May whipped back around, trying to locate whoever had yelled out, while Brendan's eyes
zeroed in on a man wearing a red apron and bandana, who was leaning against the Pokemon Center's wall. Brendan quickly moved his eyes away from the man, hoping that he had been yelling at someone else. That hope was quickly dashed when the man opened his mouth a second time.
"You, with the stupid white hair! I'm talking to you."
Brendan's eye twitched a little at the hair comment. "It's a hat, man! C'mon!"
May looked back at him in surprise, briefly distracted from the Breeder. "Really? It's a hat?"
Brendan let out a groan of annoyance and began pushing May towards the Pokemon Center door, whispering at the same time. "Yes, it's a hat, and that was an attempt at deflection. Now get inside before this guy tries anything else."
Unfortunately for Brendan's goal of avoiding conflict, the Breeder pushed himself off the wall and stepped in front of the two teens, blocking their path to the door. May glared at the man, while Brendan tried to avoid looking in his eyes as he spoke. "Sir, could you move out of the way, please? My friend and I need to go register with the Nurse and we have some Pokemon that need a check up."
"You mean that worthless little Poochyena you have hiding behind your legs? I was working with it for weeks and the damn thing can't even turn off its Ice Fang! Useless as breeding material and a battler!"
May's eyes seemed to light on fire at this point, while Brendan muttered under his breath. "Well, that made tracking the old Trainer down so much easier." Stepping in front of May, Brendan looked the Breeder directly in the eyes. "Can I assume that you have released this Poochyena by the way you're talking, sir, along with the fact that you left abandoned it on Route 101 for who knows how long?"
"Shattered its Pokeball as soon as I got back to town! What're you going to do about it, kid?
Brendan let out a aggravated sounding sigh, though he did glance at May before he spoke. "I'm not going to do anything. C'mon Spitfire, Poochyena, let's get inside." Edging his way past the Breeder with his Pokemon in tow, Brendan walked through the doors of the Pokemon Center, the Breeder turning to watch them go with a cruel smirk on his face.
The smirk vanished when the doors whooshed shut and the Breeder realized that there were still two members of the little group left unaccounted for. Turning back, he saw that the girl was still standing there, her glare as potent as ever and and almost visible aura of anger rising off of her. He gulped as May cocked her leg back; several years of running away from the Pokemon that chased her father on fieldwork had left her with some powerful legs.
Brendan heard the impact from inside the Pokemon Center, followed by the thud of a body hitting the ground. The door opened a few moments later, a slightly less enraged May making her way through, Mudkip beside her. Brendan looked at her, an eyebrow raising. "So, did you kick him in the…" He gestured to make his point.
May shook her head. "Nah, I got him in the head. That's probably why he didn't make much noise." Brendan's eyebrow actually rose higher at this; the breeder had stood a good foot taller than May.
"Is he going to be okay? It sounds like you hit him pretty hard."
May shrugged. "He was still breathing, nothing looked out of place, and if I'm wrong, he's right outside a hospital. I'm sure somebody will help him, which is probably more than he deserves."
"If you say so. Let's go give these cards to the Nurse." The pair walked to the back of the Pokemon Center, where a woman with pink hair and a nurse's uniform was pointedly not looking out the door of the Center. When the two teens approached the desk, she looked their way with a smile.
"Welcome to the Oldale Pokemon Center. My name is Nurse Joy, how may I help you?"
Brendan pulled out the blank card Professor Birch had given him. "I need to register as a Trainer, Professor Birch told me you could help with that. Is there anything I need to do?"
"Oh yes. If you could give me the card and go stand over there, we can take your picture and then fill out the details."
Brendan handed over the card and stood where she had directed him. "So do I need to take the hat off, or is it fine staying on?"
Nurse Joy blinked, her finger over the button that would have taken the picture. "That's a hat?"
May spoke up from the background. "That's what I said!"
Brendan just sighed.
Nurse Joy shrugged. "If that's what you'll normally be wearing, you might as well leave it on. Smile!" There was a flash that left Brendan seeing stars, and then the Nurse called him back over to the desk. There was a terminal that she had him fill out a few details on, and finally a machine that spat out his card, now filled out. She handed it back to him, his face smiling up from it, and then spoke again.
"Professor Birch called earlier and said he was transferring the ownership of a Torchic to you. Is that the one chasing the Poochyena around the lobby?" Brendan looked behind him to see his two Pokemon and Mudkip engaging in another game of Tag, May giggling as she watched them; her previous bad mood seemed to be totally gone now.
"Yeah, that's the one. Do you have a bath or shower somewhere? I need to clean up that Poochyena."
"It's down the hall, first door on the right. Annnnnnd the Torchic has been transferred to you. Congratulations, Mr. Maple! You are now an official Pokemon Trainer. I hope we will see you again. Young lady, you're next."
