Firstly, I'd like to thank TwiliPrincess049 for her extremely helpful review and those that are sure to come. You rock harder than Brock! Hooray for dumb pokémon puns! Also, she has a story up called Shoot for the Moon. It's your standard ten-year-old OC fic but it's not like most of the stuff on the archives. The main character actually acts her age! If you haven't checked it out yet, you should. Otherwise, we're sticking you in the cage with Muk and Ditto and we all know how traumatizing that is…
Oh, I almost forgot to mention. I went over my outline for this story and found that I left a huge gap in the events that come a little while after the stuff that's gonna happen here in Mélange Town, so chapter updates after a certain point may be a while. I'll let you know when that point is.
Disclaimer: Guys, we've gone over this. I don't own Pokémon, now stop rubbing it in!
KEY:
"normal speech"
"thought"
translated pokémon speech
"blah blah blah emphasis blah blah blah"
Pokédex Entries
Chapter 11: Duel in the Grasslands: Gang leader Zangoose!
"So, tell me again why we're doing this?" Jameson asked Grey dryly. He and Rachel waited a while for Grey to finish wolfing down his bacon-cheese-and-egg sandwich to hear his answer.
Jameson, Grey, Rachel and their pokémon - Maverick just outside the window and with the new addition of Heracross - were all crowded in front of a booth eating breakfast in the Pokémon Centre. It was the morning after arriving in Mélange Town and, curiously enough, Danny had stuck around, his arm around an uncharacteristically bubbly Rachel.
That fact alone was cause enough for Grey to give the man a venomous death glare every five seconds. How dare he accept their help and then flirt with his sister; what kind of gratitude was that! The bastard even had the nerve to actually drive off without him after all the help Grey had given him. Sure, the trainer boy had originally been against helping the honey maker and, sure, Danny went back for him, but it was the principle of the matter, damn it!
Grey gulped down the his mouthful of sandwich before handing the remains to Soul, who accepted it in silent thanks and immediately went for the cheese-covered bacon. "Because," he explained, "neither of us won the last contest and ended up having to pay for my glutton of a sister's dinner. We need a new one to decide which of us is truly better at catching pokémon."
"Because that's so important to improving our skills," Jameson said sarcastically. Shishi aimlessly circled his trainer's head and gave a short laugh, an odd 'shi-shi-shi-' sound.
"Exactly!" Grey said with a grin. Obviously, the derision went over his head, but James had to admit Grey was, in his own weird way, a little right.
"Thanks again for the dinner, bro; it was great," Rachel said teasingly. "It was so kind of you to pay for Danny, too."
"'It was so kind of you to pay for -' blah blah blah…" Grey muttered acidly under his breath. "The deal was we pay for you, not you and Casanova here."
"Yeah, that was just uncalled for," Jameson agreed. "On a side note, where the hell does it all go! Seriously; you ate, like, three meals!"
"It's wonder she stays as skinny as she does," Grey pointed out. Even Vulpix had to agree. It had been a source of confusion for her for years as to how Rachel ate as much as she did but still maintained her figure. She'd tried to find an explanation, but her having what humans called a 'tapeworm' was very unlikely.
"Lady has to have her secrets, Jimmy." Rachel giggled and winked.
"I love a girl who can eat," Danny laughed. Grey shot him another death glare that practically roared 'Try anything with my sister and I'm having the onix kill you slowly'. "Okay, okay, calm down, Grey."
"Shut up, Danny," the boy deadpanned. He turned to Jameson, looking to seal their bet. "So, it's a deal, then."
Jameson sighed. "If it'll get you to stop making these bets, then I agree. What're the rules?"
"Alright!" Grey cheered with a pump of his fist. "We both have to catch a pokémon by two o'clock today. If one of us doesn't, loser gives the winner half of his Gym Battle prize money."
"There's tons of plains land surrounding Mélange Town, anyway. This should be a piece of cake, right, Sniper?" Jameson turned to his first pokémon to see his snout buried in a licked-clean honey jar.
"Scyther!" came Sniper's muffled grunt.
"Well, if that's that," Danny said, pushing his empty plate to the center of the table, "We've got to get going. Full day planned." Grey's suspicion instantly flared, a red flag flying up in his mind.
"And just where the hell're you off to with my sister, huh?" Grey demanded suspiciously.
"Relax, Grey. He's just taking me to the museum. Nothing's going to happen," she soothed. She turned got up and placed her plate on top of Danny's and the two left the booth together. Rachel looked over her shoulder at Grey and winked, calling back, "See you later, little bro."
"Stupid girl…" he muttered back. Soul dropped the untouched bread from the sandwich onto Grey's plate and jumped down from his seat. He looked at Grey expectantly, wanting to get to the grasslands as quickly as possible.
"Well, I'm off, too, Jimmy boy," Grey said as he got up and stretched. "Gonna go catch a new pokémon and then check out the Gym Leader so I can strategize. Catch you later!" He stacked his plate on top of the pile, picked up his bag off the floor, and took off running to get Maverick. Soul and Lucy followed at a much calmer pace.
Jameson let out a satisfied sigh and decided to abandon the rest of his omelet. He looked up at Shishi and offered the rest to the black ghost only to get a rejection in return. As a Ghost-type, Shishi rarely needed to eat.
"If you say so," James shrugged. He got up from the booth and beckoned Sniper up, taking the honey jar and placing it in his bag.
"You've already had enough," he admonished with a smirk. "Come on; let's go and work off those sweets."
"Scy-thaa~" Sniper groaned in disappointment. "Scy scy."
Walking over and dropping the dirty plates off on top of the trash bin, James walked out of the Pokémon Centre, a tranquil smile on his face as the fresh air and pleasant sights of Mélange Town's urban district met his senses.
It was a small city with many mid-sized skyscrapers here and there but many smaller offices and such dominated the landscape. Since it was such a small town, most people walked and there was a scarcity of cars which suited James just fine. Less cars meant less disgusting smog and loud noise. Most prominent of the taller structures was Museum Tower, a building dedicated to displaying the largest number of archeological finds on the whole of Pacific Island. Jameson made a mental note to visit the place after his Gym Battle.
"Well, guys, let's get going. Don't want to lose to Grey or else he'll never let us live it down." He started down the sidewalk, not moving more than ten meters before bumping shoulders with someone.
"Oh, sorry about that," James apologized quickly. The man fixed him with an antagonizing stare before scoffing rudely and strutting off. He was dressed oddly, Jameson thought, decked out in a pristine white infantry uniform with a green tie and yellow epaulets. On his head rested a yellow beret and on back was an insignia: a pair of curled green wings framing the face of a majestic bird of prey.
"Hey, I said I was sorry," James called after him. The man only ignored him and continued on. "What was that about? If he's a military man on leave, I can understand if he's stressed, but, seriously."
"Scythaa…" Sniper hissed, boring a hole in the man's back with his glare. His wings flitted menacingly in irritation.
"Skull?" Shishi asked mischievously as he formed a Shadow Ball. Jameson laughed and shook his head.
"Not worth it, Shishi," he said, already shrugging it off and continuing down the sidewalk at a brisk pace.
"Plains land, here I come," he sang to himself.
At the same time, one Juniper Hawthorne had barricaded herself behind a mountain of books in the library, completely alone due to the 'all pokémon must be in their balls' rule. Juniper had out every single note she'd taken since the start of her stint traveling with Grey along with several books on human-pokémon interaction and pokémon growth. She had her pen and clipboard out as usual, copying lines from one of the pokémon growth books at a rate most people would consider superhuman. She placed the last punctuation mark before taking the paper and stapling it to the notes she had on Soul in one fluid, practiced motion.
About ten or so sixteen-page thick stacks of similar notes and findings were stacked to the right of her, now joined by their latest addition before June produced both her notes on Lucy, Maverick, and Heracross as well as a ludicrously thick volume on pokémon-human relationships.
"'Subject Lucy the Buizel; Day 1: Pokémon exhibits adverse reactions to being caught, a common response to the event. Lashes out physically at trainer with known moves as well as regular biting and scratching," June read monotonously from her notes. "'Days 3 - 12, Subject exhibits gradual acceptance of capture and begins to bond with trainer and assimilate with trainer's current team nicely. Subject Maverick the Onix reacts easily and extremely positively to praise from trainer which is unusual for this temperamental species. Theorized that trainer's influence and compassion acts as key element; further research into such behavior needed.'"
