POKEMON HEART SOUL ADVENTURES
Here I am!
This has been a rather tiring period for me, and I have been concerned for the fact that my Internet connections were acting screwy, and the fact that school is, frankly speaking, exhausting me. Luckily, I can always make some time for you readers, and so... here I am writing the next chapter to my Pokemon story, which seems to be still doing good! At least, judging by how many people still keep adding this to their favourites or story watch...
So, last time, we left Ash and his friends on the third Sevii Island, Kin Island, to deal with a troublesome gang of bikers and a case of kidnapping... as of now, our friends are heading towards the Berry Forest in order to search for the children who disappeared mysteriously inside of it! This chapter will follow them as they make their way through the risky woods, where they will come face to face with the truth! Will they rescue the children, or will they meet the same fate?
To know that, you just need to keep on reading! Have fun!
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Chapter 27 - Rescue In The Berry Forest
As they were walking through it, looking carefully around themselves, Ash, Pikachu and their friends didn't think Berry Forest had anything markedly different from any other forest they had visited, like Viridian Forest or the like, if not for the fact that, mixed with the old oak and ilex trees, there were several specimen of Mediterranean flora such as pine trees. The pleasant scent of resin, flowers, basil and other natural scents could be felt all around, and several small plants, filled with delicious-looking berries, seemed to spontaneously grow here and there, offering easy food for all the Pokemon living in that mysterious place. It was a rather impressive sight, and overall, Berry Forest really didn't seem like a dangerous place, even now that the sun was slowly setting, and the trees were casting dark shadows all over the place. Ash and his companions had trouble imagining that beautiful forest as a dangerous place, even now...
"Still, keep your eyes peeled, guys..." Brock correctly warned, figuring that someone might be deceived by the pleasant vistas. "There don't seem to be problems as of now, but I think there's something wrong with this forest. Even if I can't really put my finger on it..."
"Don't worry, Brock, we know what to do..." Ash reassured him as the team reached a large patch of wild grass that reached up to their ribs. Both trainers and Pokemon were on the lookout for any danger, and Pikachu was the first to perk his ears up when he heard a suspicious rustle coming from a bush not too distant from the rest of the team... a bush filled with gaudy, strangely shaped purple berries! Piplup, who was still walking alongside the electric mouse, turned that way in alarm when Pikachu tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the bush.
"Pika pika! Pikachu!" the Electric-type squeaked.
"Piplup?" Piplup blinked twice, as he stared intently at the bush his friend was pointing to.
"What's the matter, Pikachu? Did you hear anything strange coming from there?" Ash asked, and the electric rodent nodded, repeating his name once again and motioning for the rest of the team to follow him.
"Pika pi! Pikachu pi! Pika pika pikachu!"
"I think we're getting closer already, guys..." Gary commented, following his friend and rival in the thick grass. Carefully, Brock approached the berry plant himself and took a look, frowning in surprise as he discovered that, just a little further away, the forest opened up in a large clearing where the grass had been meticulously cut, giving the impression that someone had set up a garden in the middle of the woods! There was surely the hand of a human behind that, or at least that's what Ash and his friends wanted to believe...
"Well, I definitely did not see this one coming..." Dawn whispered, holding her Piplup in her arms as the team hid behind the vegetation in order to get a better understanding of the situation. There was no one around, except for some harmless Caterpie or Wurmple crawling around, at least for now. "What do you say, guys? You think there is a connection between the state this place is in, and the disappeared kids?"
"Piplup, lup, lup!" the penguin Pokemon chirped.
Misty slowly nodded her head at that. "Well, personally I don't see many other possibilities... but let's lay low for now, I think I can hear some people coming!"
The sound of moving leaves warned the team, who quickly ducked in the middle of the vegetation, with Pikachu and Piplup slipping beneath the berry plant and taking a look from a safe position, trying to hide their vivacious colors among the large green leaves. A few seconds later, just as Misty had said, someone came out of a winding road on the other side of the clearing, and advanced in the freshly-cut grass, approaching a thick set of bushes on which other kinds of berries - mostly Oran Berries - were growing: two children, a boy and a girl around Dawn's age. The girl had long pink hair tied in a ponytail that reached halfway down her back, and from the descriptions they had heard from Kin Island's mayor, Ash and his friends quickly realized who she was!
"Hey, guys, did you see her?" Ash whispered to his friends, peeking out of his hideout just as much as he needed to get a clear view without getting seen. "That's Lostelle, the mayor's daughter, and she seems to be doing rather well... but I don't understand what she's doing in such a place..."
"Hold on a second, Ash..." Brock said as he took a look himself. "Take a look at those children's eyes, there's something wrong with them."
With some surprise, Ash focused his attention on the children's eyes, and even from the distance they were at, he could make out a rather frightening thing - namely, that both Lostelle and her friend, who had now stopped to gather some Oran Berries, had a dull, lifeless look to their eyes, like they were zombies mindlessly staring in front of themselves without seeing anything! In fact, now that Ash was taking a better look, they did seem to be acting in a trance, as they put most of the berries in a large basket the boy was carrying, while eating some of them. This was not the first time Ash and his friends had come across something like this...
