AN: Wow has it been awhile since I've even updated a story or anything on this site.. Haha. Life is a butt. Anyway, this is.. Sorta my first Pokémon story based around the Nuzlocke I'm currently doing. Although, some things will be different then the actual Nuzlocke itself as I am kind of far into mine and can't remember everything correctly. Also, just warning for those, who, are sensitive to such things: TW child abuse and death, as, this is a Nuzlocke, there will be deaths. And this is also a collab between me and my friend Booping-The-Snoot! They will be posting this story as well, but with their own edits as I post the original ones right from the doc!
It was a dark night in the Kalos region. Nocturnal pokémon were now ruling the forest, mountains and other places they inhabited, others were fast asleep in their own homes as well as humans. A lone Pokémon was flying through the cloudy night, the moon shining brightly. They flew high above in the sky, after a few minutes to an hour, they began flying lower and lower until they flew under the clouds, looking down to see a small town with a fountain in the middle of it. Ahead was a small yet lovely road that led to another town. Both gates that connected them were closed and locked.
"Vaniville town... finally." The Pokémon muttered, sounding masculine, and his voice scratchy, as if it were claws raking against metal, as they dipped lower until they began hovering, now over at the next town over, flowers and trees in various planters around and flew over to a house. The two story house was nice and looked like any other in the town except the flowers draped around the entire house and the door being a light lily pink, unlike the blue colors other doors were. The windows were like any other house and were clean and all that other nice stuff about a typical house, except for the two Larion in the front yard. However, it seemed both were asleep..
The Pokémon stood under a tree, its beak illuminated by the moonlight that seemed to bounce off of it. The beak was smooth like steel, sparkling. The Pokémon stepped out from under the tree to reveal a Skarmory. A dim light enveloped it and it seemed to take on a more human appearance. After the light faded, they had light grayish skin and wore a dark grey tunic, which had bits of steel plate on the arms and torso. Their eyes a piercing red with yellow seceria, almost glaring. They had a thick blue scarf wrapped around their neck, covering their mouth a bit, a helmet in the shape of the triangular cress atop a Skarmory head. Their wings were still on their back, purely steel and the same as in their Pokémon form. They wore spiked metal boots with three razor sharp talons on them and their hair was light grey and jagged, sticking out all over the place and ending at the small of their back.
The Skarmory looked up at the house, then frowned. They looked down and reached into a bag, which was his trainers. He and the others, who were in their pokéballs currently, were entrusted to deliver a present to his little sister, although they and his Pokémon greatly misjudged how long it would take and such, which resulted in the Skarmory arriving so late. He reached inside, pulling out a pokéball and tossing it into the air, releasing the pokemon inside. A Haunter.
"What is it?" The Haunter asked, voice feminine and mature.
"Idiot, the gift." The Skarmory stated bluntly, holding the bag up.
"Right!" The Haunter said as they switched to a more human form also. When they did, they were wearing a long dark purple frilly dress, all the frills torn up. She had a pair of claw gauntlets strapped to her wrists, which resembled a Haunter's claws and was wearing a hood which left only her mouth exposed. She looked to be in her 30s. She floated up, placing herself next to the Skarmory.
"It's dark now. If anything happens, you know." The Skarmory said before spreading their wings and taking flight, flying off high into the sky.
"Psh, cunt, leaving me here... But, it was apart of the plan. Unfortunately." The Haunter said as she floated up to a window on the top floor. Thanks to her night vision, she got a clear view of everything and saw a dusty old room, where the floor was wooden, covered with dirt and grime, the walls a blank grey. There was no furniture in the room and nothing else but a small grey blanket, it was completely barren
"Huh. Weird." The Haunter whispered to herself as she opened the window and floated inside the room, shutting the window silently behind her. She softly placed the bag on the dirty floor and floated over to a door, simply phasing through it.
She floated down a small hallway and heard some sort of noise which... sounded like... struggling? She blinked, perplexed, and floated over to a room which had the door ajar and peeked inside, seeing a woman who looked to be in her 40s, was struggling with a small child, looking no older than... six..? It was difficult for the Haunter to tell due to how skinny the child was. The woman threw the child to the floor and gave her a swift punch to the face, hitting her in the jaw, when they tried getting back up.
"Listen here. You will act like a regular human being when he gets here whenever he can, got it? And you know what will happen if you even dare try to say what happens here, understand?" The woman hissed threateningly. The child sat up, simply looking at the woman with an indecipherable mixture of emotions, quickly replaced by pure terror when the woman raised a fist and about to punch the child again, who quickly nodded. The woman lowered her arm and gave an annoyed huff.
"Good. Now go to your room." She snapped, pointing to the door the Haunter was hiding behind. The child nodded and picked themself off the floor and shuffled to the door.
The Haunter cursed under her breath and quickly flew away from the door and back the way she came. Grabbing the bag and strapping it to her shoulder, she quickly opened the window and flew out before closing it behind her, staying nearby and looking into the room.
"I'm not a damn idiot. I saw what was happening. I don't like doing this, but I need to see how severe this is..." She whispered to herself. The moon was shining bright tonight and full, which casted light into the, most likely, unlit and dark room.
She didn't know how long she waited until the door finally opened up, the child from earlier walking into the room and closing the door behind them. They walked to the small grey blanket and picked it up. Despite her night vision, it was hard to see the child. With the aid of the moonlight streaming in through the dirty window, the Haunter was able to see clearly what the child looked like, and did her best to hold in her startled gasp at what she saw.
