Ugh, okay, first of all, I'm SO sorry about the wait. On top of life throwing a zillion things at me, my inspiration died. :( I'm really sorry! But I really have to thank October Autumn for PMing me about this fic. It showed me that someone cares, and that's helped me to not totally give up writing this. Even if it may take another year or two, I hope you'll stick around till it's finished.
Quick note before starting. I had written the beginning of this chapter over a year ago, but was never able to continue past that. A few months ago, my computer got reformatted, and I wasn't able to save anything... So what I had written of this chapter is gone forever. I rather liked it, so it's even more disappointing. Because it wasn't overly important(just a bit of an opening scene, really), I've decided to just forget about it and start this chapter differently. It's such a pain to remember what I had and try to recreate it. T-T Sorry!
Hisa sighed as she dunked herself into the warm hot springs of Lavaridge Town. The hot water felt extremely good and relaxing, yet it wasn't enough to calm her bad mood. She pouted bitterly as the events of the day replayed in her head.
She had been so excited earlier in the day! The group had come across a wild Vulpix. That was how it all started..
"A Vulpix! It's so cute.." Hisa admired the little fire fox as it eyed her warily. "I'm going to catch it!" she declared.
Taking out her pokeball, she waited a second before throwing it.
"Aren't you going to try and catch it for yourself?" she asked Takahiro.
"No. Do I look like I need anymore cutesy Pokemon hanging off me?" he replied, giving an irritated glance to the Minun on his shoulder. He'd given up trying to pry it off hours ago. Whenever he tried to return it to its ball, it would hop away and make a game out of it. .
"Good point," Hisa snickered in reply, returning her attention to the Vulpix. She threw her pokeball forward, releasing Spheal.
The chubby seal cheerfully faced its fiery opponent. Hisa called for a Water Gun, which it shot off, grazing the little fox. The Vulpix quickly shook it off and retaliated with Ember. Being part ice type, this managed to do a bit of damage to Spheal, but not enough to knock it out.
"Powder Snow!" Hisa commanded.
Spheal complied, hitting Vulpix with a blast of icy snowflakes. Vulpix shook it off easily, taking little damage. The fox then darted at Spheal, knocking it back with a Quick Attack. As the chubby little seal attempted to roll back in place, it was hit with a blast of Ember, causing it to get knocked back once more.
Hisa thought for a moment. The two Pokemon were about equally matched. But she could definitely win this and claim her prize with just a little more.
"Spheal, Body Slam!"
The little Pokemon nodded, and knocked into its fiery opponent, knocking it back roughly. This bought Hisa a good opportunity, and she called out for it to use a Water Gun while the fox was down. Spheal did so, and Vulpix was hit head on with the water blast.
Feeling it was weakened enough, Hisa chucked her pokeball, hoping for the best. She watched it intensely as it wiggled over and over. Finally, it stopped, signaling a successful capture.
"YAY!" she exlclaimed, jumping for joy as she picked up her new catch. "It's so cute... You were great, Spheal!" she praised, returning her Pokemon.
"Kip! Hisa caught a new Pokemon!" Taki chirped, smiling at her.
"Good for her. Can we go now? The hot springs are calling our names.." Takahiro interjected.
Hisa stuck her tongue out at him. "Yeah, yeah," she replied. "Hey.. Wait a minute, where's Michiru?"
"Looking for a Skitty. What else?"
Hisa looked to her left just in time to see her Skitty-obsessed friend fall out of some bushes.
"Oof! Ow.."
"Did Michiru find a Skitty?" Taki asked.
"Almost! Um.. Well.. I thought I saw one, but it was a Linoone.." she said, pouting.
"I don't think there are any around here. Takahiro's right, we should get moving.." Hisa said.
"Hold it!"
The group looked over to see the owner of the unfamiliar voice which had called out to them. Approaching them was a girl, who looked to be seventeen or eighteen. She had long, fiery red hair which she wore up in a ponytail, her bangs parted and feathering out a bit. Her clothes were casual, a red t-shirt along with red arm warmers over slightly worn jeans. There was a fierce air about her. Her hazel eyes were sharp and intimidating.
"You, in the pink," she said, pointing to Hisa. "You just caught a Vulpix, didn't you?"
"Um, yes.." Hisa replied.
