Chapter 6
Winona, Lucia and Setijin stood at the outskirts of town, staring blankly at a Graveler, sitting up against a tree, perfectly still, with a small tear in its eye. Winona stepped towards it, showing the other 2 her palm as a signal to stay. She cautiously paced up to it, and crouched down.
"Are you ok?" she asked calmly, with a very sweet and caring nature to her voice. The Graveler remained still. She turned back to Setijin, his nod confirming her theory. "You belonged to that man, didn't you?" She gently rested her hand upon the pokémon's head, carefully stroking it. The Gravelers eyes closed, and it mumbled its name.
"Graveler..." Winona ceased stroking it, and pulled a Luxury pokéball from her pocket. She held it in front of the Gravelers face.
"Would you like to be my pokémon now? We want to find that man too. This way we can both teach him a lesson." The Graveler slowly opened its tear- drenched eyes, and looked at Winona, her sensitive facial expression melting his heart. She flicked open the pokéball, and showed him the innards. He peered in, before taking it into his own hands. With a large, rugged rocky finger, he stroked the padded casing, flipped the ball shut, handed it back to Winona, and tapped the button in the center, encircling himself in red light, before allowing himself to be sucked into the pokéball. Winona carefully elevated it, and popped it gently into her pocket.
"That was very impressive," Lucia remarked. "You really know how to handle these pokémon!"
"Well enough of this. I'm not going to keep this guy for long...I just want to help him get his own back on that guy," Winona replied. "As for now, I say we explore Routes 120 and 121, and make our way towards Lilycove. You never know, he may have struck there too."
Midday had arrived again. The suns rays beat down on everything beneath it. The puddles of water on the floor shimmered incessantly, the scores of flowers lining the paths danced gleefully, and trainers from all around wandered the grass, battling, hunting or simply admiring the gorgeousness of nature. Lucia, Setijin and Winona followed the path around a corner, and reached the coast, gazing in awe at the endless expanse of water stretched before them, Mount Pyre standing tall in the middle, the peak enshrouded in mist. Further down the path stood the Safari Zone, with crowds of pokémon trainers queuing to get inside for a chance to catch the rare pokémon whom wandered the plains inside. Past that stood Lilycove City, with its man houses, motels and the infamous pokémart, largest in all of Hoenn, reaching high into the sky, once again with dozens of trainers waiting for a chance to browse, gathering outside the large automatic doors.
"I've never really explored this place before," Setijin admired. "It's quite incredible when you think about it" The girls agreed.
"Hopefully, we'll find some clue as to where that guy went around here somewhere." Winona took point, and made her way over to the pokémon trainers waiting outside of the Safari Park.
A while later, countless conversations had been initiated, but no information had been gathered. Slightly disheartened, the group pushed on to Lilycove. Their first stop was the pokémon center. Entering, they noticed a very concerned air about the trainers inside. Worried faces were scattered around, and it wasn't long before the group knew the source of the worry.
"We just missed him." Winona scowled. Lucia and Setijin walked around, trying to comfort trainers who were in much more physical distress than the others.
"If we move quickly, we might be able to catch him while he's still in town," Setijin suggested, walking back towards Winona.
"It seems most logical that he would go to the Pokémart next, since there are so many trainers there," Lucia added. They unanimously agreed to the suggestion, and made their way to the back of the city, and to the market, with several trainers from the center following close behind them, with pokéballs at the ready.
Shuffling through the crowds to get into the building, the group admired the overwhelming scale of the building; the giant information desk at the front, the elaborate elevator, and the classy stairs. Filing through the gaps in the people, they rushed towards and up the stairs. Upon reaching the 3rd floor, screams echoed down past them. The hundreds of shoppers fell silent, before Winona and the others sprinted towards the roof.
"My pokémon!" cried a young girl, with an even younger boy on his knees next to her, sobbing, while the man unleashed another flurry of pokéballs to claim his new prizes.
"You two just made me that little bit richer, he laughed, as other trainers from the roof prepared for battle. More pokémon were released as Setijin, Lucia and Winona wearily heaved themselves up the last flight of stairs.
"Finally," sighed Setijin, as he released his Nincanda ready for battle, Lucia's Gulpin appearing by his side. The man span around slowly on the spot, laughing progressively louder as he observed all the new opponents appearing around him, with Electrike's, Breloom's and Furret's being but a few of them. He quickly reached for a pokéball attached to his belt, and threw it directly into the air, stepping to the side as it landed, and released a pokémon, with a cream belly, dark green back, and a flaming head crest and tail..