Brendan said his thanks to Nurse Joy and called his Pokemon to him, walking towards the bathroom the Nurse had indicated. As he moved away from the desk, he heard Nurse Joy talking to May. " Young lady, while I personally have no issues with how you dealt with that man outside, all Pokemon Center employees are usually expected to report any violence that occurs on their grounds. You were outside when it happened, so you should be fine, but keep that in mind for the future." May laughed nervously as Brendan opened the bathroom door, her face redder than Brendan ever remembered it going before.
Stepping inside the bathroom, Brendan saw several showers and bathtubs, along with smaller shower stalls designed for Pokemon sitting on tables. Opening one of the small stalls, he called Poochyena. "Come up here, Poochyena. Let's get you cleaned up, that should help you feel better." The Dark type let out a bark and hopped up to the stall, while Spitfire hung out near the bathroom entrance, the Fire type having a completely unexpected problem with the amount of water in the room. Brendan cranked the water on and turned the shower head towards Poochyena, who was presenting his brown coat to the boy.
A brown coat that immediately gave way to grey and black as the water sloughed away the dirt that had collected from the time Poochyena had spent lying on the ground, waiting for the Breeder to return. The hot water sizzled off of Poochyena's perpetual Ice Fang, creating a large cloud of steam around the Pokemon's head. Brendan eventually turned the water off, leaving Poochyena's shaggy fur damp and hanging low. The Dark type shook himself off, showering Brendan with water, before hopping down from the stall.
Brendan exited the bathroom after spending a few moments under a dryer, a much happier Poochyena and an amused Spitfire walking beside him. May met him, her smiling face matched by the one on her Trainer card. "So I guess we're both official now, aren't we, Brendan?"
Brendan fished his own card out of his pocket and showed it to her. "Seems about right! So how about we go grab that package for Professor Birch and go back home?" Brendan led their little group to the door of the Center, only to pull up short when he heard a pained groan from outside. "Oh crap. That guy's up already. Maybe we should try leav-"
Brendan was cut off by the whoosh of the door, which admitted the Breeder. The man was clutching his head and glaring around the Pokemon Center, looking for Brendan and May. Considering they were the only ones in the Center besides Nurse Joy, it wasn't a particularly hard task. Focusing on May, the man took a step forward, his hand going to his pocket, which Brendan could see several Pokeballs in. "You caught me off guard before, brat. But this time, I'm keeping an eye on you. Now bring out that little blue fish you call a Pokemon!"
Brendan could see Nurse Joy diving for a phone out of the corner of his eye, while May angrily stepped forward beside him. Before she could order Mudkip to fight, however, Poochyena leapt forward, the fur on his tail bristling and making him appear slightly larger. He was growling at his former trainer, the waves of the steam pouring from his mouth pulsing in time with the growls.
The Breeder snorted as his former Pokemon faced him. "You think you're capable of fighting me, you useless little dog? That's the whole reason I got rid of you, you couldn't even fight because your teeth stuck together! Who the hell would pay for a Pokemon that can't fight?"
Brendan glared at the Breeder, disgust clear across his face. "...You know, I was going to give you some speech about how believing in your Pokemon and working with him would have helped, but I think you're enough of an ass that it would fly right over your head. Let's do this, Poochyena!"
The Dark type let out a bark as the Breeder tossed out a Pokeball, revealing a small brown and white raccoon. It was pacing side to side, sniffing the ground Brendan glanced back at May, who jolted a little when she realized her friend was looking for advice. "That's a Zigzagoon, Brendan. It's a Normal type, and seeing how this guy actually held onto it, it's probably decently strong." The last part was accompanied by another hate filled glare towards the Breeder, who scoffed at the young girl's scorn.
Any further talk was interrupted by Poochyena as he threw his head back, unleashing a loud howl. When he brought his head back down, an angry red aura burst into view around him, and Brendan though the Dark type looked a little stronger after doing so. Brendan felt an aggressive smile growing on his face as Poochyena set his stance, ready for an order. "Let's start with a Tackle, Poochyena!"
Poochyena barked in response and dashed forward, quickly chewing up the distance between himself and the Zigzagoon. The raccoon tried to dodge out of the way, but Poochyena kept it in his sights and leapt forward, slamming his body into Zigzagoon. Zigzagoon went tumbling back, but quickly found its feet again. The Breeder yelled out an order of his own. "Tail Whip it, Zigzagoon!"