The child was wearing just a short grey shirt and a simple green skirt, but they barely fit her as she was horribly skinny, her skin seemed to almost fit her bones. The child's skin was a tan color, although she was filthy and her clothes were tattered and ragged. Her eye color was hidden from view, but the Haunter guesses she had deep dark circles under them, her hair a pale yellow and it ended at her knees, very unruly and messy and it stuck out everywhere and some strands were hiding her eyes from view, ending at her nose. Two long strands went down to her wrist and her ears weren't in view either. Bruises could be seen on the parts of her face that were visible, and her arms and legs from earlier. The Haunter knew who she was however, and quietly growled, her hands clenched tightly into fist.
The child laid down on the floor, pulling the grey blanket over them, which didn't cover their feet and seemed to have fallen asleep. The Haunter stayed there for an hour, watching over the child out of worry, the thought that this was happening to her freezing the Haunter where she float. Minutes passed in silence, the soft breathing of the child being the only sound. Seeming to come back to herself, she backed up and quickly took off to the sky, disappearing into the night.
She didn't know how long or far she flew for, but she didn't care as she looked down to see what appeared to be the countryside that stretched out far and wide with small pockets of forest here and there. Spotting a familiar house, she dove down, clutching her trainers bag close to her, as if to reassure herself that it's still there. She slowed down as she got near the house and soon was just floating slightly above the ground and towards the phased through the front of the house.
A basic living room could be seen with a TV on the wall and a nice couch in front of it with a few chairs around it, with a white wooden coffee table in front of the couch, with enough room for leg room of course. The floor was a fluffy apricot colored carpet, the chairs were a light magenta while the couch was a dark green. The walls were a calming ocean blue as well and a simple ceiling fan which also doubled as a light source for the living room was on the ceiling in the middle of the room. A dining room and kitchen could be seen on the left, the light on, sounds of talking audible from the back.
The Haunter floated over to the kitchen and looked inside to see the Skarmory from earlier and her trainer. He had light tanned skin and light brown eyes. His hair was short, ending just at the base of his neck, also brown. He seemed to be at least six feet in height, but probably a few inches more, and wore just a simple pajama shirt and bottoms.
They both turned to her as she entered, looking expectant. "I- ...um… hey." She finally managed to mumble after a few seconds of trying to compose her thoughts, still reeling from what she witnessed earlier. The Skarmory raised his eyebrow in question.
"How'd it go giving sis the gift? I bet she was really happy. And the note?" The trainer asked happily.
"Uh... I... Didn't give her the gift or anything. I- Well," she paused for a moment for continuing, "When I saw her she was as skinny as ever... But, um…" The Hunter said a bit awkwardly, hoping most would go over her trainer's head.
"Oh. Well that sucks, but i guess we can visit her next time, probably next week. But I wish mom and dad would get her to eat..." He said with a small frown.
"I… well, I found out the reason for all of it. I'll explain from the beginning so, please..." The Haunter said.
"The reason? Is it serious?" The Skarmory asked.
"It is... Travis, I really don't know how to tell you this.." The Haunter began but then went quiet, trying to come up with the best way to explain all of this.
"Tell me what? You know you can tell me anything Yanu." The trainer, Travis, said. The Haunter,Yanu, sighed.
"Well, this will be a shock, and even I'm still reeling from it all... But... Travis, your sister is being abused, and badly. She... isn't just unruly or anything like that, they aren't feeding her or anything.
"I saw it with my own eyes. I was going to give her the gift, I saw Rena attacking her. She then told her to act normal for whenever you could visit and sent her back to her room. And... It's just barren! Nothing- nothing except a blanket that's filthy like the rest of her, and the room is... awful... dirty, grimey... Before I left I saw her just pick up the blanket and lay on that-that disgusting floor and just fall asleep like that." She explained, shuddering at the recent memory and was trying not to cry.
The two boys stood there in shock, eyes wide.
"I- wha- Yanu, this... this all for real? Is this some kind of sick joke-" The Skarmory demanded.
"Would I joke about something like this!?" she Paused, "I wish it was… God, I wish it was..."
Travis was silent, eyes glazed over, not sure what to say or do, as were both of his Pokémon. It was as if everything was frozen.
A telephone rang out and broke the atmosphere. Yanu flinched at the sudden sound, and Travis' eye's seemed to gain focus once more.
Travis blinked a few times and shook his head in an attempt to clear it. He quickly walked over the the mounted telephone and grabbed it, looking at the caller i.d.
He let out a breath he didn't know he held. It was just Professor Sycamore, pokémon professor of the Kalos region.
He pressed the call button and brought the phone up to his left ear.
"Ah! Dr. Travis! Was wondering when you would pick up!" Sycamore said from the other line.
"Professor Sycamore. Yeah. Um- sorry... I got... caught up in something." Travis said, frowning a bit.
"Oh. Well it's all cleared up now, correct?" Sycamore asked.
"Not exactly. But, hey, I'm suppose to be traveling around Kalos with one of those Pokémon your giving me, right?" Travis asked.
"Yes. Whenever your ready, however. I know how busy you are." Sycamore replied.
"Well, actually. Uh… I have someone else in mind." Travis said. Yanu and the Skarmory looked at each other with surprised and shocked looks.
"He better fucking not!" Yanu hissed.
"He... could be talking about..." the Skarmory muttered to himself.