June blazed through three pages on the behavioral patterns of onix, noting that the species tended to be proud, before moving onto a one-page account of a trainer who owned an onix, saying that after four or so days after catching it, the onix became much calmer and reacted very well to praise. Smiling to herself, she copied the material down and stapled it to her notes on Maverick, satisfied with her work. Her pride lasted for all of a few moments before her smile was replaced with a dissatisfied and frustrated frown.
Since the Pokémon League had decided to move large numbers of foreign pokémon to the archipelago, June's interest as to whether or not pokémon training was a good or a bad thing for both parties was instantly sparked. However, now, - even though she was immensely proud of herself for working this hard and having taken so many notes on Grey and his pokémon - that topic seemed too…bland; too passé to gain any real recognition in the pokémon research community. Juniper didn't consider herself to be a glory hog but she did want to be recognized for her work. Recently, she'd been looking for a new research focus. Something that would really wow her and that had never been done before. Sighing, she placed her findings in a binder and got up to return the books she'd borrowed.
"Come on, Hawthorne. Think," June urged herself. "What's never been done before that's right here? Something interesting that you can study. Anything." Getting in line behind a portly man with a weight loss guide tucked under his arm, June began sifting through the archives of her memories for any sort of inspiration.
The effect of introducing Poison-type pokémon to a jungle area? No, the League wasn't stupid enough to do that. Comparing the regional growth sizes of the Magikarp species within the archipelago as opposed to that of the rest of the regions? Again, no.
Magikarp were utterly uninteresting to Juniper with the way they sat around in their lakes, streams, and rivers doing absolutely nothing. Plus, they were so common, it wouldn't even pose any sort of challenge for her to study that! The thought of being eaten by a newly-evolved gyarados was highly unappealing, too… Deciding to take a different approach as the line moved forward, Juniper restarted her process.
"Okay, so, I have…regional differences and the effects of foreign species introduction," she muttered to herself, unaware of the child behind her staring at her as if she were a madwoman. "Positive introduction, though… Wait, have there been any negative effects?" She'd never considered that. The League was very careful in choosing which kinds of pokémon to introduce to the islands based on their previous habitats and the geography of the different islands. They'd never, ever do something to harm to pokémon or the ecosystem.
"If I don't have that, then what do I study?" she whispered furiously. "It's not like I can go back home at this point and study how Torterra had substantially differed in color and exactly what had caused it." A few moments of silence passed - the portly man left and the child and librarian fixed June with puzzled gazes - before the proverbial thunderbolt of inspiration struck.
"But…maybe…" June began, eyes wide with realization. "Torterra probably changed colors because of the tropical climate it was introduced to… And it didn't seem bothered by the heat, so he was probably more tolerant to heat but less tolerant to cold because of it… Or maybe more even tolerant to cold because of the extreme shift in temperature…"
"Miss?" the librarian asked Juniper when she absently wandered to being at the front of the line. She failed to gain the girl's attention, however. June had just hit a potential jackpot and was in too deep to be saved. "Miss, I need those -"
"And, come to think of it, Lucy's fur is a lot darker than that of buizel found in Sinnoh. Most probably because of the increase in vitamin D she has been getting from the sun! It's like getting a tan for her fur and there isn't any telling what that did to make her and the other buizel living here more unique and powerful! Maverick's mineral composition, too! His colors aren't the same as onix in the other regions!"
"Uhm… M-Miss, I really need those books now," the librarian stuttered.
"Mommy, I'm scared…" the boy behind her whimpered.
"Eureka! I've got my research topic!" June declared, thrusting her finger into the sky and striking a dramatic victory pose. The mother and child behind her slowly backed away in fear and the librarian nearly had a heart attack out of shock. "The effect different climates have on newly introduced pokémon species compared to that of their home regions! Why didn't I think of this before!"
She finally noticed the timid librarian huddled under her desk and put her books into the return chute. June eagerly slammed her hands on the desk and said loudly,
"Quick! Point me to the nearest bookstore and give me directions into the plains! I've got work to do!"
"Okay, this has to be the most amusing thing I've ever seen," Jameson chortled. Shishi gave another of his odd laughs while Sniper looked on, embarrassed for the zangoose they were observing.
The Cat Ferret Pokémon stood on a rock in the middle of the river and was apparently preaching something to the raticate and bidoof listening. Zangoose was gesticulating grandly and wildly, finishing its speech by striking a pose, one hand on its hip and with one claw raised to the sky.
And that is why I am recruiting you, fellow pokémon! Zangoose declared. We must band together and call together more of the plains pokémon so we can take over the grassland, and then the forest, and then the mountain until we eventually control the whole island! What say you?
Raticate and Bidoof looked at each other, both obviously convinced that Zangoose was out of her mind.
Dude, this chick is crazy, Raticate said skeptically.
Let's get outta here. I'm hungry, man, Bidoof drawled.
W-wait! Zangoose shouted. There shall be food; mountains of it! I shall provide all that is needed, brethren! Raticate and Bidoof ignored the crazed Zangoose and scurried off into the tall grass. Zangoose sighed in defeat and slumped on her perch.
This gang is going nowhere, she spat. How will we assert ourselves as the most powerful pokémon if we cannot band together and display our strengths! United we stand, people! UNITED!
Jameson watched on and fought back a gale of laughter as Zangoose began to flail her arms wildly and snarl. The cat-ferret's tantrum was only too cute; it was as if Jameson was watching a child in a comedy.
"Scythaa." Sniper pointed to Zangoose and then at Jameson's pocket.
"Scan it? Alright then. Speak to me, O wise Dextette," James joked in a grandiose voice. He pointed the camera lens on the Pokédex and it brought up a mirror image of Zangoose.
Zangoose, the Cat Ferret Pokémon. Zangoose's weapons of choice are the two pairs of ten-inch claws present on both front paws. They are quick and agile both on all fours or on two feet and are viciously cruel fighters. Zangoose are famous for the blood feud between their species and Seviper, the Fang Snake Pokémon, which has been going on for several generations. Their hatred for one another is so powerful that Zangoose and Seviper are overcome by an uncontrollable urge to immediately begin a brutal brawl when they sense one another's presence.
Gender: Female
"And I just found my capture target," James muttered with confidence. "Shishi, Sniper, who'd like to do the honors?" The duskull groaned loudly, not wanting to give up basking in the sun for a brawl with an uncivilized furball. Sniper, however, jumped at the chance.
"Thanks, buddy. Now, let's get this done; Swords Dance into Slash!" Sniper spun around, scythes glowing deep purple, and rocketed forward with explosive speed. He sped through the grass and kept low to the ground to make it seem as if a torpedo were shooting towards Zangoose.
In an instant, Zangoose's instincts kicked in, alerting her to the scyther's presence. She unsheathed her long, threatening black claws and lazily raised them up to block Sniper's slash with a loud, oddly metallic-sounding clang. The force of the collision actually sent a shockwave bursting through the water.
So, ya wanna join me gang, eh, bug? asked Zangoose, her eyes covered by her fur and her personality shifting into more serious and feral state. She gave Sniper a maniacal, frenzied grin, rose-colored eyes glinting dangerously. Sounds good. But first, ya got to beat me in a fight.
G-Gang? Sniper repeated in confusion. No, I just wanted to battle you so my trainer could maybe -
Trainer? Well, a trainer's bound to have other pokémon I can recruit and if he's got friends, that means even more! Zangoose cheered, shifting back to normal. You've got yourself a deal, blade bug. You win and I go with you; I win and you join me gang. Better not lose.
Jameson watched as the wild zangoose jumped off her perch and onto another rock in the river. Sniper did the same, buzzing to another rock on the opposite side. With some amusement, he noticed how the two pokémon's actions were not unlike those signaling the start of an official duel. When Sniper took his usual battle stance and Zangoose unsheathed her other two claws, it only served to make it look that much more similar.
"Sniper, get ready. When she attacks, you dodge and then -"
"Zan…goooose!" Zangoose cried savagely as she leapt from her perch and grabbed Sniper by his left wing to throw him onto the riverbank. She shifted back to mania mode and set her claws ablaze with crackling energy. Zangoose then tore at Sniper with a wild Crush Claw attack, slamming his head into the ground with the left set before pulling him back up by his head and ripping across his midsection with the others. The scyther let out a pained screech and Jameson jumped into action.
