Of Men, Gods and Pokémon
By BlueJackal82 & Ayanna Wildfire
Disclaimer:
This is a non-profit work of fiction. I do not own Pokémon and all characters and creatures are owned by Nintendo, Nintendo of America, Game Freak and respective companies. All original characters seen in this story are owned by myself and Ayanna Wildfire respectively.
Author's Notes:
This is a storyline I had in my head for a few years and I am very glad to finally get it out there. I'm hoping you enjoy this and I want to thank my friend Ayanna Wildfire for all her help with this story thus far.
Chapter 1
Two opponents stood on opposite ends of the battlefield, a boy versus a girl and both down to their last Pokémon. It was the look in their eyes that told them that this was it. They had both come so far and were not willing to let their journeys through the HOENN region end here.
"RIO, use AURA SPHERE!" shouted the boy named Joshua Prowler as a strange blue energy began to surround the canine warrior Pokémon.
"...Extreme Speed." stated Joshua's opponent, a girl in Lolita clothing named Marley.
In nearly the blink of an eye, her Arcanine was directly in front of Lucario's face. Neither Joshua nor Lucario had time to react before the girl uttered her next words;
"Fire Blast."
A loud roar escaped her fiery dog-like Pokémon's mouth as a ball of flame erupted and hit Joshua's partner.
Lucario's eyes went wide as he sailed across the field before hitting the ground, hard and finally coming to a halt against the wall of the stadium, unconscious.
"Lucario is unable to battle! The winner...is MARLEY!" shouted the referee as the stadium in Ever Grande City erupted with cheers from all those who witnessed this grueling match.
Joshua ran over to his fallen partner and placed his hand behind Lucario's head.
"You did good, Rio. You did really good."
The blue canine Pokémon blinked a bit before giving a weak smile.
Marley congratulated her Arcanine by rubbing the fire-type's head before she looked toward Joshua. He looked back at her and nodded a bit but returned his attention back to Lucario.
"Can you make it to you feet, buddy?" He asked as Marley made her way over to Joshua. Lucario placed his arm around Joshua to help him keep his balance when they both noticed Marley extending her hand.
"That was a really good match." She said, looking for a handshake. Joshua slowly took her hand into his but the look in his eyes clearly showed that he was upset; mainly with just himself.
"You're really strong. You sort of remind me of another strong trainer I met not too long ago…" she stated. "I believe his name was Prowler too."
Both Joshua and Lucario stared at Marley after hearing that. "What?! When was this? Did you actually see my brother?" he asked, nearly screaming his questions at her.
"Oww!"
Joshua looked at his hands and realized that Marley's hand was still in his, but he was squeezing hers extremely hard.
"Sorry!" he exclaimed, as he finally let go, allowing Marley to rub her hand to try and ease the pain. "I didn't mean to do that, it's just that…my brother has been missing for a long time."
"Alright, just know that your grip is as strong as your battle style." She quipped as Lucario grinned at her little joke.
Joshua only half smirked.
"Well, it was about a month ago when I saw him. He told me that if I ever saw you, to tell you this...'Stop trying to find him'."
He looked up at this girl, complete shock and surprised taking over him as Joshua tried to find the words.
"What do you mean?"
Marley went on to explain that she met Joshua's brother in the forest one day and how he was on a quest to become the strongest Pokémon trainer.
"If that really was your brother, then you have nothing to worry about. He's more than fine." stated Marley.
"You—you don't understand. He was here. He was here!" shouted Joshua as Lucario suddenly placed a paw on his shoulder. Joshua looked over to his partner before turning away and taking a breath. "You have to tell me where it was you saw him."
"That's the thing, he may have already left this region." Replied Marley.
"Huh?"
"Well, after he showed me just how strong he was, he mentioned visiting every region he could and that his next stop might be Sinnoh."
"Sinnoh?" Joshua questioned more to himself than anyone.
"There was one other thing…" Marley started as Joshua looked back at her. "He said, he didn't want anyone to follow him down this path. I didn't understand what he meant but he could have been talking about you."
As Marley left, Joshua began to question if what she said was true. Was it actually possible his brother didn't WANT him to find him? The boy finally took off with Lucario to the Pokémon Center and even though his friends tried to cheer him up and support him, all he could think about was his own inability to help anyone. He noted how hurt Lucario was due to his own weakness and how he couldn't help or apparently need to help his lost brother.
