Chapter Ten – Night Terrors OR How to Prove Yourself to Your Hero.
Riley woke early that morning. She had a few errands to run before her cousin would finally be joining her. First thing first, she needed to run to the Pokemart. She grabbed more potions, antidotes, a couple of great balls and handed them to the cashier. After swiping her card, she packed her new gear away and made her way to the outfitters. She quickly bought a small knife and some additional bag space. Bag space, who'd have thought you could "upgrade" a backpack? Some genius at Silph realized if they were able to shrink matter to fit in a Pokeball, they'd be able to do so for virtually anything. Now, with containers looking a lot like collapsible Tupperware you could pack anything within reason with minimal change in weight or space. Lastly she made her way back to the Poke Center to gather her team and wait.
Heidi woke up shortly before 8, it may be her last time in a real bed for a while so she wanted to soak it in. After a quick shower, she got dressed and made her way downstairs. As she entered the kitchen to grab a bite to eat, she noticed she hadn't seen Aunt Crystal yet this morning. After a quick shout to her, and no answer, Heidi made some bacon and eggs and sat down to eat. After eating her fill, she put the remainder in the fridge for Crystal and went outside. Gathering her team from the enclosure, she gave them a quick update on the previous evenings news. Edward was clearly unsettled by the affairs taking place on that remote island, but more importantly, he was happy they weren't part of the statistics.
Crystal made her way out of the hatchery preparing to rouse Heidi from bed and get her ready for her journey. She wasn't expecting to see her laying in the grass chatting with her Pokemon, but it didn't surprise her much. "I'm sorry sweetie, I didn't think you'd be up yet or I'd have made you some breakfast. I had a small chore to finish up before you left, Riley left a fossil with me, and it hatched late last night. But even better, I was able to breed to additional Pokemon from it, so now I can breed them!" Crystal was brilliant, but even for her family she got a little to nerdy and excited about certain aspects of her job.
Heidi accepted the Pokeball and said goodbye to her loving aunt. For the last time, she held the hand of the curmudgeon Beheeyem and disappeared.
Riley got a text, and blitzed towards the door. "I'm outside, let's do this!" As she exited the room, she tackled her best friend, so happy to finally have someone she loved and trusted back at her side. Heidi struggled to free herself, eventually breaking free just long enough to reach into her pocket and hand Riley the ball. Riley wasn't expecting a gift, but they quickly ran around back to the grassy area to see what was inside. "Your mom gave that to me for you. She said it was the fossil you'd given her, she was very excited, she managed to salvage two additional genetic imprints off the fossil meaning there is a pair for breeding back home. She wouldn't tell me what it is, but she started nerding out, so I assume its pretty cool." Heidi smiled, another lovely moment she was so happy to have.
Riley pointed her pokeball towards the ground, but next to the pond. From what she knew fossil Pokemon were typically rock or water, so it needed to be close enough to make it to the pond if it was the latter. She released her newest compatriot, nerves all over the place as she anxiously waited for it to take form. What the two girls saw blew them away. Riley half expected an Anorith. It'd be a great typing and a real beast defensively as it grew and evolved. That is not what stood before them.
A brown Pokemon with a white tuft of scaly armor around it's neck, orange horns on it's head and tail, and large white claws on it's arms and legs. Holy crap, is that a dinosaur? With a quick scan, her questions were answered. "Tyrunt, the rock and dragon Pokemon. Its immense jaws have enough destructive force that it can chew up an automobile. It lived 100 million years ago." "Holy crap, a dinosaur and a dragon at the same time? Fate clearly is clearly smiling on me." Riley laughed at the unexpected stroke of good fortune. Heidi was terrified. Dragons, as her family had learned a few short days ago, scared the young trainer. She wasn't thrilled with the development, but she knew it'd be a necessary step to befriend this creature. She'd be around it regularly, so feeling comfortable was important, but even more so was overcoming her fear. If she truly wanted to develop a powerful team a dragon would be a wise addition.
