Sorry, no witty remarks this time.
Chapter Three: Companions
The walk was pretty uneventful so far. They took a route in the forest that was near the wall of a cliff. Grisom seemed content to remain silent while Kyra was unsure of what to say to him. She took turns petting both of her Eevees, which Ammy seemed to enjoy and Tsuku did not react to. Though he had agreed to be with her, he still did not show much happiness about it.
Kyra finally broke the silence by saying, "So what were you doing before joining up with me?"
"Traveling. Doing business. Etcetera. I don't feel like elaborating," Grisom said.
"If you say so." She changed the subject. "How did you meet Wukong?"
"Again, I'd prefer not to tell. Sorry, but it's personal," Grisom said shortly. His expression softened a bit as he said, "So, going to have an army of Eevees?"
"What? Of course not!" Kyra exclaimed. "They're rare, aren't they? I was just lucky to find two of them."
"You never know," Grisom said with a slight smile. "Maybe you were destined to find them."
Kyra shook her head. "I doubt it. But I'm happy to have them." Ammy wagged her tail while Tsuku blinked.
"As you should be, kiddo," Grisom replied.
"Why do you call me that?" Kyra said, sounding more curious than annoyed.
"I tend to nickname people," Grisom explained. "Just something that comes naturally."
"Oh. I see." Kyra did not know what else to say, so she lapsed back into silence as they went on.
It was late afternoon when something else finally happened. Tsuku, who had been silent up to this point, let out a growl as they went by a fresh bunch of trees.
"What's wrong?" Kyra asked.
Grisom's eye narrowed. "Whoever is out there, show yourself."
In response, three men leapt out from behind the trees. They all wore casual clothes and each had a Poké Ball at their waist. One had blonde hair and green eyes, another had brown hair and blue eyes, and the final had black hair and hazel eyes.
"Too bad you caught on," the black-haired one, who was apparently their leader, said. "Oh well, it doesn't matter." He pointed at Grisom. "Akuji, you are to hand over the Purge at once. If you don't cooperate, we'll resort to force!"
"Akuji? Purge?" Kyra said, giving Grisom a confused look. "What is he talking about?"
Grisom responded to the man instead. "You think I can't defend myself against the likes of you?"
"It would be much better for you and your little girlfriend if you cooperated," the one to the right said.
"Girlfriend?" Kyra protested. "We just met!"
"I'm afraid you're not really succeeding at threatening me," Grisom said lightly. "Show me if you can back up your words or not."
"Fine!" the leader said as he pulled out his Poké Ball. The other two members did the same. Grisom produced one as well.
Before the battle could begin, they heard a cry from above. Looking up, all they managed to see was a purple blur before the source crashed into the blonde-haired member. He was thrown to the ground. On top of him laid a small girl with an odd appearance. She wore a purple shirt with oversized sleeves that left her shoulders exposed. A white shirt underneath covered some of her skin and went to her neck. Matching her larger shirt were her shorts and shoes. Her dark brown hair was in two braids, one falling from each side of her head, and they had two gold bands with red strings attached. To go with that was a gold crown-like object she wore.
"What the hell?" the brown-haired man said in disbelief.
"Ow…" the girl groaned, her green eyes flickering open and then shut again. "That… hurt…"
"Ignore her, she's not about to do anything!" the leader commanded. "We have to finish our mission!" He hurled his Poké Ball at them. "Go, Fang!"
A small, gray dog sprung out of the ball. Its face and paws were black, and it growled at them.
"Go, Batty!" the other one shouted. A blue bat with a gapping mouth and no eyes emerged. It let out a piercing screech.
"I'll take the Zubat, you get the Poochyena!" Grisom said, indicating to the ones he named. "Aves!" The Starly burst out in a flurry of feathers.
"Um…" Kyra looked at both her Eevees. "Tsuku, are you up for a battle?"
Tsuku leapt down from her shoulder and eyed Fang carefully. He seemed a bit wary, but willing to fight.
"Aves, Tackle him!" Grisom said.
"Batty, Supersonic!" its trainer called.
