SINNOH STORIES

THE LEGEND OF VOLKNER

Chapter 10: Out of the Ruins and into the Fire

Volkner lay in the middle of a stone floor, his body shifting in its sleep-ridden state as it urged for more comfort; in return, though, it merely ended up causing more discomfort as skin rubbed against brick. Volkner would be in pain when he woke up. But the shifting and groaning he was doing was not entirely for the result of a search for comfort. His mind was also going through a rough state of turmoil, dreams running through his head as fast as a bullet train.

"Hey, Volk! C'mon, guy, it'll be fun," his voice chirped happily. "I promise, it's perfectly safe!"

"... You sure?" Volkner said uneasily, twiddling his thumbs. "I like the small, cute ones... momma has them all around the house, we can go and see them."

"Screw that!" the boy said. "I wanna see something big, something strong! Like a Scyther, or a Tyranitar!"

"Ivan, it'll be-"

"Nonsense!" Ivan said. "It's perfectly safe if we stay our distance!"

Volkner wasn't so sure. The prospect of two powerful Pokemon in the same area was disturbing to him - he didn't want to ever see anything other than his mother's Abra or the newly born Pichu his mother had bought for him (he couldn't quite remember its nickname). But then again, he supposed if he wanted to ever be COOL, he'd have to do something to prove his worth.

Reluctantly, he nodded.

The two of them jogged off toward the outskirts of Olivine City, and as soon as they did, they hit the grass and began to crawl on their stomachs close to the scene that kept quite a few people away (Volkner had been outside with Ivan when the news was delivered; he had yet to receive orders from his mother to return home, probably for the sole reason of being unable to find him).

They reached the spot where the fight that people all throughout Olivine whispered about was going on.

There were two green Pokemon. One was smaller than the other, but still about human-sized, a pair of small wings on its back and scythes for arms. Its joints were tan, looking a little frail.

But that frailness in its appearance was denied by the sight of its opponent. It was locked in a fierce fight with a large green Pokemon with a blue belly, spikes running down its back and a thick tail.

The scythe-arm Pokemon jumped up and made a slice at the face of the spike-back, and the spike-back jumped back, the ground shaking under its weight. Spike-back placed its arms in front of it, opening its mouth wide. A pulsing beam of black energy was sent toward Scythe-arm, who dove aside to dodge it.

Ivan's eyes shone with a mixture of excitement and fear, and Volkner could smell only the fear from his friend's and his own sweat. He closed his eyes as another jump by Spike-back shook the earth beneath them. He could have sworn he felt the slightly elevated ledge they lay on loosen a little.

The Scythe-arm darted by the Spike-back and dragged an arm across its stomach. It cut open a tough hide slightly, blood splattering the ground in front of it.

Volkner opened his eyes to this and flinched.

"This is so cool, ain't it, Volk?" Ivan whispered excitedly.

He didn't get an answer. He apparently didn't expect to, as he didn't press the issue further.

Little did Volkner know these would be the last words Ivan Firme would ever speak to him.

Spike-back tried to lash his tail downward as Scythe-arm performed a U-turn, returning to its original spot, and missed. The ground shook, and the ground beneath Volkner and Ivan broke entirely loose and began to plummet.

Volkner and Ivan screamed. They were plummeting right into the battle arena. They weren't that high up, but still, their impact would leave them with a few moments of being winded before they could flee... Volkner was terrified.

The Spike-back, at that time, released another beam of pulsating black energy. It missed and struck their little land-board, and it exploded violently beneath them. Volkner was sent upward with the force: Ivan continued to fall. Volkner saw it happen with his own eyes.

Ivan Firme was propelled forward. He landed right in between the two battling Pokemon, -right- as Scythe-arm was aiming an attack.

The attack hit Ivan instead.

Volkner couldn't scream. He couldn't do a damn thing with the explosion having injured him; he had no breathe left to use. He hit the ground and couldn't get the sight of his best friend being cut through like tissue paper, the ground turning from brown to crimson... and he watched with horror as the two Pokemon ignored his corpse.

Volkner hit the ground with a thud, and lay there, the image embedded in his mind forever. Ivan Firme, cut clean in two.

Ivan Firme, his best friend, dead because of a simple quarrel.

He heard two things before he lost consciousness: the sounds of wheels screeching to a halt, and the sound of what sounded like dart guns.

"A kid- one's dead... hey, this one's got a chest rising! He's alive, get a fuckin' ambulance John!"

Volkner awoke with a scream. His entire body was soaking wet and filled with a pulsating pain, most of it coming from his aching heart. He saw the image of his best friend once more - the main pain came from his heart. He could tell it wasn't just sweat rolling down his face. He was crying.

He stood up and fingered the Pokeball in his pocket with a scowl.