As night fell over the area and the crowds departed long after the new league Champion was named, a beautiful brunette by the name of Layla Daylin sat by Joshua's side as he slept in his chair inside the Pokémon Center. The two waited most of the day as their Pokémon healed, and found themselves staying in the Center for the next the day.
"Even after all this time, you still don't know how strong you really are. You don't know how strong you made me." She stated as her Misdreavus floated over to her.
"Misdreavus?" the ghost-type Pokémon questioned as it looked from Layla to Joshua.
"He's alright, just a little down on himself for not getting further in the tournament." Stated Layla. "But he was amazing…I just wish he understood that."
"Dreavus." Replied the little ghost-type and it rubbed against Layla to cheer her up.
"Aww, thank you! But let's get some rest so we can help cheer him up in the morning." Suggested Layla as her Misdreavus happily agreed.
Layla pulled Misdreavus close to her and began to pass out. After a few minutes passed, Joshua opened his eyes and stared at her. Quietly, he woke up Lucario and clipped his pokéballs to his belt and grabbed his bag. He began to head to the door before looking back at Layla. Quickly, he took a pen and paper out to leave the girl and long-time travel companion a note. He left it in his chair and once again headed for the door. As he opened it, he muttered lowly to himself; "I'm sorry," before closing the door.
As he did, a gust of wind blew through and caused the note to float away and out of sight. Even if he knew that Layla would never find out what happened to him the next morning, it wouldn't change his mind. He knew where his brother was going…
He wasn't about to lose him again.
5 YEARS LATER
It's a beautiful day in Violet City as a young boy stood outside the first gym in Johto which belongs to Falkner, Violet City's Flying Type Gym leader. The boy wore a gray colored jacket over a black shirt with the Pokémon symbol over his heart, along with black pants that had orange stripes running down the sides of them.
His name is Robbie Campo and he is a rookie Pokémon trainer with two new Pokémon: Totodile and Spearow, whom he caught after emerging from the last route.
"Let's get you guys healed up." He stated to the pokéball in his hand which contained the Pokémon beside him.
Totodile happily jumped onto Robbie's head, however, he slid down a bit too far and covered the young trainer's eye.
"Hey, cut it out Totodile! I can't seeeeeee…"
Before anyone else knew what was happening, Robbie and the small water Pokémon, found themselves crashing into 'something' then falling to the ground with a loud 'thud'. However, Totodile used his abilities to slow his descent and land quite gracefully. He even did a small bow before grinning to his trainer.
"Show off." Grumbled Robbie as he rubbed his bum as Totodile laughed.
"Oww…" came another voice as Robbie noticed another young boy around his age, also on the ground. The boy had sandy-blond hair, wore a red and black short sleeved jacket with matching sneakers, and white jeans. He had a brown book-bag on the ground beside him as three pokéballs rolled out.
"Oh man, I'm really sorry about that." Stated Robbie as he reached over to help pick up one of the boy's pokéballs off the ground, "My Totodile was just play-"
Before Robbie could even finish his sentence, the boy's arm reached out and prevented Robbie for helping him.
"Do not touch them." He stated with a sneer.
"Sorry, I was just trying to help." Replied Robbie as Totodile gave the stranger with a questioning look.
"You have helped quite enough."
"You don't have to be a jerk about it. I said I was sorry."
"And yet the damage has been done." said the boy before finally picking himself up and dusting himself off. "I have been…delayed."
Robbie finally picked himself off the ground as well before asking what he meant by that.
"It is none of your concern."
The boy began to pick up his pokéballs and wipe them off. Once he was done, he looked back to Robbie with an almost…uninterested glare in his eyes.
"What? What?" asked Robbie as the boy then looked beyond him, to the Violet City's gym.
"You plan on taking the Pokémon League challenge?"
"Of course! I am a Pokémon trainer. Isn't that what you're doing?"
The boy with the blond-hair didn't answer for a moment as he returned his gaze back to Robbie.
"The Gym Leader uses flying types. …He was no trouble for me." He finally stated before placing his Pokeballs back into his back and heading off.
"H-Hey…what's your name anyway?!" asked Robbie as the boy stopped dead in his tracks and raised a single finger to the air.
"The name, is Artem Vincent. I am the one who is destined to reach the heavens…and beyond. Remember my name…"
And with that, the boy headed off.
"…Okay, that guy is weird." Stated Robbie as Totodile gave a little grunt. "Well…how's about we finally get you healed, buddy?"
