The battle between Lows and Brawly had commenced, and thanks to Woody, Lows managed to become the victor of the battle to obtain his fifth badge. However, he also knew two shocking truths from Brawly: Harry is Brawly's adopted son, and Woody was the lost Treecko of Harry's. However, Lows managed to comfort Woody and helped him out with his problem. They were going to head towards Petalburg until something happened, but someone was there to help. What was the incident and who was the one who saved him?
Chapter 31 - Becoming the Target
"Ah... I'm exhausted..." I said as I lied down on the room's bed, tired. I was at the ship to Petalburg, and after the exploration at Granite Cave, I was exhausted. At least I got to discover new Pokémon and amazing things there...
Although I was exhausted, I found myself unable to take a nap. So many things had happened all at once, and my mind just couldn't stop thinking about the shocking truths.
I guess I'll just get up and watch some television... Maybe that will help.
I thought as I got up from the bed, and used the remote control to open the television. It was a perfect timing, as the show that was airing is the Trainers program. I always enjoyed that program, I got to know the progress of trainers and some stuff that had happened before that had a huge impact on other trainers.
"Welcome to the Trainers program! This episode, we will talk about the controversy about Summer Scorcher form the Junior Division of the latest Indigo League that just took place a few months ago." My ears perked up as Summer's face was shown on the screen.
"Summer Scorcher was one of the hot picks for the Champion of the Junior Division. Before her battle against Weldon Leland, the Champion of the Junior Division in the quarter-finals, Weldon's half brother interfered by injuring Summer's main Pokémon, Blaze. This impact affected greatly as in the final battle, Blaze was forced to be sent out against Weldon's Fearow. However, Summer had to forfeit the match due to Blaze's conditions."
That must'd been terrible for her... I wonder if she was able to recover from that.
"Summer was hated by the Kantonians for a certain time because they didn't know the truth. However, Weldon Leland later stated the truth, making people turned their mindset towards Summer. Weldon's half brother, Stanley Leland was suspended from official Leagues and tournaments hosted by the Pokémon League Association for two years.
Rumors were told that Summer is currently in Orange Islands, participating for the Orange League. We wish her the best in the league!"
The Orange Islands... I don't think I'll go there, but I wonder what does it look like. Perhaps, I'll have to chance to meet her in the future...
The Trainers program continued by showing the trainers' badge progress for the Hoenn League. I could tell that I was slowly catching up to the others. Harry was still placed first, with eight badges.
After that, I went to the bed to get some rest. Although still having a hard time to sleep, I forced myself to sleep for the next day. Little did I know what was going to happen the next day...
I was deep in sleep on the bed. However, some strange voice had woken me up.
"The ship had arrived in our next destination, Petalburg City. Please ensure your personal belongings are not left in your room as you leave. Thank you for boarding S.S. Pilot."
I hurriedly got up as I thought, oh no, it's time to go! I ensured I packed up everything as I ran out of the room, running towards the exit. Fortunately, I was able to run out of the ship just in time before they take off to the next destination. However, this was where the nightmare started.
I walked out the Petalburg Harbor, not aware of the dangers that will affect me soon enough.
Suddenly, I heard someone yelled, "That is the kid! Get him!" Then I was hit in the head by a hard object. I became dizzy and I quickly lost consciousness...
I slowly opened my eyes, and I was in a completely different place. It was a dark room, and I was completely tied up. Someone approached me as he said, "You finally woke up. Now, the real job starts..."
W-What job?
"Kid, where is the Fiery Fossil?!" The man in front of me and asked furiously. I was obviously scared by his actions, but my instincts told me that I have to stay calm.
"W-What are you talking about?" I tried to play it off, but obviously that wasn't going to work.
"The Fiery Fossil that you found at Mt. Chimney! The boss wants it, so you better hurry and take it out!"
"I-It wasn't with me! I gave it to the police department, I swear!"
