The following morning was rather interesting for Lake, to say the least. She woke up to find herself spooning the little Riolu who she had reassured platonicness the previous night. A twist of anxiety and guilt spiraled through her as she tried to recall whether she had done anything to the young aura Pokémon; finding that she could not remember such an event, she sighed and found herself worrying about Mid finding her in such a predicament. As much as she wanted to recoil away she feared waking him, so instead she found herself rolling out of the bed and nearly falling on top of the Vulpix with whom she had mated. Luckily, neither Pokémon was woken up by her clumsy escape, and she managed to exit the room without any extra embarrassment.
The sight that greeted her in the living room was no less strange. Sprawled out on the couch was Mid, his clothes in a bundled up pile on the floor beside him along with a blanket. His right arm and leg hung limply over the edge of the couch while his left leg was swung over the back. Lake stared at her housemate in confusion for a moment, half amused by the position in which he chose to sleep, but upon noticing that the fly on his boxers was gaping wide open and that she had a clear view of all of Mid she had not wished to see she turned and briskly marched down the hall towards the front of the building. She was not by the front desk for long before she heard the crashing sound of breaking glass. It jolted her from her flustered demeanor, and she quickly ran out to the front yard.
The window of the incubation shed was shattered, along with much of the wall around it. Small bolts of purple energy scattered from the destroyed sections and the debris below. Lake stood in the yard, gaping. She had just cleaned up the inside of the building the day before, and she had planned on calling a mechanic to check the power box on it and get it running again today. The destruction only served to cause her heart to sink lower into her chest cavity.
The soft whoosh of feathers through air jarred her from her stupor as she looked up in time to see her Noctowl land beside her. The owl Pokémon was staring at the building with a concerned look.
"Orilly, did you catch what happened?"
"Hoo." She turned her head towards her master. I did not.
Lake sighed and ran her hand through her hair, crying out in frustration as she began to pace in circles around the yard. It had been about a month since the initial attack, and she had thought that they were in the clear. But whatever it was that had shot out the window of the house when they first moved in had clearly been angered by something and was now stirring up trouble again.
The front door of the house flung open and a very drowsy Mid stumbled out hastily. "What happened? Are you ok?"
Lake paused for a moment to stare wide-eyed at him before flushing brightly and turning away. "Dammit, Chris, put on some pants!" she screamed before storming across the yard to better survey the damages to the shed.
Mid blinked after her for a moment before realizing that he was, in fact, nearly nude. His greater concern was the Noctowl that stood staring at him with stern eyes. As the brunette girl stomped past her, he was reminding just how enormous the bird really was, as she stood even taller than her adult trainer. His heart nearly stopped as the owl launched herself towards him and stood before him; lacking the leverage of the kitchen counter she was clearly nearly a foot shorter than him. However, her glistening beak, sharp talons and somber eyes were enough to terrify him into insomnia. He flinched as he felt her beak gently rest against his nose, and after an agonizing moment of stillness the Pokémon took off after her trainer with as much agility and grace as she had the night before. Lake had caught most of the exchange while she turned back to face her indecent companion. She shook her head at his bewildered demeanor and gave the large owl Pokémon a puzzled look. Her only response was an expressionless gaze as the great bird landed silently beside her. She shrugged and continued towards the shed.
Shattered glass was scattered around the structure. Lake, who had run out barefoot, was stopped by the sharp beak grasping the collar of her shirt just before she pierced her foot on the sharp debris. She stumbled backwards and placed a hand on the Noctowl, rubbing her fingers over the sleek outer feathers of the owl's back. She was two feet, maybe even three, from the shed, but the glass was sporadically thrown through the grass before her; she could only imagine the damage done to the inside of the building.
Up close, she was able to see the true extent of the damage. Not only was the window pane completely destroyed, but the wall around the hole was also bore open. Through the charred wood and bent metal frame she could see the wires that ordinarily allowed the individual egg chambers to incubate were completely fried. Although the damage was restricted to the area around the window, Lake felt that it was detrimental enough to shut down the egg shed, setting their daycare operations back for who knew how long. "Fuck," she whispered. "Just….fuck."
"How bad is it?"
