Your eyes are not decceving you, it is in fact the newest chapter! I'm really so sorry that it took this long. It's a lot harder to write multi chaptered stories while you're away in college! I mostly find time to write one shots every once in a while, but I'm working on this story as hard as I possibly can! I can't promise overly consistent updates, but the updates WILL be coming, so no worries. I didn't make the cheer team, so plenty of extra time to be writing now!
Last time: Michelle competed in her second ever Pokemon Contest, this one in Porta Vista. With Ash, Misty, and Elizabeth there to watch alongside Aiden and Brandon, Michelle used Butterfree in the appeals round and Ponyta in the battle round to win her first ribbon! With that out of the way, the group now moves on to the next city.
Chapter 16: Danger in Numbers!
"I just can't stop looking at it! Isn't it so pretty, Pichu?"
"Pi!"
Michelle was holding up her ribbon case, admiring the prize she had been awarded for winning the Porta Vista Contest. It was so gorgeous; the way it shined in the sunlight and sat so gingerly on the velvet lining. Really, Michelle couldn't have imagined a more beautiful ribbon as her first. It was just perfect.
"Michelle sure is happy about that ribbon of hers," Brandon chuckled. He and Aiden were walking a few paces behind the coordinator, watching her actions from a further distance.
"I'll be happy just like that when I win my third badge!" Aiden formed a fist of determination.
"I'm sure you will," Brandon smirked. "So where will you be getting that badge, bud?"
"Uh…" Aiden lowered his fist, sweat dropping in the process, "I guess…I'm not really sure where the closest gym to here is. I should've asked my Mom before we left, huh?"
"That might have been a good idea," Brandon noted before grinning mischievously and pulling out his poke gear. "But fortunately for you, we have this."
"That's the Brandon I know, always saving the day," Aiden scoffed.
"From your lack of directional knowledge, at least," Brandon chuckled. Turning on the device, he scrolled through the map before determining, "the closest place to here that has a gym is Saffron City. And, what do you know, there's a Contest Hall there as well!"
"Alright, so to Saffron City it is!" Aiden cheered. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he called, "did you hear that, Shelly? We're headed to Saffron City! There's a gym and a Contest Hall!"
Spinning on a heel, Michelle smiled angelically at her brother. "Perfect! You and I will blow Saffron City away with our talents!"
"Yeah!" Aiden agreed.
"A little full of ourselves now, aren't we?" Brandon sighed laughingly.
"THAT'S IT! YOU'D BETTER RUN!"
Aiden, Michelle, and Brandon all stopped in their tracks, blinking curiously after hearing a very angry yell come from seemingly out of thin air.
"Someone doesn't sound happy," Michelle spoke in a sing song voice, eyeing the boys.
"You could say that again, " Brandon agreed.
"Yeah," Aiden chimed in, "sounds like Mom after I break something in the house."
Squinting her eyes, Michelle saw a blurry figure leaping towards them; predominantly white and moving very quickly. Turning around, she caught the attention of her travel mates and inquired, "I'm not crazy, right? You guys see that giant blur, too?"
The boys looked up and gasped. Michelle simply nodded, getting the confirmation that she wasn't, in fact, just seeing things.
"What is that?" Aiden marveled. "Some kind of flying type?"
"I doubt it," Brandon blinked.
The white blur eventually settled on a tall pile of rocks, standing on all fours and staring down at the ground with a pair of extremely mistrusting eyes.
"No way," Brandon gasped.
"What's up, Brandon?" Michelle furrowed her brow.
"It's an Absol," Brandon breathed.
The twins both looked up at the top of the rock collection, finding the furry white Pokemon to be standing rather proudly atop the mound, the wind gently blowing its elegant fur.
"It sure is a pretty Pokemon," Michelle smiled.
"Let's see what the poke dex has to say about it," Aiden retrieved his red device and scanned the creature.
Absol, the disaster Pokémon. The horn on its head allows Absol to predict when a natural disaster will occur. Absol rarely appear in areas inhabited by humans, and when they do it is to warn people of an oncoming catastrophe.
"So, it sounds like Absol really isn't a people Pokémon," Michelle concluded from the poke dex's definition.
"Pichu," Pichu squeaked in conferment.
Furrowing his brow, Aiden added, "but if that's true, then how come we're seeing Absol right now?"
"Didn't the poke dex say that Absol will appear to humans only to warn them of impending disaster?" Brandon suddenly sounded a little nervous.
"Come on, Brandon," Michelle rolled her bright emerald eyes. "Do you really think something bad is gonna' happen just because Absol showed up?"
"He's right! That Absol is nothing but trouble!"
The three young trainers turned to find a burly looking man glaring up at Absol. He was clearly very angry, and it was obvious that this anger was being turned towards the disaster Pokémon.
"What do you mean?" Aiden raised an eyebrow. For some reason, he didn't trust this guy.
"That Absol has been showing up in our town for the past three days causing problems for everyone!" The man seethed. "Running around, breaking through branches and rocks with that sickle sticking out of its head! Obviously, that Pokémon is out to get us, and deserves to be punished!"
"Hey, you don't have any proof that Absol is bad!" Aiden argued.
"The destruction in our town is proof enough, son," the man growled.
"And just how do you plan on punishing Absol?" Michelle began to sound distrustful, just like her brother.
"We've got ourselves a real good trainer, a prodigy I'd say," the man seemed rather proud of this fact. "He's agreed to capture that Absol and take it away from here for good."
"A prodigy?" Brandon seemed intrigued by such an idea.
"You've got that right, buddy!"