"Yes. Her names Finnigan. My little sister. She could use the journey in growing up and such, plus, she could use the companionship." Travis said.
"Sounds great! I will send word-" Sycamore began. "Wait! Uh... my... parents are… very- uh, very protective of Finnigan. So, it has to be done secretly. I'll say she went on a nice trip with me to Johto." Travis said, quickly interrupting Sycamore.
"Oh. Well then I'll leave you too it! And don't worry. The Pokémon should be there soon. The little guy has been here for quite awhile and could use such a friend as your sister." Sycamore said kindly.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'll talk to you later though. Night over here for me. Heh." Travis said.
"Of course. Have a good night Travis." Sycamore replied.
"Night." Travis said before hanging up and putting the phone back where it was.
"Are you fucking insane!?" Yanu and the Skarmory screeched in unison.
"Hey, at least it's better than her being stuck with those abusers." Travis replies softly, frowning.
Yanu bristled, concerned, "But still!" She waved her hands animatedly, eyebrows pressed together and frowning deeply.
"Look... This is just-the only way I can help her right now. I want to do more but... Yanu, Eilixo, you know my job." He sighed and massaged his temple. "Arceus... The amount of patients were getting these days,"
"Yeah. The flu is going around like crazy." The Skarmory, Eilixo, said. "Not to mention all the Beedrill stings..." He added quietly.
"Yeah. But I'm sure everything will work out, won't it? And one day we can do more for her." Travis said, trying to quell his own worry and anxiety.
Yanu and the Skarmory looked at each other with concern, then at Travis and sighed.
"Yeah, your right." Yanu said, frowning.
"I hope that day is soon at least." Eilixo muttered.
"Yeah." Travis said.
"Well, we shouldn't leave the others in the dark about this however." Yanu said.
"In the morning Yanu." Travis said with a sigh.
The next day, just like Professor Sycamore said, the pokémon was sent over. During the next few days, Travis was busy with work. Yanu told Travis' other pokémon- a Carbink, Chimecho, Audino, and Blissey, what was happening. They all reacted differently, but the base was the same- anger and disbelief. The days felt as if they were being drawn out longer and longer
Soon, the day came to visiting Travis' parents. The boy still had doubt about what was happening to his little sister, despite what Yanu had told him. He had to see the signs for himself. They flew over the day before, and rested in a nearby town before flying over to the same house the Haunter was left at the other day.
"I... just... I'm sorry Yanu. I have to see the signs myself." Travis muttered as he stood outside the front door if his childhood home. He had been reluctant to tell this to his two pokemon, Yanu had understood his doubt. She wouldn't have believed it, either.
"It's okay Travis. And I promise I'll… try be as civil as I can. If I look… tense, just send me back into my pokéball." Yanu said, back into her natural form along with the rest of Travis' team.
"Alright. Just, uh, act normal. No matter what, guys." Travis said with a sigh. Most of his pokémon nodded, other's just begrudgingly sighing, but not disagreeing.
They all jumped slightly as the door suddenly swung open with a loud bang. A woman who appeared to be in her 40s stood there, wearing a light pink dress with a very long, frilly yellow and white skirt. She had on red lipstick and her hair was a pale blond, hair left to flow onto her shoulders.
"Travis! Everyone! It's great to see you!" The woman said, brightly.
"Yeah-" Yanu began, before Charlie interrupted her.
"Rena! Ugh. Again? With that fashion sense?" The Audino questioned, frowning.
"Oh, you be quiet." Travis said.
"Anyway, come in! Come in!" Rena chirped happily as she walked back to let everyone in, who, at first, looked very reluctant but then quickly went inside, not wanting to seem suspicious.
They stepped right into a living room. The floor was a wooden and a nice birch color, the walls being a light sky blue. There was a standard flat screen TV mounted to the wall, and a basic brown couch was in front of it. If they hadn't known what was happening in this house, they would have thought it homey.
"So-" Travis began.
"Tell me how your day is going! No-work!" Rena interrupted cheerfully.
"Uh... where's dad?" Travis asked.
"He's out. But will be back soon." Rena said flatly.
"Oh. Well alright." Travis mumbled in reply. "Where's Finnigan? It's been awhile since I saw her." He asked. Multiple of his pokemon seemed to perk up at the mention of the young girl.
"Oh. Um… she's.. Around. You know how she always is." Rena said.
"Uh-huh.. Well, have you been able to get her to eat?" The young doctor asked, "bathe, do anything?" He added worriedly.
"No, sadly. Oh, I believe she may be a lost cause, but I don't want to give up." Rena said, a frown on her face. Kiku, a shiny Chimecho, raised a tiny brow as Charlie slightly narrowed his eyes.
Travis frowned a bit at the answer, but hid his suspicion. Although it was only growing at hearing something from the floor above. Charlie's ears perked up as if listening to something.
"Why do I hear screaming?" Charlie asked.
"Oh. Um… Finnigan is having one of her tantrums again so, I had to put her into her room." Rena tried to explain.
"Mom, why don't I just-" Travis began.
"No!" Her voiced rose, and she seemed to blush in embarrassment, "I mean, children do need their mother to straighten them out. And with you being so busy, it would be a burden." Rena deflected.
"But…" Lluna, a small Carbink, looked towards the stairs. Hopping towards it, they continued, "I never heard a child… scream like that… can I just- check on her? Real quick?" Lluna asked, not stopping their trek towards the stairwell.
