A/N: How's everyone doing? I hope that you all have been enjoying the Discovering A New Family chapters, since there haven't been many reviews about them. I don't mind criticism reviews so if you see something that just doesn't seem to fit, please let me know! Anyway I don't own anything expect my OCs. Not only that but the original plot belongs to WizardsGirl from their Interference series. The song in this chapter is Disney Channel's Liv and Maddie's Count Me In.
Nozomi and her friends were having a blast. They had managed to reach Pewter City in record time after meeting Yuko's family and had their Pokémon checked out at the Pokémon Center before they headed off to the Gym for the twins' Gym Battle with Takeshi. Once their Pokémon were given the okay from Nurse Joy, Nozomi lead the others to the Gym. However when they reached the Gym, they were told that Takeshi wasn't there since he had gone home early to make dinner for his siblings. Nozomi merely thanked the man who told them and cheerfully led the way to Takeshi's home where she had a happy reunion with Takeshi's siblings and introduce them to her new friends.
While at the Pokémon Center, Nozomi and Ren learned which one of the two Vulpix that the twins had. Kura now had Yoshiko while Kumo had Sumiko. Yoshiko had a ruby red pelt, bright amber pupil-less eyes, large pointed ears with chestnut brown insides, and eight burnt orange tails with curled tips. The curled locks of fur with bangs on the top of her head was burnt orange. Her underbelly was a peach orange and had mahogany brown feet with bronze brown paw pads. Sumiko, on the other hand, was Yoshiko's exact opposite in coloring considering she had a sapphire blue pelt, amethyst pupil-less eyes, large pointed ears with ultramarine insides, and eight Chinese violet tails with curled tips. The curled locks of Chinese violet fur with bangs on the top of her head. Her underbelly was celeste blue and had Japanese violet feet with African violet paw pads. Both Yoshiko and Sumiko were like their Trainers in the fact that they were twins born from the same Egg. Plus, it didn't help that it seemed like the four of them had a mischievous streak in them and seemed to be planning something. Ren had been shocked to learn that since twin Pokémon weren't exactly common and was now trying to keep an eye on both his and Nozomi's supplies.
Now, though, they were currently playing a game of Flashlight Tag. So far, Nozomi was winning even against the older kids. While the others ran around freezing and unfreezing each other with their flashlights, Nozomi hid behind a somewhat large wheel barrel, lying in wait for unsuspecting victims and freezing people at random. She loved this game!
"All right guys, dinner!" Takeshi called from the kitchen. There were many half-hearted protests at that but everyone still hurried inside, lured by the scent of a warm meal. Nozomi was actually the last one in, carrying in Yuko and she gave the Gym Leader a sweet smile with her cheeks flushed from the rush of adrenalin that playing tag in the dark tended to give kids. Takeshi smiled back as he ruffled Nozomi's hair playfully.
"Soshite, dono yō ni, Nozomi-chan o sa rete iru? (And how have you been, Nozomi-chan?)" Takeshi cheerfully asked while Nozomi shrugged her shoulder as she walked with the older man toward the dining room where a dissonance of shouts ,laughter and childish screams of both shock and delight could be heard.
"Watashi wa yoi shite kita. Watashi no yūjin wa sutekideari, watashitachi wa ōku no tanoshimi o motte ita. Watashi wa anata o mita saigo no jikan no nochi ni watashi no chīmu ni ikutsu ka no atarashī chīmumeito o eta. Shikashi, futago wa ashita anata to tatakau shitai to omoimasu. (I've been good. My friends are nice and we've had a lot of fun. I got a few new teammates to my team after the last time I saw you. Though, the twins want to battle you tomorrow.) Ren-kun decided that he wants to catch more Pokémon before he goes up against the League and he wants to be a Breeder like you." Takeshi nodded his head thoughtfully as the three entered the dining room and sat down to eat.
Dinner was peaceful or as peaceful as seventeen kids in one room with food can be. Nozomi and Takashi exchanged recipes as well as telling the other of any changes they made to any recipes they had given to each other the last time they had seen each other. Ren and the human twins were having a blast talking about battle techniques and the like while Takeshi's siblings argued and fought amongst themselves when they weren't trying to impress their guests or each other. Tōko had gotten better and was now sitting in Nozomi's lap with Nanako sitting next to them while Kurō sat on Nozomi's other side. She had one arm around Tōko to keep her in Nozomi's lap while she feed both herself and Tōko with her free hand. After dinner, the three younger children that surrounded Nozomi started yawning largely.
"Alright, you three. Bedtime." Takeshi said with a slight smile on his face as he watched how Nozomi interacted with his siblings.
"Can Nozomi-nee-chan tuck us in, Onii-chan?" Kurō asked groggily as he yawned again. Takeshi smiled as he nodded his head. Ren was quick to help Nozomi up from her seat and held onto Yuko for the younger girl while she was lead to the younger kids' room. Nozomi tucked both Kurō and Tōko into their shared bed and when asked, Nozomi softly sang the same song that she had sang earlier in the day to Yuko.
"You're very good with young children, Nozomi-chan." Takeshi observed as Nozomi reentered the dining room and took back Yuko from Ren. She shrugged as she started to calm down the slightly panicky Vulpix and while she helped get the rest of Takeshi's younger siblings settled into bed. Takeshi had, earlier in the evening, graciously offered to let them stay the night and the group of four had happily accepted his offer of camping out in the living room.
