Dark clouds rolled over the empty grasslands of Duola Town, tiny drops of rain staining the roofs of trees as well as the dirt paths - but most importantly, the tent that our heroes had set up in the middle of the grassy field.
"Oof!" Danny grunted, his rear having the displeasure of landing on a stone as soon as he divebombed into the tent.
"If you do that, you're going to tear it down," Joey said in response, "I would sure like it if you'd be more careful and not so clumsy."
"I'd sure like it if you weren't such an asshat," Josh shot back on behalf of Danny, glaring at Joey.
"What makes me an asshat? I just don't want this thing to crash down!" He exclaimed, sighing right after as he rolled his eyes.
"Guys, guys, please stop arguing!" Danny begged, clasping his two hands together as he motioned to each of the trainers, "Let's just enjoy each other's company! I think it's going to rain soon, from the look of those clouds-"
CRACK!
A blast of lightning lit up the inside of the tent, prompting Danny to quickly zip the door of their shelter quickly.
Thunder rumbled loudly, causing Josh to jump from fright as he layed against the back of the tent, as if he were trying to hide.
".. Are.. are you afraid of storms?" Joey asked, prying into his friend's sudden fear, "Well, it is you, Danny."
"W-what do you mean, Joey?" Danny responded, his fingers digging into the corners of the tent as he shut his eyes in fear.
"Joey, what the hell? That was uncalled for you little-"
"It was uncalled for you to call me an asshat, you piece of-"
"Guys, stop fighting!" Danny pleaded, grabbing the two of them by their shoulders, "We shouldn't be acting like animals! We're all friends here!"
Josh shrugged slightly, mumbling, "... I'm sorry, Joey."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm sorry, too." Joey responded with a roll of his eyes as the sky lit up once more, the drizzle outside becoming louder with each passing second.
Awkward silence occupied the now tense atmosphere surrounding the three, only for Josh to try and clear it.
"Oh, uh, where did the guidebook say the third gym is again?" He asked, turning to Danny who quickly shuffled for the book, pulling it from his backpack.
After flipping page after page, he came to a stopping point, "It's not too far from here. Avangela Town is right outside of Lunegra forest, which we'll encounter not too long after we leave!"
"Really? Aweso-"
Josh stopped short, the sound of footsteps approaching their tent, making the trio quite uneasy.
"Who the hell would be out here in the middle of a thunderstorm?" Joey asked aloud before his friend shushed him with a slap to the knee.
They could see the tall shadow standing above the tent before it began to bend down, running its hand along the outside of it.
"Can.. can you let me in, please?! I need some shelter for a few minutes! Please!" The shadow begged.
"Come in!" Danny answered, zipping the tent door open as the man poked his head in before bending down in the front, water dripping off his brown hair.
Josh fell silent as he looked upon his face, looking to the tent floor as the man observed the shelter.
"I was just looking for my son! I've been searching for him for days now! Do you two gentlemen know where I can..." He came to a sudden stop as he turned to the third boy, who just so happened to be Josh with his hair hanging low and in front of his face.
"... Hey, dad." Josh welcomed him in a mumble, the revelation forcing Danny to look back and forth between the two.
"Wait, what? I didn't recognize you because of the rain, Mr. Silverson!" Danny cheered with a small, warm smile towards the man, "Weird, you didn't really notice me either!"
"Please, just call me Johnny, Danny," he nodded to the excited child, "It's because you've grown so much! You have been on a journey for a little over a month now!"
Joey looked at the man as if he were clueless, before scooting towards the him, "Wait, you're Josh's dad? You seem a lot more laid-back than I would think.. and caring."
"What do you mean by that?" Johnny asked with a frown, turning to his son who just scratched at his arm, nervously.
Joey scratched at the side of his head, trying to pull up a thought or two, "Well.. he acts like a damn jerk to me, yet you're really kind. He's never talked about you this whole time!"
"Yeah, well, neither do you..." Josh whispered to himself, shooting a glare to Joey, "So stop accusing me."
Johnny merely shook his head, extending his hand to his son, "Come on, Josh. We're leaving, right now! Your mom is worried sick!"
"Liar," Josh snapped, "Mom wasn't worried at all when I left! You can't fool me with that! Besides, why didn't you just keep me from leaving when I first set off? Do you want to just take my accomplishments and rip them out of my damn hands?"
