Chapter 2: Me Vulpix Boy! Me Name Lorcan!
Last time on "Pokémon Johto Journey", after hearing about the Johto League from Prof. Oak and Gary, Ash, Isamu, Luna, Misty, and Brock traveled to New Bark Town, where Ash, Isamu, and Luna would be able to register for the Johto League.
But as they arrived at the town, they were all caught up in an investigation about a stolen Totodile! The group then meets Prof. Elm, who was supposed to look after both a Cyndaquil and a Totodile.
But as Officer Jenny discovers footprints from another officer that seemed to belong to the culprits, the group and the officer began to make their way to where the thieves could've been!
But as they all approached the sight, they found Team Rocket blasting off in the air, caused by a boy named Silver! Silver declares Totodile to be his now, and challenged Isamu to a battle, somehow recognizing him.
The battle ended in Isamu's victory with the help of the Fire Mouse Pokémon, Cyndaquil. But despite the loss, Silver manages to escape with another Pokémon named Sneasal. Eventually, the officers continued their search for the boy so they could retrieve the stolen starter.
While the officers were doing that, the three Kanto Trainers got themselves registered for the Johto League, allowing the group to move on to where Violet City was, where it was recommended for their first Johto Gym Battle.
Isamu's POV
After our leave from New Bark Town, we began to make our way for Violet City, where my first Johto Gym Battle would start, which of course, includes Ash and Luna's first Gym Battle there.
While we were making our way, we came across another forest that seemed to be a bit deeper than the first one we came across while trying to reach for New Bark Town. Misty looked like she was about to complain about getting lost again.
Brock didn't seem so fazed as he had the Town Map guide with him. Luna had sent out Arcanine to keep her company, especially since big things had already had happened when we arrived in New Bark Town.
Ash looked a little annoyed with how deep the woods looked as Pikachu slumped down on his head, looking rather bored and annoyed.
That left only me, being a little irritated with how deep the woods are looking while Eevee just looked around, looking patient. But deep down, I knew that she was a little frightened by the forest again, especially since how scary it would get when it gets dark at night.
"The forest again...!? We better not get lost in this one!" Misty complained, causing me to sigh.
Technically, this wasn't the first time we got lost. We've been lost several times back at the Kanto region, so something like this shouldn't be new to all of us.
Heck, Misty should be getting used to us getting lost by now, but no... Her short temper is what's causing her to be blind of what we had to go through in our past travels together.
"Calm down, Misty... I think I said this before, but this isn't the first time we got lost in a place like this." Luna reminded her, causing me to raise my eyebrows. Well, at least she understood the current situation we were in right now.
"Luna's right. And besides, we're not lost. We're heading towards the right way. First, we head to Cherrygrove City, and then our next destination should be at Violet City, where the first Johto Gym Battle takes place!" Brock explained in reassurance.
His words along with Luna's seemed to have made Misty calm enough to cool off before she shook her head.
"R-Right... I'm sorry... I'm just so tired of having to get lost all the time before we reach our destination. It was kind of giving me a headache..." Misty confessed, causing all of us to seemingly understand her feelings.
"Well, let's just hope this temper of yours doesn't get the better of you, because otherwise... There's a slight chance that your temper could give all of us a headache right now." I reminded her teasingly.
I know... It sounds wrong, but I had to say it.
Despite being a Water Type Trainer, Misty can be a bit hot-headed sometimes over small things, so I had to point out that her short temper could be a problem to all of us.
Unfortunately, she didn't seem to get the message quite well as she only gave me a dirty glare. Ash on the other hand, just snickered at the words I gave to our companion about her short temper.
"Very funny, Isamu..." Misty spat out silently before she turned her head away from me, continuing to walk as I just sighed. She may be an expert on Water Types, but she can be quite dense when it comes to compliments or insults...
Nevertheless, our travel towards Cherrygrove City continued on until Arcanine started to growl all of a sudden. We all turned our attention to the growling Pokémon, causing Luna to look worried for her first Pokémon.
"Arcanine? What's wrong?" Luna asked, causing me to search around and see where Arcanine could be growling at.
The others began to do the same until a figure came into our sight. And to our surprise, it was...
"It's a Ninetales!" Ash pointed out, before he scanned it with his Johto Pokédex.
"Ninetales, the Fox Pokémon and the evolved form of Vulpix. It has nine tails and a shining golden fleece. Ninetales are said to live very long lives." The Pokédex explained, allowing us to recognize the familiar Fire Type Pokémon.
But was this a wild Ninetales? Because I clearly don't remember sending my Ninetales out. Luna had only sent out Arcanine, so Ninetales must be still in her Pokéball. Plus, with Arcanine growling at, we should all know that this isn't the Ninetales that we know of.
"What's a Ninetales doing in a place like this? Could we be inside its territory or something?" Misty asked, causing me to think of the same question.
No... That couldn't be it. Ninetales usually live in mountains or dens. But as far as I know, there doesn't seem to be any mountains near us. And plus, if it lived in a den, then it shouldn't be threatening us since we didn't seem to be near it...
"Don't know, but one thing's for sure, it doesn't seem to happy to seeing us right now!" Brock guessed as he was right. The Ninetales shot a Fire Spin attack towards us! Arcanine immediately countered with Flamethrower without Luna's orders.
As the two Fire Type attacks collided with one another, a large explosion knocked all of us away!
I felt myself being blown back, while hearing Eevee squeal in surprise. I thought I could hear Luna shrieking while Arcanine sounded like he tried to protect her from the explosion, despite of him being part of the explosion's cause as well.
It wasn't long before I felt my back hitting the ground, the impact of it causing me to black out almost immediately...
Later...
By the time I regained consciousness, I felt something lapping onto my cheek, causing me to twitch my eyes as I opened them, only to see Eevee staring at me with worry in her eyes.
"Eevee? Vee?" Eevee questioned, as if she was asking whether I was alright or not.