"Watashi wa hitorikkodatta to omoushi, watashi wa watashi ga wakai kyōdai o nozonde ita to omoimasu. (I think I was an only child and I guess I wanted a younger sibling.)" Nozomi admitted softly the older male before Yuko yawned widely. Takeshi nodded smiling slightly when the ten year old yawned once the young Pokémon was finished yawning.
"Bedtime." Takeshi ordered as he gave her a look. Nozomi pouted slightly but climbed into her sleeping bag after placing Yuko down into the sleeping bag and fell asleep almost immediately. Takeshi stayed up for a little bit, making sure that his siblings and guests were comfortable and asleep before going to bed himself.
Nozomi woke up at dawn and carefully got up so she could make breakfast and didn't wake up Yuko. She didn't think that Takeshi would mind a break from having cooking duties for once and so she got down to work. It wasn't difficult for Nozomi to make eggs, hash browns, fried tomatoes, pancakes (both plain and with chocolate chips that she had found in one of the cupboards in the kitchen) along with oatmeal. She also quickly whipped up some Pokémon Food for Yuko, Yoshiko and Sumiko as well as for the other Pokémon. Nozomi had been so focused on making breakfast for everyone that she didn't even hear Takeshi enter the room but when she turned around to get something, she saw him standing in the doorway with a slightly shocked look on his face.
"Ah!" Nozomi yelped out as she jumped about a foot or two in the air while miraculously not spilling any of the food on the plate that she had in her hands. "Anata wa, shi ni hanbun Takeshi-san ga watashi o kowagatte! (You scared me half to death, Takeshi-san!)" She said as she calmed her rapid heartbeat. The young man looked at the set table and the food that was already laid out.
"Anata wa, kore o okonau ni wa, Nozomi-chan o motte imasendeshita. (You didn't have to do this, Nozomi-chan.)" Takeshi said quietly as he looked at the auburn haired girl, who had ducked her head slightly in embarrassment. It was obvious to the older boy that the girl was nervous about something.
"It's the least I could do and besides, I like cooking. Not only that but I woke up really early with really no hope of getting anymore sleep so I had to do something to keep myself busy." She said as she carefully placed the last plate of food just as some of the older siblings, all of her friends and the Vulpix trio stumbled in. Takeshi's siblings looked shocked at their brother when they saw that he wasn't wearing the old flowered apron he always wore when he cooked. Then they took in Nozomi who was smiling cheerfully while she had egg and flour all over her. Shrugging, the older siblings sat down and stared eating as the younger siblings stumbled in. With a soft smile on her face, Nozomi directed the younger siblings where to sit as she put their plates in front of the.
"Kore wa hontōni yoidesu! Darekore o tsukutta koto wa ryōri ga masutādesu. (This is really good! Whoever did this is a master at cooking.)" Ren said as the twins nodded their heads while they continued to eat. Takeshi's siblings were eating quietly before they all agreed that Takeshi (finally!) had some competition and some good competition at that!
Soon though, breakfast was over and the twins were ready to battle Takeshi. Takeshi lead them all outside to the area where Nozomi had battled him two and a half weeks ago. Since both of the twins wanted to battle him, Takeshi was going to allow them to battle him in a Double Battle. Jirō was going to referee unlike the last time Nozomi was here since Giovanni had been the one to referee her battle against Takeshi.
"Alright, Yoshiko-chan, let's fire it up!" Kura said as she released Yoshiko from her Pokéball. The ruby red Vulpix almost immediately jumped up onto her Trainer before Kura could stop her. "Watashitachiha, Takeshi-san to tatakatte koto ni narudarou. Dakara, senjō de no ichi ni shite kudasai shutoku shimasu. (We're going to be battling Takeshi-san. So get into position on the battlefield, please.)" The Fox Pokémon nodded her head before she jumped back onto the field and took up a battle stance. "Takeshi-san, kore wa kanojo no tatakaidesu. Dakara, kanojo no ue ni kantan ni sore o toru shite kudasai! (Takeshi-san, this is her first battle. So please, take it easy on her!)" Takeshi nodded his head as he raised an eyebrow at the female twin's choice.
"Toshimaru, let's lend Yoshiko some protection!" Kumo said as he released the Tiny Turtle Pokémon from his Pokéball. The Tiny Turtle Pokémon quickly took up what looked to be a defensive stance in front of his Trainer next to Yoshiko. As soon as both twins released their Pokémon, Takeshi released his own Pokémon.
"Onix, Geodude! Let's go!" With that, Takeshi released the two Rock types out onto the field. Nozomi gulped when she saw the Onix and pulled Yuko closer to her since she really didn't want the young Fox Pokémon to wander over to the battlefield and get injured by a stray attack.
"Alright, this is two versus two Double Battle. The first side to have both Pokémon knocked out loses." Jirō said as the three Trainers got into a stance that they were comfortable with.