"Sniper! Push her away!" Sniper gritted his teeth and roundhouse kicked Zangoose away, sending her sliding away. Zangoose jammed one claw in the ground to slow herself down and fixed Sniper with a debilitating Leer. She lunged forward with Quick Attack; Sniper parried her strike, focused all his power into his attacks, and lashed out with his still-glowing blade. Sniper's Slash attack opened up a thin gash on the red mark on Zangoose's chest. It bled, blending in nicely with the striking crimson fur. Zangoose slowly wiped off some of the blood using her claws and eyed it before licking it off.
Nice shot, bug, she laughed darkly. Sniper felt a shiver run through the whole of his exoskeleton.
"This pokémon is crazy!" James cried. "Sniper, keep from getting hit; parry all of her attacks!" Sniper grunted an affirmative and winged forward with Quick Attack as Zangoose did the same.
Both of their claws glowed white in synchrony as dual Slash attacks met again and again with loud clanging. Blow after blow, the two pokémon dueled spiritedly dueled: Zangoose aimed again for Sniper's thorax only to lop off the heads of about a hundred innocent blades of grass when Sniper took to the air. He aimed himself before rocketing back down and slamming her with Wing Attack.
"Sniper, Focus Energy one more time," Jameson commanded, regaining his cool. Scyther again directed his energy towards tightening his muscles in hopes of landing a devastating finisher. Zangoose snarled excitedly and raised both her fists over her head to bash her opponent's head into the ground again. Sniper parried the blow and aimed for her head but Zangoose ducked in a flash, literally falling into the ground.
"She knows Dig," James noted in interest. "Sniper, wait for her to come back out and use Double Team." Sniper stood stock still and closed off his sight to concentrate. The only sound in the entire area was the wind gently rustling through the grass. He crossed his arms and empowered them with X-Scissor, lightly buzzing his wings every so often.
"Zang!" Zangoose cried as she burst out of the ground with her claws raised. Sniper pushed off the ground with a combination of his wings and legs and immediately burst apart into ten Sniper clones, all of which buzzed around Zangoose in a furious and confusing swarm.
"Zang…goose!" Zangoose murmured in shock. She swung, swatting one scyther out of existence while the other nine converged and slashed her with their blades. Zangoose held back her cry of pain and dropped to one knee, arms hanging limp, all of her strength suddenly fading fast.
"Critical hit; phenomenal, Sniper!" Jameson cheered. Sniper smiled proudly at the praise.
Okay, Zangoose grunted, you've got some moves; I'll admit it.
All thanks to my trainer, Sniper boasted. Now are you going to come along quietly or do I have to get rou-
Chew on this! Zangoose roared, revealing the shimmering blue orb of water between her paws and ramming it into Sniper. The Water Pulse exploded and drenched Sniper with a monster wave. The wave pushed him back and disoriented him long enough for Zangoose to the proverbial ace out of her sleeve. Her fist crackled to life with static electricity collected from the air and she drove it into a dripping wet Sniper's stomach. The deadly combination amplified the lightning surging through Sniper's body as well as his distressed screams.
"ThunderPunch?" Jameson shouted in disbelief even though his drive to catch Zangoose went up by that much more.
"Duskull!" Shishi bemoaned his seemingly fallen friend.
Body still sparking from being electrocuted, Sniper fell face down in the grass. Zangoose stood over his body victoriously and dragged the downed scyther back up to look at his face.
Looks like I win, blade bug. Welcome to Zangoose's gang, the cat-ferret said smugly. Jameson anxiously rushed to his scyther out of concern, Duskull right behind him.
"Sniper, get back up!" he called as he ran, pushing his way through the waist-high grass. "Come on, Snipe; don't lose here! Kick her ass!"
Sorry, human; he lost to me! Zangoose declared. Say bye-bye to your trainer, little buggy. Sniper's wings twitched in irritation and his eyes snapped open, boring holes in Zangoose's own. She intended to pull him away from Jameson and Sniper would sooner die than let anything like that happen.
You really need to learn to think before you speak, mutt! Sniper roared. He shoved her away from him and crossed his scythes. One moment, Zangoose was about to strike, her fur on end and claws at the ready; the next, Sniper was suddenly behind her, his blades shining proudly and his arms fully extended. The world finally noticed that something had happened and opened up a shallow but painful X-shaped wound on Zangoose's abdomen. She looked down at the startlingly bloodless gashes, then over in Sniper's direction. The Mantis Pokémon fixed her with a hard gaze and a grin of victory before everything became blurry to Zangoose.
Am I…dying? she asked, horrified.
You're not, Sniper replied reassuringly, lowering his guard. Zangoose let out a sigh of relief that morphed into one of defeat when she fell forward limply, barely able to hold onto her consciousness. I just won. Sniper pointed at the barely awake Zangoose and nodded at Jameson.
"Sniper, you rule, buddy," James replied ecstatically. He dramatically produced a poké ball from his jacket pocket, enlarged it, and spun it on one finger before throwing it at Zangoose, crying,
"Poké ball, finalize!" The ball landed on Zangoose's head and consumed her in a flash of red light. The ball struggled fiercely, jumping and shaking and rolling every which way until it finally stopped. Jameson coolly walked over and collected his newest capture to scan it with his Pokédex.
"Sniper, remind me to buy you a big lollipop when we get back to town. You were amazing out there," James congratulated. Through his heavy, tired breathing, Sniper mumbled humbly and rubbed the back of his dirt-coated head.
You did good, Sniper, Shishi said simply. That last move was way too fast for me to see.
Eh, well… X-Scissor finishers…are my specialty, Sniper replied, panting.
Known moves, Dextette announced. Slash, Quick Attack, Swords Dance, Water Pulse, ThunderPunch, Crush Claw, Leer, Fury Cutter, Detect, Dig
"Man, what a find. Are we lucky or what?"
"Skull skull," Shishi laughed mischievously.
"But I get a feeling we're going to have our hands full with this one, guys. She's kind of…" Jameson searched for a nicer phrase than 'clinically insane'.
Crazy, you mean? Sniper suggested after catching his breath. She licked the blood off her claws like it was freakin' pancake syrup. Seriously, that chick is crazy.
Crazy, yes. Amusing, also yes, Shishi snickered.
"Well, I guess I'd better name our newest addition, huh? How about…Luna?" James suggested, hoping his pokémon would like the name.
Perfect, Shishi nodded, not really caring what name the psychotic Zangoose was given.
Yeah, now we can call her Loopy Luna, Sniper said with a childishly petulant look at Luna's new poké ball.
"I want you guys to behave around Luna, okay?" Jameson said with a note of warning. "Sniper, no pranks and Shishi… Well, there's not much you could do to her, considering you're a Ghost-type, but you're wily, so don't even think of doing what you're thinking of doing." The two pokémon deflated visibly. Sniper at least thought that after getting his head rammed into the hard ground by a Crush Claw, he should be allowed at least some payback. Shishi just would've found it funny if he and Sylva messed with her.
"Good," Jameson said, pleased with their reaction. "Now, let's get back to the Centre and have those wounds treated."
"'Elite team' my ass!" Otto roared. He slammed his hands on the mahogany table and nearly broke it in two. "What the hell do you mean they aren't here yet?" The messenger grunt quivering before him was nearly reduced to tears. Otto laughed cruelly in his mind; it had to be the most hilarious thing in the world to see a grown man break down like this.
"S-Sir, HQ called from Hoenn," came the grunt's pathetic whimper. "Their team…just isn't r-ready yet. They're d-demanding more payment and -"
"MORE WHAT?" Otto was outraged. Team Regal had paid those ungrateful mercenaries three times their normal fee to even consider joining the organization and now they wanted more money? "Well, you can tell them that they can forget it! I could send in one person and pay them an eighth of their ludicrous price and they'd do it in half the time! Go tell HQ!" The grunt stood motionless, rooted to the spot by fear.
"I SAID GO!" The grunt jumped nearly a foot in the air and bolted out of the room but not before crashing into the door and bruising his nose. Otto finally let out the chuckle he'd been holding in and sat back in his seat to think.
The dark office in Team Regal's Kingston Headquarters wasn't lavishly decorated. The man occupying it wasn't that sort of person. No, all he needed was a desk, a computer, a bookshelf, and a few chairs and Otto was fine. However, the fish tank full of carvanha was a personal touch.
