Chapter 2
Zap's Pack
The Berry supply was getting low again, but Zap saw no reason to move from his shady spot underneath the ailanthus tree. As the new leader of the island's Chu pack, Zap was entitled to certain privileges...privileges which included bullying the smaller Chu into forking over their dinner, if need be. In the past, such actions would have earned heated reprimands from his older sister Blackberry. But now that righteous old Blacky had been conveniently missing for several months, Zap could do whatever he pleased. Stretching like a well-groomed Persian, the wiry Raichu sank back into his leafy nest, preparing to sleep away the rest of the morning. Unfortunately, luck was decidedly not on his side.
"There's a HUMAN in the forest!" came the shrill voice of Chaser, the Chu Pack's chattiest Pikachu member. "A HUMAN ! I saw a HUMAN in the FOREST, walking right by the drinking pool!"
Zap opened a lazy eye as Chaser bounded forward, its ears perked in excitement. "I told you not to wake me up, chua'hu brain," the Raichu said irritably.
"Zap, did you hear?" the Pikachu cried breathlessly. "There's a HUMAN in the FOREST! And he's got PokéBalls with him! I think he's a TRAINER!"
"Look, you half-charged ion, I could hear what you were sayin' way back..." Zap's long black tail shot straight up as the remainder of Chaser's sentence sunk through at last. "A Trainer?" the Raichu exclaimed, bolting onto all fours. "Did the Warden...?"
"Buckeye saw the Warden coming down a couple minutes ago!" Chaser said hurriedly, rocking back and forth on its paws. "If we hurry, we might not miss the start of the battle!"
Zap was out of sight before the Pikachu could even finish its sentence.
Dodging through the thick forest undergrowth and bounding over a succession of upraised roots, Zap skid into a row of leafy sumac bushes, where the majority of the Chu pack was already assembled. Chaser trotted up seconds later, visibly out of breath. Though whether it was from talking or running, Zap couldn't say.
"I'll bet half my Bitter Berries on the Warden," one Pichu was eagerly telling an older Pikachu.
The Pikachu scoffed at this. "Betting's stupid, chua'hu," it retorted. "These half-charged battles are stupid. The Warden always wins."
A collective shudder arose from the Chu pack at the mere mention of the Warden. None of the Chu, even Zap himself, knew the old human's real name. They knew only of the sharp eyes, the nasal shout, and the clunking pair of leather boots. Not to mention the Warden's Trained Graveler, who frequented the Berry bushes and delighted in dispelling hungry Chu with vicious Rock Slide attacks. None of the Chu had favorable memories of the Warden or his Pokémon, but endured their presence nonetheless. For it was common knowledge that, despite the Warden's hate of all Chu, he did anything and everything to keep other humans away from his precious Berry bushes.
Which, in turn, kept ambitious young Pokémon trainers from finding the Chu pack.
As much as they loathed the Warden, all Chu feared Capture far more than the old human's wrath. Whenever a trainer did show up in the forest, the Chu excitedly watched the Warden drive out the intruder with a Pokémon battle.
Zap, the sole Raichu of the Chu pack, was no exception. In fact, Zap had been the one who had started the tradition of attending the Warden's battles. The previous Chu Big Bolt, Blackberry (sentimental old spark that she was) had always denounced Pokémon battles as dangerous and barbaric, something that all Chu should stay away from.
And Zap, of course, had always done everything he could to annoy his older sister.
"Betting's stupid, huh, chau'hu-a?" Zap said now, picking out the Pikachu that had spoken and signaling it forward with a swish of his tail. "These battles are stupid? Well, little chau'hu, I'll make you a deal. If the Warden wins, you give your Berry rations to the rest of the pack for a week."
Shouts of approval accompanied this proposal. Zap silenced them with a wave of his tail.
"But if the Trainer happens to win," the Raichu continued, "the whole pack, including myself, will gladly fork over our Berries to you, my young friend. What do you think of that, my achu'au-chu companion? Is that a bet you're willing to take?"