That was only the start of a heated battle. Eventually, Geodude was knocked out first by Yoshiko's Fire Blitz attack though she was knocked out by Onix's Rock Tomb soon after that. Soon, both Toshimaru and Onix were attacking and dodging each other's attacks in quick succession with both gradually tiring, at least until Toshimaru managed to release multiple streams of brown water from his shell at Onix. Toshimaru's Muddy Water attack managed to finally knock out the Rock Snake Pokémon, who gave a roar of pain since the Rock Snake Pokémon had somehow managed to hit a large wall that went around the perimeter of the backyard before it started out to thrash about, just barely missing the much younger onlookers while nearly hitting Nozomi but luckily missing her. Takeshi was quick to recall it since he really didn't want to cause harm to anyone.
Smiling, Takeshi shook hands with both Kura and Kumo before he handed them their badges. The two of them smiled widely before they gave each other high fives. After that, the twins grabbed both Nozomi and Ren before doing some sort of weird dance causing both Nozomi and Ren to join in, much to everyone else's amusement. Ren just laughed and didn't mind while Nozomi, who had stiffen when Kumo had grabbed her, was blushing lightly but smiling slightly at the twins' contagious enthusiasm as Kumo made her dance. Both Ren and Kura were spinning in wide yet fast circles until they ran into the other duo and the quartet, somehow, ended up in a pile of tangled limbs and laughter.
The quartet managed to stay for lunch but were soon on their way afterwards after getting their Pokémon checked out at the Pokémon Center. They passed fields and trees while occasionally seeing a wild Pokémon or two though those were mostly Spearrows and on one occasion a Fearrow that attacked them ferociously, confusing the group until they had seen the nest that it had come from. Nozomi had been quick to explain that they weren't after it's Eggs and that they were merely passing through. She apologized repeatedly and frantically for trespassing on it's territory which the Fearrow accepted regally before letting them pass on through.
The group kept walking after that, at least until sundown when they stopped for the night in a clearing that was just slightly out of sight from the road. After dinner, the group gout out sleeping bags and went to bed. Nozomi was forced awake abruptly due to a scream that was filled with agony and pain before she scrambled out of her sleeping bag with one of her hands already wrapped around her Pokéballs. Kumo, Ren and Kura were already up in separate trees with wide eyes that had pupils that were mere pinpricks that were filled with fear and shock. Nozomi looked up at them with confusion filled eyes before her danger sense went off and turned around, slowly.
There, no more than fifteen feet away from her, was a rather irritated looking Pokémon. It was a large rhinoceros-like creature with a body that was covered in gray rocky plates. The underside was smooth from what Nozomi could see and it had four short legs with two claws on each foot. It had a triangular head with narrow red eyes, two fangs protruding from its upper jaw and small triangular openings on the upper sides. A spiked ridge ran along its back and it had a single short horn on the tip of its snout. The Pokémon huffed harshly before it lowered its head and stomped its feet as if it was getting ready to charge. Nozomi felt her eyes widen in fear.
"Oh…dear" was all she said as the enraged Pokémon launched itself at her at a rapid speed.
The enraged Pokémon drew closer and Nozomi just barely had time to dive out of the way before it could hit her. The Pokémon gave an enraged battle cry as it skid to a stop before it turned around to charge at Nozomi again.
"Crap, crap, crap….oh, cr—" She yelped out as the Pokémon's sharp jutting rock-like armor scraped against her as she dodged, ripping her sleep shirt and leaving a very nasty cut on her side. Nozomi winced slightly as she continued to try to get to one of the trees that one of her friends were in. The Whale and the Horse would on occasion use knives or some other type of sharp objects on her when they were…displeased…with her. However the Pokémon wouldn't let her near one and was forcing her to continue to move away from her friends, much to their dismay. Not only that but Nozomi also noticed that they didn't have any of their Pokéballs on them and as such Nozomi assumed that they had left them in their sleeping bags.
In desperation, Nozomi pulled out one of her Pokéballs and threw it when she had enough time before she had to dodge another rush. She was almost certain that she had just thrown away an empty one until she saw a bright light in the shadows off to her left along with a huge shape that leaped from the shadows with a thunderous roar and tackled the other Pokémon viciously to the ground. The Pokémon roared out a challenge to Daphne before the Pokémon started to thrash about until Daphne was forced to let the grey Pokémon go since she was unable to keep her grip without doing mortal damage to the other Pokémon.
"I have no idea what's wrong with it, Daphne-sama!" Nozomi panted out as she dodged yet another attack from the rhinoceros-like Pokémon while Daphne slammed into the other Pokémon before leaping away from the rhinoceros-like Pokémon as nimble as a dancer as she could be. "Sore wa chōdo doko karatomo naku kara watashitachi o kōgeki shita! (It just attacked us from out of nowhere!)" The Ancient Flame Pokémon growled at the younger Pokémon as she bared her larger fangs in warning while she tried to move over to her Trainer. The other Pokémon paused before Daphne noticed that there was a sudden slight spark, as if the spark was from an electric type Pokémon, from its neck and then the other Pokémon roared furiously before it charged.
Did you see that, hatchling? the Charizard demanded as she dodged the attack from the other Pokémon with ease and grace. Nozomi nodded her head as her mind rushed through different plans, trying to find a course of action that would stop the grey Pokémon while not bringing the Pokémon to any major harm. Finally, she picked a plan that the others most likely would have her head for...if she survived that is.
