Victim 2: Maximos
Alice groaned as she dug through the thick grass of Route 101. "What the hell? Where did that damn ball go?!" she cried.
"Hopefully far away. I didn't like it very much." Destry chirped happily. "Now that it's gone, people can like me. Yay!"
"I really hate you," Alice growled, glaring at him from out of the corner of her eye.
"Denial~!" Destry sang, hopping around in joy.
As Alice kept searching, she was unaware that she was being watched. A pair of yellow eyes glared at her from up in a tree. The eyes soon vanished, ducking back behind the branches.
"Come on! Come out, you dumb Poke Ball!" Alice called, growing desperate. I need that damn ball if I'm ever going to deposit him! Goddamn it!
Meanwhile, Destry decided to see if he could find anybody else nearby to talk to. A thick patch of long grass was in front of him, stopping him from moving on through the route. Two ledges, one on either side of him, cut off his other ways of moving forward. Crossing the grass was his only option.
The Mudkip quickly found out that the grass was hard to walk through due to his short legs. He didn't give up and his big smile didn't fade. He kept moving until he was halfway through the patch. That's when he realized he was not alone.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" he asked, curious.
A brown and tan raccoon-like Pokemon appeared, sniffing at Destry curiously. It kept its distance, confused by the odd blue puppy in front of it. Destry simply smiled.
"Hi! I'm Destry! Do you like me?" he asked, reaching out a paw to touch the strange raccoon.
With a loud cry of surprise, the raccoon fled into the grass. Destry, confused, followed after it. He came to a stop when a trio of black and gray puppies stood in front of him, teeth bared.
"Hi! I'm Destry! Do you like me?" Destry asked, eager to meet new faces.
The trio looked at one another, confused. Then the one in the middle lunged, sharp teeth snapping shut inches in front of the Mudkip's face. Suddenly afraid, Destry turned and ran. The trio chased him, barking and snapping their teeth at his tail. Once out of the grass, he bolted toward Alice.
"Help! They like me but they're acting mean about it!" he wailed.
"Destry, what are yo—AAAAH! Poochyena!" Alice quickly jumped to her feet.
Destry instantly dove behind her legs. The trio of puppies, Poochyena, skidded to a stop a few feet away. They growled and snarled at Alice. It was a clear message. They wanted Alice and Destry gone.
"Destry, use Water Gun!" Alice ordered, pointing to the Poochyena trio. "Go!"
A few seconds of silence followed. Alice looked at Destry. Destry looked at Alice.
"What's Water Gun?" Destry asked.
"Huh?!" Alice pulled out her PokeDex. "Then what do you know?"
The PokeDex answered. "NICKNAME: DESTRY. SPECIES: MUDKIP. GENDER: MALE. LEVEL: 5. ATTACKS: TACKLE, GROWL."
"Tackle and Growl? That's it?!" Alice groaned, rubbing her forehead. "Then again, you're only Level 5. Fine, use Tackle."
"Why?" Destry asked.
"Because they're going to attack us if you don't. Now use Tackle!" Alice ordered.
"But they like me," Destry argued. "You don't attack people who like you."
"Destry, just attack already!" Alice growled.
"No! They like me!" Destry persisted.
"They tried to eat you! Is that them liking you?!" Alice demanded.
"Not everyone shows liking someone the same way," Destry replied, turning away. "They like me."
"God, you're so hopeless! You're useless!" Alice cried, grabbing her head. "I definitely hate you!"
"Denial~!" Destry sang, smiling.
"That's it! I'm gonna—"
The Poochyena, apparently done watching the pair argue, chose that moment to attack. They lunged, jaws snapping. Alice screamed. Destry watched in confusion. It all happened so fast…
Alice opened her eyes. Why am I not feeling pain? Shouldn't I be dead or something?
She lowered her arms from her position on the ground and looked up. Destry was in her lap, whether having crawled there himself or having been grabbed by her in a desperate attempt to save him. She was unsure which one it was. She currently didn't care. She was watching the scene before her in shock.