Aiden looked around the man's side, and as soon as he saw the source of that voice, his whole face turned scarlet. Not from embarrassment, however. It was, instead, from sheer anger. Michelle followed her twin's lead and, upon seeing the figure, she sighed and muttered, "Oh, here we go."
The boy standing behind the portly man was young; he appeared to be the same age as the three young trainers. His dark brown hair was well brushed, although still long enough to hang over his piercing blue eyes. Around his neck he wore a garnet pendant, while his clothes consisted of a sapphire blue polo shirt, charcoal gray pants, and a pair of very sporty red and blue sneakers with black bottoms and shoelaces.
"What are you doing here, Oak?" Aiden seethed.
"Just what my man Antonio here said," The boy smirked at his lifelong rival, "I'm here to catch an Absol."
"What are you gonna' do with it, huh?" Aiden's eyes were narrowed into a harsh glare.
"Relax, Ketchum," the brown haired boy waved a haphazard hand at the one with raven tresses, "I'm not gonna' hurt it. I'm not some kind of monster, you know. I plan on capturing it and giving it to my Dad for research. After that, I'll just take Absol back and make it part of my team."
"I doubt that's all you're up to," Aiden rolled his eyes before grinning mischievously at the other boy, "Samson."
"The name is Sam!" He jumped right into Aiden's face, holding up a shaking fist.
"They still don't like each other?" Brandon sighed.
"Of course not," Michelle rolled her eyes. "They haven't liked each other since they were babies, despite our Dad and Sam's dad's best efforts. That definitely isn't going to change now."
"Hang on just a minute," Antonio stepped in between the two boys, confusing them thoroughly. Looking down at Aiden, he inquired, "Did Mister Sam here just call you 'Ketchum'?"
"Yeah, that's my last name," Aiden blinked.
"I don't believe it! How could that have escaped my eyes?!" Antonio grabbed hold of Aiden's shoulders. "You're the Pokémon Master's son!"
"That's right," Aiden beamed, while Sam huffed in the background.
"This is perfect!" Antonio seemed to be on top of the world upon discovering Aiden's identity. "The two of you are both prodigies! You can work together to catch Absol!"
"Me work with him?!" Aiden and Sam cried simultaneously while pointing at one another and making disgusted faces.
Antonio gasped, while Michelle decided to step in and inform the man, "That's never going to work, just to let you know. My brother and Sam do not like each other."
"Really?" Antonio raised an eyebrow.
"They've been competitive ever since we were really little," Michelle shrugged. "I can't think of one thing they haven't turned into a competition."
A grin appeared on Antonio's face upon hearing this news, and Michelle really couldn't figure out why. Spinning around, Antonio waved his hands in the air and continued, "Forget I ever suggested working together! What a foolish thing to bring up. Err…what I meant to say is that you two should make catching Absol a competition!"
"A competition?" Aiden and Sam spoke at the same time once again, growling at each other once they'd realized what they'd done.
Michelle could only groan and smack a palm against her face, while Brandon couldn't shake off the feeling that absolutely no good would come from this.
"Yes!" Antonio's eyes were shining. "The son of one of the world's best Pokémon researchers versus the son of the world's best Pokémon trainer! It's perfect!"
"And what do you expect me to do with Absol when I catch it?" Aiden glared at Antonio.
"You mean if by some miracle you catch it," Sam quipped.
"Shut up!" Aiden barked.
"You may do whatever you like with that terrible thing," Antonio scoffed. "Throw it in a river, for all I care."
"That's a terrible thing to say!" Michelle was completely offended now.
"He has every right to be angry, sweet face," Sam cooed to Michelle, who looked ready to tear his head off. "Absol is destroying their town, and for no good reason at all. That's why I'm going to save those citizens from such destruction and become the hero that I was born to be!"
"Don't you mean the loser you were born to be?!" Aiden yelled.
"Watch it, Ketchum!" Sam was once again in Aiden's face.
"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!" Michelle pulled Aiden back and shoved Sam by his shoulders, causing the brown haired boy to stumble back a few steps. "I feel like I'm babysitting two idiot kids."
Looking up at Antonio, Aiden decided in a determined voice, "fine. I'll help catch Absol. But I'm going to prove to all of you that there's a reason for Absol showing up."
"No there isn't," Sam refuted. "He's just being vengeful."
"Isn't your Dad a Pokémon researcher?" Aiden snapped. "I guess you haven't been paying attention your whole life, because Absol don't show up around humans!"
"I know that!" Sam argued. "And he showed up to make them feel his wrath. Absol is clearly angry at the world, and he's taking it out on the citizens of a small town!"
"You're actually the dumbest person I've ever met!" Aiden screeched.
"Am I the dumbest person now?" Sam called as he tore off towards the pile of rocks where Absol was perched atop. Gasping, Aiden snarled and chased right after the boy, leaving behind Antonio, Michelle, and Brandon in a cloud of dust.
"Great…" Michelle grumbled.
"I wonder how this is gonna' turn out…" Brandon watched the boys racing off.
Down in the tall grass that surrounded the rock mounds, Sam and Aiden were trying to fight one another off by any means possible: pushing, shoving, tripping, and even pouncing. The two human boys were no better than a pair of wild Pokémon fighting over the last scrap of food.
"You're not gonna' catch that Absol!" Aiden cried.
"You wish!" Sam took a poke ball off of his belt and threw it, "Bulbasaur! Help me out!"
The seed Pokémon appeared several feet in front of the rock pile where Absol was perched, waiting patiently for its trainer's command.