"Kochira ni, anata oishigetta koishi! (Over here, you overgrown pebble!)" she shouted as she waved her arms, trying to get the Pokémon's attention. The large grey Pokémon turned on her before rushing at the auburn haired girl. Nozomi stood her ground as she waited for the right moment to make her move. She could see from where she was standing that Ren and the twins had concern and worried filled faces. However, she had to do this if they wanted to live through the night without the rhinoceros-like Pokémon trying to kill them.
Finally, at the very last possible second, she was quick enough to side-stepped the onrushing Pokémon before she threw herself onto the Pokémon's back. Almost instantly, the Pokémon skid to a stop before sliding about ten feet, almost causing Nozomi to go flying off the Pokémon's back , because of its momentum. Once the Pokémon had stopped sliding, it started bucking and running around in circles, trying to dislodge it's unwanted and unexpected passenger.
"O tto! O tto! (Whoa! Whoa!)" Nozomi shouted as she tried to hold onto the Pokémon with both of her legs and an arm while she desperately dug her other hand at the…thing…that was around its neck. Suddenly, Nozomi realized what was around the rhinoceros-like Pokémon's neck. A shock collar. She had realized what it was when it shocked her while she was trying to get it off, causing her fingers and the rhinoceros-like Pokémon to blister and burn. The rhinoceros-like Pokémon roared in anger and pain when Nozomi finally found the lock that was keeping that stupid collar around the Pokémon's neck. The lock was so similar to one for a dog back in her old world and required her to use both of her hands, forcing her to let go of the Pokémon temporarily to focus on the collar. She was nearly thrown off while she was trying to get the collar off.
"Hotondo... Hotondo... Soko ni! (Almost…almost…there!)" Nozomi cried out as she finally got the…torture device…off the poor Pokémon's neck. Once it was off the Pokémon, the collar continued to shock her, only now it felt more vicious than earlier when it was shocking both her and the Pokémon. She was quick to toss it onto the ground, crying out as she did. Nozomi was used to burns, broken bones and cuts but she never had to deal with something like this. The Pokémon, no longer in as much pain has it had been, stopped its thrashing only to collapse as it panted heavily with its eyes tightly closed. Nozomi rested her head against the tired Pokémon's heaving back as she panted heavily to catch her breath while tears streamed down her cheeks from the pain that the burns and blisters on her hands were causing her. She slowly lifted her head when a rough tongue licked her hair. Nozomi looked up and smiled weakly at Daphne, who was quick to lift her by the back of her sleep shirt back to the ground before licking the other Pokémon comfortingly.
Said Pokémon slowly opened its eyes before giving the group an apologetic and grateful look with tired red eyes. Nozomi smiled as her friends climbed down from their respective trees and hurried over. Ren gasped, horrified, when he saw Nozomi's hand and signaled for the twins to bring his bag over to him as well as their own bags. Nozomi allowed Ren to take care of her hands after he gave her a look while the twins used several of their Burn Heals on the rhinoceros-like Pokémon before using a Potion on it, just in case the grey Pokémon needed it. Once Ren was done patching up Nozomi's hands, she pulled out her Pokédex and scanned the rhinoceros-like Pokémon.
Rhyhorn—the Spikes Pokémon. This Pokémon has massive bones that are 1000 times harder than human bones. With such strong bones, Rhyhorn can easily send a trailer flying. Because of its four short legs, this Pokémon is inept at turning and is only able to charge and run in one direction. When it charges, it is unable to stop running until Rhyhorn falls asleep due to its one track mind. This Pokémon's body is clad in a thick hide and is unfortunately considered to be too slow witted to help people work.
Thank you, young one a deep male voice rumbled out as Nozomi put away her Pokédex back where she got it. Nozomi nodded her head as she held out one of her hands. The Rhyhorn opened his eyes before fixing them on Nozomi with a keen intelligence that Nozomi was sure that the Rhyhorn must have inherited from one of his parents. Watashi wa anata to anata no mure o kōgeki suru yō ni mōshiwakearimasenga, watashi wa chōdo jibun jishin o kontorōru suru koto ga dekimasendeshita. Sore wa chōdo son'nani kizutsukeru... (I am so sorry that I attacked you and your herd, but I just couldn't control myself. It just hurt so much…) The Rhyhorn trailed off as it nudged Nozomi's hand. Nozomi slowly moved her hand to the Spikes Pokémon's shoulder and patted the Pokémon's shoulder comfortingly while being careful of Ren's bandages.
"It's alright, sir, perfectly understandable." With that, the Rhyhorn looked at her keenly before nodding his head towards Nozomi's friends and slowly starting to stand up.
I would be honored to have one of your herd to be my Trainer he said calmly as he looked right at Kumo. Kumo had a confused look in his eyes as he looked at Nozomi who merely shrugged at him before handing him a an empty Pokéball.
"It would seem that he would like for you to be his Trainer." Nozomi said softly to Kumo who's eyes went wide with shock. He looked at the Rhyhorn who calmly nodded his head. Carefully, Kumo stepped forward and tapped the Pokéball against the head of the Rhyhorn. The Rhyhorn was captured before the ball flashed once, twice, and finally three times before stopping.