Totodile looked up at Robbie and grinned before the small water-type was placed inside his pokéball, as Robbie headed off into the Poke-center. After some time, the nurse working at the center returned Robbie's Pokémon to him.
"Here you go and I wish you a safe journey." stated the nurse as she smiled toward the young trainer.
"Thank you very much."
Robbie then placed the pokéball containing Spearow back into his bag, while he tapped the button on Totodile's ball, releasing the type water-type.
"Alright, now it's onward to our first gym battle!" declared Robbie, as the two took off and toward Violet City's Pokémon Gym.
As Robbie and Totodile entered the gym, they noticed that it was quite bare save for a single man standing in the middle of the room. The man looked to be about middle-aged and wore a tan shirt with brown pants held up with spenders.
"Hi there, champ-in-the-making." stated the strange man.
"Um, would you be the gym leader here?" questioned Robbie as the man grinned at that.
"Oh no, I'm just going to be the referee for your match. You are here to challenge Falkner, correct?"
"Um, yeah…but…"
Robbie looked around again then back to the referee. "Where is he?"
"Above you."
"Huh?" wondered Robbie out loud as he and Totodile looked up, just as the referee suddenly pulled out a small remote.
He pressed the button and the very spot where Robbie and Totodile happened to be standing suddenly launched into the air with such speed, that the two of them barely had time to process what was happening.
When they stopped, Totodile was clutching Robbie's leg…whom the owner of happened to be frozen solid. When they finally came to, they were greeted with a view of a brightly lit room and saw a crisscrossing walkway with a man standing at the end of it with his back to them.
"So, you're finally ready to challenge me, trainer?" stated the man as he turned to face them. He had blue hair, a sky blue shirt with white buttons on it, a blue undershirt, a white belt, indigo shorts, black socks and shoes, and black wristbands with red outlines.
"I'm Falkner, the Violet Pokémon Gym leader!" he stated as Robbie grinned.
"My name's Robbie Campo! I'm a new trainer but I plan on showing the world just what I can do."
"Well, with the power of my magnificent flying-types, I'll be more than happy to lesson on just how hard the world can be!" responded Falkner, as both he and Robbie produced pokéballs in their hands, signaling that both young trainers were ready to battle.
Suddenly, the referee appeared behind Robbie.
"This shall be a two-on-two battle between the challenger and Falkner, the gym leader. Only the challenger may exchange Pokémon during the match. If both of you are ready..." started the older man as he looked at the two. "...And BEGIN!" he yelled as both trainers threw out the first pokéball.
"Go PIDGEY!" cried Falkner.
"Go SPEAROW!" responded Robbie.
The two flying-type Pokémon emerged from their pokéballs and quickly found themselves glaring at each other.
"Pidgey, use TACKLE!" stated the gym leader as his tiny-bird Pokémon lunged at its opponent.
"Dodge it and use LEER!" commanded Robbie and Falkner's Pokémon just missed Spearow, who jumped in the air and landed behind it. Spearow then glared hard at the Pidgey, which caused it to slow down a bit.
"Pidgey, use SAND-ATTACK!" said Falkner as the small bird kicked up dust from the ground and hit Robbie's Spearow right in the eyes, lowering its accuracy.
"Quick, use PECK!" yelled Robbie, but Spearow missed its mark and crashed to the ground.
"Use Gust, Pidgey and finish it!" yelled Falkner as his Pidgey began to kick up wind.
Suddenly, Spearow growled at the other Pokémon, causing it to lose concentration. This made Robbie grin from ear-to-ear.
"Awesome Spearow! Now, use FURY-ATTACK!"
Spearow ran quickly toward it's opponent and hit it three times with it's beak. Pidgey groaned before falling to the ground, defeated.
"Pidgey is unable to battle! Spearow is the winner!" declared the referee.
"Yeah! Way to go, Spearow!" cheered Robbie as his Pokémon spread it's wings and cried in triumph.
"You fight well for a rookie, but let's see how you do against this! Pidgeotto, take flight!"
"Whoa, that's a powerful looking Pokémon." stated Robbie and Falkner smiled back at his statement.
"You're about to see just how powerful it is. The wind is finally with us! Pidgeotto, use GUST!"
"PIDGEOOOO!" cried his powerful flying Pokémon as the winds made from it's awesome wings sent the once proud Spearow crashing to the wall and knocking it out cold.