Aves struck first, sending Batty tumbling in the air. But he managed to recover quickly and released a high-pitched sound. In response, Aves' eyes became swirled and he had difficulty staying in the air.
Meanwhile, the leader said, "Use Howl!" Fang let loose a long howl that seemed to moralize him.
"Tsuku, Tackle!" Kyra said. He leapt forward to smash into Fang, who rolled across the ground. "Good! Now do it again!"
"Show him your own Tackle!" the leader said. The two Pokémon crashed into each other. Though Tsuku took a worse hit, Fang also appeared dazed.
"Aves, attack him again!" Grisom commanded. Unfortunately for him, Aves was still confused. He hit a tree headfirst in his attempts to stay up.
"Batty, Leech Life!" the member said. The Zubat latched his fangs around Aves' neck and began to suck out his blood.
"Snap out of it! Quick Attack!" Hearing Grisom, Aves managed to get into a right state of mind and sped out of the Zubat's grasp. He darted back and hit Batty fiercely.
"Tsuku, hang in there! Tackle!" Kyra said while Ammy barked encouragement. Tsuku struggled upright and hit Fang once more. The Poochyena tried to Tackle him in response, but Tsuku managed to jump out of the way.
"Damn it! Batty, Supersonic again!" its trainer said.
"Don't let him get it off!" Grisom ordered. "Quick Attack!"
The blow came before Batty could react. He fell to the ground, unable to go on. His trainer hissed a curse while recalling him.
"Finish him!" Kyra said. Tsuku lunged for a final time, causing Fang to collapse.
"N-no way…" the leader stammered as he brought his Pokémon back.
"It's over," Grisom said, stepping forward. "Still want to threaten us?"
Before either of them could respond, another Pokémon suddenly appeared. It looked like a purple ball with a face and a skull and crossbones sign beneath its mouth.
"Asthma, Smokescreen!" the man beneath the girl croaked. Smoke poured from Asthma, causing Kyra and Grisom to fall into a coughing fit. By the time it cleared, the three men were gone.
"Almost had them," Grisom sighed. "Damn Koffing. Oh well. Aves, good work. Return." Aves disappeared into its Poké Ball.
"You did wonderfully, Tsuku," Kyra said as she lifted him. He looked at her for a moment before crawling onto her shoulder again and remaining there.
Kyra approached the girl, who was slowly sitting up and moaning. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah… ow… thanks for asking…" She stood carefully. "I hate heights…"
"What happened?" Kyra asked.
"I was up there," she said, indicating to the top of the cliff. "Then I got attacked by some wild Pokémon. Hama fought them off, but I fell in the process."
"How did you manage to do that?" Grisom said.
"I'm a bit of a klutz," she admitted. "Oh, pardon me for not introducing myself. I'm Misya, and…" She looked around. "She must still be…"
At that moment, a gray Pokémon came floating down. It had thick hair-like tendrils that came from its head which were tipped in purple. Around its neck was something similar to red jewels that formed a necklace of sorts. A small, wooden ocarina hung from the center jewel.
"A Misdreavous…" Grisom said, looking startled.
"What's wrong?" Kyra said.
Grisom shook his head. "Nothing."
Misya gestured to her. "This is Hama. She has been helping me in my travels and is the only Pokémon I have right now." Hama moved close to her, as if to say that that was the way she wanted it to remain.
"She certainly seems loyal," Kyra said with a smile. "This is Ammy, and he's Tsuku. I just started traveling yesterday." Ammy barked a greeting while Tsuku eyed them carefully. "My name is Kyra, and this is Grisom."
"Nice to meet both of you," Misya said. She stepped forward with her hand stretched out, only to trip over a tree root and fall to the ground. "Ow…"
Grisom laughed. "That's it, I'm calling you walking disaster."
Misya got up and dusted herself off while throwing a scowl in Grisom's direction. "That's not very nice."
"Apparently he does it to everyone," Kyra said. "Um, sorry if this is rude to ask, but out of curiosity… aren't you a bit young to be a trainer?"