"Daisuke." Kumo said simply as he looked down at the Pokéball in his hand with a pleased yet shocked look in his eyes. "Anata no namae wa Daisuke ni narimasu." The four friends went back to bed after that since there were still several hours until dawn. Nozomi left Daphne out of her Pokéball before falling asleep against one of the rumbling Pokémon's legs, dreaming of an ancient forest, of Celebi and of Pokémon that she had never seen before….
The Next Day
Nozomi woke up sometime near noon, her eyes still somewhat gritty with sleep, to the feeling of a hot, wet, rough thing running over her face and hair. She knew from experience with both Haru and Hikari waking her up in the morning that it was most likely one of her Pokémon trying to wake her up.
"Uwa! Nani ga...? (Ugh! What the…?)" Nozomi said as she squinted still sleepy eyes up at her attacker before rubbing her face with her sleeve. Once she was done, she scowled at the chuckling Daphne when she could finally see. "Sore wa chōdo... Sōdesu! Purasu sore wa watashi ga suru koto ni yotte u~eikuappu shite kita, yori iyana no izureka no hōhōdashi, watashi wa megasameta made watashi no gaku de shitsukoi tsuki o shita watashi o mezame no Aguni-kun no yō ni, to onaji kurai meiwakuna nda. (That's just…gross! Plus that's one of the more disgusting ways I've been woken up by and it's almost as annoying as Agni-kun's way of waking me up, which was insistent poking at my forehead until I woke up.)" Daphne chuckled slightly before she went back to calmly licking Nozomi's hair. "Anata wa sore o tomeru nodarou ka? Watashi no kami wa sudeni anata wa sore o shūsei shiyou to sezu dainashi ni sa rete iru! (Will you stop that? My hair is already messed up without you trying to fix it!)" As she said that, she tried to shove Daphne's restraining hand off of her shoulder so she could get up from where she was before grumbling as Daphne gave her a look that made Nozomi stop grumbling.
The others were already awake and eating the eggs that Ren had cooked. When Daphne was done, she let Nozomi get up and get some of the eggs. Nozomi quickly got four of the eggs before giving Daphne half of her eggs while eating the rest of her eggs. Once she was done eating her breakfast, she gave the Ancient Pokémon a bowl of her special Pokémon Food that she had made the day before the quartet left Takeshi's home, which Daphne ate with obvious and great relish. The others by that time had also released their Pokémon before Nozomi did the same. When all of the Pokémon were released from their Pokéballs, Nozomi made each of the Pokémon their own Pokémon Food dish based on their likes, dislikes, age, size and finally type. Nozomi had been surprised to see that both of the boys had managed to catch a pair of Spearrows when they had been rescuing Yuko.
Once she was done making Pokémon Food for everyone's Pokémon, Nozomi pulled out her Pokédex and scanned a small rodent-like Pokémon that had goldenrod yellow fur. Its eartips, collar, and tail are black and angular. The Pokémon had pink cheek and its tiny nose looked like a dot. On the tip of the left ear of the Pokémon, there were three spikes.
Pichu—the Tiny Mouse Pokémon. This Pokémon is not yet skilled at storing electricity as such any kind of shock will cause Pichu to discharge energy that can zap even adult humans. However, it will grow to become better at holding electricity as it grows older. Pichu is able to charge itself with electricity more easily on days with thunderclouds or when the air is very dry. When this Pokémon plays with others, it may short out electricity with another Pichu, causing a shower of sparks. If this happens, Pichu will begin crying due to being startled by the flash caused by the sparks. One way this Pokémon plays with others is by touching tails and setting off sparks. This also appears to be a test of courage.
"So this is little Zanthe-chan. Kanojo wa, Kura-chan wa hijō ni kawaīdesu. (She's very cute, Kura-chan.)" Nozomi said as she put up her Pokédex back where she got it. The Pichu scampered up to her before turning to the side and presenting Nozomi her tail. With a brief look at Ren who nodded his head, Nozomi carefully touched the Tiny Mouse Pokémon's tail and waited for the sparks. When the sparks did appear, Nozomi kept holding the Tiny Mouse Pokémon's tail until Zanthe stopped letting out sparks and carefully picked up the small mouse-like Pokémon. "Dono yō ni watashitachiha, hito o rirakkusu ya torēningu tsuitachi o sugosudeshou ka? Watashi wa jissai ni watashi no chīmu o kunren suru hitsuyō ga arimasu. Watashi wa watashi no chīmu to watakushiha ni sa rete iru tatakai de kōun ete iru. (How about we spend the day relaxing and training, guys? I actually need to train my team. I've gotten lucky in the battles that my team and I have been in.)" Everyone agreed since they knew that they couldn't rely on luck all the time. After everyone had agreed, Nozomi handed Zanthe back to Kura with a soft smile on her face as she gently and carefully scratched behind one of Zanthe's ears. When Zanthe was back with her Trainer, Nozomi called all of her Pokémon back to her.
When all of her Pokémon were near her, Nozomi sent Daphne off to find a clearing that as close by but would be hard to find by passing Trainers. It wasn't long before Daphne had returned and leading the rest of the team to a nearby clearing. Once they were there at the clearing, Nozomi set about discovering what the stats were for Yuko and Daphne. It wasn't very surprising when Nozomi learned that out of all of her Pokémon, Daphne was the most powerful one while Yuko was currently the weakest. After learning that, she had Daphne help Yuko perfect her fire based attacks. Hikaru and Haru had already gotten their stats recorded back in Pallet Town a few days before they left the Makinos with Giovanni keeping a close eye on what was going on with the trio. Nozomi had the duo running laps around the clearing to get a little faster. While they were doing that, Nozomi brought out the Egg that Takara had given her and sat down on a rock. She softly hummed the song that she had used to make Takeshi's younger siblings fall asleep. Somehow, Nozomi knew that the Egg wouldn't be hatching anytime soon but she got the feeling that the Egg would hatch sometime after her next Gym Battle.
