All right, Nobel Six, you're the only one who I know is reading this…but! I really do love this story, so if all I need to do is keep posting and keep posting for people to start reading, then fine. All I know is that I just really need to get this story out. So enjoy, rate, and review!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. If I did, tons of the 5th generation Pokémon would not exist. Also, I would have make a Pokémon Conquest TV series for teens and Ash would have been done as a main character a long time ago.
Chapter Three
Annie groggily woke the next morning to the smell of cooking food and the sounds of people and Pokémon alike scampering about, making cheerful morning noises. Groaning, Annie stretched, opening her eyes. To her surprise, Brave was curled up to her side, still fast asleep. There was an inexplicable fluttering of her heart at the sight, and her lips curled up in a smile.
"Time to get up, Annie," Alice called. When Annie looked at her, she was surprised to see all her camping gear already packed and organized into her large backpack, despite that the sun was just barely into the sky. What looked like a mash-up of different berries and greens was sitting in Alice's open hand. The teeny Pokémon Tiktok was climbing all over Alice's hand and picking at the food she was given, squeaking happily when she found something she wanted. Annie saw a rare smile of absolute love and adoration light up Alice's face. "Tik, you're such a picky eater," Annie heard the older girl laugh.
"Come on, let's go," Hans said, appearing in front of her. "We can't afford to take time right now. You have to get used to packing quickly and getting up when you need to, not when you want to." Gently, he shook Brave. "Come on, you too, little guy. Let's go." He turned back to Annie, who had gotten up and looked unsure of where to start. "Pack up your sleeping bag, get dressed quickly, feed Brave, and then we can get going. You can eat something while we're moving. Okay?"
"Sure." Trying to fast, Annie rolled her bag into a squashed, messy cylinder and stuffed it into her pack. She walked a little ways into the forest to get dressed, then rushed back. She looked around for a bit for Brave, but didn't see him anywhere.
"Brave?" she called uncertainly. Hans and Alice looked up at her call.
"I don't see him anywhere…" Hans murmured as he glanced around him. Suddenly, Alice gasped. With no warning whatsoever, she started running just as Annie spotted the situation—Brave had gotten too close to Kane, and Kane had lunged and pinned the Charmander to the ground. Luckily the Mightyena had a muzzle on, but it was still a very serious situation.
"Brave!" Annie cried, attempting to run towards her Pokémon, but Hans held out an arm to stop her.
"No! Let Alice handle this," he warned.
"But—"
"Annie!" Hans growled. The ten-year-old flinched, having never heard him raise his voice before; he always seemed so calm. It was that, more than anything, which frightened her. Helplessly, she glued her eyes to the chaos unfolding before her.
In the meanwhile, Alice had rushed into action. Without making a single sound, she wrested Kane away from Brave, pinning him down by his neck. Despite that he was large and kept struggling, Alice maintained a state of absolute calmness, almost serenity. Within minutes, the Mightyena had relaxed completely, quivering in total submission.
"Yelling would have just made it worse," Hans said quietly, almost as if by rote. "You can go get Brave now."
Annie rushed to her Charmander and scooped him up protectively. She felt a sense of relief as he clung to her with his tiny paws. Alice attached a leash to Kane's muzzle and stood, allowing him to move around.
"Finish getting ready," she said to Annie without turning around. "We're going to start walking in a few minutes." Keeping Brave close to her chest, she gathered the rest of her things quickly and only put him down once they had actually set off. To Annie's surprise (and indignation), Alice had chosen not to punish Kane by putting him in his Poké Ball. Hans also voiced concerns.
"Alice, shouldn't you take a break? He'll recognize it as punishment for attacking Brave anyway, so the positives surely outweigh the negatives," he urged Alice before they began walking. As he talked, he released his female Marowak (whose name was Bones). Alice trained a somewhat cold look on her best friend.