"Spearow is unable to battle! Pidgeotto is the winner!" said the referee as Falkner congratulated his Pokémon. "Well done. Well done!"
"Thank you Spearow." said Robbie as he clicked the button on Spearow's pokéball and recalled it. While the energy beam hit his flying Pokémon, the young trainer took a deep breath and looked to his Totodile, who was more than ready to take Spearow's place.
"Alright buddy, it's show time!"
"TOTO...DILE!" yelled the little blue water Pokémon as he jumped in front of Falkner's Pidgeotto.
"Hmm. A water-Pokémon, interesting...BUT IT WON'T HELP YOU!" cried Falkner as he ordered his Pidgeotto to attack using tackle.
It hit, hard and fast, sending Totodile to the ground hard. Robbie could tell it was a critical hit.
"That's not going to stop us, right Totodile?" cheered Robbie as his water-Pokémon got back to its feet and smiled.
"That's it! Now...use WATER GUN!" shouted the young trainer. His Totodile's aim was true and it hurled the flying-type to the floor of the room, completely matted.
"Nice! We got this, right Totodile?"
Falkner grinned as Robbie said that.
"ROOST." was all the gym-leader said as his Pidgeotto suddenly let loose with a loud yell and spread its wings wide. A few feathers suddenly began to dance around its body as he quickly regained it's strength.
"We can still fly!" yelled Falkner as his Pidgeotto was fully recovered.
"Oh, that's just not fair." stated Robbie as Totodile was also, not amused.
"You have a lot to learn, rookie. Pidgeotto, use GUST one more time!"
The wings of Falkner's Pidgeotto spread wide once more from the ground and tried to use the winds to blow Totodile away, but the little blue water-type stood strong.
"Totodile, move in close and wait till I give you the signal!" stated Robbie.
Totodile moved ever so closer to his target as the winds continued to hit him, but eventually, he was almost close enough to touch it.
"Now, use BITE!" yelled the rookie trainer as Falkner yelled for his Pidgeotto to dodge.
The flying-type quickly took to the air, but the teeth of the big-jaw Pokémon clamped down on it's tail. Pidgeotto cried out as Totodile grinned at the situation.
"What?! Pidgeotto, lose that Pokémon!"
As hard as it might, Pidgeotto simply could not cause Totodile to let go, no matter how many laps it did around the gym. Finally, it gave up and landed, tried.
"Now, WATER-GUN!" said Robbie as Totodile once again smiled to his opponent and let loose with a large stream of water from its mouth, directly into Pidgeotto's face.
"Oh no!" cried Falkner, but he already knew what was to come next as his Pidgeotto crashed against the wall due to the force of Totodile's water-gun attack.
"Pidgeotto is unable to battle and that means, the challenger and his Totodile are the winners!" cried the referee and Robbie held Totodile in his arms.
"Great job buddy, we did it!" said Robbie as the two jumped up and down, happy over their hard-fought victory.
"You fought hard, trainer...and a defeat is still a defeat." stated Falkner as he handed Robbie a small medal. "All right. Take this, the Zephyr Badge. With that badge, you have taken your first real step to going to the Pokémon League."
Robbie held the badge proudly in his hands hugged Totodile. "Thanks buddy, and thank you too Falkner."
The Gym Leader nodded. "There are other Pokémon Gyms in other cities and towns ahead. You should test your skills at these Gyms. As for your next move...I would suggest Azalea Town. I'm going to train harder to become the greatest Bird Keeper of all!"
"And I will train harder too. Thank you again!" stated Robbie as Totodile jumped on his head and the two left the Violet City's Pokémon Gym both more confident than ever in their abilities while continuing on their journey.
Just outside the Ilex Forest, a young trainer continued to break down her camp site before getting ready to head off and continue her adventure. She gave a small laugh at the thought that her life was an adventure now, though more so than she ever would originally conceive.
"…If only I didn't hear Uncle Jarlan," sighed Kimi while she finished taking down her tent, "Then I wouldn't have to worry about him…or the twins."
Quietly, a small Chikorita moved toward its trainer and butted her head against the girl.
"Chika." It said, trying to give the girl what comfort it could.
"I know, I'm feeling sorry for myself again." Kimi said softly, "I can't help it. I don't think I'm strong enough to make a name for myself just yet."
"Chikaaaa," the Pokémon replied as it tried to comfort its trainer again. "Chika..."
