Chapter 5
Oh Fuck
(-¤-)
It had been a few weeks and Luke turned out to easier to train in some ways, and harder in others. Zubats were considered baby pokemon, they were at a critical stage of their lives where if they were put through to much stress it could effect their development. They survived in the wild by staying in large groups and taking down prey and predators by swarming them. However when trained individually they grow at a decent rate, and so long as I don't overly stress him, he should evolve soon and then we can get into the real training. He was alot more enthusiastic about being a trainers pokemon than Jack was. He was eager to listen and seemed pumped about the whole situation. What a cool little dude.
I was putting him through light endurance and agility training. I had set up a simple obstacle course in the woods made of string and sticks. Every few days I would go in and rearrange things. I had also been having him practice his supersonic and the move he used in the attic, which turned out to be whirlwind. I had to browse the pokenet for an hour to figure it out, it would have gone faster if not for the plethora of distractingly hilarious pokemon videos. Someone taught a machoke to drive, it was a terrible idea.
Both of them were growing at decent rates, espescially Jack. They had both learned a few more moves. Luke even learned aircutter. Now that I had two pokemon and functunal legs I decided that it was time to step up the training, so for the past week I had ventured into the forest with a box of donuts.
Me and several of the denizens of the forest had come to a arrangement, everyday at a certain time we meet at a small clearing. And then they try to beat the shit out of Jack and Luke. One at a time of course and my two switch every round to keep the training going. Whoever manages to take down one of my guys gets half a box of donuts, the rest gets split among the others. That and anyone who wants to can come back with me to the center to get healed up. Nurse Joy finally has something to do, the wild pokemon get free health care and food, and my team gets experience. Everyone wins.
The only issue was that Jack had trouble taking orders. More often than not he would ignore me in favor of his own strategies, which consisted of 'beat it till it stops moving.' And considering how much I trained him, that usually works. Still I would like him to listen to me, just punching the shit out of stuff won't work forever.
It was during one of these fights that something wonderful happened. Luke was battling a bidoof and had beaten it down pretty badly at this point, but credit where its due this thing was determined to win.
"Super sonic!" I called out, Luke was starting to lag a bit signaling that it was time to switch in for jack.
The blue bat let out a nearly imperceptible screech of sound at the beaver thing hitting his mark dead on.
His aim and the power behind it had gotten much better, now it takes more than a good jolt to clear their heads of confusion. The bidoof started stumbling around, as if the floor was moving underneath him.
"Great! Now finish it with a wing attack." With a cry he dove down, wings glowing with intense energy, and smashed into the bidoof with enough force to send it sprawling to the ground unconscious.
"Alright! Good job, Jack your u-" I was cut off by a bright shining. Luke was bathed in a brilliant white light and started to grow.
"HOLY SHIT ITS HAPPENING!" He was evolving! O-M-FUCKING-G!
His form stretched taller and taller as he filled out more and more. His wings grew to an impressive span.
And then the glow stopped, revealing him in all his giant mouthed glory.
He now stood at three feet on two new tiny legs. His wings had expanded to a span of 5 feet and now looked strong and well developed. His open mouth now took up most of his torso.
"Gooooooollll" He screeched in triumph. Flying around the clearing with oddly quiet flaps of his great leathery wings. He set his eyes (I wonder what he thinks of that particular feature) on me and dived down, coming to rest at my feet. He came up to my waist now, in the games he would be able to fly me wherever I wanted but this place operates by anime rules, not video game rules. So he needs to be much bigger for that.
"Great job buddy! Lets head back to the center" I turned to the group of wild monsters. "Alright trainings ending early today. Everyone who wants donuts or a check up follow me." I pivoted back on my foot and started marching for center, being sure to pick up my things on the way.
I looked back to see who all was coming with, unsurprisingly I saw all but a few tag along. Oddly enough Jack wasn't one of them.
"Jack? You coming buddy?" He held his glare at Luke for a few more moments before huffing and following along. Hmm, thats probably not good.
We made our way back to the center, several of our sparring partners tagging along with us. I looked to the bidoof, I had breifly considered catching him but had decided against it. While it was a rather determined battler and had good insticts, it was still a bidoof. Besides I already had a brown normal type rodent. Two would just be redundant.