"That would do no good in the long run," she said slowly. "That tells Kane that I do not know how to dominate. Besides, Kane and Brave both need to learn respect for each other and how to read different signals. I was watching Kane; he had been telling Brave in his own way to get out of his space. I turned my back because I thought Brave had the good sense to listen."
With that unpromising start to the morning, the group set off in silence.
Despite the tenseness of the situation, Annie found time to appreciate how fascinating Viridian Forest was. The denseness of the greenery was astounding, and there were rustling noises all around her. Brave was sniffing the air constantly, and at one point ran to the edge of the path and found a patch of Oran Berries. Before he could pick some, however, two Pikachu shot some sparks at him, and he jumped back, startled. The berry patch, apparently, was claimed.
"Look closely, right over there," Hans whispered to Annie, pointing to the direction of the two Pikachu. "What do you see right behind them?" Annie squinted—directly behind the irate Pikachu was a large, gnarled old tree with a split trunk. Tucked into a hollow at the base of it was—
"A nest? With eggs?" Annie asked, peering around the Pokémon.
"Exactly. They're protecting their eggs, and the food supply they'll need once they hatch." As they watched, the Pikachu parents, evidently satisfied that they weren't going to take the berries or the eggs, retreated towards the nest, still keeping an eye on them. "Oh!" Hans said, snapping a finger. "Right, the eggs reminded me! Alice?" he called to where she was waiting, slightly ahead of them. "We should go visit Len!"
"Why?" Alice took the brief rest from walking as an opportunity to take a swig from her water.
"To warn him about the poachers," Hans replied, catching up with her. Annie followed behind a bit hesitantly, not certain if Alice was still upset about the morning's events. "I mean, he's got a pretty large supply of eggs and Pokémon. And he's so secluded he probably won't have heard about the poachers yet."
"Good thing we're so close, then," Alice reflected. "His house can't be more than fifteen minutes from here."
"Let's get going, then," Hans said cheerfully. "Come on, Bones!" The Marowak huffed, but seemed more amused by her overly happy Trainer than anything.
"Who's Len?" Annie asked tentatively, not wanting to intrude on the conversation, which seemed strangely intimate. Hans started, as though he had forgotten Annie was even there. He began explaining as they turned onto what looked like a little-used path diverging from the main one, going deeper into the woods.
"He's an old friend of ours," he said, locking his hands on the back of his head as he walked. "A breeder, actually. And an awesome cook for both people and Pokémon." Suddenly he laughed and started sort of dancing his way down the road. "Finally, a good meal for the first time in six months!"
"I was always the one who cooked when we traveled," Alice said in a conspirator's tone, sidling up next to Annie and Brave (careful to keep Kane on the outside). "Ever wonder why he doesn't have any Fire types? He can barely handle a cooking fire, let alone a Fire Pokémon."
"Good thing I can cook," Annie said in a serious tone, but with a joking glint in her eye. "At least I know that if I'm stuck alone with him I won't starve to death."
"Oh, yeah," Alice said with a small wink. "He's pretty helpless by himself."
"You're both so mean to me," Hans said in a fake upset tone.
"It's the price you pay for having women in your life," Alice stated superiorly without batting an eyelash. Everyone laughed, including Brave and Bones. Even Kane seemed more relaxed, with his tail lowered and his head high.
"There it is!" Hans said excitedly, pointing through the trees as a house came into view. "Hey, Len!" he called out to a tall man wearing shorts, a black t-shirt, and a bandanna. The man stood up and waved, grinning when he saw them.
"Hans! Alice! Other girl whose name I don't know! Hi!" he said cheerily. "You guys are just in time for lunch, too!"
"Victory!" Hans cried happily. "Oh, this is Annie, Len."
"Hi, Annie!" Len said jubilantly. "Let's go inside, we'll have lunch and then I'll give you the grand tour." A Jigglypuff and a Mareep followed closely behind him.
They settled into a tatami-style room, seating themselves on the floor around a low table. Bowls of rice flavored with different spices and vegetables were sitting on it.
