*Author's note: Azariel, thank you for taking time to read and review my story for me. Also, thanks for the friendly conversations. *
"Amazing. There aren't any clouds in the sky." Said Aleena, gazing up at the clear blue sky.
"Yeah, it's a beautiful day."
"Look, Survivor thinks so to!" Survivor was hopping along the side of the road, exploring the ditch. Every so often he would stop and quack happily.
The Sun shone bright, and the trees glowed with life. A sweet scent floated on the breeze, while flowers seemed to be in bloom every where. They even passed a crystal clear stream, which Survivor paused to drink out of.
"Coren, I hear a car."
Coren whistled and Survivor came to him. Coren picked him up and carried him while the car passed.
They were now walking along side an old, decrepit looking fence. On the other side were small Poke-houses with holes in the sides and roofs. Some were empty, while others had skinny Pokemon chained to them. Coren stopped and stared at one, which had an eevee lying half submerged in the mud surrounding it.
At another poke-house was a meowth, drinking muddy water from a puddle, while nearby was a pool with only a couple buckets worth of murky water, in which a magikarp floated weakly.
They came to an area where the fence was completely broken down. They could now see an old fashioned house (for people). At each window were torn, dirty and shabby curtains. The window's themselves were dirty, smudged, and cracked. The walls were chipped and the shingles on the roof were peeling.
In front of the house was another Poke house. This one had a growlithe that looked half-starved tied to it. A black haired boy was kneeling next to it, feeding it something.
"Hey! That's no condition to keep a Pokemon in!" exclaimed Coren.
The boy jumped and said in an urgent whisper, "Keep your voice down! This isn't my Pokemon."
"Then whose is it?" asked Coren. He looked around at the run down place.
"I'm not really sure. I just know that these Pokemon aren't getting enough food. I've been bringing them food for a week now."
Aleena climbed through the fence, and walked towards the growlithe and boy. "This is terrible. Why would some one keep them in this condition, is the owner cruel?"
"I don't know." Said the boy.
Coren also climbed through the fence and came over. As he looked around he noticed all sorts of Pokemon tied up and in cages. "So if you don't own them, than who are you?"
"My name's Darren. Like I said I've been feeding them. I couldn't bear to see them suffering like this. What happened to that Pokemon?" asked Darren, looking at Survivor.
"He was shot, and broke his wing." Said Coren.
"That's terrible! Who did it?"
"I don't know. I found him on the ground by the road."
"Does he have a name?"
"Survivor. But actually he's not my Pokemon. He's a wild Pokemon and my family's been taking care of him since he got injured."
"That's cool. What are your names?" He looked at Coren and Aleena.
"My name is Aleena Wood."
"I'm Coren Silmon."
Survivor wandered over to Shin Rock, the growlithe. Shin Rock cringed back and then let off a round of furious barking.
"Shush!" Darren cried urgently to Shin Rock, "please be quiet Shin!" Shin Rock quieted, sat and looked at him.
A door creaked open. Darren whipped around. "Quick! This way!" Darren grabbed his bag and sprinted towards the woods. Aleena followed him.
"Who's there! Stop! What are you doing to my Pokemon!" cried an old lady with curly white hair.
Coren scooped up Survivor. He started to follow Darren and Aleena, but paused, looking at the old lady. She half ran/half-hobbled over to Shin Rock.
"My poor baby! What did they do to you?!" she wrapped her arms around Shin Rock and rocked back and forth.
"Uh, excuse me, mam?" said Coren tentatively.
The lady jumped and spun around to face Coren, Shin Rock held tightly in her arms. He squirmed a little. "Now, now, don't let that nasty boy frighten you Shiny, I won't let him hurt you!"
"Mam, we weren't hurting him, and we don't want to. That boy was feeding him."
"Feeding! Were they trying to poison you? My poor baby."
"No! He was trying to help him. Can't you see that he's starving!"
"Starving! Now they want to try and starve you!" the old lady started sniffing, as a few tears started to trickle down her face.
Coren shook his head, "No, we don't. We want to help."
The lady looked at him suspiciously, "and I why should I believe filth like you! Trespassers and bullies!"
"Look at him!" said Coren; "Do you see any injuries!"
