Forest Grotto, Sinnoh
Jacob trudged out of a large forest, letting out a satisfied sigh. He leaned up against a nearby tree, looking down at the surroundings. "Finally..."
Oliver was close behind, reading his map to make sure that they were going in the correct direction. He kept reading his map, so he didn't notice that he was nearly going to fall down a steep incline.
Before he fell, a hand grabbed him and managed to stop him. It was Sophie, who looked around at the sights with slight amazement. "Oliver? You might want to see this."
"Yeah, it's amazing!" Jacob exclaimed, looking around excitedly.
"What's going..." He soon trailed off as soon as he looked up from his map. "...On?"
The Oshawott's confused expression quickly turned to an excited one as he looked at the town ahead. He nearly laughed, so glad to finally be there.
"We've finally made it to Forest Grotto!" Jacob exclaimed, throwing both of his paws into the air. "What should we do first?"
"Well first, I was thinking that we should split up for a bit." Oliver answered, "Me and Sophie could go get us stocked in food while you go sightseeing."
"Why just me alone?" The Pikachu asked.
"Because we know if we brought you to the store with us, you'd complain." Sophie answered bluntly. "By doing it this way, we all get what we want."
"I guess when you put it like that, it makes sense." Jacob nodded, "Well, I guess I'll see you two later."
"We should meet back at the entrance." Oliver suggested. "That way we book a center room together."
"You got it." The Pikachu nodded.
Oliver and Jacob bumped paws before they began to head in opposite directions, Sophie walking with Oliver.
Jacob walked through the grassy floor of Forest Grotto's walkway. He wore a soft smile as he looked around at the sights, but couldn't help but notice that he could see metal sticking out of the ground in front of the doors to each place.
He also noticed something else. There were barely any Pokémon walking around, despite the large size of the place. But the Pokémon he could see were all looking at him with fear and uncertainty.'
Something was obviously off. Even he could notice that. Why weren't there many Pokémon walking around, despite it being the middle of the day? Why were they looking at him like that?
This annoyed him a bit, as he had always hated being looked at as though he was crazy. It was a personal pet-peeve of his.
Jacob walked up to another Pikachu, but before he could ask anything, the Pikachu quickly ran off, looking back at him occasionally. The Pikachu wore a fearful expression, almost as if Jacob had walked up to him with a gash on his face.
His paws clenched, trying to hold his carefree smile. He shook, trying to control himself. He noticed a parent looking at Jacob, shielding her child from him the second he looked over.
Jacob let out a sigh before continuing to walk, trying not to think about it too much.
The Pikachu was so conscious of the multiple pairs of eyes watching him, that he was unable to notice that he was being watched from above.
In the branches of a tree above Jacob, a group of Pokémon, nearly Jacob's age, were watching him closely.
"What do you think?" An Aipom asked, her tail keeping her suspended from one of the branches. "Friend or Foe?"
"It's too soon to tell." A male voice answered from behind her, revealing to be a calm Abra, who was levitating behind the Aipom.
"I wanna bite 'em..." Another male voice remarked from behind. It was a Carnivine, who was using his tentacles to keep him hanging from a branch nearby.
"I agree with Chomps over there." A female Sneasel stated. "I'm ready for some confrontation."
"You do have a point..." The Abra spoke, "We don't know if this stranger's with him or not. We must act quickly, I believe."
"I hear that." One last voice spoke, revealing to be a Scorbunny standing on a branch. "I think we should show this outsider to not mess with the Pokémon here."
The Scorbunny quickly jumped down from the branch he was standing on before holding out a paw towards him. He got a bit closer before putting it close to the back of the Pikachu's head.
"Take this!" The Scorbunny grinned before shooting what seemed to be a Flamethrower from his right paw, an attack that the Pikachu somehow managed to avoid.
"Woah!" Jacob exclaimed, looking back at the Scorbunny. "How did you do that?" He jumped away, making a bit of distance between them.
"He's got quick reaction time..." The Scorbunny thought.
"I'm real lucky that I heard rustling behind me there..." Jacob thought, patting his cheek to get rid of a small fire on his cheeks. "I don't want to have to fight here..."
The Scorbunny suddenly ran towards Jacob, reeling back a paw before going for a punch to his face. Jacob blocked the attack before clenching his left paw and swinging at his chest. The Scorbunny caught the paw before holding it firmly.
"Guys! Now!" He shouted, four Pokémon jumping down soon afterwards.