Lake turned in time to grab her partner before he stumbled equally barefooted into the minefield of broken glass. He smiled sheepishly down at her.
Lake sighed. "I have no idea. But it looks awful."
Mid leaned forward for a closer look at the debris. "What happened?"
"Dunno. Another shadow ball, I think."
"What the fuck."
Lake turned and stormed back into the house. She slammed the door shut behind her, nearly smacking her partner in the face as she had not realized he had followed her. She threw herself into the chair behind the reception desk and pulled open a drawer from which she withdrew a book.
"What is that?" Mid asked, squatting down in front of her on the opposite side of the desk.
"An almanac of Johto," she explained as she opened the back cover of the book and began scanning the index.
"A what?"
The short brunette, having found the page she needed, began flipping towards the middle of the book. "It's…" She paused, trying to think of a sensible analogy. "It's kinda like a paperback pokedex, but it has information about other stuff, not just Pokémon. And what it does tell you about Pokémon isn't a lot. It basically tells you what Pokémon are found where." She continued to flip through the pages of the book.
Mid was silent for a bit before responding. "So you're thinking it's a wild Pokémon."
"I can't think of what else it could be."
"No, it makes sense. None of my Pokémon know shadow ball, only your Noctowl knows it and she hasn't been doing it. And I doubt it's someone else's Pokémon, since it keeps happening."
"But it hasn't happened in a month."
She heard a chuckle from across the table. She looked up with to see the tall brunette's face twisted in amusement. She furrowed her brow. "What."
"Maybe Mew caught you and is punishing you for your sins."
She rolled her eyes. "In that case, Mew would be punishing you as well, wouldn't it?"
There was absolute silence from her lanky friend, and she raised an eyebrow with a wry smile at him. Mid's face was beat red, his eyes wide in shock. Catching her eye, he turned away and mumbled something about an owl under his breath. Lake frowned. "What about Orilly?"
Mid blinked at her. "Did she not…" A bubble of anger rose in her gut as she snapped the almanac shut loudly. "What did you do to my Noctowl."
"Nothing, nothing!" Mid cried as he leaned back, his hands up defensively. "I didn't touch her! I promise." Lake glared suspiciously at him. She slowly opened the book, her eyes locked on him. Ordinarily she would not have cared, but this situation was different. For one thing, it had been Mid who had made her promise to not touch his Pokémon, and it would be downright hypocritical for him to fuck one of hers not even 24 hours afterwards. But a more pressing issue to her was that she knew her Noctowl was not one to indulge in sex with humans. She had offered once…Once. And she had nearly lost a hunk of her shoulder from her attempt. She knew Orilly would never allow something like that. But she also trusted her friend, and let her suspicions slide as she returned to her search. Finally she came to the section for Route 34; she found the daycare, which was still marked as owned by Mr. Gold. To the right of the page was a boxed off section labeled "Local Wild Pokémon". She quickly scanned it, and then finding what she needed turned the book and pushed it towards the intrigued man across from her. "Look." She pointed to the image of a fat yellow and brown monster with a short trunk for a nose. Beside it was a thinner yellow creature with a collar of fluffy white fur; a yo-yo like object dangled from its hands.
Mid stared at the images, briefly skimming the sparse bit of information that accompanied them. "You think it's them?"
"I really fucking hope not. But they're psychic types, right? They should be able to learn shadow ball."
"You don't like them?"
Lake sighed. "Do you know about Hypno?"
Mid shook his head. "They don't frequent Cianwood. I've never lived outside of the island, so I've never come across them." He shrugged. "Why?"
"You haven't even heard the stories? Those fuckers are known to stand over your bed and eat your dreams. And sometimes kids go missing in areas they inhabit…"
Mid frowned. "That might be a coincidence. They live in wooded areas, right? Kids get lost in the woods all the time."
Lake shuddered and shook her head. "I have no idea, but I don't trust them. "I'm just glad I'm too old for them to prey on…"
"They just prey on kids?"
"They prefer them."
Mid shrugged. "Well, my Larvitar will eventually evolve. Then we'll have a dark type to protect us."
