Day 3
Chapter 8 – The Trainer and her Ponyta
"There it is, sir! Over there! By the mountain. Do you see it?"
Richard turned on the spot to face the mountain that one of his scientists indicated. He was standing in the centre of a massive helicopter-landing pad. The surrounding area was isolated entirely. The building on which he stood was built on the edge of a mountain face. An enormous lake lapped the edges of the surrounding mountain area and the large columns that supported the building.
He looked into the bright blue sky above the lush, green mountains, scanning it for any signs of a black helicopter in the distance. "Ah! There it is. Yes, I can see it now." He continued to gaze into the sky, knowing himself that he still couldn't see it. To try and disguise his guilty face, he wiped the sweat off of his brow using his sleeve, and got a quick shock when the cold metal from his bionic hand brushed him.
"Sir, I am not sure that this is the best way to address the issue. I am sure there must be –"
"Silence!" Richard spoke to the scientist, not shouting, but sounding threatening nonetheless. "This is what must be done. It is the only way that will work without a margin of failure."
The scientist, clearly shocked and slightly scared, continued, "Yes, that is all well and true, but I think it would be better to take a more realistic approach. Your way might seem best, but if we just –"
Richard cut him off again, "I told you to stop!" He raised his voice a little this time, getting more aggravated. "If there was another way, I would take it. I don't like how this will work, but it is the only way."
"But –"
"ENOUGH!" Richard yelled at the scientist, charging forward and picking up by the collar using his bionic hand. "Not another word," he whispered to the scientist, nose to nose. He dropped him down and started pacing back and forth on the helipad.
He stopped and looked into the sky above the mountains. He could now see the black helicopter quite clearly. It was getting pretty close. He noticed the large shining Pokemon hanging from a pair of steel chains beneath the chopper. It wasn't moving.
He looked away in pity of the poor creature, feeling sorry for what it was about to go through. He knew deep down that nothing, whether Pokemon or human, should go through something like what it was about to go through.
Some more pacing and the helicopter was hovering above the helipad, slowly lowering the Pokemon down. It was magnificent in the sunlight: light reflecting off every part of it, causing a spectrum of colours to hit every available surface.
Some patient crew members untied the Pokemon and the chopper rose back into the air and flew off again. Richard crouched down beside the massive Pokemon, and with his organic hand, slowly pressed his hand onto it. Again, he got a shock as he realised that it was freezing cold, even in the hot temperature.
Standing, he approached the scientist that he had yelled at, "It is time. Please give me the ball."
Reluctantly, but fearful of being punished for disobeying orders, the scientist produced a very unique Poke ball from his pocket and handed it to Richard. It wasn't like a normal Poke ball: it was a pure black ball with many creepy purple and red streaks on the surface. They were almost like veins.
Turning the ball in his hands, Richard frowned and looked at the scientist, "Please know that I don't want to do this. I am only doing what needs to be done." With that, he threw the ball at the immobile Pokemon on the ground. As soon as it made contact, the ball rose up into the air and opened. Unlike the normal red light that absorbs Pokemon, a dark purple light surrounded the Pokemon.
The beam of purple light grew into a thick column of light, with dark red, pulsing lights flying around it. As the column grew thicker and thicker, it completely surrounded the Pokemon. After forming a large dome around it, the red veins of light grew into a second dome.
The dome made a bright flash and then suddenly, it was gone. Lying on the ground was the Poke ball, the red veins pulsing rapidly. Richard approached cautiously, slowly bending down the pick up the ball. After determining that it was safe, he signalled the scientist to come over.
"Sir, it appeared to have worked as planned," the scientist said as he jogged over.
"Yes… It seems to have worked…" He was looking at the ball blankly. He thought to himself, 'I am sorry for this, but it is necessary.'
-- -- --
Zane awoke with a sudden start to the sound of a playful chewing and growling. He sat up so fast that lights appeared in front of his eyes, obscuring his vision. For a moment, he didn't know what was happening, and he had no recollection of the previous day. As the lights in his eyes faded, he began to remember the previous days events. He went through it in his mind.
'Yesterday… Yesterday… Oh yeah. That battling class was awesome…' He stretched and yawned tiredly. 'Oh… Geodude! I wonder if it is alright…' He laid his head back down on his pillow, desperately trying to get a few more precious moments of rest. 'Then the mall… wait… the mall? Zack!' He sat upright too fast again, lights popping up in his vision once more. He rubbed his eyes and looked across the row of beds to see if Zack was there.