All three Poochyena had been beaten down by a green gecko Pokemon. Anytime the trio attempted to rise, they were beaten down by the gecko's tail. They eventually stopped trying to rise, fainting on the spot. The gecko snorted in disgust.
Oh my god, Alice thought. What's a Treecko doing out here?
"Hi! I'm Destry! Do you like me?"
The Treecko whipped around, jumping back a step upon seeing Destry only a few inches away from it. The gecko growled, fisting its hands in preparation to attack. It tensed in preparation to lunge.
"HIYAH!"
The Treecko cried out in surprise as a tree branch collided with its head, sending it flying across the route. It instantly curled into a ball in order to save itself from an onslaught of blows from the branch, currently being wielded by Alice. She kept hitting it until it was barely twitching.
"There! Now for the capture!" Alice grabbed a Poke Ball.
"Why'd you do that? That was mean!" Destry whined, hopping over to check on the beaten Treecko. He reached out a paw and touched it on the shoulder. "I don't think he'll like you for that."
"I don't care," Alice replied. "Since you won't fight, I'll just fight with this guy instead. You're so getting boxed now, Destry."
"Denial~!" Destry sang.
"Move it!" Alice ordered.
She pushed the Mudkip aside with her foot and pointed the Poke Ball at the Treecko, pushing the button. The gecko was engulfed in a red beam of light and sucked into the Poke Ball. The red and white sphere shook briefly before clicking, signaling a successful capture.
"Hell yeah! My first wild Pokemon!" Alice cheered. "I wonder what a Treecko was doing out here, anyway."
She clicked the button, letting the gecko out. The Treecko, struggling to stay standing, glared at her. It was covered in welts and bloody cuts from being beaten with the tree branch.
"Now then, what am I going to call you?" Alice pulled out her PokeDex.
"SPECIES: TREECKO. GENDER: MALE. LEVEL: 5. ATTACKS: POUND, LEER."
"So, he's practically a new starter himself. Cool." Alice smirked. "Now then, what a name yo—"
"Maximos,"
"Huh?" Alice looked down at the Treecko. "What was that, Tree—?!"
She suddenly froze. Treecko blinked, continuing to glare at her. Then he opened his mouth…
"Maximos," he said. "My name is Maximos, bitch."
Alice instantly slammed her back into a tree. "Why the hell are you talking, too?! I thought it was just him!" She pointed at Destry, terrified. "What the fuck's going on?!"
"Hold up, bitch. You can understand me?" the Treecko, Maximos, asked.
Alice slowly nodded.
"…Shit," Maximos kicked the ground. "When did that happen?"
"Hi! I'm Destry! Do you like me?" Destry hopped up to him, smiling.
"Why? Should I?" Maximos asked, annoyed.
"Everyone likes me!" Destry declared.
"Then I guess I hate you," Maximos replied firmly.
"Denial~!" the Mudkip sang. "You like me, admit it."
"I'm not admitting something that isn't true," Maximos said, glaring at the Mudkip.
"Denial~!" Destry giggled.
"Forget it, Maximos. He won't quit. Just ignore him." Alice warned, slowly peeling herself off of the tree.
"…Shit." Maximos crossed his arms. "I didn't appreciate being beaten by a stick, bitch. Don't do it again."
"He won't fight, so that was my only option if I wanted to catch you." Alice replied.
Maximos looked at Destry. "You don't fight?"
"Why fight people that like you? It's mean." Destry said.
"…You're joking, right?" the Treecko asked in disbelief.
"Nope~!" Destry sang.
"Let's just…go," Alice suggested, starting to walk away. "Before anymore Poochyena show up…"
"Yeah," Maximos nodded, following her. "I guess I'm stuck with you, huh, bitch?"
"Don't call me that," Alice growled.
"Make me," Maximos dared.
"I'm glad we all like each other!" Destry cried, hopping alongside them both.
"WE DON'T!" Alice and Maximos shouted, glaring at the Mudkip.
As the trio continued on through Route 101, it never occurred to Alice that she forgot one very important thing. By the time she'd realize it, it would be long gone…
