Chapter Two
It seemed like only an instant before the darkness had released her. Sundrop gazed around at her surroundings, amazed as she saw long, white tables, pastel walls, and shining instruments. She whimpered, looking around for her father or brother, but no one she knew was in sight.
A tall, pale-skinned creature with bright red hair approached the desk. Sundrop cringed away, ready for the worst, but the creature merely stroked the fur on her back gently, crooning to her in soft tones. Sundrop soon relaxed, and the creature picked her up and moved her to a large machine. The thing made loud noises, but the creature continued with her low humming, so the pup was not worried.
"It looks like you're as healthy as you can be, little one," smiled the creature, "So it's time for you to meet your trainer!"
Another creature entered the room, much younger than the first, and shook hands with the red haired being. Sundrop stood motionless, confused, but the new creature smiled down at her warmly.
"Hi, Poochyena!" she said, tenderly rubbing Sundrop's tiny head, "My name is Kara, and I'm your trainer. I bought you from a Pokemon merchant a few hours ago, and I thought I'd better have you checked before I trained you. Merchants aren't always reliable, you know."
"It's lucky you found this one, Kara, she probably wouldn't have had a good life otherwise," said the first creature.
"Thanks, Nurse Joy. So, what should I name her?"
"I don't know... she really looks like a Lemon to me!"
"No, it's not beautiful enough for her, and neither is Sunny... how about Lemon Drop, no…that name is too long…"
"Why don't you mix Lemon Drop and Sunny together?" suggested Nurse Joy.
"Oh, you mean like Sun lemon? That's still too long, how about Sun... drop! Sundrop!"
"Oh, it's a perfect name, and it fits her! You're so good at choosing names for your Pokemon, Kara."
"Thanks, Joy." smiled Kara. Suddenly, she jumped, surprising Sundrop into barking, "I have to get going now; I'm late for training! Have a nice day!" said Kara hurriedly as she picked up Sundrop.
"You too, dear!"
The Poochyena watched in fascination as she was carried out of the building, looking at the tall shops and houses around her. She saw strange contraptions, made of metal and rubber wheels, which moved down a gray line. Her trainer moved towards a different vehicle, one which Sundrop knew as a bike from stories told by her parents. Kara carefully set her in a soft, padded basket attached to the handlebars, and the bike jolted as it began moving.
"This is my trick bike, Sundrop, I've had it for a year now. It's gotten me out of some scrapes, I can tell you that much!"
Sundrop turned and barked in delight, enjoying the feeling of the wind on her face and the building whirring by. She saw Kara smile, and wagged her bushy yellow tail in response.
"My house is out of town, but we'll get there soon enough. Just enjoy the sights before we begin training, okay?"
Sundrop wagged her tail again, looking at the tall trees along the road. Soon, she began seeing fields of strange green plants, and she turned to Kara in confusion.
"Those are corn plants, they produce food called corn. There's also a berry that looks like those plants, I think it's called Cornn."
Soon, a large house came into view above the corn stalks. Sundrop barked as she saw it, and felt Kara's hand stroke her back.
"We're almost home, Sundrop!"
'Home?' thought Sundrop sadly, 'Too bad my home is gone, probably forever...' She whimpered, but the sound was lost in the wind. Kara pulled into the driveway of the gigantic house, stopping before the gate to plug in some numbers. Sundrop stared in amazement at the land surrounding the house; most was forest, but some was a huge obstacle course on which many Pokemon were currently training.
"Welcome, my little Sundrop, to Fallacy Manor!"
'Fallacy Manor, huh?' thought Sundrop curiously, 'Well, it doesn't look half bad. I could get used to it.'
Kara parked the bike next to the huge building, lifting Sundrop from the basket as she finished chaining the vehicle to the wall. She carried the Poochyena into the house, which was decorated with beautiful paintings and furniture, and shut the ornate door.
"I have to go upstairs, but you can stay down here and explore, okay?" said Kara, looking at Sundrop as she set the Poochyena on the floor, "But don't break anything, or I'll have to leave you outside from now on."
The girl ran up the stairs, leaving Sundrop to herself. The Poochyena stared about the room, and saw a stunning painting that was hanging on the wall. She carefully leapt on the table to get a better look, and panted with excitement as she viewed the scene.
The backdrop was the deep forest, and in the foreground was a group of playing Vulpix. Most of the fox Pokemon were a rich mahogany brown in color, but the one in the background had a sparkling golden coat. Sundrop smiled and turned too look at other scenes.
The next painting had a Breloom, it was normal in color, but it seemed to be in a vile predicament. Its leg was caught in a vicious snare, and thick blood was coursing down its foot as it tried to escape. Rain poured on its battered body, and Sundrop whimpered in sympathy.
