Hello beauties.
Here's chapter 21. CHAPTER 21. Wow. I'm so thankful that you all read my little story and thank you for creating characters that are so easy to put into drastic situations.
It's because of yall that this story is alive!
Hiro's underwear: www. uniquedaily. com /tuxedo –boxer –brief (remove spaces!)
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"Does trouble just flock to us? Like some sick flock of Pidgey?" Riley shrieked, leaping behind Kai and covering his eyes. Kai snorted and punched him in the ribs.
"Baby. You know maybe if you acted like a ma—"
Her words were cut short by another roar. It was low, guttural, and grated the air like broken glass. Melody crouched silently, left hand reaching to unsheathe the enormous katana on her back. Its sharp blade slid noiselessly from its cover and she poised to strike. Cuddy and Ricochet fell in formation with their master.
Mamoswine decided to take cover behind a thin sapling, completely visible to anyone with functioning eyes and half of a functioning brain. His movements only caused more noise and Yanmega slapped a feeler to his forehead in exasperation. Cameron turned sideways towards the sound and braced for the attack, making himself a smaller target. The beast roared again, knocked down an oak or two, and burst from the forest. It tumbled from the brush and rolled back to its feet.
The beast was around 5 feet tall, with terrible claws and a long snout. It was a bipedal, fox-like pokemon, with a charcoal-colored body and large tufts of fur sprouting from its head. The reddish mane cascaded down its muscled back and looked as if it were secured with a teal bangle. Its arms were thin from shoulder to elbow, but more muscle tone was evident in its forearms. Its teal eyes burned brightly in the moonlight, and soon it caught sight of the campers.
"That's a pokemon!" Vick shouted. Hunter rolled her eyes.
"Way to go, captain obvious! Saving the day once more, I see!" She stood from her seat to try and herd the campers away from the beast—but before she could move another muscle the pokemon hissed. The sound was like hot air escaping from a balloon—a sound that could rival the warning of the most poisonous Arbok. Hunter froze and Vick slowly pulled her back down.
"Do we fight it?" Cameron whispered to Yanmega. Yanmega shrugged from his position, unsure of how to approach this new breed of pokemon. Melody reached for an empty ultra ball on her belt.
"I'm catching it." She clicked her tongue and Cuddy, though hesitant, crouched into pouncing stance. She snapped her fingers and Melody sprung into action. She feinted toward the fox-like creature with her katana in her left hand and an ultra ball clutched in her right. Cuddy burrowed underground and Ricochet stayed topside with Melody.
Simultaneously, Cameron released Heatran and barked orders to Yanmega. The unknown pokemon shrieked a howl of rage and jammed its red claws into the earth, hurtling enormous boulders at its oncoming assailants. Melody arced gracefully over the first, pivoted and missed the second, and sliced the third clean in half with a stroke of her katana. Cameron's jaw dropped in disbelief. Before he could utter another slew of curses at her he ran smack dab into a young trainer. She must have emerged from the forest because Cameron noticed that she wasn't one of the usual brats catting around the camp, and the last time he checked it didn't rain young girls with semi-long dark green hair. She slammed to the ground with audible complaints.
Cameron sprung back up, unclipped a rope from his belt, and broke into a sprint.
"Have fun catching that with a rope!" Melody jeered.
"Funny you should say that, Melody," Cameron began, leaping past a boulder that missed him by inches. "Because the pokemon isn't my target!"
He flicked his wrists out and the rope snapped towards Melody with an audible crack! The thick twine struck like a snake, coiling around Melody's right ankle and pulling taut. Cameron's rival crashed in a tangle of limbs and rope with an outraged howl. Cameron then approached the pokemon and engaged it in battle. After some intense attacks from Yanmega and a flash cannon from Heatran, the new pokemon was swaying on its clawed feet. Cameron flung an ultra ball at the pokemon at it disappeared into its depths in a flash of red light.
"HAH! SUCK ON THAT, MELODY! I JUST CAUGHT THIS UNKNOWN POKEMON, AND YOU'RE SITTING IN A PILE OF THREADS!" He danced around his coworker as she growled in her throat. Cameron, ignoring her death threats, casually called out his new pokemon. It laid on the floor in a large mass of black-and-red fur. It looked up at Cameron with teal eyes and sat on its haunches. Cameron held up his pokedex, not expecting the computer to recognize this beast. Nick Spectra scoffed and walked next to his counselor.