"Quilava..." it scowled. Winona gasped, while Setijin stood deathly still. "...Cyndaquil?" he whispered. The Quilava ignored him, and unleashed a stream of flames at all of the pokémon in front of him. Several fell, the others falling backwards, heavily injured. Some trainers managed to call them back in time, while others watched helplessly as their partners became just another tick on the mans list. With this, Winona whipped out the luxury ball, and violently hurled it in front of the man. White light shone from the center as Graveler appeared in its place.
"Graveler" it growled. The man faced it, and laughed again, harder than before.
"Welcome back old friend," he said, as the rage built up in the rock pokémons eyes. It clenched its fists with all of its power, the very rock of them cracking as it was crushed, particles of dust and grain falling to his feet.
"Go Graveler, get your revenge!" Winona called out. The Quilava shot forward, and tackled the Graveler, sending it stumbling backwards. Upon hitting the floor, Graveler immediately flung himself back up, throwing the weight of his body at the Quilava. Setijin remained frozen to the spot as Nincanda started chirping at him, awaiting instructions, while Lucia returned her Gulpin.
"It'll be a lot safer if you stay here for now," she whispered to the ball as she pocketed it. The main fight continued.
"Graveler!!!" it cried, each hit landed on the Quilava becoming more powerful than the last, pummeling it until the fiery spikes on its head blazed intensely once again, stunning the Graveler. It staggered back, before unleashing another streaming breath of fire, the glow illuminating the entire roof even more so than the sun, the heat warping the air around the two pokémon. The force of the blast let off an enormous, glass shattering bang, which itself sent the Graveler to the very edge of the building. It leant up against the thin metal railings, panting heavily as the Quilava scampered up to it, staring it in the eye before forcing it into the air with a powerful takedown attack.
"Gravel..." it whimpered as it flew high into the sky, falling away from the building. Lucia and the other trainers watched in shock as the boulder sailed further and further away from them, except for Setijin, who remained on the spot, his Nincanda tugging at his trouser leg in desperation.
"...Cyndaquil?"
Winona, Lucia and Setijin stood at the outskirts of town, staring blankly at a Graveler, sitting up against a tree, perfectly still, with a small tear in its eye. Winona stepped towards it, showing the other 2 her palm as a signal to stay. She cautiously paced up to it, and crouched down.
"Are you ok?" she asked calmly, with a very sweet and caring nature to her voice. The Graveler remained still. She turned back to Setijin, his nod confirming her theory. "You belonged to that man, didn't you?" She gently rested her hand upon the pokémon's head, carefully stroking it. The Gravelers eyes closed, and it mumbled its name.
"Graveler..." Winona ceased stroking it, and pulled a Luxury pokéball from her pocket. She held it in front of the Gravelers face.
"Would you like to be my pokémon now? We want to find that man too. This way we can both teach him a lesson." The Graveler slowly opened its tear- drenched eyes, and looked at Winona, her sensitive facial expression melting his heart. She flicked open the pokéball, and showed him the innards. He peered in, before taking it into his own hands. With a large, rugged rocky finger, he stroked the padded casing, flipped the ball shut, handed it back to Winona, and tapped the button in the center, encircling himself in red light, before allowing himself to be sucked into the pokéball. Winona carefully elevated it, and popped it gently into her pocket.
"That was very impressive," Lucia remarked. "You really know how to handle these pokémon!"
"Well enough of this. I'm not going to keep this guy for long...I just want to help him get his own back on that guy," Winona replied. "As for now, I say we explore Routes 120 and 121, and make our way towards Lilycove. You never know, he may have struck there too."
Midday had arrived again. The suns rays beat down on everything beneath it. The puddles of water on the floor shimmered incessantly, the scores of flowers lining the paths danced gleefully, and trainers from all around wandered the grass, battling, hunting or simply admiring the gorgeousness of nature. Lucia, Setijin and Winona followed the path around a corner, and reached the coast, gazing in awe at the endless expanse of water stretched before them, Mount Pyre standing tall in the middle, the peak enshrouded in mist. Further down the path stood the Safari Zone, with crowds of pokémon trainers queuing to get inside for a chance to catch the rare pokémon whom wandered the plains inside. Past that stood Lilycove City, with its man houses, motels and the infamous pokémart, largest in all of Hoenn, reaching high into the sky, once again with dozens of trainers waiting for a chance to browse, gathering outside the large automatic doors.