"It's only been a month, what could have you possibly done that means so much to you?" Johnny asked through his teeth, his hand quickly curling up into a shaking fist.
"I have three Pokemon, I have two best friends, and I have two gym badges! I'm going to become the Champion and fulfill my dreams! I'm not going to leave these guys all alone, either. I promised I would always be here for them, especially Danny! He needs someone there for him!" Josh argued, glaring at his own father menacingly.
"Josh.. he can take care of himself-"
"Shut up!" Josh shouted, shoving his father to the side as he darted out into the rain, leaving the three speechless.
Danny quickly stood up, staring out into the cold world, "We're going after him, okay? We don't have any other choice."
"Danny...?" Joey murmured, slightly put off by his friend's sudden actions, "Are you sure about this?"
"It doesn't matter if he is or not," Johnny answered, eying the two boys, "We're going to go find Josh, and I have just the Pokemon who has his scent."
"That'll make things much easier..." Joey replied, giving off a sigh of relief.
"Right," Johnny said, clutching a single pokeball, "Go, Ninetales!"
He tossed the pokeball out into the rain, watching as the fox pokemon began to form, its several tails being brushed by the wind.
Ninetales, the Fox Pokemon. Very smart and very vengeful. Grabbing one of its many tails could result in a 1,000 year curse.
Ninetales is a fox-like Pokemon. Height-wise, it usually reaches up just a tad bit above a normal human's waist. Ninetales has a coat of cream-colored fur, with a brush of hair atop its forehead, which splits into several ends. It also has large, pointed ears. Ninetales' eyes are barely open, and are a bright pink-color. On the ends of its body are large tales, with each of them having a carmal tip on the end.
"She's really pretty!" Danny complimented, taken aback from the creature's mere presence as her tails brushed against the air.
"Danny, there's no time to gaze at her," Johnny responded as he bent down to his partner, rubbing her head gently, "Do you have anything in Josh's bag that we can use to track his scent?"
"Let's see," Joey murmured, ruffling his hands through his friend's duffel bag before pulling out a bottle of cologne.
"That'll do nicely!" Johnny claimed, snatching the bottle and wafting it towards Ninetales' nose, "C'mon Sunset.. "
Sunset sniffed as her nose rubbed against the bottle slightly before her ears perked up, her head turning to the north.
"We got it! Come on!"
"Ack!" Josh coughed into his fist, his eyes shutting tightly as he came to a sudden stop underneath a tree.
He rubbed his hands up his arms to keep warm, shivering as he walked away from the tree, his already drenched clothes being slathered with rain once more.
"D-damn it... so cold..." Josh whispered to himself before looking forward, seeing something atop a nearby hill.
Luckily, he was able to see a large wooden building not too far from him - it seemed to be only one floor high.
Good enough for me, as long as it isn't locked... Josh thought to himself as he approached the building, his feet aching badly as he managed to slump against the wooden door.
Weakly, he pushed against the door as he slumped against it further as he coughed into his shoulder.
"Oh, thank god.." he mumbled to himself as he turned the door knob, the door opening with a slight creak.
Josh squinted as his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, slowly shutting the door behind him as warm air rushed over his drenched and frozen body.
He slowly focused in on the room, looking both directions to see there were no other doors, much to his surprise.
Is this only one enormous room? Josh thought to himself as he turned, a slight gasp falling from his lips as he backed up.
The room had been crowded wall-to-wall with large metal containers, each of them having a few dozen slots - pokemon eggs inside them.
This is not good.. Josh gritted his teeth as he took a step forward, only to slip in-between the containers as someone passed by him.
The man had been wearing a torn leather jacket, as well as a white muscle shirt and a pair of ripped blue jeans, "... Did you lock that door, Jayden?" His rough voice asked.
"Yeah, boss! I swear!" The other claimed as he stared at his boss, the lights glaring off of his bald scalp.
"What did I tell you about starin'?" The boss questioned, glaring at the subordinate as he plucked a pokeball from a golden chain that hung around his neck.
"I'm not staring, though! I swear-"
"Quiet!" He shouted, his fingers pressing tightly against the black outline of the ball, "We're putting this place on lock-down, ya hear? So that means send out your damn Pokemon!"
"I.. okay, boss, I got it!" The lower classmen obeyed, a bright light shining from his own pokeball as his partner formed, and came out from the light.
Magmar, the Spitfire Pokemon. Born in the spout of a volcano, its body is covered by flames that shimmer like the sun.