"Oh really? We shall see." He then called another person to check on my backpack, "Kyla, start checking!"
A young woman grabbed the backpack from me as she started to check the items inside it. After a while, she closed my bag and said, "Stone... T-There's nothing like a fossil in his backpack!"
The man, or Stone was caught up in surprise as he yelled, "W-What? No way! Something must be wrong!"
"N-Nothing's wrong! I told you I already gave the fossil to the police department. Why don't you go and check it?" I tried to stay calm as I continued telling my "story".
"K-Kyla! Call the boss and tell him about our progress!"
"Alright, Stone." She said as she took out a phone and started calling. After a while, she hung up as she told Stone, "The boss said to wait for it. If it's with him, it'll appear eventually. If we can't find it, we'll just have to check on the police department."
"Sounds like a plan, Kyla!" Stone then turned to me and said, "You better stay where you are! We are going away for a while! I repeat, just a while, so you better not do anything stupid!"
They walked off somewhere, which I assumed was going to eat as I heard their stomach grumbling.
How am I suppose to get out of here... I'm all tied up! I thought in frustration as I continued thinking, if I can get a Pokémon out of the Pokéballs from my belt, that would be problem solved... But I can't even reach my belt! This rope is so tight! Good thing that I hid the fossil long ago...
Oh yeah, I almost forgot to say where the Fiery Fossil was! I knew that Team Will would come back and try stealing the fossil, so I stored it into the PC in the PokéCentre. The storing system in the PC is so convenient...
Anyways, although I kept the Fiery Fossil safe, they would know the truth eventually. I knew I had to get out and run away, but I couldn't even save myself from this rope!
Just as I was trying to think of a way to escape, I heard footsteps coming towards my direction. I became aware as I thought, didn't they say they're going out?
However, I saw a different person approaching towards me. She was definitely not a Team Will member, as she didn't wear the suit. Instead, she was wearing a green bandanna, a sleeveless and short orange tunic with a black collar, black bike shorts and red and white sneakers. She was also carrying a yellow backpack. She approached me as she took out a small knife. I became scared as I tried to back away from her.
"It's okay, kid! I'm not here to hurt you!" She said as she got closer to me. She used the knife and slowly cut the rope that was tying me. I was shocked of the sudden rescue.
"Look how scared you are!" She giggled as she said, "Let's get out of here, before Team Will finds-" She then suddenly stopped as she whispered, "Hide! I heard them coming back!"
We hurried hid behind a small shelf as we heard the two's footsteps. I heard Stone yelling, "Where is that kid?! The boss will be furious at us!"
We peeked towards their direction as Kyla said, "Don't worry! Spectra will help searching." She took out a Pokéball and sent the Pokémon out.
Kyla's Pokémon is a purple, ghost-like Pokémon. It has a round head with elaborate tufts resembling a witch's hat atop it. The tips of the tufts are paler than most of the body. It has a thin, red mouth that resembles the letter "W." Below its head, it has a long neck with a round lump midway down. Three, elliptical red spheres surround the upper portion of its body.
We tried to get a better view, but somehow my Pokédex dropped out of my unzipped backpack. I tried picking it up but I accidentally aimed the Pokédex towards the Pokémon. The Pokédex started scanning it and gave me the information,
[Mismagius, the Magical Pokémon. It is the final evolved form of Misdreavus. Its cries sound like incantations. Those hearing it are tormented by headaches and hallucinations.]
Oops, stupid mistake!
The two obviously heard the loud voice as they turned towards the voice's direction and noticed us two.
"There you are! I knew that you would appear! Everywhere Team Will goes, you just have to interrupt, don't you?!" Stone's yelled as we were forced to get out of the shelf.
The teenage girl replied, "You knew that what you're doing isn't right! Why are you two doing this! The Kyla and Stone that I knew isn't like this!"
"Things changed, May! If you're here to stop us, then we'll just have to force you to retreat!" Kyla said as she commanded, "Stop those two, Spectra!"