I made sure to hold the door for the much smaller pokemon, I didn't know if they could trip the sliding door sensors and didn't want to accidentally let it shut in their faces.
"Hello Alice."
"Chansey chanse"
I smiled, today was good but also a little bitter sweet. I would be gearing up to leave soon and would have to say goodbye. We didn't always see eye to eye but I liked Joy, she cared about me and not just her image of me. She didn't like some of the stuff I did but it was out of a place of concern for me. It gave me a warm feeling inside.
"Hey Nurse Joy, got some business for you." I gestured behind myself at the pokemon. "And I have a surprise" I tossed out Lukes ball revealing him is all is awkward mouthy glory.
Her eyebrows flew up in surprise. "Oh wow! Hes evolved already?" Luke puffed out his chest in pride. Pokemon often gain new personality characteristics when they evolve, I briefly wondered if Luke was going to be prideful now.
I wonder what Jack will be like when he evolves. I hope he chills out some, dude is way to aggressive for his own good.
I looked at my murder bunny again, he was glaring up at Luke. Oh man, this is gonna be a problem isn't it. I returned both of them in a flash of red and handed their balls to Joy.
"I'll go ahead and treat them first."
"Thanks Nurse Joy." I turned around to address my little following. "Alright, everybody remember to behave for Nurse Joy, or no more donuts."
They gave a few quick nods and followed her and Chansey to the back. We had done this enough times for them to know the drill, but I saw no reason not to remind them of the consequences should they misbehave every now and then.
With that out of the way it was time to relax a little. My room was down the same hallway, just not as far down.
The space I had made for myself looked far more lived in than a hospital room should. The bed was a mess just like I left it, a worn out quilt that was donated from the locals sat ruffled and pushed to the side on the thin hard mattress. Several empty cans of soda littered the night stand and windowsill while the floor was covered in dirty clothes. Nurse Joy had asked if I wanted it cleaned before, but I couldn't bring myself to let her, it reminded me to much of home. Saying as much was enough for her to drop the subject all together. Of course, once I leave this place will be spotless, I'd clean up before I went.
Well if I'm leaving soon I might as well pick out my traveling clothes. Lets see, winter was just drawing to a close, so I should pack a light jacket and some pants...
Sorting through this stuff made me a little anxious. Clothing was important on a journey for a few reasons. One, you need to pick duds that would be weather appropriate and comfortable to travel in but you don't want to pack too much so it was important that they were multi functional. They actually have lines of clothing designed for the trainer lifestyle. They were expensive as fuck, but they were well worth it.
The second reason was that it was important to build a brand. Most trainers go on journeys with the intent of becoming famous for one thing or another. Having a recognizable outfit helped people spread the word about you. Plus if you can only carry a few outfits you might as well rock the best look you got. I'm gonna have to replace some articles if I want to do that though.
Ding
The speakers crackled overhead."Alice Thorn, your pokemon are ready for pick up. Alice Thorn, your pokemon are ready for pick" Now that I was bringing in paitents this place was feeling more and more like a hospital. It felt a bit more alive and brighter.
I set my clothes to the side for now and walked to the front. I made a mental list of some stuff I was gonna need for my journey. While I didn't have enough for everything I wanted, I should have enough for the basics. Cooking stuff, ropes, a tent, you know, camping stuff.
"Hello Alice, your pokemon are all in top condition," she gave me one of those trade mark Joy smiles, so cute. "I also went and performed a thorough check up on your newly evolved golbat. He seems fighting fit, but I recommend running him through some basic exercises to help him get used to his new form."
I smiled and nodded, "Thanks Nurse Joy."
Now that I had them back I needed to do something. I headed out to the back and released Jack. He looked back up to snuff, brushed fur, no scratch marks, as usual Joy had done a great job.
He looked at me for only a second before turning away in a huff, arms crossed. I was afraid of this.
I took a seat on the dry ground, thankful that we hadn't had any rain in a few days, and put on my best mom face.
"Alright, whats wrong?" I tried not to sound condescending, I knew being genuine was going to get me much farther than acting like I was above him.
He glared at me and spat out a sharp "Bun."
He was being difficult again. "Come on dude, you were upset in the woods too. Tell me whats up man, I just want to help."