"Okay, hold on." The Pikachu smiled nervously, looking around. "Before you guys decide to beat me to a pulp, I just want to know why you're attacking me."
The Sneasel scoffed at his statement. "Like we'd tell you."
"Fair point..." Jacob let out a sigh. "...I wouldn't trust me either..."
Jacob managed to shake himself out of the Scorbunny's grip, backing away from him. He looked around at the four other Pokémon that were now surrounding him. The Pikachu opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly stopped by the Sneasel punching him with a cold paw.
Jacob stumbled back before noticing the Aipom was running at him before she jumped up and used Swift. He managed to jump out of the way before charging up electricity to use Thunderbolt in her direction.
The Aipom avoided the attack before immediately firing another Swift. Jacob made sure to block the attack, but was sent to the ground.
He let out a groan before his eyes began to flicker a shade of orange, flickering on and off as if Jacob was trying to resist using his power. He managed to shut it back off before seeing a gap between the Sneasel and Aipom. His Thunderbolt must've thrown her off.
Jacob sprung onto his feet before dashing for the gap between the two Pokémon.
"I'm not done with you yet!" A voice shouted from above, revealing to be a smiling Scorbunny. He reeled back one of his legs before going for a kick to the back of Jacob's head.
Jacob looked up before raising a paw, blocking the kick.
"He won't let me leave...!" The Pikachu made a light groan from the pain before backing away to put his back up against a nearby tree.
He was cornered from all sides. He knew that Oliver and Sophie wouldn't like for him to battle and risk getting them all kicked out. But he was itching to fight back, remembering what being cornered felt like.
Beginning of Flashback
A ball was suddenly thrown into a young Pichu's face, making him groan in pain. He lightly rubbed his face, soon looking up at a looming figure.
It was a Gligar, who lightly chuckled at the sound of his agony. He wore a toothy grin as he loomed over him.
The Pichu tried to shuffle to his right, but was immediately shoved back into his previous position. He looked to his right and saw a Cranidos with the same devious grin on his face.
"L-Leave me alone!" The Pichu shouted, his cheeks lightly sparking electricity.
"Or what?" The Gligar asked, a stifle of a laugh managing to escape from his lips.
"O-Or..." The Pichu began to say, thinking for a quick moment. "Or I'll beat you up!"
The three stood there in silence for a moment, the Gligar and Cranidos exchanging a quick glance. They looked back at the Pichu before beginning to laugh loudly, nearly doubling over in hysterics.
The Pichu looked at them with a bit of anger in his eyes, angry that they weren't taking him seriously.
End of Flashback
Jacob's cheeks sparked electricity before he sprung off of his feet, running forward. "I guess I have no other choice..." He thought, reeling back a paw. "I hate being cornered."
Meanwhile...
Oliver and Sophie walked through what seemed to be a shopping area, remaining silent as they looked around the area. They both could also notice something was a bit off with this town, as this felt a lot more tense than walking the streets of Casteel City.
Oliver was a bit more nervous, looking around with the expectation of being attacked. He stayed close to Sophie, knowing that if anything happened, she'd be more useful then he would.
Sophie honestly couldn't care less. For some odd reason, she was a bit used to being looked at. She could notice that Oliver was nervous, and decided that if anything happened, she'd keep him safe. She couldn't just leave one of her first friends alone to fend for himself.
"So after getting some food, I was thinking that we should get a room at the Pokémon Center." Oliver told Sophie, "That way, nothing like what happened back in Casteel City will happen."
"Right..." Sophie looked down. "...Anyways, have you noticed that every Pokémon we've seen has been looking at us with fear?"
"Yeah, I noticed." The Oshawott nodded, "I just felt like ignoring it would be better than making a big deal out of it."
"You have a point..." The Snivy put a hand on her chin.
The two then walked into a small store, which was selling a large amount of berries and even fish to eat. The two looked around before grabbing a basket and heading towards the berries that they liked best.
As they shopped for berries, the store clerk looked at the two with a hostile glare. His paws clenched on the table he was sitting at.
It was a livid Zoroark, who tried his best to remain professional as he glared at the duo.
Neither of the two noticed, despite proving to be the most alert duo in the current group, they were too busy deciding what to and what not to buy.
"Jacob and I's favorite berries are Oran berries." Oliver told the Snivy, "We should probably get some of those, along with some of your favorites."
"What about status-healing berries?" She asked, "What happens if you or I get paralyzed during a battle? We would need some of those."