He stood up from his seat, his skuntank following haughtily, and walked to the fish tank. Taking out a poké ball, he opened it and let out the goldeen inside with a flash of silver light. Immediately, the carvanha flew into a feeding frenzy, tearing the poor fish pokémon apart and staining the water red with its blood. Otto grinned.
"Now, to address our current problem," he frowned. "Skuntank, what do you suggest?"
"Skutaaa…" the foul-smelling creature drawled.
"Personally, I think we should go with the one man approach. Knowing Kestrel, if the bastard really is leading the operation they have planned, he'll want to make it as flashy as possible. That'll be our opening." Skuntank nuzzled its owner's portly-but-muscled leg, curling his way around it before going over to eat his kibble.
"A single person would be better than sending an entire squad," Otto repeated, "but which one out of this batch of idiots is suited for the job?" He mentally cycled through all the operatives currently under his command and immediately dismissed three-fourths of them as incompetent, blundering dumb-asses. In his mind, their only use was either as food for his tyranitar or shoveling coal.
Finally, the weeding out stopped, leaving the most capable operative in Otto's mind the only viable option. With a devious and mustachioed grin, he strode to his desk and hit the button on his intercom.
"Gloria," he boomed.
"Yes, Sir Otto?" the nasally voice answered back.
"Please send in operative 0193 to my office. I have an assignment for her," Otto explained while doing an excellent job of keeping the evil smirk out of his voice.
"Right away, sir."
A few moments later, Quinn, eyes hidden by her helmet, and her bayleef entered the room. Both of them bowed in respect for their commanding officer and Quinn saluted. "You called me here, sir?" she asked in a stereotypical soldier's voice.
"Yes. It seems that 'elite' team of mercenaries that we hired is overcharging us in order to execute our newest plan. As you know, we cannot summon Regirock without the other half of the stone tablet we unearthed. It's currently housed in Mélange Town's Museum Tower and, without it, we cannot be led to the Stone Shrine," Otto explained. Skuntank finished his meal and jumped onto his owner's lap to be stroked.
"I understand perfectly, sir," Quinn said. "But what will you have me do?"
"Isn't it obvious, you stupid girl?" Otto spat. "Go to Mélange Town; be there by tomorrow via your staraptor. If our intel is correct, then Team Simurgh will execute a takeover of the town very soon in order to get into Museum Tower and destroy the tablet before we are able to retrieve it. They also seem to be after something themselves, but you can just leave that there as we don't know what it is yet."
"I humbly accept your request. I shall not let you down, Sir Otto," Quinn said confidently. Otto dismissed her with a rude wave of his hand and a grunt. Once outside, Quinn gave Bayleef a sly smirk.
"Well, boy, just a few more jobs for these losers and we can go home," she said under her breath.
"Bay," the Leaf Pokémon barked stoically.
"Man, it really is a great day, huh, Soul?" Grey asked with a grin. He stood on the outskirts of the rural district of Mélange Town, Lucy stood next to him. Behind them, small houses and farms were placed a good distance apart from one another. This had no bearing on the activity of the small town, as people and their pokémon worked and played in the street with no worries whatsoever.
In front of him, the plains stretched out for miles upon miles on the southern, eastern, and western sides that Grey knew were teeming with pokémon. Grey silently and grudgingly thanked Danny in his head; he would not have liked to walk the entire way across the plains. This thought was further reinforced by a herd of tauros proudly thundering by several miles away and knocking down one of the plain's sparse trees with frightening ease. He imagined himself as that poor tree, but his imagination stopped when the make-believe herd was barely a centimeter away.
"I should probably thank the flirty punk," he admitted with a reluctant tone, shuddering at his overactive imagination.
"Chaaar…." Soul gawked from atop Maverick's head. He shifted to get a better look at the west side of the plains. He pointed out a wide, meandering, crystal blue river in the distance to Maverick who responded with a disgusted shudder. "Char char charmander!"
"A river, huh?" Grey said thoughtfully. "Well, there are bound to be pokémon there looking for a drink. But we don't need another Water-type for now, so let's go check out the rest of the area."
Lucy felt a slight pang of guilt at that. She was still set on switching trainers to Grey's sister and she was certain that her current one would be heavily disappointed. Nevertheless, she kept her mouth shut and climbed up onto Maverick's head when Grey moved into the waist high grass.
Y'alright there, runt? Maverick rumbled. Practically shaking in yer fur.
It's nothing, Lucy sighed.
Yeah, right, snorted Soul. I may be young, but I'm not stupid. What's on your mind, rival?
Rival? Lucy raised an eyebrow before ignoring it for the moment and continuing. You remember yesterday when his sister caught Heracross? Well, I was thinking that maybe I'd switch trainers… She looked away at the shocked expression Soul gave her, partially ashamed at what she'd said.
Sw…Switch trainers? Can somebody even do that! Soul said, aghast. And why?
Switching trainers… Heh, interestin' concept. You've got guts, rodent, Maverick said with a throaty laugh.
Thank you? She honestly didn't know what to make of the half-compliment.
Still didn't answer my question, Soul pointed out, clutching Maverick's horn tighter as the Rock Snake Pokémon went over a bump in the ground.
Sorry 'bout that, lizard, Maverick said offhandedly.
I want to see what it's like to be a Pokémon Ranger's pokémon, that's all, Lucy assured. If I don't like it, then I'll go right back to being on this team; I swear.
And if you do like it? Soul asked, a note of bitterness present. Who am I gonna compete against if you go to Rachel's team? What'll Grey do?
Yuh can still compete against her. The pink-headed one's still tagging along with us, Maverick said sagely before Lucy could answer. And, if I'm not mistaken, Grey's a pokémon trainer. He'll catch a new pokémon to replace the rodent. 'S bad as that sounds, it's bound to happen, and fast, too. Kid can hardly sit still long enough not to go off and do that. Yuh'll still be the first pokémon he ever caught, so he won' stop bein' nice to ye just 'cause of this.
Lucy and Soul mulled over Maverick's surprising words of wisdom before concurrently sighing. The both of them acknowledged that Maverick was indeed correct in saying what he did.
Guess you're right, Maverick. Thanks, I guess, Lucy said awkwardly.
Mention it and I'll squeeze you until your eyes pop out of that pretty little head o' yours, Maverick replied, deathly serious. But, yer welcome anyway.
"What're you guys talkin' about?" Grey asked, oblivious, as he sat between Soul and Lucy.
Play it cool; play it cool, urged Soul. Tell him later.
"Bui!" Lucy barked at Grey.
"Good to hear," the boy smiled. "Now, then…" He stood up and shielded his eyes from the harsh but comforting sunlight, searching for a pokémon to catch.
"We gotta aim a little lower than Heracross, guys. A small pokémon that hasn't evolved yet so we can start from scratch and bond quickly. But not too young of a pokémon; we don't want to mess anything up for it," Grey mused.
Maybe we could catch an Electric-type? Maverick suggested. Soul shuddered, disgusted at the very thought.
No way; Grey will never catch one of those annoying little sparklers! he said vehemently. He knows how much I hate their damned attacks.
"Y'know, an Electric-type would be a good addition," Grey mused. "Wonder if there're any around here."
You're actually considering this? Soul yelled, mouth hanging open in indignation. Grey set his Pokédex to Search Mode and touched the icon for Electric-types.
"Okay, we need to find a pokémon that will fit in well with the three of you pretty well; a balanced pokémon," he explained.
During the time spent from before his rematch with Emily and now, Grey had learned to use the Pokédex to analyze his team's strengths and weaknesses in order to strategize effectively. Lucy was fast, strong, and fragile; Soul was well rounded on all fronts and excelled in special based attacks; Maverick was an absorber of physical attacks, but was cumbersome in his movements and was both weak to special attacks and couldn't dish them out too well.
After considering these factors, Grey decided to use the Pokédex to look up anything he could catch that would best fit his current team. Being so selective didn't sit well with Grey, but he didn't want to build the wrong team and end up messing up his relationship with his pokémon.
"Chaa char?" Done yet? Soul asked after a while. He pulled Grey's arm lower to see the Pokédex had narrowed the options down to about five... Or three… Or seven. Soul never could count well.
"I've got it narrowed down to a few," Grey announced. He paused to look around and see that Maverick had moved a fair distance into the grassland. "Maverick, stop for a bit and stand up higher." Maverick grumbled softly and did as asked.