Magmar stands at about half the size of a normal human, and its skin is primarily yellow mixed with orange. Its feet are flat, and have two, sharp white toes extending out from each. It has a flame design on its torso, and has two large orange bumps on its forehead, which have two protruding yellow flame-like ruffles of hair on top of them. Its arms have ruffled hair/fur on them, and has five claws extending from each hand. On its back are four, large red spikes and has a long tail with a flame on the tip.
The boss only grinned as he stared at his servant's pokemon, "This duo will be sure to scare off anyone... they'll regret the day that they messed with the legendary crime boss - Archibald!" He cried, throwing out his pokemon as well.
Electabuzz, the Electric Pokemon. It loves to feed on strong electricity. It occasionally appears around large power plants and so on.
Electabuzz stands around at half the size of a man, having a body that is majorly covered in black and yellow colors. Its body has several lightning-like markings on it, which so happen to be black. Its two flat feet have two claws extending from the front, and one at the back. It has a small, yellow tail with black bands around it. Electabuzz's ears stick out of its head, with two yellow balls on the end, like an antenna.
Josh winced in pain as the steel bars dug into his back, his waist aching as his foot slowly slid out from the crack he had been hiding in.
Not a good time to be chubby.. crap.. Josh thought to himself, pulling himself back into the crevice, rattling the surrouding metal cages.
Archibald lips curved into a twisted smirk, his eyes slowly inching towards the cages, "We have ourselves a rat! Let's get searchin', Jayden!"
Josh's heart jumped as he twisted around a cramped corner, his tailbone rattling the cage behind him.
"Ow, shit!" He blurted.
"I heard that!" Archibald claimed matter-of-factly, leading the way as his Electabuzz pushed the cages apart, its antenna following the sound.
I got no damn choice.. I have to prepare for battle! Josh thought as he plucked two pokeballs from his belt.
He tossed the two of them onto the marble floor, his Frogadier spinning out of the ball and spread his legs apart, making a fighting stance as his hand rose to his forehead, saluting his master.
"Pikaaaa!" The electric mouse cried happily, his arms spreading outward as he hung them around Josh's neck happily.
"Pikachu, now's not the time," Josh said shakily, "Prepare to battle, we might not make it out of here in one piece!"
"P-pika?" Pikachu frowned at the fear in his master's voice, but then nodded as he jumped from his neck, and next to Frogadier who had lowered his hand.
Josh and his partners made their way out from the cramped space as the cages spread apart, revealing the two that had been searching for him.
"A kid? Aw, c'mon, this'll be no fun at all!" Archibald whined in disappointment, "You have mighty-fine Pokemon, but I doubt you know how to use them properly.."
"I think you're underestimating your opponent," Josh protested, "I have two badges, and I'm heading to get my third. You're looking at the future champion, asshole!"
Archibald chuckled, "Two, huh? Oh no, we have such a tough guy over here!"
"Badges don't matter when it comes to criminals, kid," Jayden said as if to threaten him, "Aren't you afraid?"
"I've dealt with different criminals, and they were way more threatening than you," Josh replied, smiling now, "Why don't you just let me go?"
"Are you an idiot, kid?" Archibald questioned, folding his arms, "You'll just tell the cops what you've seen here. No way you're getting out of here!"
"I'm confident I can win, even with two against one." Josh said with a small smirk, his Frogadier standing tall and proud now.
"Froga!" He saluted his master once more as if to put emphasis on what he had said, glaring at the enemies.
"You better shut your trap," Archibald snapped in sudden anger, his fist clenched, "If you're so confident, then prove it! Electabuzz, use thunderpunch on his stupid frog!"
Electabuzz slid its foot forward before promptly throwing its sparking fist at the amphibian, only for Pikachu to slide his tiny hands onto its arm, his gut taking the would-be force of the fist.
"Pika!" The electric rodent cried, throwing himself over the enemy's fist, slapping it in the face with his tail.
"Good work, Pikachu! Frogadier, use water pulse while he's distracted!" Josh exclaimed, backing up slightly.
Frogadier ducked as he sprinted towards the electrical beast, pressing his palm over Electabuzz's abdomen.
"B-buzz?" Electabuzz stuttered in fear as it looked down, but it was all too late as the ball of water rippled off of its stomach, sending it flying into the metal cages, crashing a few into the warehouse walls.
"Damn it," Archibald grumbled, gritting his teeth, "Jayden, what the hell is wrong with you? Why aren't you helping me?!"