"Well, I was thinking we could get those at another store." Oliver explained. "Knowing Jacob, he would eat the berries without a second thought.
"You're suggesting that we should get potions instead?" Sophie raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, that way, we don't have to worry about Jacob consuming them." The Oshawott nodded, "They're good for treating wounds, but really bitter when tasted."
"How do you know all of that?"
"Me and Jacob grew up exploring our village, and we got a lot of scrapes and injuries in the process." Oliver told her, "We would always be treated with potions imported from other areas."
"I thought you were going to say that you read books on the subject." The Snivy looked at him.
"Well, I did a bit of that, too..." He smiled nervously.
"I knew it." Sophie chuckled softly, grabbing a few of her favorite berries, Pecha berries. "How much money do we have anyway?"
"From the six-hundred Poke that Jacob managed to earn between his battles and his win against Dawn, we used around one hundred for the Pokémon Center, and about fifty for the map, leaving us with around four hundred and fifty Poke. We have enough for a good amount of berries."
Sophie was a bit impressed that he remembered how much they had and what they spent the lost money on. "How much do berries cost here, anyway?"
"Hm..." Oliver looked at a sign nearby. "Five Poke."
"That gives us more than enough to buy around twenty berries, and still have Poke for the center." Sophie told him.
"Great!" The Oshawott smiled happily, "Let's get those berries, get Jacob, and head to the Pokémon Center."
The two headed to the checkout, where the clerk wore a feigned indifferent expression. He looked at the various berries, and looked at the tags on the berries they bought. He seemed to be going a bit slower than any normal clerk would go, and Sophie picked up on the sound of multiple beeps as he scanned each item.
Her expression changed from uninterested to slightly agitated as she looked at him. "Hey, why do the first five berries cost fifty Poke instead of the advertised twenty-five?"
The clerk stopped for a moment, "I don't know what you're talking about." He told the duo.
Sophie pointed to the cash register, where an electronic display was shown. Sophie counted that he scanned five berries, but they all cost ten Poke each, five more than the advertised amount.
"Explain that, then."
Oliver looked at it with surprise, shocked that he hadn't noticed sooner. He didn't realize that it was because of his trust in other Pokémon.
"Oh, you want to know why?" The clerk suddenly became slightly more aggressive. "Maybe if you weren't so suspicious, then maybe I'd cut you two some slack, outsiders."
The venom in the Zoroark's voice seemed to pierce through Oliver's lungs, leaving him breathless as he looked at him with shock.
Sophie, however, was a bit more composed, glaring at the clerk with a bit of anger.
While this vicious staredown was happening, a Lucario could be seen entering the main store area from a room in the back, immediately tuning into the commotion at checkout.
His aura appendages began to lightly shake as he observed both the Snivy's and the Oshawott's auras.
"Carl, that's enough." The Lucario walked over.
"Boss?" The Zoroark looked over at him, a bit confused. "But these two are outsiders..."
"They may be outsiders, but not the ones we should be wary of." The Lucario told him. "I don't sense any malicious aura from either of them." He looked between the two, but for some reason, mostly Sophie.
"What?" The clerk's eyes widened.
"Sorry about that, you two." The Lucario walked up to the duo. "My name is Asher, it's nice to meet both of you."
With Jacob...
"Okay, this is starting to get repetitive..." Jacob remarked, sliding under an attack from the Carnivine. The Pikachu breathed heavily as he continued to avoid multiple attacks from the aggressors, still unsure of why.
Although he was getting proficient at avoiding their attacks, he was still feeling a decent amount of fatigue from all of the constant movement.
"Will you guys stop for five seconds and hear me out?" He asked, becoming increasingly agitated. "I don't know why you're attacking me, but I didn't really do anything wrong."
"Right, that's what they always say." The Scorbunny suddenly ran forward, reeling back a paw.
Jacob gripped a paw, reeling it back before running forwards, his paw becoming coated in a familiar white aura.
The two clashed, creating a small shockwave that blew the grass around them ever so slightly.
A single blade of grass was plucked from the ground, the small current of air sending it up flying into the sky. It seemed to dance in the wind as both Jacob and the Scorbunny began to trade equal blows.
The Pikachu managed to dodge a punch from the Scorbunny, which made him lose his balance in the process. The Scorbunny noticed this, and took the opportunity to quickly send a kick to the side of his head.
Jacob groaned in pain before grabbing his foot, soon swinging the Fire type Pokémon into a nearby tree.