"Thank you," Grey muttered distractedly. Grabbing hold of Maverick's horn for balance, he scoped out the area. The tauros herd had moved off well into the western distance and along the river was a flock of mareep led by a skittish ampharos. A nidoking and nidoqueen protectively stood by as a family of their pre-evolutions ate from one of the lower-lying berry trees. "Okay, Pokédex, work your magic." It dinged, bringing up the image of an electrike.
Electrike, the Lightning Pokémon. Can be found in areas resembling grasslands. Electrike evolves into Manectric, one of the fastest Electric-type pokémon known to currently exist. Electrike and Manectric excel in speed and specially based attacks, but are not known to be very durable on either defensive front.
Grey shook his head in rejection. "Nah; 's fast but can't take a hit too well and that's what we have Lucy for."
"Bui!" Lucy barked, insulted.
"Heh heh, sorry, girl. Didn't mean any offense. Okay, onto the next one: mareep." Another ding preceded the data.
Mareep, the Wool Pokémon. Evolves into Flaafy and again into Ampharos. Like all Electric-types, these pokémon excel in special moves and are unique in that they are incredibly durable and have decent physical power, but at the price of a massive cutback in speed.
Almost immediately, Grey rejected the option. He looked over at the mareep flock and said, "We need something faster with the durability of an ampharos."
I'd love to fight that, Lucy snorted at the flock. I'd take it out in an instant.
Yeah, maybe after you get fried by a Thunderbolt, Little Miss Stamina, Soul snickered. He received a retaliatory double whipping from Lucy's tails. Ow, ow! Okay; sorry! Jeez…
"Lucy, stop whipping Soul," admonished Grey.
Haha, you're whipped, Lucy chuckled. Grey shook his head before looking up the next pokémon.
Elekid and Electabuzz, the Electric Pokémon. The Pokédex brought up the images of the two one after the other. Electabuzz will later become Electivire, the Thunderbolt Pokémon. Physically fragile, these pokémon follow the typical conventions of their type: speed and special attack power. They differ in the fact that they are also physically powerful, although Electivire have been known to be explosively violent.
"Explosively violent…" Grey repeated warily. His imagination started up again, a scenario where an electivire viciously attacked Soul and Lucy over a trivial matter before knocking Maverick into the sky with Focus Punch bursting to life in his mind.
"Uh, Soul, how do you feel about that choice?" he asked with noticeable unease.
No thank you! Soul immediately protested.
I'd like to live, please… Lucy shuddered.
You two are spineless! Maverick heartily guffawed.
Easy for you to say, Ground-type! Soul hollered.
"Okay, fine," Grey sighed. "Anything else?" A proud roar in the distance drowned out anything the Pokédex might have said. Lucy and Grey were nearly scared right off Maverick's head - a nearly thirty foot fall down - while Soul merely blinked in surprise.
"The hell was that!" Grey screamed as he pulled himself back up on Maverick's head. Several smaller and high pitched roars followed that, accompanied further by dogs barking.
"And now there are dogs?" He hoisted himself back up and Soul handed him the Pokédex eagerly. Maverick turned his head at the source of the sound, forcing Grey to do the same. Hidden exceptionally well by the cloak of tall grass was a pride led by a luxray accompanied by a manectric pack. Both fully evolved pokémon were accompanied by their pre-evolutions: three shinx, two luxio, and four electrike cubs. Naturally, the younger generations were excellently protected by the heads of the joint pack.
"That explains the dogs but I've never seen those pokémon before," Grey observed, referring to the lion cubs. "Any answers, Dexter?"
Shinx, Luxio, and Luxray, the Flash, Spark, and Gleam Eyes Pokémon. Dexter displayed pictures of the pokémon in that order. These pokémon generally travel in groups called prides. Unusually for their type, they are more proficient in physical attacks but are above average special attackers as well. They also possess phenomenal stamina and durability. They are not as fast as the majority of their type but make up for it in agility.
"Now you're speaking my language!" Grey climbed down his onix's back, stopping to tell Maverick to lay flat on the ground when he got to the bottom. "Soul, Lucy, let's go. Maverick, hang out here for a bit," he whispered. The two hopped off of Maverick and followed their trainer, Soul holding his tail close so as not to start a brushfire.
Grey crouched down low and hid himself within the grass so as to inch closer to the pride without being noticed. He slid a poké ball out of his pocket and stopped when he made it to the edge of the river, throwing an arm out to stop his pokémon. Ampharos and the mareep gave the human scrutinizing gazes before dismissing him as no threat.
Grey poked his head just above the grass to get a better view of the pride and almost couldn't believe his luck when one of the shinx wandered away from her siblings and into the tall grass on its own. He edged closer, not wanting to alert the pride leaders to his presence, moving parallel to the young cub. When it was far enough away, Grey showed himself to the cub.
Immediately, the cub's eyes steeled and its entire body tensed up. Its eyes glowed a menacing yellow and it bared its fangs in a way that made Soul shrink back a bit. Lucy was less than impressed with the show of bravado. Noticing that it needed to be more intimidating, the shinx cub growled an oddly cute sounding growl and increased the power of its glare, succeeding in making the buizel back away.
"Aww, that's kind of cute," Grey cooed. "But enough of that; get in the poké ball." He pulled his arm back and prepared to throw, but the shinx was faster. Taking Grey's movements as a sign of hostility, it called out for its mother and flashed a dazzling gold, becoming a living beacon.
"What the heck's it doing?" Grey hissed in fear.
If they feel threatened, Shinx cubs will flash brightly to alert any nearby pride members, most often its mother, Dexter spoke.
"Now you decide to tell me this!" Grey shouted angrily.
The mother luxray heard her child's cry and stared into the depths of the tall grass with the use of her enhanced vision. Seeing right through the grass and straight at Grey and his pokémon, she leapt into defense of her child. In an instant, the luxray bounded onto the scene, her eyes gleaming with many more volumes of killing intent than could ever be mustered by her child. She let out a truly spine-chilling growl, baring her deadly fangs at the intruding trainer.
"Son of a bitch…" Grey moaned, suddenly wishing he'd never targeted the shinx.
"You're a curious little specimen, aren't you, Nidoran?" Juniper said with a friendly tone. The young female Poison Pin Pokémon squeaked in confusion.
June was knelt down in the grass, fully enveloped by it, as she studied the nidoran's complexion. She was much lighter than the Kanto, Johto, and Sinnoh natives of her species, reaching a light periwinkle in color and the venomous spines on her back were much sharper than normal. The only thing normal about this nidoran was that, like all other female members of her species, she was docile and did not attack Juniper while she studied her.
"I really am glad I switched research topics," June said with a satisfied smile. "It gives me a good challenge and a readily available source of research subjects. Plus, I'm traveling with two trainers, so that just makes things even better for me." She giggled and placed the last period on her notes, getting up to head back to town.
"Nidaynya?" Nidoran peeped when she saw that Juniper was getting up to leave.
"Sorry, Nidoran, it's time for me to head back now," June apologized. "You should probably head back to your family; I bet they are worried about you." Nidoran let out a saddened mewl and hurriedly chased after Juniper as she started to leave.
"Nidoran, really," Juniper huffed. "I cannot have you following me around like this! If your papa Nidoking comes looking for you, I will be in very big trouble!"
"Nido nidya!" Nidoran persisted. Juniper knelt down and stared straight into the Poison-type's eyes, slightly annoyed.
"What is it? Are you hungry?" she asked her. "I do not have any food with me; only these." June reached into the pocket of her lab coat and produced a poké ball, still in its miniaturized state. Curious about the strange red-and-white capsule, Nidoran poked the button in the center with her nose and jumped back with a start when the ball grew in size.
"Yes, it tends to do that," Juniper chuckled. Nidoran pushed the button again, much to Juniper's surprise, and was sucked up into the ball in an instant. The ball didn't shake even once before signaling the capture. Unsure of what to say, Juniper stared at the poké ball dumbly until the words came to her.
"I just caught a nidoran…? I guess?" she asked the air. "Wait until I tell Grey about this one." A sudden roar out in the distance rudely grabbed her attention and hoarded it for itself. Juniper's heart leapt into her throat and she gave a huge jump of surprise herself.
"I think that was a luxray," she said, a bit shaken. "Hope the boys are alright out there. It is not advisable to approach a luxray as angry as that one sounds." If Juniper knew the situation Grey was in, she might've laughed at the irony of her words.