"Bun" he snorts, honestly it was really cute, though I didn't make any indication that I thought so.
"Is this about Luke?" I sighed.
"Eeaaar" He hissed before waving at the training course "Bun bun ear ry ear" and then at me, " eary eary near" and then at himself, "buneary".
Hmm " your upset because I'm training you?" That doesn't seem right.
He huff before pointing at me- No not me, at my waist "eary near, Eary Near!"
Oh he was upset about Luke evolving, maybe that Luke evolved before him even though he's been with me longer?
"Oh, its because Luke evolved first, huh."
He nodded "bun".
"Well buddy" he narrowed his eyes at that word, "he evolved because thats how zubats evolve. They get stronger until they change."
"Bu bun eary!" Oh geez, I hope he takes this well.
"But" I started "bunearys evolve in a different way, you evolve from friendship."
His eyebrow quirked up, the only change to his full faces sneer.
Ok tangent time. The buneary line evolves through the power of friendship, which sounds dumb but makes a bit of sense. Most pokemon that do so are highly social or communal with a few exceptions. The basic theory behind baby pokemon doing so is that since these pokemon are required to be social in the wild this way of evolution helps to weed out those that are less prone to such behavior. For final evolutions its more of a leader thing, the strongest one is also the most friendly and considerate, therefore it would think more of the groups needs before its own.
That being said Jack strikes me as one of the less socially inclined outcasts. If he was gonna evolve I would need to get him out of his shell.
"Look, this is gonna sound backwards but to make progress to evolution, you need to open up and trust me more. We need to be friends, not just coworker's." Calling him a coworker felt weird, yet accurate. He didn't like me and while I've been trying to get him to open up, it was clear that he was just using me to beef up.
"BUN!" He turned away from me crossing his arms.
"Jack do-" I began, but was interrupted by him slapping the pokeball in my hand and going back inside.
Sigh
"Ok buddy, you take your time."
He was upset, and for a reason I couldn't really help with. I knew certain things in the games helped raise your friendship level, but here things were far more complicated. I couldn't just feed him fifty poke puffs and call it a day, I had to prove to him that friendship was worth pursuing.
I need to think about this. In the mean time I should go out into town and look for some supplies.
I ran back inside and grabbed my bag and wallet. I had been working with Klygear for awhile now and thanks to my presence we had been getting a decent amount of house calls each day. I made sure to put on a bit of a show for the clients so they can have something to talk about with there friends. Im pretty sure they're calling in more for the entertainment than actual repairs at this point.
I had 1440¥ now and while that sounds like alot, keep in mind I'm rebuilding my life from jack shit. So it won't be enough for everything I want, I think I can get the basics for now. So it was off to the flea market.
I jogged out through the front making sure to tell Nurse Joy where I was going and then headed out.
(-¤-)
I headed towards the towns shopping district. It mostly held mom and pop shops and small booths hoping to catch the eyes of passerbys. They did have a small mall there but it had been closed for years.
In fact alot of these building were abandoned. Old storefronts with boarded up windows and sun bleached signs. Some areas had such little activity that they looked like they were straight out of post apocalyptia. Washed out colors and filthy greys were all that were left of a once vibrant tourist trap.
I saw a shop that caught my eye, a little store named Marks & Starks, and headed in. The inside was small and dingy, the shelves were fully stocked with canned goods snacks and various supplies. Some classic rock song was playing over the tinny speakers of the radio at the counter. A bored looking clerk sat at the counter with a magazine. I didn't pay much attention to him and instead turned my attention to the products, and shopped.
In the end I had to visit three other equally sad stores. But I now had my basic survival stuff, as well as some pokemon supplies. 2 more pokeball which cost 280 together and a few basic potions which were 200. The camping stuff including tent and food among other things was 800. I also bought a survival guide.
The book was black, yellow and titled 'Wilderness Survival For Idjits' with a suspiciously familiar cartoon character on the front. I wondered if this was an isolated coincidence or if there were going to be alot of 'coincidences' throughout my journey.
I was currently very low on money, I might spend another week here to build up my savings a bit but after that I was gone. I really hope my get rich quick scheme works out, or else I'm in trouble. Regardless, that was still in the future and right now I was doing stuff.