"That's a Zoroark." He supplied, crouching to pet the beast's silky fur.
"What the hell's a Zoroark?" Tarkov asked.
"It's a pokemon from a far away region." The girl who had been bowled over earlier stood up, accompanied by a boy with shaggy brown hair. Tarkov, feeling hungry, associated the boy's hair color with dark chocolate. The girl's emerald green hair was tied in two straight ponytails at her temples. Wrapped around the hair were pink ribbons. Her eyes matched her hair immaculately. The boy's eyes were an icy, crystalline blue, and he walked with an air of authority.
"What far region?" Vick asked. The girl shrugged and pulled a sketch from her pocket.
"We're not sure. We're from Canalave City." She handed the drawing to Vick and he glanced to Cameron's Zoroark.
"Looks the same." He decided. Cameron looked to his new Zoroark and asked, "Are you a Zoroark?"
The exotic beast nodded its head once.
"Are you male?" He asked. The beast nodded once more and rose to his full height.
"Well, welcome to the club." With a smug smile Cameron shook hands with the newest addition to his team.
XXX
"Adrianne Montdor?" Hunter asked skeptically. The girl nodded and reached up to adjust her ribbons. She was wearing a light yellow t-shirt with the words "I Heart Canalave" across the front. A brass studded belt kept her dark denim shorts secured to her skinny frame. On her thin legs were old motorcycle boots, which looked as if they could've been black once. Now they were a dull faded grey. In her well-manicured hand was a large red clutch with a large red bow, and it was later revealed that that was where she kept her pokemon.
"And I'm Skyler Court. We were the missing campers at the checkpoint in Goldenrod City." He supplied, brushing his chocolate colored bangs from his eyes. He looked around fifteen, just like Adrianne, and stood at an average height. (like almost every boy in this fic) He was skinny, wearing a tight black t-shirt and medium wash jeans. All of his belongings were kept in a blue backpack on his back, and on his feet were grey and red vans.
"Well, they are registered with the camp…" Hunter trailed off.
"Where did you even come from?" Riley blurted, asking the question everyone wanted answered.
"We've been camping out here for a while now—we figured that you all would show up sooner or later. What attracted us tonight was the Zoroark. He tore through our camp and we followed it because it took some of our food."
"Interesting. Well everyone, meet Adrianne Montdor and Skyler Court! Let's get back to camp before the sun comes up. We've got a long day ahead of us." Vick said. The group trudged back through the forest and into their warm cabins, falling gratefully into their beds for a two hour rest.
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"GOOD MORNING AGAIN, CAMPERS!" After Melody's recent discovery of Tarkov's megaphone, the task of waking up the campers had been relinquished to her. Wiping sleep from their eyes and yawning profusely, the campers lined up for the day's directions.
"It's a glorious day, isn't it?" Melody stared straight into the rising sun and the light made her white-blond hair shine brilliantly. She and Ricochet were on a large boulder above the camp. Tarkov and Hunter stood below them, arms crossed, and Vick was off to the side with Cameron. Yanmega was taking his morning patrol around the camp's perimeter.
"As you all know, we'll be packing up and leaving for Hoenn in a week," Hunter began. "So this week will be the toughest week of the entire camp. Consider it a sort of hell week, if you will." A deviant grin had stretched her face into a wicked caricature of what it used to be.
"I don't like this," Alex whispered. "She seems crazier than usual." Mark gulped and looked at Sarah, who had taken cover behind Mark's left leg.
"Every day will be an alternating schedule. Odd days, your pokemon spend free time to themselves. On even days, your challenges will include your pokemon. And guess what today is?" Vick grinned.
"Monday." Everyone groaned.
"DO I HEAR COMPLAINING?" Tarkov roared. "BECAUSE IF SO, WE CAN SKIP OUT ON POKEMON CHALLENGES ALTOGETHER. IF NOT, GET YOUR PATHETIC BODIES DOWN TO THE CLEARING!"
XXX
"M-mud wr-r-rest-l-lingg-g?" Talia choked. Mud was her weakness, along with all the other disgusting atrocities like garbage, grease, and mold. She stared at the enormous pit with tear-filled eyes.