"I'll help too! Go, Hector!" Hector has a roundish gray body with two stubby legs. Its body is hollow and can absorb anything much like a black hole. It has single red eye and three tooth-like projections. It has two wispy, light gray growths coming out of its shoulders and one on top of its head.
[Dusclops, the Beckon Pokémon. It is the evolved form of Duskull. Its body is entirely hollow. When it opens its mouth, it sucks everything in as if it were a black hole.]
"Not if we defeat you two!" The teenager said as she took out her Pokéball, "Let's battle, Phoenix!"
From the Pokémon's characteristics, I could tell that the Pokémon is Blaziken, a Pokémon that was commonly used in tournaments. I still scanned it anyways for further details.
[Blaziken, the Blaze Pokémon. It is the evolved form of Combusken and the final evolved form of Torchic. When facing a tough foe, it looses flames from its wrists. Its powerful legs let it jump clear over buildings.]
I was in a hurry as I took out a Pokéball to battle. I threw it and to my relief, Surfer came out of the Pokéball. My water type wandered around as he said, "Are we... in trouble?"
"Yeah, we kinda are. You can do this, alright?"
Despite facing two gigantic Pokémon, he still kept a smile as he said, "Don't worry! Let's ride the waves and win!"
"That's the spirit," I smiled as I commanded, "Surfer, use Water Pulse!" Surfer formed the water rings and the attack successfully pushed the two back. However, the two's trainers had different plans for their attacks.
"We know Phoenix is strong! Hector, target that Wartortle!"
"Spectra, do the same too!" The two Pokémon nodded as they all rushed towards Surfer. Just when Surfer was ready to dodge the attacks, an attack stopped the two first. The Blaziken released its Flamethrower attack as the two was force to go back.
"Looks like they will target you, kid. We should end this fast." The teenage girl took a deep breath as she commanded, "Phoenix, use Blast Burn, full power!"
The Blaziken's eyes turned red as it charged its attack. When it was ready, she summoned a huge fiery explosion, hitting the Dusclops and Mismagius. Their trainers were shocked by how powerful the attack was.
"N-No way! There's no way that Phoenix learnt that move!" Stone exclaimed.
"I've let him learn this move way before, Stone! This is the right time to use the move!"
I felt like I needed to help as well, so I commanded, "Surfer, finish them off with Water Pulse!"
My water type swiftly used the water attack and hit the exhausted two, which knocked out the tired Pokémon easily. Kyla said, "H-Hmphh! Looks like another mission ruined by the intruder!"
"I will stop you two from doing anything that's bad for you! You two weren't like this in the past! This isn't you two!"
"You don't know anything, just leave us alone! We shall be harsher next time if you interrupt again!" Stone said as he commanded, "Kyla, let's retreat!"
The girl nodded as they rushed out of the scene at lightning speed. We tried to catch up but it was to no avail.
"H-Hah..." The teenage girl gasped for air as she saw me, "K-Kid... Why don't we get out of here first? I'll take you to Petalburg."
I nodded as we walked out of the dark place.
"Anyways, I'm glad that you're fine, kid! My name's May, nice to meet you!" The teenage girl smiled as she introduced herself.
"My name's Lows. Why did you come and save me?"
"I just witnessed you getting knocked out by those two. I can't let those two do these things again!"
"W-Who are they? It seems like you know them."
"They're just my seniors at the Pokémon Trainer School. They were nice to me and the others, unlike what you just saw... They must be forced to do these things with Team Will."
"I see..." Suddenly, a Pokégear rang. I thought it was my Pokégear at first, until May took out her Pokégear and awkwardly smiled. She then aceepted the call and started chatting.
"Oh hey, Slowpoke! Took you long enough to get your answer... So, what's your plan?" She stopped for a few seconds, and her expression changed as she excitedly yelled, "REALLY? YOU CAN COME TONIGHT?! ALRIGHT, TONIGHT 8 O'CLOCK AT JAPANESE ROYAL CUISINE! SEE YOU THERE!" She then hung up and breathed wildly. She was trying to control her excitement but she obviously failed.
