Chapter 2: Special Pokémon Training
Saffron City seemed busy as usual as the pair of trainers entered from the north end of the flashy city. The towering building of the Silph Company stood erect and taller than all of the other buildings. Even though it was at the center of the city, it was not the building visited most often by passing travelers. Many of the travelers came for the gym and not for the Pokémon accessory producing corporation. Besides, it was only an office filled building.
A small sign confirmed that indeed, Aiden and Vi had entered Saffron for it read: "SAFFRON CITY: Shining, Golden City of Commerce." City of commerce was right for the moment the pair of trainers found the main street, an endless wave of people passed by bustling about their business and going from place to place in a hurry. To any country person, this sight would be overwhelming.
The hustle and bustle caused by not only the locals but also visitors for a parade of some sorts made it difficult to hear the question asked by the brunette trainer. But Aiden was not really paying attention for he spotted a couple of shady figures; one suspiciously held something under his coat in a rather gruff manner and the other nodded in agreement. Both looked oddly familiar but he just could not place where he'd seen them before, if at all. Once they looked around cautiously, both men slipped behind some of the houses and back into the alley. Just before they disappeared, though, the slight glimpse of what looked like a grassy green twin tail caught the attention of the male trainer. Something about the pair seemed oddly familiar. Aiden was about to give chase when a fist gently connected with his arm.
"Oh. Sorry. Did you say something?" Aiden asked turning towards the brunette female as she gave him a look of forged loathing. Her slightly pouting lip and puppy dog eyes greeting the blond male and it made him feel bad but at the same time he thought, Wow, she looks so cute when she does that!
"I asked you if you knew where the Pokémon Center was?" She repeated her previously unheard question. "And why weren't you listening to me?"
"I-I…uh…guess that I didn't hear you over all of this noise. Sorry. I forgot just how boisterous the city could be," he half lied. The city was quite a bit noisier than from the countryside that they had once come from.
"Well, okay, I'll forgive you just this once." Vivian gave him a wink and held up one finger signifying her one time of forgiving his deafness. "So, where is the Pokémon Center?"
"I believe that it's at the other end of town." Aiden pointed in the general direction of where the Center was located. "I would love to walk with you there, but I, uh, have some things I need to take care of right now," Aiden half-lied. Well it wasn't exactly a lie because he did have something he needed to do. As much as he wanted to show this pretty girl around, he had to go see what those two men were doing at that alley. Besides, there was something else that had caught his attention that he wanted to investigate.
"Well, what do you need to do? Maybe I can help out!" Vivian asked with a look of excitement written all over her face.
Aiden shook his head in negation. "I… uh, don't mean to burst your bubble, but this is something that only I can do." He felt his heart drop upon seeing the disappointment on the girl's face. "But I tell you what, I'll probably be in town for a few days so maybe we can hang out later. If you're gonna stay at the Pokémon Center then I should be able to find you."
"All right! Sounds good!" Vivi said with the perkiness coming back to her face.
"But right now you need to focus on developing a strategy to defeat the gym leader Sabrina. She's a very tough opponent who has given many people a difficult time when they've come through Saffrom City. And her specialty is psychic type Pokémon, so keep that in mind." Aiden then spun around and began to step away but then turned his head back towards Vivian and told her one last thing. "Good luck! And I hope to see you soon!"
Then the blond trainer took a few more steps into the passing crowd and then suddenly disappeared from Vivian's view. "Wait!" she called out as she began to give chase but he was no where to be found. "Where'd he go?" She scanned the crowds hoping to see his six foot figure towering above the other people but she had no luck. After fruitlessly pushing her way through the mob of passersby she finally gave up hope of finding him, at least for the moment. "He's right, I guess. I need to focus on defeating Sabrina. But I still can't help but wonder what he had to do?"
Aiden watched from his concealed position behind one of the nearby buildings as Vivian searched in vain for him and then finally turned around and headed for the Pokémon Center, no doubt to focus on her next gym battle. "She is a pretty girl and she has a very caring heart. I would like nothing more than to meet with you later. I just hope that this feeling of unease about those two earlier is nothing. Still, I can't have you along with me in case a battle ensued because I don't know if I'd be able to protect you. And knowing my luck…"
Reaching into his bag, Aiden produced a Pokéball that was half white and half purple with a small case letter "m" engraved right above the release mechanism. He looked at it for the longest time contemplating whether or not to summon the beast that dwelt inside of it. But after a long moment of thought, Aiden put the ball away on his belt and reached for the rest of his Pokéballs and placed four other balls on his belt. Once that was done, the blonde kid looked up and into the alley where he had seen the mysterious party skulking about.