"I may look that way, but I can keep up with just about anyone in a battle," Misya declared.
"You'd be surprised at how young some trainers are," Grisom said. "Though not many go on an actual journey until they're older."
Kyra nodded and turned back to Misya. "So what are you planning on doing now?"
"I've been trying to find my way to a ferry that travels to the mainland," Misya explained. "Unfortunately, we've gotten pretty lost." Hama looked slightly exasperated at that.
"Then why not come with us? We're going there too," Kyra said.
"Really? That would be wonderful, thank you!" Misya said. Hama looked less than happy about the suggestion, but did not make an objection.
"Why are you headed there anyway?" Grisom inquired.
"I just wanted to get off the island," Misya said. "To see more of the world."
"Good enough reason," Kyra said. "Shall we go?"
"Let's," Grisom said. Misya nodded.
As they continued through the forest, Misya said, "By the way, who did I land on? I wanted to apologize to him."
"One of the men who was going to attack us," Grisom said. "No need to say sorry for it; you actually helped us."
"Who were they?" Kyra said, looking at Grisom. "Why did they call you Akuji? And what is a Purge?"
"It's better you didn't know," Grisom stated. "Trust me on this. We should be free of those men when we leave the island."
"All right…" Kyra said doubtfully. She changed the subject by speaking to Misya. "Why does Hama have an ocarina around her neck?"
"That's a good luck charm I gave her," Misya replied cheerfully. "I thought she could use it more than me."
Ammy barked at Hama, who responded readily. The two of them continued to chatter as the humans kept up their conversation.
"Are there any Pokémon you are particularly looking for?" Kyra asked.
"No, not really. I thought I'd pick up some as I went. What about you?" Misya said.
"I'm happy with these two," Kyra said, indicating to her Eevees. "But who knows? I might find some others soon. Grisom doesn't seem picky about what he catches."
"I'm not. If a Pokémon's strong, I'll try and nab it," Grisom said.
Tsuku's growled softly at his response. Kyra patted him as Misya said, "How far is it to the ferry?"
"We should arrive there by tomorrow morning," Grisom replied. "That's assuming that we stop when it gets dark, which I suggest we do."
"Sounds good to me," Misya said. Kyra quickly agreed.
-
The arrival of dusk was noticed by another group, one noticeably smaller. It consisted of a sole human and two Pokémon, which he spoke to. "Looks like it's time to set up camp."
Of the two there, one made a noise of agreement. He was a Ralts, a psychic Pokémon with a green head, two red spike-like objects on his head, closed eyes, and a white body. Though small in size, his powers were great. The other one was also a Ralts, but she was light pink and blue in color and much more quiet. She kept close to her trainer.
"This is as good of a spot as any," he said, indicating to the clearing. "If you want to explore, you should do so before it gets completely dark."
The green Ralts went towards the trees to see the area while the blue one sat down, looking exhausted. Noticing this, the trainer brought out a Poké Ball. "You should get some rest, Hinata." She gave him a grateful look before vanishing.
It took little time for him to make an area in the clearing comfortable for himself. As he removed branches and rocks, he muttered to himself, "Can't believe I forgot to bring those books. All I have are entertaining novels. I thought that's all I would need, but now I'm not so sure. It would be good to have some reference materials…"
A shrill cry sounded through the trees. In response came a squawk and then angry chattering.
"Oh great," he muttered, recognizing the first noise. "What has Neji gotten himself into this time?"
He hurriedly made his way over to where he could hear the racket. There he saw Neji trading blows with a small, orange bird. It had three head-feathers, tiny wings, and a beak that were all yellow, while its black, beady eyes were narrowed as it fought. Neji had a couple of scratches while the bird appeared weakened.
"A Torchic," he realized. Shaking his head, he approached the two of them. "Okay you two, break it up. There's no need for you to be fighting like this-"
He was cut off by a nearby explosion. The force of it knocked him to the ground, along with his backpack. A Poké Ball close to the top fell out of it and rolled away.
