- 15 YEARS LATER -
It had been a decade and a half since that night Sparky lost his parents. The young infant Pichu was now a young adult Pikachu, who was highly energetic, kind, and eager to explore, much to Foredawn's dismay. Brimstone, on the other hand, found it humorous, and encouraged the young Pikachu to explore, so long as he never ventured too far from home.
Sparky was armed with several powerful moves to defend himself with as well: Thunder, Iron Tail, Quick Attack, and Volt Tackle were his moves of choice, a decision Brimstone wholeheartedly agreed with. In his book, brute force was the best way to bring down an enemy. And the harder you can do it, the better.
On this fine mid-summer day, Sparky was down by the river that ran from his tribes village to Delta Tribes. Relaxing under the shade of a large apple tree that loomed over the river like an ancient tower, he felt content in taking a short nap. However, he was soon interrupted by someone, who had walked up and giggled at him.
"Sleeping on the job again, Sparky? You know we're supposed to be patrolling the village." A young females voice said to him, causing to stir and wake up. He looked over to see who had spoken. He smiled upon seeing who it was.
It was his young friend Zappa, a female Jolteon he had befriended about 7 years ago, after Brimstone brought her to the village from Goldenrod City in Johto. She had been abandoned by the owners of the game corner ( much to several Pokemon Trainers dismay and disgust ), and Brimstone had managed to slip past all of them and bring her back to the village. Along the way, they had stumbled upon a thunderstone, which she ( as an Eevee ) used to evolve into Jolteon. She and Sparky had been best friends since childhood, and got along very well. She was as energetic as him, though she was slightly more serious about protecting the village, and wasn't as big a fan of exploring outside the village as Sparky was.
"It's a beautiful day, figured I might as well try to get some more sleep." Sparky said to his friend, climbing to his feet.
But Zappa had jumped into him, knocking them both to the ground.
"Haha, you silly! I was just teasing you!" She said through her laughs, causing Sparky to laugh as well.
"Hey, get off! What if the elders see us like this!?" He complained, and rolled her off of him. The pair climbed to their feet, wiping themselves down and shaking off the leaves.
"Come on, let's get to work!" Zappa said happily, before taking off toward the village, Sparky hot on her heels.
This village truly was a beautiful place. Secluded where no human would ever find it, and where Pokemon who didn't live here would have a difficult time finding it, even from the sky. The only way one would know this village existed is to look for the giant Squirtle head carved into a nearby mountain, which was dubbed "Mt. Squirtle". The village itself consisted of many huts, shelters and houses where the various Pokemon lived. A large berry plantation nearby provided the village with it's food supply, and water was easily obtained from the river nearby. A large flower garden in the middle of the village made everyone happy, while a dirt path off to the north led to Death's Cave, where they buried their dead. Beside Brimstone's house, or shelter, as many people call it, was a large wooden stage, where the Charizard would give speeches every morning and announce any important matters that cropped up. A large fountain with a statue of a Pokeball was sitting outside Brimstones house. Every once in a while, something special, such as a Pokeball, or an accessory, would appear inside the river, which was used for a decoration.
Speaking of which...
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Sparky said, pulling out something from his bag and holding it out to Zappa. It was a beautiful, sparkling pink scarf. She gasped when she saw it.
"Where did that come from!?" She asked in awe. Sparky just giggled.
"Fished it out of the river this morning. Don't you love it when treasures like this happen to wash up in our river?" He asked her, and she just looked up and nodded at him.
He then stepped closer to her and tied it around her neck, firmly so it wouldn't fall off. It looked really cute on her.
"It looks nice on you. You should keep it." He remarked, making her blush.
"Aww, you're just saying that to be nice." She teased playfully, punching him in the shoulder. Not hard, but enough to make him laugh.
"Hey, watch it! I bruise like a peach!" He complained, lying about his own endurance. Small as he was, he could take one heck of a beating, as proven when he was accidentally hit by one of Brimstones Fire Blasts, which should have killed him, but apart from some burns, Sparky was fine.