"I'm... I'm fine, Eevee. To be honest, I should be asking you the same thing. Are you alright?" I asked, only to get an affirmative nod from my Evolution Pokémon, who also responded with a "Vee".
Understanding that she was fine, I sat myself up and looked around. It looked like I was still in the same forest where the Ninetales attacked me and the others... Wait, where did the others go?
"Guys!? Ash!? Misty! Brock! Luna!? Where are you guys!?" I called out, as Eevee tried to call for Pikachu and Togepi, along with the others. Unfortunately, no response responded to our calls.
Nothing but silence, except for the rustling leaves on the trees and the wind blowing a little.
I let Eevee hop onto my shoulder before I folded my arms. This didn't feel good... If the Ninetales was planning to pick on us one by one, then it won't be good if I were to face it right now with Eevee.
But realizing that standing here wasn't going to help much, I decided to take a walk around to find the others and to make sure I don't run into that same angry Ninetales. Because if I somehow confront it again, like I said... it wasn't going to be pretty, probably.
But as I continued my search around with Eevee getting on top of my head, there were rustling in the bushes as it caught my attention. Eevee quickly became cautious of what was about to come out as I slowly approached it.
"Who's there?" I asked cautiously. Suddenly, just as I asked, the rustling on the bushes stopped! That caught me off guard for a moment until a figure came jumping out of the bushes!
"WHOA!" I couldn't help but yell in surprise to see some sort of figure jumping out and running off! Judging by the looks of it, the figure seemed to be a boy... a boy who seemed to be younger than me.
What was a young boy doing in a forest like this!? Does he not know of the Ninetales acting aggravated here!? At that thought coming to my mind, I quickly made a dash for the boy, trying to stop and warn him of an angry Pokémon living here.
"Hey, wait! Stop! It's too dangerous in here!" I shouted out, as Eevee tried to call for the boy. But to my surprise, the boy didn't look back as he kept running, despite of looking like he heard what we were saying...
Eventually, I lost track of the boy, who somehow ran faster than I did. I don't know how, but the boy must've eaten something that made him this energetic. Sighing in defeat, I shook my head, trying to remember of what I really needed to do.
"Right... I still need to find the others before the Ninetales does..." I spoke to myself, with Eevee giving a cry of her agreement.
But just as I was about to move again, there was another rustling on the bushes, causing me to tense at it. Could it be that same kid again? No... it couldn't be. Or could it be that angry Ninetales from before?
As if wanting to attack the possible enemy before the enemy could make the initiative strike, Eevee let out a battle cry before she leapt towards the bushes to strike at whoever's watching us this time.
But to my surprise and hers...
"Eek! Eevee, it's just me!" A familiar voice rang out, causing me to immediately recognize the voice as I called out to that person.
"Wait... Luna!?" I called out, as I ran over to see Eevee surprised to see herself biting onto Luna's arm, while Luna winced in pain from the initiative attack Eevee gave her just now.
Arcanine glared at Eevee, but didn't try to attack her, probably since Eevee was a Pokémon that was a friend of Luna's along with mine.
"Isamu...? So you're here, too..." Luna said, forgetting the pain from Eevee's bite as my Evolution Pokémon gave her an apologetic look and cry. I scratched the back of my head sheepishly, before apologizing too for Eevee's actions.
"Sorry about that... We thought you were that same Ninetales that blown all of us back." I spoke out, causing her to sigh before she shook her head.
"Well then, I guess it was lucky that we ran into each other instead of running into that Ninetales. Have you seen the others yet?" she asked, causing me to shake my head in response to show that I couldn't find the others yet.
"Not yet... Although, I was running after a young boy..." I admitted, causing Luna to be confused as to what I was saying.
"A young boy? What was a young boy doing here in a place like this?" she asked, causing me to shrug. How would I know why the boy was here? As far as I'm concerned, that boy could be in trouble with that Ninetales around.
"No clue. But what I do know is, that besides us... that boy could be in danger if that Ninetales is still around..." I reminded, causing her to understand of the situation that I got myself into before she made an offer to me.
"Is there anything I can do to help? If that boy is here like you said, then I want to help him out. He probably doesn't know about the danger he's in." Luna offered to me, with Arcanine giving a growl, sounding like he would lend a hand to us as well.
I could only smile at her, nodding to her offer before speaking out the words of my approval.
"That would be great. That would make this more easier since there would be two of us and our Pokémon to help with the search." I agreed, causing her to nod before she took out two Pokéballs to give us some help.
"Furret! Pichu! Come on out, you guys!" Luna shouted out, causing her two Pokémon to appear to her. They both looked like they were ready to help us with whatever they needed as Luna explained our situation to them.
"A young boy was running around in the woods... If one of you two find him, can you please take him to us? That boy could be in danger in a forest like this." Luna asked, causing both of her Pokémon to understand the situation... I think.
Pichu adjusted the blue goggles on her head and blue scarf around her neck, before making a squeak and showing a determined expression on her face. Furret just nodded several times before the two ran off to make a search of their own.
"Guess I should do the same. Dragonair and Gloom! I need your help for this!" I called out, allowing my two evolved Pokémon to appear so that they could help us.
"There's a kid running around in the forest. There's also that Ninetales going on around, looking angry. Could you two find the kid and bring him to us? Furret and Pichu already started on their search for him." I explained.
They immediately got the message as they went their separate ways to search for the boy. Once the four Pokémon were tasked to find him, that only left me and Luna, along with Eevee and Arcanine.
"Let's go." was all I needed to say to catch Luna's attention before she nodded as we made our way across the forest to continue our search for the boy. But as we were searching around, I couldn't help but feel something was keeping an eye on us.
It felt weird and uncomfortable, but I didn't dare say a word, knowing that this something might attack if it was a hostile being. If Luna is feeling this, then she should be aware of what's about to come to us if one of us makes the wrong step.
