"X" - Talking

'X' - Thinking

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. And I probably never will.

Chapter 2: The Deltan City Detour

Tall buildings. Cars everywhere. A lot of people and not a lot of space. Deltan City resembled Tokyo to a great degree, with people going in all different directions, trying to get to their destinations. Among them is Z, who, after basically being shuffled around ever since he got off the train, is just trying to make it to the tournament held inside the huge Deltan stadium in one piece. His patience finally pays off as he reaches the main gates the massive stadium...20 minutes late.

'Mental note: Next time show up the day before.'

The 65,000 plus crowd was on their feet, cheering as a winner for the tournament was finally decided. Hunter Z clapped as celebration was going around the stadium like the plague. He had to admit, this had been an entertaining 3 days.

"Trainers seem to be putting more and more heart into training these days", he thought to himself.

On the field the winner was being presented with a lavish trophy. He hoisted it in the air, gaining more applause from the ecstatic crowd. However, Z had seen enough and moved towards the exit.

Clear blue water sparkled under the afternoon sun as Z relaxed on a park bench in Deltan's famous Forenzen Park. Statues of famous people and pokemon, teamed up with bushes, lined the sidewalk of the oval shaped park. Random thoughts crossed through his mind as he sat there.

"Excuse me, young man. May I have a minute of your time?"

Z looked up at his questioner, who was wearing a brown trench coat and a cowboy hat. The grey hair all around his face showed that he was quite old. But you wouldn't think so by the life in his blue eyes. Though he was a little irritated his moments of peace were broken, he decided to listen.

"Okay. Shoot."

The man turned towards the water, his eyes gazing upon the calm lake.

"I'm looking for a pokemon trainer to help me transport an item of mine to one of Silph Co.'s warehouses in Blackthorn City. I was wondering if you would like to participate...Hunter Z.

That caught Z's attention.

"I guess my hood didn't do a good job concealing my identity did it", Z remarked.

"Your eyes gave you away when you looked up at me. Your eyes are part of what define you, along with your skill."

Z thought about it for a moment. In his mind, it was a nice offer, but he'd rather go home and relax. This transport didn't seem like anything special.

"Well...I'm sorry, but I'm gonna decline your offer. You'll have to find somebody else."

The man was taken back a little by Z's response, but he wasn't gonna give up.

"Is that so Hunter Z..."

The man reveals a shiny red and white ball from his left pocket.

"...Then perhaps I can sway your decision with a pokemon battle. 2 pokemon each", the man said.

"You must want this bad, don't you, old man", Z asked as he up off the bench and spaced himself from the old man. Z stopped and turned to the man, 1 pokeball ready in his hand with 5 others in his pocket. The old man stood, ready for a response to his question.

"You know, I go easy on noone, so I hope you're ready."

"I wouldn't have it any other way", the old man responded.

Z eyes flashed white and red before returning to their original colors, a smirk appearing on his face. "Let's begin then. Go, Houndoom!"

"Go, Starmie!"

The devil dog and psychic starfish appeared in front of their respective trainers, ready to fight.

"Let's do this Houndoom! Flamethrower!"

Flames erupt from the dog's mouth as it shoots them at Starmie. But it stands ready with one of its own attacks.

"Starmie! Water gun!"

Water spews from the jewel on starmie and collides with Houndoom's flamethrower. Both attacks fight for superiority as both creatures pour more power into them. Suddenly, Houndoom's flamethrower gives way, letting the water gun speed towards its target. However, it target has disappeared. Starmie stops its attack and searches for its opponent, only for him to appear right in front of it.

"Houndoom! Faint attack!"

Starmie fires another water gun, but all it hits is air as Houndoom appears behind Starmie and slashes it with his paw. Starmie staggers a little, but regains its balance, and turns to face Houndoom. But it gets an unwelcome greeting as Houndoom rams it with his horns, sending the starfish sailing. Flames start to slither through its teeth as it readies itself for its next attack.

"Houndoom! Fire Blast!"

Houndoom lets it fly, nailing Starmie dead on, and watches as it hits the ground, unmoving. The old man, semi-shocked, recalls starmie back to its pokeball. Z just stood there smiling.

" Type advantage don't matter if you don't have the level to back it up", Z retorted.

"Well, let's see how you like this then. Go, Corsola!"