"Oh! No, no no. It's normal for her. Don't worry. I'll go up later and then tell her if she learnt her lesson." Rena said, running over and quickly picking Lluna up. Lluna let out a squeak, and their ears pressed against their head.
"Mom, are-" Travis began.
"I'm fine! Just... stressed. I mean, with the flu and such I worry about my children being affected, or worse!" Rena stated as she held out Lluna out to Travis, who took them back a bit to quickly.
"Then let's watch some TV to calm down!" Yanu said, smiling, although it looked sinister due to the crooked mouth the Ghastly evolution line possessed.
"Yes! TV! That will calm us all down." Rena said as she walked over to the TV and turned it on, it currently on a commercial. She turned the volume on max, the noise from earlier now being drowned out by the TV.
This was only making Travis a bit disturbed however as he recalled the similar way Rena acted the last few times he visited..
Travis and his Pokémon sat down on the couch, Yanu and Kiku floating right beside. Eilixo was perched on the arm of the couch and Lluna was sitting in Cosmo, a Blissey's, lap. Charlie had wormed his way in between Rena and Trevor, holding one of Trevors hands in his own.
"Charlie, why-" Travis began, questioning why Charlie was holding his hand.
"It's nice. And relaxing. Shush." Charlie cut him off, snuggling up to Travis.
Lluna and Kiku were looking at the TV, but weren't to particularly interested They were highly worried at the screaming from earlier. Lluna looked over at Yanu, a silent plea in their baby-blue eyes; please go check on her.
Yanu blinked at the small jewel pokemon and softly nodded.
"I'm gonna… go for a short flight. Be right back." Yanu said quietly, starting to phase into the wall behind them.
"What? But it's day. And you guys just got here. Come on and relax." Rena said in an attempt to keep the Haunter in sight.
"No thanks. Taking a flight is how I do, so." Yanu said, quickly losing her temper.
"Are you sure?" Rena asked, an almost desperate tinge to her voice
'Bitch, I will tear your throat out if you don't shut up….' Yanu thought before shaking her head.
"No. I'm fine, alright?" Yanu said quickly before continuing her passage into the wall. After she was through it, she looked around before floating up to a second story window and phasing through.
She looked around to see she was in the same hallway just a couple of days back. She shuddered at the memory, unconsciously tensing and stomach plummeting. She sighed and shook her head to clear her head of the memory, looking around as she tried to listen to any sort of noise, drowning out the loud TV in the back the best she could.
She could feel something make contact with her mind, before a fuzzy voice echoed through her head- 'Yanu, have you found anything yet?' Kiku asked, having seen the small interaction between the Carbink and the Haunter.
'No. Not yet. I literally just got here.'
'Oh… sorry. Keep me posted?'
'Yeah, I got you Kiku.'
Yanu looked around, perking her ears to try and hear what that scream was earlier, another sudden yet expected scream echoed through the hall. The TV was most likely drowning it out jumped and whipped her head in the direction it came from, the same door from last time.
The Haunter shuddered a bit and quickly floated over to the door, pausing in front of it. She lifted a disembodied hand hesitant, before squaring her shoulders and phasing through the door.
She entered the room and looked around, frowning deeply. It was the same as yesterday, except the grey blanket wasn't there.
"Yan?" A small voice whispered. Yanu jumped again and whirled around to see the same child from last night, the blanket wrapped around her shoulders as she stood by the door, shaking badly.
"Finnigan? Yeah… it's me, Yanu. Why are you screaming?" Yanu asked gently as she switched to her human form, now wearing a long purple cloak, but still wearing her dress and other things underneath, except her gauntlets.
Finnigan shook her head, appearing too scared to say why. Yanu frowned and floated closer, lowering herself to the floor until she was actually standing, then walked over to Finnigan and knelt down so she was on eye level with the child.
"Finn, you know you can tell me anything. Please, don't be scared." Yanu said softly.
Finnigan shook her head at the Haunter, "...I can't... scary… d-dragon..." she whispered.
'Dragon..? Wait… oh they-'
'Dragon? What?'
Yanu paused. Oh, yeah, Kiku.
'Kiku, this shit just got even more serious.'
'First of all, watch your language. Second, it would help if you would actually explain?'
Yanu narrowed her eyes, and Finnigan took a hesitant step towards the Haunter. She didn't notice.
'They're fucking using a dragon to abuse Finnigan! Don't fucking tell me to tone my language down!'
'What!? Yanu, are you sure you got this correct? We can't afford to-'
Yanu cut the Chimecho off, 'Bitch! Do I should like I'm joking or some shit?! Do not fuck with me right now Kiku! I'm with Finnigan right now, so fucking don't.'
The mind link was silent for a moment, before, '...I know that you jump to conclusions sometimes… we just… we just can't right now. We're all out of the house right now, so if something bad happens to you or Finn...' Kiku sounded hurt by Yanu's outburst, his voice low and hesitant, not wanting the Ghost type to lash out again.
'I- I'm sorry Kiku. Just- I'm really upset at this. I just wish we could do more to help...'
"Um, Yanu?"
The Haunter looked down at the little girl- when had she started floating again? ('What?')- who was looking up at her with wide, watery eyes displaying a wide array of emotions; fear, concern, sadness- it was overwhelming to look at.
Yanu blinked a few times before she floated down and sat on her legs in front of the child.
