Pokemon: 16, Deaths: 4, Badges: 5
Ch: 28
"Swellow, don't let that Linoone get away!"
The bird in question tilted his head slightly to the side as he veered to the left at an angle in a turn. His sharp eyes remained steadily focused upon the rustling of the tall grass as he ignored the pain within his torso from a previous strike there. After all, he had endured more painful attacks than that and survived. He could handle a mere Linoone. As he tucked in his wings and dove down to land a sharp blow with another Aerial Ace just as his target leaped out of hiding, he was just about to land the hit when his eyes suddenly widened. He had caught sight of it an instant too late as the Linoone's claws glinted in the moon's light and sliced swiftly through the air; hitting him across his right wing joint, neck, and the side of his face in an uppercut styled Cut. Bloody feathers flew in all directions before fluttering to the ground as his body hit it as well with a thud.
"What? How did you...?"
"...Your Swellow wasn't trained well enough...Nor was he loved..."
"Loved?...That doesn't have anything to do with being a trainer." A bit annoyed that he seemed to have lost to a trainer that actually cared about their pokemon, he tossed them their prize money before returning his lifeless flier and leaving the other trainer to her own devices.
Kneeling down onto the ground, she watched as Tana bounded over to her before she tilted her head slightly to the side and gazed at the cut that was along the side of her face and over the center of her right eye. "Hm...It's not deep...and your eye looks ok too...It shouldn't leave a scar, but...we better get it taken care of...So it doesn't get infected..." Petting Tana gently on the top of her head, causing her ears to twitch faintly, Aya rose back up onto her feet and returned her pokemon back to her pokeball. Drifting her gaze over towards Vash and Whippa, she motioned silently for them to continue on their way towards the building that they saw in the slight distance. Maybe they'd be able to heal Tana's injury there...
Upon arriving just outside of the building that possessed a sign that called the place the 'Weather Institute', Aya suddenly halted at the sigh of some people blocking the bridge further out to the right. Squinting slightly through the night, she found herself suddenly tensing up a bit in realization. Those people were wearing Team Magma uniforms. Biting her bottom lip at this, she brought her gaze back up towards the building before them. 'Is...Is my...uncle...here too?' Shaking her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts, she quietly slipped inside so as not to be noticed and closed the door behind themselves once Vash had stepped inside too.
The first floor seemed to have items of different kinds scattered about on the shelves in an area that appeared to be a lobby. Glancing around herself, Aya made her way over to an opening that would lead them to another section and carefully peeked around the corner of the wall. Seeing a few Magma Grunts that were apparently standing guard, she turned her head to look straight ahead of her and spotted some beds, a PC, and what looked to be first aid supplies in a cabinet. Knowing her next move, she brought her covered gaze back onto the Grunts and waited till their backs were turned. The moment they had, Aya and Vash quickly rushed across the hall and slipped into the other room without being noticed. Sighing softly in relief, she released Tana from her pokeball and brought a gloved finger to her lips as she silently told her to remain quiet; an understanding nod being given in response before she went about tending to Tana's injury.
After a few moments, the injury was finished being cleaned and patched up. Returning Tana to her pokeball, Aya rose back up onto her feet and walked back over to the opening as she rested a hand against the edge of the wall. She wasn't sure what was going on here, but if Team Magma was present, then it mustn't be anything good. It was best that she help the people here and drive them off. Plus the group outside was blocking her only current way to Fortree City...
"...Guess we have no choice, Vash...Wait here for a second..."
Without giving her starter time to protest, Aya stepped out from around the wall and walked over towards the few Grunts that were on the first floor. That effectively got their attention as one of them grabbed a pokeball and glared towards her.
"What's a girl like you doing here? Don't you know it's dangerous to be wandering around?"
"Hey, I think that girl's Aya...You know, Maxie's niece. The one from the accident we heard about..."
Glancing over at the second Grunt that spoke, the first one seemed a bit surprised by this at first. "No kidding? Seriously? This brat?" Bringing his gaze back onto Aya, he finally smirked and shook his head. "Well then, I guess I shouldn't go easy on you then..." As he said this, the Grunt in front of her released his Mightyena first as the black and grey wolf growled; his fangs bared fiercely. "Lets see what cute little pokemon you have."
"...Alright...Vash...?"
