The Guardian of the Forest
May couldn't help but tense up upon entering Petalburg Woods as memories of their previous trip came flowing back. Zach supposedly saw a green dragon that matched his birthmark flying through the skies above and ran off to investigate causing May to give chase as she didn't want to be left alone, May never saw the dragon but she believed Zach and that was before she even found out about the green scale that the dragon left behind. That was also the day Zach first met Riolu and apparently earned Riolu's eternal respect upon saving his life, though when May entered the scene Seviper tried attacking her but Zach had leaped in the way and took the hit for her.
May quivered as she recalled the two years she spent at his bedside as he laid in his poison induced coma. That was an incredibly scary time for her as she wasn't sure if he'd ever wake up and she didn't know what she'd do if he didn't, she prayed to Arceus everyday that he'd wake up and she was incredibly thrilled the day he finally awoke! May's constant trips to the hospital was what clued Caroline and Norman onto May's feelings for Zach and although they accepted the fact that the pair would likely end up together, they didn't say anything until she revealed her feelings to them later.
May recalled that Norman and a few others went searching for Seviper with plans to catch the venomous snake and relocate it, deeming it too dangerous to be roaming around in an area populated with inexperienced trainers but it was never found.
Zach noticed May's quivering and edged closer to her before wrapping an arm around her shoulder while offering her a reassuring smile. "There's no need to worry, our trip here won't be a repeat of last time as we're sticking to the trail!" He exclaimed while pointing towards the path ahead, he'd love to venture off the trail in search of rarer Pokemon as he'd heard rumors that some Phantump could be found deeper in the woods but there was no way he'd force May to go with him and he knew she'd likely freak out if he left her for more than a few minutes.
May uttered out a sigh of relief. "Thank Arceus," She breathed out while her head briefly rested against his shoulder.
Zach's cheeks turned pink as he briefly glanced towards her before turning his attention back to the trail as another trainer came into view.
"Hey you, you're a trainer right? How about you and I have a Pokemon battle?" The trainer asked while twirling a Pokeball atop his finger.
"Sure thing, I could use some more experience!" Zach eagerly accepted the trainer's offer. It wouldn't be long before they arrived at Rustboro and he wanted to ensure that his Pokemon were ready to take on his former teacher. "Will this be a two on two or three on three? My fourth isn't ready to battle yet." Both of the eggs were safely nestled away within their bags, allowing the eggs to stay warm as they traveled through the forest.
"Two on two, I've only got two Pokemon." The other trainer responded while enlarging the Pokeball. "Go Nincada!"
"Nincada?" May questioned before shivering as a small white insect burst from the ball.
"Nincada!" The insect cried out.
"Nincada?" 'Scorbunny could possibly end this quick but I can't let Poochyena fall behind.' Zach thought to himself while reaching for Poochyena's Nest Ball. "Let's go, Poochyena!"
"Pooch!" Poochyena howled out as he burst onto the field.
"Scratch!" The rival trainer shouted out.
"Counter with Sand Attack!" Zach shouted.
"Pooch!" Poochyena turned his back to his opponent and began digging at the ground, kicking up sand which flew towards his opponent and splattered across their face!
"N-Nincada..." Nincada froze in place while uttering out a pained grunt as the sand stung his eyes.
"Good work Poochyena, now use Howl and follow up with Bite!" Zach shouted out.
"Pooch!" Poochyena leaned back and howled before shooting across the field, fangs bared as he prepared to bite his opponent.
"Scratch!"
"Nincada!" Nincada lashed out, slashing at Poochyena before promptly dropping to the ground as Poochyena sank his teeth into him. "Nincada..." The insect groaned out as swirls formed within his eyes.
"Nincada!" The trainer gasped out before gritting his teeth as he recalled Nincada to it's ball. "Your turn, Cascoon!"
"Cascoon!" A cocoon Pokemon that greatly resembled Silcoon burst onto the field, however it's body was much smoother and had a purple coloring while Silcoon was white and had various spikes.
'So that's what a Cascoon looks like.' May thought.
"Howl!" Zach shouted out.
Poochyena threw back his head and uttered out another howl, further raising his attack stat.
"Harden!" The rival trainer shouted through gritted teeth.
"Cascoon!" Cascoon's body shined as the cocoon hardened up.
"Now use Bite!" Zach shouted.
"Pooch!" Poochyena leaped towards Cascoon before sinking his teeth into him, Cascoon uttered out a sharp cry before going limp as swirls formed within it's eyes.
"Cascoon..."
"No way..." The rival trainer hung his head as he recalled Cascoon to it's Pokeball. "I can't believe I lost."