"Uh-oh, we better hurry!" Zappa exclaimed, and took off toward the village again, Sparky once again right behind her.
As Sparky got closer to Brimstones shelter, a sense of dread filled his being. It sounded as if all the tribe leaders were having a meeting. Sparky had rarely seen the other three tribe leaders outside of their villages, and he himself didn't visit the other villages very often.
He then got a feeling of deep sadness. The last time he was inside that building when all four tribe leaders were there, it was on the night his parents were killed. Brimstone and Foredawn had recommended June, the female Miltank who helped teach the young fighters new abilities, to care for the young Sparky. However, she died when Sparky was 9, and Brimstone and Foredawn have since taken care of him, helping him learn new moves and abilities. Which, thanks to his unusually high amounts of electrical power, was easy, as he had already mastered Volt Tackle.
Taking a breath, he stepped into the shelter. The four tribe leaders and Foredawn turned to look at him as he stepped inside. They all smiled.
"Hello, Sparky!" Hydroman said happily.
"Hey, kiddo!" Crusher greeted, waving all four of his hands at once.
"Hello, young Sparky." Tulip greeted kindly, giving him a warm smile.
"Ah, hello Sparky. Out for a stroll, I see." Brimstone said, walking up to Sparky and patting him on the head, causing the Pikachu to laugh happily.
"Yeah, just looking out for the old village." Sparky told the Charizard, who simply smiled.
"Good. This place needs all the protection it can get. What with Darkmoons forces running amuck in Kanto as of late..." The Charizard said with heaviness in his heart, as if he felt this war would never end.
The other three tribe leaders returned to what they were huddling over before Sparky interrupted them. They were peering at a giant map of Johto and Kanto.
Sparky walked over and looked at the map.
"What are you guys doing, anyway?" He asked. Crusher looked up at him.
"Tactics, kid. We're trying to figure out where Darkmoons gonna strike next. He's been acting rather suspicious as of late." The Machamp answered, before pointing at Pallet Town on the map. "He's already hit Pallet Town. Swiped every Pokemon out of there overnight. Nobody even saw him doing it. He was in and outta there in an instant."
Sparky looked dumbfounded. So did Tulip.
"But how did he manage to get in there and steal every Pokemon in the town without anyone noticing?" She asked, more to herself then to her fellow tribe leaders.
"Maybe his ghost-types put everyone to sleep who saw them doing the crime?" Crusher suggested.
"No, ghost types can't learn a move that puts things to sleep." Brimstone pointed out.
"Oh." Crusher said, looking down.
"Well, one things for sure: Darkmoon sure didn't do it himself. A gigantic, black Rayquaza, someone would have seen him for sure." Sparky chimed in. The tribe leaders looked over at him.
"You got a point, Sparky. It had to have been one of his minions. Probably one that can turn itself invisible." Hydroman threw out. The other leaders nodded in approval.
"It could have been Psychic types using Teleport." Zappa suddenly chimed in, having overheard the conversation. Everyone in the room turned to look at her.
"Hey, Zappa! What are you doing here?" Sparky asked.
"I was wondering where you were, and I couldn't help overhearing your conversation." She said, slightly embarrassed that she had been easedropping.
"What was that you said? About Psychic types?" Hydroman asked. Zappa stepped closer.
"They know how to use Teleport. I'd bet you anything they used it to sneak inside, grab the Pokemon, and Teleport them straight to Darkmoons lair. It's quick, it's quiet, and it gets the job done." She stated matter-of-factly. The leaders all looked at themselves.
"Well, if you got a better explanation, let me hear it now, cause that's the only one I've heard all day that makes sense." Brimstone said, and unsurprisingly, the other three leaders had nothing else to suggest.
"But how could those Psychic types Teleport INTO the houses and back to Darkmoons lair?" Tulip asked. Hydroman didn't take long to figure that out.