"One of these days, I'm sure I'll figure it out..." Kimi replied with a soft smile. "Still…thank you Chikorita."
The young trainer then began collecting her things from the camp she'd made the night before. As she did so, she spotted the case that held all the badges she'd won prior to coming to this region. She dropped what she was doing and moved over to the case, smiling as she opened it. Staring back at her was a complete set of Kanto badges, which reminded her of a much happier time in her life. A life it turns out, that was destroyed once she knew what kind of man her uncle truly was. She had never felt so betrayed before in her life and the sadness and angry began to show on her face the more she looked at the badges that once brought her such joy. The girl quickly snapped the case closed and shoved the contents back in her bag. She refused to let the memory of what her uncle had done belittle her own accomplishments. Kimi looked down at her Chikorita and smiled.
"Alight! I'm packed and ready to go. Just need to..." Makimi said as she turned to see Chikorita holding her hand in its mouth. It was a black sports cap with multiple colors on the front of the rim. "Ah, my hat, thanks Chikorita. We need to keep moving so it's time for you to go back into your pokéball."
Putting on her hat, while pulling her raspberry colored hair down into a low ponytail, Makimi recalled Chikorita and started down the path to the forest. "If we're lucky, we can loose anyone who might be following us in there."
Traveling until the early afternoon, Makimi finally stopped to eat lunch and to let her Pokémon out to stretch their legs. After a short while she finally recalled them and continued onward, however after some time had passed it dawned on her that she'd gotten turned around. As she turned to go back the way she came, she heard a rustling sound from the bushes directly in front of her. Panicking at the possibility of anything finding her, she ran as fast as she could, only to realize whatever it was that was hiding in the bushes was chasing after her! No matter how far she ran, the sound seemed to get closer. Makimi ran blindly, hoping to lose whatever it was that was on her tail, only to crash into something.
Wincing at the pain in her head, the girl tried to look up at what it was she had crashed into. Her eyes went wide as she realized she hit another young man. Quickly rolling to her feet, Makimi grabbed as many things of hers as she could before running away again.
The young man rubbed his sandy-blond hair as he regained his focus. He looked up just in time to see a raspberry-haired girl running away from where he was. He didn't bother to call out to her since he was more concerned with his own well being. Once he was certain all was well, the young man named Artem lifted himself back to his feet. He was about to continue on his way when he noticed a hat that wasn't his, by his side. He lifted it and examined it...deeming the hat was poorly made but still interesting. Stuffing it into his bag, the sandy-blond haired man walked away, deeper into the forest.
Gasping for breath after what seemed like hours, Makimi finally made it into Azalea Town. She hoped to hide in the town for a short time as long as she could keep a low profile.
It took the frightened girl nearly fifteen minutes to calm down after walking further into Azalea Town when she spotted a friendly looking house with logs and a small trees surrounding it. As she got closer, she realized this was the famed pokéball-smith, Kurt's home. While camping out in the forest, she had gathered several apricorns and wondered if Kurt would make some new pokéballs for her. The young girl took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she approached the door.
Calm, I have to be calm. No one has found me yet. I'm still safe. I just had to be careful. Jumping at shadows will do nothing more than make me stick out. I don't need that kind of attention. I can be calm...really, she can.
These thoughts ran through Makimi's mind as walked closer still to the door. Gathering her courage, Makimi raised her hand to knock, before drawing it back a little.
What if someone else was there...someone that was still looking for me? I've already been to Azalea Town once before...what if someone knew that and was still here?
Makimi started to sweat as her mind raced while her eyes darted around. Looking to see if anyone was watching her.
I need to keep moving forward...but the Ilex Forest turned me all around! What about that guy I ran into? Did he follow me? It's possible that I lost him, but how could she be sure? I just can't let them find me...
Makimi nearly jumped out of her skin when noticed the door to Kurt's home open, as a young girl stood in the doorway.
"...Are you here to see Grandpa Kurt?" she asked, slightly shaken.
Makimi nodded as she tried to hide away the panic in her voice, "Yes, is he available?"
"No. He's not here..." The little girl pouted.
"I'm sorry." Makimi said, now with concern as she looked at the girl, "Where did your Grandpa go? Will he be back soon?"
"G-Grandpa went to the Slowpoke Well to check on all the Slowpoke." The girl replied, "But...he hasn't come back yet."
Makimi could see the little girl's eyes being to well up with tears before she spoke up.
