Chapter 12: Showdown in Petalburg Woods
And we are back with another chapter! First things first, however, thanks to Verra2 for PMing another review and Chocolate Shaymin for following this fanfic!
Just out of curiosity, what Pokémon do you like from Hoenn? Leave that answer in a review!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything official!
Sunlight filtered down through the trees as the girl made her way through Petalburg Woods, washing the area in a green glow. Here and there flashes of blue sky were visible, but all in all the open air was concealed. It was like being in a living room, one that constantly grew and changed. It would have been a rather pleasant place to spend some time in. That is, if it weren't for all the bugs.
"Alright Wind, use Peck!"
"Tailow!" The blue bird that was Sapphire's newest partner cawed loudly and began pecking at the Wurmple again. The Bug type used String Shot, but it wasn't enough to deter Wind, and eventually the fuschia caterpillar retreated back into the underbrush.
Sapphire sighed in relief and sank down onto the ground near a large rock that was covered with a thick furry coat of moss. Wind chirped and flew over to land on her outstretched hand.
"Nice work, Wind." The girl complimented her partner. Birds couldn't really smile, but Wind's beak certainly had a small smirk on it. He knew that his trainer was happy.
Sapphire had caught Wind out on Route 104, having seen the blue bird soaring on the sea breeze. He was a happy-go-lucky guy with a mischievous streak, a reprieve from most of the serious, shy, and timid Pokemon that were currently on her team. Wind hadn't been that easy to catch, and had entertained himself for several hours by dodging both attacks and Pokeballs, his beak held open as if he were laughing at the girl. Eventually, though, Shade had managed to land an Icy Wind on him, freezing his wings and slowing the bird down enough to enable Sapphire to catch him.
Wind currently had been fighting rather hard to get through the woods, with Sapphire sending out Shade and Shadow occasionally to give the bird a break. She had also trained Dancer a bit, and now the delicate female Ralts knew Confusion and had almost perfected Double Team. At the very least the youngest member of the team would be able to defend herself.
It was slow going through the forest, and Sapphire found herself having to stop and rest more often than she wanted to. Shade had been a big help, creating delicate ice packs that still allowed the girl to walk but numbed the swollen area, helping to block out some of the pain. The girl had to be careful not to end up giving herself frostbite, but as long as she didn't leave the packs on for too long she'd be okay.
"How many bugs are in this forest?" Sapphire muttered to herself as Wind took out a Silcoon. She had debated catching a few of the Bug type Pokemon that lived here, had toyed with the idea of catching a Shroomish, but ultimately figured that her team was pretty good right now, as unbalanced as it was. Catching a Seedot would have been nice, but so far Sapphire hadn't seen any of them.
Thankfully there were clear paths that had been cut through the trees, though this came with the added risk of other trainers. It was good experience for her team, though. By her estimates all of her Pokemon, with the exceptions of Dancer and Shade, were around level 10. Dancer was a bit behind at level 7, while Shade was probably about level 14.
Sapphire kept an anxious eye on the path, watching the forest that surrounded them. At any moment she expected her father to come crashing through the trees, ready to haul her back to Littleroot Town. The girl would rather die before being forced to go back there.
It wasn't just her father or May and Brendan that the girl was worried about, nor was she fully convinced that it was the wild Pokemon that were making her so nervous. Something was making her tense up, her hair stand on end and forcing the girl to subconsciously keep a hand on one of her Pokeballs. It wasn't just her; Shade was tense as well.
"Sneasel." He growled. Sapphire frowned, looking around. The woods were especially thick here, and there weren't any other trainers this deep into the forest. Perhaps she had taken a wrong turn somewhere? That would explain the lack of life around here.
"Easy, Shade." The girl murmured.
"H-help!" The cry split the air, and Sapphire jumped a little. Shade was snarling now, and it was clear that this cry was related to his agitated state. Sapphire had two options. She could pretend that nothing had happened, and that she hadn't heard the cry and simply continued on her way. But was that really an option?
"Why do I have the feeling that I'm going to regret this?" Sapphire murmured before shaking her head. Against her better judgement, she started hiking down the path, hobbling as quickly as her injured leg would let her.
Rounding the bend, she was surprised to see the kind Devon Corp employee that had given her Beldum back in Oldale Town. He was backed up against a fallen tree, quivering in fear. In front of him were two bizarrely dressed trainers. They looked almost like pirates. It was actually a bit hysterical, seeing them so far away from the ocean. Sapphire, however, wasn't laughing.
"Help!" The employee yelped. "I'm being robbed."
"Quiet down." One of the pirates, the male one, snapped.
"No one's going to save you all the way out here." The girl added. If this little event had been part of a play, that line would have been Sapphire's cue to step in.