Mostly exploring, I still hadn't come up with something to help Jack and I didn't really have any obligations for the rest of the day. So I was wandering through town, taking in what was left of the sights.
I strolled around until I eventually found a ancient looking sign advertising hot springs. It was sun bleached and the paint was flaking but I could still make out the text.
VISIT THE FAMOUS DELLITOWN HOT SPRINGS TODAY!
Revitalize your self in our famous hot springs! Let the water soothe your muscles and cleanse you of toxins!
Toxins? Oh I hope they don't mean that bullshit healing crystal psuedo science. Still, I guess they were worth checking out. Dried out or not, I've been meaning to get a look at them. They were what made the town famous in its hayday afterall.
The sign pointed me up some leaf covered stairs leading up a hill. The path was over grown with low hanging branches and any weed that could survive in the cracks of the concrete. It was so overgrown that I had to make use of my new machete, part of my shopping spree. The factory sharp edge making quick work of the plants.
What should have only been a five minute walk had turned into twenty minutes of hacking and slashing. In the end I made it through, and my prize was...
Disheartening.
The entrance was a large red traditonal japanese arch with a path leading to a large cabin. The arch had fallen into disrepair, color was flaking off and what was left of the mold stained clothe tassels hanging down fluttered in the wind. Ivy and vines had made their way to the top and were currently attempting to cover up any evidence the the structure before me was ever any color other than green.
The cabin didn't look much better. The windows had been boarded up, probably in a futile effort to protect the inside from vandals and teenagers. The walls had been stained dark by mold and grime. Lichen had clung to any spot that wasn't taken over by the ivy creeping up the walls.
The door was so close to rotting off that I managed to tear it off its hinges with just a single kick. It crashed to the hard wood floor with a hollow thud.
The inside only looked a bit better. A massive hole in the roof had let in the elements and ravaged the place. The floor sagged in spots as I walked, the air was stale and stagnant. The entire place was silent, my footsteps echoing through the building seemed to die as I pressed forward.
It felt like walking through a corpse.
I made my way to the back, only having to open one more door before I stepped out. There were stone pools every where, each deep enough to sit and relax in. There were fifteen that I could see but I knew the plants had reclaimed more that I couldn't. Each and everyine was dry and slowly filling up with fallen foliage
On further investigation I found cracks in the stones further up, rounded off by untold years of flowing volcanic water. Each dry and cold. Large holes bored through the rock nearby told a desperate story of the locals trying to reconnect the spring to the surface rusted metal grates covered them, preventing anything from falling into the terrifyingly deep pit.
The entire place was like a glimpse of the future of Dellitown. Over grown. Abandoned. Dead.
Forgotten.
(-¤-)
I had gone up with mild curiosity and I had left the place with a terrible case of feelings.
It was another reminder that I was dead in my universe. That I too would be forgotten.
Fuck me, I needed a drink. Aw fuck thats right I'm a minor again. Today had gone from awesome to sad. Dammit.
And I still didn't know what to do about Jack! That detour hadn't done anything but make me depressed.
Forget what I said earlier about being on top of the world, today sucks.
"TAAAAAAUUUUUUURRRR!"
Today really sucks.
I whipped around just in time to see a massive brown form charging at me. Dropping my bags of crap, I dived to the side, smacking into the concrete with my shoulder and barely managing to turn it into a roll.
I scrambled back to my feet, reached for my pokeballs and tried to make sense of my current situation.
My attacker was none other than Mister Johnsons fucking tauros. It was big, it was mean, and it was pissed.
At me.
Well shit. Ok, brain time! Lets see, I'm in a narrow street, thats bad. There is no cover, Thats Bad. The only alleyway I can see is a dead end, THATS BAD. I can't out run one ton of brown and angry, THATS BAD.
It's ok, it's ok, I have Luke! He can just confuse the thing and I can run to saftey while it stumbles around. Ok ok ok, I got this.
But.
"JACK, TIME TO EARN YOUR KEEP BUDDY!" I tossed out his pokeball. Using him over Luke might appeal to his nature a bit. It was a gamble seeing as we had no idea how strong this thing was, but I really want to help him. Besides the game says having a pokemon first in your party makes them like you more, maybe he would appreciate the gesture.
