Okay, next chappy! Enjoy~
"How come when I call you Danny, there's a problem? But when she does it-!"
I sighed miselrably, cutting Clare off. We've been searching for Caterpie for the longest five minutes of my life, while Clare found twelve different things to complain about, starting off with "We should have just left before this happened." Coron was searching the field she had just battled Alex in, so that left Clare and I to retrace our steps.
"Look, Alex probably took it." she suggested, twirling her hair as I ruffled through a bush. "He did ask you for it, after all."
"Exactly." I responded, standing up to check another bush, "Why would he ask me for something he would just later take?" I gave off an irritated tone.
"I'm just stating what makes sense." Sighing, she continued, "He wanted a Caterpie. You had a Caterpie, now you don't. He took it."
Arising from yet another empty bush, I grabbed her hand, placing some money into it. "Go get Caterpie some food.'' I stated before walking off.
"Hey- wait! Where are you going?"
"Route two." Heading toward the trees, I stomped, mad. But I couldn't decide what I was mad about. I undoubtedly don't get along with Pokémon, and here was I was looking for one. One that frankly ticked me off by doing absolutely nothing. I thought more into it. Maybe I was actually mad at Alex, maybe I didn't want to admit it. Maybe I did believe he stole it, and that anger was driving me to find and take the Caterpie back.
I didn't want to admit it at the time, but I've concluded that I in fact liked the Caterpie, it was the first Pokémon I had been in contact with for more than twenty-four hours and hadn't hurt me or posed any threats to my well-being. This one was different, and I guess I didn't want to give it away just yet.
"Hey! Caterpie!" I heard Coron call out from back at the field of dirt, still looking for the bug, hoping it would hear her voice. Man, was she loud. It was the kind of sound a bug would run away from, not scurry toward.
Nearing route two, I looked up to see the clouds had gotten dark and frowned. Sighing, I brought my head down. "It's about to rain." I muttered to myself, kicking the dirt. At that moment, I realized I had been kicking my friend, seeing what looked like dog footprints that guided, though in a very derogatory fashion, into the forest. "Just another dreadful Pokémon." I thought, but the tracks lead back to the field, it seemed whatever this thing was, it had been in quite a hurry. I wanted to ensure that my assumption was correct, but as the rain began to drop, the tracks dissolved. If I was going to do this I had to hurry.
I ran. I ran! For a Pokémon! It was as if I wasn't thinking. Nonetheless, I dashed through the woods, over the dirt that was slowly being submerged by droplets of rain. I heard Clare's voice call out to me, though it was drowned out by the constant clatter of the rain. My eye caught the glimpse of a puppy-like figure while following the track. That had to be it! I ran as fast as I could, slowly approaching the silhouette. As I got closer I saw that the figure had been a Lillipup, and in it's mouth was Caterpie. Tackling the Pokémon and rolling through the mud, I got a hold of both the Lillipup and Caterpie. I looked at both of them, the dog struggling to get out of my grasp and the bug seemingly indifferent. Wait- was I facing my fears?
Smiling at the thought, I noticed my beanie had fallen off during the roll, and my brown hair was being caressed by water from the skies above. I smiled through it all though, I'm sure I looked like an idiot. I didn't care, Pokémon were no longer my enemy, but my prey.
As if to shut me up, killing any idiotic pride that had made it's way into my head, a Shadow Ball flew into my direction. I was frozen by both terror and confusion. The Lillipup took the chance of my surprise to drop out of my hand and tackle me out of the way. Better getting hit by tackle than shadow ball. The attack hit the mud below and I looked as Lillipup fell onto the ground, gasping for breath. "You were running away from something.." I said in realization. The Lillipup stood in great struggle, barking at me as if to say "No duh!"
The Caterpie crawled into my jacket somewhere as an Ice Beam had been sent in Lillipup's direction. I don't know if I felt I owed it for saving me from the Shadow Ball, or just merely on reaction, but I ran to the dog and picked it up, dashing away from the attackers who were out of sight in the trees above. I looked down at the panting Lillipup to see his right ear had a tiny hole in it, it looked like it was for some ear piercing, but I'm sure that wasn't the case. It looked up at me barking, insisting that I looked up. What awaited my vision was another Shadow Ball right above me.
