Heads up everyone. As you can see below, the first part is written in third-person and not first-person. In order to tell a clearer story, there will be times that I'll use third-person instead. The only times that this will happen is if the part doesn't have Red in it. He can be mentioned, but if he isn't there (or awake) it will be third-person.
Arc One: Mystery
Chapter Three: A New Friend, a New Foe, and a New Power
"MOM! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
A white Vulpix was making her way through the forest. She was dragging her back left leg on the dusty trail. It looked bruised and was bleeding a tad, but the Vulpix continued to press forward.
"MOM! Ow, ow, ow, ow." Her eyes were starting to form tears. The pain was really becoming a big problem for her. She stopped and sat down with her back leg off to the side.
The tears began to increase in numbers as they ran down her face.
"Why...why..." The Vulpix was very scared. She already hated going outside, but this was one of the worst things that has happened to her by far.
She then heard footsteps coming from the west. Her six tails started to wag side to side as a glimmer of hope enter her heart. Finally, her mom was coming to the rescue and this whole nightmare will end, but something in the back of her head told her that the nightmare was only beginning.
The Fox Pokemon managed to speak up, but in a shaky tone. "Mom, is that you?" She spoke in a faint whisper.
"Don't speak, child, you don't want to waste your energy, now do you." A voice replied, but instead of a calm, female voice that would soothe any one's soul, it was a ruff, dark male voice that could strike fear even for the toughest Pokemon around.
The Vulpix closed her mouth and looked for something to hid behind. She didn't want to believe it was happening, but she knew it was. That wasn't her mother that talked, that was a stranger.
A bad stranger.
She went from sitting down, happily wagging her tails, to laying low behind a rock, praying to Arceus that the Pokemon would somehow pass by and pay no attention to her. She then saw a dark figure walk in front of her. She held her berth, waiting for the Pokemon to make his way.
The Pokemon then stopped in his tracks. The Vulpix knew that this wasn't good, and took the few seconds that she had to run away. This, however, did not work, as the Pokemon spotted her and dashed straight at her with his right claw pounding her at her throat.
She felt her throat being crushed by the claw, being poisoned by some sort of dark energy. It stayed there for what felt like hours.
The claw then retreated. She went to scream for help, but her throat's pain was so bad that she could only afford to make a quiet, sad whimper.
"How do you like that Throat Chop?" The Pokemon ducked down to be at eye level with the frightened Vulpix. The Pokemon had gray fur everywhere except on his chest, which was instead black, both of which were covered with scars that dug deep into his body. He had a red mane with a small bluish band by the end of it, making it look like a huge ponytail.
It was a Zoroark, and it looks like he has big plans for the Vulpix.
The Vulpix, not caring about the overwhelming pain she was experiencing, screamed. "MMMOOOOM-" She then felt something hit her head, preventing any more sound coming from the Vulpix. The world started spinning as the Alolan Vulpix fell to the ground knocked out.
The Zoroark wickedly smiled. "You have guts to scream after getting hit by a Throat Chop, Vulpix. It hurts, doesn't it?" He then started laughing, only to get back up and look down at the Vulpix. "I guess you can't respond, nor are you tough. That wasn't even me at my fullest."
The Zoroark took out some rope from his mane and began to tie it around her.
"You're coming with me, Vulpix."
I'm so glad that I have gotten used to this body, because I would never be able to keep up with Lucas.
While Lucas is running on the ground, there's something about jumping in the trees that just works with me. It's also good that Lucas is stepping on some fallen leaves and branches. Most Pokemon wouldn't think that would mean anything, but with ears like me, I can narrow down where even the tiniest yelp comes from. I'm starting to really like this body.
As I jump from tree to tree, I notice that the crunching sound has stopped. "Good, I think we've arrived at our destination." I say to myself as I jump down from the tree. I see that Lucas has indeed stopped at a ledge leading down to a mini canyon. I go to the edge and look down into the little ditch.
I see two Pokemon down there. One is a Alolan Vulpix, who looks like she's barly awake and badly hurt, and the other is a Zoroark. Once I make a closer inspection, I see that the Zoroark has not only tied up the Vulpix, but is dragging her across the ground like a dog.
"Wait, I saw an Alolan Vulpix come here with a Wigglytuff earlier today when I entered the woods." I whisper to Lucas, quietly to not draw attention to ourselves.
"WHAT!?" Lucas says to me. He then puts his hands over his mouth. Thankfully, the Zoroark only stopped for awhile before moving on. It didn't look like he heard Lucas. Both of us breath a sigh of relief.
Lucas continues, "That Wigglytuff didn't have a blue badge on it's ear, did it?" Now that I think about it, she was wearing something blue on her left ear. I didn't think a lot about it, but Lucas is right. I nod. "That means that's the Guildmaster's daughter!?" He starts to shake. "A-and th-that Zoroark...oh boy."
"So, what's the plan?"
"We run away and get help."
I nod, only to put two and two together and look back at him all confused. We ran all the way over here to just run all the way back!? He's joking, right?