"I always make a few extra, you know, in case I have company," Len explained as they settled. "You can release your Pokémon, too, so they can have food. I see you're still going on and on about Mightyena, Alice," he nodded in Kane's direction, seemingly not noticing how Alice stiffened. "I don't see the need for the muzzle and leash, though. It's pretty safe around here."
"That's kind of what we came to talk to you about," Hans explained. "There are poachers around here. They took three of Alice's team and one of mine. We thought we'd come and warn you so you'd be prepared."
"Poachers, huh? That does seem pretty worrisome," Len said, looking suddenly concerned. "I'd better get all my Pokémon and eggs inside and secure, then. Would you guys mind helping?"
"Not at all," Alice said. "I'd ask my Pokémon to help, but Wolf is too big and Tiktok is too small."
"My Pokémon can pitch in," Hans offered.
"Brave, do you want to help, too?" Annie asked her small companion. He smiled enthusiastically and nodded in the affirmative.
"Lunch can wait for a few minutes," Alice decided, standing up and joining Annie, who was already following Len out the door. Hans pointedly gobbled up a few more mouthfuls before standing as well and ushering Bones out the door, along with Shot and Fluffy Girl. "Kane, stay here," Alice said gently. The beast uneasily complied with her request, sitting on the floor.
"We have to get the eggs to safety first—I mean, it's not as if they can carry themselves," Len said, walking quickly through the hall of his house to a large, outside grove. "Most of the Pokémon are already inside for the day, but some of them may still be around. If you see one, tell them to go inside. Other than that, just look for eggs—some of them will be in tall grass, others in burrows, others near the water or under rocks. Right now there are ten that I know of, but there could be more. Search everywhere."
Everyone spread out and dedicated the next half hour to finding the eggs and Pokémon. Soon they had found a total of thirteen eggs, and though they continued searching, no more could be found. They took them to what Len called the Mass Incubator, which was a place to store eggs. There was only one already in the incubator.
"Why is there only one?" Annie asked curiously as she cautiously placed the eggs one by one into slots.
"That one I found way out in the forest with no signs of a parent around anywhere, so I decided to take it. Do you want it?" Len asked, completely serious.
"Uh—"
"No." The word had come from Alice, who stood with pursed lips and a shaking head. "Annie, you just started out yesterday. Brave is your only Pokémon right now, and you need to take the time to bond with him first."
"I actually think it's a good idea," Hans interjected, ignoring the furious and incredulous look Alice threw his way. "This will bring them closer. The egg won't hatch for several months and it will give them common ground, something to look after together."
"Yeah!" Annie said enthusiastically, glancing down at Brave. "What do you say, Brave?" Brave jumped up and down, and spun, grinning in an obvious show of enthusiasm.
"Great!" Len said, taking the egg in question out of the Incubator and putting it into a miniature, travel-friendly one.
"What Pokémon is it from?" Annie asked curiously, holding the container down for Brave to examine.
"No idea!" Len replied cheerfully. "That's why I was so eager for you to take it. I kept it around for a bit to see if anyone would claim it, but no one has so far. I can't afford to hatch an egg from a Pokémon I might know nothing about. I have a business to run, you know. You're really doing me a favor."
"Why don't you think you'd know anything about it?" Hans asked in confusion, peering at the egg. "All the eggs look the same to me." Len knelt down to Brave's level to explain.
"You can't really see it without a trained eye, but the pattern on this one will emerge pretty soon," he said, pointing at various spots on the egg. "It looks like there are more jagged stripes than spots or shapes, but there are definitely at least three shapes. And you can see on the very edges on the top and bottom—see that? Hints of a dark grayish color? It's not a color I normally work with. Usually that kind of color indicates a Ground, Rock, or Normal Type, but it's a bit early to really tell. I deal with a lot of Normal types here, but none with this egg pattern or color. If the stripes turn yellow, you might even be looking at an Electric type." Len looked up to see the three Trainers staring at him in confusion.
