Okay, this chapter was pretty short too, but it was easier for me to write than the other one for some reason.

Chapter Fourteen: Devotion

Tenga had gotten lucky. Out of all the group members, he was the only one to have been washed onto shore without outside help. He laid there, unconscious from his experience, which made him the perfect target for a certain Pokémon.

The one that came up to him was a small, purple monkey with a yellow stomach and a three-fingered white hand on the end of its tail. It had a goofy grin on its face as it examined Tenga. Then its hand shot out, plucking two Poké Balls from his waist. The third it took in its paws. It proceeded to run off, giggling to itself.

…

It was some time later that Tenga began to come to. He was dully aware of something nudging his shoulder. Then he felt a weight on his chest, and a warm tongue licked his face.

"Ah!" He sat up hurriedly, sending the creature on his chest tumbling to the ground. It jumped up eagerly though and barked at him, wagging its tail.

The Pokémon before him looked like a baby lion. Its back end was covered with black fur, as was its tail, which had a four-pointed star-like object on its tip. The front of its body was blue, as was its head, and it had yellow stripes around its front legs. Its yellow eyes watched him innocently.

"You're a Shinx?" Tenga said, to which the Pokémon barked. "What were you doing? Trying to wake me up? But why?"

The Shinx responded by running in a tight circle, chasing his tail. He leapt up and down in front of Tenga excitedly. Blinking, Tenga said, "You wanted to play?"

This was apparently the right answer, for the Shinx seemed even more energetic at the thought of it. Tenga could not help but smile in amusement at its actions. "You're certainly eager. All right, I guess I could introduce you to my Pokémon…" He reached to his waist, only to pause in alarm. "My Poké Balls… where did they go?" His expression became one of horror as he said, "Did they get lost in the water? If they were, I'll probably never find them again!"

The Shinx cocked its head at his words. Before Tenga could start panicking, the Shinx sniffed at him, and then began to run along the grass. It stopped when it saw that Tenga had not moved and barked at him.

"Are you saying they were taken this way?" Tenga said hopefully, knowing his chances of recovering them would be much higher if so. The Shinx bounced up and down before continuing down the path. Tenga hurriedly got up and followed it.

The area they were in looked like the plains, with long grass and flat land. Tenga barely noticed his surroundings though, for he was too caught up in his thoughts. "But even if my Pokémon are nearby, Kyra, Grisom, and Misya must have been carried in different directions. If they… No, I'm sure they survived." He tried to push such thoughts out of his head as he walked.

On the other hand, the Shinx seemed to have nothing bothering it. It continued to lead the way, happily wagging its tail as it did. Sometimes it got too far ahead of Tenga and had to backtrack, giving him a puzzled look as if to ask what was taking him so long.

"I'm just as eager to get there as you are, but you've got a lot more energy," Tenga told the Shinx. It blinked, and then ran in a circle before continuing.

As they continued, the plains began to diminish. The ground got rockier, and he began to see some trees scattered across the land. Despite the changes, the Shinx continued to track faithfully. It finally stopped in front of a tree, looking upwards expectantly.

"This is where my Poké Balls are?" Tenga said doubtfully. "How would they have gotten up a tree?"

The answer presented itself as the purple monkey emerged. It looked down at them for a moment, and then grinned and brought out the three Poké Balls using its tail. It began to juggle them and made mocking gestures with its paws.

"So it was an Aipom," Tenga realized. "Looks like we have a thief on our hands."

The Shinx growled and tried to climb up the tree, but hardly even got off the ground. The Aipom laughed at its plight.

"You're willing to help me against this Aipom?" Tenga asked the Shinx. It nodded while pawing at the tree. "Then we just need a way for you to reach him. Hm… what would Dad do in this situation…" He stopped, blinked, and rolled his eyes. "May as well try it. Come here for a moment, would you?"

The Shinx went up to him and did not protest as Tenga picked it up. Tenga swung his arm back, and then threw the Shinx straight at the Aipom. The Aipom's eyes widened as the Shinx crashed into it and latched on with its teeth. The two of them came tumbling down and landed on the ground, with the Poké Balls rolling away from the Aipom.

Tenga facepalmed at the sight of it. "I can't believe that actually worked…"

The two Pokémon leapt up and faced each other. The Aipom bared its claws and began to Scratch at the Shinx, leaving several shallow scrapes. The Shinx responded by Tackling its foe. Tenga watched the slow fight in exasperation. "I wish this Shinx knew Thunder Fang… probably too young to though…"

The Shinx heard him, and it opened its mouth. Electricity sparked from it as it sunk its teeth into the Aipom, sending a good jolt through it. With fried fur standing on its ends, the Aipom screeched and ran off.