"Do you intend to treat it properly? With care and respect?" the newcomer questioned.
"O-Of course! What kind of question is that? Who are you?"
"She's a very fine young lady!" Takahiro cut in, taking the redhead's hand and kissing it. "Name's Takahiro. What might your lovely name be?"
"Takahiro..." Hisa hissed through gritted teeth.
The red haired girl stared at the flirtatious boy, unamused. "Don't touch me," she warned, yanking her hand back. She then turned her attention back to Hisa. "I am Mitsu. Master and protector of fire Pokemon. I'm here to ensure that Vulpix is going to a safe home."
"A safe home?" Hisa repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Thanks for your concern, I guess, but this Vulpix will be fine. I'm just a Pokemon trainer. I'd never hurt a Pokemon.."
"So you say," Mitsu replied. "However, more than that, fire Pokemon are all special and deserve to be treated as such. A weak, run of the mill trainer has no business with a Pokemon like Vulpix."
"Excuse me? I'm not weak, or run of the mill, thank you very much! I-I'm doing my best and am doing just fine!" Hisa snapped, offended by the girl's accusations.
"You're a fiery one, huh? You just keep getting hotter," Takahiro said, winking at Mitsu. "But Hisa here is no threat! She's kind of dumb and definitely not the strongest, but the Vulpix will be fine! I'll make sure of it, just for you." he added, patting his companion on the head.
"Shut up, you're not helping!" Hisa yelled, stepping on his foot.
"Che, you think I care what you say? I'll decide whether she's worthy or not," Mitsu declared, taking out a pokeball.
"You want to battle me?" Hisa asked, a bit stunned.
"You bet! Show me what you've got, girl."
"B-But.. It's my Vulpix.. It's really none of your business!"
"Fire Pokemon are my business. You stepped into my territory, kiddo. If I see someone catch a fire Pokemon, I test them! What's the matter, can't take the heat?"
"Of course I can! You want a battle, then fine.." Hisa retorted, standing her ground.
Mitsu smirked, releasing her first Pokemon. Out from the pokeball came a Rapidash. It stood firmly before Hisa, flames blazing.
"Wow... This chick seems pretty tough." Takahiro noted.
Hisa glared at him. "I can take her!"
With those last words, she released her first Pokemon. Spheal now faced Rapidash, ready to battle, despite being a bit tired from its struggle against Vulpix.
Mitsu laughed. "Interesting first choice."
"Hmph! L-Let's just start this thing.." Hisa responded, intensely disliking her superior attitude.
"Rapidash, Stomp."
The fiery horse did as it was told, rushing at its opponent with a stomp of its hooves. Spheal managed to just barely escape the blow, and Hisa quickly ordered a Water Gun from it. Rapidash cried out as it was struck with the water blast, but still stood tall, ready for more.
"Heh. You can Water Gun all you like. The gap between our Pokemon is so large that my Rapidash could take them all, no problem." Mitsu taunted.
"T-That's what you think!" Hisa growled. "Water Gun it again!"
Spheal did so, and Rapidash was once again hit. As Mitsu had said, her Pokemon was still standing. The redhead called for a Take Down, which was promptly executed by the horse Pokemon. Rapidash rammed into Spheal, leaving the chubby little seal struggling to get up.
Hisa gasped. Her opponent was powerful, she'd give them that. But Spheal wasn't done yet!
"Powder Snow!" she ordered.
Spheal mustered up it's strength and shot out the attack. It hit Rapidash, but the horse merely shook it off, unfazed. Again, Mitsu laughed.
"Are you stupid? Ice does nothing to fire!"
Hisa cursed her bad move. An accidental misjudgment that was likely going to cost her.
"Rapidash, Fire Blast."
"Fire Blast?" Hisa and Takahiro yelped at the same time.
Rapidash executed its attack. Spheal was too tired to defend itself against the huge wave of fire. The attack hit hard, and that was the end of round one. Hisa stared at her defeated Pokemon for a moment, stunned and discouraged.
"That was just a taste of the true power of fire. Still think you can handle Vulpix?"
Returning Spheal, Hisa glared at her opponent. Without a word, she released her second Pokemon. To everyone's surprise, it was Vulpix. The little fox was still weak from its battle with Spheal, so Hisa took out a Hyper Potion from her bag and quickly healed it.