Looking at the snickering faces of the other Chu, the cowed Pikachu mutely shook its head. Zap sneered, shoving the Pikachu backwards with a slap of his long black tail. "Next time," the Raichu sneered, "watch how you're shooting off your mouth, chua'hu-a. It takes a lot less than a stupid bet to take away your Berries for a week."
"Ooh, the Big Bolt got you good!" Chaser said enthusiastically to the fallen Pikachu. "Got you real, real good!"
But Zap wasn't finished. Raising his paws to the assembled Chu, he called out loudly. "These battles are far from being as stupid as our friend here," the Raichu announced, pointing a paw at the already humiliated Pikachu. "The Warden always wins. That's true enough. But where would we be if he didn't?"
Fearful murmurs rushed through the crowd of Chu like ripples over the water in the drinking pool.
"Our resident chua'hu brain doesn't seem to realize that. Never seemed to cross its pitifully half-charged head," Zap continued, putting extra emphasis on the word "its." As the only fully evolved Pokémon residing in the Chu pack, only the Big Bolt Zap deserved to be addressed as a "he" or a "she."
The Raichu shot one final smirk at the Pikachu before adding caustically, "You're lucky that the Warden always wins, chua-hu. With your scintillating smarts, you'd be Captured within a week."
The other Chu giggled as the disgraced Pikachu buried its flushed face in its paws. Feeling satisfied at last, Zap was just about to turn back to the impending battle when a small, soft voice broke through the air.
"The Warden doesn't always win," it said, barely more than a whisper.
Ears twitching, Zap spun about. "Which one of you scrawny sparks said that?" he demanded angrily, static fizzling across his cheeks.
The crowd of Chu parted instantaneously, leaving behind a single, tiny Pikachu. Its head was bowed as Zap stormed forward, and it did not look up even as the Big Bolt began to speak.
"You calling me an idiot, runt?" Zap snapped at the tiny Pikachu, who, he realized in surprise, was no larger than the pack's youngest Pichu.
"No, sir," came the quiet response.
"Say that again, squirt, and look me in that eye this time."
Devoid of all emotion, the Pikachu stood on the very tips of its paws and raised its face towards Zap.
The Raichu took an involuntary step backwards as the Pikachu blinked its strikingly blue eyes. Eyes that were not even in the proper round shape of a Chu's, Zap noted with disgust. They were much too elongated, much too large, to belong to any Chu.
The little freak, Zap thought in revulsion, had eyes that looked eerily like a Human's.
"Stop staring at me!" Zap yelled at the blue-eyed Pikachu, his tail lashing against the ground. The Pikachu blinked again in response.
"The Warden didn't win," it said in that same light, but frank whisper, "when Blackberry was Captured."
A wave of whispers rippled through the assembled Chu. For as it had pronounced the dreaded word, the Pikachu's strange gaze had revealed none of the fear so often seen in the eyes of Wild Pokémon. For one of their fellow Chu not to be afraid of Humans was unheard of!
Zap, however, only bristled at the mention of former Big Bolt's name. Somewhere in the back of the crowd, a Chu was whispering "Blue Eyes, don't!" but Zap hastily stilled all commotion with a slap of his tail.
"Blackberry was an idiot," the Raichu proclaimed coldly. "You think she was Captured, runt? I'm telling you she probably wandered out of the forest and fell into some hole. Better yet, got run over by one of those human otto-moe-bill things. The whole pack nearly starved to death 'cause of Blackberry! Couldn't even feed herself, the half-charged chua'hu, yet she took in stray Chu left and right. Heh! Only an idiot like Blackberry would let a runt like you into the pack."
"Blackberry was the one who found me several months ago," the tiny Pikachu, Blue Eyes, admitted expressionlessly. "She saved my life when she let me into the pack. And I'll take on your bet."
All the Raichu could do was stare confusedly at Blue Eyes. "What are you talking about, runt!"
Blue Eyes' voice remained as soft and steady as ever. "The bet that Hawthorn wouldn't take on." It indicated the Pikachu Zap had made an example of before, now crouching miserably under the scanty cover of a beetle-ridden sumac.