I jumped, just an inch away from losing my head and fell, before quickly crawling behind the trunk of a tree. I peaked out and my eyes widened upon the sight. Our pursuers were not Pokémon like I had thought. They were white haired, just the same shade as Alex's, but not as spike-like, humans! Both of covered their eyes with black sashes, and had the numbers 62 and 107 on their shoulders in black. "Let our brothers go before you get hurt." 62 said.
Brothers? Now put yourself in my shoes, you can imagine I had so much questions right now, but all didn't compare to the one: "What am I even doing here right now!?" They were walking up to my location behind the trunk. I cringed, hearing the splashes of footsteps getting closer and closer until Lillipup found the strength to stand looking at me with hope in it's eyes. I hesitated for a moment, having a Pokémon on my lap wasn't the craziest of things going on right now so I wasn't afraid of it being this close to me.
Watching as it willed itself back to it's feet, I got the gist that it still wanted to fight. But how could it in the condition it was in? Maybe it needed a trainer to help, if only Clarissa were here. "Clarissa!" I thought, trailing back to what she said about me becoming a trainer. It always seemed like a joke to me.
..Though she's mentioned it before, I never really took the time to consider it. A Pokémon trainer? I don't even get along with Pokémon. They're too noisy, saying the same thing over and over again. They never mind their business. They seem to either always want attention, or always want to bug me. But. As this one sat on my lap, my previous accusations of what these things really are were abandoned.
"I can do this." Right when I thought these white haired freaks were going to kill me, Lillipup showed it's determination with a stern face and a bark. "We can do this!" I proclaimed, jumping out of my hiding spot, facing the two numbered freaks. 62 shot out an Ice Beam and I shuddered. "D-Dodge!" I commanded Lillipup, shaking a bit. The puppy listened immediately and jumped to the side. "Use Tackle!" 62 was attacked by Lillipup promptly after the command. They both fell to the ground.
"Brother, why do you assault me? We are only here to retrieve you and bring you home, where you belong." 62 said as he stood up from the attack.
Next thing I saw was a dark circle below me, seemingly from 107. "Dark Void!" he said, as I was pulled into the abyss of darkness.
"Fennekin, use Tackle!" I heard from the bushes as the wind literally got knocked out of me. Falling into the mud, I saw Clare run to her tinny fox Pokémon. "Are you okay?" she asked Fennekin.
"Is he okay?! I'm the one who got hit by a Tackle!" I complained, getting up and holding my stomach in pain. "What are you even doing here?"
"What am I doing here?" She quoted me, seemingly baffled, "You're the idiot who ran into the forest without any Pokémon to protect you." Just then, an Ice Beam flew her direction and I pushed her out of the way. My foot was stuck to the ground, frozen solid. As I struggled to liberate myself, a Shadow Ball was shot at me by 107 once more.
It was no more than an inch away from my face before Lillipup jumped in the way to take the blast. The sphere didn't affect the puppy at all. I had forgotten for a moment that Ghost-type moves don't affect Normal-typed Pokémon, and so the Lillipup took the hit with no damage dealt. I smiled. "Thanks."
"Pup." it said, turning back to our opponents. 107 was now dashing at us.
"Fennekin, Tackle him!" Clare said, her fox responding immediately. The Tackle phased right through the target before 107 Shadow Clawed Fennekin, punishing it harshly. Clare was shocked, "W-What are these guys?"
"No clue, but they seem to follow the attributes of Pokémon, which-" I was cut off.
"Well I could've figured that out!"
"Let me finish!" I yelled as Lillipup found it's way back to me. "This means they have weaknesses." Lillipup looked back at me, waiting for a command. I nodded, "You know bite, right?" It smiled before opening it's jaw and delivering a devastating chomp on 107's arm, making him shiver in pain. "Ohh," Clare began, "So that other one who used Ice Beam is an Ice-type, right?" I nodded, much to her joy. "Okay Fennekin! Use Flame Charge!" The fox lit on fire and charged at 62 who was immediately sent flying back. This was awesome! My first Pokémon battle and it wasn't even with actually Pokémon.