She examined Shin Rock as closely as she could without putting him down; "his ribs show. You have been starving him! Wretch! You won't get away with this! I'm calling the police!"
She started to put Shin Rock down, then changed her mind and unclipped the chain from his collar. She glared at Coren; "You're coming with me." She grabbed Coren's arm and pulled him towards her house.
"Hey! I'm not a crook!" exclaimed Coren trying to pull his arm away, but she had an amazingly strong grip for one who looked so feeble.
"Oh, that's what they all say! Oh they're not bad; they're just misunderstood. Liars! Scum! They have no respect for laws!"
Survivor jumped out of Coren's arms and started off after Aleena and Darren, though he was a lot slower than they were. "Survivor!" called Coren, as the lady dragged him into her house, one arm still protectively holding Shin Rock. She shoved Coren at a wooden chair, and set Shin Rock on a large cushioned rocking chair.
"Now you just wait right there my dear, I'll see to you in a minute." She crooned, as she walked to the phone. Coren assumed she was talking to Shin Rock. As the lady called the police, Coren looked around. It seemed to have the kitchen, dining, and living room all in one room. The couch was sagging and torn in spots. The table legs and chair seemed to have been used as scratching and chewing polls. The stove was stained. On the counter was a stack of dirty dishes, some of them chipped and cracked. The coffee table was slanted, held up by three legs and a stack of old, dusty books. A framed picture on it caught his attention. He walked over to examine it. The mahogany wooden frame was engraved with a flowering ivy design. It was smooth and worn down in some spots, as if from years of constant rubbing and handling. The glass covering was smudged with fingerprints. The picture showed a teenage girl with a radiant smile, holding a growlithe. Next to them was a teenage boy with a vulpix balanced on his shoulders. All four looked happy enough to be in heaven. They were standing in a crystal arch, with elegant rose vines growing on it. On the bottom of the frame was engraved 1863 The Arch of Love.
"Noticed our picture have you?" Coren jumped. The lady picked up the picture and gently gazed at it. She looked at Coren for a moment, a puzzled expression on her face. Her face cleared and she set the picture down. She then took Coren's hands in her own, "don't worry dear, you're parents will be home soon, I'm sure."
"Madam, who are those in the picture?"
"Now Tobias, I've told you before, there's no need to call me madam, I want you to call me Sarah."
"Uh…"
"You don't know who the people in the picture are? I could have sworn that I've told you before. Oh well." Sarah finally let go of Coren's hands. She pointed to the girl in the picture. "It may be hard to recognize this old bag of bones, but that girl is me. When I was much younger of course. And you know who the growlithe is. That's Shin Rock!"
Coren looked over at Shin Rock sitting on the chair. He looked back at the picture, "Is that the same Pokemon as the one on the chair?"
Sarah looked over at Shin Rock on the chair, "Oh don't be silly Toby, this picture was taken over fifty years ago! The Shin Rock on the chair is this Shin Rock's great, great, grand son. He's one of the finest Pokemon that Shawn and ever bred."
Coren wasn't sure which growlithe she was referring to. "Um, so, Sarah, who's the guy in the picture?"
"Why, Shawn of course! That was about two months after we met. It took they guy a whole year to get up the nerve to ask me."
"Ask you what?"
"Why, to marry him of course! I was so delighted when he finally asked." She gazed at the picture. "That vulpix he has there is Gemstone, she was a talented Pokemon. Of course, Shawn could have brought out the talent in anyone."
Coren wasn't sure it was a wise question to ask, but couldn't help himself, "Could have?"
Sarah looked at him sharply, alarm in her eyes. "Don't let him leave with your parents, don't let him! They'll never return! They're gone, all gone." Suddenly she burst into tears and collapsed to the floor, sobbing.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." Said Coren. Sarah looked up at him, her eyes puffy and her face pink.
"Oh Toby, it's not your fault." She swept an alarmed Coren into her arms. She held him close, and cried into his shoulder.
An engine stopped outside and Coren could here voices. The door opened and in came a police officer. "My name is Jenny, please tell me what happened."
Coren noticed that Aleena, Survivor and Darren had followed Jenny in. Coren looked at Jenny, "I tried to tell her that we weren't trying to harm her Pokemon, but she didn't believe me. She dragged me in here and called the police, and now she's calling me Toby."