"Maybe I could go and see if I can help your Grandpa so he can come back sooner." Makimi offered.
"Really? You will?" At Makimi's nod, the girl squealed and jumped happily. "Thank you! Tell grandpa I'm waiting for him, okay?"
"I will." Makimi smiled and turned to leave, "I'll go right now." she stated, hoping that she wouldn't regret this decision.
"Okay! Bye Miss Trainer! See you when you bring Grandpa back!" The girl called as Makimi started back towards the street.
Alright, now all I need to do is head down to Slowpoke Well, get Kurt to come back to his adorable granddaughter and see if he would be willing to make a few of his custom pokéballs to a complete stranger. All the while hoping that my uncle doesn't get wind of where I am. I can totally do this, no problem.
With a loud huff and the certainty that the world was working against her feeble attempts at escaping the shadow of her uncle, the female Pokémon trainer headed toward the well and what waited below.
Robbie, alongside his Totodile exited the Union Cave as the rain poured down on them.
"First all those Zubats and now this!" declared the Pokémon Trainer as his little blue partner simply began to run around in the rain.
"Oh sure, YOU would love this," stated Robbie as he looked ahead. "That must be Azalea Town. I hope they have a Pokémon Center."
Totodile followed his trainer as best he could till the two made it into town. After that, the water-type Pokémon found himself back in his Pokeball, ready to be healed while Robbie took a small rest.
That rest was interrupted by the crying of a little girl, as she made her way to the counter and called for Nurse Joy. Robbie watched as the two spoke.
"Maisy?" questioned Nurse Joy, "Why are you crying like that? And where is your grandfather?"
"H-He went to Slowpoke Well to check on all the Slowpoke." said the young girl, between tears. "He's been gone for awhile."
"Oh, but the Slowpoke are fine. Nothing has happened to them since that incident with Team Rocket some time ago." responded Nurse Joy.
"I know, but Grandpa just loves to look after them..." the little girl named Maisy paused as to stop herself from crying again. "He's usually back already. Another girl...another girl went to check on him but she hasn't come back either."
"Well, perhaps that girl has already found him and is headed back to your house." said Nurse Joy.
"Maybe..."answered Maisy as she wiped away her tears.
"Why don't you simply head back home and wait for them. I'm sure they'll be back soon enough."
"O-Okay, Nurse Joy." said the little girl as she turned around and headed out the door.
At that point, a small bell went off as Nurse Joy looked toward Robbie. "Ah, your Pokémon are finally healed."
Robbie got up and walked to the desk as Nurse Joy pulled a small tray and handed the young trainer his Pokémon back.
"I want to wish you well on your continuing journey." stated Nurse Joy before Robbie finally spoke up.
"Um, excuse me Nurse Joy, maybe I can help. Is this 'Slowpoke Well' the same well at the entrance of the town?"
"Why, yes...but I don't think you should go. If nothing is heard, I'll contact the Gym Leader and they should be able to help." she stated as Robbie looked downcast.
"Yeah, maybe. Thank you, Nurse Joy."
Nurse Joy waved the boy off as he left and walked toward the gym. He suddenly stopped and headed back toward the entrance of the town. He found himself climbing down into the well all the while wondering to himself just what he was doing. Nurse Joy said if anything, she was going to get the Gym Leader if there was any real trouble, but the boy just could not shake this nagging feeling that something had to be done right there and then.
Robbie jumped off the ladder and hit the floor with a slight 'thud'. He pulled out a pokéball and unleashed Totodile who looked at his new surroundings with slight confusion.
"Hey buddy, looks like I decided to play hero. Two people are stuck in here and I need your help finding them."
The big-jawed Pokémon made a fist and nodded in agreement.
"Thanks a lot, buddy." stated Robbie as they looked around the area. From time to time, they were attacked by a few random Pokémon, more Zubat and Slowpoke, the latter of which Robbie was able to capture in a Pokeball.
The two continued searching around the well, before finally squeezing past a large boulder and seeing a flash of raspberry colored hair. There, not too far from him was a girl in a blue jacket, with her hair done in a ponytail. He was about to call out to her when a blast suddenly erupted in front of the girl, sending her to the ground.
"Well, well, well! Look who I ran into!" cried a voice from just above Robbie and the mystery girl.