As if to kill my joy, another white haired guy descended from the trees above. He also had a black sash over his mouth, but instead of dressed in all white like the others, his attire was all black. This one had the number 08 on his right shoulder. "Enough." he said, the other two standing straight up. He walked up to me, fear driving into my body. "If you do not give both our brothers back in peace," he extended his arm toward Clare causing her to begin levitating, scared out of her mind, "I will end her life."
And there he was. Alex. He came last second as if to seem like the hero. "Listen man," he said, "you hurt her, you get hurt." His arm threw out some volts which seemed to be a warning. "Got it?"
08 softly dropped Clare and I ran to her. "Ah, brother 06. I didn't think you'd show your face." He said.
Alex stared at him with serious, yellow eyes seeming to glow. "It ain't 06 anymore. The names Alex."
"Okay, 'Alex'. I hope the life of a human doesn't lead you to your demise." 08 smirked, taking a look at the other two. All three nodded in unison and jumped off.
Clare whistled and I just sat there in astonishment. Alex turned to the both of us, "Where the other one at?"
Maybe he was referring to Coron? "Never mind that! Who were those people!?" I asked, in want of answers, "Why were they after Lillipup? Why did they call him 'brother'?"
Alex sighed, "Can we get some roofs above us, before I start explaining? This weather's killin' me, man." We nodded and walked off. Lillipup was following me with a limp so I picked him up and he licked me, smiling. I froze before accepting it's appreciation, rubbing its ear to get it to stop licking me.
A short while after, we reached the restaurant we had intended to be at hours before.
"Wow! People who were using Pokémon moves to fight!" Coron announced at the table, overly impressed, "Were they hot?" She questioned me as if I swung that way.
Ignoring her, I shot my attention at the sleeping Lillipup under the table by the window where we sat. It had still been weird to have a Pokémon so close to me, but I tried to get used to it. Looking back up to Alex, I noticed he was once again spaced out, his arms outstretched and looking up.
Coron sat down next to me, "So, were they?" she asked, getting a bit too close, and making me back up into Clare who was checking her Fennekin for anymore wounds. I pushed her off, getting hit by Clare in the process.
"They were a'ight. Nothin' special." The three of us turned to Alex as he made the comment. "What?"
Coron sighed, and I leaned back into my seat. Clare just gave him the most disturbed look.
Changing the subject, "So, are you going to tell us what those things were? Or at least what they wanted?"
Alex slouched onto the table. "Those things were Diakon. And they wanted that Lillipup ya got restin' on your leg. You were better off leaving it alone, man."
Coron looked down at the Lillipup, "Oh, I just noticed! So cute!" she squealed.
"What do you mean, 'better off'?" I asked.
"And what the heck is a Diakon?" Clare added.
Alex sighed, "A Diakon is a Pokémon formed to look human, they really aren't. And I mean you shouldn't have stuck your nose into something like this, Danny."
"It's Daniel." I said.
He nodded, "Daniel, you better watch your back. Diakon are pretty persistent, I would know, I use to be one." Alex smiled.
Coron gasped, but Clare remained unimpressed. "That was obvious. I saw lighting bolts spring out of your arm."
"You had lightning on your hand!?" Coron jumped, "Again, do it again!"
"What do you mean, 'use to'?" I asked, curious.
Alex buried his cheek into the palm of his hand, "'Diakon' comes from the Greek word, 'Diakonos', which means servant. I'm not a servant, to anyone. Not anymore, at least."
"And why would they want Lillipup?"
"Yeah, I was getting to that." He said, "That Lillipup may be special breaded. Same for the Caterpie. Check if they have holes on their ears or somethin'." I knew Lillipup had one, but the Caterpie who was resting in the sleeve of my jacket having one on it's horn was surprising. I nodded before he continued, "Yep. That'll do it. You're in some trouble." Alex chuckled. I frowned, that's not funny.
"What do you mean?"