"S-sorry, sir," Jayden apologized, "Magmar, use fire punch!"
"Mar!" The fire-type beast roared as its fist suddenly burst into flames, throwing it at the tiny rodent's forehead.
"Frogadier, block it-" Josh would try to say, only for his amphibian pokemon to grab the fist and twist Magmar's arm around, "Oh.. use smack down!"
Frogadier set Magmar's arm free, allowing him to hop into the air as he brought his hands together, smashing the two of them onto the very top of its head.
"Mar!" Magmar screeched, its hands tugging at its head as it ran towards the door, unable to do so as its pokeball pulled it back inside.
"Why can't we hit you? Tell me!" Archibald demanded as he balled his hands up into fists, his left eye twitching slightly in frustration.
"You're not thinking," Josh stated, smirking calmly as he took a step forward in front of his partners, "You're done here. You attacked me without any thought of what you were gonna do."
"Oh, really? I don't know what I'm gonna do?" Archibald questioned, showing his teeth as he grinned wide.
"What are you doing...?" Josh asked curiously, slowly setting his foot back as the criminal stepped forward.
"Thunderpunch on the kid, Electabuzz!" Archibald had ordered, his partner inching closer and closer to Josh as its fist began to spark.
Before it could even reach him, the door had flown open, resulting in Electabuzz stopping suddenly.
"Josh!"
"Dad?" Josh asked aloud in hope, watching as his father stepped out from the doorway with his two friends, his Ninetales following from behind.
Archibald gritted his teeth once more as he turned to the older man, his pokemon imitating him. "You're this brat's father? You must have guts to come after this prick!"
"Shut up," Johnny stated as he stepped towards the criminal, breathing deeply as his fox pokemon followed suit, "You're under arrest."
"What? For what reason?" Archibald became pale, his eyes shifting from left to right.
"I knew something fishy had been going on in Duola Town, but I didn't expect to find it here," Josh's father continued, glancing at the containers which held dozens of pokemon eggs, "You've been stealing Pokemon eggs from the day care, as a supposed co-worker.. I wonder how someone as stupid as you could possibly pull that off.."
"Why you little shit! Electabuzz, use thunder punch!"
"Heh, flamethrower!" Johnny countered as Electabuzz lunged at the two, but came to a stop as Sunset jumped in front of her master, a torrent of flames eruptin from her throat as they skidded against the electric-type's skin, which had become charred from the burn.
Archibald grunted, sucking his pokemon back into its ball as he sprinted towards the victor, tossing his own fist at him.
'You're a damn fool!" Johnny cried, ducking below his fist, his own meeting Archibald's chin, promptly knocking him onto the hard ground as he turned to Jayden, "You're under arrest as well. Don't say a word..."
Danny and Joey could only look on in surprise that he had taken out the criminal single-handedly, without breaking a sweat.
"So.. what do we do now?" Danny asked the older man.
"You three go back to your tent, okay? I'll take care of these two," Johnny answered, his head tilting over to Josh who had been edging towards the door, "And, son?"
Josh sighed, rolling his eyes, "What, dad?"
"Get that third badge for your old man, alright?"
"Damn right!" Josh agreed excitedly.
Josh leaned against the tent as the sun broke through the darkened clouds, the rain slowly dissapating as it fell.
The front of the tent came unzipped, revealing it to be Danny who had been peeking out at his friend, "Hey, Josh, can we talk?"
"Oh, sure.."
Danny sighed with relief, leaning against the tent himself now, "About earlier, before you ran out of the tent all willy-nilly.. why do you think you need to be here for me?"
"You're vunerable, Danny, you always have been," Josh began, taking a look at his best friend, "You need someone to protect you-"
"I don't need protection any more, Josh," Danny interrupted, smiling warmly now, "I have three Pokemon, I can protect myself! I'm fourteen, I'm responsible for my own well-being, as you are to your own. Just enjoy traveling with me and Joey, okay?"
Josh twiddled his thumbs before giving off a defeated sigh, slapping his hand into Danny's firmly, "Right. I understand."
"Now, what do you say we get some rest before heading to Lunegra Forest?" Danny asked, slipping back into the front of the tent slowly.
"I'm comin'," Josh complied, following his best friend into the shelter, "You know what, though, Danny?"
"What's that?" His friend asked, quizzically.
"I'm the luckiest guy ever."