Zigzagoon ran across the floor in an odd zigzag pattern, making it difficult for Brendan to track it. Poochyena seemed to be having just as much trouble, and Zigzagoon was suddenly in his face, drawing a surprised bark from him. Zigzagoon suddenly spun, batting its bristly tail across Poochyena's face, and then retreated before he could strike back, zigzagging back across the floor to stand in front of its trainer. Poochyena let out an annoyed growl, his guard dropping slightly as he glared at Zigzagoon, who wiggled its tail in response. The Breeder gave another order as soon as Zigzagoon returned.
"Now hit it with a Tackle. Take it down!"
Zigzagoon took off in its zigzag run once again, causing Poochyena's head to swivel back and forth as he tried to track it. At one point it continued running right when he expected it to turn left, and before he could find it again, it slammed headlong into his side, knocking the Dark type back a few feet. Poochyena let out a pained growl and looked back at Brendan, barking a request for orders.
Brendan fretted for a moment, before the clouds of steam billowing from Poochyena's mouth clued him in. "Get him with your Ice Fang, Poochyena! Show him you know what you're doing!"
The Breeder snorted at Brendan's statement, still not believing his old Pokemon to be capable of much. His disdain turned to shock when Poochyena's jaws opened wide, the Dark type charging at Zigzagoon. The Normal type was still slightly stunned from the Tackle it had delivered, and had been standing still, trying to shake the dizziness from its head. Thanks to that, it was unable to dodge when Poochyena cut around it and latched his jaws onto its side.
Zigzagoon shrieked as Poochyena's fangs sunk into its skin, and the panicking raccoon lashed out with its rear legs, scoring a few scratches on Poochyena's side. Poochyena growled as he was struck, but kept his jaws tight; Brendan could see the fur around where he was biting beginning to turn hard and ice-white. Zigzagoon continued flailing and Poochyena continued biting, occasionally shaking his head to drive Zigzagoon back to the floor, and Zigzagoon's movements eventually slowed down as the cold sapped its strength. Eventually, Zigzagoon stopped struggling entirely and simply lay there, shivering.
"That's enough, Poochyena, let go of it!" Brendan called out; the Breeder may have been cruel, but Brendan didn't want to be responsible for seriously injuring or killing one of his Pokemon. Poochyena shook his head one last time and then let go of the raccoon, trotting back to Brendan's side with a growl. Brendan got a good look at the Zigzagoon before the Breeder called it back into its ball, and its entire side had turned white from the side effects of the bite.
"Just how cold is Poochyena's mouth?" Brendan thought, glancing down at the canine by his side, who was snarling at his old trainer. Any further thought was interrupted by a shout from the Breeder on the other side of the lobby.
"I'm not done yet kid! You think I'm giving up because you beat one of my weakest Pokemon with that mangy mutt? You have another thing coming!" He then reached into his pocket and pulled out another Pokeball, preparing to release his next Pokemon.
"Oh crap! May, tag in, I don't think Poochyena could handle another fight yet!" Brendan knelt down and pulled Poochyena back, the Dark type's aura breaking as he strained to get back in the fight. May stepped in front of her friend, Mudkip at her side. Pointing across the lobby, May shouted an order. "Mudkip, use Tackle!"
The Breeder tossed out his next Pokeball. "Go, Whis- Wait, what?"
Whatever Pokemon the Breeder had been trying to call out, it had barely reformed on the floor before Mudkip slammed into it. Brendan saw what looked like a purple ball with large, yellow tipped ears go flying back into its trainer, knocking the Breeder to the floor. The man cried out in pain, his Pokemon ricocheting off of him and winding up on one of the lobby couches, but he quickly picked himself back up, pulling a third Pokeball out of his pocket. He spoke again, now with a pained rasp.
"Didn't think I would need my trump card against two little punks. But I'll show you both! Just watch me!"
Brendan and May both tensed up, Brendan hurriedly emptying a Potion bottle onto Poochyena and sending both him and Spitfire forward. They lined up next to Mudkip and faced down the Breeder, who had been recalling his Whismur from the couch before releasing his third Pokemon. The man wound up to throw the ball, but the door of the suddenly opened behind him. Brendan and May saw a flash of movement, and then the Breeder was knocked to the floor when something slammed into his back.
A policewoman with teal hair was kneeling on the man's back, cuffing his hands. A Growlithe was standing next to them, growling at the man while the policewoman spoke. "Chad Leroy, you are under arrest for Pokemon abandonment and inciting violence on Pokemon Center have the right to remain silent…"
Brendan tuned out the rest of the policewoman's speech and sat down on the ground, letting out a breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding. May flopped down next to him, along with their Pokemon, and the group sat there until Nurse Joy made her way out from behind the counter to check over their Pokemon.
As Nurse Joy checked out their Pokemon, the policewoman left Chad under the watchful eye of her Growlithe, struggling and yelling on the floor and walked over to the two teens. "Hi, you two. My name is Officer Jenny. Are you two alright?" The two teens nodded, and Jenny let out a relieved sigh. "That's good. Are either of you looking to press any charges beyond what I already said?"