"What's with their eyes? They don't even seem to be paying attention to the things around them..." Dawn noted, peeking from the hideout as well. "They only seem interested in the berries they're picking."
"I'm sure I already saw that somewhere..." Ash noted to himself, trying to dig into his memory. He did remember that he and his friends had solved a similar problem several years before, but he had trouble recalling the exact occurrence. Anyway, Ash was not the kind of person to dwell on such uncertainties, and decided the time for temperance was past. "Oh, well, that hardly matter now! What do you say, guys? Do we jump out of here and catch them off guard?"
Brock gently but firmly disagreed, holding Ash's shoulder in order to stop him from doing something reckless. "Not now, Ash... I think it's a better idea to wait it out, and then follow those children. Maybe they can take us to the root of this problem." he stated. "Besides which, I agree with you that we've already seen something like this before."
Ash frowned, a little dubious... but quickly shook himself out of it when the two children, still oblivious to the fact that they were being watched, finished their meal and started picking berries from other plants, before placing them in the basket along with all the others. They kept picking up berries until their basket was almost full, then started going back in the direction they had come from, still ignorant of Ash and his friends...
"Okay, I guess we can follow them now. Let's try not to lose sight of them." Gary stated as the team cautiously exited their hideout and advanced in the clearing, taking extra care not to step on something that might have given them away. For a second, Piplup eyed the Oran Berry plant and was tempted to go there and pluck one of them... but he sighed and shook his head, reminding himself that there was still a problem to solve. Luckily, Dawn understood what his problem was, and caressed him on the head to reassure him.
"Don't worry, Piplup... after we solve this problem, you will be able to eat as many of those as you want! Right now, let's focus on those children, okay?" said the blue-haired preteen. The small penguin-like Pokemon chirped in satisfaction as he and his trainer joined the rest of the group along the winding road Lostelle and the other child had taken. Taking extreme care as they advanced, Ash's team foolowed the lost children on their way, passing through a thick part of the forest covered in strange wild plants... until Pikachu, taking a good look in front of himself, saw a large, century-old oak tree rising from the center of another clearing, half-hidden by the thick vegetation. Keeping his voice as low as he possibly could, the electric mouse pointed to the strange new sight, and his friends slowed down in order to take a look at it from a safe position.
"And now... what's that about? It seems to me that something has been built around that huge tree..." Misty commented after taking a good look at the tree for several seconds. In fact, as they carefully approached the ancient oak tree, they could see that several improvised shelters had been built around it, in the form of shoddy wooden shafts and tents built with branches and blankets. Several children, none of them older than ten or eleven, could be seen walking around, together with several Pokemon, mostly Grass or Bug types that seemed to act as guardians of the improvised city. What stood out the most to Ash and his friends, though, was a larger and better-kept wooden hut placed right in front of the oak tree, and several baskets filled with berries of various kinds placed nearby. Some of the children were adding more baskets, in an almost deferencial way...
"What in the world is that?" Brock asked in wonder. "Looks like... all the disappeared kids are here and have created some sort of village all around that tree! But... who are they bringing all those berries to?"
"I think we'll discover that pretty soon." Gary stated. With a simple gesture of his hand, he took a Pokeball out of his belt and let his Umbreon out, as he and the other trainers tried approaching undetected to the strange village in the middle of the woods. The fact that several Beedrill and a Dustox were patrolling the area made that rather difficult to do...
Gary's Umbreon advanced in front of the group and sneaked towards the largest of the wooden huts, his eyes narrowing as he tried to get a good visual. Luckily, he didn't have to wait long before its inhabitant came out, an hand raised as if to greet the kids: it was a humanoid, yellow-skinned Pokemon, a little more than three feet tall, with a rotund, overlarge head and a short crown of white fur around his neck, holding an hypnotist's pendulum in one of his hands. In any case, the long nose and the pointed ears were a dead giveaway to the Pokemon's species.
"Hmmm... that's an Hypno! Now I think I can see the whole picture..." Brock whispered. "The disappeared kids are all there, right in front of us: that Hypno is keeping them with him by holding them in thrall with his Hypnosis, so that they will serve him. And he even had them and the Pokemon build those wooden houses and tents so that they can always stay with him. Regularly, the cildren go out and pick up berries to feed themselves and Hypno... and since berries sprout like mushrooms in this place, he and the kidnapped children can live off the fruits of the earth without fear that he might be discovered."
"Well, that's pretty clever, I must say. And since this forest has a pretty spooky reputation, nobody comes to invesigate, and he can keep the children with himself for as long as he wants..." Dawn completed the reasoning. Her Piplup chirped in indignation as he glared at the HYpno that, almost as soon as he had come out of his hut, had begun happily feasting on some of the berries. The hypnotist Pokemon smiled in content and nodded to each of the children, before picking handfuls of berries from the nearest basket and handing them to his "guests". Piplup made an attempt to dash forward and attack Hypno, but he was stopped just in time by Pikachu.