"Finnigan, I... um... just- I was thinking. But, what's wrong?" Yanu asked, reaching out to the child when knocking could be heard. She internally cringed. What isn't wrong? ('Yanu, what's going on?')
Yanu was suddenly aware of the forceful knocking on the door behind the ghost. The knocking became louder and rougher, as if the person behind it was threatening to kick the door down. Yanu sucked in a breath and grabbed Finnigan, dragging the girl into her familiar embrace, resisting the urge to run away as far away as she could carry her.
"Open the damn door!" Yelled a rough and scratchy sounding voice from behind the door. It sounded angry. Finnigan whimpered as she began shaking even worse in fear, burying her face into Yanu's shoulder. Yanu looked around and let out a shaky breath before quickly getting up, shoving the child behind her until they were standing in a corner.
'Kiku, you gotta break the mind link. Please. I need to concentrate. Don't say a word to the others or anything, I'm sorry about earlier... And whatever lie is said later, please- just... Don't give away what happened.'
'What!? I- … you better be okay afterwards, Yanu…'
The connection severed.
The knocking had gone away, and both girls stood frozen for what felt like forever. Yanu's shoulders started to sag in relief, when a loud thud could be heard, as if someone was kicking the door. Hard. Finnigan let out a cry of fear but Yanu quickly shushed her, still keeping the child behind her as she formed a Shadow Ball in her hands, ready to fight.
"Houndoom, break the door open. Now."
The door flew open with a nearly deafening bang, and Finnigan let out a shriek of fear, Yanu flinched and quickly shot the Shadow Ball at the now open door, and at whoever was unlucky enough to be standing there.
A Houndoom walked into the room, along with a Mightyena and Armaldo. A man walked into the room behind them.
The man had brown hair that was short, only reaching his ears, his eyes the same color. His skin was a light tan and was wearing a red long sleeved shirt and blue jeans, and brown boots. The Shadow Ball ended up hitting the Houndoom, but it barely did anything.
'Fuck! They have the type advantage!' Yanu though, slightly panicked and frowning deeply. Another orb built up in her hand.
"Just step away, Haunter. This doesn't have to be messy." the man said, holding up a pokéball. It was Yanu's.
Yanu hissed at him, teeth clenched. "Like hell I will. You'll have to pry her from my cold, dead hands before I let you touch her, William!" She spit the name as it it pained her to even say it.
"Fine. Your Funeral." William said. As if a switch was flipped, the Houndoom sprang into action and ran at Yanu, who threw the Shadow Ball she was forming at it. Again, it did little to nothing. The Houndoom sank its teeth into her right arm, electricity sparking from its mouth. Yanu flinched as the teeth ripped into her arm and punched the Houndoom in the face as hard as she could to make it let go. Suckerpunch.
The devil dog backed up for a moment, looking down at its prey. Blood dripped from its maw, staining its fur a deep scarlet.
Yanu, clutching her bleeding arm, looked up from her collapsed position, fear in her eyes. Finn was crying behind her, clutching onto the Haunter's cloak.
The Houndoom lunged once more.
~~~~~~~~~~~ POV Switch, Outside ~~~~~~~~~~~
"Alright. Ah… Charlie your-"
"Time to show you all how a real man fights."
"Honey, you are not a real man…."
"Shut up! I am!"
Travis, his Pokémon, Rena and her own were outside in a nice field, having a Pokémon battle. Charlie vs Rena's Sligoo. He was manly swirling out of the way, dancing within the Misty Terrain, occasionally lashing out with an Echoed Voice.
"Charlie, don't get cocky or anything." Travis said.
"I won't!" Charlie called back.
"He will." Eilixo said. Charlie made a disgruntled whine, but didn't grace Eilixo with a reply..
"You guys are just as adorable as ever!" Rena giggled as a Haxorus stood next to her, a Dragalge on her other side. There was also a Venosaur, Roserade, Bagon, and Hydreigon.
"I'm up next." Eilixo said.
"Are you sure? Im sending out Terrain next." Rena said, pointing to the Hydreigon.
"Yeah. Pretty sure." Eilixo said, unphased.
Lluna was silent, looking up towards the second floor in worry and concern. They're a very empathetic pokemon, and can't help but feel that Yanu was in danger, that she was getting hurt, someone had to help her please help them pleasepleasesomeone-
"Lluna?"
Lluna snapped back to themself looked up and saw Kiku gazing down at the small Carbink in concern. He, too, was worried for Yanu.
"Kiku? Lluna? Are you guys alright?" Travis asked as Charlie walked back to the others, flopping onto the ground with a groan and a aaaaaahhhhh! battling is exhausting!. Eilixo flew out to the spot he was going to battle at.
"I feel uneasy about all of this though. Wonder why Rena wanted to just suddenly have a Pokémon battle." Cosmo, Travis' Blissey said.
"She's always been a Pokémon battle enthusiast." Travis said.
"Still, this is a bit suspicious.." Cosmo mumbled. She had been with Travis since he was tiny, and she was just a Happiny. She never liked that women, not with how she would treat her sweet boy.
"Well-"
"Another Pokémon battle huh?" William asked as he walked up, his Almando walking beside him as he held a pokéball in his right hand.
"Hey dad. And... kinda?" Travis said. Lluna had backed behind Cosmo, a shiver going through their frame. Charlie didn't even grave the man with a glance.
Kiku noticed the pokeball in William's hand, and the Chimecho felt his heart plummet upon recognizing it.
