Chapter 16 – The Thief
"Alright, let's see now…" Lillia said, fiddling with her pokédex with one hand and holding her head with the other. While better, she still felt a little dizzy and had a headache. "I guess I'll send you back for now," she said, placing one of her pokéballs into the tray that slid out of the side of the device. The pokédex crackled with bright sparks and the pokéball dematerialized into white energy before disappearing and, after a few seconds, being replaced with an identical pokéball.
Cory managed to convince the previous occupant of the battlefield – the poliwrath with the arm sling – to pause in his training temporarily in order for the two girls to have their battle. Alex, Cory, and the poliwrath all stood on the side of the field, waiting for the battle to begin. Kimiko stood on the far end, her mudkip on the field in front of her, looking like he was regretting suggesting this idea immensely. The little blue creature was shaking from head to toe, even as he crouched down low to the ground, head darting all around as if he expected to be attacked from any angle at any time.
"Okay, let's do this, numel!" Lillia called, throwing her new pokéball to the floor and releasing a small, yellow camel. The ground-type looked around the arena, completely uncomprehending what all the commotion was about, while Radar actually growled at him.
"Are you ready for this, Radar? Let's get you evolved," Kimiko called out.
Radar, however, wasn't nearly as excited over the thought any longer. The water-type glanced at his new, mysterious opponent and then turned back to his trainer, tears in his eyes. "Kiiiip…" he cried.
Kimiko frowned at him. "What's wrong? You can do this. You were all excited about it earlier. Don't you want to show Thorn how much stronger you'll be when she gets back?"
"Mud! Kiiip…. Kipmud," Radar groaned quietly, turning again to stare at the numel, who remained oblivious; He seemed more intent on trying to bite the smoke he discovered he could release from his back.
Then suddenly the poliwrath roared, commanding the attention of everyone else in the room, save the numel. The fighting-type spoke, looking directly at the little mudkip, much to everyone else's collective confusion. He vaguely shifted the arm in the sling before flexing his good arm, then pointing at the mudkip.
Although no one had a clue what the poliwrath had said, he did what he intended to do; Radar stopped shivering and faced his opponent, a teary but suddenly determined scowl on his face. "M-mud mudkip," he said, voice shaking as he tried to speak. Lillia's numel froze in place, mouth wide open as though about to take a large bite of the smoke, and glanced over at Radar, only just noticing him for the first time. He then closed his mouth and nodded; Radar did the same.
"Well, I think they're finally ready," Lillia observed, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently. "Numel, use tackle!"
"Tackle it right back!" Kimiko countered.
Radar moved first, although his charge started as little more than a trot until the poliwrath bellowed further encouragement. Radar's pace began to quicken as he headed for the numel, only now just beginning to get moving as well. Radar slammed into the other pokémon hard, but Numel hardly noticed the impact – in fact, he kept trying to move forward, tripping over Radar's tail. The tiny mudkip squeaked and retreated back to his trainer.
"Okay, that didn't work… I don't know how to deal with slow," Lillia complained. "Use magnitude!"
"Water gun!"
This time Numel moved first, although his movement consisted only of struggling to raise himself onto his hind legs. Meanwhile, the blue pokémon took a deep breath and breathed a blast of chilly water straight at the camel. It pushed the fire-type backwards forcefully, tossing him onto his back before he could complete his move.
"Mel!" the numel cried as he rocked back and forth, trying to right himself, tiny legs wagging. "Nu…mel," he said with an air of finality, apparently resigning himself to his fate, his limbs going limp.
"Okay, that was embarrassing," Lillia sighed, recalling her numel and pulling out her pokédex again.
"Polipol," called the poliwrath, giving Radar a thumbs up sign with his free hand. Radar in turn actually smiled and hopped up and down with glee.
"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Kimiko asked. Radar ran back to her and danced around her boot. "Feel any closer to evolving?" The mudkip stopped and cocked his head a bit, thinking, before shaking it sadly.
"Well not after a battle like that, he won't," Lillia said, picking up the ultra ball that she had swapped Numel's ball for, then rubbing her eyes. "That wasn't much of a challenge. He had a double advantage. But round two won't be as easy. This one's also new, but I know she's a fair bit stronger. So, let's get started!" She tossed the ultra ball out – the white light formed into a small, round, bright red pokémon with no obvious limbs. Three yellow spots on its stomach and two yellow eyebrows were the creature's only distinguishing features.
"Makamakamaka!" the pokémon cried, and suddenly it had legs. Short ones, but they were there. It also forced arms from its body as well, as though growing them on the spot, and began hopping back and forth between feet, eager for a fight.
"I think I've found a name for her," Lillia said, amused. "Okay then, Maka! Fire punch!"
The newly christened Maka charged forwards, fire dancing around her fists. Radar looked back, waiting for an order.
"Uh… well, might as well go with water gun again," Kimiko suggested, figuring the fire-type was stronger physically. Radar obeyed, breathing another stream of water at his new foe. The darumaka easily leapt to the side to avoid it and punched Radar hard, throwing him to the ground as he cried out in pain.