"It's show time. Time to find out just what you guys are trying to hide." With a dash that made him seem like lightning, Aiden disappeared into the alley way to give chase to these mysterious culprits.
Vivian wandered around town for a little while taking in the sights and sounds of the bustling city. There were vendors lined up on both sides of the main street selling various Pokémon-related items and accessories for some kind of parade or celebration or something.
The brunette female spotted a booth that caught her attention. The advertisement on the board was this: "Special Pokémon Training." Intrigued, Vivian started to make her way across the street and was nearly to the booth when a large man bumped into her so hard that she nearly lost her balance.
"Pardon me," he said gruffly shifting the strap of the bag he carried more on his shoulder while still walking away from her rather quickly.
Vivian regained her footing and glanced back at the quickly retreating man. "How rude!" she exclaimed in a huff. Her eyes suddenly fell upon the characters which composed the back of his coat. In rather large lettering, the fanciful design of a "T" and an "R" were printed on the back of his coat. Against the black background of the coat, those red letters were very evident. "Just who was that guy anyways?"
The girl shrugged off any more reflection to her quandary and turned her attention and focus to the booth in front of her. She walked up to the front of the booth and was greeted by the sight of a single individual. The young female vendor seemed to be slightly older than her, perhaps between the ages of 18 and 20 and was dressed in professional looking Pokémon trainer clothes that were extremely fashionable in this and other regions of the world. The most notable feature on her outfit was the embroidered characters of a fancied "T" and "R" on the upper left portion of her clothing.
The female vendor was the first to speak. "Greetings, young trainer. Are you here to have your Pokémon trained to be the best using our patented training system? For a small price, your Pokémon can become the best Pokémon in battle in only two days! What do you say? All you have to do is give us your Pokémon and let us train them for two days. And if you're not satisfied with the results, then you don't have to pay us. Guaranteed!"
Vivian was taken back by the forwardness by which this woman spoke to her. The eagerness in her voice to take her Pokémon seemed slightly unnerving but the younger trainer passed that feeling away and inquired more into this interesting offer.
"What do you mean?" Vivian asked.
"You're a trainer, are you not?"
"Um…Yeah…" Vivian replied seemingly unsure of herself.
"And you do have Pokémon, right?" the woman continued to ask.
"Of course I do."
"We can make your Pokémon stronger and nearly unbeatable." The tone of the female vendor lowered as she spoke. It was almost as if she were revealing a secret. "You could walk into a gym and walk out a few minutes later with a gym badge. Your battles will be no problem. And instead of training all day with your Pokémon and not getting the results you want and having that time wasted, you could give your Pokémon to us and let us have them and train them. By the time were through with them, they'll be much stronger. We can accomplish more than what most trainers can do in a month in only two days!"
Her words were appealing and the simplicity of what needed to be done was almost too easy. Vivian could simply hand her Pokémon over and in a few days, these people could accomplish so much more than she could ever hope to do in a month. She had been struggling with training her Pokémon. It was a slow and arduous process and she wished that there was an easier way to make her Pokémon get stronger. And these people seemed confident enough in their abilities to train that they could make her Pokémon the powerhouses that she wanted.
Vivian then remembered what Aiden had told her and how that the gym leader in the city, Sabrina or something, had given many trainers trouble. But if her Pokémon were strong enough then defeating Sabrina would be no problem at all.
"Hmmm…I don't know…" Vivian spoke doubtfully. Still, she had always been taught that nothing comes easy and that training Pokémon is hard work. Her parents had practically drilled those infamous words into her head: "Work hard because nothing comes easy, especially when it comes to training Pokémon. And remember, there is no easy way to do it other than hard work and determination."
"What's there to think about? Almost every trainer that has come to our booth has given up their Pokémon to us for training." A smile that did not quite seem natural cropped onto the woman's face as she continued to speak. "I promise you that you will not be disappointed with our results."
"Well, all right." Vivian pulled out five Pokéballs and set them down on the counter allowing the female vendor to eye them with a certain degree of satisfaction.
"Thank you very much, Miss. It was great doing business with 'ya. We'll let you know when they're ready for you," the lady quickly shuffled the balls into a wooden box and handed it to back behind her where another figure veiled in shadows grabbed the box and disappeared once more behind the curtain of the back of the booth.
