"Course I can. No problem"
Brock, Misty and Ash helped Vincent. Misty tidied the living room, Ash cleared the kitchen, and Brock washed up while Vincent began the meal. They all ate and talked about pokemon and the Trainers Party. Afterwards Ash and his friends got ready to go.
Later, after Jack had given them directions to Fuchsia City, they were preparing to leave when Brock turned to Vincent. "Would you like to come with us?" he asked. Vincent shook his head. "I'd love to" he said. "But I can't"
"Why not?" Brock asked. "I have my reasons" Vincent said. Seeing that Ash was about to say something, he shook his head again. "Don't ask me why" he said as he shook their hands and thanked them. Sadly he wished them good luck and watched them walk away.