"Some other kind of Pokemon probably flew them into the nearby forest. Then they just broke into the houses, grabbed their targets and teleported out. It's the perfect way to mask their presence and cover their tracks." The Blastoise stated.
"And leaving all the doors and windows open, the humans probably assumed a cat burglar from Team Rocket broke in and grabbed their Pokemon. We all know Team Rocket has a bad reputation and history around here." Brimstone pointed out, remembering the two Team Rocket members, one with short blue hair, the other with long, bizarre-looking red hair he had to chase off from Tribe Delta's village last week.
They all agreed on that possibility. Brimstone turned to look at Sparky and Zappa.
"Thanks for helping us crack that case, you two. It was driving the four of us insane." He told the kids, who both smiled in return.
"No problem!" They both said in union. Tulip then turned to look at Foredawn.
"Foredawn, you've been very quiet today. Is something the matter?" She asked him, causing everyone else to look in his direction.
Brimstone gasped.
"Oh, no... get him into a seat, quick!" He ordered. Crusher sprang into action, leading Foredawn to a wooden chair nearby. Sparky and Zappa ran over to see what was happening.
Foredawns eyes were closed, as if he was in deep concentration. Sweat was dropping like bullets from his forehead.
"What's wrong with him?" Zappa asked fearfully. Brimstone turned to look at her, worry in his eyes.
"He's having a vision attack. It's a powerful omen of bad things to come! And it's never wrong!" He told the young pair, causing them to look at each other. Brimstone was just pulling their legs...
...Right?
Pretty soon, Foredawns eyes slowly opened again, and he gazed around at the concerned looks on his friends faces. He was panting heavily, as if he had just run a marathon.
"Foredawn, are you OK?" Sparky asked, who had stepped closer to Foredawn. The Alakazam wiped his brow with the back of his hand.
"I'm fine, but that vision was very strange..." He said, still panting heavily.
"What happened? Or, rather, what's GOING to happen?" Crusher asked.
The Alakazam slowly got to his feet.
"For some reason, all it told me is that Darkmoon wants to wring a young girls throat, or he wants a root beer float." He said, with a confused look on his face. Everyone looked just as confused as him.
"He wants a what or a what?" Sparky asked, confused to high heaven. Crusher looked over at him, scratching his head.
"You got me there, kid. His visions aren't always crystal clear. Sometimes they're harder to solve then a jigsaw puzzle." He said, still scratching his head.
Tulip just shrugged.
"Ha! Those visions couldn't predict a fall if Foredawn was stepping on a banana peel!" A young, snobbish voice said from the entrance. They all turned to look in that direction.
A young Machop, a few years younger then Sparky, was standing in the doorway, wearing a "I'm cool, I'm cruel" look on his face. This particular Machop was well known for trying to be the life of the party, and screwing it up big-time. A major snob, and a rival to Sparky and Zappa since childhood, he often ended up getting in trouble with the rest of the tribe and the tribe leaders, and the patrolmen. Especially Sparky and Zappa.
The four tribe leaders groaned in frustration.
"Oh, it's Chopper." Crusher groaned, while Brimstone just growled in anger.
The young Machop strolled into the room, trying, and failing miserably, to move like Michael Jackson, earning him giggles from both Sparky and Zappa.
"What a dork. Is he trying to bust a move, or bust a hip?" Zappa whispered to Sparky.
"I heard that, Missy!" Chopper snapped, trying to do a one-eighty spin and point his finger at Zappa. However, he miscalculated and instead drove his finger directly into the wall. With a sharp "GAH!!" of pain, he recoiled away, holding his finger, which stung as if it had been hit by a Rock Smash.
Sparky and Zappa couldn't help it; They burst out laughing. The tribe leaders just shrugged sadly, shook their heads, and sighed at Chopper, as if worried for the kids future.
Chopper lost his temper, stomped up to Zappa and Sparky, and pointed his now swollen finger at the pair.
