Night had befallen the two not too long after, the cold slowly creeping up on them as they huddled around a small fire they had managed to put together, "I kinda wish Fennekin was there, now..." Josh mumbled.
"Don't say that! That's mean..." Danny said, a bit of a whine to his voice as he stared off into the woods, the fire's crackling filling his ears, accompanied by the sound of wild Pokemon.
"Say, Danny," Josh said, "What's your goal? For this journey, I mean. You know I'm taking the Gym challenge, so what about you?"
"I'm glad you asked," Danny replied, rubbing his hands together in an attempt to gather warmth, "Have you heard of the Pokelympics?"
Josh shook his head, "Not really, no. Explain?" He wrapped his arms around his knees, yawning briefly as Danny stood up.
"You see, the Pokelympics take place in four different areas in the Kirei region. In each area, depending on your abilities as a pokemon trainer or with your Pokemon, you go through certain tests - you can have four gold medals to pass, two silver, two gold, but none can be bronze. Tests include things like, erm, flying, swimming," Danny said, quickly catching a breath, plummeting back down next to Josh.
Josh rubbed the back of his head, "That sounds like a pretty tough challenge. Well, I'll be following you wherever you go."
The bushes rustled.
"Gee, thanks ma-"
"What was that?" Josh asked, interrupting his friend as he looked both ways, his eyes studying every crevice and corner.
Tiny feet pattered around the two, going around the fire as Josh caught a glimpse of its yellow tail bobbing up and down, snatching one of their bags, its head buried deep in it.
The tiny yellow rat's head poked up, its black beady eyes staring up at Josh and Danny cutely, its black-pointed yellow ears twitching a bit. "Pika?"
"I don't need a pokedex to know what that is," Josh grinned, looking at the Pikachu from across the fire, "Have a thing for stealing stuff, huh?"
He stood up, the grin glued to his face with each passing second, its ears twitchig constantly as he picked a pokeball from his bag.
A different pokeball was flung towards the yellow rodent, only for it to bat it away with its tail, "You're mine!"
Josh looked a bit further from the fire, a boy with short black hair staring at the pokemon, his Fennikin standing by his leg.
"What the hell? That Pikachu is mine!" Josh had yelled at him, only for the trainer to march over to him, a frustrated look on his face.
He scowled as he approached Josh, mere centimeters from each other as he took a deep breath, "It's wild. Besides, I found it first, loser!"
Josh shoved at the boy, his pokeball still in hand as the rodent looked back and forth between the two, "Pika?"
"Stay out of this!" The boy screamed at the poor thing, its ears drooping as it wagged its tail before running off into the nearby woods.
Before anything could be said, Josh shoved the trainer aside and chased after the rodent, Danny following close behind.
"Come on, Fennikin!" The trainer called his Pokemon, its tiny feet clinging to his shoulder as he charged right behind the two.
Josh sprinted, though something had kept him from going any further, something bouncing against his skin.
The web extended across dozens of the trees, "Danny, stop running!" Josh had yelled at him, but to no avail - his friend fell into the web as well.
He could hear the patter of legs move from the trees, his eyes looking up to spot a spider-like Pokemon.
The trainer wasn't too far from the trees, withdrawing his pokedex and holding it up infront of the pokemon.
Galvantula, the tarantula Pokemon. When attacked, they create an electric barrier by spitting out many electrically charged threads.
"Hey! Are you gonna help us? Please!" Danny had pleaded at the boy, spotting him as he set his device down.
"Guess I have no choice," He said, smirking as he sighed. A part of him doubted he could take down such a beast, "Fennikin, show them just what you can do with me!"
Fennikin nodded, jumping from his partner's shoulder and spitting out several small fireballs, the embers shooting towards the critter.
Galvantula's spitters had shot out string, connecting it at a very high speed, sparks coursing through the entirety of the web, though the embers were weakened, they managed to break through.
Expecting it to cry out in pain, Joey was throughly disappointed, the embers only giving it small burns on top of its forehead. It shook its head, "Galv..."
He could hear it mumble its name menacingly, "Fennikin, return!" He shouted, recalling his starter, "This may be a better idea.."