"Alright Jack, start off with baby doll eyes!" If we can lower its attack power then we should stand a better chance. Instead Jack dashed forward in a streak of light, ignoring me. Damn it dude, now was not the time for this!
The tauros countered easily with a glowing horn attack, knocking Jack to the side like a sack of potatoes. He skidded across the ground away from me trying to get traction on the asphalt. Tauros was already on him again looking to cause even more damage. Shit he's to close now, baby doll eyes needed some distance and time to work.
"Get up and use sweet kiss!" I shouted out, Hoping that he decided to listen to the goddamned tactician of the group.
Tauros stomped down on where his head was just a moment before. He dove under the beast dodgeing stomps from those hammer blows of keratin. With one last leap he managed to get behind. His fist formed a ball of white light and he swung. Another order ignored, this time in favor of frustration. The move had merit at that moment and more power than I had ever seen from it.
A crack like a gunshot rang out and the bull stumbled forward reeling, dark energy washing over its body before the beast span around.
Tauros planted his hooves once again and swung with his head, purple and black power pouring from its horns. Memories of pokenet videos surfaced just in time to recognize the move, payback.
The sound of it put Jacks frustration to shame. The resulting bang punched me in the chest and rattled nearby windows. the power Jack had used was doubled and turned against him.
He went flying towards the other side of the street. Smacking a brick wall with a sickening thud and landed several feet away from me. He sat there unmoving.
"JACK!" I fumbled for Lukes pokeball, maybe if I could get him out I could salvage this fucking mess. Fuck this was a stupid idea! Damn it why wouldn't he listen.
"TAAAAUUUURRROOOOOSS!"
The sound of it bellowing startled me. The pokeballs fell from my pocket and clattered to the ground away from each other.
It was getting ready for another charge. Shit shit shit! I need to return him! Which one is his pokeball?! The red and white orbs sat on the ground identical in every way. They were to far away, I couldn't go for both. I heard the clatter of hooves and knew I didn't have time to figure it out.
It lowered its horns, glowing with white light once again and lunged forward. Jack wouldn't survive that.
I was gonna watch my starter die.
I dashed forward, praying to whatever god brought me here that I made it in time. Worn rubber soles and hooves beat into the concrete.
I dove for him, adreneline coursing through me, time crawled to a still. I could make out every detail of him from here. The grain of his fur, the digits of his paws and the tiny claws at the ends. It was an odd thing to note but my mind was taking in everything it could to help him but, he looked so peaceful lying there.
Contact, fur and skin met as arms curled around him like a sheild. If I could just make one more step then I could circle back around and grab Luke. Just one more-
My foot slipped out from underneath me. The worn out rubber of my hand me down sneakers had been pushed to far and gave up there traction.
Impact, tauros saw nothing wrong with injuring a little girl afterall, why would it stop. The horrible and sickeningly familiar sensation of my arm snapping jolted through me as I was tossed through the air. I didn't dare let go of Jack as I flew. I was his only life line now. We hung in the air just long enough to wonder when I'd land. The ground finally came back to me after what felt like a life time.
THUD
It took just a moment for shock and adrenaline to numb the pain. I stood up as fast as I could, thankful that my legs had survived the hit unharmed. Tauros was pacing back and forth, a look of ungodly rage on its face. Like I had pissed on his mother or something.
I felt movment. I dared a look down, Jack. Jack was looking back up at me, beaten and battered and just a bit bloody.
"Bu- bun?" He sounded so small. So helpless.
"Hey buddy" tears fell from my eyes, dripping down on him. Oh god he almost died, I almost sent my starter to his death.
He turned to our opponent. The bull was scraping at the ground, white scratches being carved into the road. Huffing and snorting its rage at us.
He stood between us and my pokeballs. I hadnt had enough time to pick them up and i doubted it was gonna let me just go around it unharmed.
"Bun" Jack pushed out of my arm, stronger than he looked. I tried holding on to him but I was to shaken, my body barely wanted to listen. He plopped down to the ground with a bit of a stumble.
"Jack?" Oh god was he still angry at me? Did he not want my help?! "Jack I'm sorry I ca-"
"Ear" he cut me off. Brown eyes stared up at me. Filled with grit and determination.
