The Capture Specialist
Chapter Three: First Steps
A/N: Thanks for al the wonderful reviews, guys! Due to school starting up again, updating might be a tad slower…Also, at the beginning of each chapter, I'll try to add a snazzy quote. Woo!
"Do you recall the time you first stood on your own two feet? Of course not, because you weren't conscious of it. It's instinct. And instinct makes us strive to grow stronger."
Dana emerged from the long tunnel of Diglett's Cave in the rocky city of Pewter. New to the region of Kanto, she had gladly purchased a map application for her Pokegear. Pewter City sat at the foot of the largest mountainous region in Kanto, Mt. Moon. Connecting Pewter to Viridian City, and by extension Pallet Town, was a set of routes and Viridian Forest. All ample opporitunies to catch Pokemon for the CSU.
But first, she needed to heal her Pokemon from the long trek through Diglett's Cave. The cavern was a lot longer than Dana had originally thought, and according to the map, the cave was hundreds of feet underground, passing most notably underground Celadon and the route that connected Celadon to cycling road. That a single species of Pokemon was capable of such a feet was astonishing to Dana.
"Those little Pokemon, barely the size of my foot, are capable of tunneling an underground cavern…Amazing" Dana murmured to herself.
Within moments of sitting down in the Pokemon Center for a break, she was called back to the counter to retrieve Aipom and Squirtle's Poke Balls. The two Pokemon were thankful for the rest and treatment, and were eager to get back to work.
"Alright, guys, today we're gonna do a bit of training, but try not to stray from our work, alright? We need to do our very best!!" Dana said. Aipom and Squirtle replied with cries of eagerness.
"Hmm, where should we go first, though? Mt. Moon, or Viridian Forest?" Dana asked aloud. Aipom and Squirtle appeared to ponder the question, before turning in opposite directions. Aipom pointed with it's tail toViridian Forest, while Squirtle pointed to Mt. Moonconfidently. The two Pokemon, upon noticing they held conflicting views, turned to one another and began arguing. Dana said, reaching down and separating them before a full-blown fight broke out.
"Alright, that's it! You two hate each other so much, let's have a Pokemon battle then!! Whoever wins, will head to that area first. Squirtle wins, we go to the mountain. Aipom wins, the forest. Alright?" Dana asked. The two Pokemon pondered this for a moment, before deciding the conditions seemed favorable. Besides, it would allow them to release all their pent up anger.
Dana separated the two Pokemon in a small field apart from one another, ready for battle. Raising her hand, Dana called for the two Pokemon to engage in battle.
Squirtle smirked confidently, as it fired a burst of bubbles from it's mouth in the form of a Bubble attack. Aipom responded quickly by swinging it's tail, releasing star-shaped rays in the form of Swift. The two attacks collided, creating a small explosion that distracted both Pokemon momentarily, before Aipom rushed through the smoke and slammed Squirtle with it's tail, knocking the tiny turtle Pokemon back. Squirtle lunged back with a full-body tackle, slamming into the purple chimp. Aipom, angry, relaxed it's muscles with Agility, increasing it's speed. Momentarily vanishing, then using it's tail to slam into Squirtle with a Slam attack. Squirtle fell back, trying to get up, before falling back, knocked out.
"Alright, Aipom. Mt. Moon it is." Dana said. Aipom was filled with glee at Squirtle's defeat, jumping onto Dana's shoulder and cheering. Squirtle, defeated, hung it's head in shame.
"It's alright, Squirtle. I'll give you some special training so you can beat him next time." Dana said, winking at him. Aipom gave a cry of shock at Dana's suggestion, before she recalled them both into their Poke Balls.
The walk to Viridian Forest was quick and simple; the terrain was easy to traverse, and upon reaching the sets of trees that signified the beginning of the forest, Dana released Squirtle and Aipom.
"Alright, you two, let's go!" Dana called, confidently. The three, Trainer and Pokemon, rushed into the forest, eager at what they might find. There were lots of Bug-type Pokemon crawling around, as well as other forest-dwelling Pokemon. Dana smiled at all the opporitunities of capture.
"Let's go…there!!" Dana said, pointing to a small grassy patch. The trio hurried over to it, sitting in it, waiting for a Pokemon to walk by to capture.
After sitting in the same patch and capturing several different species of Pokemon, Dana and her two Pokemon were about to leave, when they heard voices in the distance.
