Problems At Demon City
Part 2
Here it is. Chapter two. While Team Guy will make their appearance later in the story, some of my favorite characters from some of my other favorite series will make their first, but not their last, appearance in this chapter. They are two characters from MLP (My Little Pony) and two from Black Lagoon. Just read to find out who they are.
Naruto and Naruko grabbed their hats off the floor and placed them back on the heads and assessed the damage. Experiencing a real earthquake was a first for them. Sure, they have felt the move Earthquake, Magnitude which varied in intensity, and Fissure the one-hit knockout attack. But while the shake of those moves were very intense, they were pretty localized to the battlefield. This, on the other hand, was felt through all of Demon City and maybe a few miles around it.
As they made their way to the main lobby, the trio could see some of the damage outside through the windows. There were broken windows on the older buildings, cracked sidewalks, a few toppled trees, and a few of the buildings had developed a slight tilt and some cracks. But that was it. No collapsed structures, no fires, no explosions from ruptured gas lines, and no huge fissures running along the ground. From what they could tell, the festival that was to be the day after the contest was still scheduled to go on without delays or rescheduling of any sort.
The real downer was the power and landline outages. Most of the city was in the dark and the emergency buildings, like the hospital and the Pokémon Center, were running on emergency generators, which only powered up the medical equipment and a few of the lights. And for some reason their PokeNavs were not getting any reception at the moment.
And with no power going to the videophones or the transporters, Naruto, Naruko, and Hinata could not round out their on-hand rosters.
With the contest and the festival coming up in a few days, it did not look like there was going to be any attempt to make repairs until after the festival. That left them with not much to do but to find something to past the time while they waited.
"Is there anything to do in this town to pass the time?" Naruko asked Nurse Joy when they reached the front counter.
"Hmmm," Nurse Joy thought for a moment. "There's the Pokémon regeneration lab, the—"
"Pokémon regeneration lab?" they trio repeated with tilted heads.
"It's a special laboratory where they bring extinct ancient Pokémon back to life with the help from fossils," Nurse Joy explained. "It was built here because of the canyon."
"What does the canyon have to do with the lab?" Naruto asked.
"A lot of fossils have been found in the canyon," Nurse Joy continued. "And they're still finding more."
"Oh," the trio nodded in understandingly.
"Do they give tours of the place?" Naruko asked getting into the nurse's face.
"They do, but they don't get a lot of visitors," the pinkette woman said as the blonde girl was yanked back by her companions.
"Why not?"
"The large majority of people in this city are really superstitious and stuck to tradition. They really believe that the ancient Pokémon are demons."
"Oh, okay."
"Okay, now back to your first question," the nurse sighed as she thought remembering. "There's also the Pokémon Temples, the plaza market, the mall, the shops and cafes on Water Avenue, the Singing Linoone Spa, and Friendship Park."
"Well, c'mon," Naruko muttered, pulling her brother and Hinata. "Let's go."
"Where to first?" Hinata asked after breaking free from the blonde's grip.
"Let's go see if we could get a tour of the lab," Naruko smiled. "And whether or not we get the tour, we then go get something to eat, and after that we go check out the park."
"You're just wondering if they'll give us some of their Pokémon, huh?" Naruto smirked.
"No I don't!"
"Right…"
At the archway entrance into Demon City stood four trainers. Two were girls and the other two were boys. Two were dressed in dark clothing, one in a full cowboy get-up, and the last one was in somewhat typical trainer clothes. But they all had dog tags.
"Are you sure that this is where the earthquake originated from, AJ?" Soarin asked as he stared down the street.
Soarin Silverbolt was a thirteen-year-old trainer from the Teak Region and raised by his single mother. He had gelled back bright blue hair and green eyes. He wore a light blue t-shirt with a lightning bolt with wings printed on it and an open blue aviator jacket over it. He had on a regular pair of jeans, white and blue sneakers, a bright yellow belt, black and blue fingerless gloves, and blue aviator goggles over his head. On his back hung his single-strap backpack, while from his neck dangled a set of dog tags and Locket. On his shoulder sat his newly acquired Nincada, Speedy.