"Is someone there?" I called out, hoping that something might respond to my question.
No answer...
"This is starting to give me the creeps, Isamu... And it's not even close to being dark yet..." Luna spoke out, her voice sounding a little silent so that whoever is stalking us isn't hearing of what she is feeling.
"I know..." was all I could say to assure her that I felt the same way.
But just as things felt like they could get even worse, there was another rustling on the bushes, causing the both of us and our starter Pokémon to turn and see who was hiding in the bushes.
"Who's there?" I called out cautiously. But as I asked, another figure jumped out of the bushes, looking rather ruffled and startled as it shook it head before looking up at us! This is...
"It's an Eevee!" Luna exclaimed in surprise, causing me to take notice of the wild Eevee staring at us for a moment before it squealed in fright before it scrambled to try and escape from us.
The Eevee that is with me tried to call it back before she made a dash after it, much to Luna and my surprise.
"Eevee, hold on!" I called out as I ran after my Evolution Pokémon. I could hear Luna and Arcanine joining the chase as the wild Eevee continued to make a quick escape to try and escape us: its pursuers.
But the Eevee that was my partner didn't seem to get it as she called out to it again, sounding like he was saying that we're not its enemies. But... the wild Eevee running away seemed to have been too scared to listen as it just kept running.
Eventually, the chase led us to a clearing where there were less trees and bushes around. And just when my Eevee tried to continue her chase after the wild Eevee, a small fireball came out of nowhere and stopped her in her tracks!
She squealed at the sight of the surprise attack before jumping back, by the time Luna and I had arrived with Arcanine behind us.
"Eevee!" I exclaimed, worried about what could've happened to my Evolution Pokémon. Immediately after hearing me, Eevee dashed up to my shoulder, seemingly still stunned from the small fireball that almost hit her.
As I turned to where the fireball had came from, I couldn't help but be surprised to see another Pokémon getting in front of the scared wild Eevee.
"It's a Vulpix..." I spoke out, causing Luna to see where the wild Fox Pokémon was. Arcanine just narrowed his eyes but didn't do anything as the wild Vulpix growled at us, probably angry since we tried to chase after Eevee.
"Hey... Do you think that Eevee is friends with that Vulpix over there?" Luna asked, causing me to realize what she meant.
"Probably... Otherwise, it wouldn't have attacked our Eevee here." I guessed, as Eevee just blinked at the growling Vulpix. But before any of us could try to reassure the Vulpix that we weren't bad guys, another voice interfered with our confrontation.
"Vulpix! Eevee!" A young boy cried out. That caught both me and Luna off guard as we witnessed a boy running up to the two wild Pokémon, as they both ran up to the boy, jumping into his arms as we stared in disbelief.
So they weren't wild Pokémon, but Pokémon belonged to that boy? But...
From the looks of it, that boy seemed to be younger than us, making him a bit too young to train Pokémon. Wait a second... That boy...
"That's the boy I was running after when I was trying to find you and the others." I spoke to Luna, catching her surprise. She quickly whirled back to see the boy glaring at us as he growled at us... Wait, growled?
"Who are you?! Why are you trying to hurt Eevee and Vulpix!? Are you poachers!? Bad guys!?" The boy snarled, asking us serious questions that seemed to make him more mad.
"N-No! We're not! I promise that we're not! We're just... Pokémon Trainers trying to get to Cherrygrove City!" Luna tried to explain, catching the boy's attention as his glare lowered down, despite of his expression remaining serious.
"Cherrygrove Town?" The boy repeated in question, causing his two Pokémon friends to question us with questioning looks.
Did the boy and his Pokémon not know which town we were talking about? With Luna mentioning our first destination in Johto, he certainly seemed to be confused as to what she was talking about.
But after a moment, he shook his head and regained his glare, as he continued to growl at us like a wild Pokémon would.
"Why should me believe you!? You could be trying to trick me, just like the other poachers nearly did before!" The boy snapped, his tone sounding a bit fierce.
"Like we said, we're not poachers... How do you want us to prove to you that we're not?" Luna asked, trying to assure the boy that we weren't like the morons that poach Pokémon...
Seriously, I don't blame him for accusing us as one. Back at Kanto, we've ran into quite a lot of poachers that were trying to steal rare Pokémon. One such as when a poacher tried to steal Luna and Yellow's Eevee siblings back when they were wild.
There were also many times when Team Rocket members tried to poach Pokémon for their own desires, forcing me and Luna to stop them when we got separated from the others. And that included two more Team Rocket morons: Cassidy and... Bill?
Because of those times, I had a little hard time trusting in adults, except for Gym Leaders, Professors, and other adults I knew that I could trust. Pokémon are living beings after all, just like us humans. They had every right to live with the way they want to.
And this kid... he seems to be thinking the same thing, with the way he's accusing us of being poachers to both his Pokémon. Yet, if there was one way we could prove that we're not poachers, what would that...
"Prove it...? Well..." The boy started to ask before he thought up a way to make us prove that we're not his enemies or his Pokémon's enemies.
But before he could speak further, a big figure got in front of us and glared at us! Oh no... It was that same Ninetales that blown us away from when it tried to attack us!
I immediately froze up, as did Luna while Arcanine just growled. Eevee tried to put up a brave face, but I knew that she was feeling a bit scared, due to the small shaking she was doing with her furry body.
The Ninetales growled at us, with the boy yelping in surprise at seeing the Ninetales.
"Dad!" The boy called out, pausing me in my tracks.
"Wait... Dad?" I repeated in disbelief, not believing of what I heard just now. This kid... is calling the Ninetales his dad? Luna looked shocked too, as she lost her scared expression. Both Eevee and Arcanine looked stunned to hear this as well, before the Ninetales stopped growling.
It quickly turned to the boy and licked his face in affection, looking worried as it sniffed all over his body, causing him to laugh along with his two Pokémon as they were being sniffed and licked over as well.