"... G-...Gardenia, can we rest, please?" Jasmine asked. Her legs ached miserably from all the walking she had been doing: she wasn't used to this kind of excersise all in one day, having started walking from Hearthome all the way to the Solaceon Ruins and through basically with no rest.

Gardenia herself was tired, so she nodded.

Jasmine leaned up against a wall and allowed its cool surface to cool off her body a bit. She shifted her feet... and felt one sink into the ground, and the wall behind her flip, her along with it.

Within seconds, she was on the other side of the wall. It had been a trap door of sorts - probably designed to trick robbers, she thought.

She stood up and brushed herself off, reaching into the pocket of the shorts she wore beneath her long red dress, pulling out a Pokeball. As she was preparing to release the Pokemon inside, she heard the groan of a familiar voice, whispering curses.

It was Volkner.

"Volkner?" she yelled, her voice high. "Volkner, is that you?"

And, conveniently enough, when she said that, he walked into view.

He was disheveled, his face red and a bit bloody. He was obviously sweaty, and a good bet in Jasmine's eyes would be that he was disoriented.

She ran over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Volkner? Volkner, are you okay...?"

"... I'd bet my life you aren't real," he muttered.

"Then I suppose... then I suppose you'll be dying soon, Volkner," Jasmine responded tensely.

He reached up and brushed her cheek with a raw red hand. He winced at that.

Jasmine's flesh went redder in an instant. The feel of those raw hands brushing against her cheek was almost... pleasant. She stepped back and placed the Pokeball in her hand out in front of her.

"... I s'pose I will be," Volkner murmured, right before collapsing to the ground.

Jasmine gasped, but released the tan Pokemon inside the ball.

"Abbie," Jasmine said. "Take us to Gardenia."

The Abra teleported them to the other side of the wall.

Gardenia turned to face them, seeing Volkner on the floor alongside an Abra, Jasmine towering above the two of them.

"There you are- you found him? Is he okay?" Gardenia gasped.

The Elekid that had been trotting alongside Gardenia ran over to his trainer, his eyes shining with what seemed to be genuine concern.

"I don't know," Jasmine said. "But I believe it's time for Abbie to take us to the Solaceon Town Pokemon Center. Isn't that right Abbie?"

Abbie snored. But they all disappeared, reappearing in a totally different setting. Their surroundings went from yellow to a pale gray, a few people passing by. Solaceon was a small town, so not that many could be expected - but it also meant they almost always had a doctor available.

One happened to be passing by as they teleported in. He was tall with a head of black hair, a white labcoat buttoned up on his torso and a pair of khaki pants covering his lower half. A stethoscope was slung over his shoulder.

"Oh, my!" the man said, running over to them. "Is this boy okay?"

"He was lost in the ruins," Gardenia said quickly. "I'd imagine he's done gotten pretty tired. Plus he's awfully red and a bit bloody."

The man seemed strong, as he knelt by Volkner and carried the thirteen-year-old in his arms. He leaped up and began to move toward the Pokemon Center's desk.

"Yes, ma'am?" the man said. "I'm assuming you'd have a medical room available for us?"

The woman behind the desk, who had been typing up something on her computer, looked at the man and nodded.

"Alright, Doctor Yulmen. Take two-oh-three," she said, reaching beneath the desk then extending a hand, keys now grasped in them.

Doctor Yulmen took them and nodded. "Thank you."

The three of them moved up the steps to the right of the desk to arrive at Room 203.

Volkner began to awaken, feeling pain rush all over his body, as a firm voice rang through his ears.

"I believe your friend will be fine with a few days of rest," it said. "The wounds on his body are few in number, and though his skin will be sore for a while, he's not gonna be in pain for more than a couple hours I imagine."

"That's good..." a shy voice said. Jasmine, Volkner recognized - that shy voice was unmistakable. He kind of liked the sound of it.

"Alright! Our lil' boy'll be just fine, huh?" a thick accent said. Also unmistakable was the annoying voice of Gardenia. "Sucks he'll be sore, but ain't nothin' big, right?"

"Right," the firm voice confirmed. "So, is there anything else you two need?"

"No thank you, sir- Oh, my, he's waking up..."

Volkner, at this point, had sat up and was allowing himself to wake up. He looked at the owner of the firm voice - a doctor.

"Ah, here we go! Good evening, boy," the doctor said. "How are you feeling?"

"... Like -shit-," Volkner retorted. Jasmine flushed a deep shade of red, and Gardenia laughed out loud.

"Well, you'll be feeling like shit for a very short time. You oughta take a few days rest, but you should be able to be back to your exploring - as these girls told me got you in this situation - any time you'd like," the doctor said.

Volkner nodded slowly. "Get out," he said. "I'd like to rest some more with my friends."

Gardenia cocked an eyebrow at the phrase. But the doctor nodded.

"Very well. I hope you feel better, Mister.."

"Volkner," Volkner responded. "Volkner Denzi."

"Mister Denzi, then." The doctor smiled and left the room. Oddly enough, Gardenia followed suit.