"Of course I am, Sugarcube. Winona's ears twitched before lookin' up and facin' in this direction," AJ answered, readjusting her orange backpack, as she remembered the behavior of her Arcanine right before the quake hit.
Applejack Apple, or AJ, was a thirteen-year-old trainer from the Teak Region and from a family if apple farmers. She had long blond hair held together by a red band a few inched from the tip, green eyes, and three freckles on each cheek. She wore a short, red and white plaid shirt, tied just below the chest while only two buttons were buttoned up, under a light brown duster coat. She had thigh-high denim shorts, a modified cowboy belt with an apple shaped buckle, thigh-high red socks, cowboy boots branded with three apples each, a cowboy hat, an orange bandana was around her neck along with her dog tags, and black fingerless gloves. Sitting on her shoulder was Spice, her new Starly.
"Ah reckon it was caused by some large underground cavern collapsin' since there ain't no fault here for thousands of miles," she said looking back over her shoulder to the other two trainers traveling with her and Soarin, which have been really quiet for some time now. "Hansel! Gretel! Y'all okay?"
They nodded.
Hansel and Gretel Okajima were thirteen-year-old, going on fourteen, twin trainers from an island city in the Corral Region named Roanapur City and adopted by a business man named Rokuro Okajima. They had silver hair, Hansel's was short and Gretel's was long with a black ribbon, and pale violet eyes. Gretel wore a black gothic Lolita outfit with a pair of black gloves, since the weather was getting colder, and a white trainer belt. Hansel wore a white t-shirt, black cargo shorts, long socks, black sneackers, a dark gray trainer belt, and a black trench coat. Gretel's backpack was a pale lavender messenger bag, and Hansel's was a light gray rucksack-looking backpack. They both also wore a set of dog tags. On Hansel's shoulder was a Minun named Sparx, and a Plusle named Garnet was on Gretel's shoulder, given to them as starters by their father.
"Are yah sure," AJ asked. "Yah two are usually really chatty."
"Yep," Hansel nodded. "We're alright."
Applejack was not convinced. "But…"
"It's been over a year since we began our journey and we haven't contacted Papa at all," Gretel revealed.
"Alright!" Soarin cut in. "Let's get to the Pokémon Center so you can call your dad. Applejack can call her brother and I'll call my mom."
With a smile from the twins, which looked really creepy, the four trainers ran toward the Pokémon Center, almost colliding with three trainers who had just come out of the Pokémon Center.
"Sorry, excuse me!" a blue-haired green-eyed trainer said as he and three other trainers almost bumped into Naruto, Naruko and Hinata in a rush, almost knocking the Nincada off his shoulder.
"What's your hurry?" Naruko asked him.
"We need to get to the Pokémon Center to make some very important phone calls," the girl with the cowboy hat said.
"Well sorry to for saying this but the earthquake caused blackout and the Pokemon Center's emergency backup generators are only powering up the healing pods and every bit of medical machinery," Naruto cut in. "So you're out of luck there."
"Aw, man," the blue-haired boy groaned. "This sucks, and I was gonna call my mom!"
"Ah was gonna call my family an' see how their doin' at the farm," the cowgirl said taking her hat off.
"And we were gonna call Papa," the silver-haired twins said at the same time.
"Yeah sorry," Naruto muttered with an awkward chuckle.
"The videophones won't be operational for few days," Hinata added.
"Thanks for the warning," the green-eyed girl smiled and rubbed the back of her neck. "So where are you three going?"
"We're going to go check out the Pokémon regeneration lab, and see if we could get a tour of the place," Naruko said almost jumping in excitement.
"Oh, can we go with you?" the blue-haired boy asked then turned to his blonde companion. "AJ, can we go with them?"
"Yeah," the white-haired twins joined in on the begging and gave her puppy-dog eyes. "Can we go too, please?"