"How do you see all of that?" Hans asked at last. "All I see is a white egg all the way around."
"Trained eye, Hans, comes with the trade," Len laughed. "Let's go finish lunch, shall we?" Everyone made a noise in the affirmative and happily trekked back to the dining area.
Surprisingly, when they entered, Kane immediately got up with a distinct wag in his tail, walking towards Alice, butting her thigh with his head in a show of affection.
"I missed you too, Kane," Alice laughed gently as the rest of them looked on, dumbfounded. "You're more insecure than I thought you were, huh?" She gave him a few rubs on his neck before settling on the ground before the table. Kane lay down next to her, apparently content.
Once they had had enough to eat, the three Trainers and their Pokémon gathered their belongings and left. Brave was proudly carrying the egg.
"You guys be careful, okay?" Len called to them as they left back through the forest.
"We will! You be careful too!" Annie called back, waving.
"See you!" Alice called.
They made it back to the main path and continued walking. The sun was high in the sky, but it wasn't too hot. Occasional clouds provided some shade in addition to the high-growing trees all around them.
Suddenly, without warning, Alice stopped, looking like she was listening intently for something. Her stance was tense and poised.
"What is it—" Annie began to ask worriedly, but Hans held up a hand to indicate silence. Annie strained to hear whatever it was they were so intent upon listening to. Her ears registered something—wings. Lots of them, evidently headed in their direction.
"Oh my Arceus," Hans said lowly, moving closer to Alice.
"So I'm right?" Alice replied in the same low tone.
"I think so. Annie," Hans addressed her without looking at her, "run. Now."
"What? But why?" Annie cried. "If there's something bad, I want to fight—"
"No!" Hans cried. Bones tensed up beside him, looking to the sky and keeping the bone in her hand poised for action. "You've got an egg to worry about now. Get into the trees." Suddenly, he changed the direction he was looking, brandishing a blunt wooden dagger Annie hadn't even known he had. Glancing at Alice, she saw that the older girl had a similar weapon, but much longer—a wooden staff. "They're coming! Go!" he yelled.
Alice took off Kane's muzzle. "If you have any loyalty to me, my friend, help me now," she told him. The Mightyena growled, but not at her—at whatever the threat in the sky was.
A few seconds later, almost without warning, a flock of Spearow descended upon them.
Annie jumped back, startled and horrified, as her friends became surrounded by pecking beaks and flapping wings and terrible screeching. Brave cried out beside her, and Annie picked him up, holding him and the egg close to her chest.
She crashed through the undergrowth, not sure where she was going and not really caring either. She was driven by fear and instinct to protect the two precious beings nestled in her embrace.
Finally, Annie's mind calmed, and her pace slowed. She had come upon a small grove. To her surprise, there were people already there—but not people she would want to greet and ask for help.
Team Rocket. Grunts, by the look of their uniforms, but still more experienced than Annie was.
"Hey!" the female of the duo said, standing up. "Look who we have here. Care to give us your Pokémon, squirt?"
"Never," Annie growled with a fierceness she didn't know she possessed. She locked eyes with Brave—the determination in those brown orbs told her all she needed to know. She set him on the ground. "You'll have to take them from me."
"Ooooh, we've got a fighter on our hands," the male of the duo said with a spark in his eye. "Well, I'm bored anyway—we might as well make this fun." He took what looked to be his only Poké Ball from his belt and expanded it to full size. "Go, Zubat!" he shouted dramatically. A Zubat flew into the air. "Zubat, use Supersonic!" he said.
"Brave, dodge and use Tackle!" Annie called out, feeling a thrill as Brave dodged nimbly and jumped to Tackle the Zubat to the ground. "Now use Scratch!" she cried.
"Astonish!" called the Team Rocket grunt. Brave jumped back, startled.
"Use Ember!" Annie called, not to be thrown off guard. The blast hit the Zubat full-on, and it tumbled from the air, fainted.