"You two think you're so smart, huh? Just because you're the chosen one, you get to run around all day having fun with your girlfriend." He snapped at them.
Sparky made a furious move toward Chopper, but Zappa, after a loud gasp, got there first.
"Why, you little--" And before anyone could stop her, she Volt Tackled him out the entrance, sending him flying into the outside fountain.
Brimstone quickly jumped in-between the two, separating them.
"Zappa, let me handle this." He told the young Jolteon, who, after one final glare at Chopper, backed away, holding her shoulder, which had received a nasty bruise as a result of Volt Tackling Chopper at point-blank range.
Brimstone then rounded on Chopper, a furious look in his eyes.
"Chopper, I have HAD IT. This is the third time this week I've had to jump you because of your rotten attitude. Are you incapable of stopping yourself, or do you take pride in causing trouble for the other kids here? Not to mention the patrolmen." He demanded in his most dangerous tone, causing Chopper to rear back in fright.
Brimstone picked up Chopper and held him close to his face.
"I'm warning you, boy. I'm THIS close to throwing your happy carapace out of here for the sake of the other children. Don't think for a second that I won't. And I can personally assure you that you will NOT be welcomed by the other tribes. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!?" He shouted, and Chopper wasted no time responding.
"Transparently, Brimstone. Eh, Sir." The little Machop replied, causing Brimstone to drop him on the ground.
"And for the record, that is no way to speak to a young girl like Zappa." Brimstone then turned and headed back to his place. Sparky and Zappa just looked a Chopper with "You-Shouldn't-Have-Done-That" smirks on their faces.
"Well, what did you expect? You acted like a jerk, and disrespected us right in front of the four tribe leaders. Of course he was gonna lecture you again." Zappa said, making a "tut-tut" motion with her finger at Chopper.
Chopper just looked frustrated.
"Laugh now, you two losers. But as soon as their backs are turned, I'm gonna knock you two down a leg or three! Then we'll see how the great chosen one really is." The young Machop fired at them, before standing up and slowly waddling away; That Volt Tackle had left him partly paralyzed.
Sparky and Zappa just looked at each other.
"Should we hold our breath?" He asked her. She shook her head, and they both laughed.
"Nah, I doubt he'd ever be able to knock us down a leg or two. We're, like, twenty legs above him." She replied, giggling happily. Sparky smiled.
"Haha, yeah. And his dancing, yuck! If moves could kill, he'd be dead already. And that's saying something, considering the mad moves we're armed with." He said in a smug sort of tone. Zappa just giggled.
"What kind of moves, though? Combat or dancing?" She asked, already knowing the answer.
"Both. Hands down." He replied, and they both burst out laughing again. But their laughter was soon cut short when Zappa let out a pain filled gasp, followed by a loud "Ouch!" and fell to her knees, holding her side.
"Owowowowow! Oh, my sides! Ow!" She cried out. Sparky gasped and ran to her side.
"Are you OK!?" He asked, worried that she had hurt herself. He helped her to her feet.
"I... I think so. My side and shoulder really hurt, though." She said in a somewhat painful tone, before gasping in pain again.
Sparky took a look. He could see a small amount of blood leaking out her side.
"Oh no, you're bleeding! I gotta get you to the infirmary, ASAP!" He exclaimed, and quickly lead her away to the village infirmary.
"Ouch! Maybe I shouldn't have Volt Tackled Chopper like that. It was point-blank, too..." Zappa said sadly. Sparky just shook his head in frustration.
"If anyone's to blame, it's Chopper. He's the one who started it in the first place." The Pikachu said, knocking on the infirmary door. Zappa giggled slightly.
"I guess I taught him a lesson, huh?" She asked, letting out another painful grunt. Sparky smiled at her.
"If your in this condition, he must be in REALLY bad shape. Yeah, I'd say you showed him who's boss around here." He told her, making her smile.