A Tyranitar appeared, quickly followed by another strange girl. She was older with short dark hair. She wore glasses and a short shirt in purple along matching tights. Over that was a long dark blue jacket and black gloves and heeled boots. She seemed older than the raspberry-haired girl who was making it back to her feet, but what really got Robbie's attention was the fact that an older white-haired man was tied behind the woman with the Tyranitar.
"How are you doing, little cousin? I came here to try and persuade ol' mister Kurt to create very special pokéballs to help our Uncle, but he was just being so stubborn. I was getting so cross with him, when suddenly...I find you. I can't wait to take you both to Uncle Jarlan. He's going to be so happy." stated the girl as her Tyranitar let out a massive roar and glared toward the raspberry-haired girl.
"SO. VERY. HAPPY." she stated again, with hints of cruelty dripping with each word.
Makimi scrambled to get to her feet, while slipping over the dirt and rocks behinds her. She did her best to put as much distance between herself and her cousin.
This was bad, so VERY BAD! The girl thought to herself. She'd been found and it had to be Julia that found her. The younger twin was vicious in her battling and she would do anything to win to get into Uncle Jarlan's good graces. What's worse, Makimi was certain that her current Pokémon were no where near a match for Julia's favorite Rock/Dark type battler. That Tyranitar was one of Julia's favorites. She'd trained it up from a Lavitar and battled it as hard and as much as she could. There was no winning against it! She was doomed!
"L-Leave me a-alone!" Makimi yelped as she tried to get further away from the Tyranitar as it moved closer to her, "I-I want nothing to do with ANY of you!"
The girl with the short dark hair and glasses laughed as she watched the other girl scramble around on the ground. "Oh…poor lil' Kimi. Of course you're in my way. You were ALWAYS in my way."
As Julia finished her sentence, a sand stream began to fly around the well. Her Tyranitar had unleashed its ability, as Kimi, Robbie and even Kurt tried to cover their eyes.
"S-Stop it!" yelled the raspberry-haired girl as Julia only continued to grin.
"Only if you agree to come back home, little cousin. The family misses you so." Said Julia as her Tyranitar caused a group of rocks to fly toward Kimi. Thankfully, they all missed her…barely.
"Of course, I would actually like for you to put up a fight. It would be so much more fun that way," stated the dark-haired girl with a sinister undertone. "So much fun."
Makimi was beyond scared. She knew what would happen if she went back with Julia…back to Jarlen. She couldn't allow that. Yet, what else could she do in front of so much overwhelming power.
Suddenly, something small and blue caught her attention. It was fast and…had lots of teeth?
During the confusion, Robbie noted that Julia never noticed his or Totodile's presence. He used that to his advantage. He let his Totodile near the girl on the ground while he made his way up to the man he believed to be Kurt. The Tyranitar's Sand Stream actually helped them by providing them with cover, but Robbie could tell that Totodile was not happy about it. Thank Goodness he healed him prior.
Robbie made it up to where Julia, her Tyranitar and Kurt was. As Julia spoke to her cousin, he slowly untied Kurt and motioned for Totodile to get ready.
"So lil' Kimi…what are you going to do?" asked Julia as her fierce Pokémon gave a low growl.
At that, Robbie nodded to Totodile who jumped in front of the raspberry-haired girl and puffed out his chest.
"TOTOOOODILLEEE!" it yelled as he unleashed a powerful bubble attack. It did not do much to the more powerful Rock and Dark type, but it did stun it enough for Robbie to take Kurt out of harms-way.
"What?! WHO DARES?!" cried Julia as she turned and noticed the old man was gone.
"Let's go!" shouted Robbie as the little Totodile began running for his life as he lead the other girl back to the entrance of the well and to safety.
Julia glared at the small group and was about to have her Tyranitar attack them, when the little Totodile fired on a small part of the cave, covering their exit. She then found herself smiling at how strong that little water Pokémon seemed to be, along with its trainer. Her thoughts then returned to her family and her smile transformed into one that was all the more sly.
"This isn't the end for us, lil' Kimi! We now know you're here and we'll find you eventually! I can't wait for our next family reunion!" she cried after them as she turned back to her Tyranitar.
Robbie, Totodile, Kurt and the mystery girl made their way back to the entrance of the well, as fast as they possibly could. Robbie carried the Pokéball craftsman Kurt over his shoulder while in her frenzy, the mystery girl grabbed up Totodile and ran with him in her arms.
"What was that all about?" shouted Robbie to the girl beside him. Totodile also looked up to the girl, but noticed that she was just focused on running for now. Obviously she wanted as much distance between herself and that dark-haired girl and her Tyranitar.