"Is… is-is that…" he stuttered out.
"Huh? Oh! Don't be scared, little guy," Kiku choked down a growl at this, "And yes, this is Yanu's Pokéball. One of my Pokémon grabbed it when you guys were heading out, I didn't realize until I had to recall her due to my Houndoom getting aggressive since we had a Pokémon battle earlier, and lost to an electric type since he kept getting paralysed." William quickly explained.
"What? Is she...?" Travis asked hesitantly.
"She will be. I managed to stop it before it got really bad." William said.
"That doesn't make it any better, you know?" Travis growled as he quickly took Yanu's Pokéball away from his dad.
"I'll make sure my Houndoom is punished properly Travis. Again, I'm so sorry for this, I really am." William finished, a 'this talk is over' tone overtaking his voice.
Travis opened his mouth to say a bit of a nasty comment but quickly closes it. Now's not the time. He keeps it to himself, and hands Yanu's Pokéball to Cosmo.
Kiku was infuriated. He knew this man was lying. He knew he was. And he was not about to let him get away with it. Looking down at Lluna, it seems as though they had the same idea, a budding Power Gem starting to form above their bunny-like ears.
Travis sighed, frowning deeply.
"Look-" he began.
"Travis? What's gotten into your team?!" William shouted as he began backing up, his Almando jumped in front of him, growling. Travis was confused until he looked over at Kiku and Lluna, as did everyone else.
"Kiku, Lluna, stop!" Travis said as he reached out to the two Pokémon.
"And why should we?" Kiku growled angrily.
"Kiku, Lluna, stop now or I'll put you in your pokéballs." Travis said, getting them out. Lluna had tears in their eyes and the Power Gem continued to charge up. Kiku glared at William from behind them.
Travis quickly recalled the two back to their pokéballs, feeling his heart drop as he did.
"Travis... what's going on with you guys? Is work stressing you all out that bad?" William asked.
"Yeah. I think we should leave now." Travis replied.
"Travis! What about-?" Charlie whispered, looking at Travis, concerned.
"I left the gift and more at the hiding spot." Travis whispered back. He focused back on his parents, "Can I see Finnigan before I leave at least? Please?"
"Well, yes. I suppose so. But put everyone else back into their pokéballs. Please. I don't want anymore accidents to occur." Rena said as she walked up, her Pokémon no longer beside her.
Travis looks over to his team, who each gave him different looks, then reluctantly nodded. Travis sighed and recalled everyone into their own pokéballs, putting them into his bag with a frown.
"Now, can I see Finnigan?" He asked.
"Yes. Let's go." Rena said as she began walking in the direction of the house, William next to her. Travis followed, swallowing in attempt to ignore the pit of dread in his stomach.
They entered the house and entered the living room, Rena and William left to go get their Pokémon situated and Travis quickly headed up the stairs. Looking around, he saw the door that led to the barren room, still open. He walked to it, keeping his footsteps light as he did, and looked inside.
There was still blood on the floor from the fight earlier, some torn pieces of cloth were on the floor. Something wrapped in a purple cloak was shaking like a leaf in a corner. Travis stepped into the room, and walked towards the shaking figure, making his footsteps more audible, as to let the shaking bundle know that someone was coming near.
"Finnigan? Are you alright?" Travis asked, his voice quiet and gentle as he slowly reached out to the child. Finnigan stopped shaking a little at Travis' voice and looked out from under the cloaks hood.
Travis paused, not wanting to scare Finnigan anymore then she already was. She looked up at her brother as if he wasn't actually there, an illusion. Finn blinked a few times, before lunging forward and clinging to him as she began crying. Travis hugged her back as lightly and carefully as he could due to the state she was in. It basically destroyed him to see his sister in such a state.
Travis' hands shook."Finn… I-I'm... I'm so sorry…" He did his best to blink back the feeling behind his eyes, to no avail.
He wished he could just take her away from all of this, he really wish he could. But the registration, with his and everyone's schedules currently, it would be so difficult and even more to properly get the child back into proper health. Not to mention fighting for custody, when they hid this so well…
He gave her a quick once over, checking for any kind of wounds, even the tiniest scratch would make him finally snap at his parents. To his relief, he found none. But right now, he knew time was short. He took a deep breath and then sighed heavily, steeling his nerves.
"Finn, I don't have much time, alright? But I promise you, you have a chance at getting far away from here." Travis assured the girl. "I left a gift for you at the hidden spot, alright? Inside it is how you'll escape. I left a note and some supplies."
Finnigan didn't want to let her brother go, but knew that Rena or William would soon try to find him. She could hear them downstairs with their Pokémon. She nodded into his shoulder and reluctantly let go, sniffling.
"I... I'll see you again, right?" She muttered.
Travis smiled a watery smile down at her. "Yeah. You will someday. I promise." The two siblings hugged each other one last time before Travis got up, planting a kiss onto Finn's head, and head towards the door.
He paused in front of it, before reaching down towards his pokeballs. He looked them all over.
Kiku's level ball, Cosmo's heal ball, Charlie's love ball, Eilixo's heavy ball, Yanu's dusk ball, and Lluna's moon ball.
He grabbed the moon ball.
His vision seemed to blur for a moment, before voices started going through his head, to quick for him to identify who said what.
'Am I going with Finn and her new pokemon…?'