"I've never really explored this place before," Setijin admired. "It's quite incredible when you think about it" The girls agreed.
"Hopefully, we'll find some clue as to where that guy went around here somewhere." Winona took point, and made her way over to the pokémon trainers waiting outside of the Safari Park.
A while later, countless conversations had been initiated, but no information had been gathered. Slightly disheartened, the group pushed on to Lilycove. Their first stop was the pokémon center. Entering, they noticed a very concerned air about the trainers inside. Worried faces were scattered around, and it wasn't long before the group knew the source of the worry.
"We just missed him." Winona scowled. Lucia and Setijin walked around, trying to comfort trainers who were in much more physical distress than the others.
"If we move quickly, we might be able to catch him while he's still in town," Setijin suggested, walking back towards Winona.
"It seems most logical that he would go to the Pokémart next, since there are so many trainers there," Lucia added. They unanimously agreed to the suggestion, and made their way to the back of the city, and to the market, with several trainers from the center following close behind them, with pokéballs at the ready.
Shuffling through the crowds to get into the building, the group admired the overwhelming scale of the building; the giant information desk at the front, the elaborate elevator, and the classy stairs. Filing through the gaps in the people, they rushed towards and up the stairs. Upon reaching the 3rd floor, screams echoed down past them. The hundreds of shoppers fell silent, before Winona and the others sprinted towards the roof.
"My pokémon!" cried a young girl, with an even younger boy on his knees next to her, sobbing, while the man unleashed another flurry of pokéballs to claim his new prizes.
"You two just made me that little bit richer, he laughed, as other trainers from the roof prepared for battle. More pokémon were released as Setijin, Lucia and Winona wearily heaved themselves up the last flight of stairs.
"Finally," sighed Setijin, as he released his Nincanda ready for battle, Lucia's Gulpin appearing by his side. The man span around slowly on the spot, laughing progressively louder as he observed all the new opponents appearing around him, with Electrike's, Breloom's and Furret's being but a few of them. He quickly reached for a pokéball attached to his belt, and threw it directly into the air, stepping to the side as it landed, and released a pokémon, with a cream belly, dark green back, and a flaming head crest and tail..
"Quilava..." it scowled. Winona gasped, while Setijin stood deathly still. "...Cyndaquil?" he whispered. The Quilava ignored him, and unleashed a stream of flames at all of the pokémon in front of him. Several fell, the others falling backwards, heavily injured. Some trainers managed to call them back in time, while others watched helplessly as their partners became just another tick on the mans list. With this, Winona whipped out the luxury ball, and violently hurled it in front of the man. White light shone from the center as Graveler appeared in its place.
"Graveler" it growled. The man faced it, and laughed again, harder than before.
"Welcome back old friend," he said, as the rage built up in the rock pokémons eyes. It clenched its fists with all of its power, the very rock of them cracking as it was crushed, particles of dust and grain falling to his feet.
"Go Graveler, get your revenge!" Winona called out. The Quilava shot forward, and tackled the Graveler, sending it stumbling backwards. Upon hitting the floor, Graveler immediately flung himself back up, throwing the weight of his body at the Quilava. Setijin remained frozen to the spot as Nincanda started chirping at him, awaiting instructions, while Lucia returned her Gulpin.
"It'll be a lot safer if you stay here for now," she whispered to the ball as she pocketed it. The main fight continued.
"Graveler!!!" it cried, each hit landed on the Quilava becoming more powerful than the last, pummeling it until the fiery spikes on its head blazed intensely once again, stunning the Graveler. It staggered back, before unleashing another streaming breath of fire, the glow illuminating the entire roof even more so than the sun, the heat warping the air around the two pokémon. The force of the blast let off an enormous, glass shattering bang, which itself sent the Graveler to the very edge of the building. It leant up against the thin metal railings, panting heavily as the Quilava scampered up to it, staring it in the eye before forcing it into the air with a powerful takedown attack.
"Gravel..." it whimpered as it flew high into the sky, falling away from the building. Lucia and the other trainers watched in shock as the boulder sailed further and further away from them, except for Setijin, who remained on the spot, his Nincanda tugging at his trouser leg in desperation.
"...Cyndaquil?"