As the group grew closer to the exit, they noticed bright lights and voices coming from ahead of them. Once they emerged, police and bystanders greeted them. Robbie had to shield his eyes when one police officer came over to him and helped old man Kurt onto the ground.
"Thank you." said Robbie as the officer introduced herself.
"Don't thank me yet. My name is Officer Jenny and I have a few questions as to just what happened here."
"Well..." started Robbie when Kurt quickly interrupted him.
"These kids saved me! If it weren't for them, who knows what would have happened to me."
Officer Jenny looked at the pokéball craftsman and then back to the kids. At first they seemed worried about what she was going to say, but that quickly changed once they saw Officer Jenny smile.
"Well, looks like you kids did a great thing. Nobody even knew Kurt was missing until Nurse Joy gave us a call not too long ago."
Robbie and Totodile both puffed out their chests after hearing that.
"Why…thank you! It was all in a day's work."
Kurt smiled at the kids as he placed his arms around Robbie.
"Honestly, you kids were amazing and I can see you have a very strong bond with your Totodile," started Kurt, as Totodile gave a large grin after hearing his name. "How about I do you a favor? Can you stop by my home tomorrow? I'm going to give you a special set of pokéballs. This will be my way to thank you all for helping me."
Robbie and Totodile quickly grabbed both of Kurt's hands to shake them.
"Thank you very much, sir!" stated Robbie.
"Todo!" said Totodile, as both partner and trainer had stars in their eyes at Kurt.
Robbie then looked toward the strange girl and noticed she was starting to get up. He made his way over to her as Officer Jenny offered to take Kurt back home to his granddaughter. The rest of the officers continued to check around the well, looking for anything suspicious.
"Hey…you…lady?" started Robbie as he realized he still didn't know this woman's name. "Um, so…want to talk about what this was all about?"
Makimi stared at him with silent, nearly dead eyes. It was almost as if her entire world had been destroyed.
"Hey, how about this? Let's make our way back to the Poke-Center and rest up. Kurt said he had a surprise for us tomorrow and personally, I can't wait to see what he has in store for both of us."
Robbie gave a small smile which only grew as the raspberry-haired girl nodded in agreement.
"There we go, that's the spirit! We did a great deed and we'll more than likely get some sweet pokéballs out of it. What's not awesome about this?" stated Robbie as Totodile jumped onto his shoulder, cheering along with his trainer as Makimi looked away, defeated.
After around fifteen minutes, the two children sat down in the Poke-Center as Nurse Joy healed Robbie's Pokémon.
"Hey 'Red'," started Robbie as he relished finally having a name to call this girl currently with him, even if he did come up with the name on his own. "So, do you have any Pokémon of your own? I'd love to see them. It's always cool meeting new ones I've never seen before."
The girl only shook her head and looked away from him.
"Oh…kay." said Robbie as he placed his hands behind his head and leaned against his chair. "Maybe we can talk more in the morning. Gotta get a lot of rest if I want to challenge the next Gym Leader!" exclaimed the boy. "Yup…gotta get a lot of…rest…"
The boy's body went limp as he drifted off, as Makimi looked to him, gave a half-smile and drifted off herself…but not for too long.
Robbie awoke to see Nurse Joy standing over him with a very friendly smile.
"Good morning, Trainer." She said as Robbie awoke and fumbled in his chair. Catching himself, he greeted her back.
"Oh, good morning, Nurse Joy. How are my Pokémon?"
"They're fit and ready to continue on their journey with you." She responded as she handed the young boy his pokéballs.
"Oh thank you, Nurse Joy! Now I can finally try and earn my next badge. Isn't that great, Red?"
Robbie looked toward the girl he was sitting near last night last was, only to find a nearly empty space, occupied by a single note that read; 'Sorry'.
Robbie sunk a little into his seat as he wondered where the girl could have possibly gone, as Nurse Joy chimed in.
"Perhaps if you head out now, you can catch up with your friend."
Robbie smiled at that thought. "Maybe," he started. "Either way, I still have a badge to earn."
Robbie unleashed Totodile from his pokéball who began jumping up and down with happiness before leaping onto Robbie's shoulder.
"Thank you for everything, Nurse Joy." said Robbie with a smile.
"No problem and safe travels on your journey." She replied as the young Pokémon trainer continued on his journey to his next Gym battle.
End Chapter 1