Umm…'cuse me, miss?
Nozomi was startled out of the thoughts she had been in by someone talking that wasn't a human and flinched even though the voice sounded like it came from a young girl who was around the Vulpix twins' age. Looking up from her Egg, Nozomi saw what looked like a small bipedal balloon-like animal that was completely pink, though it was more like a softer pink than the cherry blossoms that decorated her backpack. It had a rounded tuft of hair on top of its head, a small swirl-like pattern on its forehead, and beautiful sapphire blue eyes. The Pokémon had small stubby limbs.
"Hai, watashi wa, koibito o anata o tasukeru koto ga dekiru? (Yes, can I help you, sweetheart?)" Nozomi said as she carefully put down her Egg before she pulled out her Pokédex. "I would like to help you, sweetie but you see I don't know what Pokémon you are. So if I may, can I scan you?"
The Pokémon nodded as it stood still to let the human scan the Pokémon. With a smile, Nozomi quickly scanned the Pokémon.
Igglybuff—the Balloon Pokémon. This Pokémon has a very soft, flexible and elastic body that feels like a marshmallow Due to the elasticity of Igglybuff, if this Pokémon starts to roll or bounce it is nearly impossible to stop. Thanks to this Pokémon's short legs, Igglybuff moves around by bouncing. Igglybuff's vocal chords are not fully developed since it can hurt its throat if it sings too much. To counter this, Igglybuff gargles with freshwater from a clean stream if at all possible. When this Pokémon sings continuously with all of its might, its body will steadily turns a deepening pink color.
Could I come with you? I don't really have anyone here Igglybuff said as she looked off to one side with tears in her eyes. Nozomi was quick to pick up the Balloon Pokémon before the young Pokémon could really start crying. She knew what it was like to feel as if she was all alone in the world. Mew, Celebi and Jirachi had gotten to her before she did something drastic, thankfully.
"Why would you want to come with me, little one? Not only that but what happened to your parents? You don't have to tell me about your parents if you don't want to but I would really like to know why you would want to travel." Nozomi said as she slowly rocked the Balloon Pokémon while keeping an eye on her Pokémon.
Mama and Papa disappeared back when I was much younger and most of the time, the other Pokémon don't really care about me Igglybuff said as she watched Nozomi's Pokémon train together. Nozomi realized that in a way, this Igglybuff was exactly like her. Besides, I saw how you were with that yellow and black Pokémon. I want someone who would be willing to do that.
"Well then, I wouldn't mind having someone like you, little one. I just want to see how well you'll get along with the rest of my team. If you can get along with the rest of my team, I'll let you come with me on my Journey. Does that work with you?" Nozomi said before she turned her full attention back to her Pokémon. "Sate sate, anata-tachi wa, sore o motarasu! Watashitachiha shigoto ni modoru mae ni, jikan ga han-jikan no tame ni rirakkusu shite! Kanōna chīmumeito, subete no hito o mitashite kuru. (Alright, you guys, bring it in! Time to relax for half an hour before we get back to work! Come meet a possible teammate, everyone.)" With that said, Nozomi set down the Igglybuff as Hikari and Haru came walking up while panting before falling to the ground at Nozomi's feet. Daphne, on the other hand, had picked up Yuko who was heaving in exhaustion and carried her over to Nozomi.
Once Igglybuff was done on the ground and Yuko was on the ground as well, Igglybuff headed over to Yuko. The two quickly got along and started playing together while Daphne kept a close eye on them as Nozomi once again pulled out her Pokédex and started to fiddle around on it. Somehow, she managed to bring up a menu that revolved around something called Abilities. Curious, Nozomi scanned Hikari to see what her Ability was and was startled by the Pokédex's mechanical female voice.
This Growlithe has the Flash Fire Ability and the Hidden Ability of Justified. This Ability makes the user immune to Fire-type moves and will activate when hit by one. When activated, the power of the user's Fire-type moves is increased. While subsequent hits by Fire-type moves will not provide further increase in power, the user remains immune to their effects. This Ability is not activated by the burned status. Flash Fire will not work while the user is frozen. The Justified Hidden Ability raise the user's Attack stat by one stage when hit by a Dark-type attack. Justified will raise Attack one level for each hit of a multi-strike move.
Nozomi smiled as she reached down and started to pet Hikari while being mindful of Hikari's tired muscles. Once she was done, Nozomi carefully started to pet Haru while being mindful of the barbs that Haru had. When she was done petting Haru, Nozomi scanned the Poison Pin Pokémon and was somewhat surprised to learn about Haru's Ability.
This Nidoran Female Form has the Poison Point Ability and the Hidden Ability of Hustle. The Poison Point Ability makes an opponent of a Pokémon with this Ability to become poisoned if they make physical contact. The Hustle Hidden Ability increases the user's Attack stat by at least fifty percent while lowering the accuracy of the user's physical moves by at least twenty percent.