As she said his name, a blur further back suddenly leaped out of the room before landing directly behind Aya. Narrowing his blue eyes down towards the group, Vash crossed his arms over his chest and rumbled a low scree under his breath. The sight of the humans before him and the Mightyena suddenly getting a bit nervous at the sight of him was actually rather satisfying. ~Want me ta deal with all these weaklings myself, Aya?~ Glancing down, the faint nod of his trainer's head that he received in response was all he needed as a smirk suddenly fell onto his features and he slowly uncrossed his arms before igniting the flames that always appeared around his wrists when he went into battle. ~Oh...I'm definitely gonna enjoy this...~
As they finished up with the Grunts on the first and second floors and watched as an incinerated Golbat fell out of the air, Aya and Vash suddenly halted in their advances at the sound of muffled voices further into the back of the floor they were now on. Wondering what was up, they made their way along the rows of work desks before finally spotting the people that worked at this Institute, but also someone else, whose back was currently turned towards her. However, even without seeing their face, she could tell who it was...
"...Tabitha..."
"Huh?" Turning around to face the one who spoke, Tabitha was slightly surprised by who he saw standing there before him. "You...Aya, what are you doing here? Are you meddling with Team Magma's affairs again or just starting to follow me around everywhere even in my own private life?"
Ignoring what he was babbling about, Aya sighed softly before speaking up to get him back on track. "...Why are you...at a Weather Institute, Tabitha?"
"Ahya? Why am I here? Hn...I wonder if I should tell you or just let you squirm..." Drifting his closed eyed gaze to the floor for only a second, he then brought it back up as his eyes opened. "I'll only reveal a small part. I came here to try and confirm something and the results I got from my search wasn't what I had been hoping for; lets just leave it at that..." He then grabbed a pokeball and opened his sharp eyes finally in a frustrated glare. "Now face me, Aya. I need something to distract me so I'm gonna beat your team to a pulp!"
Linking up with Vash as he leaped over her head and into action just as Tabitha released his Camerupt, Aya studied the pokemon before her for a moment before a flicker of a memory flashed within her gaze. "...Vash..."
~Aya, what...?~ Falling silent at the orders he was receiving through their link, his gaze softened faintly for only an instant before it hardened once more and a sharp nod was issued. ~...Got it. Hope ya don' regret this later, Aya.~ With that, he faced his opponent once again and rushed in as he unleashed a fierce Double Kick; the first landing on the Camerupt's snout and the second chipping away at the front mini volcano that was upon his back. Back flipping with a push off from his second kick, Vash landed in a slight crouch to put a bit of distance between them as he straightened up.
"It'll take more than that to take my Camerupt down! He's my best for a reason! Use Amnesia to give you a boost, Camerupt!"
With a stubborn snort, Camerupt stomped his hoof against the floor before releasing a cry as he used Amnesia to increase his power. ~I won't lose so easily to a fighting chicken!~
At that insult, Vash's right eye twitched slightly in irritation before he rushed in once more. Skidding to a halt, he whipped around in a roundhouse kick and smashed his taloned feet right into Camerupt's face; the attack effectively sending him flying backwards and skidding along the floor in a critical hit. Lowering his raised leg back onto the floor, the flames around his wrists went out and he crossed his arms over his chest once more in a stubborn huff while Whippa flew off of Aya's head and landed back onto Vash where she belonged.
~You did great, Vashy. You looked so cool in that battle.~ Nuzzling her best friend under his chin, Whippa was oblivious to the embarrassed blush that suddenly appeared onto Vash's cheeks from the compliments and the affection.
As this went on, Aya slowly walked over to Tabitha, who had run over to check on his Camerupt. Watching as the pokemon slowly shifted into to laying on his stomach instead of his side, she saw the black eye that Vash's last attack had landed on him, though she also didn't miss the flash of relief crossing onto Tabitha's face at seeing his pokemon still alive.
"...Why didn't you kill him? You killed my team the last few times? Why was this time any different?" Rising up onto his feet, the larger man turned around and glared at the teen before him. "Did you think I needed your pity or am I just not worth your time in going all out anymore?!"
"...I remembered..."
"Ahya?"
The sudden look of dumbfounded confusion on his features would've made her laugh a tiny bit if this man hadn't supposed to have been her enemy. "...It was only a quick flash...in my head, but...I remember seeing you...before the accident I was in...From before you ever joined Team Magma...You were a normal trainer...and you had a Numel at your side...You looked...happy with him..." Walking over to the Camerupt, she reached out a hand and gently touched the nick that was at the top outer edge of his left ear. "...This gave it away...He's that same pokemon from back then...You didn't care about the others, but...you care about this one..." Pulling back after giving the pokemon a gently pet through the fluff on the top of his head, causing the Camerupt to close his eyes and murr in contentment from the contact, she lifted her head and halted her goggle concealed gaze back onto Tabitha. "...That's why I didn't kill him..."
Taking Tabitha's surprised silence as her que, Aya turned around and began to walk off. However, a hand quickly grabbing her upper arm halted her and she quickly glanced up at Tabitha with wide eyes.
