Chapter 5
"So, this is what hatched from the egg?" Professor Elm asked in amazement. "Hank, this is quite possibly the only Togepi in the Johto region! Just like Flint is the only Quilava!"
Gabriel and I looked at each other with wicked grins on our faces. "High five?" I offered.
"You know it!" He replied as he used Extrasensory to lift himself up and give me a high five."
"For a baby, he sure knows a powerful move…" Lyra exclaimed. "I didn't think a Togepi could learn Extrasensory…"
"Apparently one can!" Gabriel said sticking his tongue out at her.
"Hank!" Lyra snapped when she saw me snickering. "Do something about your naughty Togepi!"
"Ok, ok… Gabriel, return…" I said as I beamed him back in.
"Him too." Lyra said, indicating Talon, who was still out of his poke ball.
"But I need to have at least one pokemon out at all times!" I whined, "it's the entire reason I was given a pokemon in the first place!"
"He just… Looks like Braveheart is all…" Lyra said uneasily. "It doesn't matter though. We have some serious catching up to do."
*Pallet Town, 1 week later*
"Harold!" Mom called. "Get the phone, sweetie, Mommy's in the bathroom and Daddy's at Hoenn on business!"
"Alright Mom!" Harold called back. He ran over to the phone and picked it up.
"Hello, this is Hank Coro." I said on the other line. "to whom am I currently speaking?"
"Hank! Oh, it's good to hear from you! Hey guess what! Guess what!"
"What is it Harold?" I asked with a smile on my face.
"Eevee evolved into a Glacion, and it and Sparky had a baby Eevee!"
"Sparky?" I asked, excited to hear that my old Jolteon was still okay.
"Yeah! We adopted Sparky from Bill shortly after you went to Johto! The Eevee is old enough to handle itself now, and it's back at Bill's house!"
"In Cerulean?"
"No, in Goldenrod! You should totally go there at let it come with you on your adventure!"
"Harold I would but…" I looked at Lyra and she nodded.
"You have to tell him."
"Tell me what? Is that Lyra? Tell her I say hi!"
"Harold…" I said feeling a little uneasy. "The Johto region isn't safe."
"Hank, the entire reason you moved to Johto was because it was safe."
"That was before I knew it was also trapped in a Nuzlocke, Harold!" I yelled.
"….*Beeeeeep*"
*Back in New Bark*
"He hung up…" I said as I realized Harold had hung up.
"Hey it's ok." Lyra said. "So, where are we going next?"
"We?" I jumped up, stunned. "Lyra you cant possibly be serious about-"
"If I fucking flew to the Kanto Power Plant to help you out with Zapdos, and fucking flew to the Seafoam Islands to help you with Articuno, and I even tried to help you with Moltres back on One Island, I'm pretty sure I have enough capabilities to accompany you through my home region, Hank Coro!" She snapped. I flinched, scared that the anger would turn tangible and hit me in the face.
"Yeah!" Flint said, releasing himself. "Let her come! She's clearly more experienced than you anyway."
"Actually-" Talon chirped, but I grabbed him with my left hand.
"Yep! You're absolutely right Flint, haha!" I gave Lyra a glance that let her know that my past adventure was a secret. She nodded, with a small smile. "You sure you want to do this?" I asked, holding out my right hand.
"Hank, since when is either one of us ever sure?" She joked as she took it and we walked down Route 29 again.
*Elm's Lab*
"The Egg already hatched…" Elm spoke into the phone.
"Excellent." replied a feminine voice on the other side. "If this trainer truly is the one of prophecy-"
"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves here." Elm cut her off. "He still has plenty of tests left before we'll know if he truly is the hero we're looking for…"
*Route 31 (I think)*
"So, our best bet is to head down this route and cut through Union Cave to Azalea Town." Lyra said pointing at the map we had. "There's a bug type gym there, so Flint and Talon shouldn't have a problem with it."
"Alright!" I said as I released Gabriel from his poke ball. "But fist thing is first, we need a new pokemon from this Route!"
*Liteweight the Hopip joined the party*
*-splash, synthesis*
"You don't know any attacking moves?" I asked desperately.
"I don't need to take your crap!" He said as he tried to punch me in the face, but the wind started to carry him away. "Ahhh! Help! I can't control myself! Help me out! Get me down!" He screamed as he flew down the Route.
"Oh, for the love of Arceus…" I mumbled under my breath as I ran after him.
"So…" Lyra said to Gabriel. "How do like the world you've become a part of?"
"Toge-pri!"
"Oh yeah… you're Hank's pokemon, so I cant understand you… any chance you can try to use extrasensory to communicate?"
Gabriel shook his head.
"Liteweight…." I said as I finally caught him. "When did you learn Tail Whip…?"
"I learn Tackle soon, I swear!" He swore to me. "Just get us through Union Cave!"
*Absolutely nothing important happens in Union Cave, (Besides Liteweight learning Tackle)*
*Azalea Town*
"Oh, the heavenly smell of charcoal!" Flint said as he took a whiff of the air.
"I'm not that big a fan…" Lyra said as she plugged her nose. I stared in awe at her. "What? It smells bad!"
"No, it's not that…. Flint is my pokemon, so how come you can understand him?"
*Ring* *Ring* "Hold on." I said. "Let me get that…Hello?"
"Hi Hank, it's Joey, remember me?"
"Oh, hi joey! You ready for that rematch?"
"Well actually, do you remember my Rattata?"
"Yes….."
"It's not like other Rattata is it? It's like my Rattata is in the top percentage of Rattata…"
"Okay…"
"Alright bye." *Beep*
Joey….what the hell was that for?
*Kurt's House*
The wooden door made a gigantic creaking sound as it opened. "Anyone home?" Lyra asked as we walked in.
"We heard you could make poke balls out of Apricorns!" I said, holding up the variety of Apricorns I had collected in my bag.
"Hewwo?" A little girl appeared from behind a desk.
"Hi pretty!" Lyra exclaimed. "We're looking for Kurt… is he here right now?"
"Gwampa's heading fo the Swopoke Weww…"
"Hey, y'know I saw some pretty shady characters heading for that well not too long ago!" Gabriel pointed out. "They were dressed so oddly… in black uniforms, with big red Rs on their shirts…"
Lyra and I exchanged worried looks. "Do you really think….they're back?" She asked with a bit of a scared tone.
"Little girl…" I said urgently. "Your grandpa, did he have pokemon with him?"
The little girl shook her head. "He was just going to check up on the well like he always does…"
"Hank, we have to go!" Lyra exclaimed. "Kurt, as well as many pokemon in that well, could be in terrible trouble!"
I nodded. "Gabriel, return." I said as I returned him and sent out Talon. "Talon, keep watch over this girl. Make sure no Rocket Grunts get her, understand?"
"Understood! You can count on me!"
"Alright. If we're not back within a few hours, go find help okay?" He nodded to show he understood. And as Lyra and I ran toward the well, I could only think of what Silver and Looker said before, Team Rocket really was back. Only this time, they would be able to plan about me ahead of time. I no longer had the luxury of being a nobody to them. Whoever was still part of that group knew about me, and wanted me to suffer. I wasn't getting out of this Nuzlocke that easily.
Yeah, I couldn't think of a good name for this chapter. Sorry. But hey, to make it up to you, if one of you can think of a good time, I'll retitle the chapter to the one I like the most. So, what awaits Hank and Lyra in Slowpoke well? Is Kurt alright? Will Hank meet a new teammate? Only time can tell…