Brendan shook his head, while May spoke. "Just make sure the abandonment one sticks, I guess." May's eyes narrowed after she spoke and she began muttering under her breath, Brendan catching a few words about making Chad do something anatomically improbable, among other threats.
"Alright, I can work with that. Can I just ask you two a few questions to fill out my report?" They did so, Jenny jotting it all down on a pad of paper. "And one final question. Are you going to be taking responsibility for that Poochyena, Mr. Maple? I can make sure he goes through the proper systems if you don't want to."
Brendan looked down at Poochyena, who he'd been idly scratching as he talked to the officer. "Well, I'd like to bring him along, but I'm not entirely sure what he wants to do. You want to come with me and Spitfire, Poochyena?"
Poochyena's response was to rear up on his hind legs and lick Brendan's face. The boy grimaced as chills ran up his spine; Poochyena's cold breath was washing over his face, but at least Brendan was pretty sure what the Pokemon wanted to do.
Jenny laughed as Brendan tried to push the chilly canine off of himself. "I'd say that settles who Poochyena is going with. I recommend you get him in a Pokeball as soon as possible, that will keep anyone else from capturing him."
"Oh, yeah. Got to get them in a ball to say they're yours. Can't believe I almost forgot about that." Fishing through his backpack, Brendan pulled out a Pokeball and set it in front of Poochyena. "Here you go, buddy. You can do the honours."
Poochyena let out a happy bark and poked the button on the ball with his nose. He disappeared in a flash of light, the ball shaking three times and then holding still with a click. Brendan picked the ball of with a smile and activated it, letting Poochyena back out. "Welcome to the team, Poochyena." Spitfire chirped out his acceptance from beside Brendan's leg, and Poochyena barked again.
May tapped Brendan on the shoulder. "We really do need to get going, Brendan. We need to grab that package for Dad, and we should let Officer Jenny get back to work."
Brendan nodded and followed May out of the Pokemon Center, waving goodbye to Officer Jenny as she picked Chad up off the floor. As Brendan exited the building, he saw a large Pidgeot resting on the grass; that solved the mystery of how Officer Jenny had gotten to Oldale so fast. May and Brendan passed by the bird and continued walking to the northern end of town, pausing to accept some complimentary Potions from a bored looking Pokemart employee and make vague promises about visiting the store.
Compared to the excitement in the Pokemon Center, the walk up Route 103 was positively idyllic. May wound up punting another Wurmple into the woods when they walked through a grassy patch and it crawled up her leg, and an opportunistic Poochyena was scared off due to being outnumbered three to one, but the journey was otherwise uneventful. The pair eventually reached the pool at the end of the Route, and found the package partially wedged under a bush. Brendan put it in his backpack. "Any idea what your Dad needs these parts for?"
May shrugged. "Not really. He's been working on some project for a while now, but I haven't seen anything." The two teens just stood in silence for a while, watching a flock of Beautifly dance above the pool, singing away. The Beautifly eventually flew east, across the river. Brendan could have sworn he saw a flash of red and white among the flock, along with a high pitched cooing sound. He glanced back at May to confirm it wasn't her freaking out about another Bug Pokemon, and she took his look as a cue to start talking.
"You know, when we left Littleroot, I was going to ask you to battle me when we got up here, but I think I've hit my limit for now. You want to just get back to the lab?"
Brendan sighed tiredly. "That sounds like a great idea. It's getting kinda late, anyway."
May led the way south, showing Brendan how to safely slide and jump down the cliffs that had made the walk up so much more tedious. They made good time back through Oldale, and hopped down the cliffs on Route 101 as well, Brendan noting how much faster it made the journey. "Why don't they just put some ladders on these?"
The sun was just sinking below the treeline as the two newly minted trainers walked back into Littleroot Town and headed to Professor Birch's lab. Pushing the door open, May called out. "Dad, we're back! We have the package!"
Professor Birch came hobbling out from behind a bookshelf. "Oh good, I was wondering when you guys were going to turn up. You have a good trip?"
May coughed and Brendan scratched his arm nervously, before Brendan spoke. "Oh, you know, got our cards, fought off some wild Pokemon, simple stuff like that."
Professor Birch kept moving towards them, his crutches clicking off the floor like a clock. "Interesting. Well, perhaps you two can answer a question I have." He stopped in front of the two with a final thud, his crutches coming down much harder than normal.
"What was this I heard about the police being called to the Oldale Pokemon Center?"
Brendan and May went pale, both speaking at the same time. "Aw, crap."
I do not own Pokemon. Pokemon is the product of Nintendo, Game Freak and Creatures.