He wasn't there, and Zane felt some more guilt as he lay back down onto his pillow. 'Poor Zack… I really shouldn't have run off on him… I will have to make it up to him if I see him again.' He then remembered the reason he had woken up. 'Wait, what was that sound before?'
Zane sat up again, being careful this time not to move to quickly, and listened hard for the source of the sound that had woken him. He could hear it, and realised he could hear it while he was reminiscing. He put it down to the early morning symptoms, and continued to listen.
He wasn't quite sure what was making the noise, but sat in silence, trying not to move in case he scared off whatever it was. He was one hundred percent sure that Snover wasn't doing this, as the sound was completely different.
'What the heck?' he thought to himself. He peeped over the side of the bed to see that his extremely bulbous backpack had fallen aside, and was shaking slightly. He couldn't see much past the bag, as the bulge obscured the view. He did notice, however, that his brand-new sleeping bag was spread out on the tiled floor.
As he raised his head to attempt to get a better view, he quickly lowered it when he heard another playful growl. Zane was extremely confused and again raised his head. This time for a split second, he saw the tip of a short, light-brown tail. As his confusion skyrocketed, he spotted a dark grey curve vanish from the top area of the bag.
Deciding it would be best to get up and face whatever it was that was terrorising his belongings, he slowly moved his legs off the bed and placed his feet quietly onto the cool tiles. When he eventually put his weight onto his feet in a low crouch, he edged towards the bag, looking carefully for the offender.
Taking a chance, Zane lunged at the bag and pulled it up as fast as he could. Unfortunately, he picked it up upside down and all the items inside it fell out. The Pokemon that was digging through his bag froze and stood staring at Zane, and he stared back, still holding the bag above his head.
The Pokemon was small and a light brown colour. It also had a dark-grey plate covering its face, with a pair of eyes peering through little holes in it. There was also a thin, light grey strip on the plate, right above the eyes.
The little Pokemon didn't make a move – instead just continued to stare in shock. Zane however, lowered the bag and started to repack his belongings into it. He didn't break eye contact with the Pokemon until his hand touched on something that felt slightly slimy. Shocked, he looked down and noticed a small, triangular piece of something on the floor. Further inspection revealed more little shards, all different shapes and sizes.
A sudden realisation swept over Zane as he stared at the little shards. He looked at the Pokemon that was still staring at him. "You were in the egg?" The Pokemon still did not move. "You? But… How? What? What Pokemon are you?" He didn't really expect it to answer, but he needed to find some way of stopping himself from collapsing.
After a few minutes, he decided to finish packing everything back in his bag. The Pokemon didn't make a move for the whole time. Zane was getting a little creeped out by it as he scraped sticky egg shards out of his backpack and onto the floor. Finally (after re-packing his bag), he looked at the unmoving Pokemon and gently said, "It's OK. You can move. I'm not going to hurt you."
Apparently understanding him, the Pokemon relaxed a little, but continued to stand in the one spot. Thinking it best to consult Nurse Joy, Zane let out his Snover to stand guard. Snover materialised in a beam of red light, and was already stretching after a good night sleep. Snover didn't notice the presence of a new Pokemon immediately, and got startled when he turned to the side in a stretch.
"Snover, meet the newest Pokemon in our family." Snover peered down at the small Pokemon curiously. "I don't know what it is yet, but I was hoping to ask Nurse Joy. Do you think you could stay here and keep an eye on it until I get back?"
Snover nodded and continued to look at the little Pokemon, which looked straight back. Zane wandered over to the door and left into the lobby area, peering back over his shoulder to make sure everything was still all right.
He approached the front counter where Nurse Joy was sitting. She saw him coming and smiled at him as he approached. "Good morning, Zane. I hope you are well rested. Is there anything I can do for you?"
Zane made it to the counter and leaned across it to whisper to Nurse Joy. "I am good, thanks. Nurse, I have something to –"
"Why are we whispering?" Nurse Joy asked, cutting across Zane's speech in a whisper.
Zane looked around and noticed that the lobby would be completely empty if not for their presence. "Sorry… Anyway," he continued in a normal volume, "When I came in here last night, I had an egg in my backpack. And, well… Umm… It isn't an egg anymore." Zane watched as Nurse Joy took everything in. "Can you please take a look at it and tell me what Pokemon it is?"
Something clicked inside Nurse Joy's head, and suddenly she was all bubbly and happy. "Oh, of course I can have a look, Zane." She was almost giggling in excitement.