"What do you mean, what do I mean? You saw what happened, you almost got killed." He lowered his head, "I can help though. But I can't stay in this town. I have to fly to Coumarine City tonight."
"Wait!" Coron shouted, "You're leaving?"
"Yeah. Daniel, I need to ask you something. Can you meet me in Luminous in a week?"
I was surprised that he asked for me specifically, "Me? Why me?"
"'Cause you have Lillipup, bro." He said, simply put.
"Can't you just take it?" I protested. I wasn't ready for a journey, and I frankly didn't want to go on one. I'm pretty sure I got lucky with this special breaded dog, and didn't want to take my chances again.
"Na. Lillipups are extremely loyal, he wouldn't go with me even if I begged at this point, I mean, he's sleeping on your foot." He poked his head under the table to look at Lillipup once more before popping back up, "Besides man, I'm sure you'll have fun. I need to handle some stuff with Calem, so just do me a favor and keep your eyes on it."
"Calem? You mean the champion?" Coron asked.
Alex muttered, "That's such a dumb title." before nodding. Clare was looking at him in surprise now. I'm sure since it was her dream to become champion this would get her excited. With all that said, he stood from his chair. "So, will I see you there, Daniel?" I thought for a moment. If what he said about Lillipup and Caterpie were true, then these Pokémon must've been strong, defending myself could be easy if these Diakon do actually come after me again. Plus it was only a week, I'd be alright. Making up my mind, I nodded.
"Good." He said, "Seven days." After that, he walked out of the restaurant rather lazily. We watched him throw out his Altaria and take off.
"Are you really doing this?" Clare asked.
"I wouldn't have said yes if I wasn't." I shrugged, "And it's just seven days, I'll be back soon."
Coron, bouncing up and down, "Yes! You've finally accepted the awesome presence of Pokémon! You absolutely have to battle me." Clare stood up as she sensed that Coron would start a rant of praise.
"I'll be back." she quietly said to me before heading off somewhere in the restaurant.
"What was it like? Your first Pokémon battle, right?" I nodded, looking to try and see where Clare had headed off. Coron noticed this and settled down, "Hey, Danny."
I turned back to her, she seemed serious for once, which was weird. The only time she got serious was when someone insulted her. Coron looked me straight in my eyes, I blushed. Were we having an intimate moment? She leaned in, "You know how you and Clarissa say you hate each other?"
Cursing, I leaned back, "Yeah.." I had thought the conversation was going somewhere else and I'd finally get my first kiss but- Clarissa. Of course she has to ruin my day even while absent.
"Well, I've been thinking. Maybe you two actually like each other and don't want to admit it?" I looked to see if she was joking, but I couldn't even detect a smile.
"What!?" I screamed, surprised. After getting a bunch of shhhhhh's from the restaurant, followed by a "Shut up, kid!" I let out a laugh. "How did you get to that conclusion?" I asked, still hoping she was just joking.
"Well, you two seem pretty close. And I see you guys hanging out all the time." I could feel Lillipup awaken, jumping onto my lap and falling back asleep, I froze for a moment. Still wasn't used to it. Coron continued, "Oh yeah, and you guys always call each other nicknames, 'Danny' and 'Clare'."
I sighed, "Listen, I don't like her. And I'm sure she doesn't like me, in fact the only reason you see us hanging out is because she wants to get close to my mom. I'm sure if my mom wasn't a retired Gym Leader, she wouldn't spend one second with me."
Coron said nothing, watching as Clare sat back in her seat, hearing the whole thing. I watched, waiting for for her to say something.
"That's not true." she said, more emotionless than I'd ever seen her before. My eyes widened, Lillipup perked up as well, and Caterpie popped it's head out of my jacket. "I also spend time with you for the free food." She handed a small paper off to me that listed what she wanted to order.
"I told you earlier you'd be paying for lunch." Clare announced, smiling as I sighed.
Author's Note:
Hi! Sorry for the plot cluster chapter, but it had to be said. Hope it wasn't too boring and wish to see you in the next chapter great and valued reader! Now I can get back to a more comedic tune of things~