The cowgirl's mouth and eyebrows twitched before sighed. "Ah don't see why not, but first let's get a room and leave our stuff there." It sounded as if she said that through grinding teeth.
"Yay!" the white-haired kids threw their arms into the air in victory.
"QUIT CHANGING YOUR PERSONALITIES YOU LITTLE PSYCHOS!" the blunette boy yelled. "IT'S CREEPY!"
"I'm sorry," the girl pouted with begging eyes, and her Plusle doing it too. "Please don't be angry."
The boy that yelled bopped her on the head. "You should already know that that's not going to work on me unless it's AJ doing it."
"Ain't gonna 'appen, now c'mon," the cowgirl growled as she and her group walked past Naruto, Naruko and Hinata.
For a few seconds, the three Konoha Town trainers stared toward the Pokémon Center after the four trainers disappeared inside. They were in a bit of shock. They were trying to decide on whether to wait for them of just leave. And a tumbleweed literally tumbled across the Pokémon Center's walkway thanks to a light autumn breeze.
"That was weird," Naruto chuckled rubbing the back of his head.
"Yeah," Hinata agreed, lightly laughing scratching her cheek. "We've been meeting a lot of weird trainers lately, huh."
"Dang it!" Naruko exclaimed catching Naruto and Hinata off guard.
"Is something the matter?" Hinata asked nervously.
Holding her head and shaking it, Naruko responded, "In our rush to get our Pokemon here, and the chaos of the earthquake, we forgot to get a room!" And with that, she ran back inside.
Naruto and Hinata face-palmed with a groan, then followed. 'Idiot…'
Two hours after their weird introduction, the seven trainers were making their way toward Friendship Park, which was at the edge of town. Naruko was a very disappointed. When they had reached the regeneration lab north of the city, they discovered that it was closed to the public at the moment. When she asked the scientist taking a cigarette break, he informed them that the earthquake had damaged both the lab and the dome where all the regenerated Pokémon were held in an artificial environment. The man also informed them that the repair would be done in at least a week. At least for the dome. The damages to both structures were minor superficial ones, but they had to be repaired immediately before they became worse. And with a frustrated snarl, Naruko turned around and walked away from the lab. Naruto, Hinata, and the other four trainers, after sighing heavily, they followed her.
After leaving the lab, they went to check out the canyon's visitor view point. Through the telescopes, they could see almost the entire canyon. At the bottom, there was a very wide, crystal-clear, gentle flowing river and they spotted some water Pokémon swimming and jumping. In the distance they spotted an excavation site and it appeared that the archeologists there were rebuilding their camp that was apparently knocked down by the earthquake. They were also removing large boulders that had fallen into the middle of the camp.
For almost thirty minutes, the trainers looked over the landscape through the telescopes while chatting and properly introducing each other. They left when Naruto, Soarin, and Hansel's stomachs growled. It took them over fifteen minutes of walking, but eventually they found a Pokémon friendly café and they each unleashed whatever small Pokémon they had on hand. Naruto brought out his Vulpix, Cherry, Naruko let out her Turtwig, Grove, and Hinata released her Illumise, Flutter. Applejack, Soarin, Hansel, and Gretel already had Pokémon out. Through their lunch they shared memories of their adventures and childhoods. While they sat there, the trio suddenly came to a realization, they were making a lot of friends so easily, especially those from out of their region.
After a strangely long lunch, the seven trainers decided to check out the shops then head to Friendship Park. Hinata purchased some new capsules and seals for her contests because she forgot hers at home. At her last contest she had borrow one from a coordinator whom already had five ribbons. Naruto managed to find a TwistedSpoon for his Abra, Eclipse. Naruko got a few things for Sunset back home. Once their shopping was done, they headed for the Park.
Friendship Park was a Pokémon-friendly park close to the southern edge of the city. It was a naturally landscaped twenty acre piece of land that was completely fenced off and the only way to get in was to go through one of the three guarded gates. The rules of the park were strict. Battles were prohibited. Visitors must have at least one Pokémon to enter. If the Pokémon has aggressive tendencies, then both trainer and Pokémon will be kicked out indefinitely.