"Bulbasaur," Sam called, "use vine whip to grab Absol!"
"Bulba!" Bulbasaur released twin vines from the bulb on its back, stretching them up towards Absol while keeping its big red eyes set on the disaster Pokémon the entire time. Absol, meanwhile, was watching every move that Bulbasaur's vines made. When the vines came within inches of Absol, the dark type leaned over and bit the appendages, causing Bulbasaur to cry out in pain.
"Bulbasaur!" Sam cried in worry.
"Heh, nice try," Aiden rolled his eyes before tossing his own poke ball, "but my Squirtle is way better!"
The blue turtle appeared next to Bulbasaur, narrowing his eyes at the grass type. Bulbsaur, meanwhile, managed to forget the pain it was in in order to return a glare directed at Squirtle.
"Squirtle, hop up the rocks and talk to Absol!" Aiden commanded.
"Squirt!" Squirtle nodded before making his way up the mini mountain.
"Talk it out? How girly of you," Sam scoffed.
"Yeah, right," Aiden rolled his eyes before grinning brightly. "More like how smart of me!"
Teetering up the rocks, Squirtle made his way over to Absol, who seemed wary of the water type. Smiling, Squirtle waved at Absol and greeted, "squirtle!"
Narrowing his eyes, Absol turned on his heels and ran away from the water type, faster than Squirtle could even comprehend. Looking down the rocks, Squirtle waved his claws at Aiden and frantically cried out, "squirt! Squirtle squirt!"
"What's gotten into you?" Aiden called. "Where'd Absol go?"
Squirtle pointed towards the back of the rocks, just in time for both Sam and Aiden to see Absol leaping off the rocks and flying over the trees before falling back down onto the path and darting away.
"Absol is going back into town!" Sam gasped. Narrowing his eyes, he made a sharp turn, picking up dust and blowing it right in Aiden's eyes. "Bulbasaur, follow me!"
The seed Pokémon nodded and followed in the same direction as his trainer. Aiden, however, was not one to be deterred. With a scowl on his face, he turned in the same direction that Sam had, looking up and shouting, "Squirtle, come on! We can't lose those two!"
"Squirt," Squirtle hopped off the rocks and began to run alongside Aiden, just as determined as his trainer to catch the seemingly troubled dark type.
XXX
Antonio had led Michelle and Brandon into town, the two young trainers concerned about their traveling companion.
"That brother of yours really is headstrong, isn't he?" Brandon asked.
"I think it's a problem," Michelle stressed.
"While we wait for your brother and his friend to come back, why don't I take you two back to my shop?" Antonio asked. "I'd be quite honored to serve the daughter of the Pokémon Master and her boyfriend here!"
"Boyfriend?!" Michelle and Brandon both sputtered. They turned red and vehemently protested such an idea. It was absolutely preposterous, the two of them a couple.
Antonio just chuckled at the two, but still insisted upon bringing the two trainers to his shop. While Michelle and Brandon remained flustered by the accusation, they agreed to go with Antonio. Reaching the store, it was revealed to the two that the older man owned a bakery, and right away, Michelle's agitation was replaced with exuberance.
"A bakery?!" Michelle's eyes were shining. "Oh my gosh! I've been dying for something sweet!"
"Then you've come to the right place!" Antonio laughed.
"Oh, please tell me you have those mini apple pies!" Michelle was practically jumping up and down. "They are the tastiest things in the whole wide world!"
Brandon smirked. He knew that anything with apples was loved by Michelle, but that apple pie was her absolute favorite. She could probably eat it for every single meal and be perfectly content.
"You bet I do!" Antonio grinned. "Come on inside and I'll give you some."
Before Antonio could open the door, however, he was stopped by a flash of white, which proceeded to park itself right in front of the door. Staring down, the two young trainers plus Antonio all gasped, surprised by the sight. The blur quickly settled down to reveal Absol, glaring at Antonio and standing in a defensive stance.
"Absol!" Brandon was shocked by the dark type's sudden reappearance.
Antonio, however, was just plain annoyed. Growling, he ran to the side of the building in which his bakery was stationed, fetching a broom and swatting it at Absol, who easily jumped out of the way. Aiden, who was still racing Sam to enter the town, caught sight of this and marveled at the Pokémon's speed.
"Wow, he's fast," Aiden awed.
"Bulbasaur, use leech seed!" Sam ordered.
Aiden narrowed his eyes as the grass type jumped over his trainer, a seed shooting out of the Pokémon's bulb. It hit Absol and covered the disaster Pokémon in thin vines that soon began to glow red, causing the furry white Pokémon to groan in apparent pain.
"Those vines are sucking Absol's energy," Brandon ground out through his teeth, causing Michelle to huff and shoot a glare in Sam's direction.
"Sam, what was that about?!" Aiden yelled at the brown haired boy running next to him.
"I had to stop Absol, no matter what," Sam bit. "He should have just cooperated before!"
"I'm not gonna' let you do this to Absol," Aiden declared, looking over his shoulder and commanding, "Squirtle, use bubble to destroy those vines!"
The blue turtle ran ahead of Aiden and spat out a slew of bubbles which surrounded Absol and went on to destroy the little shoots that were draining the dark type of its energy. Absol shook out his fur and gave Squirtle a long stare, which caused the water type to stop in his tracks and return the other Pokémon's innocent look. After a few moments, Absol broke off the eye contact and leapt away from the humans, running off quickly and elegantly.
"It's so strange," Michelle murmured.
"I really wonder why Absol keeps coming back into town," Brandon added.