"Well, that's interesting. I'll scan Yuko-chan for her Abilities and attacks after Daphne-sama. Daphne-sama, could you come here please?" Nozomi said softly before becoming louder towards the end. The Charizard calmly approached her Trainer before stopping in front of Nozomi. Nozomi was quick to scan Daphne to see what her moves and her Abilities were as well as to get some info on the Ancient Pokémon.
Moves Known:
Scratch, Ember, Smokescreen, Dragon Rage, Fire Fang, Flame Burst, Slash, Flamethrower, Fire Spin, Inferno. Dragon Claw, Sunny Day, Protect, Brick Break, Fire Blast, Aerial Ace, Flame Charge, Overheat, Incinerate, Will-O-Wisp, Shadow Claw, Metal Claw, Dragon Rush Flare Blitz, Dragon Pulse, Fire Pledge, Fire Punch, Heat Wave, Iron Tail, Swift, Mega Punch, Mega Kick, Seismic Toss, Air Slash, Wing Attack, Hyper Beam, Solarbeam, Earthquake, Sky Drop, Giga Impact, Dragon Tail, Fly, Cut, Strength
This Charizard has the Blaze Ability and the Hidden Ability of Solar Power. The Blaze Ability powers up the user's Fire-type attacks when it gets weakened. The Solar Power Hidden Ability raises the Special Attack stat but lowers the user's health gradually throughout a battle.
Charizard—the Flame Pokémon and the final evolution of Charmander as well as Charmeleon. This Pokémon can spit out fire that is hot enough to melt boulders along with glaciers that weighing up to 10,000 tons. Its fiery breath reaches incredible temperatures and can unintentionally cause forest fires. When Charizard becomes furious, the flame at the tip of this Pokémon's tail will flare up in a whitish-blue color. When this Pokémon flies around in the sky at an altitude of 4,600 feet or 1400 m looking for powerful opponents, it will never turn its flame on a weaker opponent. It is said that Charizard's flame will burn hotter if it experiences harsh battles through its life.
Once Nozomi had gotten the information that she wanted, Nozomi carefully and gently rubbed the Flame Pokémon's snout. Finally once she was done rubbing Daphne's snout, she called Yuko over to her that way she could pet her current baby Pokémon and get the information that she needed from her Pokédex. Yuko quickly came skipping up to Nozomi with Igglybuff following after her. Nozomi smiled softly at the sight of the sight before turning to the Ancient Pokémon who had moved off to one side while holding the Pokémon Egg that Nozomi had placed near herself and was now curled up around the Egg itself.
"Yuko-chan, I need you to hold still while I scan you sweetheart. Alright?" Nozomi asked as she held out a hand so Yuko could come up to her. While Yuko was nuzzling Nozomi's hand, Nozomi was scanning the Fox Pokémon to see what her Abilities and moves were. She was relieved that she didn't have to scan Yuko to get the information about her species.
Moves Known:
Hypnosis, Spite, Disable. Heat Wave, Flare Blitz, Power Swap, Tail Slap, Ember, Roar, Quick Attack
This Vulpix has the Flash Fire Ability and the Hidden Ability of Drought. The Flash Fire Ability makes the user immune to Fire-type moves and will activate when hit by one. When activated, the power of the user's Fire-type moves is increased. While subsequent hits by Fire-type moves will not provide further increase in power, the user remains immune to their effects. This Ability is not activated by the burned status. Flash Fire will not work while the user is frozen. The Drought Hidden Ability summons sunlight in battle as soon as a Pokémon with Drought enters the battle. Its effects almost are the same as Sunny Day's; the only difference is that instead of lasting for five turns, it lasts for the whole battle until a different weather condition replaces it. If a Pokémon with Drought is sent out in the same turn as another Pokémon whose Ability creates a different weather condition, the slower Pokémon's Ability will override the faster Pokémon's Ability.
"Well, Yuko-chan. Those are some very good Egg moves and interesting Abilities that you have, sweetheart." Nozomi said as she place her Pokédex on the rock beside her before she picked up Yuko and held her in her arms like you would a human baby. Once Yuko was comfortable in her arms, Nozomi started to sing as she slowly rocked the young Pokémon.
If I'm the sun then you're the moon
If you're the words then I'm the tune
If you're the heart then I'm the beat
Somehow together we're complete, yeah
.
There are times my world is crumbling
And the rain is crashing down
But everywhere you are, the sun comes out
.
Even when you're gone, I feel you close
Always be the one I love the most
In my heart, on my mind, you are underneath my skin
And anywhere, anytime, that you need anything
Count me in (uh uh uh uh oh)
Count me in, yeah
.
I don't need to say a word
'Cause you know when I'm happy and when I'm hurt
Closes pages in a book
'Cause you make me feel better with just one look
.
There are times my world is crumbling
And the rain is crashing down
But everywhere you are, the sun comes out
.
Even when you're gone I feel you close
Always be the one I love the most
In my heart, on my mind, you are underneath my skin
And anywhere, anytime, that you need anything,
Count me in (uh uh uh uh oh)
Count me in, yeah
.
'Cause we're two halves of the same heart
That beats to our own drum
You're the shadow always by my side
Sometimes you know me better than I know myself
And I wish that you were with me here tonight
.