"I'll bet that the Warden loses this time," Blue Eyes went on. "And the Trainer wins."
Zap's tail lashed forward, cementing itself into a shake with Blue Eyes' own lightning-bolt shaped limb. "You've got yourself a deal, runt," Zap said loudly. "Don't think that your rations are going to be very filling for the rest of us, though."
"That runt's small enough to fit between the thorns on a Prickly Berry bush!" Chaser proclaimed mockingly. "The runt's small enough to be a Berry on a Prickly Berry bush!" The Pikachu's taunts shifted into a squeal of excitement seconds later.
"Here comes the Trainer now!" it cried, poking its head impatiently through the bushes. All thoughts of the insubordinate runt driven from his mind, Zap pushed past the younger Chu for the spot under the leafiest, shadiest sumac. Curling his tail behind his body, the Raichu gazed breathlessly at the clearing before them, where the bulky leather boots of the Warden were already waiting.
"Excuse me," came the young, clear voice of the Trainer. "I'm lost, and I need to get to the Tarroco Ferry by noon."
The Warden's gruff, grating voice issued up in response. "I don't have time to take care of kids like you," the old human retorted. "Now get off my land!"
"But I already told you, I'm lost!" the Trainer replied, running a hand through his spiked pale hair. "And this forest is public property!"
"Maybe a Pokémon battle will convince you otherwise, kid."
Zap's heart thudded in excitement as the Warden pulled a tarnished PokéBall from his vest pocket and brandished it at the Trainer. Sneaking a backwards glance at Blue Eyes, Zap sneered to see the runt Pikachu on its haunches, eyes closed and face lifted into the wind. It came as no surprise that the runt would have second thoughts about its hasty bet. The Trainer in question looked even younger than most of the others who had come through the forest.
"I guess my Pokémon could use some fresh air," the boy Trainer said nonchalantly, pulling out a PokéBall and tossing it into the air, catching it again on its way down. "Three-on-three? I'll go first."
In a burst of crimson light, a diminutive snake-like Pokémon emerged, its slender body as sleekly blue as the ocean on a clear, windless day. Dark eyes coming to rest upon the Warden, the mystery Pokémon let out a high, melodious squeal. Its ivory ears, the same light shade as its Trainer's spiked hair, twitched as it waited for the man to send out his first Pokémon.
Zap had never seen such a Pokémon before, and apparently neither had the Warden. Eyes narrowing suspiciously, the Warden twisted the knob atop the Graveler's PokéBall, releasing the ball's occupant into the clearing. The tough-hided Rock Pokémon emerged with a rasping roar, beating its many arms upon its rocky chest. The Trainer's Pokémon surveyed its opponent through its dark eyes, not blinking once.
"Graveler!" the Warden shouted, pointing at the other Pokémon. "Bash 'em in with a Rock Throw!"
"Agility, Dratini!" the Trainer called as large, ungainly chunks of stone began to rain down from the sky. Giving a small squeal of acknowledgment, the Dratini zipped its way past the falling rocks, no more than a blue and ivory blur among the rapidly building piles of stone. Body twisting nimbly, the lithe Pokémon launched itself into the air, somersaulting over its opponent and landing squarely behind it.
"Behind you!" the Warden bellowed as his lumbering Pokémon tried to turn around.
By now, the towheaded Trainer was smiling from ear to ear. "Dratini!" he called, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Use Surf!"
Rearing up onto its small tail, the Trainer's Pokémon unhinged its jaws and let loose a watery blast directly from its mouth. The powerful blow knocked Graveler off its feet and sent it crashing into the Chu drinking pool.
From where he crouched behind the sumac bushes, Zap winced as a huge splash sent water droplets in all directions, soaking the entire clearing. The sumac was not spared, and as Zap spluttered, shaking water from his now-drenched fur, he snuck a second look towards the Pikachu runt.