Riley crouched down to speak with the Tyrunt, and the dinosaur rammed her head first in an attempt to play. "Well that solves that, I couldn't think of a better name for you. From now on, I'll be calling you Crash." The dinosaur either didn't hear, or didn't care. He was happy to run around and stretch his legs, which in his opinion was cut far too short when he was recalled to his ball. "Can't have him running around in town, as cute as he is, he'd probably find himself in far too much trouble."
The girls made their way south of Rustboro, if they were going to try and stick to the "traditional" gym circuit for Riley, Dewford was next on their list. Just south of the Petalburg Woods was a group of sailors who would ferry trainers to the remote island for a small fee. Riley had already braved the woods once, and new what to expect. Heidi had not, so Riley put her in charge of navigating and fighting most of their encounters.
As they made their way across the piers stretching the small lake, they stopped by the flower shop Riley had visited a week prior. On the door hung a note "Closed until further notice. Please respect our privacy. For further inquiries, refer to the Rustboro Nursery for your plant and floral needs. Thank you, Management." Weird, why would Trish just close down like that? Regardless, that meant they may as well begin their trek into the woods and get a good start for the next day.
"Late afternoon, already to the edge of the woods. Pretty good progress I think!" Riley was happy with how quickly they'd made it to the woods. "From here on out, you are the leader of this voyage. I'd recommend keeping at least one Pokemon out at all times, the bugs can quickly swarm." Any further knowledge Riley held, she kept to herself. She figured it out, so would Heidi. "Sounds good, Edwards is always with me, and Nova loves to walk with me, so I think we'll be OK." Heidi paused for a second, and released her third Pokemon as well. "Eloy needs to get some exercise, and more importantly start to get some experience battling. Heck, we all do. Other than some random Pokemon Nova has fought off, we've never had a real battle." That would change, and it would prove to test the young girl to her limits.
After an hour of venturing through the thick woods, they found a small clearing. The ground was devoid of bugs and foliage, the canopy above looked to be clear from silk or nests that may house the bug Pokemon that called this place home. "This looks to be as good a spot as any, how about we make camp here tonight?" Heidi was happy with location, and began to unpack her bag. After the two set up tents, Riley released her team. They quickly fell back into their old routine. Crixus gathered fire wood, Asher found a small sliver of sun to soak in, Joy waddled around with Riley, Kek dug his perimeter, and Cole hauntingly followed in the shadows. As Riley and Cole started the fire, Heidi prepared their meal.
As they sat around the fire attempting to prolong sleep, Riley brought up an idea she'd been wrestling with. "I think from now on, when I need to hunt or catch Pokemon for food, I'm going to salvage what I can from the animal. I bought a hunting knife to help me skin and clean the animals, but if we are going to eat them, I think its only right we preserve as much as possible. The outfitter I visited this morning was selling different grades of hides for crazy amounts of money, and the different elemental pouches in Pokemon sell very well. We'll need to supplement our income when we aren't battling, and I think this would be a good way." She didn't find the idea of butchering an animal very appealing, but she also knew what was left behind was a waste.
"I think that's a pretty good idea. I've been thinking about some money making opportunities as well, and the best I can figure for me would be to catch and sell Pokemon. I don't mean to catch everything I see, but there are certain breeds that go for quite a bit. I'd also be able to control who I sold to, so I knew they weren't being sent to any nefarious people. It sounds like a good idea, but once I catch a Pokemon I don't intend to keep I'll see if I really have the stomach to do it." The worst case scenario is she places them on the GTS, but hopefully it wouldn't come to that. As the conversation died down, the girls decided to head to bed. It'd be a long day before they made it to the port, so rest was a necessity.