Even when you're gone I feel you close
You'll always be the one I love the most (I love the most)
You're in my heart, on my mind, you are underneath my skin
And anywhere, anytime, that you need anything
Count me in (uh uh uh uh oh)
Count me in, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Uh uh uh oh, count me in
Uh uh uh oh, count me in
As she finished singing the song, she looked down and saw that Yuko had somehow managed to fall asleep. Even though she hadn't intented to make Yuko fall asleep, Nozomi was happy to see that Yuko had a small smile. She quietly and gently got up from where she was sitting and made her way towards Daphne. Once she was by Daphne, Daphne opened a single eye and gave her Trainer a look as Nozomi carefully placed Yuko next to the Egg that Daphne had curled around. Igglybuff was quick to follow her and was quick to join Yuko in Hypnos's hold.
"Daphne-sama, could you keep an eye on these three, please? I'm going to have Haru and Hikari do some more training before we head back to the others." Nozomi said as she turned back to Haru and Hikari. It was easy to see that both Haru and Hikari were now ready to get back to work on training. "Ok, you two. Hikari, could you help Haru master Iron Tail? I really don't want her get injured using it in a . After a certain point, I'm going to stop you since I'd like for you to start learning Fire Fang, which is another Fire type move. It's alright if you can't get it now, alright? If you need help with it, Daphne-sama can help you with it later on, ok? Haru, after that point I'd like you to start working on Double Kick. If you need help perfecting it, ask Hikari, ok?"
Both Hikari and Haru nodded before heading off to a different part of the clearing where Nozomi see them but not be in any danger. Once they were over in that part of clearing that they were going to use, Nozomi went over to where she had placed her Pokédex and placed it back where she had originally had it. After replacing her Pokédex, Nozomi went back over to where Daphne was. She kept a close eye on both Hikari and Haru as they continued to work on perfecting Iron Tail. After about thirty to forty-five minutes, Nozomi called for stop in their Iron Tail training.
Once Haru and Hikari had had time to cool down from their Iron Tail training, they separated and went to separate areas of the clearing to begin train their respective new attack. Nozomi yawned as she curled up next to Yuko, Igglybuff and the Egg. She should have known that she was going to fall to Hypnos's hold since she didn't really get much sleep the previous night. However before she fell to Hypnos's hold, Nozomi asked Daphne to keep an eye on Haru and Hikari as well as to wake her up after a while or when Yuko and Igglybuff woke up. Daphne agreed as she turned towards the training Pokémon. With that, Nozomi fell to a deep dreamless sleep.
A/N2: All right, lets get to some of the reviews from you guys! Like I said last chapter, I'll try to get to them here but I forgot to mention that if I feel that certain reviews need to dealt with privately, I will PM the reviewer and 'talk' with them about whatever it is that they are concerned about. Just so you guys know, I'm going to put Discovering A New Family on temporary hiatus until I can get several chapters under my belt ready to be published. I'll try to start posting around February 28th but like always I make no promises. Sorry about the wait until the next chapter in advance!
ultima-owner: Thank you for the comment about Yuko. Somehow she came out as an intelligent 6 to 7 year old human child and I have no idea why she wanted to come out as young as she did. However, just wish me luck for when Yuko has discovered the wonderful (note the sarcasm) joy that is a sugar rush. It's going to be a nightmare.
FANactic Writer: Oh, God...the chaos...I'm hoping that Kura and Kumo don't manhandle me into writing them in a later portion of the story because of that! Darcy isn't going to appear for awhile so I wanted to lay down the groundwork for her and her...dislike...for Nozomi. Since Japan is really into respect, Nozomi's...apparent...lack of respect towards someone who is of a higher class is enough to anger anyone from a similar culture so that explains Darcy's dislike for Nozomi. I might have a few ideas for other characters from the anime that's not Gym Leaders but no promises. As for Legendaries, Nozomi's more of a "befriend them and leave them to their respective regions and only catch them if they start to go out of control" person, in my opinion. Of course a few of the Legendaries might follow after her due to her respect, her personality and other factors that are important to the individual Legendary. She might even "catch" a few of them, especially since Nozomi might convince me to let her go to other worlds where their power will have the most impact but for right now, no Legendaries. However, there will be one Legendary that will most likely keep a very close eye on her but I'm not saying which one it is yet. Besides, they're trying to keep me from adding them into the story. Like I said earlier, I have a few ideas but is there anyone from the anime that you really want to see? I can try to come up with some ideas if you do! And that question goes out to all of you readers!
IK(or guest): Thank you for pointing that out. I can't believe that I forgot to mention that! I even went back through the rough drafts and the published chapters, just to make sure that I had mentioned how Nozomi knew that after I read your review, only to see that I hadn't. I thought for sure that I had. For everyone else, I forgot to mention how Nozomi knows Japanese when she's British in origin. Nozomi knows Japanese because she's read plenty of books (some were basic language books), however she didn't really have anyone to practice with so when she came to the world of Pokémon, Mew and the other two "imprinted" on Nozomi various cultural facts including a vocabulary in Japanese that fits both her age and her intelligence. I think that should explain how Nozomi knows Japanese. Any more questions you'd like to ask? I don't mind answering them!