"Aha, using it already. This should be fun. Though I will feel bad for hurting it." Mitsu said, all confidence.
"Just send out your next Pokemon."
"You bet. Go, Flareon!"
Mitsu's Flareon glared at Vulpix. One could tell from looking at it that it was very experienced. With both contenders out, the second round began.
"Vulpix, Will-O-Wisp!"
"Vulpix!" the little fox cried, shooting the flames out at Flareon. Unfortunately, they were easily dodged.
"Tsk tsk, trying to burn my lovely little Flareon! Show her how it's done. Flamethrower!"
Flareon obeyed, swiftly shooting out its powerful flames at Vulpix. The attack hit, and Vulpix took damage, though luckily not enough to knock it out.
"Quick Attack it!" Hisa called.
"You too, Flareon!"
The two fire Pokemon collided with their Quick Attacks. Each were knocked back, but it was obvious that the blow hurt Vulpix more than Flareon. However, the little fox did its best to get up and resume the fight.
"Try an Ember, Vulpix!"
Nodding, Vulpix shot out its small fire attack at Flareon. The Eevee evolution took the hit, but wasn't very damaged by it. Mitsu smirked and called for another Flamethrower. Flareon's flames were much stronger than Vulpix's, causing far more damage. Vulpix was hit, and struggled to get up.
Hisa saw that her Pokemon couldn't take anymore. She swallowed her pride and returned it to its pokeball. She felt she had one last chance.
"Eevee, it's your turn."
"Vee!" Eevee nodded, hopping out into the battlefield.
"Using your Eevee, eh?" Mitsu commented. She then returned Flareon and reached for a third pokeball. "Let's finish this, Blaziken!"
Blaziken towered over Hisa's little Eevee. Even still, the little fox stood his ground, glaring up at his opponent. Hisa, however, gulped at her adversary's third choice.
"Blaze Kick." The red haired trainer ordered.
Blaziken came down at Eevee, its foot ablaze. Eevee managed to dodge just in the nick of time, and retaliated with a Quick Attack at Hisa's order. Next, Blaziken went at it with a Sky Uppetcut. Eevee squeaked as it was hit, but refused to give up.
"Try Shadow Ball!' Hisa commanded. It was a fairly new move. She had received the TM from Professor Miho, and had decided to teach it to Eevee.
"Vee!" Eevee gathered the energy and shot the dark ball at its opponent. Blaziken was hit and thrown back. To Hisa's dismay, it was quickly back on its feet.
"Quick Attack again!"
"Blaze Kick!"
As Eevee ran at Blaziken, it was met by the fiery foot of the large bird. Eevee hit the ground hard, and struggled to get up.
"E-Eevee.. Come on!" Hisa urged.
"Your little Eevee is done." Mitsu called.
Hisa glared at her. "No he's not!"
"Look at it. One more attack from Blaziken and its toast. Why don't you save it the pain?"
Hisa clenched her fists angrily. She knew Mitsu was right. It was over for them, and had been from the beginning. This fiery girl was in a league of her own. Hisa swallowed her pride once more and returned her tired Eevee to its pokeball.
"Hisa... It's okay! Hisa did really, really well! So did Eevee, Spheal, and Vulpix," Taki said, feeling sad to see her friend defeated.
"Thanks, Taki," she replied with a weak smile.
Mitsu pat her Blaziken on the head before returning it. She walked closer to her defeated opponent's group, and Hisa met her with an angry frown.
"I suppose you want my Vulpix now?"
"No. It's yours."
"What? But I lost.. Badly.."
"Yeah, you did. But like I said, the gap between our Pokemon is large. You can keep Vulpix, and I'll trust your word that you'll treat it well. You better get stronger though. When you do, come back here and we'll battle again," Mitsu said with a slight smile.
Hisa blinked, surprised by her answer. "Sure! Next time will be much different, trust me!"
Mitsu laughed. "I doubt it, but you better put up more of a fight, at least!" she replied. "Well, see you around. You all better take care of your fire Pokemon." With that, she began walking away.
"She was really tough!" Takahiro said. "Like.. If she was from Team Lunar, we'd have been in big trouble.."
Hisa glared at him. "Well, she wasn't! So it doesn't matter.."
Mitsu spun back around suddenly. "What did you just say about Team Lunar?"