"Come on, what's really the plan? That Vulpix needs help, NOW!" Lucas stares straight at me as if I'm crazy or something. "Are you out of your mind?! That's a Dark-Type. Them, Ghosts, and Poison-Types are nothing but trouble. W-we can't do anything except grab some real help." He says as he turns around to leave.
Where did that fighting spirit go? He was filled with determination just a second ago, and now he was walking away?! "It's two against one." I say, trying to convince him to fight. "All we have to do is draw the Zoroark away from the Vulpix."
Lucas stops walking, but he doesn't reply either.
"You ran all the way here to help that Vulpix down there, and look at her. She's hurt, barly awake, bleeding, and all tied up. Who knows what that Pokemon will do to her unless we do something about it."
I reach out my hand to bring him back. "I know we just met, but come on, let's finish what we came here to do. You don't have to do this alone." I say smiling.
I can see it in his eyes. He wants to help her as much as I do, but he doesn't admit it. We stare at each other for a couple seconds. Lucas is still deciding what he should do. I, on the other hand, want to get a move on right now. The Zoroark is walking away as we speak. We have to catch him before he gets too far.
Lucas finally answers my question. "I'm sorry, I'm not ready for this. I want to be on a rescue team one day, but this is too much. I can't."
I'm filled with anger. He just gave up, came all the way here to quit. I turn back to the Pokemon. I know one thing for sure. That Vulpix needs help now, and if Lucas won't help...then so be it. "It's not 'I can't', it's 'I won't'. I'll see you later." I say to the Rilo as I slide down the ridged slope.
Lucas now probably wants to call me back up, and tell me that I'm stupid or something like those lines. But I don't care what he thinks. I'm going to save that Vulpix.
"Hey, leave that Vulpix alone!" I scream at the Zoroark. The Zoroark stops, turns around, and then locks eyes with me.
Ok, it may be because of his Intimidate ability, but he's a lot more frightening up close. He has a ton of battle scars on his body, but the fact he's still standing on his two legs says it all: This guy WILL NOT be taken down very easily.
"Go home, Raboot. I don't have time to play with kids like you." He says with his dark tone voice.
KID?! How old does he think I am? Actually, how does age work in the Pokemon world? A Popplio can evolve into a Primarina but still be quite young, or he could spend his entire life as a Popplio and live for...how long Pokemon live for. I shake my head. Now is not the time to think about age. I got a Pokemon to save.
"What did that Vulpix do to you that made you tied her all up for?" I say to him.
"None of your business, Bunny. Now I'll ask you one more time. LEAVE ME ALONE! I've already battled a little bit, so I'm all warmed up." The Zoroark veiled his claws with dark energy, readying himself for a possible attack.
We both continued to stare at each other, waiting for the other to make a move. "What's your answer, you little Raboot?" He pointed to the path. "Life," he then moved his finger to the Vulpix. "or death? Make your pick. I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty."
I feel like saying an epic, cheesy one-liner, but that would give him a heads up, so I refrain from doing so. Instead, I jump towards him and use Double Kick. The first kick he blocks with his massive right arm, but I adjust the second kick to hit him in the face. He falls on his spine, but then he rolls back over and hops right back on his feet. I see that his nose has a drop of blood on it, and his cold eyes are not happy. This is going to be a very tough battle.
I breathe in, and then unleash a volley of tiny fire balls. Most of them he dodges with the only embers making contact with him are at his feet. The Vulpix slowly wakes up and sees the Zoroark and I having our brawl.
I need to try to get him away from her so we can leave, so I continue to use Ember to keep him at bay. The Zoroark backs off. It's actually working. Just a little more and-
Why do I feel like I jinxed myself?
My worst fears are revealed as the Zoroark in front of me disappears and I feel something sharp at my throat as it pushes me to the wall. "You stupid kid, how dumb do you think I am?" The Zoroark mocking says, squishing my throat against the wall. I can barely breathe, no, I CAN'T BREATHE!
The Zoroark then starts laughing. "What's the matter, Raboot? Did you bite more off than you can chew?" He forces my skull further into the rock wall. My throat burns with pain so bad that I start to form tears.
"You made a terrible mistake messing with me, kid, and you are going to pay dearly for it." His other arm starts to form a dark ball of energy. He slowly brings it up to my face. I'm terrified. I don't what will make me pass out first: My lack of air or the Shadow Ball. Why did Lucas have to leave?
"Vacuum Wave!" I feel the pressure come off my throat as I feel a blast of wind on my back. The Zoroark on the other hand went flying off over to the ground.
THANK ARCEUS! I fall on my back, completely relieved that the claw is off of me. I then see a blue paw reaching out over me. HE FINALLY DECIDED TO SHOW UP! Lucas, with tears in his eyes, says, "I'm sorry about that. I was thinking about what you said as I was running. I then felt your aura in fear, so then I ran back, and then I saw you against the wall with him using Throat Chop and..." Tears then formed in his eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. It just that I'm scared, like really scared...but I'll...try."
I...was not expecting him to say that to me, nor for him to even be back in the first place, but it's really nice to know that he's going to be watching my back now.
WAIT, WE GOT A ZOROARK TO BEAT!