"Mid, Larvitar won't gain a dark typing until like level fifty-something-or-other."
"It'll be fine. One of our Pokémon is bound to learn a dark type attack. I mean, between the two of us we have five Pokémon now. You have an egg, and I have an egg, so that will make seven." He stood up and stretched. "Don't worry, Lake, it'll be fine."
Lake chewed on the inside of her cheek nervously as she gazed back down at the almanac. The yellow psychic type stared menacingly back at her and despite being frozen in time on the page she felt it was almost taunting her with its outstretched arm and swaying medal. She folded the corner of the page and closed to book, slipping it back in the drawer from which it came.
"So what now?"
She looked up to see Mid staring at her expectantly. Her mind was blank for a moment, but she finally rearranged her thoughts and reached back into the desk drawer. She withdrew a thick, yellow book. "I guess we get back to work.
"I dunno what you all were doing." A bulky, bearded man wiped the sweat from his brow as he stood to face the anxious daycare owners. "But hell, did you fuck this thing up."
The knot forming in Lake's gut twisted even tighter. "You can't fix it?"
"Well, I can fix the structure, but you're gonna need an electrician to get this thing running again. Unfortunately until these wires are fixed it would be stupid to close up the hole." He took some notes down on a clipboard that had been resting beside him. "You know what happened?"
"We've been getting attacked recently," Mid explained. "It happened once or twice when we first moved in, then we didn't have another problem for a month."
Lake fidgeted nervously. "This morning I heard an explosion and when I came outside…" she gestured to the damaged building. "Well, this had happened."
The man pulled off his straw cowboy hat and fanned himself with it for a moment. Under the midday sun all three of them were sweltering. His grey work shirt was soaked in sweat, and once again he wiped the perspiration from his eyes.
Mid frowned. "You want some water, man? You look like you're about to pass out."
"I'm fine, really. But yeah, water would be great."
As Mid headed back towards the house, Lake continued. "The first couple of times we thought it was a shadow ball. It looked just like it. You see, my Noctowl knows it, but I know she hasn't been doing it. She was always either in the back of the house or with one of us."
"Hmm."
Lake took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves. "We were thinking that maybe it was a Hypno or something."
The man reached for a ball that was strapped to his belt and plucked it off. "Well, you're in luck, I guess."
"What do you mean?" She asked.
The sound of footsteps behind her told her that Mid had returned. When she turned to look at him she was also greeted by Cain, who was cautiously trotting beside his master with his eyes glued to the ground; he only looked up for a moment to smile at the woman. Mid handed a glass over to carpenter. "Here ya go, Mr….?"
"Hawke. The name's Jack Hawke. I got the lady's name when she made the appointment, but I never caught yours."
"Chris. You can call me Mid, if you want. Everyone else seems to."
"Sure." The man named Hawke pressed his thumb on a button on the Pokeball, and it instantly grew in the palm of his hand.
"Oh! Be careful, there's glass everywhere."
"I know." He threw the ball towards the middle of the yard, well away from the debris. It burst open and released what appeared to be a mythical God, having a mostly humanoid body and the head of a dog. The ball flew back and he nonchalantly caught it. "That there's Mako. She'll help us figure out what's been attacking you."
Mako gazed calmly at them from across the field. She was short, maybe even for her species standards, and perhaps a bit more slender as well. Her hips did not jut out as much as a regular Lucario's, or at least not the ones Lake had ever seen. Her spikes glistened in the sunlight, and her amber eyes, while serene, were alert to her surroundings.
"Mako, I threw you out there 'cause there's glass all over the place. When you come over, be careful not to cut yourself."
"Rah." She closed her eyes and for a moment was completely still. The sensors hanging beneath her ears began to levitate and tremble, and with amazing grace she swiftly picked her way through the grass. Each step was almost like dancing, and the two daycare owners could only gape at her. When she had successfully made it to her master's side, she opened her eyes and looked up at him expectantly.
Jack rested a hand on her head. "Good girl. Now I need to you trace the aura on this window. Something blew it out, and we need to know what it is."
She nodded and stepped up on the ladder that was propped against the building. She rested a paw on the wall beside the window, and once again closed her eyes.