"What do you think you're doing?" She demanded, drawing the attention of the three people in the clearing. The Devon Corp employee obviously recognized her, but his two assailants didn't.
"What's a little brat doing out here?" The girl wondered. The man shrugged.
"How should I know?" He replied. "There's no need for you to soil your hands, Captain. If you get the parts, I'll handle this small fry."
With that he tossed a Pokeball into the air, releasing a Poochyena. Sapphire observed it for a moment, before shrugging.
"Alright Shade, you can have some fun with this guy." She decided, and the weasel sprung from her shoulder to stand in front of his trainer. Now, Shade was by no means a snake, but the way he was hissing at the other Pokemon would have made a Seviper proud.
"You'll be sorry you ever messed with Team Aqua, punk!" The Aqua Grunt declared. "Poochyena, use Sand Attack."
"Shade, dodge it with a Quick Attack!" Sneasel sprang from the ground at a speed that was barely possible to follow with the naked eye. Poochyena kicked up sand from the ground, aiming to get it into the Dark and Ice type's eyes, but Shade darted up to the trees to avoid it. Leaping from branch to branch, he suddenly dropped down, ready to slam into the Poochyena.
Cleverly, the wolf pup kicked up more sand, hitting the mark this time. Shade winced as the tiny grains of sand made his eyes water, the stinging pain quite distracting. The Poochyena jumped out of the way of the attack, though Shade still managed to nick it's back leg.
"Now, use Tackle while it's distracted!" The Grunt's Poochyena moved to obey his trainer's order. Shade leapt backwards, but with the sand in his eye could not accurately tell where his feet were. He landed in a heap, and moments later the Poochyena had slammed into him.
"Sneasel." Shade grunted. Sapphire frowned as the Poochyena kicked up more sand, reducing Shade's eyesight even further. Now what was she going to do?
"Shade, use Icy Wind, now." She suddenly commanded. Sneasel nodded once before expelling a freezing blast of air from his mouth. Poochyena dodged it with no trouble, and it instead froze the ground. Now that was something she could use.
"Again!" She called for the same attack over and over, the process repeating itself until the clearing was almost frozen over. It wouldn't last long, not in this environment, but the important thing was that the immediate area was frozen. The Poochyena would have a difficult time using Sand Attack now, and more importantly the slippery ground would make it hard for the Dark type to dodge her attacks. That should even the playing field a little bit. Shade's accuracy was almost nonexistent at this point, but the Poochyena had little to no decent footing, and should slide around a lot. Perfect.
With its short, stubby, barely visible claws the Poochyena certainly was having a hard time navigating the ice. Shade, on the other hand, could have been an ice skater. Sapphire smirked. Her Pokemon may not have been able to see that well, but was much more suited to this environment than the Poochyena.
Nonetheless, with Shade's reduced accuracy it took a while for the weasel to fell the wolf. Shade had managed to dodge many of the Dark type's attacks, but several landed direct hits. Sapphire was forced to resort to using Faint Attack, knowing that it was one of those moves that always hit its mark provided nothing interfered with it, such as Protect or Detect. As it was not very effective against the Bite Pokemon, the battle stretched on for almost fifteen minutes before Shade managed to land the last hit. Poochyena toppled over, and the Grunt angrily recalled it.
Shade wasn't in good shape. By Sapphire's estimates, he had lost about two thirds of his strength, and was dangerously close to passing out. The female grunt sighed.
"You can't do anything right, Eduardo." She snapped as she tried to rip a briefcase out of the lone Employee's hands. "Get over here and try and convince this foolish man to give up the parts he's taking to the Devon Corp."
"Y-yes ma'am." Eduardo scurried over to the employee and began trying to rip a briefcase out of his hands. He was struggling fiercely, and Sapphire wished to help him, but she had her own problems.
"Who're you, brat?" The Grunt spar out.
"The name's Alpha. Got it memorized?" Sapphire replied cooly.
"No." The Grunt retorted,an angry leer on her face. "I'm Taryn. I know you'll remember it because I'm going to hand you a crushing defeat."
"You can try all you want." Sapphire gestured for Shade to return to her side, and the Sneasel did so reluctantly. "But you haven't won yet."
Both trainers reached for their Pokeballs. Another battle was about to begin.
Cue the scary music! We have out first look at Team Aqua, and another OC! Aqua Captain Taryn is a third Aqua Admin, another way for me to make this story a bit more unique. And Sapphire's team is a bit stronger and more balanced now that she has a Flying type to deal with the Bug, Grass, and Fighting types that are super effective against the majority of her team.
So, what do you think? Leave any comments, questions, constructive criticisms, and compliments in a review!