"Alright Zach, way to go!" May cheered.
"Rio!" Riolu cried out.
"Great job Poochyena, you were awesome out there!" Zach praised while giving Poochyena a light pat.
Poochyena slowly wagged his tail as a look of determination filled his gaze. 'I got to keep training, I must save my pack!'
The rival trainer handed Zach his prize money and took his leave, Zach and May were about to do the same when Zach noticed movement from the corner of his eye. He slowly turned around and noticed a Taillow pecking at the ground, likely searching for a meal.
"Taillow! This is our chance to catch ourselves a Flying type!" Zach clenched his fists while his gaze remained locked on Taillow. "Riolu, use Quick Attack!"
"Rio!" Taillow continued pecking at the ground, oblivious to the incoming threat as Riolu shot towards her.
"Tree!" A green blur flew down from the treetops and came crashing down on Riolu right as he was about to strike Taillow!
"Rio!" Riolu's eyes widened as a large bushy tail whacked the back of his head causing him to temporarily lose balance before faceplanting across the ground. "Rio..."
"Taillow?!" Taillow jerked it's head up and shot a glance behind her before uttering out an alarmed squawk, she quickly took off the ground and flowed towards the branches above leaving Zach and Riolu mildly frustrated.
"What the heck was that for?!"
"Rio rio?!" Riolu exclaimed.
"Treecko!" Treecko pointed towards the branches above their heads where the Taillow could be seen feeding her young.
"Oh..." Zach sweated while a bit of guilt began building up upon realizing that he almost captured a mother. "S-Sorry about that, we had no idea!"
"R-Rio rio!" Riolu anxiously exclaimed.
Treecko silently stared at the pair for a moment before slowly pointing towards his eye. "Treecko..." He muttered while pointing towards the pair as he began backing away into a nearby bush.
"T-That was a wild Treecko...?" May questioned.
"I believe so? Treecko are difficult to find in the wild but they typically reside within forests like this, if it had a trainer then I'm sure we'd have seen them." Zach stared after Treecko for a brief moment before waving his hand. "Come on, we've got a lot of ground to cover."
"Right," May nodded before the pair continued walking along the path, Petalburg Woods was quite massive and could take two to three days to travel through so it was best to not stand around and make it a four or five day trip.
Treecko watched the pair walk off before turning his gaze towards his lower body which was covered in bruise markings, Treecko clenched his fists before silently following after them.
"Hey look, a Slakoth!" May exclaimed while pointing towards a Slakoth that hung from a nearby tree branch. "Why not catch that?" She suggested, hoping that another capture would make him feel better about missing out on Taillow.
Zach gave Slakoth a brief look before quickly shaking his head. "I appreciate the suggestion but I have to pass, I've seen enough of Slaking to know that the species doesn't suit my battle style."
"Ah well I'm sure that there's something around here that you can catch!"
Zach offered her an appreciative look before turning his gaze upwards. Several Cascoon and Silcoon could be seen hanging from the branches and were easy pickings but well beyond his throwing range, he could have Riolu fire off Aura Sphere or have Scorbunny use Ember but he wasn't going to take the risk of the tree branch falling down or catching the entire tree on fire. He looked around with a thoughtful expression before performing a light jump as an eerie cry rang out.
"Tump..."
"Ah!" May screamed out, her arms wrapped around Zach as a ghostly tree stump Pokemon came into view.
"Phantump..."
"P-Phantump!" Zach's eyes lit up. This was a perfect opportunity to add a Grass type to his team however May's shivering body quickly reminded him that the Pokemon was part Ghost, he wasn't going to make her uncomfortable by catching it. "Don't worry May, it won't hurt you..."
A light smile crept across May's face as she felt his arms wrap around her, she briefly took advantage of the moment and stepped closer to him before resting her head beneath his chin. Her body continued quivering as she pressed against him. 'I always feel safe in your arms..' She breathed out.
"Tump?" Phantump's eyes locked with Zach's for a brief moment. The tree stump tilted it's head before levitating closer to him. "Phantump...?"
"H-Hey there buddy, l think you're a pretty cool Pokemon but would you mind heading somewhere else? No offense but Ghost types make my fri-me a bit nervous." Zach nervously chuckled while offering Phantump a sincere smile.
"Tump...?" Phantump glanced towards May before lightly shaking his head. He wasn't dense, he could tell that the trainer was merely protecting his mate and trying to make her feel better about the situation. "Tump." Phantump gave a light nod before flying off.
"Thanks Phantump!" Zach called out after Phantump but neither he nor May made an attempt to pull away from the hug, he continued to comfort her as he thought she was still nervous while she simply didn't want the moment to end.