Blue Eyes was still standing in the same position as before, paws at its sides and face upraised. Eyes squeezed tightly shut, the Pikachu seemed to be concentrating intensely on something unseen. Zap uneasily tore his gaze away as the battle resumed.
Recalling his unconscious Graveler from the pool with a steely glint in his eye, the Warden produced another PokéBall. "You're just lucky, kid," he growled, glaring venomously at the boy. Despite his drenched crimson jacket and wet, flushed face, the Trainer was grinning broadly, showing off a perfect set of even white teeth.
"Maybe," the Trainer shrugged, holding out an arm for his Dratini to wind itself around. "We'll see by the end of this match."
A growl forming in his throat, the Warden unscrewed the Pokéball with his calloused fingers. Letting loose a high, ear-piercing screech, a creature that seemed more vine-entangled mass than Pokémon tumbled into battle. Two unblinking white eyes stared at the Trainer from among the constantly writhing vines, and as the Pokémon hopped forward, a bright red pair of feet sprang out from underneath its body.
Some of the younger Chu hid their faces and scurried backwards upon the sight of the new Pokémon. During nighttime Berry raids, many an unwary Chu had mistaken the Warden's Tangela for a Berry bush. All remembered the ensuing lesson well, one that had been delivered through an immobilizing Stun Spore or painful Poisonpowder attack.
"Slow that mon down with a Stun Spore!" the Warden roared at his Tangela.
Screeching again, the Tangela leapt forward and began to shake its many vines. The Dratini, who was still perched upon its Trainer's shoulder, was forced to jump away as a thick golden haze wafted in its direction. The Trainer, for his part, jumped adroitly backwards as the angry Tangela barreled past.
"Stun Spore! Stun Spore! Stun Spore!" the Warden yelled over and over to his Pokémon. As it bounced, dodged, and wound its way past the bulky-bodied Tangela, the Trainer's Dratini opened its mouth and emitted what was unmistakably a derisive squeal. Dark round eyes flashing impishly, the Dragon Pokémon leapt into the air, grabbing hold of a low tree branch with its tail. From its position on the ground below, there was no way for the heavy Tangela to reach its opponent. Unless...
Quicker than Zap could follow, twin vines lashed out from the Tangela's body, twisting themselves viciously around the Dratini's body.
"Dratini!" the Trainer called, not seeming at all worried about his Pokémon's predicament. "Thunder Wave!"
Through the corner of Zap's eye, the Raichu thought he glimpsed Blue Eyes's ears twitching, just the slightest bit.
Slipping out of its opponent's grasp as easily as a bar of soap, the Dratini somersaulted several feet backwards before bracing itself against the ground. Fizzling sparks of static sprang up between its white ears, looking like miniature bolts of lightning. Zap could practically feel the air tingle as the Thunderwave attack shot forward in a swift succession of sparks, freezing the writhing Tangela in place. The Warden's face reddened dangerously as his Pokémon became locked in the same exact condition of paralysis he had intended to inflict on the Dratini.
"Okay, Dratini!" the Trainer instructed, flicking water from his pale hair. "Finish it off with a Slam!"
The Dratini's body met the Tangela's with a sharp crack, sending it flying backwards into the dirt.
By now, the Warden was sweating visibly. Digging into his vest for a final PokéBall, he wiped his red face on the sleeve of his raggedy old jacket. At the other end of the field, the Dratini bounded back onto its Trainer's shoulder. Both watched patiently as the Warden fumbled with his last PokéBall.
Spitting on the ball's surface when he found it at last, the Warden looked the boy straight in the eye. "You're good," he said gruffly. "No one's ever gotten me down to my last Pokémon before."
"Yeah?" The Trainer shrugged and his Dratini bobbed its head. "That's what my final-round opponent at the Pokémon League told me, just before I creamed her."
Breath coming in gasps, Zap felt his gaze darting from the battle, to Blue Eyes, back, and then to Blue Eyes once more. How could the runt have known that this Trainer was some kind of battling champ? No one could've have possibly known that! However, the Pikachu runt's closed eyes and sedate face told Zap nothing.