"Chaaaar…" Soul whimpered fearfully as he scurried behind Grey's leg. Lucy did the same and clutched onto the boy's shin for dear life. Grey wanted to call for Maverick's help but his voice had abandoned him, scared off by the enraged mother pokémon. He stood there, trembling and helpless as his Pokédex again dispensed information.
Mother luxray are famously protective of their offspring. They will viciously maul anything they deem to be a threat to the safety of their children.
"Something I could've been told earlier!" Grey screamed in his head. "Useless piece of…" His head suddenly exploded in pain as waves of maternal rage suddenly attacked his consciousness. It radiated from the mother luxray in droves and he tried to back away and seem like less of a threat. Luxray roared, summoning the other members of her pride who appeared in a flash. Grey felt himself bump into something large with coarse fur that shocked him when he touched it. He turned around and saw the father manectric's snarling chops were mere inches away from biting into Grey's throat and tearing it out.
"This seems to be happening to me a lot lately," Grey noticed as more anger from the pride members reached him.
It's been a pleasure serving with you, Lucy, Soul resigned in a dignified voice.
See you in hell, partner, Lucy responded.
Grey looked around desperately but there was absolutely no way out for him; he was completely surrounded by all eleven Electric-types, all wanting to attack. Luxray strutted forward dangerously, exuding an aura of pride and dignity as she did so, and stared Grey in the eyes as if to say,
You have one chance to explain yourself, human.
"L-Listen!" he shouted, instantly regretting it when the luxio flanking him roared back and took threatening steps closer. "Sorry… But I meant no harm. I swear."
"Char!" Soul yipped with quick and frantic nods. Disbelief was now the dominant emotion from the pride.
"I swear," Grey repeated when he sensed it. "I, uh… I wanted to maybe capture one of you… To, y'know, fight with me…?" Luxray roared in furious indignation. Grey resisted the urge to cover his ringing ears and the herd Ampharos was leading immediately took off in fear.
My child? Luxray snarled as she moved forward once more. Grey now sensed an intense killing aura practically fly off the lioness. He himself felt guilty for even thinking of breaking up their family as he began to remember what Rachel had said about it. He hurriedly stuffed the poké ball back into his jacket pocket.
He's a pokémon trainer; it's what he does! Lucy came to the defense of the human boy. If he did capture one of your kin, he'd never mistreat them! I give you my word as a pokémon he captured himself!
Why should that matter to us? He was going to steal one of our family from us against her will and that is punishable by death, Manectric declared. The shinx Grey was targeting came out from behind her mother and boldly approached Grey, who fought the pleading voice in his head telling him to run and remained calm. She locked glowing yellow orbs with the human's hazel ones, trying to see if he harbored any ill intent. She could find none. Shinx called her mother forward and she came without hesitation, staring into Grey's fear-filled hazel orbs herself.
"I'm sorry; I didn't… I mean…" Grey struggled to find the words in the face of potential death. "I'm a trainer, yeah…but I'd never ever hurt a pokémon. Soul here is my best friend and I raised him from birth, so you know that I never harmed him." The charmander in question gave a meek wave. Grey lowered himself to Luxray's eye level, trying to look as honest as he possibly could.
"I'm sorry," he repeated. "Really, I am. If you're going to punish me, fine… Just don't hurt Soul or Lucy." Soul finally found his courage again and stepped out from behind Grey.
He's telling the truth. Plus, he can understand pokémon… Sort of. Do you think he'd even know to say anything to you guys if he didn't?
At this, the pride backed off a little and the waves of rage that Grey sensed slightly reduced. A human that could understand pokémon? As far as the pride knew, that was nigh impossible.
Prove it, then, one of the electrike demanded. What's our papa feeling right now besides being real mad? Soul translated the message to his trainer.
"Prove it?" he asked unsurely. He looked over his shoulder at Manectric, who gave him a stoic nod. Concentrating as hard as he could, Grey attempted to block out or at least dull the other emotions bombarding him at the moment to focus on Manectric's.
"Uhm… You're feeling…defensive," Grey mumbled. "And annoyed with me…and…" Grey's stomach growled loudly, striking him as odd since breakfast was only an hour ago.
"You… You're hungry?" he said, incredulous. Manectric blinked twice before nodding.
I am… So you can understand us?
"Sort of. Just not everything," Grey explained. "Can we go now? I'll leave and I won't bother you guys again." Luxray grudgingly nodded, pushing Grey forward with her paw. Grey got up and he and his pokémon slowly backed out of the ring the pride had formed around him.
"Thank you," he said respectfully. "Come on, you two; let's get back to Maverick and look for another pokémon." He turned around to run, only to be rammed in the back by something small and furry. Grey fell forward and slammed his head into the ground, Soul and Lucy rushing to his aid.
"Ow! I said I was sorry; what the hell was - ?"
"Shiyaaah!" came the proud meow. Grey rubbed the dust out of his eyes, putting his glasses back and looking at the very Shinx he'd targeted staring back up at him defiantly. Luxray rushed forward concernedly and tried to pull her child away but the shinx tenaciously pushed back her paw, hissing at Grey in challenge. Shinx made her fur stand on end, narrowed her golden eyes, and raised her tail into the air in an attempt to look threatening.
Grey immediately picked up waves of what could only be described as bold pride coming from Shinx. Shinx's enthusiasm energized him obliterating his prior fear and replacing it with a confident grin. "I guess she recognizes strength when she sees it," Grey said cockily.
Manectric barked angrily at his child, ordering her to return to him but the strong-willed Flash Pokémon stayed where she was, unflinchingly challenging Grey.
"Soul, translation," Grey requested.
"Char char. Charmander. Man, charmander," Soul reeled off.
"So she wants a battle. And if I win, then I get to catch her? That the general gist of it?" Soul nodded and his trainer grinned, only to have it wiped off when Luxray roared in protest. Soul stepped forward bravely, ignoring the fact that he could easily become a morsel for the bigger pokémon.
It's her choice, Luxray. If Grey wins, then I can promise you your kid won't be hurt, so just calm yourself. Luxray and Manectric both glared at Soul and his human but honored their child's wishes by backing off, ordering their family to do the same.
"Soul, step up." He took out his Pokédex and Soul gave a slight nod and took his place in front of his trainer, flexing his claws and grinning. "Wait, hold on." Luxray and her family growled in annoyance.
"The grass is too high. How're they supposed to see? " Grey pointed out innocently. Shooting a look that said 'Is that it?', Luxray stepped forward, the three rings on her front paws cloaked with an evil black light. With one swipe, she cut down a circle of grass to create a miniature battlefield. Shinx stood at one end of it and growled.
The Flash pokémon made the first move and pulled electricity out of the dry air with Charge before shooting it back out with Shock Wave. Grey hurriedly told Soul to dodge and the little lizard did a diving roll to the side before being blasted in the back by Shinx's attack. His body numb, Soul forced his body to respond and breathed out a Smokescreen.
"Shock Wave," Grey read off the Pokédex. "In that case, we need to get in close. Soul, rush her and use Scratch!"
"Chaaaaaar!" Soul cried as he recklessly charged into his smokescreen with his claws fully extended. Shinx streaked out of the cloud with smoke trailing after her and launched another Shock Wave. Soul was sent numbly to his knees with electrical burns before being a follow-up Quick Attack that sent him into a dizzying back flip.
Hate…Electric-types…so much… Soul edgily growled.
"Come on, buddy," Grey muttered nervously while Soul forced himself back up. Shinx blew a raspberry at Soul as she charged up another Shock Wave attack. A cub was toying with them like it was nothing, thought Grey. If they wanted any chance at getting stronger - and save themselves from any more humiliation - he and Soul would have to turn the tables on Shinx and capture her.
"I have to think!" Grey berated himself. "Think on your feet in battle; that's one of the most important trainer skills…"
Shinx began to toy with Soul now, much to the amusement of her family, and switched to physical hits, streaking towards Soul with Quick Attack while the charmander relied on his reflexes to dodge and deliver a furious Metal Claw to her head. Shinx's head was driven into the ground, actually skidding as her Quick Attack failed her.
"Shiyaah!" Shinx shrieked after she righted herself. Her body began to spark with dancing electricity and she took off in an all-out run at Soul. Soul zealously avoided her Spark attack and pitched an Ember into Shinx at close range. Her fur singed, Shinx glared at her orange assaulter and set her eyes ablaze with menacing light. Intimidate made Soul take a few steps back but his annoyed gaze never left Shinx.