There was silence among the three humans as they waited for the aura Pokémon's answer. Finally, she opened her eyes and turned to them. I cannot pick up the exact species, but I can tell you it is a dark type.
"A dark type?" Lake asked, surprised. "Are you sure?"
I am most positive that it is indeed a dark type. The attack itself is a ghost type one; Shadow ball, I believe. But the Pokémon that did this is purely a dark type Pokémon.
"But how?" Lake scanned her memory of the page in the almanac. She had focused solely on the terrifying image of Hypno, but from what she could recall there were no other land-based special types in the area, apart from the occasional Krabby or Kingler that may have crawled up from the bay, or maybe an Exeggcute that had fallen from a tree. "I don't think there are any dark types around here, and neither Mid or I have one."
Perhaps it is a Murkrow that is playing tricks on you. The dainty Lucario hopped down from the ladder. There are too many footsteps and mixing auras in the area to tell right away the exact culprit. If I had more time, I might be able to pin point an odd aura, but at the moment I am not familiar enough with those of the residents.
"Maybe another day," Jack said. "I've got another appointment to get to. Say goodbye, Mako."
The Lucario bowed her head politely. It was a pleasure meeting you both. We look forward to doing business with you again. With that, she was returned into her Pokeball. Jack replaced the ball on his belt and looked up to address the two brunettes before him. "Get an electrician to fix the wiring, and give me a call." He nodded at Cain. "You might wanna think of training that one more. If you are dealing with a dark type, he'll probably be your best bet."
Cain blinked at him, a bit surprised that he was addressed. He shyly gripped the leg of Mid's pants.
Mid smiled down at the little aura Pokémon and scratched the back of his ear comfortingly. "We're working on it. Baby steps, you know? The move was a bit hard on him, and there's been some stuff, but he's hanging in there."
"Good. Well, I'll be seeing you then."
"Wait!" Lake stopped him as he was about to walk past. "What do we owe you for this?"
"Nothing. I didn't do anything but inspect that damage. Mako's services are free too." He placed his hat back on his head and handed her the empty glass of water. "You aren't even open for business yet. Save your money for the electrician. With the looks of the damage, you'll need it." He tipped his hat and crossed the yard to the gate. He grabbed another Pokeball and released a Staraptor, which gripped his shoulders in its talons and lifted off, heading towards Goldenrod City.
"What a weird guy…"Lake mused aloud as she watched them fly off.
"Well, he was nice enough, giving us a break like that. And his Lucario was a sweet heart."
Lake grinned. "Yeah. I wonder if he'll leave her with us sometime." She felt her partner give her a gentle shove, causing her to laugh. "Kidding, kidding!"
I don't understand.
"Shhh, Cain, I'll tell you when you're older, maybe." Mid leaned down and picked up the Riolu. "We gotta get rid of this glass somehow."
"Larvitar can't eat glass?"
"No, they can't fucking eat glass, you little shit."
"You're just full of piss and vinegar today!" Lake laughed. "Ok, I guess I'll call the electrician. Maybe we can get one here today. Then I'll try to get as much of this glass out of here as possible."
"Sounds like a solid plan. I've got some heavy gloves in the tool shed I think. I'll get them for you."
"Thanks."
Mid handed Cain over to Lake, who cradled him in her arms and rubbed noses with him. He giggled and gently pawed at her face. Mid smiled. "Maybe Renard would be up to babysitting."
"Oh yeah, his favorite thing." Lake rolled her eyes. "I can ask. If not, I'm sure Orilly wouldn't mind."
"I can always ask my Shuckle as a backup."
"'k." Lake turned to head back to the house, but paused. "Mid?"
"Hmm?"
"You have a Shuckle?"
Mid blinked. "Yeah. Why?"
"I didn't know you had a Shuckle."
"He usually stays in the that…relevant?"
Lake shrugged. "No, not really. Shuckle are good at making juice. I was just thinking about future endeavors."
"You're gonna juice my Shuckle?"
She turned to see her partner grinning at her, an eyebrow raised. She blushed. "I…you know what I meant!" And with that she stormed off to the house, leaving Mid to laugh at his own dirty joke.
