Chapter Seven: Disappearance in Petalburg
"Treecko, use absorb!" I barked.
Green tendrils of energy arced from Treecko's outstretched claws and hit the Seedot absorbing its energy. The acorn-like Pokémon collapsed on the ground, unconscious.
"And the Treecko is the winner!" Announced the referee.
Me and Treecko howled in triumph and high-fived. The kid grumbled and passed over my prize money. I was going to start talking smack when Mac came over with our ice-cream.
"Good battle." He remarked.
"I was just lucky," I said in fake modesty.
We were sitting at the bench just relaxing, Mac had become my mentor, sort of. He had taught me a lot of things about battling, type advantages, synchronizing attacks and even proper Pokedex use. With his help, Treecko learned Absorb, his first grass attack.
"Mac?"
"Yeah?" He answered, still licking his ice-cream.
"Does Pinsir have a type advantage against Treecko?" I asked hesitantly.
He thought about it for a bit, his eyes going out of focus at that moment.
"Yeah, but a Pinsir can only learn one bug attack naturally, X-scissor. Besides he can't evolve, your Treecko can, two times." He said calmly. "Worried about your rival?" he added, with a hint of sarcasm.
"N-no," I stammered.
"Don't worry, when you finally face him you'll know what to do. Luck won't have anything to do with it." He said confidently, patting my shoulder.
I sighed. He didn't know the half it, this was no rival, this was a murderer. He didn't want to beat me in battle, he wanted my head on a pike, with my eyes gouged for witnessing what shouldn't be witnessed. Mac had finished his cone and was getting up, dusting his pants.
"I have to go run some errands, I'll meet you in the Pokémon center this afternoon ," he said. "And remember, luck favors the trainer who doesn't include it in his plans," he added sagely.
"Where did you get that?" I asked in surprise.
"A fortune cookie," he said cheerfully, walking off.
After finishing my cone I got up and walked away, too. Since I had nothing to do, I figured I could go to the Pokmart to stock up on supplies. Walking in to the crowded store reminded me of the good old days, when I used worked at a Pokemart with my uncle in Oldale, when I wasn't running for dear life. The shelves were packed with merchandise, from Potions and Antidotes to nail clippers for your Pokémon and shampoo.
I bought some Potions, Antidotes and some Repels for the trip and left. I checked the time, it was still one thirty. I still had some time before I meet up with Mac and talk about the rest of our plans. I knew I still had to ditch him and forget about our trip together, for the good of both us and his own safety. It was simply too dangerous, I was thinking about how to break the news when I heard someone calling me.
"Hey kid, come here!" One of them called, obviously this guy was the ring leader. While the other goons were wearing pants and shirts several sizes too large, and had spiky hair that could impale someone, this guy was wearing a tight green and brown outfit, his long green hair combed to the side. His eyes were black holes of terror.
I didn't respond to the guy, that only angered him.
"Come here so I can kick your ass!" he hollered, reaching for a pokeball from his pocket.
I pulled out Treecko's Pokeball and threw it in the air, "Treecko, come out!" I called. The red and white ball exploded releasing a flash of light and then Treecko appeared.
"Vigoroth!" the punk shouted releasing his pokemon. A white sloth-like pokemon appeared growling at us. The most striking feature of the pokemon was it energy. It couldn't stand still for a second, it jumped up and down, spun its arms wildly and stomped the ground in anxiety. This wouldn't be easy.
I flipped out my Pokedex and used it like Mac had taught me. Instead of scanning it, I checked its movepool and stats. The results weren't good, while its natural movepool was normal and fighting attacks only, his Attack and Speed stats were above average.
"Treecko, pound that Vigoroth!"I ordered.
Treecko raced to the sloth quickly to hit it but it only caught his tail in mid-attack. Still holding Treecko tail, he slammed him down on the ground. I watched in horror at the savagery of the Pokemon. The boy only smiled darkly as the Vigoroth threw Treecko at a wall. Barely conscious, Treecko got up weakly grimacing in pain.
"Absorb, Treecko," I told him.
"Vigoroth, finish that eyesore." The teen said carelessly.
"NOOOO!" I yelled. The Vigoroth raised its claws to deliver the finishing blow, I thought I would never get to see Treecko again.
"ALTARIA! DRAGON CLAW!" A voice yelled, a blue light blinded me. When I was able to see again, I gasped in surprise, the Vigoroth was on the ground unconscious.
" Mac?" I asked in surprise.
He turned to grin at me, behind him flew a cloud with wings. The cloud had a blue head and feet, two long feathers sprouted from the head.
"Vig-Vig…., I'll get you for this!" He returned the Pokemon, beckoned his gang and ran off. Mac smirked as they ran off in dismay.
"No need to thank me, I still have some things to do. You can thank me later." He dismissed. "You owe me one by the way." he said happily, walking away quickly.
I already had quite a day, so I just headed to the Pokémon center to heal Treecko and get some lunch. When it was time to meet up again with Mac, I went upstairs to our room. I didn't expect an answer, but I knocked on the door anyway.
"Mac, I'm here." I announced, opening the door.
There was no answer, there wasn't even anyone there. Only a letter on the nightstand, it seemed to shine in the sunlight.
I picked it up gingerly and opened it.
My heart sank, shivers ran down my spine. If my heart could stop of its own accord , it would've stopped then. My worst fear had been realized.
I have your friend, I want to meet you in the Petalburg Forest tonight. If you plan on seeing him again, come alone.
Let us end this.
END OF CHAPTER SEVEN