"Bui buizeru!" Lucy called out supportively.
"That was the Intimidate ability…" Grey noted. Shinx began to charge up again and Soul sucked his teeth in annoyance. He'd already taken enough electrical attacks and he wasn't about to let himself take more. Sensing Soul's emotions let Grey come to a quick solution.
"Soul, when she launches Shock Wave, you fire an Ember!" he commanded, throwing a hand out.
"Char!" Soul grunted, flinging the Ember just as Shinx loosed her move. Fire and electricity met and exploded, sending small ripples flying through the waist-high grass.
"That's the way, bud! Now use Ember again!" Grey roared. Soul charged another fireball and sent it crashing straight into Shinx's face. The young cub did a backwards somersault into the grass but came back out strong with Quick Attack and latched onto Soul's arm with Bite. Grey was finally able to get into the groove of the battle; he took a calming breath and ordered Soul to throw Shinx off his arm.
Flail as Soul did, Shinx only held fast by digging her fangs further into his scales. His arm snapped forward in repeated Scratch attacks and knocked Shinx off. Soul's tail came next, lashing out like a whip and striking Shinx's head hard enough to send her into a daze.
"Ember attack!" shouted the trainer boy and his charmander happily obliged. Another fireball made contact with the Flash Pokémon's body, this one burning her and lighting her body on fire for an instant.
Shinx pushed past her status ailment and began to store electricity. Soul again fired Ember, only to see that it did less damage than it did before. Cursing himself for forgetting the side effect to Charge, Grey switched tactics. Ember's damage was reduced and Soul only had one other projectile attack.
Shinx let out a mini-roar. The rings on her legs glowed black and her claws grew twice their normal size, sheathed in black light. Just as she pounced, aiming to dig her claws into Soul's tiny skull, Grey barked the command for Dragon Rage. Tail flame flaring up and eyes flashing white, Soul gathered all of his raw anger and used it to fuel the attack. He launched it as Shinx came down, one set of claws extended, and it impacted her under the chin. The Dragon Rage exploded, sending yet another, stronger ripple through the grass and Shinx dropped straight of the air.
"Soul, finish her with Ember!" Grey called, thoroughly enthused. Soul jumped, a fireball swirling to life in his open jaws. Instead of launching it, however, Soul dove down and chomped down on Shinx's back. Fire seeped through his teeth while torching Shinx's blue fur charcoal black and summoning a yowl from his opponent.
"Fire Fang; sweet!" Grey pumped his fist into the air. "I knew Dragon Rage and physical hits would work, but a new move is just icing on the cake. Unbelievable, buddy!"
"Bui bui!" Lucy rooted. Soul flashed them a toothy grin that was still slightly on fire.
Shinx immediately stood back up, becoming very lightheaded as she did, but she pushed past it. However, her burn took effect once more as she literally burst into flames.
"Chance," Grey grunted. Pulling a poké ball off his belt, he expanded it while simultaneously flicking it into the air. "Poké ball…!" He snatched it back and tossed it into the air where Soul jumped and batted it at Shinx with his tail.
"Char mander!" Capture on! The ball hit Shinx just as the flames died out; she was converted into energy and sucked into the ball.
"Come on, you little sparkplug," Grey said through gritted teeth. Luxray and Manectric watched the ball shake violently and felt proud that their daughter was fighting so hard; Soul, Lucy, and Grey watched and felt apprehensive for the same reason. One the one hand, catching such a tenacious cub would definitely prove to be a good asset, but if she got out of the ball, then Soul'd have to fight again. Grey didn't want to have to force his partner to do all that over again.
After a minute of anticipation, the poké ball finally stopped moving. Grey let out his tension in the form of a sigh and Soul rushed over to him, jumping onto his shoulder.
"Charmander char chaa!" he shouted victoriously.
"You bet your flaming ass we did, buddy! You rock!"
"Bui bui!" Lucy put in. Luxray suddenly sauntered over to Grey and beckoned him down to her eyelevel. She tried her best to convey her feelings to the boy while Grey did the same to interpret them.
"Ruxsha…" the lioness whispered. "Ren ruxsh!" Grey grinned at her.
"No problem, Luxray. I'll take good care of Strabi in your place," he said in an assuring voice while simultaneously naming his newest capture. Luxray gave a small and reluctant smirk before sending Grey off with a push. Grey gave Luxray one last grin before turning tail and heading back towards Maverick.
"Thanks again, Luxray!" he shouted.
"Are the preparations complete?"
"Yes sir, Lieutenant Kestrel," the grunt saluted. "All operatives are in position and the tablet has been located, as well as the item. Team Regal won't know what hit them." A sadistic grin swelled into existence upon Kestrel's face, showcasing his oddly pointed teeth.
"Good; good… Excellent work, grunt. You'll receive a nice bonus for all of this," he chuckled. His deep, menacing voice rumbled as he spoke, almost as if he were a growling beast.
"Thank you, sir," the grunt said humbly.
"That will be all for now. Relay a message to all other squads to get some rest for the big day tomorrow. We strike at 1500 hours. That is all," Kestrel ordered. The grunt saluted once more before marching off into the small soldier camp behind him.
Kestrel looked out at the plains from his vantage point on the plateau he was stationed on. They seemed to go on forever and their beauty in the mid-afternoon was breathtaking. As psychotic as Kestrel was - a fact that he freely admitted - even he took the time to stop and enjoy the beauty of the world. That is, before he razed the spirits of its people to the ground and crushed them into submission. But never would he harm a single blade of grass on this landscape; not for all the money in the world.
A fearow and honchkrow flew in from out of the blue, twisting and turning in the air and conjoining their flight paths elegantly before landing next to their master. Kestrel affectionately stroked their pristine and glossy feathers, eliciting soft trills from the both of them.
"Honchkrow, Fearow, tomorrow is a very special day. Daddy needs the two of you on your best behavior, okay? We may even get to fight tomorrow," Kestrel cooed. Honchkrow nuzzled against Kestrel's clean-shaven face while Fearow stretched out a wing preened his feathers. Excitement at the prospect of battle surged throughout Kestrel and increased his sadism and drive twofold. Casting a devilish glance over at Museum Tower in the distance, Kestrel gave a dark series of chuckles.
"Yes… Tomorrow is a very special day indeed. Hahaha…."
"Thanks again, Aunt Joy," Grey said with a smile. He collected the four poké balls off the tray and headed out the back exit of the Centre to catch up with his friends after a long day. The sun hung high in the sky and Jameson was just telling everybody about the Mélange Town Gym Leader, Kory. Grey walked outside into the two acre patch of greenery the Pokémon Centre owned, released three of his pokémon, and took his seat in the circle next to Juniper. Maverick coiled himself around the group, acting as a protective barrier while Soul and Lucy settled next to the rock snake's head. Grey wanted to keep Strabi a secret for now.
"Kory had a breloom with him that was crazy powerful," Jameson finished. "I don't know how I'm going to do it, but I'm sure that we can take him, right guys?"
"Scytha!"
"Duuuuskuuuull…"
"Sounds like you had a pretty eventful day, James," Rachel said. "As for me, going to the Museum Tower was a day well spent."
"What'd I tell ya?" Danny smiled proudly. "I knew you'd like it there."
"I did and I learned a lot about ancient civilizations and how the world was before now. Did you know Kanto used to be mostly underwater?" Rachel asked them with a vaguely smug look that suggested she knew more than the teenagers she traveled with.
"Of course we did; that's, like, fourth grade," Grey snorted.
"He is right," Juniper giggled. "Why do you think omanyte and kabuto fossils are so abundant there?" Rachel visibly reddend in embarrassment and fixed Grey with an annoyed look. Her little brother only looked back innocently, happy to have derailed her.
"Anyway, today was fun for me, too. I found a new research topic and I even caught a new pokémon," Juniper continued.
"Ret ret," Rosewood piped up with a nod.
"Really?" James asked, intrigued. "What'd you switch to?"
"Regional affects on pokémon. Basically, while I go around with you guys, I compare how the Silver Ring's varying climates affect the pokémon introduced to them by the League. It's really fascinating," the redhead explained.
"Gro grovyle?" Like us, you mean? asked Sylva.