"Piplup, pip?" the penguin Pokemon protested.
Pikachu shook his head, reccomending him to be careful. "Pika pichu... pikachu pichu pika chu!" he squeaked, pointing at the many Pokemon surrounding the large tree. They had to wait for a more favorable moment to approach the tree, and even Gary's Umbreon was quick to nod in approval of Pikachu's careful attitude. The Dark-type Eevee evolution was already starting to think of a way to get close enough without being seen... when an enraged buzz, coming from above their heads, had the trainers jump about one foot in the air! A particularly zealous Beedrill had swept down to search among the thicker vegetation... and her compound eyes had quickly caught sight of Ash and his friends! In alarm, she gave a loud buzz that quickly warned all the nearby Pokemon and children!
"Oh, no... we got caught!" Ash exclaimed as he quickly stood up from his hiding place. The Beedrill raised her sting-hands and tried to impale Gary's Umbreon with a Twineedle attack, but Pikachu was faster than she was and smacked her right in the face with an Iron Tail attack, sending the gigantic hornet sprawling ignobly on the dusty road! Unfortunately, more sentry Pokemon began closing in... and the alarmed Hypno interrupted his meal and hid behind the hypnotized children, who were already producing their Pokeballs to defend their "friend". While Ash and his friends were obviously the better trainers, they were hopelessly outnumbered...
"Darn, just what we didn't need! Look how many of them there are!" Misty exclaimed, shivering in disgust as some Bug-type Pokemon fluttered far too close for her comfort. "Ugh... you... stay away from me, you freak! Misty calls... Starmie!"
Misty's signature Pokemon popped up in front of the team, immediately followed by Brock's Croagunk and Gible, Dawn's Mamoswine and Togekiss, Gary's Kingler and Arcanine... and finally Ash's Infernape, all standing in a circle around their trainers and defending them for the many Pokemon coming from all sides! Pikachu was the first to attack, hitting a fluttering Dustox with a Thunderbolt before it could use its Sleep Powder on them, and the giant moth stiffened in pain and fell to the ground in a smoking heap.
"Well done, Pikachu! A great start!" Ash exclaimed, but he was well aware that the fight had only just begun. Several Pokemon, belonging to the hypnotized children, appeared in front of the team and began closing in...
"But even if we did start out well, there are too many of them..." Brock commented as his Croagunk too down a Tangela with a well-placed Poison Jab. Gible was handling a Weepinbell, catching it by its vines and slamming it on the ground, but he was almost hit by another Beedrill's Pin Missile as he did so. In the meanwhile, Starmie had managed to knock out a menacing Diglett with a Water Pulse attack, while Mamoswine had plowed his way through a bunch of over-aggressive Sentret, dispersing the squirrel-like Pokemon with powerful shakes of his enormous head. With a warlike yell, Infernape struck down an approaching Jumpluff with a Fire Punch, but he was forced to retreat immediately after as a bunch of vengeful Pidgey, Spearow and Doduo swarmed him...
Unfortunately, the initial advantage Ash and his friend had was doomed to vanish soon enough, unless they found a way to even the odds...
"Brock's right, we can't handle that many of them!" Dawn exclaimed, as her Piplup, after knocking out a Trapinch with a well-placed Ice Beam, was now having trouble keeping up with a Magnemite. "And even if we could... our Pokemon would be too tired to fight Hypno!"
"Then, we need to take down that Hypno right now! Since he's the one responsible far all this, maybe if we defeat him, the children will be freed from his powers!" Ash said. "Pikachu... try to get close to Hypno and hit him with Thunder Wave!"
"Help him out, Umbreon!" Gary said, as his Arcanine and Kingler were keeping the surrounding Pokemon away. The electric mouse and the black Eevee evolution ran towards a group of hostile-looking children forming a wall between them and Hypno... and Umbreon did a perfect Double Team, jumping up and splitting in several after-images. Pikachu used an Agility attack, doubling is already considerable speed and weaving in and out the crowd of enemy Pokemon trying to stop him. There was no competition: Pikachu was far too strong and experienced for those novices to stop.
Hypno frowned in worry and tried to retreat. Those weren't your cookie-cutter trainers: he was dealing with experts, especially the ones with the Pikachu and the Umbreon. And before the Psychic Pokemon could think of another way, Umbreon jumped over the hypnotized children and swept down on Hypno, baring his claws at him! Hypno jumped back and dodged just in the nick of time, then retaliated with an Headbutt that sent the Dark-type reeling. Knowing all too well that his psychic powers were useless against Umbreon, Hypno was trying to at least buy himself some time... and he seemed to be doing a good job at that too, as Umbreon took a couple seconds to recover from that blow. More than enough time for two children to send out their Pokemon at him, a Mankey and an Hitmontop! Umbreon frowned, understanding that those two were opponents that could give him serious trouble...