"Beedril!" the Warden bellowed as he wrenched the PokéBall open. In a flurry of gauzy wings and yellow-and-black stripes, the wasp-like Pokémon shot into the air, coming to hover yards above the forest ground. A sly smile twisted the Warden's face as he sized up the current battle.
"I hope your mon can fly, kid," he chuckled. "Else it doesn't stand a chance. Beedril!" he thundered, pointing to the Dratini. "Pin Missile!"
Once more, the Dratini was forced to leap away from its Trainer. Several needle-sharp darts embedded themselves into the earth at the Trainer's feet. Even more peppered the ground of the clearing as the Dratini skipped forward, dancing its sinuous body towards the edge of the clearing. To Zap's amazement - and horror - the Pin Missile attack missed every time.
Face flushing even redder than the vivid crimson of his Tangela's feet, the Warden continued to scream the same command over and over again. But the Dratini had already found refuge underneath a sturdy tree branch. Numerous missile darts implanted themselves into the tree's bark. The Dratini evaded each one with either an agile flick of its tail or twist of its slender body.
"Beedril!" the Warden cried at last, clenching his fists. "Use Twineedle! Now!"
Buzzing irritably, the bee Pokémon folded its filmy wings and fell forward in a swift dive. Stripes merely a blur against the greenery of the clearing, the Beedril shot directly towards the Dratini on the branch, its silvery sting upraised.
Behind Zap's back, eyes still tightly closed in concentration, Blue Eyes' ears perked into the air. Tail rising straight up in apprehension, the Pikachu mouthed a single word.
"Duck."
The Beedril slammed into the branch with a resounding crash as the Dratini ducked below. Wings bent and mind dazed, the Warden's Pokémon fell back against the ground, fully unconscious. Chirping merrily, the Dratini swung down from the tree and wiggled back towards its grinning Trainer.
Zap paled, not daring to turn around and face Blue Eyes.
"Could you give me the directions to the ferry now?" the Trainer asked as the Dratini wound its way around his shoulders.
Sinking to his knees, the Warden recalled his Pokémon. "You beat me," the old human said in amazement. "Now the forest and the Berry bushes are yours." Not looking at the boy, the Warden stuffed his PokéBall into his vest. "I'll leave, then," he said blandly, shoulders hunched. "I'll leave the forest to you, kid. Mind you, those Berry bushes have to be protected. There are all kinds of pesky Pokés in these woods; a whole squadron of Pikachu came down just the other day and nearly ate the entire..."
"I don't want the forest," the Trainer said firmly. "All I want to do is get home. As long as you tell me how to get to the ferry, I'll be glad to leave and never come back!"
Color retuning to his previously ashen face, the Warden looked up at the Trainer in surprise. "Seriously, all I want is to go home," the Trainer said earnestly, extending a hand to help the old man up. "Please, just tell me how to get to the ferry."
"I don't believe you, kid," the Warden said, shaking his head. "First you show up here, beat all my Pokés, and then you say you don't want my Berry bushes! Who in the world are you, kid? What's your name?"
The boy grinned broadly and adjusted his jacket, as if he were used to getting this kind of awe all the time. "Lee," he told the Warden. "Lee Arcenciel."
Zap didn't stick around to hear the rest of the conversation. He didn't turn around to see the Pikachu runt lower its face and open its eyes to a sea of awed faces and horror-filled stares. No, Zap didn't bother to do any of that.
Big Bolt Zap turned tail and ran.
Excerpt from Grey's Notebook
The Chu noun chua'hu has no direct translation to Human. The closest we can get is somewhere along the lines of "one who sticks their tail into a lighting surge and consequently fries their brains." Interpreted loosely, it's Chu slang for "idiot."
The -a on the end of chua'hu-a is a suffix meaning "small." Chua'hu-a is a phrase for "little idiot."
Adding the ending -chu to any Chu noun turns it into an adjective. So chua'hu-chu basically means "just plain stupid."