Sarah looked closely at him and shrieked, "Who are you!? How dare you pose as my grandson!" She shoved him away. Coren stumbled and fell backwards into the coffee table. The book stack supporting it fell, knocking the table edged to the floor. The picture fell onto the floor with a clack.
"Shin Rock!" cried Sarah, and she grabbed the picture. She held it protectively to her chest. Shin Rock leapt off of the chair and ran over to her.
"Alright Sarah, just calm down now." Said officer Jenny, "These Pokemon here are in terrible condition, and we've warned you before that you needed to improve the conditions, or we'd need to remove them. I'm sorry to have to take them away, but you obviously can't take care of them yourself anymore, so I'm going to have to."
"NO! You can't! They were Shawn's, I know he wouldn't want them going anywhere! I won't let you take them!"
"Now, now, I'm sure Shawn wouldn't have wanted them to suffer."
"They're not suffering! I take good care of them!" Sarah walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains, "See, they're all in fine condition."
Jenny looked out the window dubiously, "That doesn't really look like fine condition to me…"
Sarah looked out the window. She gasped, "It's terrible!" She turned on Darren and Coren. "It's all their fault! They've been feeding and doing things to them!"
"Frankly mam, feeding them probably saved those Pokemon's lives."
Sarah started crying again.
"Now don't worry Sarah, we'll make sure they go to good homes."
Sarah looked up, "Could I help?"
"Well, I suppose it's possible."
Sarah turned to Darren, "You boy, what's your name?"
"Darren Crowthrew." Shin Rock had wandered over to him.
"You've been feeding Shin, haven't you?"
"Yes."
"He seems to really trust you."
"I guess."
"Than I want you to have him. I know you'll take proper care of him."
"Really? You want me to have him! Oh, but I'm not old enough."
"Don't worry dear, as long as you're parents agree to helping you, I'm sure we can work something out." Said Officer Jenny. "Now Sarah, is there anyone else that you'd like to offer Pokemon to?"
"Well, there's my grandson, Damien."
"Isn't he the one who has special permission to work with Pokemon?"
"That's him," said Sarah, "He's going to be master trainer one day."
"Alright, I'm going to use your phone to call him, so that we can get these Pokemon into better conditions as soon as possible. I'll also call someone to come and go over your finances, alright?"
"I suppose I do need help…"
Officer Jenny used the phone to make a couple of calls. "Alright people, I have to take some photos as evidence, and then let's get to work on cleaning up these Pokemon."
They were cleaning up the yard when a car pulled up. A long, black, haired woman got out of the drivers' side, and a boy with shoulder length, black, hair got out of the passenger side.
"So you're finally taking her Pokemon away?" asked the woman, looking around at the run down yard, "It's about time, wouldn't you say? This place is falling apart. Sarah obviously can't cope with the work involved in maintaining a place like this.
"Damien, you go look through the Pokemon on the off chance that any of them are worth anything."
"I doubt it. They all look weak…" said the black haired boy as he carefully made his way around the dirtiest areas. He made his way past a tied oddish, and a cluster off apparently wild venonat that had clumped together in an abandoned shelter. In a dirty, beat up wading pool swam a horsea. He jumped back as a grimer slopped forward. "This place is so messy it's attracting grimers!"
Damien was about to pass by two more houses when he paused. He stared at the Pokemon tied to a house. It was a dirty, ragged vulpix. He moved on and looked at the rest of the Pokemon. There was also a thin, sick looking eevee. He came back to where the others stood. "The only ones really worth any time training are the eevee, meowth, machop, and maybe the ekans and female nidoran. I guess I might as well take them and see if they show any signs of improving."
"Alright, but be careful that you don't take any useless ones, we don't have the time or money to spend on them if their only going to be good at needing care." Said the woman, she turned to Sarah, "Where are their Poke-balls? Or do you remember?"
Sarah frowned slightly, but then said, "They're in the house."
"In that dump? That doesn't tell us much, you know."
Sarah swallowed, "I- I'll go get them."
"Let's hope she can find them," said the woman as Sarah went into the house.
"Now Mrs.Durlan, you know she has a memory problem," said Jenny.