But luckily, Pikachu was quick to interfere, launching himself at the monkey Pokemon and hitting him with a perfectly-executed flying kick, which gave Umbreon more than enough time to work up one of his attacks! Hitmontop started spinning like a top towards Umbreon, trying to hit him with his lethal kicks, but the Dark-type was able to get away in time, and retaliated with a timely Confuse Ray, whose effects were immediate: the Fighting-type stopped cold for a split-second, then started spinning in the opposite direction and towards the flabbergasted Hypno, whose eyes bugged out comically out of his head! The hypnotic Pokemon dodged madly in an attempt to avoid the out-of-control Hitmontop... but this brought him right in the path of the charging Pikachu, whose cheek pouches flashes with lightning and released a speedy Thunder Wave that overwhelmed the Psychic-type and froze him in place, electrical discharges painfully coursing through his body! One instant later, Hypno remained paralyzed... and Umbreon jumped up once again and seemingly disappeared into thin air, before reappearing right behind Hypno and slashing at him with his short claws! Umbreon's Faint Attack struck the paralyzed Psychic-type and sent him sprawling on the ground... and one split second later, all the children under his control stopped cold, blinking in confusion, as if they did not know how they had ended up there, and they had just woken up from a long dream. Hypno's influence had been broken with his defeat.
"Huh? Wha... what's going on here? Why are we here, in the first place?" one of them asked after rubbing his face with his hand.
"And... why are our Pokemon out of their Pokeballs? Where do those guys come from?" Lostelle asked as she noticed Ash, his friends and all of their Pokemon standing in front of them. Most of the enslaved Pokemon had stopped fighting the moment Hypno had fallen in defeat, but a few Beedrill were still trying to swarm Gible, who was having an hard time dodging all those deadly stingers. Finally, the earth drake decided that enough was enough... and after putting some distance between himself and the giant hornets, he turned to them and opened his mouth to release his trademark move...
"Oh, snap..." Brock said as he recognized the move. "Quick, everyone, get away from here! Now!"
Ash, Pikachu and their friends didn't even need to hear that and scattered away, taking shelter behind a few bushes just as Gible's attack finished charging, creating a burst of orange spheres of energy that sped all around him, striking the attacking Beedrill full force... although one of the shots misfired and landed dangerously close to Piplup, causing him to jump up and chirp in alarm! The stunned hornet Pokemon fell to the ground in a heap, as the hapless penguin Pokemon began protesting loudly about Gible's aiming skills, or lack thereof! Luckily, just after the usual mayhem caused by Gible's attack, the battlefield was quiet once again. Just as everyone had predicted, Hypno's defeat had solved the problem at its root... though now there was the problem of explaining to the kids just what had happened, and bringing them out of the forest.
"Well, once again, that unknown attack was a blessing... pity it's not the most accurate ever." Brock commented as the team exited their shelter. Luckily, those Beedrill were the last Pokemon still standing, and the kidnapped children had priority anyway.
"Hey, guys, are you alright?" Ash asked, reaching Lostelle and the kidnapped children, who were looking at him interrogatively.
"Well... yeah, I guess so..." the pink-haired child answered, after rubbing her eyes and clearing her visual. "But... how did we end up in this forest? I only remember... that I had come here to pick up a few berries for my Pokemon... and as I was doing that, an Hypno came in front of me... and after that, it's all blank..."
"Then, that's just what we suspected... this Hypno here has hypnotized the children and forced them to stay here with him." Misty commented, casting a disapproving glance at the Psychic-type, who was now standing up with a forlorn expression on his face. Pikachu, Umbreon and Piplup were keeping a close eye on him, in case he tried anything... "Now I do remember when something like that happened... it was during our journey through Kanto, an Hypno mesmerized me into thinking I was a Seel!"
Dawn sweatdropped at the idea of Misty mimicking a Seel... but soon after, the blue-haired girl turned to the defeated Hypno. "Well, I guess Hypno owes us some explanation." she stated, as even some of the kidnapped children were keeping their eyes on the hypnotic Pokemon.
"Pika pichu pi, pikachu pika pika pikachu?" Pikachu asked, hands on his hips as he stood by the Psychic-type, who was keeping his head low as if in shame. Piplup seemed to want to reiterate the question, placing himself in front of Hypno, his small chest sticking outwards in indignation.
"Piplup pip!"
"Hypno..." Hypno answered as he shook his head in resignation. Ash got the distinct impression that the Psychic Pokemon was aware that he had done a bad thing, and was sincerely repetant about it. "Hypnooooo... hypno!"
"Pikachu?" Pikachu answered, one of his ears perking up in surprise, and his attitude softening up somewhat. Even Umbreon and Piplup seemed to be more sympathetic towards Hypno now... and that went double when Pikachu turned to his trainer in order to explain things. "Pikachu pika, pika pikachu!"