"Um, nothing!" Takahiro replied, her fierce expression making him feel a bit nervous.
"Don't play dumb. I heard you say that name... You aren't from them, are you?"
"What? No, no, we aren't! Really! We've just ran into them a few times.." Hisa explained.
Mitsu stared them down coldly for a moment. "I see," she replied.
"So you know of them, I take it?" Takahiro asked.
The redhead nodded. "They've been messing around here lately. I've been trying to keep an eye out for them, but as you can imagine, that's not easy. I don't want them getting a hold of any fire Pokemon.. And I'd like to take any ones they already have.. Those poor Pokemon deserve so much better than those scumbags!"
"That's brave of you to try and take them all by yourself.." Hisa said.
"So very brave! Miss Mitsu, you're quite the woman. I would be more than happy to stay by your side in your-"
"Control yourself, perv!" Hisa snapped, cutting the boy's speech off.
Mitsu gave him a look of disgust, then returned back to the subject at hand. "Anyway.. One of the reasons I stopped you was because I needed to make sure you weren't connected to them."
"Well, we're definitely not! They're our enemy too.." Hisa assured, glancing at Taki.
"Good. Kick their asses for me if you come across them in your travels."
"Haha, you bet!"
As Mitsu was about to walk away for the second time, Torchic decided to come out of its pokeball. Takahiro glared down at it, mostly in embarrassment of it showing itself in front of Mitsu.
"Tor!"
"Ah, a Torchic!" Mitsu's eyes lit up, and she immediately bent down to pet the little bird Pokemon. "Such a cutie.."
"Yeah, Torchic is very cute.." Hisa chimed in, smirking at Takahiro, who's face had turned red.
"Oh yeah, it's adorable alright!" he said.
"This little Torchic is yours?" Mitsu asked.
"Yep! He was my first Pokemon.."
She looked to Torchic, then to Takahiro, then back to Torchic again. "You need to treat it better," she said, matter-of-factly.
Takahiro's eye twitched. "I-I treat it just fine.."
"I can tell a poorly trained fire Pokemon when I see one, Romeo. Your little Torchic has much potential, but it's up to you to bring that out," the fire trainer lectured, standing up. "Try understanding it more, work with it better. The two of you won't get very far otherwise."
"Y-Yes ma'am! Don't wory about my Torchic, next time you see it, it'll be able to take on your Blaziken," Takahiro assured, picking up his little Pokemon and patting it on the head. "Right, Torchic?"
"Tooor..."
Mitsu snickered. "In your dreams, maybe. But, seriously, the next time I see you, that Torchic better be happy and have improved a lot. Got it?"
It was like being scolded by a teacher. "Yes, ma'am.." Takahiro replied.
"Good! Well, kiddos, see you around. Watch out for Team Lunar."
With that, the fire master was finally on her way. Hisa and Takahiro both sighed. That was quite the encounter.
"..Hey, where did Michiru go now?" Hisa asked, noticing the younger girl hadn't been around for some time.
"Who knows."
"I'm here!" Michiru called, once again coming out of some bushes. "Still no Skitties.." she pouted.
"Glad to know looking for Skitties is more important to you than watching my battle.." Hisa said.
"Sorry! The Skitty Kingdom is way more important. You should know that by now, Hisa! You lost, anyway."
"..Yeah, thanks for reminding me.."
"Seriously, ladies, hot springs..." Takahiro cut in, sounding quite defeated himself.
"Yes! Hot springs! Let's go!" Michiru cheered, grabbing Taki's hand and running forward. Hisa and Takahiro followed along after them sullenly.
Hisa sighed, sinking down and blowing some bubbles in the water. The battle had been a major blow to her ego. After they had all trained so much, she was beaten so easily.. It was really discouraging.
"Life's rough, huh?"
"It really is.."
…
Wait a second..
That voice..
"TAKAHIRO!" Hisa screamed, jumping up from the water and glaring at her perverted friend.
"Yo!" he waved.
Her face red, Hisa kicked some water at him while trying to make sure her towel was on properly. "What the HELL do you think you're doing in here? GET OUT!"
"I just came in for some quality time with my friends! You're wearing a towel, so it's not like-"
"THAT DOESN'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE! You damn no good pervert, you have 3 seconds to leave..."