"What was that?" he said as he stood. "Neji, that came from where I was setting up camp. Let's check it out!" He scooped up his lost Poké Ball without looking before running towards the source. Neji followed him at once.
-
Kyra, Grisom, Misya, and their Pokémon were in the process of looking for a place to stay. This was easier said than done due to the size of their group and the lack of areas that would fit them. All of them were starting to get tired. Even the Eevees seemed exhausted due to walking a long part of the day and from their fights. Kyra had put them on her shoulders again, but that did not completely cure their weariness. Only Hama still seemed in a good state. She bobbed around Misya, who looked amused at her antics.
Grisom finally decided to bring out Aves and ordered him to look around. A few minutes later, the Bird Pokémon had found a good clearing for them.
"Wow, this is nice," Kyra said. "It's even clear of branches."
"Odd, but I'll take it." Grisom held out his arm for Aves to land on. "Let's get settled here."
"You won't have enough time to do that!"
They looked up to see the three men from before. Fang, Batty, and Asthma were also out. They all looked pretty angry.
"You're back far earlier than I thought you'd be," Grisom said.
"We managed to get some items to heal our Pokémon," the leader said, who was the one that had spoken first. "We won't give up until we've completed our mission!"
"You want to battle us again, even knowing you will lose?" Grisom said. Aves flew off his arm to hover in front of the three Pokémon.
"We have the advantage now!" the blonde-haired man said. "Asthma, Self Destruct!"
The Koffing exploded and caught Aves full-force. He cried in pain and hit the ground, unable to move.
"You…" Grisom growled, calling Aves back. Asthma had to be recalled as well, for the powerful attack left him in a faint.
"Your Pokémon are weakened," the brown-haired one said to Kyra. "Which only leaves us with one person to worry about: a little girl that probably can't battle to save her life."
"Just try it!" Misya said. Hama went in front of her, clearly angry at the insult.
Kyra looked at her Eevees and saw that the man was right. They were both far too tired to help. "Sorry… I think you're going to have to do this on your own…"
At that moment, a boy in his late teenage years came running into the clearing. He wore white clothes that were trimmed in a mix of light green and light blue. His short hair was blue, and he had glasses over his blue eyes. A brown pack was slung over his shoulder, a Poké Ball was in his hand, and a Ralts ran behind him, though it was clearly wounded.
"Another one?" the brown-haired man said, annoyed. "Batty, deal with that nuisance. Fang can take care of the girl."
As the Zubat flew towards the new arrival, he reacted purely on instinct. He was used to having the Poké Ball of one of his Ralts in his hand, and since Hinata was resting in hers, he threw the ball to release her. Only when it was in the air did he realize it was the empty ball that had rolled out of his pack. He grimaced and waited for the ball to pop open and show its empty insides.
To his shock, the Torchic from before emerged instead. The ball flew back to his hand, and he caught it completely on reflex with his eyes wide. "What? When did…?"
The Torchic seemed just as surprised as his new trainer. But when he saw the enemy flying towards him, he went into action by leaping up and swiping at him with his talons. Batty screeched and flew back to try getting away.
"Hama, Psywave!" Misya said. Hama shot out a multi-colored wave, but it went over Fang harmlessly.
"Fool! Psychic attacks won't harm Dark types!" Fang's trainer said. "Fang, Tackle!"
The Poochyena went straight through Hama on his attack. Misya sighed. "I have an excuse, since I'm new at this, but how did you not know Normal attacks wouldn't affect Ghosts?"
"Um… it's all part of the plan!" the leader retorted. "Fang can still… um… …Does he even have any moves that aren't normal?"
"...Hama, Astonish!" Misya said. Darkness hit Fang, causing him to yelp and flinch.
The Torchic's trainer barely noticed the other fight; he was too busy trying to catch up with what was happening on his side. His mind sped through what he knew about Torchic. "Use Ember!"
Small, hot flames were shot at Batty, who screeched as he was singed. "Fly away!" his trainer yelled, and he did just that.
However, the Torchic was not about to let him get away. He leapt for a tree and used the trunk as leverage to go soaring towards the Zubat. While in the air, he used Ember again. That was too much for Batty to handle. It fell to the ground, and the Torchic landed on him comfortably.
