The groan released from my mouth was of thorough annoyance. I felt the tickle of grass against my neck and a warm breeze on my face so I, just for a moment, waited and let my senses return to normal. As I lay there, head spinning, I imagined all the scenes that awaited me. Where had that Abra dropped me off now? Were those Natu close? Or maybe something else like a number of Kadabra? I hadn't seen any of those yet.
A familiar deep grumble from above made me open my eyes. A single giant concerned Gyarados eye looked me over. As I reached up to pat Albus' blue crest he grumbled happily and lifted his head to reveal his very unGyarados-like smile that I appreciated oh so much. I pushed myself up and looked around.
"What the-" I couldn't help but start saying as I looked up at the building I was beside to read the words 'East Azalea Junior School' in copper lettering. Off to the side was a swing set and a vibrantly coloured playground sized for a younger audience. The schoolyard was thankfully empty; I was sure a Gyarados at recess warranted a police presence.
Albus let a whisker hang against one of my arms, which I grabbed. With the faintest of ease Albus pulled me to my feet. I rubbed my eyes as if to clear away this dream.
"Why do you suppose…" I started to ask, but cut myself off. If the Abra didn't know anything about human cities any open area would make for a good enough drop off. Plus, this yard was dead empty. It could have just as easily dropped us off in a busy intersection and went on its merry way.
"Hey Albus," I said as I felt my belt for his Luxury Ball. "You mind taking a break? I've gotta get my bearings and try to find everyone."
I recalled my serpent to his capsule. In truth I would have preferred the company but I'd taken notice to a 'Private Property' sign on the side of the school. We'd been there now a few minutes so I assumed my friends and Pokémon had to be elsewhere or still in Union Cave. I groaned once more at the thought of having to go back.
Priya had said Azalea wasn't large to begin with, but I still felt I was in the more residential area. Unlike my home city, all the houses here appeared to be small and almost cottage-like. The vast majority had beautiful gardens, as well.
It was a city with a lot of older people and young couples from what I could tell. It was all the more unlike Saffron as everyone was more then content to say hello and comment on the weather. This made getting directions to the nearest Pokémon Center simple.
I was a forty-minute walk from it but it turned out to be the Town's main Center, situated around the block from the gym. As I approached what was the 'downtown' of Azalea things got busier. There were countless independently owned shops, many of them operated by artisans. There was a mixture of town folk and trainers, most of them my age or younger, bustling about. On this particularly bright day everyone seemed to be out and about.
The walk offered me a decent, uninterrupted amount of time to reflect on what I'd seen. It seemed like no Pokémon could really see the future and they were all just guessing. They all seemed to be disagreeing with one another. And that war? Was that the war I was going to get tangled up in? Was it part of it? Was there even a war? I still didn't understand why I was caught in the middle of all this. What was it about me? My chosen type specialty didn't have anything to do with Psychics. I decided to try and push it from my mind and focus on finding my team and navigating this new district.
The thing that was most odd was the apparently ownerless Pokémon. Every city had wild Pokémon like Pidgey, Sentret, Rattata, Meowth, and common Bug-types but Azalea had a surplus of certain Pokémon.
First and most noticeable (at least to myself) were the Slowpoke. They, with their pink slow-moving bodies and vacant stares, seemed oblivious to all that was around them. I avoided the first few I saw by crossing to the opposite side of the street and watched them wearily. I knew they were Psychics and I didn't trust those apparently indifferent eyes. Yet, as I watched more and more I noticed the Town's people interacting with them. I decided to take my chances and assume they weren't spying on me. Still, I kept Albus' Luxury Ball in hand.
The other oddity was the number of Bug Pokémon that inhabited the town. In other towns, Pokémon would attempt to stay out of sight as best they could but here the Bugs were lounging on roofs and lamp posts and going about their business in people's gardens. What's more, the people seemed to invite them to do so. There were Caterpie, Weedle, and Ladyba everywhere with a few Butterfree and Venonat as well. They just moved from one garden to the next, completely oblivious to the town's events.
But this really was a quiet town. I'd seen a few scooters but so far no cars. And unlike most other places I hadn't seen any Ponyta, Doduo, or their evolutions. I saw one Tauros and a Girafarig pulling carts but otherwise everyone seemed to have random other species like Nidorino, Nidorina, Mareep, Quagsire; really, anything large enough to be of help. I expected to see more Flying-types in an area so ample in Bugs that they could feast on, but there were none.
I finally got to the Pokémon Center and had barely triggered the sliding doors when a blur of warn, red scales tackled me to the ground.
"Char, melon char!" came Vulcan's rough yet kind voice as he nuzzled me. My oversized Charmeleon, once again, ignored my gasps of breathlessness.
"Tobius, is that you?" came Priya's voice from somewhere behind my mass of Pokémon. I tried to reply 'who else' but all I could do was wave my arms frantically.
"Char?" Vulcan growled in confusion as a green leaf forced itself between him and I before it lifted him upwards. I coughed as I offered Cyril a sloppy salute in thanks.
