SINNOH STORIES
THE LEGEND OF VOLKNER

Chapter 14: Friends in High Places

Author's Notes: With the exclusion of the following lines of italics, everything in italics is done in a Pokemon's PoV. So you'll be seeing speech in English. It's not really English.

This wasn't supposed to happen!
He meant everything! He was going to be the one!
He was going to avenge it! Those horrible, horrible crimes!
I've got to stop it! I still need him!
STOP IT, LISA!
WAKE UP.
Wake up...

...wake up...

Lisa woke up into a dull world. She felt like an empty husk, no signs of life tangible to her: not even the rise and fall of her own chest. She tried to move her limbs, but the act was a fruitless labor.

She heard voices, though. Small voices, barely above a whisper individually, barely above a hum in their collective sound. She tried to open her mouth to respond to them, ask them to speak up and let her know just what was going on, but this too proved useless. So she lay there, allowing herself to soak in what was going on, even though she couldn't understand it a bit.

She blinked. The world's dull, swimming gray color began to clear some, the blur slowly disintegrating into a clearer picture. She saw light. The light of the sun? No, it couldn't have been that. It was too dim. The light was artificial, obviously so.

She blinked again, and the quality of the world continued to grow. It was still grainy, her existence like a picture behind a veil of a television's static. She could now hear the voices better.

"...ner...shot?...Yes...zi..."

"I...stand...though..."

"...holes...pave..."

"...but...resil..."

"... Resilience doesn't mean immunity, ma'am," a gruff voice said.

Another voice that was slightly high-pitched and obviously female, filled with tension, responded after a short pause. "...I suppose you're right. Damn it! I just... it doesn't seem possible..."

Lisa could see the world in a blurred but much less grainy vision, like an old VHS tape, occasional lines of static running down the screen.

She was in a small room, lit by dim electrical lighting installed in the ceiling above. On either side of her were windows, but what was outside them was hidden by blinds. She assumed the same was true for behind her.

The entire room was painted a bright white.

She heard the sounds of voices still, but their conversations were mixed, people outside speaking to each other. The only conversation that made sense to her was the one going on in this very room.

In front of her stood the young girl in her signature long, white dress, brown hair down to her shoulders. Her arms were in front of her, thumbs gently pressing against each other. In a seat next to Lisa's bed, the girl with caramel brown hair, a black cape hiding her green shirt, sat.

Jasmine and Gardenia respectively.

The only other person in the room was a man in a blue uniform, rather heavyset. His belt contained an array of items: a can of something, a nightstick, a gun, et cetera. A Policeman.

Jasmine was speaking to the Policeman, her voice filled with tension and worry. Gardenia sat silent, until a couple seconds later.

"Well hell, if lil' miss Hero ain't awake."

Gardenia smiled nervously, inching closer to the bedside. She took Lisa's hand in her own.

"How are ya, Mana?" she asked.

"My name's Lis-" She stopped herself mid-sentence. "...Wait, uhm... nevermind... hi, Gardenia... I'm kinda...tired..."

She had forgotten the pseudonym in her grogginess. She breathed a sigh of slight relief, glad to have caught herself mid-screwup.

Gardenia nodded. "...With what happened, I don't blame ya. Ya do remember what happened, right?"

"...Refresh my memory."

"...Accordin' to witnesses, you protected Volkner. Shielded him. Said the shot was aimed toward his chest: you took it in yers. Lucky lil' gal, you are - the bullet missed all vitals, and just broke a few ribs. Ya should be okay within about... two months, accordin' to the doctors."

"...And what about Volkner?" Mana asked. "Is he alright?"

"Other than the shots in the shoulder?" she asked. "...Well, we don't know."

Gardenia's eyes explored the ground as she spoke.

"...We're still lookin'."

Mana tried to sit up, but found the pain too sharp. She slowly lowered herself down to the bed again.

"Let's not try 'n' sit up, okay, miss Hero?" Gardenia chided. "Unless you -wanna- hurt, and if if that's the case, be my guest."

Mana smiled simply. It was fake. She was upset beyond belief: things had gone out of the loop, the plan she had perceived for time to flow with.

"I'll be takin' my leave then," the officer blurted out, and walked out the door. This left Jasmine able to turn to face Mana, and she used the opportunity to offer a thin, anxious smile.

"I'm glad you're okay," she said.

"...Thanks," Mana said. "Are search efforts being d-done for Volkner?"

Gardenia nodded. "The Veilstone PD has a few officers out lookin'. But that's all they can spare."

Mana's eyes widened. "Only a few? Jeez... you guys ought to go out too."