"I don't know why the boss wants us to capture these bugs…They're just useless!" a male voice said, upset. Dana put her finger to her mouth to shush her Pokemon, as she crept closer to the location of the voice. In the clearing nearby, two figures dressed in black wearing strange goggles were talking to each other. Beside the male figure was a large blue beetle-like Pokemon, with a single large horn. Beside the female was an equally large spider Pokemon that was red with black stripes.
"Heracross and Ariados…What are they doing here? They're Bug-types, but they're not native to the region of Kanto…What's going on here?" Dana whispered to herself.
"You heard the bosses plan. We capture these Pokemon, sell them to weak little Trainers from Pallet for ridiculous amounts of money. But, we have the control chip, so we can make the Pokemon steal their Pokemon for us without laying a hand on them. It's genius!" the female replied, obviously distressed with her partner.
Dana retreated to the small patch of grass where Squirtle and Aipom were waiting. She shushed them once more, before pulling out her Pokegear, and calling Anna.
"This is Anna." Anna's voice replied when the call connected.
"Anna, there's these weird people in Viridian Forest…They're wearing goggles, and all black, and they mentioned something about capturing the Pokemon and using control chips to have them steal Pokemon. Who are they?" Dana hissed into the phone.
Anna went silent for a minute, but Dana could hear talking in the background. "Anna?" she asked again.
"Sorry, I was running some searches in the computer. We've encountered these people before, and the CSU has had trouble with their members before. They call themselves The Hunters, and are an international organization, just like we are. But, they are not based on helping people and Pokemon. They exploit Pokemon, and in turn, exploit humans for money and power. They are very strongly rooted in the Hoenn region, where we have been unable to locate them for some time, but they've been making moves into Kanto and Johto recently." Anna said, typing into her computer some more. As she typed, Dana's eyes glazed over, recalling a painful memory.
Five-year-old Dana had been exploring the route just outside of Petalburg. The route had connected to a forest, and feeling mischievous, Dana wanted to go there while her parents were working and out shoping. Taking Aipom with her, she ran along the route to the forest.
Once inside, she made great effort to avoid the wild Pokemon, since she knew Aipom probably wasn't strong enough to fight them. She found a tree, and with Aipom's help, climbed into it to watch the forest habitat in action.
After watching for some time, she was about to head home since her parents would be home soon from shopping and work. But, as she was about to drop out of the tree, a heard of Shroomish quickly ran by, their little legs running as fast as they could. A large towering Pokemon lunged after them, using it's much longer legs to chase them.
The Shroomish huddled in a corner, as the giant Slaking towered above them, it's eyes blood-red with rage. Dana could just make out a black, metal object embedded in the scalp of the Slaking's head. For a moment, she wondered what that was, but she didn't have time to think.
The Slaking reached a huge hand out towards the group of Shroomish, who pushed their bodies as close together against the tree to try and get away, even though they couldn't. It seemed as if Slaking would capture the Shroomish, when a streak of green slammed into Slaking's body, causing it to fall over. The Breloom stood defensively in front of the herd of Shroomish, panting heavily, with light bruises covering it's body. The Breloom shouted at Slaking, shaking it's paws at Slaking, pleading with it. Slaking stood, slowly, it's eyes still consumed with rage. Slaking raised it's hands above it's head, and, clasping them together, brought them down quickly, slamming into Breloom. There was a horrible snap that echoed through the forest. Dana recoiled from the sound, and Aipom hung it's head in shame. Breloom was dead. Slaking had snapped it's neck. Dana, upon realizing what had happened, had the urge to cry. She had never seen a Pokemon killed before, not even by another Pokemon.
The group of Shroomish huddled around Breloom's body, calling to it, trying to awaken it. Before they could do anything, howver, Slaking's horrible hands wrapped around the Shroomish, hoisting them into the air.
"Useless piece of trash. You had to go and kill the Breloom, didn't you? Oh well, these Shroomish will do, I suppose." A male voice said. The male figure, wearing goggles and all black clothing, presented two sets of cages to Slaking. Slaking stuffed the Shroomish into one cage, and hoisted Breloom's limp body into the second.
"Slaking, you want some fried mushrooms later?" the male asked with a laugh. Slaking allowed a guttural moan to escape it's mouth, as it lumbered through the forest after the man, who wheeled the two sets of cages in front of it.