Treecko continued watching the pair from the treetops, his narrowed eyes began to calm upon noticing their behavior. 'Perhaps I misjudged them, they appear to be an ordinary couple.' Treecko turned to take his leave.
"HELP!" A voice rang across the forest.
Zach and May quickly separated from each other while glancing around for the source of the cry. Treecko similarly looked around from atop the tree while Riolu dropped to his knees, his eyes closed as he read the aura around them.
"Rio!" Riolu pointed further down the trail before racing off.
"You found them?!" Zach guessed before chasing after Riolu.
"Wait up!" May was right behind him while Treecko leaped from branch to branch, following them towards the shout.
"Shut up!" A deep voice shouted shortly before the distinct sound of a slap could be heard causing Zach and Riolu to rush forward. A large shirtless muscular figure could be seen standing over what appeared to be a businessman, the distinct lack of Pokeballs proved that he wasn't a trainer. Zach wondered why somebody so sharply dressed was hanging around in the forest before taking note of a motorcycle that was stuck in a nearby bush, it was possible that the businessman had an accident.
The muscular figure was also wearing quite the strange attire, it looked to be a wetsuit with the upper body portion of it torn off. There was also a strange white symbol tattooed across his chest. The man's gloved hand reached for the businessman's arm and tightly squeezed it. "I'm not going to ask you again, where are the Devon Goods?!"
'Devon Goods?' Zach recognized the name but had no idea what the muscular stranger was referring to. The Devon Corp used to be big but ever since the invention of the Rotom Phone, their influence shrank as their main invention the Pokenav faded into irrelevancy as the Rotom Phone was around the same price but had more features and was more technologically advanced. The Devon Corp fell back onto it's former mining production and didn't have much influence outside of Rustboro but they weren't close to bankruptcy as they often unearthed evolution stones along with Keystones and Mega Stones which they sold off. Ezekiel had offered to buy Zach one a few years back but Zach had shot the opportunity down as he wanted to earn Mega Evolution and not simply buy his way into having it.
"N-Never... I'll never hand it over, you Team Aqua scum make me sick!" The businessman spat.
The man's eye twitched as he began losing patience with the businessman. "Well we'll see how you feel after this, Carvanha use Poison Fang!"
"Carva..." Carvanha's fangs turned a venomous shade of purple as he lunged forward, fangs bared as he prepared to chomp down on his opponent!
"No please...!" The businessman began to tear up while covering his face with his hands. "I'm too young to die!"
"Force Palm!" Zach shouted out.
"Riooo!" Riolu quickly shot foward while thrusting his palm out towards his opponent, striking him and knocking the piranha away from the businessman who uttered out a sigh of relief as the fish went flying past his head.
"Arceus almighty... thank you so much!"
"Huh?" The Team Aqua agent turned around with a frustrated expression before growling out upon spotting Zach. "Who the heck are you? This ain't your business!"
"You made it my business when you attacked that defenseless man!" Zach shouted out.
"Rio!"
The Team Aqua agent uttered out a light scoff while rolling his eyes. "Get out of here kid, you don't want to pick a fight with me."
"And let you kill him? No way!" Zach shouted out.
"Kill him...? I wasn't going to kill him! I was going to poison him and offer him Antidote in exchange for the Devon Goods." The man clenched his fists. "But if you keep poking at the shark, you're going to regret it!"
"I can't let you do that to him, a Champion is supposed to look after those that can't and defend their region from harm!"
"Treecko..." Treecko breathed out, sensing a kindred spirit in him.
"Champion?" The man let out a laugh. "You aren't a champion!"
"No but I'd like be one someday, Riolu use Aura Sphere!"
"Rioooo!" Riolu clamped his paws together as a large sphere of aura formed between them, the jackal looked towards Carvanha before firing off the attack. The aura sphere blasted through the air before striking Carvanha causing the piranha to grunt out as an explosion surrounded his body.
"Carva!"
The Aqua agent growled out.
"W-What's going on...?" May breathed out as she caught up to Zach before freezing up upon spotting the Aqua agent. She quickly hid behind Zach but her hand gripped at Torchic's ball, ready to assist him if necessary.
"I'm not sure, I-" Zach went silent as a flash of blue light flared up within the dust cloud that Aura Sphere had kicked up. "Uh oh..."
"Sharpedo!" A shark Pokemon exclaimed as it emerged from the dust cloud.
"Alright, you're in for it now!" The Team Aqua grunt laughed out. "Use Aqua Jet!"
"Sharpedo!" A watery veil surrounded Sharpedo as he blasted across the field.
"Aura Sphere!" Zach swiftly shouted out.