"Hisaaa, we're he-" Michiru came skipping into the hot spring with Taki by her side, only to stop abruptly by the sight of Takahiro. She screamed, grabbing the confused Taki's hand and running back into the changing room.
"Why is he in there?"
"He's leaving right now!" Hisa glared.
"Fine, fine! You girls are no fun," the perverted boy frowned, getting up and leaving the hot spring.
Hisa sunk back into the warm water, feeling exhausted. She never seemed to get a break anymore.
"Professor Mayu? It's gettling late... Can I get you some tea or anything?" Nami asked her friend.
Professor Mayu had been working diligently since Hisa's group left a few days ago. Her first goal was to try to track down information on Taki's possible creator. She had been researching on the internet almost nonstop. Nami knew how involved the professor could get in her work, but it never ceased to concern her.
"No, I'm fine," Mayu responded, her eyes not once moving from the screen.
She believed she was close to something. It took a lot of digging, but she was on the trail of some info. She had found a forum discussing Pokemon hybrids. A lot of the posts talked about what it would be like or how cool it would be. One person mentioned hearing of someone attempting to create them. Others said that was just a rumor. Finally, someone came in with some real information.
They had heard that same rumor. However, this person claimed it was more than just a rumor. They claimed it to be true, and that the person trying to make the hybrids was out there somewhere. A claim by itself would not have much impact. Fortunately, this person supplied a somewhat shocking piece of evidence.
Mayu clicked the link. It led her to a newspaper article, one that seemed to be a little over a year old.
"Scientist aiming to create Pokemon hybrids suspected in the murder of a Mahogany girl."
The header alone was enough to capture Mayu's attention. She read on.
"A young woman from Mahogany Town in the Johto region was reported missing almost two weeks ago. Police have failed to find a body, but did find traces of her blood in a field near Lilycove City.
26 year old Ayumi Tsuchiya has been missing for at least two weeks, sources say. After not hearing from or seeing Ayumi for days, her manager at her part time job became worried. Family and friends back in Johto had not heard from her either, and a search party began.
While having no concrete evidence, the police's main suspect is a man by the name of Ryoma Takeda. He was said to be living with Ayumi somewhere in the Hoenn region. The exact address is unknown, however, as Ayumi received everything in a PO Box. Takeda himself is a mystery and is believed to be living under an alias.
According to police, sources say Takeda is a scientist who focuses much of his life on his work. They say his main goal is to create Pokemon-human hybrids. Police find this very dangerous, and are suspicious that the missing Tsuchiya may be involved somehow. Since discovering the blood, they are very doubtful of finding her alive."
"Professor Mayu?"
The professor stared at the article for a few moments, her eyes running over it over and over.
"Nami, look at this."
Her assistant quickly came over and read over what her friend had found. Nami gave a small gasp as she finished reading the article.
"Oh my... Professor Mayu, do you think that.."
The professor nodded in reply.
Ladonna stepped into a dark room. It was filled with test tubes and odd machines. Silently, she approached the man standing in the middle of the room.
"You called, father?"
The man, Ladonna's father, wore a navy colored business suit. He had short, dark brown colored hair, and piercing blue eyes which matched his daughter's. He stood there, staring at her seriously.
"As I've received no news, I take it there has still been no progress?" he questioned.
Ladonna's face twisted uncomfortably. She hated failure above all else, and having to report it back to her father was beyond humiliating. "Yes... My deepest apologies, father. The one I gave the mission to has been a huge disappointment.. However! This is his last chance. By the end of this week, you will have that girl. I swear it."
"My patience is wearing thin, so you best make good on that promise, Ladonna," her father replied. "At the least, she doesn't matter as much as she once did..." he smirked darkly. "Finding that little book has produced wonderful results..."
His gaze shifted to a ;large, dark tank in the back of the room. Because of the darkness, Ladonna could only make out some of what was inside. She was sure she could see some human-like features, as well as lots of what appeared to be yellow hair.
"Oh my, father! Have they really succeeded..?" she beamed.
Her father's smirk widened. "Time will tell for sure," he replied. "If that boy fails, those brats will be seeing quite the back-up plan.."
"Wonderful. But Ryoku will not fail," Ladonna assured.
The smirk fading from his face, the man stared at her seriously again. "I expect him to be punished whether he succeeds or not. He has been a disgrace to Team Lunar."
"Of course, father."