"Oh... I see!" Ash nodded slowly. "Well, guys... it seems Hypno did this just because he was feeling lonely, living in these woods on his own, and with no Pokemon ever wanting to be his friend. He simply wanted someone to keep him company, even if he used some... well, not so nice ways to make them stay."
As the others in his team remained silent - especially Infernape, who had gone through a similar experience himself - Ash turned once again to the hypnotic Pokemon, and gently placed his hand on his rotund head, speaking with a mixture of compassion and firmness. "Hypno... we can understand why you did that, really. You were feeling lonely, and this is a terrible thing to feel. We understand that you wanted to end your solitude and have someone always stay by your side. Still, you need to understand that what you have done was a bad thing as well. You have taken these kids away from their families, and furthermore, you didn't really make friends with them. You just forced them to stay here with you..."
"Hypno..." Hypno sadly answered, nodding his head in understanding. He seemed to be sincerely repetant, to the point where Ash and his friends saw no reason why they should stay angry at him.
"Yeah... we understand that, Hypno..." Dawn answered as she gently smiled to the Psychic-type. "You were okay with feeling like you had a lot of friends... but you did understand that this is not the right way to do it, right?"
When Hypno nodded again, Gary cleared his throat and tried to propose a solution. "Alright, then. Since you understand that too, Hypno, I guess it is only fair that you do something to make up for that, right?" the young researcher proposed. "Now... we have to bring alll these kids back to their families, and it would be a good idea if you came and explained yourself with everyone."
"Eon!" Umbreon closed his eyes and nodded once in assent. On the other hand, Hypno seemed to be rather surprised, and pointed at himself using his fre hand, his eyes slightly enlarged.
"Why not? This way, you can explain that you didn't do this out of malice, and I'm sure they will forgive you just like we did." Brock stated. Looking around, the Rock-type expert could see that most of the children shared his feelings, although some were still understandably wary about Hypno.
Misty wanted to add something. "Better yet, if you'll explain yourself and apologize, I'm sure quite a few people would be willing to be your friends! After all, you're not a bad Pokemon, are you? So... might as well give it a try, right? It could work..."
"Hypno...?" the surprised Hypno stated, as if in disbelief that he could make friends so easily after trying so hard without success. But what really convinced Hypno was the fact that Lostelle, after overcoming her initial reluctance, simply stepped forward and extended her hand to Hypno in a gesture of friendship.
"If... if you would like to, Hypno, I could be your first friend!" the pink-haired girl offered. "What you did wasn't nice, but since you're sorry about it... I forgive you! And it's not nice to be lonely, anyway!"
The grateful Psychic-type Pokemon placed his pride aside and tightly hugged the young girl, who hugged him back after a moment of surprise, and as Ash and his friend looked on in approval, most of the other kids began clapping their hands, satisfied that the problem had finally been solved with a good solution for everyone involved. "Pikachu!" the electric mouse squeaked, his hands joined behind his head as if saying that, in the end, all is well that ends well.
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The return of the group of Pokemon trainers, joined by the retrieved children and the Pokemon that been responsible for the mystery, to the main Kin Island village was greeted with even greater celebration than those Ash and hisfriends had received after defeating the Inferno Angels. Each of the children had returned to their families, and Lostelle had ran straight into her father's arms, giving an happy ending to that tale.
"Daddy!" the little girl exclaimed, hugging her father.
"Lostelle... I'm so glad you're back and you're okay! I was really worried... in fact, everyone was worried, you know?" the mayor said, joy and relief painted on his face. After hugging for a few seconds to celebrate the girl's return, the mayor raised his glance to Ash and his friends and nodded in gratitude. "I hope you have thanked these courageous youngsters! They were the ones who volunteered to search for you and the other children..."
"Hehehee... well, it was nothing all that different from what we usually do!" Dawn affirmed.
"And in any case... I'm here for some personal research, and I sure can't let my favourite rival get all the glory, ya know?" Gary went on, playfully elbowing Ash as he did so... to which Ash answered with an half-smile. "Anyway, it was a pleasure to help you, so... no need to be overly thankful!"
"In any case, you have solved a lot of problems for us, and you brought our children back to us." the mayor stated. "It can very well be said... that the day you've come here was a joyous day for all of Kin Island! Now, there's only one thing I'd like to ask... that is, why is the Pokemon who had kidnapped our children here with you, now? You even seem to trust him, to boot..."
"Oh, him?" Lostelle spoke for everyone. She motioned at Hypno, who was holding back and waiting for that moment with some apprehension, to come closer. "Well, daddy... long story short, we understood what his motives were, and we saw that he didn't really mean to hurt anybody, in the end."
"Hypno has repented for having kidnapped your children, and he promised he won't ever do it again." Misty stated, winking at the hypnotic Pokemon. "I'd say your problems are solved..."