Naruto, Naruko, and Hinata have heard of similar parks in other regions with the most popular one being Amity Square in the Sinnoh Region. A large number of them posted a list of what Pokémon were allowed—mostly small and cute Pokémon that were popular like Pikachu and Buneary. With Han gone and Heart already a Lopunny, their best bet to get in, assuming there was a limited list, seemed to be Flutter the Illumise, Riku the Skitty, Cherry the Vulpix, and Brawler the Shroomish (which for some strange reason was considered a cute Pokémon). The other four trainers were probably thinking the about the same thing because they already had their small Pokémon out and on their shoulders.
When they got there they found out that there was no strict limit on which Pokémon were allowed. Only very large Pokémon like Snorlax, Steelix, and Gyarados were forbidden since even well-mannered ones were unintentionally destructive. Once they found a good spot next to a small grouping of trees with a large crystal-clear pond only a few feet away, they unleashed their on-hand Pokémon. Naruto only let loose four of his five Pokémon, which were his Vulpix, Vibrava, Umbreon, and Luvdisc. With his Shroomish being aggressive, he did not want to get kicked out the park, so he did not let it out. Naruko let out her Absol, Grimer, Turtwig, Venomoth, and Camerupt. Hinata unleashed her Illumise, Skitty, and Clefairy, leaving the Registeel in its Pokeball since it was a large Pokémon and she did not feel comfortable bringing it out. To join her Starly, Applejack called out a Rapidash, Arcanine, Gardevoir, Leafeon, and Nidoking. Soarin released a Gallade, Nidoqueen, Shelgon, Typhlosion, and Wingull to join his Nincada outside. To join their Plusle and Minun, Hansel brought out only a Cacturne and Scizor, while Gretel unleashed a Carnivine and Milotic.
"Whoa," Naruto and Naruko were almost speechless when they saw their new friends' collection of Pokémon. "Cool!"
As if that was a signal, the three water-type Pokémon rushed into the water as something caught Hinata's eye.
"So," Soarin yawned. "What are you three doing in this town?"
"We're here for Hinata's contest and maybe we'll stick around for the festival."
"It's the day after the contest," Naruko yawned.
"What's the festival for anyway?" the gray-haired twins asked simultaneously.
"Hmmm…" Naruto crossed his arms in thought. "Professor Sarutobi told me about it the day before we left town, now what was it again." Naruto thought deeper wrinkling his nose. "He said it was called the… the Autumn Victory Festival… they celebrate some ancient victory over… what was it again… the demons of the underworld… yeah, I think that's it."
"I don't care much about history, but as long as there's food and it's delicious, I'm there," Naruko stomped with a fist in the air.
"YEAH!" Naruto, Soarin, Hansel, and Gretel raised their fists in agreement.
The girl with the cowboy hat laughed but stopped when she caught Hinata staring while everybody talked about food. "May Ah help ya?"
"Umm," Hinata said after almost jumping. "Did a boy named Jason give you those dog tags?"
The four trainers looked down then up again, and nodded.
"I thought you looked familiar," Hinata said as she held up her own set and urged her friends to do the same. "Jason showed us your picture when we were in Stealth City for a tag-battle tournament and had to deal with an evil Houndour."
"That's where you three met him?" the green-eyed boy asked as he sat against a tree.
"Yeah," Hinata nodded.
"And now my sister has a crush on Lance," Naruto said without realizing it.
This caused Applejack, Hansel and Gretel to spit out the water they were drinking and start coughing as they gasped for air.
"Is that right?" Soarin wondered, almost laughing.
"No I don't!" Naruko exclaimed.
"You're wearing his…" Naruto stopped when he spotted something, then pointed. "What's that?"
"What's wha—" Hinata was saying then halted when she saw what Naruto was pointing at.