It would not be until she got home that Dana would realize the cruelty of that statement; Breloom and Shroomish produce poison spores on their body. Even if that man were to cook Breloom for Slaking, the spores produced by Breloom would be in the food, and kill Slaking
"Dana! Dana!!" Anna's voice called her back to reality.
"Huh? Sorry." Dana replied. Anna sighed, continuing to type on her computer, before finishing with a click of a button.
"These Hunters are armed and dangerous, and from your description, they have two Pokemon under their control, and possibly Pokemon of their own. You are to wait there until the Agents I've dispatched reach your location, understand? I don't want you getting hurt, Dana." Anna said. Anna waited for a moment, to hear Dana confirm, before shouting again.
"Dana?!" she shouted into the phone. No response.
It was no use. Dana had dropped the phone, and rushed towards the Hunters with Squirtle and Aipom in tow.
"Hey!!" Dana called, when she reached the clearing. The two figures eyed her warily from behind their goggles, before the male smirked.
"Can I help you?" he asked. Dana lost all her bravado, realizing she hadn't had a plan to do anything to them.
"Leave…Those Pokemon alone!!" Dana called, tears in her eyes. She hadn't done anything to help Breloom and Shroomish in the past; she would change that now.
The male smirked, and the female hung her head. "You have no idea what we're doing. Run along, and we won't hurt you." The male said, chuckling.
Dana spread her legs, preparing for battle. Pointing confidently, she called out two attacks.
"Aipom, Swift! Squirtle, Water Gun!!" She shouted through her silent tears. Aipom and Squirtle nodded, Aipom leaping into the trees, and shooting star-shaped rays from a concealed position. Squirtle stood square in front of Dana defensively, shooting a jet of compressed water at the Hunters. Ariados and the female Hunter leapt, avoiding the attacks, but the male Hunter and Heracross were caught in the Water Gun and Swift attacks respectively.
Dana clenched her fist as the attacks connected, but looked around when she realized the female Hunter was missing.
"Spider Web." The female called. A spider web shot from the trees, snagging Squirtle off the ground, and reeling it into the trees.
"Squirtle!! Aipom, cut the webbing with Swift!!" Dana called. Star-shaped rays came once again from the trees, cutting the web entangling Squirtle. Squirtle dropped to the forest floor, as Dana helped the tiny turtle escape from the sticky webbing. The female Hunter dropped to the forest floor, sliding down on a string of webbing, landing with a light thud. She helped her partner to his feet.
"You fool, you should've dodged." She muttered. He glared at her for a moment, before standing on his own.
"I'm not a freakin' ninja like you, ya know! Besides, I didn't expect both of her attacks to hit me!!" the male shouted. Dana stared confidently at them.
"So, girlie, you think you can beat me? I'll show you just how wrong you are!! Heracross, swoop in and hit her with Horn Attack!!" The male called. Heracross tried to resist for a moment, before it's eyes became red, and it swooped in, using it's wings to carry it, aiming the long single horn at Dana.
"Squirtle, hit Heracross with Water Gun, then Tackle!!" Dana called. Squirtle released a jet of water from it's mouth, hitting Heracross square in the face and knocking it backwards. Heracross hit the ground with a thud, and as it was getting up, was hit by a Tackle attack from Squirtle, knocking Heracross back into a tree.
"Heracross, get up!! Use Fury Attack on Squirtle!!" the Hunter called. Heracross shook off the pain, flying towards Squirtle, it's horn glowing white with energy.
"Squirtle, dodge it!!" Dana called. Squirtle leaped over the initial attack, as the Hunter smirked.
"You fell for it!!" He called. Heracross swung it's horn upwards, slamming Squirtle after the first attack. Heracross repeated this repetition three more times, before slamming Squirtle into the ground. Squirtle stood weakly.
"Squirtle!!" Dana called. "Aipom, cover Squirtle with Swift!!" Dana called. Aipom ooked in response, shooting star-shaped rays from it's concealed position at Heracross.
"Ariados, block that Swift with Pin Missile, then aim the attack at Squirtle." The female Hunter called. Several sharp needles shot from up in the trees, hitting the Swift attack and deflecting it harmlessly. Then, the needles continued on a new trajectory, hitting Squirtle several times, and injuring it further.