Zane was more confused than he had been earlier. He swore something was wrong in her head. He just put it down to her having an all-nighter caring for Pokemon. "Uhh, this way, Nurse."
He led her into the sleeping area and showed her the Pokemon (which was still staring eye-to-eye with Snover). She bent over in front of the little Pokemon and its attention suddenly shifted.
"Well, aren't you a cute little fella? Oh, yes you are." She was talking to it like a person would talk to a baby. The Pokemon looked quite confused and just stared at her continuously.
Zane cleared his throat, "Umm, excuse me, Nurse Joy, but can you tell me what Pokemon it is? I really don't fancy sifting through my five-hundred page handbook."
Nurse Joy stood back up and faced Zane, now talking in a normal voice and manner again, "Oh, of course. Sorry about that." She blushed. "What you have here is a healthy little male Shieldon."
"Wait, how can you tell it is a male?" Zane asked curiously.
Nurse Joy smiled a little, "Well, Zane, apart from the obvious, female Shieldon have a less curved plate over their head. Because Shieldon only hatched this morning, it is probably best if I just quickly do an examination of him. You know, just to make sure everything is fine."
"Oh, of course," Zane answered happily. He was getting pretty excited over the new arrival of a Shieldon on his team. "How long is a 'quick' examination?"
"It will probably take just over an hour or so. You are welcome to leave and come back later if you want."
"Thanks, Nurse. I have to head into the city to find some food, so I will see you soon."
With that, Nurse Joy bent down and attempted to pick up the Shieldon. She let out a small grunt as she attempted to heave the Shieldon into her arms. "Phew… He is a heavy little guy. I think I will just have to lure him out, but judging by the way he has been staring at me without moving for the past couple minutes, I think it may take a while."
Zane just smiled.
*
Zane was exiting through the automatic Pokemon Centre doors, heading into the city. He had forgotten why, still thinking heavily of Nurse Joy's feeble attempt at luring Shieldon with a piece of food. The whole morning was already weighing on his mind as he set off down the street at a steady march.
It was only the smell of a nearby restaurant that reminded him of how hungry he was. Having not eaten the night before, he was desperate fill the deep void that hung in his stomach. As he approached the door of the restaurant, he felt a sinking feeling so powerful that he thought he might melt into the Earth.
'I am all out of money! Oh, crap!'
He was fuming. He felt like punching a hole into the wall, knowing he would just break his weak hand in the process. He was thinking of a way to get money, as overnight, he had doubled in mouths to feed. 'I think I can remember reading that trainers typically battle for money… Maybe I can do that.'
It wasn't much for him to go by, but he needed to try. The only thing that concerned him was that he had no money to bet with. Nevertheless, he set off in search of a trainer to battle, in the hopes that he could win himself breakfast.
As he reached the outskirts of the main city area, he spotted a trainer that looked like a rookie, so he bolted up to her, shouting out, "Hey! You! Can we battle?"
Clearly startled and partially annoyed, the girl replied, "Well, if you insist then I suppose I have no choice." She sighed as Zane punched his fist into the air, clearly imagining success.
"But hey, can we bet money on it? I hear that is how trainers make a living." Zane was jogging on the spot for some reason.
The girl sighed again, "Fine, but make this quick, I have better things to do than battle some idiot rookie that thinks he is a master. You look desperate, so I will torment you with a fifty Pokedollar bet."
Zane could hardly believe it, but he lied as he said, "Yeah, well I know I can beat you, so I up my bet to one hundred." He knew this could be his only chance to get some money, as the city was deserted, and if he lost, he would be found out for trying to scam an innocent trainer.
The female trainer raised her eyebrows, "Fine. I will match it, but only because I know I won't lose."
Zane punched the air again and said, "One thing, my other two Pokemon are at the Pokemon Centre, and so I only have one. Can we just do a one on one?"
The girl was clearly irritated at Zane and nodded her head quickly. "Fine, can we just hurry up?" She pulled a Poke ball off of her belt and let out her first Pokemon. As the red light from the ball faded, a beautiful horse that had a mane made of flames. "Sorry about this Ponyta, but this rookie insisted on battling us."
Zane felt very shutdown as he let out his Snover. This was made worse by the loud cackle of the girl across from him. "Are you serious? A grass-ice type against a fire type? Gee, you'd better be careful it doesn't die from the heat my Ponyta can whip up."