"Welcome to the party, maggots!" Tarkov barked. He had removed his combat boots and rolled his camouflage pants to the knee. His calves were muscled and lean, and his feet looked light and agile. He switched his usual white t-shirt for a black muscle tank. Hunter had changed her appearance as well. Her usual yellow sports bra was replaced with a black one, and her legs were sheathed in black spandex. Her green hair was woven tightly to her head. Vick was in a speedo, goggles on, and mouth smiling. Melody and Cameron were acting as judges.
"This is more than I bargained for." Daisuke growled, pseudo-barfing in a nearby bush. Emily giggled softly and Sid gripped his studded crutches tightly.
"Relax, mate." Johnny whispered. "The ginger's not worth it." Sid rolled his eyes and ignored him. While he was trying to assuage his friend, Nick took the opportunity to pull Reina away. He dragged her behind a tree and looked her in the eye.
"Hello, beautiful. Fancy meeting you here." He breathed, taking a hand and cupping her neck. Her brown hair cascaded over his forearm and tickled his elbow, making him shift slightly.
"You dragged me here, idiot." She hissed back. Reina took a worried glance over her shoulder—had they not noticed their absence? "Why did you pull me away?" She demanded.
"Testy, testy!" He smiled crookedly and Reina rolled her eyes.
"That wasn't an explanation." She said flatly. Nick sighed deeply and looked in her eyes once more.
"Do you need an explanation for sheer attraction?" Before she could interject he enveloped her mouth with a kiss. Reina expected the gesture to be rough and unforgiving, but to her surprise it was soft and passionate. At that point Reina realized what was happening and stopped kissing back.
"What the hell are ya doin'?" An accented voice growled. Reina looked up to meet the enraged eyes of Johnny.
"Making out." Nick smirked. A devilish gleam had glazed over his eyes, and Johnny's brown gaze became fiery.
"Stop touchin' 'er!" He shouted. Nick didn't break eye contact and leaned back to Reina for another kiss. This was the breaking point. Reina slapped Nick and stormed back to the group, and Johnny leapt for Nick's throat. The two rolled around the forest floor, and Johnny seemed to be the current victor. His fingers were locked around Nick's neck and he was slamming his head into a root. Nick clamped his teeth onto Johnny's other finger until blood was drawn. He pulled back with a howl of pain and curled his hand into a fist.
"Consider this a gift from the Queen of Bloody England." He spat at his head. Johnny swung but his fist was caught in one of Tarkov's meaty hands.
"IF YOU'RE GOING TO FIGHT DO IT IN THE PIT, DAMN YOU!" He screamed. He picked up both teens and dragged them to the edge of the wrestling area, commanding them to remove their shoes. Johnny kicked off his keds with a scowl and Nick unlaced his trainers slowly. Once they were standing at attention Tarkov planted a palm on each of their backs and shoved them in the mud. When the slimy substance hit their skin Johnny leapt onto Nick once more.
"Should we regulate? At all?" Hunter interjected, beginning to go into mom mode. She didn't want anything to go too far. Melody laughed at the bloodshed and shook her head. "If we stop them all of the entertainment will be gone!"
"Not true, Kirk." Cameron said, "We're gonna have multiple fights."
"Okay, well we need to regulate." Hunter was adamant now, and leapt into the pit to separate the two screaming boys. Johnny was shouting streams of profanity and Nick kept spitting blood between his insults.
"TIME OUT!" Vick roared. Hunter gave the duty of calming them down to her perverse pink haired counselor and turned back to the crowd.
"Everyone, please line up, boys on my left, girls on my right! Shortest to tallest! Each winner will be exempt from the next physical challenge!" Kai rolled up her shorts and pulled back her short hair into a tiny tail on the crown of her head.
"Who wants some?" She challenged. Riley immediately ripped off his flannel, stripped off his jeans and ran into the pit. "You know I do, babydoll." With a wink, he took a handful of mud and hurtled it at his opponent. It hit Kai square in the face and the brown substance caked onto her pale skin. Two violet eyes glared from behind the gunk and she spat out some dirt.
"Ohh, Kaiya, you're a dirty girl…" He jeered, bending over to scoop up another mudball. Kai tackled Riley and chaos ensued. Setsuna turned on her webcam and opted to document the entire challenge, while Reiji pushed James in suddenly. He landed facedown in the pit and started growling under his breath.
"Effing…idiot!" He swept out Reiji's legs and began pulling his hair. Reiji merely laughed and responded by throwing more mud into James' eyes. Hiro, eager to join, shimmied out of his skinnies, revealing black boxerbriefs that were designed to look like a tuxedo. He then peeled off his v-neck and smiled at Kame.