"Be right back," she said.

So for about five minutes, there were three things major present in that room: Volkner, Jasmine, and an awkward silence.

And then Gardenia returned and sat. Volkner spoke up.

"What happened?"

"Some guy. Sent out his Gallade and it teleported you - we think he was tryin' 'ta kill ya," Gardenia said.

"Figured that much out, genius," Volkner muttered.

"He said it was a bounty."

"... Ah."

"Some guy came back and helped us - said his name was Flint, and he knew everything somehow. Do ya know 'im?" Gardenia asked.

"Never," Volkner said.

"... Right. Well, we told him ya trained primarily electric types, 'cept fer yer Eevee - so he gave ya this," she responded. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a green stone with a yellow thunderbolt indentation, tossing it to Volkner and flinching as she realized what she had just done. "... Er, sorry."

Volkner flinched as the firm stone hit his raw palm, but he nodded. "... Whatever," he said. "What is it?"

"It's a Thunder Stone," Jasmine said. "Thunder Stones can evolve one of two Pokemon I know of - Pikachu or Eevee."

"... Both of which I have," Volkner murmured. "Decisions, decisions."

"Ya ain't gotta use it immediately," Gardenia said.

"But I'm gonna," Volkner responded snappily. He reached into his pocket and looked at the ball for a second - it was Eevee's.

He placed his thumb on the release switch and watched as the ball expanded, sending out a flash of red light onto the floor. A small, brown body appeared, furry with pointed ears and black bead eyes.

But it wouldn't be that way for long. Volkner extended the hand he held the Thunder Stone in, and after a few seconds, Eevee began to glow a faint shade of white.

The whiteness began to grow in intensity. Soon, Eevee was not at all visible, merely a ball of glowing white light.

Then it all faded away.

What stood there was a yellow Pokemon with spiked fur, and a white collar-like patch of fur around its neck. Its eyes had gotten smaller, even more beady now. Like Eevee, it had large pointed ears.

"... Jolteon," a voice said.

Volkner looked to the door to see an all too familiar face there.

Gardenia looked up and smiled. "Mana! C'mon in!"

Jasmine looked up as well and allowed herself a smile. She remained silent, though.

Mana stepped in, her body covered in a long white dress similar to Jasmine's. Her brown hair made her almost indecipherable from her: the only differences being the color of her dress and he style of her hair. It was tied up into a ponytail, while Jasmine's was unstyled.

"Mana, what's up?" Gardenia asked, getting up and wrapping the girl in an embrace. "What're ya doin' here?"

"Oh, it's just... oh, Jasmine, wasn't it? I saw you in the contests in Hearthome... you did good," Mana said, nodding.

"Thank you..." Jasmine said with a smile.

"And this is..." Mana said, glancing at Volkner. She used this moment to glare daggers at him as well; basically telling him not to say a word.

"... V-...Volkner Denzi," Volkner murmured.

Mana extended her left hand. Volkner grabbed it and shook it lightly, and Mana retracted it.

"Nice to meet you, Volkner. I'm Mana, as you've probably figured out..."

Volkner shot her a glance that would make a small child cry. She simply smiled.

"Yeah," Volkner said. "... whatever."

"Be nice, Volkner," Gardenia chided.

"No, no, it's okay, Gardenia," Mana replied. "He introduced himself. Nice enough for me. So, what have you been up to?"

"Been travelin' with Volkner 'n' Jasmine here," Gardenia said. "Headin' back to Pastoria so Jasmine can catch a boat back to her home in Olivine."

Volkner had no idea of this. Jasmine was from Olivine?

"Thought we were headed for Veilstone," Volkner piped in.

"In the process we'll be stoppin' by there, yeah," Gardenia said. "Thought I told ya Pastoria was our destination though..."

Volkner wondered for a moment when she became the leader of their little group, but he sighed. Not like he could argue it anyway.

Jolteon leaped up on the bed next to Volkner and sat there. Volkner sighed and returned the Pokemon, before laying back on it and closing his eyes.

"So then, what're ya doin' out here, Mana?" Gardenia asked.

"Well, I was kind of hoping I could ask you guys a favor," Mana said. "You see, I've been traveling around taking the Pokemon Gym Challenge. I was kind of hoping I could join you guys in traveling around for a bit - it's always good experience for a trainer to have company, yes?"

Volkner's eyes shot open.

... Oh shit.

Gardenia got to her feet and embraced Mana again. "Of course! We're heading around to two cities that have gyms with 'em - we'll be more than happy to let ya join us! Right, Jasmine? Volkner?"

Jasmine nodded. Volkner put up a shaky thumb and immediately drew it back down again. He hadn't meant to do that - he didn't know what made him. He opened his mouth to speak out a firm no, but Gardenia's overexcited squeal quieted him.

He sighed and wondered just what the hell he had gotten himself into.