"Argh! Batty, return!" His trainer stuffed his Poké Ball away. "We're outnumbered. Let's get out of here!"
"Fine! Fang, return!" The leader shook his fist at them. "Don't think this is the last time we'll see you!" They ran off at once.
Kyra sighed in relief. "That was close." She turned to the Torchic's trainer. "It would have gone badly for us if you hadn't been here to help. Who are you?"
"Oh, right. My name is Tenga." He indicated to the Ralts beside him. "That's Neji, and this is Hinata." He released the blue Ralts, who hid behind his leg meekly. "And this Torchic is… a Torchic. I didn't even know I had him until now." The Torchic hopped over to him and bounced around eagerly.
"Nice to meet you," Kyra said. "I'm Kyra, this is Ammy, and that's Tsuku."
"I'm Grisom, and that's walking disaster." Grisom indicated to Misya.
"Must you refer to me as that?" Misya said with her hands on her hips. "Please excuse him. My name is Misya, and this is Hama."
"Eevees and a Misdreavus," Tenga said. "What do you have, Grisom?"
"A Chimchar and a Starly that got knocked out. He'll recover in a bit," Grisom stated.
Kyra looked impressed. "You identified our Pokémon right away, without needing to look them up or anything!"
"Of course. Eevees are noticeable, especially since they are rare. Their odd DNA makes them difficult to find," Tenga said, kneeling in front of his new Torchic. "And Misdreavus is a Ghost Pokémon with a unique appearance and set of attacks. It was pretty obvious."
"Oh… I wouldn't know. This is my first day as an actual trainer…" Kyra said, a little down.
"Sorry. I didn't know." Tenga stroked the Torchic over the head. "I read a lot of books, so I can identify most Pokémon right off the bat. I guess I assumed most people would be the same way."
"Are those the only Pokémon you have with you?" Misya asked.
"Yeah. Neji and Hinata are twins and my long-time friends," Tenga explained. "Hm… this Torchic took in his surroundings and used them to his advantage at once. He seems to think on the fly. I think I'll call him Ramna."
The Torchic seemed to like his new name. He went to Neji and chirped a greeting. Neji still appeared a little annoyed at their previous battle, but nodded towards him anyway.
"Are you the one who cleared out this area?" Grisom said.
"I am. Do you need a place to stay? I don't mind if you remain here," Tenga said.
"Thanks, we'd love to," Kyra replied.
A few minutes later, they were all seated in a circle with their Pokémon on their laps. Misya spoke up first. "If you don't mind me asking, where are you headed, Tenga?"
"To the continent," Tenga said. "I want to investigate something there."
"Like what?" Grisom inquired.
Tenga's expression grew grim. "Have you heard the rumors about Pokémon going insane?"
"Yes!" Kyra said. "That's why we're headed inland!"
"It's not just a rumor," Tenga stated. "My parents are scientists. I read some of their reports, and they are investigating this matter. I wanted to do something about it, so I left with Neji and Hinata to look for the source."
"I was sent by Professor Cedar to see if the rumors were true," Kyra said. "Grisom was interested too, and Misya wanted to head to the continent anyway. If you want, we could join up. We'd have a better chance with more people." Ammy barked in agreement while Tsuku watched quietly.
"She has a point," Grisom said.
"I think it's a fine idea," Misya said. Hama looked somewhat exasperated yet did not respond.
"Thanks. I'd be glad to accept," Tenga said. Neji nodded to them, Hinata smiled shyly, and Ranma bounced around happily."
"Then welcome to the group, bookstore," Grisom said with a grin.
"…Bookstore?" Tenga said, blinking.
"He nicknames people," Kyra said, shaking her head. "Don't let it get to you."
Ammy yawned widely and rested her head on Kyra's leg. Seeing this, Misya said, "We should rest. It's already pretty late."
"Okay. Good night," Kyra said as she lay down. The rest of them echoed her and were soon asleep as well.
To be continued…