"That's true! Now that we're back, we'll resume our training to become Gym Leaders!" the mayor's daughter answered. She approached Hypno and placed an hand on his shoulder. "And speaking of which, Hypno... I'd be glad if you accepted to be my first Pokemon, since I've always had a liking for the Psychic-types!"
The Hypnosis Pokemon smiled and nodded, and Ash and Pikachu exchanged a knowing look. They still didn't know much about that whole Gym Leaders deal, but they figured the details could wait. For the moment, a mystery had been solved, and they would soon be able to resume their travel through the Sevii Archipelago! "Guess we did our job for today, huh, Pikachu?" Ash asked, winking to his best friend, who answered in kind and gave a thumbs-up.
"Alright then... tomorrow, we're off to the fourth island, Floe Island! And I guess Misty here already has something good to say about that, right?" Brock asked the Water-type expert, whose eyes immediately widened in glee!
"Of course I do!" she practically squealed, her hands joined in front of her, and a dreamy look in her eyes, complete with stars lighting up all around her! "You see... Floe Island is where my idol, Miss Lorelei of the Kanto Elite Four, was born! You remember, ash? That was when we were travelling through the Orange Islands!"
Ash blinked, grit his teeth and looked down in embarassment. Yeah, he remembered that episode all too well... that was when Lorelei had taken him down after he had gotten a big head. It wasn't one of the battles he was proud of, and now that he was more experienced and mature, he asked himself how he could have been that daft at the time...
"You really met one of the Kanto Elite Four?" Dawn asked, curious to know more about that. "And... how did it go, Ash? Did you make a good impression on her? How was she in person?"
"Well..." Ash sweatdropped. "This is... something I'd prefer to talk about later, okay? It... wasn't exactly my most roaring success, if you know what I mean! Hehee..."
"Pikachu..." Pikachu squeaked as he rubbed his head... and as the celebrations continued aroun them, the group of Pokemon trainers nd children decided that the time for talk was past, and it was time to just chill out and enjoy the evening as much as they could! "Pika pi! Pika pika, pikachuuu!"
"Heh, guess you're right, Pikachu!" Ash answered. "Since we're here... we might as well mke good on our time! Shall we go, everyone?"
"Of course!" Misty answered, and everybody laughed heartilly as even Lostelle and her newfound friend Hypno walked towards the country fair!
oooooooooo
"Commander Dimitri... we have brought the new rookie to you, just as you requested."
Safely hidden in his Hoenn HQ, the young Team Vicious commander raised his eyes from the book he was reading as two of his gas-mask-wearing grunts, who were dragging the new recruit along: an extremely reluctant May, who was already wearing a similar outfit, with a tight black uniform, red stripes along her arms and legs, gloves, boots and a mirrored capital R on the chest, along with a gas mask that the girl was now keeping raised, so that her face and a few locks of her brown hair were still visible. Silently, the grunts brought the young coordinator in front of their leader. and then retreated with a polite bow, leaving the two to discuss matter alone. May, for her part, said nothing and remained where she had been left, boiling with rage but unable to do anything about it. She was only waiting for Dimitri to speak up, and the way the young criminal behaved, slowly and metodically putting down his book before drumming with his fingers on the desk, certainly didn't help assuage her tension. The silence was becoming unbearable...
"Alright..." he finally said, after unending seconds. "Very well, I have to say you don't look half bad in this uniform... I kinda think you have found your true calling in life, my dear May!"
"Should I... take this as a compliment?" the girl muttered, thinking that she could at least allow herself a little bit of snark.
Dimitri chuckled, his lips tightly serrated. "Despite everything, my dear May, I can see you haven't lost your fire! Which is good, because now you're a member of Team Vicious, and we won't put up with slackers! If you want your little brother to be safe , you'll do exactly what we order you to. Anyway, if it can be of confort to you, know that with your skill, you'll make for a great commander in no time... one as skilled as you is not meant to remain in the rank and file, after all!"
May just wishes Dimitri would stop beating the bush, and went straight to the point and her first mission, though she could easily imagine she was not going to like it at all...
"Still, let's get down to business." the young criminal said, keeping that irritating air of superiority. "We have three people who could potentially become huge thorns in our side, and that we might have some trouble approaching, considering they're among the best coordinators in Hoenn... much like you, just to give you a term of confrontation!" he chuckkled, pleased with his own joke, before clearing his throat and carrying on. "Anyway, up until now, we were having trouble with coming up with a strong enough team to track them down and fight them on even terms. With you on our side, things will be quite different... therefore, your first mission is to find these people, defeat them in a Pokemon battle, subdue them and bring them to our HQ. We have confirmation that all three of them are in Hoenn now, so you won't have to go far away to track them down. Here they are, I'm sure you know each one of them."
May gasped audibly as she looked at the photos Dimitri had carelessly thrown on his desk: in fact, each one of them depicted someone she knew very well - a boy around her age with light green hair, holding a red rose in his right hand; a rather girly-looking young man in a Cacturne suit, with long and wavy purple hair; and a mature, elegant young woman in her early twenties, with long rose-pink hair. They were, obviously, Drew, Harley and Solidad...