'You'll do great, sweetie! I-'
'Travis, what are you thinking? They hatched barely a year ago-'
'Poor child, I wish I could teach those scumbags a-'
Finn let out a short, watery giggle from where she was on the floor. It seems Kiku had connected her as well.
Rubbing his thumb over the smooth moon engraved on the ball, he whispered, "Take care of her," and walked back to Finn, placing it in her hands. She stared at it for a moment, before-
'Don't worry, Muma.'
Kiku let out an audible whimper, and replied, 'Oh my god Travis' this child is a blessing-'
Travis let out a small laugh, before kneeling down and kissing Finnigan on her head once more.
"You'll do good, Finn. You and your pokemon are gonna be amazing.
"One day, you'll blow us all away."
~~~~~~~~~~~ POV Switch, Downstairs ~~~~~~~~~~~
"Travis?" Rena asked as Travis walked down the stairs. He was tense, shoulders drawn and hackles raised.
"Yeah?"
"I… know it's difficult to see Finnigan like she is. We're trying our best. We won't give up." Rena said. Lying son of a-
"Yeah. I know mom." Travis said softly, frowning.
"We'll see you whenever we can, huh?" William asked.
"...Sure." Travis said, cold, before heading to the front door and opening it. He then left, slamming the door behind him, although a bit harshly.
All he could do now was hope for Finn to get the package. Hopefully with Lluna there, the little tank that they are- Cosmo wanted to name them Bun, Charlie countered with Cotton, Finn quietly suggested 'Lluna' and everyone fell quiet- no one will be able to hurt Finnigan with Lluna around. Not again.
~~~~~~~~~~~ POV Switch, Finnigan ~~~~~~~~~~~
Finnigan grumbled a bit as she blinked her eyes open. The room was now dark and moonlight was streaming into the room from the dirty window, softly muted by the clouds. She slowly pulled herself up, looking around and shivered. She didn't hear Rena or William around.. They must be out or sleeping soundly in their room.
She carefully got up, feeling a bit lightheaded as she got to her feet. She was still for a moment, the smooth moon ball clutched tightly in her hands as she waited for the dizzy spell to pass, before softly padding to the door.
She slowly twisted the knob to see if it was locked- it wasn't, thank Xerneas, she's not the best lock-pick- and she opened the door as quietly as she could. There was no one waiting out in the hall.
She carefully stepped out the room, and softly closed the door behind her. As quietly as she could, she made her way towards the stairs, careful to avoid the creaky boards. She had memorized where they were, from when she had to sneak downstairs for food.
Looking around the living room, it was empty. She fiddled with Lluna's ball nervously- what would be the best way of sneaking out..? The front door wasn't an answer. Maybe the kitchen window? It was the only idea she had right now...
Finnigan walked as quietly as she could, towards the kitchen. It was dark of course, but she remembered where everything was, so she was able to duck and weave around everything and headed for the nearest window.
Climbing up on the counter, her little hands grabbed at the bottom of the sill and she heaved it up, trying to open it. She didn't know how much time she spent trying to pry it open, but she finally managed to get it open enough for her to slide through with little difficulty.
Going out legs first, she gently pushed Lluna's Pokéball out before her. She then slipped through the window and fell to the ground, already feeling exhausted, grimacing and forcing herself to sit up, feeling horribly dizzy, she reached out and picked back up the moon ball, then struggled to pull herself off the ground.
After a few minutes, she finally finally reigned back control of her legs. Standing up, she inspected her surroundings- a grassy, uncut yard.
Finn looked around until she spotted the spot- a small hole buried underneath a tree, nearly under the roots and completely covered by overgrown grass. If she hadn't know what she was looking for, she would have never found it. Getting down on her knees, she inspected the hole, before stopping.
She couldn't see well, and the cloudy night wasn't helping with blocking the moonlight. She looked down at Lluna's Pokéball and felt slightly bad for this. She didn't want to let the little Carbink out, incase her parents woke up, but...
Steeling herself, Finn held out the smooth moon ball in her hands and pressed the capsules button, releasing Lluna from their pokéball. A bright light accompanied it, almost overwhelming the poor girls sight. Finn flinched from this and dropped Lluna's ball, shielding her eyes from the bright light, but it died down fairly quickly. Finnigan still kept her eyes shielded despite this, whining softly.
After a few minutes or so, Finnigan uncovered her eyes, blinking a few times until her sight was clear once again.
"...Lluna…?" She asked quietly.
The small Carbink was standing next to Finn, looking up at her with big, imploring blue eyes. Adorable.
"Yes, Finni?" They asked innocently. They looked away once to peek into the hole, before making eye contact again, only to glance away another second later, as if nervous.
"Um... I just…" She mumbled the next part too quietly for Lluna to hear, and they tilted their head. "...can't see well… dark..." Finnigan said, nervous and paranoid. A noise sounded from the front yard and Finn flinched. Lluna stayed waiting for the small girls reply, one ear angled behind them. If they were nervous, they didn't show it.
"Can you... um… light?" Finnigan asked quietly, shuddering a bit as another sound could be heard from the front yard, hugging her arms in growing fear.
Lluna's ears perked up lightly, before their eyes and crystals began to glow a soft blue.
~~~~~~~~~~~ POV Switch, Front Yard ~~~~~~~~~~~
In the front yard, there were two Lairon were sleeping, almost like guard dogs. However, a shadowed figure of a Pokémon was secretly listening in on Finnigan and Lluna. The cloudy night was helping them conceal them from sight and from where they were, perched underneath a second story window of the house.