He looked to me without a trace of malice, and nodded.
"Jack." My heart swelled up, happieness and relief gushed forth with tears. He wanted to do this. Not alone now, but with me. Another bellow from tauros steeled my nerves though. The bastard wasn't gonna keep waiting.
"Right." My hands stopped shaking and I took an at the ready stance. Jack stood in front of me, and without looking back mimicked me.
Ok Alice.
We fucking got this.
"ALRIGHT YOU BIG BASTARD! YOU BRING EVERYTHING YOU GOT! CAUSE YOU PICKED THE WRONG PUNKS TO FUCK WITH! WE'RE ALICE AND JACK! THE TWO NASTIEST FUCKERS IN TOWN! NOW GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE SO WE CAN PROVE IT!"
"TAAAAAAAUUUUURRRR!"
He stormed forward again, hooves smashing into the ground. Horns glowing and lowered, intent to gore something this time. Jack waited with me, each moment seemed to be an eternity as it drew closer and closer. Until I could almost smell its breath.
I ducked down at the last second and snatched up Jack. A quick kick off sent me rolling to the side. My broken arm was jostled and I had to bite back a scream.
Tauros went sailing past us, right into the lone narrow alleyway we had come to a rest in front of.
I dropped Jack once more, feeling my blood pump and boil. This was it, the moment of truth. Months of training. Of frustration and pain and tears had led to this. I knew the perfect move for this.
Something me and Jack had been working on since we caught Luke.
"RICOCHET!"
Jack launched forward, heedless of his injuries. His powerful legs throwing him through the air like a missile, head first into a wall. And then his spring like ears launched him down towards the bull. His flight pushed by the glow of quick attack.
Contact was made with a meaty thump and he bounded off again for the opposite wall, then the tauros, then the wall.
Tauros. THUD. wall. Tauros. THUD. wall. Tauros. THUD. wall. Tauros. THUD. wall.
Over and over again. Tauros tried to fight back but the tight alleyway barely let it turn around let alone fight back. It screamed in anger and frustration as the rabbit crashed into it again and again.
THUD THUD THUD THUDTHUDTHUDTHUD CRACK!
Shards of keratin went flying as Jack plowed through its horn with an impromptu jump kick. Forcing it to the ground in a daze. Jack came to a rest at long last in front of it, his momentum pushing him just a bit more towards me.
"Ready?"
"Buneary."
White light poured out once again from the rabbits fist. It had been a hell of a day, anger and jealousy. Simmering feelings and bruises earned through selfish stubbornness. Boiling down into that fist like molten steel.
"FRUSTRATION!"
"BUUUUUUNNN!"
He swung with every ounce of pissed off he had. The impact smashed into its skull with a grand crack. The bull was pushed back to the back of the alley and slammed into the far wall. It landed on its hooves.
My heart skipped a beat, that was the last of Jacks strength, even now I could see him struggling to stand and gasping for breath.
Tauros took one more step.
And fell.
I held my breath ready to dash to Lukes ball but not daring to take my eyes from the bovine. When it failed to rise I let it out.
We won. Tauros was unconscious and we won. Holy shit.
That was awesome.
We just sat there, trying to catch our breaths as we stared at our fallen foe. My arm started aching as the adrenaline wore off. Jack collapsed onto his ass as his injuries caught up with him as well. Neither of us cared about the pain though.
"Dude, we did it" a simple statement that meant so much more than it seemed. 'WE' did it. Together. As a team. I wanted to cry.
"My goodness that was quite a show!" My heart jumped into my throat as I whipped around towards the new voice.
"AAAAHHH WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU!?"
(-¤-)
Alice Thorn
Mar 18
Team
Jack
Buneary
Moves: Pound, Foresight, Frustration, Sweetkiss, Defense curl, Baby doll eyes, Quick attack, Jumpkick.
Ability Limber
Luke
Golbat
Moves: Absorb, Super sonic, Astonish, Bite, Whirlwind, Wing attack, Confuse ray, Air cutter.
Ability Inner focus
160¥
In Box
N/A
The pokedex says that golbat is actually 5 feet tall, what the fuck. Also I had so much trouble getting this chapter up. Seriously I've been wrestling with technology for an hour trying to get the document onto this site. It was a bitch.
