The next morning, after they had all eaten, Hunter picked Riolu up and took it into town. Riolu rode on his shoulders, giggling.
Hunter smiled, keeping the smile on his face as Riolu tugged at his hair.
Hunter walked into a store, taking Riolu off of his shoulders as he did so.
Many people inside stared at the unfamiliar Pokémon Hunter was holding in his arms, but he once again paid them no mind.
Once outside, he walked down the street, showing Riolu more of the sights it didn't get to see the day before.
Then, it happened suddenly. In the middle of a crowded street, Hunter suddenly felt Riolu snatched from his shoulders, followed by shouts of "Sorry! We're really sorry!"
He turned with a murderous glare on his face at the three teenagers that were holding Riolu. His Riolu. The Riolu Lucario had trusted him with.
They froze at his shouting. "Let him go!"
They began shouting back, repeatedly apologizing while slowly backing away.
"I'm sorry! We're really sorry!" one of them, a boy, said.
"I don't care how sorry you are! I'll accept it after you let him go!"
The youths started running, and Hunter pursued them, now not bothering to get out of people's way. He bulldozed through the crowd after the teenagers, always keeping them within his sights. He could see Riolu hanging over the shoulders of one. It was crying, reaching out to him in a plea for safety. For the arms of the one it knew.
He sped up, accidentally knocking over a man reading a newspaper. He didn't apologize. Now wasn't the time.
The teenagers turned down an alley and a flash of light followed by a cloud of smoke blew out into the streets.
People ran screaming. Hunter merely shut his eyes and turned into the alley. The three teenagers were standing there, handing Riolu to someone in a van.
He sped up once more, and managing to tackle one of the teenagers just as someone's Pokémon launched a Smokescreen. With a roar, he and his victim fell to the ground. He grabbed the teenager by the shirt and brought him face-to-face. "Where is he? WHERE'S RIOLU?!"
The teenager was clearly too scared to speak, merely pointing weakly in a certain direction. Hunter ran out of the cloud of smoke just in time to see the van speed up. He cupped his hands around his mouth. "RIOLU!"
His heart shattered as he saw his charge, his surrogate child, his friend, trying to break the window. He saw tears streaming from its eyes as a Sneasel grabbed it and dragged it away from the window.
He sank to his knees and buried his head in his hands.
He stayed like that until someone laid a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, kid. Get in the car."
He swatted the officer's hand away. "Don't touch me. I didn't do anything."
The officer sneered, immediately putting himself on Hunter's bad list. "Listen, kid. The only way I see it is that if there's any trouble around here, any kid in the area is a suspect."
He made a strangled "Wha?" as Hunter grabbed his shirt and pulled him in just like he did with the thieves. He readied an Aura Sphere, holding it close to the cop's face. "Listen, cop! My Riolu's been kidnapped! Now unless you want to wake up with your stomach blown out in the morning, you'll get Officer Jenny! NOW!"
The officer nodded, quickly calling Jenny in.
Later, Hunter sat in Officer Jenny's office, anxiously waiting for any word. I could go after them myself. He's mine. I should save him.
Officer Jenny entered the room. Hunter was immediately in her face, asking questions. "Did you find him? Is he alright? Do you know where the van is?"
Officer Jenny gently pushed him away. "I'm sorry. We found one trace of the van, and canine units are on the case now, but other than that, nothing."
Hunter sighed. "Do they have any idea where it might have been heading?"
She shook her head.
Hunter sighed again. "Thank you for your help, Officer Jenny. But I think I'd have more luck on my own."
She looked like she was about to protest, but decided against it.
Hunter left the police station, then took off down the street. He was out of Veilstone in a few minutes, and sped up to the speed where he was creating a dust cloud. Narrowing his eyes against the wind, he thought to himself. I'm coming, Riolu. I'm coming, little buddy.
Sorry again for the shortness of this. But, a chase through a city can only go so long before people start to get bored. Anyways, now the action's picked up. Who can guess who the people were that kidnapped Riolu? Anyone? *Looks around* Nobody? Well, try at least. And no, it's not the teenagers. They were only pawns. R and R!