"No!" said the female grunt. "And I don't have any Pokémon with me…"
"What?!" shouted the male grunt. Making a disgusted noise, he pointed a finger at Annie and growled, "We'll meet again!" Then they took off into the undergrowth before Annie could say anything. She stood in shocked silence for a moment. Then her face broke out into a huge smile.
"We won our first battle, Brave!" she cried in delight. Brave jumped up and down, obviously just as ecstatic as she was. For a while, they danced (with the egg safe on the ground beside them). "This is the best day of my life!" Annie declared.
Suddenly, rustling noises like someone running came from the undergrowth. Annie snatched the egg off of the ground and Brave jumped in front of her, growling. (Annie had to admit that the growling was more adorable than threatening, but she gave her Pokémon credit for trying.)
"Who's there?" she called, hoping whoever it was didn't hear the way her voice shook. Someone coughed, and a familiar shape staggered through the branches, supporting a limping figure. A Mightyena trotted anxiously beside them. "Hans! Alice!" Annie cried, rushing to help them. "What happened? How did you find me?"
"You left a pretty obvious trail through the undergrowth. A Fearow showed up, I think it might have been their mother or something," Hans said. "I think it used a Peck attack and hit Alice in the leg."
"It's nothing," Alice protested as she was put on the ground. Annie saw her leg—bleeding from the calf. It sure didn't like "nothing" from her point of view. Hans was pale and looked extremely worried, which just confirmed Annie's feeling that something was terribly wrong.
"Let's just see, okay?" Hans asked in a tone that invited no protest. He took out a Poké Ball and released Shot. "Water Gun, Shot. But gently. Just to clean the wound, okay?" Shot nodded in compliance and released a stream of water from his mouth, looking concerned for Alice. Kane, meanwhile, paced anxiously around his Trainer, shredding grass with his claws.
"Told you it was nothing, didn't I?" Alice said lightly from the ground as Hans peered at the wound. Annie glanced at it and quickly glanced away—there was a gaping hole in the center of her calf, not as deep as the bone but still large and oozing blood.
"We should get you to a hospital," he said. "Just to make sure it doesn't get infected."
"Viridian City is only about an hour from here; we should get moving," Annie interjected. Hans nodded in agreement.
"Meanwhile, we should bind it," he added. Before Alice could protest, he tore off a piece of his shirt and bound it around her leg. "Is that too tight?" he asked her worriedly.
"No, it's fine," Alice sighed, then laughed. "You always did tell me it's better to wear jeans than capris for protection."
"Stop trying to talk," Hans scolded. "If only we were in Unova. I could use my XTransciever to call for help."
"Of course you'd want to be in Unova," Alice said, her words somewhat slurred as she smiled.
"Can't Wolf fly you guys in? I can catch up later," Annie suggested. Both of the older Trainers looked startled at her levelheadedness.
"Why didn't I think of that?" Hans muttered, taking Wolf's Poké Ball from Alice's belt. He released the giant Aerodactyl, who, upon seeing his apparently incapacitated Trainer, cried out in anguish.
"Calm down, Wolf!" Hans ordered. "Alice is hurt and we need you to fly us to Viridian City. With you flying us it should only take twenty minutes or so." Wolf knelt down and spread his wings out in invitation. Hans knelt toward Alice and whispered, "This is why you only have one Flying type in your team." He turned to Annie after he had lifted Alice onto Wolf's back. "You're sure you'll be all right? Do you want me to leave Shot or Bones here with you?"
"I'll be fine. You should go. And get Kane, he looks really worried," Annie added. Hans needed no further motivation. He Returned all of his Pokémon as well as Kane, made sure Alice was secure, then instructed Wolf to fly.
Suddenly the forest was very quiet.
After taking a moment to truly absorb what was happening, Annie squared her shoulders and said, "Come on, Brave, let's follow after them." The Charmander scampered out of the clearing by her side as they walked towards the path.
The ending didn't quite go as planned, but I think it's pretty awesome. Review, please!