"Rio!" Riolu shot an aura blast towards the incoming Sharpedo, striking the shark Pokemon but he continued soaring across the field before striking his opponent. Riolu grunted out and temporarily dropped to a knee before slowly raising back to his feet.
May uttered out a light gasp upon seeing how injured Riolu was, her finger enlarged Torchic's ball before she tossed it into the air. "Torchic, let's help him out!"
"Torchic!" Torchic cried as she burst from the Pokeball.
"Quick Attack!"
"Torchic!" Torchic cried out as she raced across the field before throwing herself at her opponent, Sharpedo uttered out a light grunt which Torchic copied as she touched his rough skin. "Torchic..."
"We need help, Poochyena-"
"Treecko!" Treecko leaped down and took his place beside Torchic and Riolu.
"Rio?!" Riolu gasped out.
"Treecko?! Were you following us?"
"Treee." Treecko glanced towards Zach and nodded before glancing back towards Sharpedo. "Treecko, tree!"
"Aqua Jet!"
"Sharpedo!" The watery veil surrounded Sharpedo once more as he blasted forward, aiming for Torchic but Treecko leaped in the way and took the hit for her.
"Tree..." Treecko's body was engulfed in a green glow as he began sapping away some of Sharpedo's energy while simultaneously restoring his own.
"Scratch!" May shouted out.
"Wait for Torchic to get away then fire off another Aura Sphere!" Zach shouted.
"Tor!" Torchic raced towards her target before slashing him, both Pokemon uttered out a light grunt as the attack met Sharpedo's rough skin.
"Huh?" May gasped out. "I don't get it, why did it hurt Torchic?"
"Some Sharpedo have the ability known as Rough Skin which harms other Pokemon if they make direct contact with it." Zach explain.
"Riooo!" Riolu shouted while firing off another aura sphere. The aura blast soared through the air before exploding against Sharpedo, knocking the shark Pokemon back.
"Tree!" Treecko's body began glowing green as he prepared to sap away more of Sharpedo's energy.
"Poison Fang!" The Team Aqua grunt shouted out.
"Shar!" Sharpedo's fangs flashed a venomous shade of purple as he blasted forward before sinking his poison covered fangs into Treecko's body.
"T-Treecko!" Treecko cried out as a purple tint spread across his face, his eyes turned to swirls as he collapsed against the forest floor.
"Treecko!" Zach cried out, concerned for the Grass type. His fists clenched as he delivered a light glare towards his opponents. "Alright Riolu, let's try Aura Sphere one more time!"
"Rioooo!" Riolu clapped his paws together as he began charging up another aura sphere, one that was significantly larger than the previous ones and more in line with the larger one that sent Poochyena's pack flying.
The Team Aqua agent's eyes widened from shock while Zach and May briefly shared a similar expression, Riolu's Aura Sphere was notably bigger than normal but it'd only ever got this big once.
The old woman watched from afar with an awed expression as Sharpedo was sent flying through the air before eventually falling back towards the ground below, landing in a defeated slump beside the Team Aqua member.
"Gah!" He gasped out, taken aback by the fact that a sixteen year old beat him. "N-No way, this can't be possible! H-How could I lose?!" He pressed his fingers against his forehead before uttering out a frustrated shout as he quickly ran off.
Zach shot a quick look towards the businessman and didn't see any signs of injury so he quickly dropped to his knees before retrieving an Antidote bottle as he began tending to Treecko's injury. "You okay over there?"
"Y-Yeah, I am... t-thanks for that. You saved my butt there, I-I could have lost my job!"
"You probably would have lost more than that." May pointed out. "What are the 'Devon Goods' anyways?"
"I'm afraid that's classified information," The businessman responded while pulling his motorcycle from the bushes.
"Classified...? Zach saved your life, you can't just leave without giving us answers!"
"Sorry but not even I'm aware of what's inside, now if you excuse me I must return to Rustboro and make sure that no harm came to the goods." He revved up the motorcycle before taking off down the trail.
"T-Treecko!" Treecko gasped out as Zach sprayed his injury.
"W-Whoa, calm down!" Zach gently pushed Treecko's back against the ground. "I'm only trying to help, this'll be over quick!"
"Rio!" Riolu assured Treecko.
Treecko stared at the pair for a brief moment before offering a silent nod. Zach smiled and continued tending to Treecko's injuries but right as he finished up, he froze upon spotting bruise markings that looked distinctly similar to that of a human's. He knew those markings all too well as Johnny and his pals beat him up several years ago.
"Somebody kicked you... and punched you, I'm guessing that's why you seemed untrusting earlier?"
"Tree!" Treecko looked towards the ground as he slowly nodded.