- A COUPLE HOURS LATER -
It was almost afternoon time. The other three tribe leaders had departed for their respected villages, and Zappa was resting comfortably in the infirmary. Turns out she had just cut herself on a low tree branch when she attacked Chopper. Melody, the female Jigglypuff who ran the infirmary, said that Zappa would be fine after a little rest.
Sparky was now patrolling the border of the Village, watching out for anything suspicious. He had a small alarm bell to use if he actually spotted something, to signal to the other patrolmen that something undesirable was approaching the village.
He was slightly lost in thought over Foredawns vision earlier that day. He was still having trouble trying to figure out what it meant. Brimstone had decided that it could wait until the next meeting of the tribe leaders, which would take place in Delta's village.
Sparky did his best to try and crack the code of Foredawns vision, but after a couple hours of puzzling, he had only come to one conclusion: That whatever was going to happen did not, in any way, involve a root beer float.
Nor was it going to involve a young female Pokemon Trainer with long, blonde hair and a night black dress coming across the plain on the other side of the line of trees Sparky was standing next to.
So when he looked over and spotted her, about half a mile out, heading straight for the trees he was next to which hid the village, he gasped loudly.
"Holy mother of Mareep!" He exclaimed, and quickly rang his bell. Small as it was, the sound did reach the village, warning everyone something bad was coming.
A young female Flareon named "Hotsauce" was there in an instant.
"What is it?" She asked In a very serious tone. Sparky pointed at the approaching Trainer. Hotsauce looked over.
"Human! Half a mile and closing!" He explained. Hotsauce narrowed her eyes. This wasn't the first time they have had to steer a human away from their home, so she already had a plan.
"No worries, she'll never make it to the village. I got a plan." She said happily. She then turned around and whistled loudly.
A few moments later, a large Braviary named "Colors" landed next to her. He stood tall and proud, pushing out his chest in a dignified manner. He saluted Hotsauce as soon as he landed.
"What do you need, ma'am?" He asked Hotsauce. She quickly cut to the chase, pointing at the approaching Trainer.
"A Trainers coming. Think you can deal with her?" She asked her large friend, who took a look at the trainer, and grinned.
"Why, certainly, ma'am. I'll just lure her away. It's not every day you see a Braviary in Kanto, after all." He said in a highly dignified and posh tone, before taking to the sky again. He quickly flew high, high enough so the Trainer would see him, and took off in a direction away from the village.
It worked. The trainer quickly turned and took off full-speed after Colors, a PokeDex in her hand. Sparky and Hotsauce laughed.
"Gets them every time, I swear." Hotsauce commented, mocking the Trainer for taking off like that. They could be manipulated so easily with rare or unusual Pokemon, it honestly wasn't fair at times.
"They never learn, do they?" Sparky asked, leaning against a nearby tree for support as he laughed.
"Apparently not." Hotsauce said, before letting out another laugh.
"Well, thanks for the help. I better get back to my patrol." Sparky said, which got Hotsauces attention.
"Very well. Say, where's your friend Zappa the Jolteon?" She asked, noticing Zappa wasn't with Sparky; An extremely rare sight. Sparky sighed in anger.
"Chopper. Who else? Got her landed in the infirmary." The Pikachu said in a frustrated tone. Hotsauce just sighed.
"I swear, that kids going to end up getting himself thrown out of here one of these days, I just know it." She said, and sighed again. Sparky just shrugged.
"Well, if he does, it's his fault. Brimstone's warned him time and again to watch his behavior, and he just doesn't want to listen. I guess it's only a matter of time before that silly Machop gets the boot." Sparky said, before turning and continuing down the row of trees. "Well, see you later."
"Bye." Hotsauce called back, before taking off into the trees and back to the village.
Sparky looked out at the plain again. The Trainer was long gone. Thank goodness.
Sparky continued down his patrol route, confident that nothing else could go wrong that fine day.
...Or so he thought.
"YOU'RE DEAD, SPARKY!!"