"Oh yeah. This is happening." Kame blushed deeply and looked away. When he walked past her Kame snuck a peek at his backside.
"He's got a nice ass." Reina sighed. Her long brown hair was braided twice, weaving up her head and twisting at the crown. Kame, shocked, looked at her with an expression of disbelief.
"Do you like him?" She asked suddenly, unaware that her mouth had opened at all until Reina responded.
"Hiro and I go way back. I've always liked him, I mean, who wouldn't?" She smiled subconsciously as the object of Kame's affection headbutted Mark. Kame felt her stomach slam into her ankles. Reina was funny, confident, and downright beautiful. How was Kame supposed to win the affections of the Taminama boy with Reina in the picture? Rare jealousy burned through Kame's heart as she jumped on Hiro's back. He caught her with ease, wrapping his arms around her slender thighs and leaning back into her neck.
It really sucked.
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Berane and Talia snuck away from the madness and into the forest, taking a nice walk in the quiet afternoon. The trees were thinner in this part of the forest, and maneuvering through the brush here was almost effortless. Berane's gloved hands were entwined with Talia's delicate fingers, and the couple said nothing as they moved along.
Chatot sang in the trees, softly, and their soft melodies filled the spaces of silence easily. Talia's orange eyes found Berane's multicolored ones multiple times, and with each glance the blush on her cheeks deepened. The tall grass growing from the forest floor brushed the hem of Talia's white dress, which was a light summery thing with a floral pattern. Her fingers graced white rings whose metal was formed into flowers, tiny budding things that shone in the scarce sunlight. Berane wore black drainpipe jeans, a sturdy pair of shoes, and a crisp white shirt. His sleeves were rolled to the elbows, showing his tanned forearms underneath. He walked to Talia's left and slowed his stride to keep her in tow.
"Berane?" She asked suddenly. Her voice was soft, and carried to the boy's ears like a breeze. He replayed the sound in his head twice before he uttered a "Hm?"
"I've never asked you about your past…" The question hung heavy in the air.
"I've never talked about it.." Berane whispered. Talia stopped walking and looked up into Berane's face, searching for permission to continue.
"I know about the scar on your neck, Berane. I've seen it." She quietly admitted, reaching to run her index finger along the length of the gash. The silvery-looking skin was smooth to her touch and it caused Berane to shudder. This was way beyond what was comfortable for him. Talia, sensing his discontent, withdrew her hand quickly.
"No." He interjected, grasping her hand once more. "I have to get this out."
Talia's orange eyes widened and she waited for him to begin. Berane led her through a few more meters of forest until a flat boulder came into view. The couple settled themselves on the stone and Berane inhaled a few times to calm himself. Talia leaned into him, and he adjusted so her head was resting in the hollow of his throat. She felt his heartbeat thud against her neck and relaxed.
"To be honest, I've been diagnosed with a severe case of amnesia. Anything before the attack I can barely remember. I'm not even sure if Berane is my real name," His throat constricted, possibly swallowing a sob, but he soon continued. "The only things I remember are the screams. Apparently I lived in an orphanage on the outskirts of Sunnyshore. They said it was an electrical fire and that I was the sole survivor." He paused, reaching over Talia to unbutton his shirt. He pulled the material from his chest and down his arms until he sat before her, bare skin exposed. Talia saw the extent of the scar completely thrown into relief. It was red and silver, a cragged line running around his throat, down his back, and up over the top of his chest. Talia remained calm and ran her fingers over the scar again.
"Whenever I smell smoke, flashes of fire come across my mind. I see flames everywhere, and I hear their screams…I don't know why I was chosen to survive…why I was spared…why Caleb chose to save me…"
"Caleb saved you?" Talia asked in disbelief.
"Yes," He replied, "He was a Riolu back then, but I guess he must've busted me out. When they found me I was wandering around the ruins with Caleb. He wouldn't let anybody touch me until he was positive they wouldn't hurt me. We've been inseparable ever since." As if Caleb had been summoned, a bright light flashed from the belt of Berane. The shiny Lucario burst from his pokeball and bowed before his best friend.
"Can't Caleb use Telepathy? He can tell you what happened!" Talia said. A look of excitement and fear stole across the boy's face, did he really want to know what happened that day? He looked to his best friend and Caleb gave him a look that clearly asked for permission to continue.