The sea rock stared daggers at houndoom, who matched glares with one of his own. But the glares soon turned to action as corsola fired a water gun at Houndoom, who quickly dodged the attack. The dog rushed in for a tackle, but was in for a surprise.

"Corsola! Fissure!"

Corsola jumped high into the air and made an earth-shattering landing. And that's just what the ground did. Ripples of sidewalk rushed in as houndoom was about to collide with a very bad situation. However, instead of colliding, houndoom leapt over the lethal attack and continued to his target, only for his target to come to him with yet another surprise.

"Corsola! Hydro pump!"

Houndoom wasn't so lucky this time as he was blasted back to his trainer's side by a hard shot of water from corsola's mouth. The devil dog rose to his feet slower than usual, but he still had fight left in him.

"I figured you find a way out of that situation, but you're not the only one with tricks up your sleeve", the old man replied. Z stood unamused.

"Is that so?", Z said. "Well I guess we'll just have to turn up the heat a little...Houndoom! Sunny day!"

The devil dog howled to the sun as its rays began to beat down harder on the spot this battle was taking place. It seemed as if the temperature had risen at least 20 degrees.

" You may have powered up your dog, but my Corsola is also stronger, too...Corsola! Rollout!"

Corsola formed herself into a ball of destruction and hurled herself at Houndoom. Houndoom tried to dodge the attack, but corsola changed its course of flight and hit houndoom dead on. Houndoom hit the ground hard and struggled to get up as corsola turned around and made a b-line for the dog. This time houndoom successfully dodged the attack and followed it up with a flamethrower. But the attack proved useless and corsola kept rolling and made another turn for him. Z stood there, unfazed by what was happening, even though his houndoom was tiring with each dodge of corsola's attack.

"Houndoom! Run towards it!"

And run he did as houndoom charged towards certain defeat. The old man was shocked at this turn events, trying to figure out what was going. Little did he know what was on the horizon.

"Now, Houndoom! Dodge it, but keep on your feet!"

Houndoom only had inches to spare as corsola whizzed passed him, ready to run him over. Houndoom continued to run as Corsola tried to turn and catch up. But as soon as Corsola straightened itself out, Houndoom skidded to a halt and faced his opponent, eyes ablaze in a fiery red. Its paws dug into the ground as it readied its attack.

"Let's see how you like this! Houndoom, Solarbeam!"

A large beam of solar energy barreled down on corsola as Houndoom unleashed an unlikely strike on it. It hit her dead on, stopping her in her tracks and knocking her into the ground, hard...and unconscious.

The old man stood shocked at what just transpired. Z was setting him up the whole time just for that one attack...

"Corsola, return!"

"Houndoom, great job! Return!"

Both pokemon returned to their respective pokeballs. Z looked at the old man and sneered.

"Guess I win this one", Z said.

"I guess so" was all the old man could muster to say. "Well Z, I bid thee farewell."

The old man turned to leave. But Z wasn't finished.

"Wait...Give me a plane ticket back here and we've got a deal," Z said, bringing a smile upon the old man's lips. 'Man, Sabrina's gonna kill me...'

"I thank you, young man. You will be compensated for this."

"So...what is this item you're talking about", Z inquired. The old man reaches inside his pocket and pulls out a golden medallion. On it was a carving of a strange creature on front. Z took the medallion into his hands and examined it some more as the old man spoke up.

"I found it while I was going through Mt. Moon. I don't know what to do with it, so I'm sending it to some friends of mine at Silph Corp to see if they can figure out what it is."

Z puts the Medallion in his backpack and looks at the old man. "Well, I'll see to it that it gets there. Have that plane ticket waiting for me when I get there."

Z turns and starts to walk away, the old man watching him leave.

"Good luck, Z. For I feel there is more to that thing than meets the eye."

The old man opens the door to the darkness of his little apartment, glad that artifact is on its way. But his expression soon turns into one of terror as he is pulled into his apartment and pushed against a wall. He feels a sharp object press against his neck, making his fear rise even higher.

"Mr. Reynard Frenesco. Our boss would like to have a word with you", says a masculine voice. "It would be in your best interest to cooperate."

It was still dark, so he couldn't make out who his attacker was. Even if he knew who he was, it wasn't like he was in any position to fight.

"Alright", Reynard said, defeated. "I'll go."

Please R&R.