"That can wait-" Jasmine tried to say.

"No," Mana interrupted. She took a pause, breathing in carefully. "I don't think it c-can... go and search for your friend."

For the good of us all, Mana chirped in with her thoughts.

"...Jasmine, stay here with here, okay? I'll head out and look," Gardenia said.

"No. You go too, Jasmine. I'll be fine. Really."

"...Yer sure?" Gardenia asked.

"I'm sure," Mana responded.

"...Fine," Gardenia murmured. "Alright! Let's head out and find ourselves a Volkner! Again."


He scurried along on all four legs, moving as fast as his body would let him. He was scared, frightened for the life of his best friend, his ONLY friend, anxious for his own safety as well.

He was running blindly. He had no idea where he was heading, allowing his feet to move him where destiny required him to be.

He realized suddenly that it was raining. He stopped mid-dash, and searched the surrounding area for some form of shelter. He was a domesticated boy. He wasn't used to the wilderness. He hated the rain.

He saw a small cave and darted toward it, allowing its dark dank inside to shelter him from the harsh downpour outside.

Water streamed down his cheeks. He couldn't tell if it was rainwater or if they were tears.


Volkner, by now, had numbed himself to the pain. He had no other choice. If he paid attention to it, it would drive him insane: and give his captor that satisfaction. But he couldn't deny he was injured: two clean holes marred his skin, one in each shoulder. This left his arms useless. His captor had purposefully done this, as arms would help him significantly. The back of his head had slammed against pavement, busting it open slightly. He hoped to God no infection occurred. His legs had long since grown numb from the loss of blood to them, as he lay there on a damp floor.

His captor towered over him.

"Well then," he sad. "Now that we're out of the way, and that bitch died, how are you, Body Builder?" Saturn said with a smirk.

"... Go to Hell," Volkner spat.

"Feisty for someone who's in no position to be defiant. Heh."

"... I'd rather die than actually be submissive to you, fuckface."

Saturn reached toward his belt, pulling the gun he had used earlier out of its holster. He pointed it toward Volkner.

"Did you know? I'm an expert on human anatomy. I know where to fire so that it won't kill you... but it'll still hurt like hell."

Volkner did not respond.

Saturn's smirk faded. "You ruined something for me, kid. That Valley Windworks heist was supposed to earn me some money. Money I needed at the time."

"...And what do ya know?" Volkner responded. His voice was weak, croaking, but still filled with his usual defiant smugness. "I ended up getting a good five thousand bucks just from getting my ass kicked. Easy, isn't it? You should... try it some time. Heh."

"Fuck you, kid. You and your partner screwed me up. I never got the cash, because before we left - due to that damn idiot Gomel deciding to stay for the full day to try and milk it - you two got there and ended up calling attention to us."

Saturn brought back his leg, delivering a firm kick toward Volkner's groin.

"And GOD DAMN IT, KID! You're gonna pay!"

Volkner's world went blank.

"The cost of intruding on one's territory is big, you drenched rat," a voice came.

He slowly lifted his head up and looked around him. He had no idea how he hadn't heard them before: he was totally surrounded. A bunch of glowing yellow eyes were in the darkness, and from them, a trio stepped forth.

They were blue creatures. Blue with black fur on their backs, two of them smaller than the one in the center. Each had a tail waving eagerly behind them, tipped in a star-shaped yellow tuft of fur.

"Ike, Drech - kill it."

"Wait!" he shouted, lifting his arms up and waving frantically. "My name is Chuseph. I'm sorry! I didn't know this was your territory!'"

"Chuseph? Bahaha. That sounds... human. Are you...?'"

"Yes!" Chuseph stated, his stubby yellow arms lowering to his sides. "I'm a human's partner!"

"Ha. Human. Alright, I understand - why are you out here without your human, though?"

"He was... hurt. Another human hurt him! I'm looking for him now - I'm just taking shelter from the rain!"

"That's a surprise to you? Humans do little but hurt. That's the reason you're still alive right now - I pity you."

Chuseph glared fiercely at the leader of the group, who had by now all stepped out of the darkness.

"Heh. Angry? Or just not willing to accept the truth? I suppose it doesn't matter. My name is Croce. I am a Luxray, leader of the Thunderstrike Luxio clan."

"... That isn't the truth! My human is... a bit mean, but I can feel he's good inside. I'd rather die than let you imply otherwise!"

"Is that so?" the Luxio next to Croce said. "I can make that happen if you'd like. I am rather hungry."

"Share some of him with me!" the one to the other side of Croce said. "Don't be a hog, Ike."