"Fire punch again!"
"Okay, tackle it!"
Maka swung her fist again, but this time Radar ducked underneath it, paws over his head. The fire-type spun, losing her balance, and fell over. Radar looked up as she cried out in surprise and lunged forward, only now finding the courage to launch an attack. He collided with the other pokémon's back and Maka was thrown a short distance away, but scrambled to her feet quickly.
"Again!" Lillia cried. She whipped out her pokédex for a third time, whispering under her breath, "I should have looked up moves first…"
"Radar, mud slap!"
Maka, the faster of the two, charged forwards, fists flying once again. She swung one arm in a powerful fiery uppercut, but again hit only air, throwing the punch too early before she reached her target. Radar, meanwhile, was having about as much success scraping up any mud from the solid arena floor.
"Never mind Radar, do water gun instead!" Kimiko called out. Her pokémon looked back at her, confused for a moment, before launching another blast of water that pushed the fire-type back considerably.
"Ah, here we go," Lillia grinned. "Maka, headbutt!"
As the darumaka charged forwards, Radar continued shooting spurts of water, trying to snipe her before she got too close. Maka constantly danced around the water, though, and lunged at the water-type with as much force as she could muster. Radar tumbled backwards, rolling until Kimiko held out her boot and stopped him. As he uncurled, the small mudkip started to cry.
"Okay, I think we're done," Kimiko said, leaning down to pick up her starter. She was interrupted, however, by the demanding voice of the poliwrath, who ran around the arena to stand next to her.
Lillia and Maka looked on irritably as the poliwrath gave Radar a pep talk, while Kimiko stood behind them uncertainly, trying to decide whether she should be more offended or ashamed that another pokémon was doing her job better than she was. The poliwrath demonstrated his own water gun attack, aiming it at the training bag he had previously dragged to the side of the field. With a grunt, he directed Radar to shoot it himself. The mudkip struck the bag in almost the exact same spot, earning a pleased "Wrath!" and a thumbs up from the other water-type. He retreated back to his previous location and held out an open palm, as if giving his permission to resume battling.
Without a command, Radar shot yet another blast of water, this time at Maka. She was able to jump out of the path, just barely, though she seemed angry that she had been attacked without warning. She charged forward, also without orders, fists aflame.
"Hey, Maka, no!" Lillia chided, but her pokémon ignored her. Or perhaps she wasn't as used to her new name yet as Lillia had thought.
"Try another water gun," Kimiko commanded in an attempt to beat her pokémon to the action she suspected he was already thinking. Regardless, the mudkip responded, taking a much smaller breath before again trying to snipe Maka before she got close – and this time, after a couple missed shots, he hit. Both trainers looked on, surprised, but Radar didn't let up, shooting blast after blast at the downed fire-type, until she finally rolled to the side and regained her footing.
"Tackle it!" Kimiko ordered, and Radar was off before Lillia had even started to respond.
"Move Maka, uh, incinerate!"
The darumaka barely had time to release her short burst of fire at her foe, and even then it did little good. Radar charged right through the small fireball and rammed hard into Maka. The fire-type hit the ground, eyes wide in surprise. Radar looked similarly stunned at his own actions, but Maka was in no shape to take advantage of his lapse in concentration. She only half-heartedly attempted to get back to her feet but her arms gave out from underneath her and she gave up, the last of her energy spent.
"Oh damn," Lillia groaned, realizing she had been bested for the second battle in a row.
"Wow, Radar, I… what… When did you get so strong?" Kimiko asked as her starter walked calmly up to her, watching her with wide eyes. She knelt down and picked up her starter for real this time. He was shivering heavily, whether from exhaustion or nerves, she couldn't tell. "Look at you, acting on your own all courageous-like. My little guy's really growing up, aren't you?"
Radar responded by letting out a small squeal and then exploding in a harsh white light. Kimiko nearly dropped him in surprise as she looked away and shielded her eyes with one arm. She set him down on her lap as he began to grow, his front arms extending outward more than double their previous size, and his whiskers changed positions on his face. His tail also split in two, each one growing slightly larger.
The glow faded, leaving a larger, lighter Radar in its place. "Marsh?" the pokémon asked, then jumped at his own voice. Startled, he examined his new body.
"Wow, Radar, you did it! Congratulations!" Kimiko said, hugging her pokémon. Radar let out a surprised grunt, then happily hugged his trainer in return with his new, larger arms. Unused to his newfound strength, he nearly crushed her as he pulled her tight, but she didn't say a word until his grip loosened.
When she let him go, however, the marshtomp slumped down to the ground, spread out, and closed his eyes. Kimiko called his name, putting a hand on his head, but unwilling to move him.
"He's just tired," Cory said. Kimiko jumped; she hadn't noticed the others' approaching her. "Evolution takes a lot of energy. It really wears a pokémon down, once the adrenaline rush wears off. Also, he just had a tough battle. He's exhausted. Let's go get him to the nurse."