"D-Dad! Come on, stop! That tickles! Me okay!" The kid laughed before the father Ninetales stopped, looking at the boy and his two Pokémon in relief before he glared back to where Luna and I was standing with Eevee and Arcanine.
But that didn't make me scared... It rather made me feel a bit awkward. This kid... he belongs to that Ninetales? Or does that Ninetales belong to the kid? Either way, it's kind of crazy to hear the kid calling a Pokémon his father.
But, that would of course, mean...
The kid must be an orphan if he believed his Pokémon to be a father instead of a human adult. Nevertheless, with the way Ninetales is glaring at us, I'm sure he won't just let us go now that we've seen both the boy and his two Pokémon.
Luna, of course, tried to convince the father Ninetales that we meant no harm to the boy and his two Pokémon.
"U-Um, Ninetales...? We're sorry if we... trespassed in your territory, but... we don't mean... to make any harm. We just want to get past... so that we can get to Cherrygrove City, which is our current destination..." Luna started to speak.
Her tone was a bit shaky, which could show on how nervous she was since she was speaking to the Pokémon that got us all separated in the first place. But she kept her composure as she continued to explain.
"Y-You see... the reason why we're still here... is because we thought the boy was in danger... since you attacked us when we first met, so... I thought, well..." Luna started to continue on before the boy interrupted her.
"Me in no danger! This Ninetales is my dad! And these are my younger brother and sister!" The boy protested, gesturing that the two Pokémon he's holding in his hands were... his siblings? The Vulpix and the Eevee?
Okay... This boy is definitely not ordinary if he believed Pokémon to be his family. The two Pokémon in his arms gave cries of affirmation, signaling that they were agreeing with what the boy was saying.
"O-Oh... I see... Well then, I guess we all had the wrong idea..." Luna sheepishly admitted, causing me to shake my head in disbelief. Of all the times I've gotten the situation wrong, this was definitely the weirdest situation ever.
The father Ninetales lowered his glare, but remained suspicious of us before he laid down a little, giving a head gesture to the boy. Realizing what his dad meant, the boy got onto his father Ninetales' back, with his Pokémon siblings still in his arms.
The father Ninetales then turned to us, making a demanding cry which the boy translated for us to understand.
"Dad said that he wants you to follow, to make sure you two aren't suspicious..." The boy explained, causing Luna and me to sigh, understanding that the father Pokémon didn't see us real enemies yet, but as suspects...
Arcanine didn't seem too comfortable with the demand but went with it, probably to keep Luna from any unnecessary danger. Eevee didn't say anything on my shoulder, as she just looked worried and a bit frightened for what happened so far.
Nevertheless, we followed after the father Ninetales, following him to where he wanted us to go. By the time we arrived at another part of the forest, there was a growl coming from not too far up ahead.
Ahead was a den, with another Ninetales living inside it! That must be the mother Ninetales of the boy...
"Hi, Mom..." The boy spoke out, with his two Pokémon siblings called out in unison. The mother Ninetales smiled at the little Pokémon and the kid, but glared at me and Luna, as she turned to the father Ninetales.
"Nine! Ninetales nine!? Ninetales?" The mother Ninetales looked like she was questioning the father Ninetales, much to the father's chagrin as he looked like he was getting beaten up emotionally by her harsh barks and cries.
Luna watched with a worried expression on her face while Arcanine just watched blankly. I guess this must've reminded him of when he and Ninetales argued with each other sometimes...
I guess this is how parents work whenever they argue over something that one side doesn't agree with.
The father Ninetales managed to get a few barks and calls out, sounding like he was explaining as to why we were here. At that point, the mother Ninetales lowered her glare, but kept her suspicious eyes on us.
The boy explained, translating as to what his Ninetales parents were arguing about.
"Mom wanted to know why you two were here while Dad explained why. She doesn't trust you guys just yet, just like Dad does..." The boy explained, causing me to rub the back of my head, as I knew already on what the glare was for.
"It wasn't that hard to figure out..." I muttered to myself with Eevee giving a sheepish smile.
"So then... How do you want us to prove that we're trustworthy?" Luna asked, wanting to earn the trust of the kid's Ninetales parents. The mother narrowed her eyes and was about to speak to her mate, until someone else interrupted their conversation.
"Don't worry, Ninetales! They mean no harm!" A familiar voice assured, causing all of us to turn where the voice was coming from. And to our surprise...
"Prof. Elm!?" Luna exclaimed in surprise. I couldn't blame her for being surprised. Heck, I was surprised too, as to why the Professor was here instead of being inside his laboratory.
"It's good to see you again, Lorcan! And that goes for your brother Vulpix and your sister Eevee!" The Professor didn't seem so surprised to see the boy with his two Pokémon siblings as he smiled sheepishly at the Professor.
"It's... good to see you, too... Prof. Elm." The boy spoke out shyly, making a different tone than when he had confronted us for the first time.
At that point, so many questions rose up to my head, but I only asked the important one...
"Professor... do you know this kid and his Pokémon family?" I asked, causing Prof. Elm to turn to where Luna and I were standing at with our Pokémon friends, before he smiled and explained.
"Ah, yes... Isamu and Luna... I've yet to told you or the others about this boy, did I? You see... this boy's name is Lorcan. He's a boy that lives with Pokémon, having the ability to understand their language, while acting as one, too." Prof. Elm explained.
Wait, the ability to understand Pokémon language? That's just like Yellow, only... that Yellow understands Pokémon just by focusing on what they're thinking about.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you two and the others about this... Ever since that day when Totodile was stolen, it just slipped out of my mind!" The Professor looked apologetic when he apologized to us for not informing us about this boy, who was known as Lorcan.
"So... Professor, how exactly do you know him... Lorcan?" Luna asked, causing me to turn to the Johto Professor. The Professor cleared his throat before he explained of how he came to know Lorcan in his past times.