Sam and Aiden both trudged up to Antonio, who had his arms folded across his chest as he glared down at the two younger boys.
"What happened to catching Absol, huh?" Antonio asked.
"We've been trying," Sam grumbled. "Absol is a pretty tricky Pokémon, you know."
"Powerful, too," Aiden nodded.
"I wasn't talking about you," Antonio motioned to Sam before pointing an accusatory finger at a shocked Aiden. "I was talking about you!"
"Me?!" Aiden was shocked.
"Sam got a hold on that troublemaking Pokémon with Bulbasaur's leech seed attack," Antonio continued his blame, "and you used your Squirtle to break it! What in the world possessed you to do that, huh?"
"Because Absol was obviously in pain!" Aiden fretted. "I couldn't let him keep suffering like that, even if it meant we could capture him. I refuse to let any Pokémon be mistreated!"
"What does it matter?" Antonio folded his arms. "We're just gonna throw it back in the wild, anyway!"
Frowning, Aiden pushed past Antonio to try and approach Absol, but was shocked to find that the dark type was gone. Looking over his shoulder, Aiden managed to just catch sight of the furry white Pokémon out of the corner of his eye. Nodding just once to himself, Aiden took off, Squirtle following close behind.
"Where's that boy going?" Antonio muttered.
"After Absol," Michelle answered strongly. "Probably to save him."
"You don't even know what you're talking about," Sam scoffed.
"No, but I know how put obnoxious little boys like you in your place!" Michelle put a fist right in front of Sam's face. "So watch yourself!"
While Sam shook under the pretty red head's threatening fist, Aiden continued running after Absol, getting considerably closer with each stride. The dark type didn't seem bothered by Aiden's proximity, however, as he kept on running until scaling a large tree and standing on one of the strong branches.
"I gotcha," Aiden smirked. He attached himself to the trunk of the tree and started to climb, Squirtle letting out a small squeak before following after his trainer.
Absol, meanwhile, scanned the raven haired boy with judgmental eyes, watching the trainer's every move. He didn't exactly trust the boy, but then again, Absol didn't completely dislike him either. His intention didn't seem bad, not like every other human in the village.
"Hey, Absol," Aiden greeted softly, finally reaching the branch where Absol had perched himself. Gripping his fingers against the bark, the young trainer threw the dark type an innocent smile and asked, "What's up?"
Absol blinked and looked away, showing not too much interest in whatever Aiden had to say. The boy was persistent, however; he was not one to give up easily. Hauling himself up onto the branch, Aiden sat before Absol and allowed his legs to dangle in the air, looking down at his sneakers as he spoke, "I know you're not a bad Pokémon, Absol. I'm not here or hurt ya' or anything."
Absol finally made a noise of interest and turned his eyes back onto Aiden. Sensing this change in the Pokémon's behavior, Aiden glanced at the furry white Pokémon and increased the size of his grin. "I promise."
"Ab," Absol finally spoke, though it was in a delicate and barely audible voice.
"The village people are kinda' crazy, I know," Aiden nodded. "They don't believe in you like I do."
"Ab," Absol repeated, this time a little more loudly so Aiden could hear him more clearly.
"But, you are running around breaking stuff," Aiden furrowed his brow. "Why's that? There has to be reason. Are you angry about something?"
Absol shook his head before staring up at the sky. Aiden took note of this cue and turned his own eyes up towards the sky, noticing the dark clouds moving in. Breathing out, Aiden pulled himself fully onto the branch, climbing towards the end of it.
"Sol," Absol spoke up.
"Yeah, the sky's really dark," Aiden commented. "It looks like a storm is coming."
"Ab," Absol nodded. Aiden furrowed his brow and began to process thoughts in his head. A storm was coming, and Absol had been destroying things all over the village. There had to be a connection…
"Wait, what did the poke dex say about you again?" Aiden asked himself as he pulled out his red device to once again look up Absol.
Absol, the disaster Pokémon. The horn on its head allows Absol to predict when a natural disaster will occur. Absol rarely appear in areas inhabited by humans, and when they do it is to warn people of an oncoming catastrophe.
"That's it!" Aiden gasped, jumping up. He had forgotten he was on a branch, however, and managed to lose his footing. Waving his arms frantically in the air and letting out a series of gasps, Aiden nearly went tumbling straight towards the ground. Fortunately, Absol managed to leap forward quickly and gracefully, catching the boy's shirt with his teeth and pulling him back up to safety on the branch.
Taking a sigh of relief, Aiden wiped the stress related sweat off his brow and beamed at the dark type. "Thanks, Absol! You saved me!"
"Sol," Absol nodded just once.
"I knew you weren't bad," Aiden was obviously happy about this being true. "Now all I have to do is tell the villagers why you were so upset! And we can protect them from the storm, too."
Absol leapt off the branch, with Aiden and Squirtle following closely behind. The raven haired boy walked back to his travelling companions, who were still gathered by Antonio and Sam, both of whom looked incredibly frustrated.
"Hey, guys!" Aiden called, causing them all to turn their focus onto him. "I know why Absol's been wrecking stuff in the village. It's not because he's a bad Pokémon."
"Why then?" Michelle asked, genuinely intrigued as to what the real reason behind Absol's antics could be.
"Do you remember how the poke dex said that Absol could sense oncoming natural disasters?" Aiden inquired.
"Yes," Michelle and Brandon answered simultaneously.
"Well, that's why Absol was doing all this stuff to the town," Aiden explained. "There's a big storm coming, and Absol was just trying to warn everyone about it!"