I turn around and breathe in, preparing my-GAHH! My throat doesn't want to release fire. It burns, but not like the fire, but like if his claw is still there.
Lucas' words then echo in my mind. "Throat Chop" THROAT CHOP!? I thought that only disabled moves like Hyper Voice. Well, that's something new.
I then see the Vulpix a good distance away from the Zoroark. Do I dare do it?
"Lucas, I'm going to free-GAH!...the Vulpix. F-focus on k-keeping him aw-away from me, g-got it?" I tell him through my pain. I am never doing that again. Before he has a chance to respond, I dash over to the Vulpix and try to rip off the ropes so she can get a move on. Man, these ropes are tough. Maybe I should've told Lucas to use Metal Claw or something.
That's what happens when you're under pressure. You don't think straight, right everyone? Wait, who am I talking to?
However, to my surprise, I rip one of the binds and quickly start breaking some more as I untie her. As soon as she's freed, I turn around to help Lucas out, but first I say to the Fox Pokemon, "Run. We-GAHH!" Ouch, I have to really stop talking until my throat heals.
My eyes don't leave the Vulpix though. I then see that her back leg is in terrible shape. While she remains silent in fear, her teary eyes tells me everything I need to know: "I can't walk."
Great. Just what we needed. Now we got to knock the Zoroark out before we can leave. Where is that Wigglytuff?! "O-okay, uhhh...w-wait here, and st-stay low." I say to her as I run toward the commotion. It looks like Lucas is just trying to avoid the Zoroark's attacks while he uses Vacuum Wave. I go to say something, but refrain from doing so. Stupid Throat Chop, you're my most hated move now.:(
Lucas speaks instead, "He isn't using any illusions right now. What you see is real. You can still use Double Kick, right?" I nod. As long as it doesn't use my throat, I'm good. That Zoroark is going down. I see the Zoroark on the other side of the battlefield looking very stressed about the fact he's losing to...*sigh* kids.
He then charges some Shadow Balls. "SCREW YOU KIDS!" He screams and then launches a bunch of Shadow Balls at us. They may be fast, but Bounce is too.
I use it and shot straight up into the air. So high, in fact, that I can touch the trees up on top of the cliff. My instincts tell me to jump off of one of them hit the Zoroark. YES! Great idea, Me! I leap off of the tree branch and pull out my two feet at the Zoroark.
"INCOMING!" I yell as my first hit gets him in his chest, with the second one slapping him in the face again. IT'S SUPPER EFFECTIVE! He almost loses balance, but manages to regain his composer. I look at his face. He looks like he's tired, his nose has a red stream on it, and he also looks unhappy. Very unhappy.
"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS." He screams in rage. "YOU TWO ARE SOOOOO DEAD!" His right claw glows with an uninviting black aura and leaps straight at me. I can't block it. He's moving too fast for me that I can't bring my arms up to try and block it. I feel something hit my left shoulder, but instead of a dark sharp claw tearing through my body, it's a blue body pushing me to the side.
"LUCAS, NOOOOOO!" The Zoroark hits dead center and launches the Rilo up over me into the cliff side, knocking him out instantly.
The Zoroark lands on his feet. "Hmm, he's a lot weaker than I thought." The Zoroark states. "What kind of Fighting-Type jumps right into a Ghost-Type move? That's foolish if you ask me." He then shifts his glaze at me and covers his claw with Dark energy once more. "Now that he's down, you're next." and then he charges straight at me as I get lost in my thoughts.
No...Lucas...time seams to stop right then. He took that hit for me. Why did he do that? I feel myself getting so angry that it feels like I'm engulfed in flames.
Wait, I AM ENGULFED IN FLAMES, but it doesn't burn at all, in fact, I feel like a million bucks. The pain of the Throat Chop dissappers as I take a deep breath. "TAKE THIS!" I scream at the Zoroark as I unleash a wave of flames. The Zoroark falls into the pool of fire and screams in pain. HOLY MILTANK, THAT WAS FLAMETHROWER!? I JUST USED FLAMETHROWER! As the fire dismisses, I see the roasted Zoroark on his stomach. That makes two victories in one-Wait, that isn't an illusion, is it?
"AGH!" I scream and use Flamethrower once again, and I hear the Zoroark yell in pain. "GAH!" Well, that sounded very real.
"SWEETIE!" I hear someone calling out in the distance. I turn my head to see a pink dot that's slowly getting bigger. IT HAS GOT TO BE THE WIGGLYTUFF! THIS NIGHTMARE IS FINNALY OVER! I turn back to take one final look at the beaten Zoroark. He's finished. He has no where to-Wait, what did he take out of his mane?
"T-things...will be different...next time, Raboot." He says as he crushes a glass orb in his claw. Almost immediately and white light covers him and he vanishes from my sight.
What kind of black magic was that? I don't want to think about that. I see the Wigglytuff hugging the White Vulpix. I think she's saying "I'm sorry", "You're ok", or something like that. I don't really hear anything...everything's just mumbo jumbo...I'm so beat after that fight with the...Zoroark th...that I...need...
I close my eyes and black out.