She turned from the paintings, and suddenly saw Kara smiling at her. She jumped back in surprise, claws scrabbling on the tabletop as she tried to stop from falling. There was a soft thud as she landed on the floor, and Kara rushed over to help the Poochyena.
"Well, I see you like my paintings, Sundrop," she said, laughing at the Poochyena's shocked expression, "Yes, I made them. They're stories, told to me by my brother, who heard them from his friend. My brother has some shiny Pokemon, too; a Ninetales named Sparkle and a Vibrava named Hope."
Sundrop barked happily, her eyes radiating excitement. Kara laughed and scooped the little pup in her arms, running around the room to explain the paintings in detail.
"That one's of my brother's friend, Tessa. I only met her once, but she's really nice. She has a huge Pokemon reserve somewhere near Littleroot Town. Oh, that one has her Flygon in it, Snap and Azure. This one is a Dark Arbok, from another story. I think he looks really sad..." mused Kara, looking at the painting, "I didn't mean to make it that way, but paintings can have a mind of their own sometimes!"
Sundrop nodded, looking at the next painting in awe. It wasn't quite finished, but it had a split scene between a sky blue Grovyle with red leaves in a jungle landscape. The other side was a rainbow above a lake. The background wasn't finished on the second, and the main character was a little blurry, but the sparkling trail could not be mistaken.
"That's a secret painting. I'm not quite finished yet, because Tessa has to come with Sky before I can get all the details. You might get a chance to meet the great Shiny Assassin, my little Sundrop."
Sundrop looked at Kara, whimpering in confusion. Shiny Assassin? What did that mean?
"Oh, she's not really an Assassin! That's just the nickname she got because she trains her shiny Pokemon to really high levels to battle in competitions. She doesn't battle as much anymore, so I don't think you'll have to worry about facing one of her Pokemon!"
Sundrop relaxed, satisfied with the explanation. Kara walked through the kitchen and out the back door, heading towards the training grounds. Sundrop wagged her tail, comfortable in her trainer's arms.
On the field, there was a multitude of Pokemon training on the various courses. On the jagged rock course, there were a few normal and dark type Pokemon breaking boulders. On the water course, ground and fire type pokemon trained. The fire course flamed with grass and bug types, and the grass course held water and psychic types. Sundrop looked on in awe as the Pokemon performed amazing deeds, like cutting rocks in half and braving firewalls.
"Most of these Pokemon's owners pay me to have them train here. Only a few are mine, like that Camerupt over by the water course. I raised him from a Numel; he was my first Pokemon." Kara pointed out.
She set Sundrop by the rock course while waiting for the Camerupt to amble over. When it had finally reached them, Kara pampered it with a small treat and a pat on the head.
"This is Sundrop, Volcano. She's new here, so I want you to show her around the rock course. I know you'll help her, but be gentle, okay?"
The Camerupt nodded slowly, watching as Kara walked back into the house. He turned to Sundrop as the door closed and grinned, making the Poochyena cringe in uncertainty.
"Don't be afraid, little one," drawled Volcano, "I'm less intimidating than I look."
"Hi..." stammered Sundrop, starting to relax.
"This is the rock course," continued the camel Pokemon, "Your main goal here will be to break the rocks, but we'll start you off a little gentler than that. I suggest you work on your bite, tackle, and sand-attacks first."
"How?" asked Sundrop.
"Over by the house, there are some practice sandbags. When you can make one explode, you'll be ready to try the beginner rock course." said Volcano, leading the Poochyena to the practice course.
The huge, tan colored sandbags were arranged in a line. Some looked very worn, and others had rips in them, but they were all solid looking. Sundrop walked curiously to one, and began gnawing on its edge.
"That's not quit what I meant, little one," chuckled the Camerupt, "But it's a good way to get started. Try a Bite attack, and see how strong those jaws are."
Sundrop growled and ran toward another sandbag, jumping at it and biting as hard as she could. The bag gave beneath her feet, and she slid off, landing with a thump on the grass. She smiled and ran at it again, trying a tackle this time.
The sandbag was heavy, but the force of her hit sent it tumbling from the house. She barked and chased it, nipping at the frayed edges in excitement. Volcano sighed and grinned, watching as the young Pokemon tripped over her own feet.
Suddenly, Sundrop concentrated. A dark, purplish ball of energy appeared before her, steadily growing before it shot towards the sandbag. The sack burst, showering everyone close with a spray of sand. Sundrop, covered in sand, sat panting in the middle of the chaos.
"Well, my young pupil," exclaimed Volcano, sounding impressed, "It seems there are a few surprises in store with you! I never saw a Poochyena use Shadow Ball before; you must have been born with it."
"Shadow Ball?" asked Sundrop.