End POV
"Well, you see... It all started a few years ago when I was getting used to becoming a Pokémon Professor. I wasn't used to handing out starter Pokémon to Trainers, and I also wasn't used to getting out much, until my assistants pestered me to do so..." Prof. Elm started to explain.
Flashback
Prof. Elm was walking across the forest to search for any Pokémon that he had yet seen before around New Bark Town as he sighed.
"Of all the days my assistants chose to throw me out of the lab so I can get out more... This just had to be the day. I mean, there are signs of Pokémon being around here, but there aren't any signs of Pokémon being here now!" Prof. Elm complained as he folded his arms.
But just as he made his complaint, he heard rustling coming from the bushes. Perking up, he turned to where the bushes were before he started to make his way towards it.
"Who's there?" Prof. Elm asked curiously as he got even closer. But before he could react, something came out and knocked him to the ground! The Johto Professor yelped in surprise before falling on his back as the figure quickly got off of him.
As he slowly started to get up, he looked to see a rather shocking figure, which turns out to be... a young boy? But this was no ordinary boy.
"What in the world...?" Prof. Elm started to gasp, as he checked on what the boy looked like.
His skin was tan, and he looked like a eight or nine year old. He wore nothing but ragged shorts that seemed to have been ragged due to some possible fighting with some people or maybe wild Pokémon.
He had brown eyes, along with the messy brown hair, but what interested the Professor the most was what he had on him. There were Pokémon ears coming out from his messy hair that seemed to be rather familiar.
He even had a tail of a young Pokémon! The Professor adjusted his glasses as they were about to fall off, due to his disbelief of what he was seeing with his eyes right now. He shook his head before he noticed the boy standing on all fours while growling at him!
"Grr..." The boy growled, his eyes showing on how angry and fierce he looked at the Professor.
"N-Now, now... I don't mean any harm... J-Just... Who are you? Or, what are you, rather...?" Prof. Elm asked, only to get more growls from the wild boy in response. Before the Professor could do anything to reassure that he was no enemy, a few more figures ran over to where the boy was!
"Nine! Ninetales Nine!" A familiar duo of Pokémon cried out as the Johto Professor widened his eyes at recognizing the two Pokémon. They were Ninetales! They seemed to be mates together, due to the first Ninetales acting motherly, with the second one acting fatherly.
Among them, was a young Vulpix cooing before it ran over to where the boy stood. The wild boy quickly dropped his growling expression before he nuzzled the Vulpix just as the young Fox Pokémon nuzzled his face in affection.
Behind the Vulpix was a young Eevee, who did the same for the boy as he pulled the two young Pokémon into his arms. The Ninetales just watched with relief on their face before they turned their heads to where the Johto Professor was.
Prof. Elm stiffened at the stares he was getting from the two evolved Fox Pokémon. If he thought he was in trouble already, then the troubling situation immediately got even worse, as with two evolved Pokémon staring him down, there was a very little chance that he could outrun them.
"Ah ha... ha... This is a rather... big... problem..." Prof. Elm laughed nervously, only for the boy to glare at him again until the mother Ninetales licked his cheek, comforting the wild boy as she spoke gently to him.
"Ninetales... Tales nine..." The mother Ninetales spoke softly, catching the wild boy by surprise before the father Ninetales kept his stare at the Johto Professor, who was confused on what the mother was telling to the wild boy.
Eventually, after the mother finished speaking, the wild boy began to whine in protest by shaking his head, only for the father Ninetales to give him a reassuring smile, with the mother Ninetales nuzzling his face softly.
The boy grumbled a little before he gave a reluctant nod, as he slowly made his way to the Professor on all fours, making the Johto Professor be confused until he realized on what the Ninetales could be wanting him to do.
"T-This... This may be a long shot, but could you two... be wanting me to teach this boy on how to act as a human like me...?" Prof. Elm asked. His relief was given to him when the mother Ninetales gave a short nod of approval.
The boy still had his pouting face, but didn't dare go against his mother Ninetales' request.
Flashback End
"...and that's how I met Lorcan here, the little Vulpix boy that the two of you have met just now." Prof. Elm explained, causing Luna to frown in confusion as he turned to where Lorcan was, playing with Vulpix and Eevee, along with Isamu's Eevee, who joined their game.
"But... what happened to the tail and ears, Professor? When Isamu and I had first met him, he didn't have those with him... Don't tell me... He didn't get them...?" Luna started to ask, fearing for what happened to the boy.
Isamu paled a little at guessing what she was going to say until the Johto Professor immediately shook his head at realizing what the Kanto girl was getting to.
"Oh no! No! They didn't get cut off! Of course not! You see... if people were to discover on what Lorcan really looked like, then he would be taken to be experimented on... His Ninetales parents were the ones that helped him hide his tail and ears..." Prof. Elm explained.
At hearing his name, the Vulpix boy confirmed that it was true before he explained with a smile on his face.
"The Professor's right. Me can hide me ears and tail, thanks to Mom and Dad's teaching! But... it doesn't work all the time, since me can't keep it inside me for a long time. It'll eventually have to show. That's why Mom and Dad have been helping me find a way to keep my ears and tail hidden most of the time." Lorcan explained.
"If it's alright... then, would it be alright if we see it for ourselves...?" Luna asked, feeling a bit sheepish at her request. The elder Ketchum brother raised an eyebrow at her for making such an odd request before the Vulpix boy gave a small nod.
'Sure... The Professor trusts you two, so Lorcan trusts you two as well!" Lorcan assured before he began to close his eyes and clench his fists. The three young Pokémon stopped playing together to watch what Lorcan was trying to do.
The Johto Professor and the Ninetales parents watched carefully as well, as Lorcan squeezed his eyes shut, as if he was trying to focus on doing something big. But by the time he opened his eyes again, his Vulpix ears and tail popped out from his head and back!
"Whoa..." was all Isamu could breath out as he didn't expect for them to just pop out of the boy. Luna on the other hand, had her face darkened for a while, causing both Arcanine and Isamu to look at her in both worry and confusion.