"Sol!" Absol finally spoke up, confirming that what Aiden was saying was true.
Antonio seemed to soften a little upon hearing this revelation, but Sam didn't seem quite so willing.
"Yeah, right," Sam scoffed. "Why should we believe you, Ketchum?"
"Because I talked to Absol, and I understand that's why he's doing all of this!" Aiden argued.
"So all of a sudden you can communicate with Pokémon?" Sam smirked. "Sounds a little fishy to me, ya' runt."
"You know what else sounds fishy?" Aiden raised an eyebrow. "Your dumb full name; Samson Garrick-Kay-"
Sam tackled Aiden and knocked him to the ground, interrupting the rest of Aiden's taunt. While the two young boys wrestled on the ground, a crack of lightning startled both of them, causing the trainers to roll frantically on the ground and scramble away from one another.
The lightning had struck the ground right in front of Absol, leaving behind a smoking black mark. Absol narrowed his eyes and stepped over the burnt patch of grass, turning his eyes onto a bewildered Aiden. "Sol, absol!"
"You want me to help you warn everyone?" Aiden pointed at himself, blinking in astonishment.
Absol nodded before charging off, Aiden gasping as the dark type flew past him. Looking down at his partner Pokémon, Aiden threw his arm over his head and called, "come on, Squirtle! Let's follow Absol!"
"Squirt!" The blue turtle nodded and quickly followed after his trainer.
"Aiden, what about us?" Michelle yelled after her brother.
"You guys find some shelter that will keep you out of this storm!" Aiden looked over his shoulder, not stopping his run.
"But I want to help!" Michelle continued.
Finally stopping, Aiden whipped around and hurried out, "no, Michelle! This is really dangerous! Mom and Dad would go crazy if they knew I was doing this. I don't care so much about me, but if I ever let anything happen to you, I wouldn't be able to live with myself! Go with the others and find a safe place!"
Michelle grimaced, but knew there would be no changing her brother's mind. He was just as stubborn as she was, and there was no time to be arguing in circles. That was the difference between the siblings' stubbornness: Michelle knew when to back down.
"Fine," Michelle answered softly. Aiden nodded and took off once again, but not before the nervous warning of his twin sister reached his ears: "please, be careful!"
"I will!" Aiden assured as he ran.
Michelle sighed sadly and turned back to face Brandon, Sam, and Antonio. The wind had really picked up by now, and Michelle's amber locks were whipping around her angelic face.
"Where can we go that's safe?" Michelle asked statically, to no one in particular.
"The storage room of my bakery is perfect," Antonio responded. "There's not a chance of anything happening to us down there."
"Then that's where we'll go," Michelle sounded determined yet sullen all at the same time.
"Pichupi?" Pichu squeaked.
"It'll be fine, Pichu," Michelle whispered to the baby mouse on her shoulder.
I hope.
XXX
It took a while, but eventually, Absol, Aiden, and Squirtle had managed to warn most of the town about the oncoming storm. The townspeople had fled to shelters and safe places, but Aiden and the two Pokémon were still standing outside. By now, the rain had started, and it was beginning to come down hard. The wind was intense; Absol's white fur was tumbling in the air, and Aiden had to hold down his hat to make sure it didn't go flying off. The thunder was growing louder by the minute and the lightning closer and more intense.
"We have to find somewhere to go, now," Aiden informed Absol and Squirtle.
The dark type dashed ahead of the trainer and his partner, sniffing out a safe place for them to stay. As Absol walked, however, he reached a certain spot where the ground gave out from underneath him, causing the Pokémon to cry out in surprise as he went crashing down into the earth.
"Absol!" Aiden cried worriedly, running over to the hole. He stopped right at the edge, but unfortunately for Aiden, Squirtle did not have as much finesse and ended up knocking the both of them down into the hole along with Absol.
"Ouch…" Aiden whined, sitting up as he rubbed at his sore head. "Man, that really hurt…"
"Squir," Squirtle agreed, moaning in pain.
Looking up towards the sky, Aiden furrowed his brow and muttered in annoyance, "Where did this hole even come from?"
The sound of maniacal laughter filled the air, now catching the attention of both Absol and Squirtle. Three figures then peered over the edge of the hole, causing Aiden to gasp and scowl.
"Team Rocket!" He barked. "I should've known it was you three losers!"
"Such a flighty little brat," Jewel drawled, smiling deviously at the irritated young trainer. "Listen up, and prepare for us!
"Give up now, or we'll make a fuss!" Jason added.
"We're here to start trouble!"
"And surely burst your bubble!"
"Truth and love, we will defy!"
"Like shooting stars, we're sure to fly!"
"Jewel!"
"Jason!"
"Team Rocket, here to succeed!"
"Our great history you soon will read!"
"Sneasel, agreed!"
"I hate that stupid motto of theirs," Aiden muttered.
"Where are the other three brats?" Jason piped up, staring curiously at his female counterpart.
"Who cares, the brat boy's got two Pokémon down there for us to steal, and that's all that matters!" Jewel rolled her eyes. "Sneasel, if you would."
"Aye aye, boss!" Sneasel saluted the girl, pulling out a remote and pressing a button on the device. The balloon modeled in the ice type's appearance floated above the ill willed trio, two metal arms emerging from the bottom of the basket in order to grab Absol and Squirtle, who both cried out in surprise.
"Hey, those Pokémon aren't yours!" Aiden snapped.
"Excuse you, but I don't see a name written on them!" Jason supplemented in a sing song voice.