"Ouch." There was Nyx's greeting. A swift peck to my head that I didn't even see coming. She then flapped atop my belly. She looked me over, tilted her head, and when I didn't offer any words she bit my nose.
"Yeah, great to see you too," I said as I shooed her away. She flapped up and landed on my shoulder when I got to my feet. I was only faintly irritated at my team as I was incredibly relieved to see they were all present.
"Is Albus…" Priya started asking with a pale expression.
"He's fine," I said with a nod as I held up his capsule.
Priya exhaled and let a wide grin spread over her face. She looked like she'd been about to say something before something behind me made her expression falter. I turned to follow her gaze.
Every single Bug Pokémon in sight looked like they wanted to kill us. Infuriated buzzing and frightening stares replaced their previous self-indulged demeanors. I couldn't help but take a step back at the sight.
"I think we should get inside," Priya said as she glared down the Bugs. "You should recall Cyril."
"Right," I said as I pulled out the Safari Ball and returned Cyril before entering the Center. Even though the glass doors were transparent our retreat into the building seemed to put the Bugs at ease and they returned to their activities.
"What was that about?" I asked as I followed Priya to the counter. There was only a Chansey behind it, which I passed my Luxury Ball to with a nod. It bowed before running through a pair of sliding doors behind the counter.
"Welcome to Bug city," Priya said indifferently. "But that's hardly important. The real question is how in Ho-oh's name did we get here?"
"An Abra I assume," I said in a quieter voice. A boy and his Hoppip were giving us a strange look. "And didn't Ken get here alright?"
"Yeah, we all got here just fine," Priya said. "Two by two we were teleported out and ended up here. But Ken still had to go to the hospital-"
"What! Why?"
"A Geodude caught him by surprise," Priya said sadly. "He's gonna be just fine. He's got a broken arm, though. I'd be with him but he wanted me to wait for our Pokémon. Some of them took a really nasty beating."
I immediately looked over my Pokémon once more. I could tell both had been treated already but they still held a disheveled composure and looked like they dearly needed a nap.
"They refused to rest until we found you," Priya said. "We were just about to head out when you showed up."
I patted Vulcan on his shoulder and gave Nyx a crest scratch before asking, "And your team?"
"They'll be fine. Spyne, as usual, tried to be everywhere at once and took some nasty blows. And I tried to keep Artemis out of the fight but she tried to take on a Geodude, which near flattened her. Still, by tomorrow everyone should be almost right as flaming rain."
"And Ken's Pokémon?"
"Well, he caught himself a Geodude, so there's some silver lining. His Pidgeotto has a broken wing but otherwise they'll be fine by tomorrow, too." Then Priya's expression darkened as she took a half step closer to me. "And where did you go?"
I sighed and returned my Pokémon to their Pokéballs as I started telling her. I'd tell them once they'd had a good, long rest. I handed my three capsules to the Chansey so they could be monitored overnight.
The hospital was a fifteen-minute walk away during which I gave Priya the short of what happened. We brainstormed on what it all meant but there seemed to be no single logical answer. For the first time we really reviewed what we remembered from the Ninetales and Raikou and everything else out of the ordinary but all conclusions we made seemed all too bizarre to be real. Priya then pointed out that the events themselves seemed too bizarre to be real.
"Should we tell Ken?" Priya asked, as we were about to enter the hospital.
I paused as the doors slid open to admit us. "Let's wait a little," I offered. "If he sticks with us then I guess we'll have to let him in."
As Priya got directions to Ken's room I couldn't help but wonder if it was safe to let someone else in. Sure, if we were going to become some kind of strange warriors then more should be welcome. This all seemed too big for just two trainers, neither of which had all that much experience by comparison to Elite or Champions.
Still, it would be nice to have someone else's help. And shouldn't we be alerting as many as possible to these events. Then again, would anyone believe us? Even the Psychics didn't believe us, and they could see the future. Or so I'd thought.
"Well look what the Meowth dragged in," Ken said happily.
Besides the cast on his right arm he looked fine. He had his usual grin and looked like he'd been cleaned up since I last saw him. He was sitting on the edge of a bed and enjoying questionable looking hospital food. I was about to ask him if that was eggs, ice cream, or mashed potatoes he was eating.
"And my Pokémon?" he asked urgently.
"They'll be just fine. Sora's got a broken wing so it looks like you're both out for a while," Priya said. "And here," she placed a Pokéball beside Ken. "He wouldn't stay without you."
Ken looked over at a sign and shrugged before he released the contents of the Pokéball. I smiled as I read the 'No Pokémon Allowed' and was sure few trainers abided by it.
"Shewww!" O'Rilley the Sandshrew cried as it gentle forced its way onto Ken's lap. It gave a few more cries on contentment before apparently falling asleep.
"Everyone's exhausted," Priya said in a whisper. "And how are you?"
"I'll be fine. Doc said I could go any time so long as I come back tomorrow. Said it will be fine in a few weeks. And Sora?"