"So... so..." Luna breathed out silently, causing Isamu to call her to get her back to her senses.
"Uh... Luna?" Isamu asked, until Luna quickly made an outburst, enough to surprise everyone around her!
"SO CUTE!" Luna shrieked as she ran over to hug the Vulpix boy, making him surprised as Luna rubbed his head, along with the ears. Her expression showed how blissful she looked, making Lorcan blush red like a pepper.
His Vulpix brother just watched with a teasing smile on his face while his Eevee sister sweat dropped at the ruthless affection he was getting from the human girl as Lorcan tried to get the Kanto girl off of him.
"L-Let go! Let go of me, miss!" Lorcan demanded, his face flushing red even more at the awkward situation he got himself into from the tight hug Luna was giving him. It was embarrassing, especially with his Pokémon siblings and parents all watching him.
Prof. Elm just chuckled while folding his arms at the moment while Isamu sweat dropped. Arcanine on the other hand, just snickered at the behavior his human daughter was giving off, due to her seeing the tail and ears from the Vulpix boy.
The mother Ninetales just smiled and stifled a small giggle at the embarrassing moment her son was forced into while the father Ninetales just sighed, before he too, gave a small smile of amusement.
The awkward moment continued until something loomed over the three young Pokémon, surprising them before something forced them out of the group! They all screamed in surprise, catching everyone's attention.
"Eevee!"
"No! Vulpix! Eevee!" Both Isamu and Lorcan cried out as everyone turned to see the three young Pokémon trapped inside the net! At the sight of the net, the Vulpix boy's eyes flared up as he growled at the sight of it, realizing what this meant.
"Poachers...! They're here!" Lorcan growled hatefully, causing Luna to flinch at the new attitude the Vulpix boy was giving off. The Ninetales parents growled as they tried to run over and free their two children along with Isamu's Eevee.
But before they could get even close, another giant net came out and snagged the two on the ground! The two yelled in surprise as they struggled to get free, catching the two Kanto Trainers and the Professor by surprise.
"W-What is this!?" Prof. Elm exclaimed in shock while the elder Ketchum brother gritted his teeth.
"Oh no!" Luna gasped as Lorcan was more shocked to see his parents get caught this time.
"NO! Mom! Dad!" Lorcan exclaimed as he wanted to run over to them. But just before he could, a familiar laugh stopped the Vulpix boy in his tracks as Isamu snapped at whoever was hiding from their sight.
"Who's there!?" Isamu demanded until a familiar voice spoke first, followed by another familiar voice.
"Prepare for trouble, it's us that are here!"
"And make it double, for we're here to steal!"
"To infect the world with devastation!"
"To blight all people in every nation!"
"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!"
"To extend our wrath to the stars above!"
"Cassidy!"
"And Butch!"
"Team Rocket, circling Earth all day and night!"
"Surrender to us now, or you will surely lose the fight!"
At the evil duo wrapping up their motto, both Isamu and Luna glared at them. They recognized the duo from when they had to confront them at the Kanto region and in the Orange Islands!
"It's you two again! Cassidy and Bit! We should've realized that it was you to pull a stunt like this!" Isamu growled, causing Butch to fall over before he quickly got up and glared at the elder Ketchum brother for getting his name wrong again.
"UGH! Hey! Listen, kid! It's not Bit! It's Butch! BUTCH! Didn't your mother ever teach you to get people's names right!?" Butch snapped, as Luna demanded for the Ninetales family and Eevee's freedom.
"Let them all go right now!" Luna demanded, only to get scoffed at by Cassidy.
"Sorry to disappoint you, little girl. But these are OUR Pokémon now, now that we've captured them in the fire-proof nets!" Cassidy sneered, only to hear a growl coming from an unusual looking boy.
"Give... Mom... and Dad... back right now! And give... my brother and sister back, too!" Lorcan demanded angrily, only for Cassidy to eye at him with disgust.
"Ugh... And who is this kid? And what's with the fake ears and tail? It's too early for Halloween, kid." Cassidy scoffed, only for Butch to take out a Pokéball with an evil smirk on his face.
"Forget the ears and tail... The kid is calling the Pokémon his family... Now that's a good joke if I ever heard one!" Butch laughed, making Lorcan even angrier as Isamu and Luna just glared at their enemies.
The Johto Professor joined in with the glaring as he wasn't liking where this was going at all.
But before anyone could speak further or make an action, something blasted the two Team Rocket members from behind! Four attacks knocked the duo off balance as they both fell on the ground from the attacks they had taken just now.
"AUGH! What the...!? Who did that!?" Cassidy groaned as she sat up on top of Butch, who was still stunned from the surprise he and his teammate had to take from behind. As everyone else looked to see the attackers, both Isamu and Luna immediately recognized on who they were.
"Furret and Pichu! They're here!" Luna exclaimed, with Isamu recognizing his two Pokémon.
"Dragonair and Gloom, too! They've made it just in time..." Isamu pointed out as the four Pokémon glared to where the Team Rocket members were, as the two recovered from the blast they were forced to take from behind.
"Ugh! A sneak attack!? That's pretty low, for Pokémon such as yourselves!" Butch snapped as Cassidy took out a Pokéball as well.
"Let's teach these brats some manners, by stealing their Pokémon!" Cassidy declared, with Butch agreeing to it.
"Houndour, come on out!"
"Hitmontop, you too!"
The two new Pokémon came out to face the four Pokémon that attacked their Trainers as Luna blinked in confusion to see new Pokémon for the first time.
"What Pokémon are they...?" Luna asked, causing the Johto Professor to recognize them.
"The one that woman sent out was a Houndour! A Fire and Dark Type! The one the weird man sent out is a Hitmontop! A Fighting Type!" Prof. Elm pointed out, causing the two Kanto Trainers to quickly scan their enemies' new Pokémon.