Growling, Absol reached up with his claws, which began to glow a fierce shade of crimson. He batted at the metal arm behind him, managing to break the column with his attack.
"Wow, that was night slash!" Aiden marveled, having managed to pull himself up to the top of the hole.
Absol landed skillfully on his paws and glared up at the balloon, most specifically on the still captured and struggling Squirtle. Soon, his narrowed eyes began to glow a glittering blue, causing Aiden to awe in anticipation.
"What does that Pokémon think it's doing?!" Jewel barked, with a concerned Jason and Sneasel ogling behind her.
After a few moments of nothingness, a bright blue strike of lightning shot out of the dark clouds that had covered the sky. It was magnificent; so bright that it lit up the entire town, and so loud that it sounded as if an entire tree had just been snapped in half. The impressive bolt hit the Sneasel balloon, causing it to explode and go racing towards the ground. Squirtle was obviously petrified, but the metal clamp that was around him broke and freed the little blue turtle.
"Was that future sight?!" Aiden gasped. He was truly amazed by watching Absol battle; the dark type sure was a strong Pokémon.
The balloon crashed into the ground, creating a sizeable explosion that sent Team Rocket flying with the familiar cry of, "we're blasting off again!"
The blast caused Squirtle to fall and skid into Absol's front legs, the dark type simply staring down at the blue turtle. Suddenly, a cloud of smoke engulfed the two Pokémon as well as the young trainer peering out of the hole. All three looked towards where Team Rocket's balloon had crashed, and were stunned to discover that it was now on fire.
"Oh no!" Aiden jumped out of the hole and ran next to the two Pokémon. The fire was fierce and spreading quickly; Aiden knew that if they didn't stop it soon, the whole town might go up in flames. Grimacing, Aiden knew there wasn't much Absol could do, being a dark type. Growlithe, a fire type, had an even bigger disadvantage. Squirtle was a water type, but all he knew was bubble.
"It'll have to do…" Aiden grumbled. "Squirtle, use bubble on the fire!"
The water type nodded emphatically before shooting a stream of bubbles out at the blaze. They popped as they hit the flames, doing hardly anything to control the fire. Squirtle growled in annoyance and tried the attack again, but it still failed to stop anything.
"Squirtle, you just have to try harder!" Aiden encouraged his Pokémon.
Putting a determined look on his face, Squirtle leaned his chest forward and opened his mouth to unleash another attack. But this time, it wasn't a bubble attack. Instead, a stream of water shot out, making direct contact with the fire and extinguishing it to some extent.
Shocked, Aiden could barely blink as he murmured, "Squirtle…did you just learn water gun?"
"Squir!" Squirtle confirmed, turning around as he banged on his chest.
"That's awesome!" Aiden grinned. "Keep using water gun on the fire! Put it out!"
Squirtle used his newly acquired attack on repeat, firing off different water guns at various points of the flames. After a while, the fire was completely put out, although the heavily falling rain had undoubtedly helped Squirtle in his efforts.
"Great job, Squirtle," Aiden complimented his partner with a smile.
"Squirtle squirt Squirtle!" Squirtle chattered away. Absol breathed out quietly, giving the water type a small nod of approval.
Another crack of lightning split the sky, causing Aiden to take a sharp inhale and gaze upwards. Groaning, he looked back down at the Pokémon and informed them, "we really should find shelter now. Before it gets any more dangerous out here."
Squirtle agreed and ran after Aiden. The boy was surprised, however, when Absol turned on his heels and dashed off in the opposite direction.
"Hey, Absol, come back!" Aiden called. He went to ran after the dark type, but just as he did, a strong wind knocked down an already loose tree knew the boy and blocked his path. Aiden's eyes widened in fear as he stumbled back from the fallen trunk, Squirtle gripping at his leg.
"Squir! Squirtle!" The little turtle yelled.
"I know…but…Absol…" Aiden frowned.
Shoulders sagging, Aiden knew there was nothing he could do. It was just too dangerous to be staying outside. He and Squirtle had to find shelter. All Aiden could do was hope that Absol would find someplace safe to go.
XXX
By late afternoon, the mismatched group of three trainers and an adult found themselves still sitting in the basement of Antonio's bakery. Brandon was talking to Sam and Antonio to pass the time, but Michelle was not as content doing such things. Instead, she was sitting with her back against the wall, holding a hand over her heart and staring down at her shoes in intense fashion.
"Pi?" Pichu squeaked, her ears flicking.
"I'm just really worried about Aiden, that's all," Michelle whispered, afraid that Brandon or Sam would hear her. "My heart just keeps racing…I feel like he's in danger."
"Chu," Pichu breathed. She jumped off of the coordinator's shoulder and ran up the staircase that led into the main part of the bakery. Blinking, Michelle got to her feet and followed after the baby Pokémon, curious as to where she was going. Once at the top of the stairs, Michelle found Pichu with her front paws pressed against the big glass window, staring outside at the now perfectly sunny day.
"The storm must have blown over," Michelle murmured.
"What's going on up there, Michelle?" Brandon poked his head out of the staircase.
"It's nice outside now," Michelle motioned towards the window to prove her point. "The storm passed."
Brandon fully emerged, with Sam and Antonio following closely behind. They all observed the sunlight and smiled, clearly pleased that they were no longer in any immediate danger.
"Now that it's over, we have to go find Aiden," Michelle turned on a heel to face the males.
"What?" Sam scoffed. "You're worried about him?"
"Yes, I am," Michelle answered unabashedly. "He's my brother."