"I want to know." Berane whispered. The Lucario nodded and focused his aura.
"That day was a dark day…" He began. Talia leaned back into Berane's bare chest and relished in the warm feel of it. It smelled clean was smooth on her back. She listened to Caleb retell his story, finding surprise in the tone of Caleb's voice. It was deep and sounded all-knowing.
"I smelled smoke from the forest. It smelled wrong, toxic, so I decided to follow it. I came across the orphanage that had fed me a few times and was shocked to find it aflame. I could hear the screams and feel the auras of the trapped people. They were terrible feelings. I felt the auras fade, one by one, until the last remained."
"Berane's." Talia supplied. Caleb nodded and spoke again. "His was the strongest, brightest, and the only one left. I ran inside and followed the aura until I found him. A support beam was about to fall when I dove for him. The floorboards below us had been reduced to matchstick and nails." He looked to Berane now. "One nail split your skin and formed the scar on your body. I tackled you out of the way of the beam and in doing so we fell through the floor and into the basement. That's where your injuries occurred. You slammed your head on the concrete floor and fell unconscious. This is probably how you lost your memories, Berane." Once Caleb had finished his tale, Berane was silent. It looked as if he were concentrating, trying to remember what he had inadvertently forgotten.
"Return, Caleb." He finally sighed, pulling the pokeball from his belt and calling back his friend. His hand dropped to his side and he stared into nothing.
XXX
After an hour or so of gruesome wrestling, the C.C. washed off in a nearby river. Many sighed in relief as the caked filth was washed from their bodies. When they were finished they went back to camp for some down time before Cameron's next lesson. Vick prepared lunch (to everyone's delight) and on the menu were enormous quesadillas. Stuffed inside were pieces of chicken, peppers, onion, beans, cheese, and tomatoes. The weather was warm and dry, lacking the normal humidity the forest usually held.
Alex and Mark were building an enormous card house on one of the picnic benches, screaming in disappointment whenever the tower would topple. Johnny was having a serious talk with Sid, prattling away in heavily accented English over the sound of their strumming guitars. Nick was taking apart a disposable camera, probably to fashion an explosive of some sort. Reina had taken to sun tanning in a rare sliver of sunlight, making quite sure that she was within Hiro's line of vision. Kame, noticing this, took to her favorite treat (chocolate) and shared it with her Vulpix. Setsuna was inputting all of her data from the week into a processing program that almost instantly sorted each item into its appropriate category. Reiji, on the other hand, was playing an intense game of Shogi with Daisuke. Emily was working on weaving some friendship bracelets out of twine and thread, and Talia was practicing some pokemon coordinating routines with Berane. Venice was brushing dust out of Cait's fur, and James was whittling a small figure out of a chunk of wood he found in the forest. His sharp pocket knife moved skillfully, shearing slivers of wood as if they were made of paper. Skyler and Adrianne were getting the rundown of C.C. life from Tarkov and Hunter, while Vick, Melody, and Cameron were cleaning up camp. Shane rose from the novel he was reading and approached Venice calmly.
"We need to talk." The sudden declaration made Venice's eyes widen in confusion. She looked around, anxious to see if anyone had witnessed the exchange, but to her relief everyone was engrossed in their own activities. Venice called Cait into her pokeball and followed Shane into the forest, keeping a mindful distance from her new counselor.
"We need to talk," He began. "About my brother."
"Why are you talking to me about him though?" Venice feigned naivety but this was easily struck away.
"Really, Venice? I see him look at you. You don't understand how it looks to me, but James has never cared for anyone besides his family as much as he does for you. And it doesn't help that you're always touching him." His voice became playful and Venice couldn't stop the smile that crept across her face.
"Have you talked to him about me?" She asked. Shane responded with a laugh.
"He would kill me if I discussed girls with him. He's very touchy about that subject. He acts as if he's nonchalant about everything. Cold. Isolated. But he honestly is just a newbie to all of this. You've really thrown him for a loop. He's never acted this way." Venice shrugged and looked into Shane's eyes.
"This is random, but you have the same colored eyes as me!" She half-shouted. Shane chuckled and replied, "That's one of the reasons James has issues with me. Or anyone with green eyes really. It's because our eye color reminds him of—"
"Your mother. I know. He told me."
Shane raised his eyebrows in disbelief.
"Then you must be one helluva special girl." Blushing slightly, Venice thanked him and the two began their way back to camp.
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