"See? I can tell from your face that you know all of them!" Dimitri chuckled nastily. "I don't think I need to say anything more. You already defeated two of them in your competitions, so they shouldn't give you problems. Admittedly, Solidad could be a little too much for you to handle, which is why, when the time comes, you'll be able to count on the support of some of my best agents. She might be an accomplished trained, but she still won't be able to do much in front of overwhelming numbers. That's about it... you can now start your mission! Oh, and of course, I don't need to remind you not to try anything funny, or your little brother might pay the price! But, it's always good to repeat certain things."
"Max..." May murmured, before raising her eyes and asking a question, driven by her worry. "What did you do with my little brother, huh? What are your plans for him?"
"Nothing, as of now..." Dimitri answered with an uncaring shrug. "He's a promising subject, so we're going to keep him around and train him in order to turn him into one of our top agents! Of course, should he disappoint us, his uses would simply narrow to being a bargaining chip to keep you under control. But you know that all too well now, right?"
"Yes... commander Dimitri..." she answered, almost spitting the last two words. How she wished she could just shank that guy in the face, save Max and be done with it...
"Good." Dimiri said. "And before you even think of asking for help, know that your movements will constantly be controlled through microchips placed in your uniform. Know where you stand, girl."
May noddded and brought herself to do a last, forced saute before walking to the exit, receiving her Pokeballs from a grunt as she was going out. As she was about to reach the exit, the young girl caught a glimpse of Stefan, who was standing in front of a table and was looking at her with an apologetic expression that still failed to convince the young coordinator. May glared back, her eyes expressing all the hurt and betrayal she felt, and Stefan could only look away and murmur something in apology...
"For... for what's worth, May... I apologize to you." he murmured. "I... I couldn't just disobey orders..."
"Yeah... sure..." the young coordinator muttered bitterly, lightly shaking her head. "You couldn't disobey your older brother's orders... so you settled for deceiving and betraying us, in order to make us fall in his hands. Really nice of you, Stefan."
The young trainer was unable to answer back, and simply stare at the floor... and May instantly felt remorse at the way she had behaved. He did seem sincere, after all, after all... maybe he really had no choice, just like she had none at this point... it didn't change the fact that she and Max were in Team Vicious' clutches because of him, but still...
"Stefan..." May finally said, her voice softer. "Look... I'm sorry, I... shouldn't have said that. It was mean on my part. I... guess you had your reasons as well, and we're on the same boat, so to speak..."
Stefan raised his head a little, his demeanor more serene after hearing the girl's words... and, after cracking a small smile, she walked up to him and continued. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Guess... I was so caught up in my problems that I failed to see yours... maybe, after I'm back from this, we can discuss it in more detail, okay?"
"Thanks, May... and again, I'm sorry..." Stefan answered, as May smiled sadly and walked away, waving her hand. The young member of Team Vicious watched as the girl got away, feeling both relieved and completely useless. The fact that he knew May didn't hate him was of some confort, but at the same time, it hurt not being able to help her. If only he had some more courage and stronger Pokemon... but as it was, he could only wait and hope that everything would turn out for the better...
oooooooooo
Max yelped slightly in pain as a Team Vicious grunt uncerimoniously tossed him in a dank, cube-shaped cell , its walls filled with creaks and stains, cut in half by a trail of bars that ran through its middle. The guard quickly closed the door behind Max, and locked him inside as he stood up and grabbed the iron bars in an attempt to at least get an explanation of what was going on. "Hey, what's this about?" Max asked. "What do you want with my sister? Let me out of here! Hey, can you hear me? I'm talking to you!"
The grunt didn't even dignify him with a word, and just glared coldly at him, which made Max realize that, no matter what he did, he was not going to go any further than that. The bespectacled young boy stood in his plae, catching his breath in order to keep his fear in check... but in the situation he was in, in that damp, cold and stinky cell, and without even his Pokemon to make him at least feel somewhat protected, it was hard to do so...
Max sighed in resignation and went to sit in a corner, when a movement on the other side of the cell, beyond the bars cutting it in two, caught his attention, along with a voice he instantly recognized...
"Max? Max, is that really you?"
"Hilde?" Max asked as he ran to the bars. In the darkness, he managed to make out the shape of his friend and rival, her expression still stoic and detached despite the fact that her clothes were dirty and dusty, and her dark red hair were visibly matted. Clearly, she had been in that terrible place for quite a long time, probably a couple days. "Hilde, you're here as well! So, you got captured too..."
"So it seems." Hilde sighed, trying to hide how scared she actually was. "While I was on my way to my next Gym, I was challenged by a guy called Stefan... I defeated him easily enough, but soon after, these guys ambushed and captured me. I found out that Stefan was working for this Team Vicious, and he's the younger brother of this cell's leader, a guy called Dimitri. They offered me a deal - either work for them or be killed. To sum it up, we'll be trained to become Team Vicious grunts."