Sam and even Brandon were taken off guard by this. Michelle never much showed outward affection for her twin. Most of the time, she was picking on him or starting a fight with the raven haired boy. Now, however, she sounded genuinely concerned, and neither of the trainers standing before her were going to try and deny her of this request.
So, they all hurried outside, Pichu gripping Michelle's shoulder as she ran around town searching for her brother and the two Pokémon that had been accompanying him.
"Aiden!" Michelle called, cupping her hands around her mouth to make her voice reverberate. "Aiden!"
At the same time, the raven haired boy and Squirtle were peering out from inside a hollowed tree trunk, where they had decided to take refuge for the duration of the storm. Now that it was clear out, Aiden deemed that he and Squirtle could leave the shelter and reunite with the others.
"I wonder where they all are," Aiden murmured. "Do you think still in the basement of Antonio's bakery?"
"Squir," Squirtle shrugged.
"I really wish I knew where Absol went," Aiden frowned. "I hope nothing bad happened to him in the storm."
"Aiden!"
The boy looked up and caught sight of his sister wandering around, calling out his name. Brandon, Sam, and Antonio were all trailing closely behind, seemingly all of them looking for him.
"Hey, Shelly, I'm over here!" Aiden yelled, waving his hands in the air.
Spinning on her toes, Michelle saw her brother and just beamed. Giggling, she ran over to the trainer and jumped at him, giving him a tight hug. "Aiden! I'm so happy you're okay!"
Chuckling, Aiden hugged his sister back and teased, "What, did you doubt me?"
"No," Michelle pulled away, smirking at her twin. "I just had that weird telepathy thing going on and I felt that you were worried. So…I got worried."
"Oh, that must've been when Absol used future sight on Team Rocket's balloon and created a fire," Aiden answered breezily.
"What?" Michelle's face fell.
Aiden's eyes widened slightly as he backtracked, "well, no, we're all fine! It was kinda' cool, actually. Squirtle learned water gun! And that's how we put the fire out."
"So where's Absol?" Brandon piped up from behind the flustered coordinator who was staring her brother down with incredulous eyes.
Frowning, Aiden sighed and pulled back his shoulders as he admitted, "I don't know. We were going to look for shelter after we put out the fire, and Absol just ran off. I really wanted him to come with us, but he wouldn't listen to me."
Chuckling in the background, Sam stepped forward and clicked his tongue a few times before giving Aiden a taunting glance. "It figures you wouldn't be able to get that Absol under control, Aidy Boy."
Aiden scowled at this nickname. He absolutely hated it; Sam had been calling him "Aidy Boy" ever since Aiden could remember. "You don't even know what you're talking about!"
"I do, and it's exactly what I've always thought would happen," Sam drawled, a devious smirk on his face, "you can't control Pokémon."
"Yes I can!" Aiden argued, clenching his teeth together.
"Prove it."
"Fine!" Aiden's hands balled into fists. "Battle me!"
Smirking, Sam pulled a poke ball off of his belt and cackled lowly, "I thought you'd never ask."
XXX
Standing apart from one another on an open field in the town, Sam and Aiden were both glaring at one another, getting their minds into battle mode.
"This battle between Sam and Aiden will be a one on one match!" Brandon was acting as referee for the battle. "Trainers, release your Pokémon!"
"Raticate, let's go!" Sam threw his selected poke ball.
"Well, that's not a very cute Pokémon," Michelle commented as she pulled out her light blue poke dex to scan the big rat.
Raticate, the mouse Pokémon. Raticate have teeth strong enough to knaw through steel. The whiskers on their face are used to maintain balance.
"Pi," Pichu spat, clearly unhappy that she was considered a mouse alongside that terrifying thing.
"Raticate is a normal type," Aiden muttered to himself, choosing one of his poke ball, "so I'm gonna go with Growl-"
"Sol!"
Aiden raised an eyebrow and looked behind him, where the sound had come from. Standing on a tree branch and surveying the scene happening below him was none other than Absol.
"Absol, you came back!" Aiden grinned.
Nodding just once, the dark type leapt down from the branch and stood proudly in front of Aiden, fur slightly bristled as he stared down Raticate.
"Huh?" Aiden blinked. "What's up, Absol?"
"Aiden, I think that Absol wants to help you battle Sam," Michelle spoke up slowly, still observing the scene in front of her.
"You really think so?" Aiden murmured before asking Absol, "is that true? You want to battle with me?" Absol looked behind him and nodded, much to Aiden's delight. Grinning, Aiden pumped a fist and cheered, "That's awesome! Okay, Absol! Let's do our best!"
"Sol!"
"I've never seen that before," Sam grumbled, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Why does a wild Pokémon want to battle with such a lousy trainer like Aiden?"
"Because Aiden gained Absol's trust by believing he wasn't a bad Pokémon and helping him to warn the townspeople about the storm," Brandon answered easily. It seemed clear to him why Absol had made the decision he had.
"Which means that Aiden is not a lousy trainer," Michelle shot Sam a judgmental look, the brunette boy backing away in slight fear.
"Battle, begin!" Brandon called.
"We'll go first, thank you very much," Sam snickered. "Raticate, use bite!"
The large rat ran towards Absol, opening his mouth to reveal his two large and sharp front teeth. Absol pulled his paws back and crouched down low, not once taking his eyes off of the normal type.
"Absol, dodge and use night slash!" Aiden ordered.
The dark type jumped in the air, flying right over Raticate. While still hanging in the air, Absol's claws began to glow crimson. Shifting his weight, Absol began to fall towards the ground. Holding his glowing claws out in front of him, Absol managed to swipe Raticate across the face with his claws, causing the rat to cry out in serious pain.