Riley awoke to a scream. It was Heidi, that she was sure of. Riley and Joy rushed out of their tent, searching for the cause, but Riley couldn't see anything. In the middle of the night and the density of the forest it was pitch black. Asher did his best to hold a charge to illuminate the area, but it hadn't been something they practiced. Riley called for Cole to find Heidi, and assist in anyway possible. She watched as his flame dimmed, and then disappeared into the twilight of the forest. Crixus came to Riley and began probing for their companions presence.
"The specter has found her, there are many other creatures in the area. Follow me, and be careful." The psychic took the girls hand and led her through the trees, picking up the pace as the closed in on the group. A burst of flames erupted in front of them, striking a figure in the distance. Cole darted back to his trainer, and launched another ember towards the figure. As the second ember hit its mark, the fire began to spread to the brush below. Light began to grow, and shortly Riley could see the field of battle. "Spinarak, the bug and poison type Pokemon. Although the venom in it's fangs isn't strong, prolonged exposure can cause temporary paralysis or even death." That's not good.
Cole darted back towards the hoard of Spiders, lobbing the burning orbs at anything that moved. Asher stepped in and released his electric fury. The area lit up with a blinding light, an arc of lightning branching towards its targets. It struck the arachnids head on, arching from spider to spider until many had been dispatched. As Cole made quick work of the few remaining, an eerie quiet fell upon the group. Riley quickly made her way to Heidi's side, drawing her knife and cutting the girl free. As the last of the sticky web was cut loose, Heidi pointed above them.
With terror in her eyes, she called Nova praying she'd make it in time. Above the group a much larger threat had gathered. Ariados, the large poisonous spider, and evolved form of Spinarak slowly spun their way towards the ground. Riley issued a willow wisp, and the Litwick began to command the ethereal fire towards the spiders. As the wisps moved closer, Edward made his move. The Honedge swung itself at the ropes being spun by the Ariados, severing their connection to the canopy above. As the Ariados fell, the Willow Wisps found their mark. Riley released Crash for his first taste of battle, and it was incredible. With cracks of lightning from Nova all around him, the Tyrunt wreaked havoc on the spiders. Crashing through the foliage, smashing his head into anything he didn't recognize. As one Ariados was launched into the air, he set his sights on another. When he saw one land, a vicious bite decimated what remained of them. As Crash cleaned up the remnants of the swarm, Heidi gathered herself and her team, attempting to regain her composure. With a final crunch, Crash had finished off the Ariados, and the girls regrouped and began their trek back to their campsite.
"From now on, we'll sleep in the same tent. Mine has more than enough room for both of us and our Pokemon, at least until they evolve." Riley was not happy with how their first night went, and she wouldn't be letting it happen again. The girls re-entered their camp, and both made their way to Riley's tent. It was snug with Riley, Heidi, Joy, Nova and Asher all in there, but they made it work.
The following morning started off a bit rough. The girls were tired, dirty and cranky wanting nothing more than to leave this forsaken woods forever. This time both girls had their ghosts with them, and their starters at their sides. Heidi also decided Eloy would be present, and to attack anything it saw on sight. The starters and ghosts could assist with anything too big, but the Shroomish would get its work in.
Hours, that's how long it took for the Shroomish to prove its worth. Wurmple, Silcoon, Cascoon and even more Spinarak. All dispatched by the brave little mushroom. With nothing more than an iron will and it's tackle attack, he brute forced his way through everything in his path. Heidi was proud of her little warrior. As she looked at the small mushroom, she could see nubs beginning to sprout, and the mushroom top beginning to darken in color. E was rapidly improving, and with the love and admiration from his trainer, he may soon evolve.
The girls finally made their way out of the forest late in the afternoon, happy to feel the sun on their skin and fresh air in their lungs. Riley took a quick glance at the map application on her Pokedex. Four miles is all that stood between them and the port, they would make it today. They jumped onto the main path and made their way south, encountering a few Wingull, Zigzagoon, Petilil and Slakoth. Heidi took most of the battles, alternating between Edward and Nova. Nova easily dispatched the Wingull and Zigzagoon while Edward handled the rest. The only major event on that last stretch of road was a unique battle Heidi participated in.