"Exactly. How much does she even remember?"
Sara came back holding a box of Poke-balls. "Now what one would you like?"
Damien brushed the hair out of his eyes, "Definitely that vulpix. And that meowth. I'll take the machop, and I guess the ekans and female nidoran too."
Sarah pulled several Poke-balls out of the box and handed them to Damien, "The vulpix's name is Storm. The meowth is Thrifter. The Machop is Keyi, pinsir is Clamp, and nidoran is Angela."
Damien took the Poke-balls and got his Pokemon.
"Alright Officer, is that it?" said Mrs.Durlan.
"Yes Mrs.Durlan, you and Damien may go now."
Mrs.Durlan and Damien got in the car and left.
"What a personality," said Coren.
"The lady or the kid?" asked Darren.
"Both."
"Alright, I guess I should take these Pokemon over to the Poke-center now."
"Wait a moment," said Sarah, "Darren was it? If you want any more Pokemon, please take them. You two could have some as well."
"Oh I wish I could, but my parents are too busy," said Aleena.
"Yeah," said Coren, "I'm lucky that they're helping me take care of Survivor here."
"I wouldn't mind some more," said Darren, "but how come you'll be taking them to the Poke-center?"
"Well," said Jenny, "There is no where else to take them, and they do need care."
"There's no where else? But what about shelters or Pokemon preserves?"
"There aren't any around here. There is a wild Pokemon preserve a ways away, but these Pokemon don't have any recent experience in the wild, if any. They wouldn't stand much of a chance on their own."
"Well, there should be a shelter or sanctuary." Darren said, as walked back into the Pokemon area. When he came back out he said, "There's only five left. If I don't take them then they'll end up in the recovery room of the Poke-center?"
"Until some one wants to take one, yes."
"In that case, I'll take all four," said Darren, holding his head up decisively.
"Oh that's so good of you!" cried Sarah, "Thank you for taking care of them!
"The eevee is Cora, the oddish is Flora, the magikarp is Prophet, the ekans is Scale and the horsea is Sophia."
Darren took the Poke-balls and got his Pokemon.
"Darren I'd like to go home with you and talk to your parents alright?" asked Jenny.
"Okay," he turned to Coren and Aleena, "I guess I'll see you around. Good luck with Survivor."
"Thanks," said Coren.
Darren turned to Sarah, "Thank you for giving me your Pokemon."
She smiled wryly, "I didn't have much choice, but you're welcome.
"At least I know that you'll take good care of them."
Darren paused a moment, then said, "You can visit them if you like."
Sarah's face lit up, "Really? You mind that?"
"No, they were your Pokemon after all."
"Thank you, so very much."
"No problem."
Coren turned to Sarah, "Good by."
"Good by child."
"Good by." Said Aleena.
"Good by dear."
"Coren, can I carry Survivor home?" asked Aleena.
Coren looked at her, sighed, and said, "I suppose so."
"Thank you!" said Aleena, swooping Survivor up so quickly that he quacked in surprise.
"Hey, be careful with him."
"I am being careful!"
"Then don't pick him up so quickly."
"Oh, you worry too much, Coren! He may be injured, but he's not fragile, picking him up fast isn't going to brake him."
"It's not very considerate towards him."
"Rrrr, Coren, I'm not trying to be mean to him, I didn't mean to pick him up so fast, so stop criticizing me!" she glared at him.
"Okay, Okay, I'm sorry." Said Coren.
"It's okay, apology accepted!"
Coren stared sulkily down the road.
Aleena glanced at him, "Coren, I'm sorry about earlier, back when Sarah came out. I though you were right behind me. If I'd known you were still there, I wouldn't have left you. Or Survivor."
Coren shrugged, but looked less sulky, "It's all right. I chose to stay."
"Yes, but I should've stayed with you. What if she'd done something to you? A friend doesn't just run off when their friend is in trouble."
"But you didn't realize that I hadn't run. It's not your fault that you didn't stay."
"Thanks Coren. I want to be a good friend. Not just some one who'll leave the moment there's trouble."
"You wouldn't do that! You are a good friend." Coren suddenly looked somewhat embarrased.
"Thanks Coren, you're the best."
Coren couldn't help but grin a little.