"Raticate!" Sam called out in worry. Snarling at Aiden, Sam tried to shake out his anger as he commanded, "its fine, just use tackle!"
Raticate got up and began to run towards Absol once again. With a small huff, Absol didn't even wait for Aiden's next call as he skirted over to the side and created several copies of himself, all of which stood in a guarded circle around the now confused Raticate.
"You know double team too, huh?" Aiden murmured, a smile growing on his face.
"Ra?" Raticate questioned, looking around the circle and searching for the real Absol.
"Don't get confused, Raticate!" Sam pointed at the carbon copies. "Just tackle them all until you find the real Absol!"
Raticate did exactly that, but had little luck in managing to make contact with the real Absol. After knocking out all of the clones and tiring himself out, Raticate was faced with the real Absol towering over him in intimidating fashion. Before Raticate could react, Absol charged forward so quickly that streaks of white appeared behind the Pokémon. Leaning his head down, Absol rammed it into Raticate's midsection, sending the normal type flying.
"Wow, what a quick attack!" Michelle marveled.
"Great job, Absol!" Aiden complimented the dark type.
"You think Absol is so special just because he can use quick attack?" Sam scoffed. "How sad. Raticate, how about we show them your quick attack?"
Raticate charged towards Absol in the same fashion that the other Pokémon had just done to him. The mouse Pokémon finally made contact with Absol, knocking the white furred Pokémon down to the ground.
"Absol, you okay?" Aiden called. Absol managed to jump back up quite easily, his eyes narrowed as he stared down at Raticate. "Great, let's finish this up! Use future sight!"
Absol's eyes began to glow blue and sparkle, much to the bewilderment of both Raticate and Sam. They soon stopped glowing and nothing happened, causing the brown haired trainer and his rat Pokémon to start laughing incessantly.
"Wow, what a useless attack!" Sam guffawed. "All it did was give Absol pretty eyes! How pathetic!"
Suddenly, a strike of lightning appeared from the bright blue sky and hit Raticate, electrocuting the Pokémon and knocking him out right away. Sam's jaw dropped, and he looked up to give Aiden a horrifying stare.
"Not so pathetic now, huh?" Aiden smirked.
"Raticate is unable to battle!" Brandon announced. "Which means the winner of this match is Absol and Aiden!"
"We did it, Absol!" Aiden congratulated the Pokémon standing before him.
"Ab," Absol nodded calmly.
Running up to her brother, Michelle smiled at the boy and declared, "That was a great battle, Aiden!"
"Thanks, but it was all thanks to Absol's hard work!" Aiden beamed. "He's a great battler."
"You and Absol worked very well together, Aiden."
The raven haired boy let out a small, confused squeak as he looked up, realizing that it was Antonio who was now talking to him.
"I must apologize for before, how I believed Absol was a bad Pokémon and for wanting to capture it so cruelly," Antonio frowned. "Please, accept my apology."
"Of course, Absol's not hurt, and we all know the truth now," Aiden nodded just once.
Grinning, Antonio continued, "I really think you and Absol would make a great team. You've both got a lot of potential."
"I guess, but I think that maybe Absol wants to stay a wild Pokémon," Aiden glanced down at the dark type. "What do you say?"
Absol looked up and Aiden and tilted his head, murmuring a quiet, "sol. Absol sol ab."
Aiden didn't understand it, of course, but obviously Pichu did, because she began to grow very excited, squeaking and letting out excited shouts of "chu! Pi!" from Michelle's shoulder.
"What is it, Pichu?" Michelle asked her baby Pokémon. "Does Absol want to be Aiden's Pokémon? Is that what he said?"
"Pi!" Pichu squealed again, nodding her head so vigorously that her ears bobbed up and down.
"So, that's it, huh?" Aiden was really smiling now. "You wanna' train together, Absol?"
"Sol," Absol confirmed.
"Well, that's awesome!" Aiden pulled out an empty poke ball and held it in front of him. "Welcome to the team, Absol!"
A red light was emitted from the center of the poke ball that quickly engulfed Absol and sucked him into the sphere. It shook in Aiden's hand for a few seconds before settling down with a quiet, but still audible, click.
"Alright!" Aiden cheered, holding the poke ball up in the air. "I caught an Absol!"
"Just because you won one battle against me, don't go thinking you're such a great trainer," Sam bit suddenly.
Aiden growled and turned on a heel so he could face Sam. "I never said that I was."
"I'm just making sure you keep that in mind," Sam turned and started to walk away. "Next time we battle, you're not going to be so lucky."
"We'll see about that!" Aiden argued. But Sam just kept walking away, leaving Aiden with just one last gesture:
A simple wave of his hand.
Yep, just like Gary ;)
So here we have the introduction of Aiden's first rival, and it's none other than Gary Oak's son. You'll learn more about Sam and the nature of his relationship with Aiden as the story progresses.
And while the change in Michelle's attitude towards Aiden might have seemed sudden, it really isn't. She and Aiden have the same reltionship their parents did, but obviously not in a romantic way. They fight A LOT and call each other names, but really they love one another and for siblings are extremely close. They also do have that sort of "twin telepathy" thing going on where they can feel each other's emotions when they get too extreme.
Also, a new Pokemon the team! Yay Absol :) I've always found Absol to be a cool Pokemon.
I was so happy to get this chapter out to you guys! And I made it super extra long to make up for all the weeks you didn't have an update ;) So, leave me a review, please? I'm going to start working on the next chapter right away!