The lady was so quick to take her Pokéballs away that Vivian had not given up her sixth Pokémon. When the young trainer looked into her eyes, something about the way she looked frightened her. Vivian then noticed the embroidered letters on her shirt and realized that those were the same letters that were on the back of that one man's jacket.
Vivian still had a hand in her bag trying to fish out the last Pokéball so that that creature too could be trained when suddenly the female vendor slid a wooden plank in front of the window signifying that they were closing up shop.
The lady noticed that Vivian was still standing in front of her booth with a hand still in her bag. Just out of curiosity, she asked, "Do you have another Pokémon? Or is that it, because I must be going."
Vivian squeezed the lone Pokéball in her bag contemplating her surrender of her last Pokémon. "Where are you going? Aren't you staying in town?" Vivian asked feeling more uneasy about the speed at which her and her partner were packing up.
"Of course we're staying in town! Why, you don't think that our organization would leave town just like that do 'ya? Besides, we have Pokémon to train, remember? And we have a lot of 'em to train so unless you have any more Pokémon for us then we must be going."
The hold Vivian held onto her Pokéball loosened and she extracted her empty hand from her bag. "Nope. I don't have any more."
The woman eyed her suspiciously but then shrugged and smiled. "All right then. Don't you worry about your Pokémon. They're in good hands. We'll be sure to train them well. We'll see you later." The female vendor then disappeared behind the booth and through the curtain.
Vivian stood in place for a second and felt the air around her chill slightly. Goosebumps rippled across her skin sending shivers throughout her body. "Well, I guess I'll turn in for the afternoon. But, why do I feel so uneasy?"
She turned and took a step forward before she felt a stinging pain on the back her neck and her vision started to tunnel into darkness. She soon lost consciousness and slumped back into the arms of the woman vendor. The one who had delivered the blow held in his hand the box containing Vivian's Pokémon.
"Looks like you have one more left." The man chuckled evilly as he grabbed her bag which had tumbled off her shoulder and onto the road. "With your help, I'll make sure that he'll regret ever crossing the paths of us Team Rocket members."
"Where'd they go?" Aiden turned a corner in the dank back alley to see nothing but soggy trash littering the sides of the narrow walls. "I lost 'em. Dang it! They couldn't have gotten very far." The air smelled of what seemed like rotting meat and the darkness consumed his vision.
Suddenly from the blackness echoed the reverberation of tinkling metal sounds against the cold cement alley. Instantly, the blond trainer reached for a Pokéball on his belt and held his hand on them and glanced around guardedly for the source of the disturbance. He kept one of his hands out in front of him so as to deflect any attack made against him. His eyes shifted back and forth but the sound was nigh undetectable because it echoed back and forth in the narrow alley.
Again, the light sounds of a rattling metal can echoed throughout the alley but this time the source of the sound came rolling out into the alleyway and came to rest in a murky, mud-filled puddle.
Keeping his eyes aware and his ears alert, the master trainer crept slowly towards where the metal can made its final rest. He advanced with such swift grace that hardly a sound from his feet was made. Aiden's shadow finally encompassed the can but as he looked around he saw nothing except grossly cracked and battered walls and trash littering both sides of the alley.
"Strange…" Aiden whispered keeping his voice low in case someone nearby heard him and sprung a trap. Slightly shifting trash bags off diagonally to his right immediately caught his attention and he sprang backward and pulled out a Pokéball but did not summon his defense.
Sweat dripped from his forehead and rolled down into his face as he felt his heartbeat quicken and his breath shortening and becoming more and more rapid. His narrowed eyes focused on that one particular spot hoping to be rewarded with the sight of something harmless.
Suddenly, a few bags of trash were elevated off the ground floor and hovered only for a moment before they quickly accelerated at the blond trainer. Moving quickly, he leapt up into the air and extended both his feet to grip the sides of the alley wall only to be met with a large metal trash can flying into his path. The metal can connected with his body with a clang and Aiden was sent skidding down on the slimy, mucky floor several meters from his original position.
The boy leaned up from the ground and caught sight of yet another bag of flying debris coming his way. What is going on here? He clenched his fist in the murky water he was sitting in and his eyes narrowed as he entered his battle mood. I've had enough of this. Calculating the precise moment to strike, Aiden suddenly leaned back down into the muck and brought his knees up to his chest and then propelled his body backward just as the debris connected with his feet. He rolled backwards sending the trash harmlessly out of view behind him and rolled into a kneeling position as his feet skidded in the muck a few feet. He stood to his feet and shifted his hat backwards and summoned his defense.