He picked out his second pokeball, tossing it and releasing his only other Pokemon. Its two green feet spread apart on the ground, its scythe like hands preparing for battle as it eyes squinted, "Scythah!"
"Quick attack!" He commanded his faithful pokemon, it picked itself off from the ground and sped towards the spider pokemon, slicing through the web with ease.
Scyther slammed its side into the Galvantula, though to no avail. The enemy simply shrugged off the attack, a ball forming in front of its face, its fur standing up from the electrical current.
"Scyther, try to dodge it!" Scyther nodded, jumping away from his opponent at a rapid rate, the ball being fired towards the insect.
"Scyth!" It cried out, crossing its scythe-like appendages in an attempt to defend itself. A sharp cry of pain left its mouth, the ball moving against its abdomen, causing electrical currents to course through its body.
"SCYTHER! Are you okay?" He rushed over to his Pokemon, but it tried to keep him back, holding out its scythes, "Scyther..."
Galvantula's feet pattered against the ground, calling out as it began to look in both directions, "Gal! Galvan!"
"What's it doing?" Josh had wondered, a bit amazed at how that Scyther could endure an attack like that.
"I don't like the sound of this," Danny said, hearing the pattering of dozens of other feet.
"Joltik!" Voices cried out, and practically tinier versions of the Galvantula had approached the Scyther, each with a ball of electricity being charged up.
"We're done. There's no way we can win this." The trainer said, looking around with a hopeless look in his eyes. They would surely die here.
But, to his surprise, a pokemon dashed from above. Its wings smashed against the Joltik at a rapid speed, tossing them back at the mother.
"Great job Noivern," a man had said, and the three had looked at who was in front of them, he stood there, in-between the Galvantula and the boy.
He said said, "You guys alright?"
He appeared to be from the north, dressed in an odd attire. That place was known for a violent tribe, but could this be one of them?
"Y-yeah.. thanks. Who are you?" Josh asked, the Noivern cutting the web apart with its wings, allowing Josh and Danny to both stretch in relief.
"My name is Samuel, who might you be?" He said, smiling as he looked at the trainer behind him, aiding to his Scyther.
"I'm Joey," the boy said.
"I'm Josh," Josh had informed him, "And this is Danny, my friend."
"I'd like to get to know you, but there are more important matters at hand," Samuel said, turning to the mother of the Joltik, "Galvantula never attack without reason. I don't think it's a matter of territory, as they're relatively peaceful.."
The Galvantula charged towards the man, only for his Noivern to stop it in his tracks with almost little-to-no effort.
"I really love Galvantula, but I can't let it hurt kids," He said, stepping forward, "Noivern, use air slash!"
Noivern nodded, his wings glowing as they pushed against the tarantula Pokemon, its wings digging into the skin a bit, pushing it into the neighboring tree.
The tree itself began to creak, becoming unstable as Noivern finally threw its enemy, the towering tree leaning now.
Galvantula shot a beam of charged electricity at Samuel's pokemon, "Hurricane, but keep it controlled!"
Noivern began to flap its wings back and forth, a wind stirring up as the three trainers clung to a nearby tree. The wind picked up outrageously, the leaning tree being rooted up, the Galvantula being tossed around in the air carelessly.
Samuel turned back to the group, the winds dying quickly as the pokemon was thrown out of sight. "Great job, Noivern," he said, returning it to its pokeball.
Josh turned his back, hearing a twig snap, "What was that?" he asked aloud, the Pikachu coming out from one of the trees, "There you are, you little-"
He began to sprint towards it, but the look on its face was that of sadness. A hand picked it up by its tail, dangling it carelessly. "Well well, what do we have here?"
"What are you doing to that poor pokemon?!" Danny asked demandingly, studying the man's... odd uniform.
He was wearing a tuxedo and black dress pants, with black dress shoes to match. He wore black gloves, and an odd mask on his face. It had two large eye holes, and it guarded his nose and most of his features above his chin. "Nothing at all. Though, I am a bit appalled - you put an end to my fun!"