After a few minutes, she turned to me as she said, "Lows, it's getting late. Why don't we use a faster way to get there?"
"Faster way? How?" I asked in curiosity, but May ignored me as she sent out her flying type Pokémon. I was going to scan it, but she quickly pulled me towards the Pokémon as she said, "Hurry! Hop onto her! Let's take a flight!"
I did as what she told me to do, and I asked, "What do you mean by taking a flighttt!" I yelled as the flying type started to fly up in the sky! I wasn't ready for it, and I almost fell off if it wasn't May grbabing my hand. However, the flying type kept her moderate speed as I started to enjoy the cool wind. In what seemed like a short period, the flying type landed gracefully as we reached Petalburg.
"Wow... That was quick!" I turned to the flying type as I hugged her, "Thanks for your help, buddy!"
The female flying type nodded as she chirped happily, "No problem! Flying is enjoyable after all!" I took the opportunity to scan her, and the Pokédex gave me the information.
[Altaria, the Humming Pokémon. It is the final evolved form of Swablu. If you hear a beautiful melody trilling deep among mountains far from people, it is Altaria's humming.]
She looks amazing and elegant! I wonder if I will have a Pokémon like that too...
The teenage girl thanked her Altaria and returned her as she said, "I'm going to meet someone soon, so I'll have to go. Have fun in Petalburg!"
"Thanks for your save, May! Who is that you're meeting though?"
"It's... a secret!" She replied, making me confused and curious of who it was.
"Anyways, let's exchange Pokégear numbers before I go!" I nodded as we did so. She then warned me, "Remember, you are most likely a target of Team Will now. Be careful wherever you go, alright?"
"Don't worry, I'll do my best."
She was happy with my answer as she starting to run away at lightning speed after saying, "Have fun at Petalburg, see you next time!"
"Hmm... She seems to be in a hurry... I wonder who is she meeting. Oh well! I guess it's none of my business. Time to go!" I said as the sky turned darker. I immediately went to heal my Pokémon and booked a room in the PokéCentre. After having a simple dinner in the PokéCentre, I went back to my room, not wanting to do anything outside. The day's events had been tiring me out.
"So... Is there anything you want to do today?" Ziggs asked.
"No, not really... I'm worn out. If you guys want to watch TV, play games or anything... Then do it. I won't be joining you all though, I need a rest." My Pokémon nodded as they went to the living room, assuming that they wanted to watch TV. I tried to sleep, but I kept on thinking the incident today.
Today was lucky... But will I be lucky again next time? I need to be more careful, to not get caught by Team Will again... Who knows what they will do next time, maybe harsher than kidnapping.
I forced myself to sleep just like the day before, and I eventually fell asleep for another day of my journey...
Lows' Pokémon Team:
Surfer (Wartortle, Male) Jolly Nature
Ability: Torrent
Moves: Bite, Water Gun, Water Pulse, Sand Tomb
Ziggs (Linoone, Male) Naive Nature
Ability: Quick Feet
Moves: Dig, Headbutt, Swift, Facade
Grace (Kirlia, Female) Calm Nature
Ability: Synchronize
Moves: Teleport, Magical Leaf, Shadow Ball, Psybeam
Woody (Grovyle, Male) Lonely Nature
Ability: Overgrow
Moves: Pursuit, Leaf Blade, Bullet Seed, Rock Tomb
Power (Machop, Male) Timid Nature
Ability: Guts
Moves: Fling, Karate Chop, Low Kick, Seismic Toss
Questions of the Chapter:
How do you think of the introductions of new characters in the story?
Who was May meeting with?
Will Lows get caught again by Team Will?
I'll have a week break due to trials this week :)
P/S: Special thanks to flblaziken for letting me mention a part of her Kanto arc story ;)