"Hitmontop, the Handstand Pokémon. Hitmontop's smooth graceful kicks are deceptively powerful. Opponents may be surprised by their force, so beware." Isamu's Pokédex buzzed, as Luna's scanned the Fire-Dark Type.
"Houndour, the Dark Pokémon. Houndour travel in packs and communicate through barks in order to surround their prey." Luna's Pokédex buzzed, allowing the Kanto Trainers to know what their opponents were like now.
"Houndour! Take them down with Flamethrower!"
"Hitmontop! Send them flying with Rolling Kick!"
The orders were quickly called out as the Fighting Type spun to kick Dragonair and Gloom away while the Dark Pokémon attempted to burn Furret and Pichu with the Fire Type attack. The two Kanto Trainers quickly responded to counter their attacks.
"Dragonair, counter back with Safeguard! And Gloom! Use Petal Dance!" Isamu exclaimed. The flames were blocked by the Safeguard attack, thanks to Dragonair using it. As for Gloom, she managed to counter the flames with her use of the Petal Dance attack.
The two attacks cancelled each other out, causing Houndour to growl for its attack failing. As for Luna, she quickly made a call to counter Butch's moves.
"Furret, dodge with Agility! And Pichu, you use Double Team to dodge!" Luna cried out. Clones of Pichu made the Rolling Kick attack miss while Furret's use of Agility allowed him to dodge every kick sent at him!
The two Team Rocket members glared in annoyance before Cassidy commanded for another attack.
"In that case, how about this!? Houndour, use..." Cassidy started to say before she and Butch heard a loud battle cry. As both of them turned in surprise, Lorcan was already onto them as he knocked Cassidy down on the ground.
"AUGH! Why you little...!?" Cassidy shrieked before Butch was knocked to the ground too, as the boy knocked his feet to sweep him off.
"UGH! What the...!?" Butch exclaimed, causing both Houndour and Hitmontop to turn to their Trainers in surprise. At that moment, Luna took this moment to command Arcanine for the final attack.
"Alright, Arcanine! It's your turn! Use Flamethrower to send them packing!" Luna shouted out. The Legendary Pokémon didn't need to be told twice, as he blasted the Fire Type attack to where both Houndour and Hitmontop were!
The two yelled in pain before they were knocked back onto their Trainers, much to Cassidy and Butch's surprise. But before they could try to recover from the second hit they had taken from both Lorcan's assault and Arcanine's Flamethrower, another Flamethrower was headed to their way!
"Oh no..." Cassidy started to say with Butch finishing it off.
"We're toast...!" Butch exclaimed as the Flamethrower caused an explosion! The blast knocked the duo into the air with their defeated Pokémon as they were sent flying like Jessie, James, and Meowth always did with the group.
"Hey, Cassidy... Do you feel a deja vu in this...?" Butch asked, causing Cassidy to immediately understand what her teammate is referring to.
"If you mean that kind of deja vu... then YES!" Cassidy groaned as the two began to disappear out of sight into the blue sky.
"TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" The evil duo yelled before they were out of sight.
By the time the Team Rocket members were finally gone, Lorcan quickly freed his Ninetales parents desperately while Luna and Isamu worked on freeing the two Eevee and Vulpix. The rest of their Pokémon scurried over to help their Trainer friends out.
Soon, the captive Pokémon were free from the net, as Lorcan immediately embraced his Ninetales parents in both joy and relief.
"Mom... Dad... You're okay..." Lorcan breathed out in relief, as the mother nuzzled her son to show that she was alright. The father just licked his cheek, while feeling proud for his half-human son's attempt at saving the both of them and his siblings.
Eevee quickly nuzzled her human brother, as did Lorcan's two siblings as they ran over to their half-human brother to jump into his arms as the Vulpix boy hugged them in again with joy and relief.
Prof. Elm just watched with a relieved smile, seeing that everything seemed to have went okay, since the Pokémon were now freed and the enemies are gone out of their sight.
That evening...
The sun was about to set by the time the two Kanto Trainers were about to make their leave to reunite with the others. But before they could do so, the Johto Professor had stopped them to make a request for them.
"Ahem... Isamu? Luna?" Prof. Elm called, causing the two Kanto Trainers to turn to the Johto Professor in question.
"What is it, Professor?" Luna asked, allowing the Johto Professor to explain.
"If it wouldn't bother you two or the others, I was hoping if you would take Lorcan with you on your journey around the Johto region. I'm sure that the experience for him would be great for him to learn that not all humans are bad, like the two of you here!" Prof. Elm explained.
The sudden request surprised the two before the Johto Professor called out to the Vulpix boy.
"Okay, Lorcan! Are you ready?" Prof. Elm called out, causing the Vulpix boy to grumble a little with a pout before he came out of the bushes to show his new companions on what he was going to wear on the journey.
"Yes, Professor..." Lorcan pouted, feeling uncomfortable with the outfit he was wearing.
The Vulpix boy had red shorts that were neater than his ragged shorts. He wore a white shirt with the sleeves ripped off, along with wearing a jacket that seemed to look a little wild for nature. He even had a scarf around his neck with fiery pictures on them.
His shoes were sandals, much to his displeasure as he had never worn shoes before, since he's always wanted to the feel the ground with his own two feet.
"Do Lorcan really have to wear all of this...? It's too uncomfortable, and it makes me feel more like... a human." Lorcan whined, with his two Pokémon siblings climbing up on his shoulder to comfort the young boy for the clothing he had to wear to act and be like a human.
"Vee..."
"Vul..." The two cried out with sheepish smiles, as Isamu raised an eyebrow before a smile crept up on his face. The Johto Professor gave the Vulpix boy an apologetic look before he explained as to why it needed to be done.
"Well, you won't be getting anywhere with just your ragged shorts, young man. And besides, your Ninetales parents seemed to agree that you needed to look more like a human when you're traveling with other humans and Pokémon, right?" Prof. Elm asked.