"Just be quiet and battle. You can go first because I am nice enough to give you a chance." Zane thought he sounded remotely threatening, but the girl just laughed as she commanded her Ponyta to attack.
"Ponyta, finish that measly Snover with an ember attack."
Ponyta reared up on its hind legs and fired a couple small fireballs at Snover. Zane reacted quickly and ordered Snover.
"Snover, duck to the side and use razor leaf!" Snover dived to the side, only just avoiding the balls of fire, and quickly launched some blade-like leaves at the Ponyta. The leaves were a direct hit; hitting the Ponyta square in the chest and leaving some shallow cuts. Zane demanded another move of Snover while the Ponyta was getting over the sudden attack. "Snover, create a hailstorm like the one you did yesterday."
Snover stood with its arms pointing at the sky as it roared with all its might. A large cloud appeared out of nowhere, blocking out the sky above. It was as high up as the other clouds.
The female trainer acted fast and ordered Ponyta to use tackle. The Ponyta charged and Zane yelled out a command. "Snover, try to grab hold of Ponyta's leg and weigh it down."
Snover readied itself as Ponyta charged forward at an immense speed. As soon as the Ponyta was within reach, Snover lunged at its leg and wrapped itself around. Ponyta crashed down like a train wreck: unable to move its leg under the weight and power of Snover.
"Snover, pin it down and make the hailstorm as powerful as you can!"
Snover let out a massive high-pitched roar as it used all its weight to hold Ponyta down, and as it put all its power into the massive hailstorm above. The dark cloud in the sky started spitting out large chunks of ice that fell to the Earth like bricks and smashed on impact. Many of them pummelled Ponyta as it was struggling to move.
The female trainer had had enough of this and shouted out, "Ponyta, use fire spin and surround Snover!"
Zane's stomach lurched as he watched a massive fire tornado form around both Pokemon. The flame grew higher and higher, surpassing the hail cloud and completely extinguishing it. Just as Zane was about to scream an order over the enormous sound of the fire, the tower of flame jolted to the side and stopped near a large pile of industrial rocks.
"SNOVER!!"
The fire died down and Ponyta jumped back to its trainer. Snover was lying down against one of the rocks from the pile. The rock was a little larger than Snover.
"Snover! Can you hear me? Are you OK?" Zane was panicking now.
Snover shuddered a little, then managed to struggle to its feet. It was badly hurt with singed fur and mild burns. Suddenly, the female trainer spoke up. "Ponyta, finish it with an all-out tackle."
Zane could hardly believe his ears as the Ponyta broke into a speedy charge. He was still panicking and couldn't think properly. "Snover! Watch out!"
Snover didn't respond, and just stood there in a droopy pose waiting to take the attack. Zane put his hands on his head as Ponyta drew closer and closer whilst getting faster and faster.
Just as the Ponyta was about to reach its target, Snover suddenly fell to the side and landed on its hands and knees (or what counted as hands and knees). Ponyta was going too fast to stop and hadn't noticed the massive pile of rocks behind where Snover stood.
Ponyta hit the rocks head-on and at full speed. The pile hardly moved at all and Ponyta went entirely limp. Both Zane and the trainer gasped as the Ponyta hit the ground and lay still.
Zane ran to Snover as the girl ran to her Ponyta. Snover was still on its knees and panting for breath. It seemed that all that standing after being brutally engulfed in a spiral of flames really affected it. Despite suffering a massive amount of pain, Snover managed to stand on its feet: an act which the female trainer couldn't hide noticing.
After making sure that Snover was stable, Zane approached the female trainer and spoke softly to her. "I am so sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen. Is Ponyta alright?"
She had tears in her eyes as she looked at him, but wiped them out before speaking. "She is hurt badly. She is breathing, but she needs help fast." She stood up, anger welling up inside her. She thought that Zane was only still here for the money that he won in the bet.
She quickly counted out one hundred Pokedollars and threw it at his chest. She recalled the Ponyta and set out at a sprint towards the city.
"Hey! Wait! What is your name?" Zane shouted out after her. She completely ignored him and he didn't get an answer at all.
Frowning slightly, he recalled Snover and picked up his money. He felt guilty taking the money, but knew that he needed it to survive. He set out for the Pokemon Centre to heal up his Pokemon and to officially meet his two new team members.
He checked his watch as he walked: it was only ten-fifteen in the morning. His stomach grumbled violently and then he spoke out loud, "Why is my luck so bad?"