The Pokémon looked around, noticing things seemingly going quiet before a soft blue glow seemed to appear, although barely noticeable from where the Pokémon was If they didn't have night vision, they wouldn't be able to see a thing.
They blinked a few times, curious. Moving from the window and hovering in the air, they slowly made their way to the backyard, but stopped when they heard one of the Lairon slowly drift out of its sleep. They flew over to them and hovered right in front of their face. Using Hypnosis, the Lario- who was almost awake, about to stand- blinked a few times, before collapsing back onto the soft grass, asleep once more..
The muted moonlight would allow for anyone, actually conscious, to see who the figure was, despite the clouds muting the soft glow. The figure in front of the Larion was that of a Noibat, smaller than average, but their ears making up for it more than enough, a good couple inches or so larger than typically seen.
The Noibat then fluttered away, turning towards the backyard once again. They didn't notice that someone had spotted them.
~~~~~~~~~~~ POV Switch, Back Yard ~~~~~~~~~~~
Finnigan's eyes narrowed slightly as the small jewel pokemon lit up, as if the small amount of light bothered her more than it did help. Lluna hopped closer to the hole, and Finn peered inside- there was a small gift box tied with a purple ribbon, and a small backpack with many pockets.
She reached for the backpack first, unzippering it as quietly as she could.
Inside were a few standard potions, some Oran berries, TM Cut, and an entirely new outfit,consisting of a bright green and yellow frilly dress, it looking a bit too big for her to wear with the sleeves seemingly going to the ground. A red fedora with lime and light blue buttons on the side, a shiny Noibat clip on the side, her favourite, she's so happy that Travis' remembered, along with cyan combat boots and yellow high knee socks.
Finnigan put the items back into the bag and looked over at the letter, wanting to see what all of this even meant, what it's all for. Lluna extended an ear forwards, what- Oh. Finn moved the letter towards them and used the sharp edge of their ear to cut open the envelope.
"Dear Finn,
"I'm sorry I never knew what happened to you. It... really hurts me to find out our own parents were treating you like this. They said they were cleaning up their act, but that was obviously a lie. I know you probably won't forgive me and everyone else for just finding this out just today,
Finnigan paused, blinked. Why would she be mad? She wasn't. Part of her actually didn't want Travis and everyone to find out because she was scared of them being mad at her, despite knowing that this wasn't her fault... She wasn't mad. She could never be mad at Travis.
But, this is a way of helping you escape and getting far away from it all and for a much happier and better life. I'm so sorry we couldn't do more, sooner.
Professor Sycamore himself asked me to go all over Kalos and go on a journey myself to document all the Pokémon there. Although, with everything going on and the flu being a big problem for both humans and Pokémon, you could imagine I wouldn't have the time.
So, I'm passing the task onto you.
Finnigan paused again, and Lluna tried to peer over the girls shoulder at the letter. She read that last sentence again in a daze- and then again, again, again-
What!? She- what-
Finn took a moment to process this, spacing out for a bit- but Lluna nudged her lightly, murmuring about hurrying before her parents awoke, and Finnigan frowned, because yeah, that would suck.. But she broke into a wide smile as she read the sentence for a yet another time.
The Professor didn't send word to our parents or anything, so this is all hush-hush. There are four other kids as well who were chosen for such a task. I hope you meet them and become good friends with them, Finn... They should be amazing people.
Finnigan then frowned at this. She didn't think she could trust anyone after this. Not that she wouldn't try, but you can't blame her. The most human interaction she'd had involved her parents beating her until she couldn't even lift her arm, no, stop, why are you doing this I thought you loved me please stop- Lluna let out a concerned keen- no words to translate. Finn snapped back to herself once more.
P.S. try not to stay in cities and towns too much. Mom and Dad might have the police look for you and think up a lie to make it more convincing for them to find you. Make sure to love that pokémon too, you're they're first trainer. Treat them well and like family, Finn. You two- and Lluna- will definitely do great one day.
P.S.S. Lluna is going with you on your journey. That's why I gave you their Pokéball. They'll probably not participate in battles and such, but won't hesitate to protect if the need arises.. It would really hurt me to hear that you both badly hurt, in any way, shape, or form.
P.S.S.S. Please do not wear your new outfit immediately and at least bathe somewhere first.. You don't want to mess it up when you first wear it, don't you? And try to get your haircut if you have the money at the barber shop in Lumiose City. It's not healthy for your hair, having all those dead-ends. I told Lucie that you'd be arriving someday soon, and to give it to you free of charge, or simply wash it for you if you actually like the hair the way it is... just, you know, not all filthy.
Take care. All of you.
Love, Travis and the gang
Finnigan blinked, and then skimmed over the letter again. She smiled a face-splitting smile, trying to blink back tears of joy. She was failing. couldn't really tell if this was real or not. She really couldn't. Taking a moment to compose herself, she then folded the letter and put it back into the backpack- her backpack.
She looked at the pokéball from inside the small gift box and picked it up, looking over it a bit.
"...I promise I won't let my parents get us. If they do find us one day, we'll show everyone who they really are." Finn said, holding the Pokéball in her hands.
She wondered what Pokémon was inside it. She didn't care. No matter what Pokémon they were, she would take care of them. She would love them.
Rubbing her thumb over the red apricot-made shell, Finn aimed the ball out in front of them. There was a click, and the pokeball opened.