"Yeah, and as for my sister... they decided to skip the training part and make her work for them!" Max affirmed, knowing all too well that Team Vicious was using him as a bargaining chip. "Darn... if only I had my Pokemon with me, we could hope to run away, but now..."
"Those scoundrels thought of pretty much everything." Hilde thought out loud, dragging her sandals-clad feet on the floor of the cell as she nervously paced around. She wrinkled her nose in disgust as a dust of dirt and dust was raised. "I'm afraid there is nothing anyone can do to help us..."
"Don't say that, I'm sure my sister will think of something!" Max said, trying to hold to a semblance of hope as he grabbed Hilde's shoulder through the bars separating their cells. However, the girl looked unconvinced... she already knew that May's chances were slim at best.
"I envy the trust you put in your sister." she stated, stratching the rusty bars with one of her fingers. "Sadly, I'm not sure it is well-placed. For now, all we can do is behave, do what they say, and hope that it all turns out well."
Max shrugged. "Hoping never killed anybody..." he said, as the two children sat back to back, leaning on the bars. At least, a sorrow shared was a sorrow halved...
oooooooooo
"That's good, commander Dimitri. Our new prisoner has been secured and is now being closely watched." a Team Vicious grunt reported to his superior just a few minutes later. "In about two days, we should be able to start training the newcomers."
"Excellent. Nice to know I can rest easy on that." Dimitri smirked. "On the other handd, there is another issue I wish to see adressed: have you managed to capture a few more Psychic Pokemon knowing the move Teleport? HQ has just reported that our Hunter J was forced to use the teleportation feature of her new airship to escape from a difficult situation, back in Sevii Islands... and they need spare batteries, so to speak."
"We have captured several Abra and Ralts, sir, and we should be able to send them to HQ very soon." the grunt answered. "We can rest easy on this too. The situation is fully under our control, and it seems we have also managed to gather another one of the Plates which will see use in the last part of our project. Despite Jakov's earlier failing, we are still at a great advantage."
Dimitri chuckled again at the mention of Jakov's name. That fool was always too soft, even refusing to use the Dark Pokemon their leader so generously gave them! Well, Dimitri was not going to repeat his mistake, and he would surely get the leader's praises before everything was said and done. Better yet, with a little luck, he could even subdue another Legendary Pokemon to Team Vicious' will! He could only imagine how great it would be for him to return with something like Latios, Latias or Jirachi...
He shook his head, forcing himself back to reality. That was no time to wander with his mind, he had to concentrate on the mission at hand and take out those three potential dangers to his organization...
"Very good. Then, proceed as planned." Dimitri coldly ordered. "Very soon, we'll see our new agent in action, and I'm curious to see how she fares. I hope she makes good on her reputation."
oooooooooo
In one of Team Rocket's hideouts in the Sevii Archipelago, Ursula was still sitting in her cell, her knees drawn up to her chest, her arms around her legs, and her eyes looking darkly in front of her, immersed in her own thoughts. If someone had looked at her more closely, he would have seen the young coordinator's tough, determined frown, a clear sign that she still hadn't given up on her struggle... she was just biding her time, trying to think her way out of that bind, though things looked rather grim...
She was still busy thinking to herself when she heard a pair of Rocket grunts approaching to give out her meal, and a tall guy with the standard Team Rocket black uniform opened thedoor of her cell slightly and placed a tray with a loaf of bread, an apple and a small bottle of water on it. Which was what passed as her dinner, it seemed.
"Well, what's with the tough attitude, kid? Our cook has outdone himself, today!" one of the grunts chuckled cruelly before closing the door. Ursula, however, refused to be bullied and answered with a barb of her own.
"Haha. How funny. You should've been a comedian." she snarked at him. The grunt grimaced, muttering something about certain people not being able to take a joke, then he walked away, with his colleague right behind. Deciding that skipping a meal wouldn't have done her any good, Ursula went to fetch her tray and bit into her apple, while at the same time perking an ear and listening to the grunts conversing.
"So... Mr. Archer has confirmed that the kid who won the Sinnoh Tournament is about to come?"
"Yeah... and we should be ready to greet them, as they're pretty strong. They even defeated Hunter J, back in Knot Island, and they defeted several members of Team Vicious. We need to be careful."
They got too far for Ursula to hear any more, but for the spiral-haired girl, this was more than enough. The winner of the Sinnoh Tournament? Such a small world... but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
"Well, if I play my cards well..." Ursula whispered to herself as she resumed her meal. "I will be able to get out of this stinking hole sooner than I thought. I just hope that guy and hisfriends get here soon..."
oooooooooo
TO BE CONTINUED...
Author's Note: Well, the real meat of the Sevii saga is about to begin! Next chapter, we will meet some old acquaintances of ours! You'll be surprised, I can guarantee that! In the meanwhile... hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please, send me some reviews, I really like to hear your comments!
See you soon!