"Of course like you," Grey answered. "I mean, look; you're way greener than a normal grovyle." Sylva wasn't sure whether or not to take that as a compliment.
"So, what'd you do today, kid?" Danny asked Grey.
"First off," Grey began heatedly, "don't call me 'kid'."
"Okay, okay," Danny said warily.
"Second." Grey took a deep breath to calm himself before going on. "I caught a new pokémon like I said I would. I had to go up against a pissed off luxray and her manectric husband to catch her, but I did it," he declared with a proud grin.
"What is it with you and pissing off pokémon?" Rachel snickered at him.
"Roooohohoho…" Maverick chuckled.
"Don't ask me. It just happens," Grey mumbled defensively.
"So what you're saying is that you're a trouble magnet," Jameson smirked.
"Listen, Rhodes - "
"Don't even think of starting up again, you two," Juniper warned as Grey lifted out of his seat. She looked at the both of them with threatening steel eyes, daring one of them to make the first move. Grey cooled off and sat back down, not wanting to incur her wrath. Jameson even dialed down his smart mouth.
"Thank you," Juniper giggled as she returned to her bubbly demeanor. As hard as the boys tried, they couldn't get how the normally docile Juniper could become so threatening. In a way, it was kind of attractive but, at the same time, it was scary.
"Oh, right!" Rachel exclaimed. "James and Grey, what did you guys catch today?" Near identical smiles broke out across the boy's faces.
"On three?" Grey suggested.
"Fine with me," James replied.
"Me too; me too!" June cried eagerly. The three of them produced their newest pokeballs in their own signature ways before calling them out in unison.
"Luna, come on!"
"Strabi, say hello!"
"Rhea, it's time to meet everyone!"
A trio of silver lights erupted from the poké balls, morphing into the shapes of the zangoose, nidoran, and shinx caught earlier that day. Luna immediately crossed her arms in an accurate mimicry of a gang leader, Strabi stretched out and yawned like a housecat, and Rhea merely blinked docilely.
"Zang!"
"Shiyah…"
"Nida nida!" Danny whistled, impressed with the new pokémon.
"Looks like you guys made some pretty cool new captures if I do say so myself," he remarked.
"Yeah, but it looks like our bet's a tie, Grey," James pointed out. "We both caught new pokémon by two o'clock." Grey gave an indifferent shrug.
"Eh, as long as I make a new friend, it's all the same to me," he said as he petted Strabi, much to the cub's liking.
"Wasn't it you who was so fired up about it in the first place?" Rachel wondered under her breath.
The new pokémon walked over to their new teammates to socialize. Luna gave a confident fanged grin while Rhea shyly approached the bigger creatures. Strabi, in a perfect imitation of her mother, sauntered over regally.
Don't be scared, little one, Sylva said soothingly to the little nidoran. My name is Sylva and it's nice to meet one of June's new captures.
I'm Rosewood. As long as you don't mess up my fur, I'm sure we can get along just fine. Ooh, you're so cute! the furret squealed as she lightly pinched Rhea's cheek.
It's very nice to meet the both of you as well, Rhea spoke politely, though I really have no clue what's going on… Please, tell me why the orange one is so loud?
That's just Soul being Soul, Sylva said dismissively. Trust me, you get used to it pretty fast.
Yo! Luna grunted loudly, placing Soul into a headlock and grating her knuckles onto his head. My name's Luna now, I guess, and you guys are the perfect new recruits into my gang.
Gang? Soul wondered while he attempted to pry his head free. I think you've got it backwards; you're part of James's team now.
Yeah, yeah, I know, but that's just a cover, see? I let myself be caught by this trainer so he can make me and my gang stronger so we can take over and be the most powerful pokémon on the island! Whaddaya say, runts? Feel like joining up?
As I recall, I kicked your furry ass, Sniper pointed out boisterously.
In your dreams, psycho, Lucy snorted derisively. You've got to have a few screws loose if you think we're up to that. I'll take my chances with the humans.
I'd like to say I wanna join, Maverick said lazily, but then I'd be lying. I don't wanna be a liar.
How about you, big blue bug? Luna asked eagerly. Do you want fame? Glory? Your own kingdom?
Uh… no, Heracross answered uneasily. I'm good where I am now, thank you.
Oh come on, don't be that way!
He said no, now will you please stop? Vulpix deadpanned. You're way too loud.
I wanna join a gang; I wanna join a gang! Mudkip sang. The world shall know the name 'Kip!
That's the spirit, little blue thing! Luna cheered.
Is she always like this? Lucy asked Sniper. The mantis shrugged and said,
As far as we know. She's a damn good fighter, though.
Damn good fighter but damn crazy as well, Shishi snickered. Love to see how long she lasts without picking a fight with the charmander.
Like hell I'm joining your gang. I'm stickin' with my buddy Grey, ya warped furball! Soul said vehemently. Luna's crazed grin overtook her features once more as she switched into mania mode.
So, ya wanna fight, do ya? Well, bring it on, firebug! she roared, unsheathing her claws and pointing them at Soul's neck. Soul brandished his as well, setting them ablaze with the metallic sheen of Metal Claw.
Prepare to be torched, ya loon!
Called it! Shishi shouted before he erupted into laughter.
Well, I can tell this is going to get interesting, Strabi noted with an interested smile. There's never a dull moment with you guys, is there? I like that.
You think this is fun, wait til your first Gym Battle, kid, Maverick rumbled.
Battle? Strabi's eyes narrowed in excited expectation. If Grey shows me the same kinds of fights he did today, then I might just stick around.
Ow! Hey, get off of me! Soul shouted after Luna tackled him to the ground. He latched onto her with Fire Fang and threw her into Heracross. The annoyed beetle tried shaking her off but she hung fast to his horn.
Let go o' my horn, you demon! Megahorn!
Woohoo! Attica! For the horde! Luna cheered as she was repeatedly flung into the air.
This chick is crazy! the other pokémon chorused.
Sweet mother, that took me for-freakin'-ever but it's here now. I wanted to give Grey another addition to his team since Lucy plans on leaving the team and another one of his pokémon is going to leave, too, but I won't say who. It's not Soul, though, so you can rest easy. And James and June were WAAAY overdue for a capture. Though I think I may have doomed James by giving him a psychotic zangoose with split personality disorder.
Ah, Grey so does have a talent for inadvertently ticking off other pokémon, doesn't he? I really hate doing this to him but it makes for good reading and he lives most of the time, so I'll roll with it.
Just so you guys know, Grey and James's next two captures will come fairly quickly. After checking out my story outline, I've found that their captures happen relatively quickly in relation to one another, so expect a lot of that.
Also, that note that I put in the beginning of this chapter's Author's Notes? Ignore it. Have the next few events done as well as having this entire arc more or less mapped out.
Does anybody know what's up with FF's document editor? It won't let you use the question mark/exclamation point combo anymore, the double dashes are turned to singles, and whole bunch of other stuff's been messed up. It's really messing with my writing style.
That's all for now. I'm really sleepy so I'll go get some rest but you know the drill: Read and Review! =D
CHAPTER PREVIEW
James: It's finally here; my next Gym Battle. Kory's a tough opponent from what I've seen, so there's no guarantee I'll win. Better be prepared…
Grey: Relax, dude. I've seen you battle and you'll be fine. Plus, with that new psycho zangoose of yours, I think you stand a pretty good chance.
James: Grey, are you actually complimenting me?
Grey: Don't get used to it; I'm just giving credit where credit is due. Besides, watching you fight Kory gives me an advantage.
James: How's that?
Grey: I get to scope out his pokémon beforehand and strategize. That's a huge upper hand if I do say so myself.
Juniper: Wow, we actually managed to get through a chapter preview without the two of you fighting. This is great!
Rachel: Yep, but we forgot one thing in this one, guys.
James: The antagonists?
Grey: Oh, right; how could we forget about them? Team Simurgh comes around to ruin things for us right when they start getting good. That Kestrel guy and his bird pokémon scare the hell out of me. Especially the dude's crazy smile…
Rachel: Not too different from one of your grins.
James: Ouch; got him here, haha.
Rachel: Why isn't he retaliating, though?
Juniper: Can't say, but from the blush on the bridge of his nose and the vacant stare, I think he's fallen in love…
James and Rachel: WHAT?
Girls and James: Next time on Challenger!: Jameson's Hidden Skill! VS Leader Kory I!
Grey: She's so cute…
Others: WAKE UP, GREY!