"Yes, it is a powerful ghost attack. A Poochyena can only learn it from a TM, so one of your ancestors must have been a trained Pokemon."
"Trained?"
"Oh, you don't know what trained is?" asked Volcano worriedly.
He sighed as Sundrop shook her head. The young Poochyena shook the sand off her golden coat as she strode up the Camerupt.
"Trained is... well, its sort of a state. A human captures you, and you participate in friendly battle against other Pokemon. Whether you win or lose, you grow stronger. At certain levels of strength, you can learn new attacks, or your human trainer teaches you a new attack from a TM. The humans can't understand us, but we seem to get along well enough. It's simple when you think about it."
"I think I understand," said Sundrop, "But what's battle? Does it have something to do with the attacks I'm learning?"
"Yes, it does. Your trainer calls out the attacks she wants you to use, and you use them. The other pokemon you are battling also tries to use attacks on you, but a combination of speed and defense can easily keep them from hitting."
"Okay, I understand now," said Sundrop.
The shining Poochyena ran at a row of sandbags, sending the first flying with a concentrated tackle attack. The next was ripped by a vicious bite, and a sand-attack covered the sack beyond. The last bag was exploded neatly with a Shadow Ball. Sundrop finished attacking and loped back to Volcano.
"I think I'm ready," she said.
The brown and white Pokemon looked at Sundrop with an unnerving air of confidence. The Poochyena watched it with a look of intense concentration, waiting for Kara to call an attack. Waves appeared in the grass on the field as it stirred slightly when small wind passed between the Pokemon.
"Zigzagoon, use Sand-attack!" called the other trainer.
The raccoon Pokemon turned and sent a flurry of sand flying into the air with its back legs. Sundrop turned her head to avoid getting dirt in her eyes, and was bowled over by a Tackle from the hidden Pokemon.
"Sundrop, concentrate and use Bite!"
Sundrop squinted into the sand, looking for the slight shadow that would give away the position of her opponent. Somewhere on the far side of the field, she found what she was looking for. Growling viciously, she flew at the Zigzagoon, succeeding in her attack by latching onto the Pokemon's tail.
The Zigzagoon yelped in surprise and pain, flailing around to try and dislodge the small pup. Sundrop's jaws suddenly came loose, and she was thrown to the other side of the field.
"Good job, Zigzagoon, now try a Headbutt!"
Sundrop was still trying to get her bearings when the raccoon Pokemon flew at her. She was flung to her trainer's feet, battered, but still able to battle.
"Come on, Sundrop, I know you can do it!" encouraged Kara.
The Poochyena got to her feet and trotted into the arena, ready for another round. The Zigzagoon still looked strong, while Sundrop was beginning to tire. She hoped she could beat it.
"Sundrop, use Shadow Ball!" called Kara.
Sundrop concentrated, and a purple ball of energy appeared before her. It shot across the field, sending a spray of sand behind it from the force. The ball of dark energy headed straight for the Zigzagoon, but surprisingly, it didn't make an attempt to dodge.
The attack hit the other Pokemon with an explosion that made both trainers shield their eyes. Sundrop and Kara waited anxiously to see if they had won, but when the dust cleared, the Zigzagoon stood unfazed.
"How did it do that?" asked Kara, amazed at the development.
"Well, you don't seem to know much, do you?" laughed the other trainer, "Normal types are impervious to ghost type attacks! You certainly can't be a very good trainer if you didn't know that!"
"Oh, it's a ghost type attack!" exclaimed Kara, "I forgot!"
"Well, Zigzagoon, let's finish this small fry off with a Pin Missile!"
"Sundrop, try to dodge!"
The Zigzagoon's fur rose, and sharp hairs shot across the field at the small Poochyena. Sundrop tried to escape the pins, but many found their mark. Suddenly, her foot slipped on the ground, and she fell to the barrage. When the smoke had cleared, she was knocked out.
"Oh, no!" cried Kara, rushing forward to help the Poochyena recover. Sundrop smiled weakly, reaching up to lick her face.
"I'm sorry, Sundrop." she said, "I guess I'm not cut out to be the best trainer..."
Sundrop yipped and whined, wagging her bushy tail in an effort to cheer Kara up. The girl grinned and picked up the shining Poochyena, turning to face her opponent.
"That was a great battle!" she said, "Your Zigzagoon is really strong!"
"Thanks," sneered the trainer, "I hope you and your Poochyena do better later, we can't have disgraces like you running around full time!"
Kara sputtered as he and his Pokemon calmly walked away, disappearing into the trees like a shadow. Sundrop growled, baring her sharp white teeth. Kara sighed and patted her head in defeat.
"He's not worth it, Sundrop," she said, " But we'll show him and his Pokemon! We'll become the best battling team in the Hoenn region!"
Sundrop looked up at her trainer and barked in agreement.