"Shut up, Drech, Ike," Croce muttered.

"... Yes, boss."

"Alright. If you want to prove that fact, I have a proposition for you, rat," Croce said, a smugness to his voice.

"... Fine! Anything!"

"We are prideful people. Destroy our pride. If you can beat the three of us - Ike, Drech and Myself - then not only will we accept you as a mighty warrior and as proof that humans aren't all bad, but I'll also send one of our members to help you find your human. We have a powerful sense of smell. The human stench on you is obvious."

"And if I lose?" Chuseph asked.

"Chusph a'la King for dinner tonight."

"... Deal!" Chuseph exclaimed.

Croce spun around. "Come. We will go to the Colosseum!"

"You have a Colosseum?" Chuseph asked, awestruck.

"... Well, it's just a big empty patch of dirt with some rocks around it, but we're all sort of suckers for the grandeur."

After about five minutes of walking, they reached the Colosseum. As Croce stated, it was simply a big patch of dirt with some rocks around it. The Luxio all gathered around the rocks eagerly, looking into the arena.

Chuseph walked in and stood at the center. The two Luxio surrounded him on his left and right sides, while Croce stood in front of him.

"Mac, come and referee. You know the rules."

A Luxio stepped forward from the crowd. "Yes, sir! The rules are that whatever goes for the Luxio or Luxray in the arena! The challenger is restricted to nonlethal force, while the home team may do what they please."

"Good, Mac, good..."

"Hey!" Chuseph shouted. "That's not fair!"

"Deal with it."

"... Grrr ..."

"Go!" Mac screamed suddenly.

The first thing to happen was with Croce. Ike and Drech did not move - Croce began to lift off the ground, a steady pulsation of a yellowish energy coming from his paws.

"That's the boss and his Magnet Rise," Chuseph heard a voice say.

"Take care of him, Ike, Drech," Croce stated calmly.

Ike and Drech both nodded, lunging toward Chuseph. Both of them were glowing a bright yellow, covered in an electrical aura.

Volt Tackle? Chuseph thought. Not good! Dodge it!

And so he did. Chuseph leaped as high as he could manage almost immediately, and the two Luxio screeched to a halt: but not in enough time to prevent themselves from headbutting each other. Chuseph landed a couple seconds later a few inches away from them, and almost laughed as they cursed him.

"Damn it, you... you rat! You'll pay for that! Sneaky!"

"Yeah! Sneaky little bastard!"

"Stop copying me, Drech."

"You stop copying me, Ike!"

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP AND KILL HIM!" Croce bellowed.

"Yes boss!"

Chuseph took both of his paws and placed them in front of him. Electrical energy began to charge in them both, and he smashed them together, forming an orb.

"An Electro Ball attack!" a voice in the crowd said. "Wow, I've never seen one of those!"

Chuseph took the orb in his hand, and made a wild dash toward Ike at his top speed. The two Luxio charged at him in return. Chuseph quickly reached Ike and extended his hand, smashing the orb of electrical energy into the Pokemon's side.

Ike cried out in pain, and was flung to the side. He skidded to a stop a couple feet away, and struggled to stand. He did, though.

Drech saw opportunity.

He rushed toward the apparently defenseless Pikachu and lunged just a few feet away, mouth open, ready to bite.

He was in for a world of pain, though.

Chuseph grinned. The Luxio had fell for it. He smashed his tail as hard as he could manage into Drech's face, also sending him skidding.

Drech didn't get up.

"Just me and you, huh?" Chuseph gloated.

Ike growled. "More than enough, you little rat!"

Chuseph lowered himself to all fours and let loose a charge of electricity: simply to show that he meant business.

Ike ran toward Chuseph, his mouth open to do a bite attack. Chuseph wasn't about to let that happen.

Chuseph ran to the side of Ike, and Ike turned to meet him. The two continued in a cycle like this: running around each other, dodging each other's tackles, until Ike finally managed to keep up, and lodged his teeth firmly into Chuseph's arm.

Chuseph yelped out in pain, but decided to take advantage of the close proximity.

Croce appeared to realize Chuseph's plan. "Ike, get away, qui-"

"... let's see how you like ten thousand volts," Chuseph whispered. He shut his eyes and let loose a massive discharge of electricity, the sound as loud as a thunderbolt. It hit Ike within such close proximity and within such force, that his bite went limp. He lay there unconscious, still attached to Chuseph's arm.

Chuseph shook him loose, and looked at the floating Luxray. His arm hurt, a steady throb of pain pulsating throughout him, but he nodded toward Croce.

"I'm ready when you are, bossman."