"Ditto. Come forth!"
With a snap and a flash the Ditto appeared and sparkled with its blue gelatinous, amorphic body structure. Incoming debris from the unknown caster bolted with even more fervor towards the master and follower. Without having to hear any instructions from the master the Ditto immediately stretched its body out and attached itself to both walls in the narrow alley completely shielding his master. The trash and other flying debris collided with the stretched out creature and bounced back with a rubber-like twang sound. The flying debris assault slowly lessened until the last few articles of debris simply dropped to the ground.
Sensing that the assault was pretty much completed the transparent blue Ditto unlatched itself from the walls and assumed its usual gelatin-like form. Though it sensed the battle was done, the Pokémon did not for a second let down its guard.
Aiden slowly walked past his Ditto, who followed close behind, and up to the original position he was in before he was attacked. Then, he saw it. Lying in the mess of the garbage was the sight of a badly beaten and bruised greenish twin-tailed feline-like creature that glared at both of them with its dark eyes. Its ears were drooped low and it struggled to no avail to stand on its four paws. A weak growl emanated from it the closer Aiden and Ditto got but the trainer would not be dissuaded.
"It's a Shiny Espeon!" Aiden gasped in disbelief as he quickly glanced from his own Shiny back to the green creature. Shinies were a rare breed and he had only come in contact with a few of them. And to see one now…
Suddenly, Aiden recalled earlier in the day that he had seen one of the mysterious men carrying something small in his arms and concealed by his coat. He looked down at the Espeon's twin green tail and it finally struck him.
This must be what I saw earlier! But why leave it here? Why just abandon such a rare creature of beauty? Aiden looked up and observed his surroundings trying to understand just what exactly had happened. The walls were cracked and there were several deep indentations in the wall as if someone punched it or possible threw something into at the wall leaving that impression. As he followed a particular crack mark with his eyes, Aiden's attention was suddenly drawn to an indentation in the wall directly above the fallen Espeon. Aiden's eyes widened in horror and immediately, things became clear in his mind.
He looked down at the Shiny with a more gracious and caring look, yet, the Pokémon still glared at him daring him to make a move even though it was in no condition to battle. It wobbled and shook and seemed to lack the energy and vigor to back up its threatening gaze.
"It's okay. I'm here to help." Aiden squatted down and gazed into the Pokémon's eyes and spoke with deepest sincerity. "Those men did this to you, didn't they?" The Shiny Espeon jerked slightly as if jolted by the truth of his statement, but nonetheless remained fairly motionless. "How any man could live with himself after abusing a living creature as unique as you is beyond mortal conception! Here, allow me to help you…" Aiden extended his hand out shakily toward the Pokémon as his breath came in shorter and shorter intervals. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up erect and his body tingled with chills as his hand got closer.
The Espeon obviously tried to move from its position and its eyes narrowed even more than before. It had finally decided that Aiden's hand was close enough and tried to repel him away with a Night Shade attack. Its eyes glowed for a second and then the color faded and the effect that was intended happen never did. Espeon was too incredibly weak. It could barely stand let alone summon the strength to fight off any type of grip.
Quivering, the small green Shiny Pokémon shook in anxiety as it knew that it was done for. It closed its eyes one last time sensing its final demise at the hands of this human. However, much to Espeon's surprise, a gentle hand rested on its left ear and the hand began to massage lightly the bruises on its head. Espeon's eyes shot open and it gazed straight into the eyes of the blond trainer and immediately sensed the deep rooted compassion overflowing from his heart and soul.
Aiden gently rubbed the wounded Pokémon's head and stroked its body feeling the extent of the injuries sustained. How could any creature so badly wounded manage to summon up its powers and execute them so flawlessly? As his fingertips rubbed across the length of the creature, the fur of the creature was matted, splitting, and rough, all evidences of a poorly treated Pokémon.
"I can't believe they'd do this to you. They have treated you so ruthlessly and have no doubt left you here to die. I…will…not let that happen. You may not trust me but I don't really care. Right now you need help. Once I'm done with you, you can go free and I'll be sure to seek revenge for what was done to you."
Aiden motioned for his Ditto to come closer and seemingly telepathically told the thing what exactly to do. A second later there stood in the alley on four paws a green colored replica of the fallen Espeon by the side of the blond trainer.
"Now the fun really begins…"
6