"A couple weeks," Priya replied. "Poor thing will probably go crazy, not being able to fly and all."
We stayed for an hour and both filled me in on the details of the fight I'd missed. Ken seemed to buy my excuse of having blacked out and ended up in a schoolyard with Albus. When the Abra had grabbed him and brought him to the city, ending up in a back alley with his Pikachu, he'd blacked out from teleporting for his first time. Luckily Priya and Ferno had found him quickly.
Another quick check from the doctor and a few pills and we were good to go. Priya had all our belongings at the Pokémon Center already so I suggested we head there but Ken insisted that I go straight to the Gym and make an appointment. I wasn't sure why until we got there.
Behind the counter was a pretty, round-faced girl who was playing some card game on a computer screen. With pop music playing loudly in her headphones she didn't notice us until we were leaning over the counter. She immediately closed the window of the game and cleared her throat to sound especially professional.
"And how might I help you?" she asked, looking us over. Her eyes stayed on me a fraction of a second longer then the others. I realized I must look a mess.
"Hi," Ken spoke up as he took a Pokédex from his pocket. "I have an appointment scheduled four days from now." He handed the Pokédex over and the woman plugged it into the computer and typed a few things quickly.
"Yes, at one o'clock," she said as she eyed his cast.
"Yeah, well as you can see I'm not quite in shape for it and neither is my team. But my friend here could take the slot for me."
The receptionist shrugged and started typing away again. She wordlessly stretched out her hand for my Pokédex, which I handed over. She nodded at the screen then handed our Pokédex back to us.
"And you don't want to reschedule yet?" she asked Ken.
"Not yet. Waiting on my Pidgeotto to get better," Ken said with a hint of sadness in his voice.
The receptionist nodded indifferently and put her headphones back on. We took that as our dismissal and returned to the Pokémon Center.
"Thanks, man," I said as we walked away from the gym. "I owe you one."
"Just win it," Ken said. "Win it for me and Sora. She's the best and she's been looking forwards to this Gym for weeks. I can wait for her to get better and train with my team till then."
"That's great," Priya said.
I was impressed that Ken refused to just use one of his other Pokémon instead. Even if he lost the Gym battle without his Pidgeotto he could challenge it again once it was better but he wouldn't let his Pokémon down. I looked down at his feet to see his clearly exhausted Sandshrew struggling to keep up with us. It refused to go back in its Pokéball until Ken was safely at his room in the Center.
Then I remembered the Bug reaction to my Pokémon and noticed they were completely indifferent to the Sandshrew.
"So what's with the Bugs in this town?" I asked as we entered the Pokémon Center.
"Azalea's kind of overrun," Priya replied. "The Ilex Forest to the west is Bug-type central and they've taken over the town, too. Nobody seems to mind, it's kind of this town's signature. But, like the forest, the Bugs don't tolerate Fire, Flying, or Rock-types. Though they didn't seem to care about Cyril so I guess there are exceptions for some secondary types."
"Weird," I replied.
"It's nothing like Ilex, though," Ken added. "Ever since Scyther moved in a few years ago the Bugs don't tolerate anything besides their own. There's a single direct path that travelers can take but if you stray from it you can expect the full fury of the Bugs. Even the path is flooded with Bugs, but the really powerful ones live deeper in the woods."
"I've heard most people avoid it all together now," Priya said. "Same with Union, too. Most people prefer to fly over or swim around rather then having to risk territorial Bugs of the woods or Rock-types of the caves."
"Hmmm," was all I responded. "These Bugs sounded troublesome, yet both Priya and I had teams that should be capable of handling such creatures. "And this Gym's Bug-type, too?"
"Yep," said Ken. "That's why Sora was so fired up. I think she was sure she could take on the Leader's whole team alone."
"I've challenged him before," Priya said with a chuckle. "He's no weakling. And that's from a Fire-type trainer."
Ken shrugged and I smiled.
"Then it's time to show you how a Flying-type trainer does it."
.
..
…
….
…
….
…
..
.
Author's Note:
Nothing much to report. Was in a writing mood to avoid a required elective's homework (oxymoron much?). Next up a Gym Battle! I've also started on Priya's next contest which, as you prob know, are found in my other fic. Still debating if I should combine them into this one.
WildCroconaw: So you liked Cetius, huh? Good to know. I'll have to bring him back.
Stonekipsta: Psychic! (shake fist) Yup, next Gym here comes Tobius! Lol. Thanks for the sheer cold complement. I know it's only supposed to hit one target and have bad aim, but I figured an aged Lapras who spends its days alone has nothing better to do then practice.
Define-originality: Almost caught up on your fit. I know how you feel about the aging -_- Thanks for the review as always!
Alternate Lopunnu: lol. We shall see. Too early to see everything clearly just yet
Anonymous: lol. Between school, part-time job, homework, and social life I just pop things out really whenever I can (and whenever I'm procrastinating on stuff, like right now). Thanks a ton for the input/opinions, it's great to know what my readers are thinking. Plus, it inspired me to get chapters out faster and gives me brain fuel to work with.