"You...didn't have to do that...Especially, during all those times I tried to kill your team..." Falling silent for a moment, he finally narrowed his eyes as he made his decision. "Listen carefully to what I have to say, Aya. Your uncle, our Leader Maxie, has already begun to put his plan into action. The Primordial Sea will be changed into Desolate Land. In other words, all life..." At getting to that part, Tabitha hesitated suddenly at just the thought of what would happen and shook his head as he decided to skip saying it. He just couldn't bring himself to saying such an unsettling conclusion. "Aya, what will you do? Will you continue down this path and put a stop to it all? Or will your original destiny get in the way? I want to be there to see what you decide on..."
Releasing her arm gently, Tabitha began to head off after returning his tired Camerupt. As he took a few steps though, he halted, but kept his back turned to Aya. "...Our Leader Maxie should be heading for Mt. Pyre right now...For everyone's sake, Aya,...I hope you choose the right path..." With that, he continued on his way.
Watching as the Admin left, Aya was about to take her leave as well, but one of the scientists halted her.
"Um, miss? Two things before you go?" Stepping forward, the older man pushed up on the nose piece of his glasses before fidgeting a bit nervously still from the whole ordeal. "Thank you so much, for rescuing us and driving them away...I really don't understand why those ruffians are planning such a frightening thing as awakening Groudon..." He then shook his head before pointing to Aya's down hood. "The second thing though, um...well, you have our little friend in your hood..."
"Huh?" Turning her head, Aya blinked slightly in surprise at the sight of a tiny pokemon with a grey body staring right back at her just inches from her face. "Um...Who...?"
"That's Castform. She's our weather pokemon that's been living here with us and helping with our research for quite some time." Bringing his gaze to study the pokemon, he finally thought of something and locked his attention back onto the trainer. "She obviously has taken a liking to you though. Please accept her as our thanks for saving us."
(Castform/Casper, Gender: Female, Nature/Characteristic: Lax/Mischievous, Place: Route 119/Weather Institute)
"Um...It wasn't really any trouble...Anyways, it's morning now so...I best get moving...I'd like to get to Fortree soon." With that, Aya waved slightly and left the Weather Institute, though before she went out the door, she made sure to use the PC there as she boxed Casper just like she had finally decided to box Azul before she had even faced Team Magma in the building. She had tried to keep Azul with her for a while, but it just didn't feel right. She wasn't ready to fill that spot yet that her precious little baby, Menos had left behind...
Shaking her head as she cleared her thoughts, Aya left the building. Of course it had to start raining lightly halfway across the bridge, causing a grumbled curse to be heard just behind her. She felt sorry for Vash, but at the same time, she couldn't help but mentally giggle at his expense since the rain wasn't harming him, just annoying him.
"Hey, Aya! Wait up!"
Halting in her tracks at the voice soon after crossing the bridge, Aya and her starter turned around, only to see that he was Brendan that had called out to them. "Oh...Brendan."
Slowing his run to a halt as he caught up, Brendan offered her a bright smile as he was happy to have crossed paths with his best friend again after what felt like a long time. After all, he hadn't seen her since they went to Petalburg together so Aya could get her fifth badge. "How have you been, Aya? Have you been catching any good pokemon around here too?" At the slight nod he received, he seemed happy about this, but then took note that something looked a bit off. Seeing that Vash had actually evolved into Blaziken, he was surprised and proud of Aya for this, but that wasn't what seemed off with this picture. It was then that he noticed what it was.
The baby Minun wasn't in Aya's hood...
'Oh no...Did she...?' Ruby eyes softening suddenly at this thought, he quickly forced himself to snap out of it and smiled again as he tried to avoid that subject. After all, if it was true, then he had a feeling bringing it up would utterly crush her. "Well, you've obviously gotten a lot stronger. Vash looks so cool now. I'm still helping out my dad with his research, of course, but..." Shaking his head again, he pulled out a pokeball and grinned cheekily. "I still wanna see how far you've come along, Aya, so how about it? A friendly battle between you and me."
Watching Brendan's expressions carefully, she casted a glance to Vash and Whippa for a second before bringing her gaze back onto her friend as she nodded her head lightly and had Vash step up first. "Ok...Lets play..."
To be continued.
Little Tsu: That's that for that chap. I know, I ended it jus' before the battle started, I'm so evil. lol
Anyways, I figured that I'd give Tabitha a bit of a caring side. Since he didn' use Camerupt in the previous battles against him, I figured he'd be a pokemon he cared about. Ok, yeah, he used a Numel in the battle at Mt Chimney, but he also had a Koffing with him. I figured the Numal was a different one from the Camerupt & in the Weather Institute, Tabitha seems ta start havin' doubts and all towards Maxie's plans...I dunno. I guess I jus' felt like there was more ta Tabitha than meets the eye.
Anywho, till next time.