Tenga stared as the Shinx did a victory howl. "It just used Thunder Fang… It must have had advanced parents to know that already…"

The Shinx went over to Tenga's Poké Balls and picked one up in its mouth before walking up to him. Tenga was pulled out of his musing and smiled at the sight. "Thanks for everything you've done. These are my friends, so it means a lot to me that you helped get them back." Tenga accepted the Poké Ball and lifted the two others. He then threw them at the ground to release his Pokémon.

All of them came out immediately. Hinata rushed to Tenga, who picked her up and patted her a few times to comfort her. Neji and Ranma were better off, merely looking confused, though concerned as well.

"The ship went down, but I must have been washed ashore," Tenga said. "I don't know where everyone else is, though I plan on trying to find them soon. I wasn't able to release you until now because an Aipom stole your Poké Balls." They gave him a blank look. "Yes, I'm serious. Are you all okay?"

All of them nodded, and then glanced at the Shinx curiously. Tenga said, "This Shinx helped me find you. I'm very grateful to… him? Are you a him?" The Shinx barked in approval. "Apparently."

Ranma approached the Shinx and chirped a greeting. The Shinx wagged his tail in response. Neji also approached to get a good look at him, and Tenga lowered Hinata so she could meet him too. The Shinx beamed at all of the attention he was getting and barked greeting to them.

Once they had had enough time to get acquainted, Tenga said, "I hate to break this up, but we should start heading towards the next city. I'm sure that's where the others will be heading."

His Pokémon seemed to agree. The Shinx tilted his head and gave Tenga a curious look. Seeing this, Tenga said, "What will you do? Do you want to walk with us for a while? Or are you going to go back to your home?"

The Shinx considered this, and then let out a bark before running away. Tenga and the Pokémon followed for a short distance. The Shinx, however, soon came to a big flat-bottomed rock with several cracks in it. He leapt up the rock and vanished from sight.

"Oh well," Tenga said with a resigned sigh. "I wish he could have stayed a little longer, but it appears he doesn't want to. Either way, we should try to find the city." He thought for a moment, and then reached into his backpack. None of the contents were harmed; his parents had fortunately given him a water-proof backpack. He brought out a map and examined it. "Judging by the terrain, I'd say we're here, which means we should go this way… okay, got it." He put the map back up. "You guys ready for some traveling?"

Affirmative responses were given, and they all set off.

…

The Shinx continued to run, his destination set in his mind. He went further into the tunnel that he had entered, finally emerging in a cave at the end.

The Pokémon he had been looking for were there. There were two of them, and they listened patiently as he spoke to them. When he was done, one walked over to him and licked him fondly. The other buffeted him with a paw playfully, in an odd way of saying goodbye. The Shinx gave them both a long look before leaving the cave. One of the Pokémon howled a farewell, and the other barked several times.

…

Tenga and his Pokémon were approaching the end of the rocky area when they heard a series of barks. They turned to see the Shinx running towards them. He then ran around Tenga repeatedly, looking very excited.

"So you decided to come back," Tenga said in delight.

The Shinx barked again and leapt towards Tenga's waist. He managed to bat off a Poké Ball, which he indicated to repeatedly.

"You want to be caught? To come with us as my Pokémon?" Tenga inferred. The Shinx nodded, and Tenga reached into his bag to pull out a new Poké Ball. "It'll be great to have you on the team!" He dropped it onto the Shinx, and he vanished into the ball.

Shortly after Tenga brought him out again, and said to him, "For a name, how about Gaki?" Gaki seemed to grin at that. "Then I'll say welcome, Gaki!"

His Pokémon greeted Gaki as well, all of them happy to have another friend. They then set off for Diamond City.

The trip was uneventful overall, with nothing happening to their group. The Pokémon very much enjoyed the chance to be out though. Ranma and Gaki had similar playful personalities, so they got along well and indulged themselves in several games of tag. Neji tried to stay out of it at first, but when Ranma slapped him upside the head and ran off snickering, that was the last straw. He went chasing after the troublesome Torchic with a streak of vengeance. Hinata, as before, preferred to watch from the safety of Tenga's arms, and Tenga himself was very much amused by the sight of them playing.

It was early evening when they finally reached Diamond City. Tenga smiled at the sight of it. "We've made it, guys. All we have to do now is find everyone else." With his Pokémon at his side, he entered the city.

To be continued…