While the Pikachu regained his balance, the Scorbunny had already recovered from the throw by using the tree as a foothold to jump off of. He could be seen preparing another kick.
The Mouse Pokémon was just barely able to avoid the attack, but he could feel the warmth of the Scorbunny's foot brush up against.
"My movements are..." Jacob's eyes widened.
"...Slow!" The Scorbunny's eyes widened as well, but his shocked expression was soon replaced by a confident and toothy smirk.
The Scorbunny's paw suddenly burst into flames as he used a Flamethrower out of his paw, using the sudden force to spin and kick Jacob's face.
He was sent flying from the high velocity attack, soon slamming into the ground with a tumble.
The blade of grass that was suddenly sent into the air kept lowering as the battle went on, occasionally being sent back up from a sudden gust of wind caused by one of the Scorbunny's strange Flamethrowers.
Jacob sat up, panting heavily. He was a lot harder to fight against than Dawn or Lizard in the past. He thought for a moment about what was different for a moment as the Scorbunny got closer.
His power!
Why didn't he realize it sooner? He had used his power to get an advantage over his opponents. But why wasn't it activating now? Was it because he decided against using it earlier?
The Scorbunny approached Jacob, cracking the bones in his paw to prepare for a punch.
The blade of grass that was nearing the ground was suddenly blown to the left with a large gust of wind. A gust of wind that both Jacob and his opponent felt. The Pikachu was entirely confused, but the Scorbunny and his friends seemed to know what was up.
Things fell silent in the area, as the gust of wind was only the first of many gusts of wind that pushed mercilessly on Jacob's face.
Jacob's ears suddenly perked at the sound of a siren playing a large ring. He covered his ears in agony before the alarm's pitch and volume lowered enough for him to uncover his ears.
The Pikachu looked over to the Scorbunny, and he was talking with his friends, saying that they needed to head back to a base of sorts. His friends nodded before all of the group began to run off, leaving Jacob behind.
"Wait!" He shouted, to no avail.
Unsure of what to do, he followed behind the Scorbunny and his friends, knowing that they held the knowledge of what exactly was going on.
With Oliver
The Oshawott covered his ears in pain at the sound of a siren, as it was much closer than it was to Jacob. "What is that...?" He asked loudly, looking over to Asher.
Meanwhile, Sophie seemed to be unaffected by the siren's loud ring, only looking around in confusion.
As soon as Oliver asked that question, however, steel, metallic doors began to lower in front of all of the exits, something that neither he or Sophie noticed until they slammed shut.
Luckily for Oliver, it shut out most of the sound, but he and Sophie ran up to the exit, banging on the doors to get out.
"What is this?" Sophie asked, sounding a bit more irritated then confused.
"Don't worry." Asher walked up to them. "This happens all of the time. The shutters will raise in a few hours."
"Why does this happen often?" The Snivy questioned, looking up at Asher. "What exactly is going on here?"
"Um... Well..."
"Does this have anything to do with why other Pokémon were avoiding us earlier?" She interrogated.
"If you would just let me explain..."
"What happens to the Pokémon who aren't inside?"
"It's just a matter of circumstance..."
"And how long is a couple of hours?"
"Give me a moment and I'll just..."
"Get us out of here?" Sophie cut him off, "Because that's all we want from you-"
"Sophie." Oliver called out to her softy, putting a paw on her shoulder.
She immediately understood what he meant, and simmered down a bit, letting out a sigh.
"Thank you..." His eyes widened, "I'm sorry. I never got your names."
"I'm Oliver." The Oshawott smiled, holding out a paw. "It's nice to meet you." Asher grabbed his paw, softly shaking it.
"And you?" The Lucario looked over to Sophie, who was looking away defiantly.
"That's Sophie." Oliver told him, "When you get to know her, she can be really friendly."
"Is that so?" Asher put a paw on his chin. "Okay then. How about the four of us go downstairs to the lounge area to wait this out. We have soft couches there to sit down on."
"That sounds great." Oliver nodded, "Sophie, what do you think?"
"I'm fine with whatever." She shrugged.
"Great. Let's go." Asher smiled as he led the way towards a nearby door, which opened up to be a staircase. Oliver followed behind with a smile, while Sophie trudged behind.
Before going to the staircase, she looked back at the entrance of the store, a look of uncertainty spreading across her face as she let out a sigh, turned back around, and followed behind Oliver reluctantly.