Watching the Gathering Storm Chapter 2, a pokémon fanfic

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Note from the Author: One thing people are bound to complain about with this fanfic is the fact that it is set in the quote-unquote "real" world. I strive for some modicum of realism in my stories, even in an obviously fantastic setting. In this particular story, it manifests as being set in actual, recognizable locations. I find it interesting to try to see how Pokémon would interact with a more realistic world than that set forth in the games. If this offends some people, then I must apologize.

Text in italics signifies thoughts and/or telepathic speech.

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Part Two:

Meanwhile, in a small backyard, in a development in suburban Maryland, a Pidgey and a Poochyena were facing off. This was a trainer battle, and the Pokemon's trainers were currently in a stare-down. It seemed almost as though neither trainer wanted to be the first to give the order to start the fight.

The Pidgey's trainer, a tall, slender girl of about fifteen, seemed to be almost afraid of her Pokemon, as if it were too powerful for her, and she also seemed to not want to unleash that against the Poochyena opposing her. The other trainer, a stocky, solid young man of eighteen or thereabouts, seemed fairly confident in himself and his Pokemon, but he wanted to see what his opponent would do before he said anything. Their Pokemon were standing obediently where they had landed when their Pokeballs opened, right in front of their trainers. They were waiting for directions, having been with their trainers for some time now and having learned that their trainers usually knew what they were doing.

The third human in the yard, a tall, lanky man of about twenty-two, seemed to be getting impatient. Ever since the two others had decided to fight, he'd been lounging on a lawn chair off to one side of their makeshift arena. Now he was shifting slightly in his chair, watching the two stare each other down.

Finally, the third person had had enough. Squinting into the sun at the Poochyena's trainer, he said, "Aw, c'mon, Jack! Are you just gonna stare at her all day? She ain't even that pretty, y'know."

This earned him a glare from the Pidgey's trainer, who shot back, "Well, Ryan, you aren't that great-looking either!"

Ryan squinted at her, too, and said, "Kath, you oughta' know better by now than to say that. After all, I'm the coolest guy I know." He smirked at this last part.

Jack, the Poochyena's trainer, was now trying to keep from cracking up laughing as he listened to this exchange. His Pokemon looked at him, tilting its black-and-grey head in an expression of confusion. Jack noticed this and bent down to rub behind one of the Dark-type Pokemon's ears. He also said, in a low voice, "Don't worry about them, Scruff. This is the first time they've seen each other since Kathleen was nine, and I was expecting them to do this."

Scruff looked up at his trainer again, somewhat reassured but still greatly confused by the whole exchange. Glancing over at the Pidgey, he noticed that it, too seemed confused, and more than a little anxious about its trainer's arguing. An idea slowly formed in the little Dark-type's mind.

Letting out a yip that surprised everyone, Scruff jumped at the Pidgey and tackled it, knocking it head-over-heels into the trunk of a small tree. The little tan and brown bird righted itself, looking indignantly at the Poochyena, who now was wearing a classic doggy grin. This only served to anger the Pidgey, who let out a chirp before thoroughly dusting the Dark-type with a Sand-Attack.

Jack was the first to respond to the little brawl that was developing, calling out to his Pokemon to back off. The little Bite Pokemon jumped at the call, narrowly avoiding a Quick Attack from the Pidgey, who went barreling into another tree trunk. After checking to make sure that the enraged Pidgey wasn't going to launch another attack after having knocked itself silly on the tree, Scruff bounded over and sat down in front of his trainer.

Glaring at the Dark-type, Jack said, "That wasn't very fair, Scruff. I thought you knew better than that. You're supposed to wait until I give you the call before you attack. And besides..." Scruff just sat there through Jack's lecture with an innocent "who, me?" sort of expression on his face.

Meanwhile, as Jack was yelling at his Pokemon, Kathleen was trying to calm her own down. After crashing into two trees and having one of its attacks miss, causing the second crash, the little Flying-type was absolutely furious. Its enraged chattering had scared all of the other birds in the neighborhood into silence, and when Kathleen tried to pick it up, it snapped at her, its beak grazing her finger.

Sticking the cut finger in her mouth, Kathleen decided that she was going to have to try something else. She looked at the Pidgey for a moment before she thought of something. Untying her sweater from around her waist, she spread it out to use as a net.

Two attempts and five scratches later, Kathleen managed to get the Pidgey thoroughly entangled in her sweater, almost to the point where it looked like Houdini himself couldn't escape from it. Picking up the bundle, she made a mental note never to attempt to fight Jack again. The little bird kicked futilely at the sweater, trying to free itself so it could get at that Poochyena, but the sweater was wrapped too tightly for it to escape.

Kathleen tried to calm it, whispering quietly, "It's okay, Syl. It's okay. I'm sure Scruff didn't mean any harm. He's still just a puppy. Calm down..."

In the meantime, Jack had returned Scruff to his Pokeball after informing the Poochyena that he would not be allowed out for at least twenty-four hours unless something happened where he would be needed. Jack looked up at Kathleen, noticing the little bundle in her arms, and said, "So, did you finally get Sylvia calmed down?"

Kathleen nodded and said, "Sort of. She's still mad at Scruff, and I'm guessing that it'll take awhile for that grudge to go away."

Ryan laughed at this, saying, "Like trainer, like Pokemon. You both hold a grudge for a ridiculous amount of time."

Both Jack and Kathleen glared at him for that remark. Jack wondered in the back of his mind where he'd met such an imbecile, much less become friends with him. He supposed that it was the fact that Ryan's parents had been so close to his own that kind of forced them into an uneasy friendship.

They decided that it was time to go inside after they saw the sky turning orange to the west. The sunset was partially obscured by the dark clouds of a thunderstorm brewing in the distance, and they could hear the thunder already starting to rumble. So, engaged in a friendly argument, they headed inside, completely oblivious to what was happening elsewhere.