"Come on, its a two on two battle. Not a big deal, I only have one badge, so we should be on pretty even footing." The boy would not relent, continuing to push until Heidi finally obliged. The boy called out his first Pokemon, which was his starter. A Mudkip stood before her, and she released her Shroomish. E stood at the ready, waiting his command. As the boy issued a water gun, Heidi quickly issued an absorb. The Shroomish quickly began cyphoning the energy from the water Pokemon. As it began to falter, the Shroomish launched itself and tackled his foe, ending the Mudkip's battle.
The second opponent was not nearly as small. As the light flashed, a large rock rhinoceros took form. "Rhyhorn, the rock Pokemon. Incredibly durable, once they begin moving they can not stop until they run into something strong enough to stop their momentum." The Rhyhorn began it's charge, recklessly stampeding towards the challengers. As it got closer, Heidi issued her plan. "E use sleep powder, and when it goes down, absorb until you can't any longer!" Heidi liked the match up, and using absorb assured he'd remain at full strength and full energy. The rhino was now with in spore range, and the small mushroom overwhelmed the larger Pokemon with a cloud of twinkling dust. Slowly, the rhino lost speed, and as it approached the Shroomish, attempted to ram. E quickly sidestepped the drowsy brute, and when it began to turn around, the Shroomish began its assault. The rhino collapsed, finally giving in to the sleeping powder. E continuously absorbed the energy from his opponent, forcing the trainer to recall his Rhyhorn.
"Wow, that little Shroomish is a beast. Mudkip going down makes sense, he's young and inexperienced. But my Rhyhorn has been around for years. You can even see his back legs are longer than his front, the first sign pointing towards evolution. That's one special Pokemon!" The boy was gracious in defeat, even after having to hand over a portion of his money. "You can call me Dakota, or Kota if you'd like. I'm headed to Dewford to try and get my second badge, I'm guessing the two of you are as well?" As the girls confirmed, he offered to travel with them to the port. A group of three would rarely be approached by wild Pokemon, and a single trainer would most likely try to avoid them as well.
Just as the sun was beginning to set, they made their way to the small port on the western side of Hoenn. They quickly ran to the docks, hoping to find a charter departing yet that night. All of the cruise liners were either full or not leaving until the following day. Ready to give up, they made their way to the last boat slip. A much smaller vessel sat there waiting, with an older gentlemen napping on a crate of oranges. "Excuse me sir, do you know how the captain of this ship is? We are trying to leave for Dewford tonight if possible, sleep for most of the voyage and make it there tomorrow morning." Riley was a bit skeptical of the small boat, but she badly wanted to sleep and make up some ground, and this is the only way they could do it.
"You've found him." The gruff old Sea Captain replied, gauging the young trainers from a short distance. "We can head out right now if you'd like, I wasn't supposed to be here until tomorrow anyway, but this old boat is the fastest in the fleet. She ain't much to look at, but she gets the job done." He smiled as he turned and patted the boat. "Ship only has two bedrooms on it. I've been napping all day, so I won't need mine, so split them up amongst yourselves and get on. If we are going to leave, I want to beat the chop and waves these big boats kick up."
The trio boarded the boat, followed by the old man and his Wingull. The two girls made their way to the Captain's Quarters, while the young boy took the smaller room. After they unpacked, they made their way to the deck, ready to eat a small meal of dehydrated meats and fruits. As they began to unpack their food, the old captain laughed. "No need for that here, we are floating in the best fishing spot in Hoenn – grab a pole and join me. It'll be fresh fish for dinner tonight."
Everyone grabbed a pole, but Riley was the only one with any experience fishing. She used to practice catching the Magikarp used for food for the larger Pokemon in their ponds. She headed to the back of the boat, cast her line and had a seat. No reason to waste energy, at this depth it'd take hours or a miracle to hook up. The boy and the captain went to the sides of the boat, tossed their lines and began chatting about life. Heidi made her way to the front of the boat, cast her line off the left side and sat down, finally ready to relax after a hectic 24 hours. As Eloy and Nova sat beside her, she began to reflect on how lucky she was to have them.