Pouting, the Vulpix boy gave a reluctant nod before he turned to his new companions.
"Um... How does Lorcan look...?" Lorcan asked, causing the Kanto girl to giggle at the blunt question given to both her and Isamu.
"You look amazing, Lorcan. And you're even hiding your tail and ears too, which definitely makes you look more human-like!" Luna assured softly, causing the Vulpix boy to blink before he turned his eyes away from the Kanto girl.
"T-Thank you..." Lorcan spoke sheepishly, before he heard familiar cries behind him. The Vulpix boy turned to see his two Ninetales parents approaching him with the usual expressions on their faces: The mother's looked soft while the father's expression looked stern.
"Tales... Ninetales nine..." The mother Ninetales spoke softly before she nuzzled her son's face, along with Eevee and Vulpix's.
"Mm... Lorcan will remember, Mom..." Lorcan assured softly back, before the father spoke his words to his three children.
"Ninetales... Ninetales nine... Tales..." The father Ninetales spoke, causing the Vulpix boy to understand what his father meant, before he gave a small nod to him.
"Lorcan understands, Dad... Lorcan always does, of course." Lorcan assured confidently, earning a smile of approval from the father.
The parents nuzzled their children once more, making Isamu smile softly at the touching moment while Luna just smiled happily, feeling happy for their new traveling companion.
Soon, the three companions began to say their goodbyes to the Johto Professor, with Lorcan saying his goodbye to his Ninetales parents more, as he felt a little troubled of having to leave his family behind when trouble might occur.
The same went for his two siblings. Vulpix was more worried on what could happen to his parents, especially when Team Rocket attempted to not just capture both him and Eevee, along with Isamu's Eevee... but they were also trying to capture his parents as well.
Eevee felt worried in the same way, having the same worried thoughts about what could happen to her Ninetales family.
But with the reassurance from Isamu and Luna, the Vulpix boy managed to stay calm along with his two Pokémon siblings, as they soon slowly believed that their parents would be safe and strong... no matter where they went together.
By the time the three got out of the forest, they finally reunited with Ash, Misty, and Brock. The three were relieved to see both Isamu and Luna and their Pokémon unharmed in any way. But they were, of course, surprised to see another boy walking besides them.
After a much needed introduction, the Vulpix boy soon got to know who his other three companions were, before he gained a smile on his face on meeting Trainers that seemed to care for their Pokémon.
The elder Ketchum brother was the one to reveal to the others that Lorcan's family were Pokémon, surprising them at first...
But with Luna explaining a bit more about Lorcan and what he's really like, the others soon came to understand that he's no ordinary boy, who would definitely go his way to protect Pokémon, even if it meant attacking enemies to keep his Pokémon family and friends safe.
"So not all humans are bad after all...?" Lorcan asked, causing Ash to assure the Vulpix boy.
"Of course we're not bad! Pikachu and I wouldn't be together now if I was the bad guy for Pokémon!" Ash assured with a grin, with Pikachu siding with the younger Ketchum brother.
"We all love Pokémon like the way you do, Lorcan... Of course we're their friends." Misty assured softly, with Brock adding in his agreement.
"She's right. We may have different dreams, but the feelings we have for our Pokémon will always be strong, no matter what happens." Brock added, causing the Vulpix boy to lose the rest of his uneasy feelings about his new traveling companions.
Little did the Vulpix boy know, that with the five of them being his friends and companions, he would be having a wild adventure that he had never done before... even with all the little adventures he had with his Pokémon family and friends back in his home forest.
To be continued...
Isamu's Team:
Eevee (F): (Hidden Power, Double Team, Shadow Ball, Return)
Cyndaquil (M): (Tackle, Ember, Smokescreen, Quick Attack)
Ninetales (F): (Fire Spin, Dig, Safeguard, Flamethrower)
Gloom (F): (Moonlight, Acid, Petal Dance, Sleep Powder)
Dragonair (M): (Dragon Rage, Safeguard, Thunder Wave, Outrage)
Lapras (F): (Ice Beam, Mist, Rain Dance, Whirlpool)
With Prof. Oak:
Seadra (M): (Agility, Surf, Twister, Smokescreen)
Nidoking (M): (Mega Punch, Double Kick, Horn Attack, Poison Sting)
Aerodactyl (M): (Fly, Hyper Beam, Ancient Power, Scary Face)
Pidgeot (M): (Whirlwind, Mirror Move, Wing Attack, Sky Attack)
Sandslash (M): (Crush Claw, Dig, Slash, Double Team
Next chapters:
Chapter 3: A Rookie Trainer! Batter Up!
Chapter 4: A Grudge Match! You're Out!
Chapter 5: A Sappy Start! Heracross Appears!
Chapter 6: The Truth to the Sap Issue!
Chapter 7: A Hard Roll! Donphan Rolls Through!
Next chapter preview:
Casey: Another win for Team Casey! Will the fans please rise and salute Casey and Chikorita by singing their victory song!?
Luna: You must be the new Trainer that started her journey out with a Chikorita... I didn't think we'd meet you here...
Casey: Mm hm! And I'm not just a Trainer... I root for the baseball team called the Electabuzz team! They're the big stars out there!
Ash: Hold on... But didn't the Electabuzz finish last place on the last season? They couldn't even beat the Magikarp or Starmie if they tried!
Isamu: Ash, while I agree that the Electabuzz didn't do so well during the last baseball season, can't you see it's riling her up?
Casey: ARGH! Alright, that's it! We'll have a battle, right now! You have no right to insult the team like that just because of an unlucky break!
Events that occurred:
- The group meets Lorcan and Vulpix for the first time
- The group discovers that Lorcan is half-human and half-Vulpix
- Isamu and Luna meets Cassidy and Butch again, with Lorcan meeting them for the first time
- Lorcan decides to join the group on their journey around Johto