"Grr…Squirtle, get up, and use Water Gun, once more!!" Dana called. Squirtle glowed blue at this command, it's special ability Torrent activating. A much larger jet of water sprayed from it's mouth, knocking Heracross and the two Hunters back against a large oak tree. Heracross was knocked out, and the two Hunters stood weakly.
"Your Pokemon is useless…Ariados, get down here and finish them!!" the female Hunter called. She waited a moment, but heard nothing.
"So, you fell for my little distraction, huh? I figured Squirtle's Torrent would activate soon, so I was waiting for it. When that happened, I had Aipom climb into the trees to find Ariados. I'd say Ariados is MIA right now…" Dana chuckled. As if to emphasize, there was the sound of webbing being cut, and Ariados dropped to the ground, wriggling, trying to escape it's own webbing. Aipom jumped down shortly after, ooking in happiness.
"Good job, you two." Dana said, her Pokemon crying in happiness with the success of their first major battle. The two Hunters stood weakly, angry at defeat.
"This isn't over, girlie!! We'll be back, this isn't the last you've seen us in Viridian Forest!!" the male Hunter said. The female pulled out a solid black Poke Ball from her belt.
"We're leaving. The boss won't be happy with our failure." She said. Tossing the Poke Ball, a large silver bird with metal red wings appeared. Unlike the others, this Pokemon did not have the red eyes signifying mind control. Instead, this Pokemon was actually owned by the female Hunter. The male Hunter smirked, jumping onto the Skarmory, and the female Hunter doing so as well.
"Let's go, Skarmory!!" the female Hunter called. Skarmory roared, as it took off into the air, tearing through the trees, and flying through the sky.
"Agent Dana! Are you alright?" a male voice asked, approaching her. Dana turned, finding seven CSU agents, dressed in the uniforms of the CSU, solid blue uniforms with grey stripes along the sleeves, approaching her through the underbrush.
"I'm fine, but the two Hunters got away." Dana said, hanging her head in shame. The agents approached her, making sure she and her Pokemon were alright.
"Agent Dana, it'd be best if you go find your Pokegear, Anna is worried about you." The agent said. Dana remembered she had dropped the Pokegear to engage the Hunters, and rushed back to the patch of grass to find it.
"Anna, are you there?" Dana asked breathily, as she realized the call was still connected.
"Yes, I'm here, are you alright? I've been worried sick!!" Anna said.
"I'm fine. The two Hunters got away, but they left two Pokemon here. I think they have control chips on them…" Dana murmured.
"If you've battled and weakened them already, attempt to capture them with Poke Balls. You can then send them here to the CSU, where our lab department will remove the chips painlessly from the Pokemon. We'll make sure they're treated for injuries, as well." Anna said.
"Alright, I'll go do that now." Dana replied. Walking back to the clearing, she pulled out two Poke Balls, and tossed them gently at the KO'ed Heracross, and the incapacitated Ariados. The balls wriggled weakly with resistance, but the capture was a success.
"Alright, then, agents, do I need to stay here? They said they'd be back." Dana asked. The main agent turned to her, and smiled.
"No, ma'am, Anna dispatched us here to take care of the Hunters arrest when they return. The local officer Jenny will be here shortly to aid us, should they return. You can continue to Pewter, or Viridian, wherever you wish." The agent responded.
"I see. Thank you, so much!!" Dana said, bowing to him. She then turned, and along with Squirtle and Aipom, rushed to the exit.
That night, Dana tried to find solace in the Pokemon Center, pulling out her sleeping bag to sleep on the floor. Aipom and Squirtle had put all their differences aside in the battle earlier, and huddled together in the small sleeping bag next to her. As they slept peacefully, Dana thought to herself about the days events.
"I want to do more…So much more…to help people and Pokemon. Will I…be able to do enough?" Dana thought, as she slowly drifted off to a restless sleep filled with nightmares about that day ten years ago, and also about similar instances with Squirtle and Aipom being killed by Hunters. She hoped and prayed that nothing like that would ever happen as long as she was capable of doing something about it.
A/N: Well, this chapter reveals a bit about Dana's past, and why she is so initially stoic when people talk to her, and explains a bit about why she wanted to stay in Hoenn. Will Dana be able to help people and Pokemon, or is she biting off more than she can chew? Keep reading, and rate, as always! Thanks!