"Holy crap, I think I got one!" Heidi couldn't believe it, five minutes with bait in the water and her line was already tight. "You need to pull back as hard as you can, when you feel the line start to bounce and shake, reel like your life depends on it." The old man was laughing, it never got old watching city folk try and fish for the first time.
"Man my arms are on fire, how do people do this for a living?" Heidi couldn't believe the amount of work this took, and continued repeating these thoughts over and over in her head. On the outside, she was smiling from ear to ear. When she finally got her catch to the surface of the water, she hadn't expected to see the Pokemon staring back at her. She quickly had Nova cast a thundershock and chucked a pokeball at the confused creature. With a quick shake, the ball burst open, lost to the ocean. The creature trained its eyes on the girl in front of her and launched a counter attack. A flurry of small bubbles came at them with blinding speed. As they began to hit the rails, deck, chairs and even Heidi herself, she realized bubble was an inaccurate title for the attack. It felt like rocks with how hard they made contact, she'd need to write the League about it.
As ordered, Nova cast another thundershock, and it took the Pokemon out of the fight. The captain handed Heidi a blue and black ball, and told her to use that. She threw the Lure Ball towards her target, and waited for the inevitable capture. Shake... Shake... Shake... Click! After five minutes of waiting, twenty minutes of reeling and a couple minutes of battling, the affair was over. The Wingull retrieved the ball from the edge of the boat and returned it to the young girl. She smiled at Riley, pointed the ball to the floor and released its tenant.
"Horsea, the water Pokemon. If it senses danger, it blasts a black ink at the predator and swims to safety." Horsea, an adorable seahorse Pokemon, and it was all hers. She smiled at the cute blue Pokemon, and knelt down to speak with him. "Hey there, my name is Heidi and I'm trying my best to catch Pokemon that want to become something more. I can offer you the opportunity to see things you never would out here, battle Pokemon you'd never encounter, and if we work hard enough, help you grow to your fullest potential. What do you think?" Nailed it. What a great speech, how could he say no? As the seahorse bobbed up and down, he slowly moved towards the girl, accepting her offer. "The last part of this is finding a suitable name for you. I've always liked the name Naga, its in reference to a water serpent, and when you evolve you'll definitely be worthy of a mythical creatures title." Man, what a great day.
As the remainder of the sunset faded to dark, the crew caught their Magikarp and Lanturn for dinner. It was a joyous and plentiful dinner, he may not have looked it, but that old man could cook. As the hour grew late, the old Sea Captain ordered the teenagers to bed. He'd had a lot of fun, but he also had grown accustomed to the peace and quiet he loved so much out at sea.
Clunk. She couldn't figure out what it was, but something definitely just smashed her in the head, revoking her ability to sleep. She sat up and searched the bed, finding a photo that had previously been hanging on the wall. "Heidi, wake up. I think we are hitting a storm or rough seas, things are falling off the walls. We may as well head to the deck and see what's going on." Riley grabbed her belt and made her way out the door, Heidi sleepily following closely behind.
As they returned to the deck, the salty air assaulted their lungs. It felt great to have that brisk sea air washing over their body, it instantly rejuvenated the pair. As they found the Captain, they discovered the cause for the rough waters. The old man was currently in combat with a pod of Wailmer, he hadn't seen them as he began to correct course, and bumped the edge of their pack. In return, the six of them began ramming the boat.