Zach let out a light sigh as he placed his hand atop Treecko's shoulder. "I know how that feels, I've gotten beat up before... I was trying to protect May from some bullies and they decided to take their anger out on me."
"Rio!" Riolu clenched his fists.
"But Riolu came to my rescue and chased them off! There are some bad trainers out there like your former trainer and that Team Aqua guy but there are also some incredible trainers out there like Roxanne and Cynthia. More than enough good ones to balance out the bad ones!" Zach rose to his feet and brushed some dirt off his knees before offering Treecko a light smile. "Hopefully someday you'll find a trainer that looks out for you and supports you no matter what, you didn't deserve what happened to you."
Zach handed a Sitrus Berry to Torchic and Riolu before turning towards May while gesturing towards the trail. "We should get going, it's getting late but I'm not sure we should camp right where we encountered a bad guy. He could come back with friends."
"Good point," May nodded. "It'd be best if we got some distance between us and this spot."
"Right, see you Treecko!" Zach gave the gecko a wave as the pair and Riolu began heading down the trail. Treecko stared after them for a moment with a thoughtful expression.
"Treecko..." His fists clenched as he shot forward and zoomed past Zach and May before skidding to a halt, his arms outstretched as he gazed towards Zach. "Treecko treee!"
"Huh?" Zach tilted his head. "Something wrong, Treecko?"
"Treecko tree, Treecko!" Treecko began flailing his arms and legs about while rapidly pointing towards his belt.
Zach and Riolu's eyes widened as a large grin simultaneously spread across their faces. "You want to join us?!"
"Treecko!" Treecko flashed the pair a light smirk while giving off a quick nod.
Zach reached into his bag and fished out an empty Dusk Ball. "Well we're happy to have you aboard, welcome to the team Treecko!" Zach shouted while tossing the Dusk Ball into the air.
"Treecko!" Treecko leaped into the air and gave the ball a light headbutt allowing himself to be engulfed by a beam of bright red light as he was sucked into the Dusk Ball. The ball fell to the ground and slowly shook back and forth before chiming out, signaling the capture a success!
"Treecko the Wood Gecko Pokemon, Treecko has small hooks on the bottom of its feet that enable it to scale vertical walls. This Pokemon attacks by slamming foes with its thick tail." Zach's Rotom Phone read out as Treecko's data was registered into his Pokedex.
"Alright, we just caught a Treecko!" Zach cheered.
"Rio!" Riolu cried out.
"Way to go, Zach!" May beamed before performing a light jump as it felt like something shook within her bag. She quickly reached behind her and felt the bag over before shrugging, figuring it to be her imagination.
"What do you mean you failed?!" Archie roared while slamming his fists against his desk. "You only had one job and that was to deliver the Devon Goods no matter the cost!"
"I told you that it was a mistake sending Matt instead of me," An attractive older woman with a skin tone similar to Archie and Matt spoke up, a few strands of blue highlights could be seen within her long black hair. Her attire consisted of a wetsuit similar in design to Matt's but tighter fit with the midriff exposed.
"I know I've messed up in the past, Shelly but this wasn't my fault. I swear to Arceus that there wasn't anything I could do to stop him!"
Shelly scoffed. "From the way you described him it sounded like your average sixteen year old, you're a thirty year old man. How could you possibly lose to a child?!" She harshly spoke while offering her brother a light glare.
"I'm telling you sis, this kid ain't normal! You should have seen this Riolu he was with, h-he had a supercharged Aura Sphere or something! It wasn't normal!" Matt anxiously exclaimed before tensing up as Archie shouted out.
"Can you repeat that?!"
"It wasn't normal!"
"No before that!"
"The kid's not normal?" Matt questioned.
"No, after that!" Archie snapped.
"The Riolu with the super charged Aura Sphere...?" Matt questioned.
Archie's eyes widened as he recalled seeing Zach's Riolu in action during his battle against Barry and Viking in the Galar Festival's Battle Tournament. It's Aura Sphere attacks weren't as big as Matt implied but they were bigger than most Lucario's and appeared to be strong too, there was definitely a strong aura connection between the two that was certain. And as far as he knew, Zach was the only trainer running around with a Riolu. Archie's hands tightly gripped against the desk, leaving a bit of a mark.
"You're excused for now Matt but don't let it happen again!"
"Oh thank you master, you don't know how much this means-"
"Enough." Archie snapped while pointing towards the door. "Both of you get out!"
Matt and Shelly scrambled towards the door, prying it open before slamming it shut behind them. Archie spun his chair around, gazing out at Petalburg's lit up cityscape while silently stroking his chin. "Hm..."