Called Into Question

By ShinobiWolf

Chapter One: Human No More

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It had to have been the hottest night in history. The air was thick with moisture, and there wasn't a single Pokemon in sight. And that wasn't good for business.

The business of a Pokemon hunter. Two of which were out on this balmy night.

Kai nudged her sleeping partner awake.

"Hey… What's the big deal?" Lina yawned. "Did you find it?"

"No, not yet."

"Then why did you wake me up? I was having the best dream in the world…"

"Four eyes are better than two. And anyway, if you want your share of the profits, then you have to do your share of the work."

"Fine…" Lina stretched and picked up another pair of binoculars.

They were camped out in a forest right around some small town. Lina couldn't remember the name of it for the life of her… That's why she left most of that stuff to Kai. The sixteen-year-old brunette had an unbelievable sense of direction, memory, and fantastic aim. Lina, also sixteen and with coal-colored hair, had just enough skill to be able to hardly keep up with Kai. But as poor as Lina was compared to Kai, they were the best hunters around. They were young, but highly regarded amongst the rich Pokemon collectors. A majority of their jobs were commissioned by the high and mighty Giovanni of Team Rocket. In fact, it was one of his inferiors who trained them. He took them in and trained them as his own apprentices after a pack of houndoom massacred their village. Which is what drove their choice of occupation. They hated those beasts with a passion…

A rustle in the bushes had Kai and Lina ready with their rifles. Their backs to trees, they silently made their way closer to their target.

It was a pure white espeon. Unknowing of its pursuers, it sniffed along the ground for any nuts or berries that may have fallen off of their branches. Just as Kai had it within her crosshairs, the espeon's large ears sensed danger. It bounded off, but not before receiving a shot to one of its hind legs. Kai and Lina followed it all the way to a small cave, where it took refuge.

"No way." Lina shook her head.

"What?"

"You're not getting me to go in there… There's no way of telling how deep it runs…"

"Fine, crybaby. I'll go in." Kai knelt down and slipped into the cave entrance, which was just large enough for her to fit. As she crawled, the tunnel grew wider, eventually leading her to a room big enough for a human to stand. Just as she crawled from the tunnel, she met the gaze of her target. Kai raised her rifle. There was no way for the espeon to escape.

"You can't get away this time, you piece of trash." But no matter how hard her mind willed it, she just couldn't get her finger to pull the trigger. Kai silently swore to herself. She was too close; it was using Hypnosis on her… Kai struggled to stay awake, but sleep eventually overtook her.

xxxxx

Kai's head shot up. She was still in the cave, and there was no sign of the white espeon. She had to get back to Lina…

She felt odd. The tunnel seemed bigger than before… Just as she escaped the tunnel, gunfire tore at the ground in front of her. Lina was shooting at her?!

"Breee!!!(Lina stop! It's me!)" Kai froze. That was not her voice. Her feet weren't hers either. They were black and furry… A thousand thoughts raced through her mind, but the loudest was the want to escape. She desperately ran for her life as Lina continued to fire on her.

Kai winced. A bullet had grazed her shoulder. The gunfire had stopped, but she continued to run. Her pain and confusion drove her on. Past the forest, past houses, past a barking growlithe. She could understand it. How had could she suddenly know how to understand Pokemon? She stopped at a pond to look at her reflection.

Her silhouette highlighted by the moon was that of an umbreon. The past half hour suddenly came back to her. Kai hadn't shed tears for ten years… But they now flowed freely, as her inhuman howling rose in the night air.