"I hate to ask, but can you girlies give me a hand here? Old Sal ain't what he used to be." As if on queue, the man's Cloyster emerged from the water, launching a barrage of spikes from its jetted ports. The girls released Asher and Nova, preparing to rain thunder on the rowdy whales. In unison, the girls ordered there attacks, and quickly the night sky lit up like they were watching a firework display. Nova was the first to land her blow, a sharp crack was heard as the lightning found it's mark, and the lead Wailmer began to retreat. Asher released his attack, and a shroud of electricity took over the remaining whales. As the electricity arched between each of the whales, they began swimming away from the boat.
The girls celebrated, if they had to be woken up, a fun battle in the ocean was a worthy cause. "We ain't out of the woods yet, hold on to something!" As the girls reached for the rails the boat lurched to its side, nearly capsizing the small boat. "If I was you I'd head below deck. Wailord are nothing to trifle with, and this sucker looks pretty angry." He released a second Pokemon into the water, and began shouting furiously to his team.
The girls quickly decided to deny that request, instead rushing to the rear of the boat, ready to do battle. The lightning Pokemon began to charge their attacks, but it wasn't quick enough. The Wailord erupted, boiling hot water blasted from its spout and rained like acid on the trainers. Nova was out of commission instantly, Asher didn't last much longer. Forced to recall their Pokemon before serious injury, they found themselves in a bad spot. The only Pokemon left that had any effectiveness was Eloy. Heidi nervously called forth the twitchy mushroom. She had no idea how or what to order, she just knew they needed his help. As the Shroomish found his bearings and identified the threat, the Captain's Cloyster was recalled.
Eloy hopped towards the rail, readying himself. With a final deep breath of air, he shot powders towards the Wailmer. It looked like a glitter volcano, and nothing like the sleep powder he'd used on the Rhyhorn earlier that day. The powder shimmered in the moonlight with hints of Purple, Pink, Green and Yellow. It was truly beautiful, until the wind shifted, blanketing those on the boat along with the giant whale. As the girls fought to evade the offensive pollen, the Wailmer began to slow. It appeared to be growing tired, but also took a pink hue to it's skin. When the trainers realized what happened, they bolted below deck. Eloy knew he couldn't take the whale down with a single attack, so he decided to release ALL of his powder attacks at one. Poison, sleep and stun powders littered the air. Anyone unfortunate enough to breath it in was in due a rough few hours. The girls were lucky, somehow the Captain managed to evade it as well, the Wailord and the Captain's Pokemon were not so lucky.
As the girls peered out the window, they saw the captain recall his second Pokemon, though the still didn't know what it was. As the Wailord began to lose strength, the Shroomish launched his absorb attack, attempting to replenish some of the energy he'd just expelled. As the Absorb sunk in, the whale gave way and fainted, slowly drifting back beneath the surface. As the Shroomish turned towards her trainer, he gained that brilliant white glow.
Consequences be damned, Heidi wasn't missing out on this. She bolted from the cabin and up the few stairs to get a close look at her teammates big moment. Flash – a blast of energy and wind washed over the boat, removing any powder and dust and scattering it to the sea. As the light dwindled, a beautiful green and beige Kangaroo happily bounced where the mushroom once stood. Eloy had evolved already, and into a Breloom. Known to be insanely good close combat fighters, it could learn a litany of self healing and large damage attacks. The perfect addition to her budding team.
Eloy slept in the cabin with the girls last night. Permission earned after a valiant battle with the Wailord it disabled, allowing the Captain to recall his team and keep his ship afloat. Apparently the Captain's second Pokemon was a Starmie, sent to assist in calming down the Goliath. After it was bashed repeatedly by the whale, the Captain couldn't get a clear opportunity to recall his friend. Eloy gave him that opportunity. The girls had a hard time falling back asleep, that was a lot of excitement to experience after they'd been sleeping for a few hours. They slept the remainder of the night away, and awoke to calm seas and a fresh breakfast. They could see Dewford far on the horizon, and within an hour, they were pulling in to port. As they retold the events from the night before, the young boy could hardly believe his ears. "How had he slept through all of that?" Apparently teenagers can sleep through anything mused the old Captain, smiling as he prepared the kids to depart.