"Fun?" Joey wondered, "Wait, do you mean the whole deal with the Galvantula?" he asked, clenching his fists.
"Of course, boy," the man said, "Testing Pokemon out for M'lady. There's no other way to do it."
"You're testing Pokemon by attacking people? But it has no trainer! What could you have possibly done to make it help YOU?" Joey demanded to know, gritting his teeth in frustration.
"I didn't do anything. And besides, why would I tell you? You're just a couple of brats - but don't think for a second that you're getting off scott free!" The man smiled a bit too confidently, drawing out his pokeball, "Go, Houndour!"
Houndour's skin is mostly a black color, aside from its jaw and underbelly, which are an orange color. It stands on four legs, which have four white 'rings' wrapped around them. It has rib-like ridges laying on its back, a simple skull between its eyes.
Josh had withdrawn his pokedex from his bag quickly, holding up to the Houndoom from afar.
Houndour, the hellhound Pokemon. Around dawn, its ominous howl echoes through the area to announce that this is its territory.
"I got this," Josh said, tossing out his pokeball and releasing his starter, Froakie, "Froakie, this is our first battle! We can beat this scumbag!"
"Are you really just gonna let him fight that punk, Samuel?" Danny asked, his teeth clenched as he gave Samuel a look, as if he was crazy.
"Let him do his thing. I believe he knows what he's doing." Samuel said, crossing his arms and grinning.
"A child is going to fight me? This isn't even going to be a challenge," he smirked devilishly, pointing his gloved finger at the Froakie, "Use bite and tear that kid to shreds!"
Houndour's teeth were now showing, and they were almost razor sharp. Its maw opened, revealing the full set as it jumped at Froakie, "Use bubble!"
"Froak!" Froakie jumped away from Houndour, allowing it to impact into the ground, making it confused for a short time. It looked both ways, unexpected of the move. Froakie hung its head back for a moment, before it spat out bubbles at a rapid rate, the liquid popping against the Houndour's skin.
Houndour whined, but not before it growled. "Not out yet.. this is just the beginning, kiddie!" The man yelled, "Use ember!"
"Are you stupid? Froakie is a water type!" Josh yelled, grinning as he moved back a few feet in preparation, "Froakie, bubble again! This time, take him out!"
Froakie nodded to his partner, his head being thrown back and spitting out the bubbles at a rapid rate once again. The embers were lost in the attack, the bubbles smacking against the Houndour's snout, causing it to shriek in pain.
Houndour ran back to its master, a slight limp from the pain it endured as it approached him. "What? How could you lose to a rookie?!"
"You obviously don't do enough training," Josh said, smirking confidently as the man trembled.
"... RETREAT!" He shouted, running from the Houndour which attempted to catch up with its master, the limp dragging it far behind.
The Pikachu had thankfully fallen from his grasp, its feet bringing it to Josh. "Oh, hey there, little guy." Josh bent down, the other three watching what he was doing.
"That was great for a first battle," Danny said, pride in his voice. Though Josh had the advantage, he was still only a rookie trainer.
Joey seemed relatively unimpressed, and Samuel only smiled as he watched Josh attempt to befriend the pokemon.
Pikachu bowed its head, maybe as a thank you, Josh had assumed. He placed his hand on its head, rubbing it affectionately, "How would you like to come with me?"
A hopeful look sprung up on the rodent's face, "Pika! Pikachu!" It cried out happily, crawling over to his bag and nudging one of his pokeballs.
"Heheh, alright, alright," Josh said, picking up the pokeball and tapping it on the mouse's forehead. It smiled before it vanished into the pokeball, "That was... exciting, to say the least!" he said, a smile on his face.
"Well, if you guys will excuse me," Joey said, looking over at Samuel, then Josh, "I'm going to be heading to Skyheart City. See you losers later."
As he walked away, Samuel approached Josh and put a hand on his shoulder delicately, "Your skills as a rookie are looking bright. I suggest you go to Skyheart as well. It holds the first gym. You may want to do some training first, though. Not all battles will be as easy."
"Right." Josh said, nodding with a smile.
And so, they said their goodbyes to their saviour that night.
Next stop was Skyheart City.