It was a wrought iron fence painted black and hidden behind some large trees. Once the other trainers saw it, they all went to check it out. When they reached it, they noticed a few things. It was covered with signs, the top was coiled with both barbed wire and razor wire, there was only gate, and it was put up around a large area. Inside was devoid of trees and there was path that led from the gate to a large hole in the middle.
"The Gateway…" Naruko read the sign closest to the gate, squinting a bit at the heavily corroded metal. "Huh?"
Soarin found another sign that said the same thing, but less corroded, so there was more to read. "The door to the Underworld… Where demons that feast on the flesh of men reside… In ancient times these demons threatened many of the surrounding small villages that would one day combine to make up Demon City. Through the efforts of the Five Guardians, that the land was saved… Okay, that's weird."
"Ah think the Underworld they speak of is some sort of underground cavern," Applejack said with her hand on her chin in thought.
"I'm gonna have to agree with you," Hinata said staring at the hole.
"I bet the 'demons' are actually Pokémon," Soarin muttered as he read the other signs. "We'll call Siegfried and tell him about this when the power's back."
"A'right sugarcube," the cowgirl sighed and turned to walk away. "The IP ain't gonna be 'appy 'bout this."
"Tell me about it," the silver-haired twins said and followed her.
When the group got back to where their Pokémon were, they tried to forget what they just saw for the moment. They set up a picnic blanket and ate some food they bought earlier. When they were done and were cleaning up to leave, the sound of a nearby bush rustling made them stop and look at it. Suddenly a Vulpix fell out of it.
"Whoa," Hinata gasped and ran toward the Pokémon. "It's a Vulpix!"
"It looks injured," Soarin said after looking at it. 'And shiny.'
"Then let's take it to the Pokémon Center," Naruko ordered.
Everyone nodded and Hinata picked up the Vulpix. They returned their Pokémon to their Pokeballs and ran. As they rushed to find the exit, they failed to notice a girl and Espeon watching them.
'This isn't good…'
Trainer and Pokémon Listing Time (shinies are underlined)
Naruto Uzumaki: Vulpix-Cherry, Pikachu-Han, Luvdisc-Flo, Umbreon-Shadow, Vibrava-Sahara, Croagunk-Reaper, Haunter-Witchy, Blissey-Mari, Drifloon-Floater, Scizor-Shinobi, Abra-Eclipse, Totodile-Gator, Shroomish-Brawler
Naruko Uzumaki: Vulpix-Sunset, Glamoew-Gloss, Gyarados-Serpent, Ursaring-Lady Luna, Hippowdon-Sherman, Absol-Rixie, Steelix-Edilean, Camerupt-Lucky, Venomoth-Sarina, Electrike-Yui, Grimer-Biohazard, Turtwig-Grove
Hinata Hyuga: Empoleon-Spray, Registeel-Knives, Gardevoir-Kunoichi, Riolu-Duke, Lopunny-Heart, Gabite-Torpedo, Metagross-Blue, Skitty-Riku, Clefairy-Raindrop, Pachirisu-Isadora, Illumise-Flutter
Applejack Apple: Arcanine-Winona, Rapidash-Cider, Gardevoir-Applesause, Leafeon-Breeze, Nidoking-Farmer, Starly-Spice, Torterra-Orchard
Soarin Silverbolt: Gallade-Pilot, Nidoqueen-Hope, Shelgon-Bomber, Typhlosion-Firestorm, Wingull-Jet, Nincada-Speedy, Crobat-Zero
Hansel Okajima: Minun-Sparx, Cacturne-Spike, Gyarados-Axe, Magmortar-Igneous, Salamence-Monty, Scizor-Cutter, Drapion-Battleaxe
Gretel Okajima: Plusle-Garnet, Carnivine-Mimi, Milotic-Serenity, Camerupt-Camilla, Dragonite-Annabelle, Tyranitar-Raptor, Rhydon-Blocker
Here it is.
Please Review and I'll get back to y'all
Later.