Kimiko nodded in understanding, and attempted to pick up her pokémon. "Ugh… he got heavy," she grunted, struggling to lift the marshtomp, who had since passed out. The poliwrath lifted him easily, heaving Radar over his good shoulder and waiting for the rest of the group to lead. "Oh, thank you," Kimiko said, grateful for the poliwrath's assistance. She couldn't help but wonder why it was so enamored with Radar, but she wasn't about to ask.
"Get her checked out for me, will ya?" Lillia requested, tossing Maka's ultra ball at Alex as the party began to climb the stairs. "I've done my good deed for the day. Now I'm going to go back to sleep, this hangover is kicking my ass."
The trainers left Radar and Maka in the care of the nurse along with Alex's pokémon overnight. They passed the following day exploring the town. The trainers spent time with their pokémon in a park, allowing them all to get introduced to Thorn's and Radar's new forms, while said pokémon got used to their bigger bodies. They also got to meet Lillia's main party in-person for the first time and set about discussing her television appearance.
Thorn in particular was thrilled about Radar's evolution; she hadn't lost her guardian-like personality. Radar, meanwhile, seemed to have outgrown his bashful nature, playing gleefully with the rest of the teams. Thorn also decided she deserved another name change after seeing another trainer and his roselia – Alex refused, reminding her that she wasn't entitled to changing her name simply because she evolved ("Besides, 'Rose' doesn't exactly fit you…").
As it neared evening, they left the park to restock their supplies, and spent their night at the club from the previous evening (Lillia, who insisted she wasn't going to have any more to drink, was the first to order a refill.), compliments of Cory. Neither Gibson nor Nelson made an appearance, much to Cory's displeasure, as he was still set on trying to get his friends' band another show, despite their insistence otherwise.
Kimiko took on Cory's obstacle course the next day; she complained about getting dirty the entire time, but between Fantomé easily floating along with her and Radar's new ground typing, she had little trouble actually completing the gym. Only a few ice punches from Cory's electabuzz – fully conscious of himself by that point – gave her any worry, but Radar managed to handle them.
Alex and Kimiko departed Neutron the following morning, after checking with the nurse that Thrasher the tauros had been retrieved – neither Kari nor Ana had been seen since the young couple had arrived – and leaving both Cory and Lillia with a promise to see each other again before too long. They decided to continue to Xioria, where the fourth gym was located. Lillia chose to remain in Neutron for reasons she chose not to disclose, though she didn't bother trying to cover her tracks when she headed for the club once again.
The pair spent a large portion of their day traveling. Xioria was a good four day journey from Neutron. There was a smaller town about a quarter of that distance, Clairval, but they had decided to aim directly for Xioria to save time – there was no gym in Clairval and they had stocked up on supplies the day before, so there was no real need to stop in the small city. As evening approached and the sky grew dark, they set up camp behind a boulder.
Late that night, after Alex had fallen asleep, Kimiko let out her pokémon and sat out on top of the boulder, looking up at the clear starry night sky. Radar, though much heavier in his marshtomp form, curled up and fell asleep in her lap almost instantly. Ariel rested down in the grass next to the boulder, silent as ever, sealed up; Kimiko had no idea if she was simply asleep or continuing her noiseless crusade. Fantomé, for his part, was unusually calm, but she wasn't about to complain about that. The ghost had settled himself into his favorite spot in her hair and was looking upwards towards the sky as well.
"You know," she said, speaking softly as to not disturb Alex but slightly more than a whisper, "You should be evolving soon too, I think."
Fantomé made no sound or motion to indicate he heard her. She wondered if he had heard her or if he thought she had been talking to Ariel instead, although that seemed unlikely. She resumed her thoughtful gaze, considering the merits of training with Fantomé until he evolved as well. Surely, if both Thorn and Radar had evolved late, then he was close enough for one final push to his next form by now as well?
Fantomé floated off her head and hovered over the tent, looking curiously at the boulder. Kimiko followed his path, her thoughts distracted. "Something wrong?" she asked, but her question was answered for her. As she spoke, she heard the distinct sound of a snapping twig. She was immediately at attention, sliding Radar off her lap and onto the hard stone below. But before she could get out more than "Who's–" something slammed into her hard, both of them flying off the boulder and landing harshly in the grass below.
Whatever it was that threw her from the rock had pinned her down in the grass and wasn't very keen on letting her up. She heard a deafening shout of "Sunny day!" in the otherwise silent night before she heard a snarl from the creature holding her. She then had to shut her eyes and look away from the massive ball of yellow light that erupted directly above her, turning her head as far to the side as she could. She was painfully aware of the fact that she was exposing her neck to the teeth of the creature, but the light was too bright, even through her closed eyes, to keep her head straight.
"Ah, there's the bag." She couldn't see the owner of the raspy masculine voice other than his dark silhouette behind the bright light, largely due to the black dog pokémon on top of her. She recognized it as a larger, less friendly model of Lillia's houndour – a houndoom, easily identified by the large horns protruding off the dog's head and down into her face. "Fetch."
The houndoom growled once more at Kimiko, who struggled to hold her own breath against the foul smell of the pokémon's, before it leapt off her and towards her discarded backpack. Before he landed, however, a blast of twin purple energy beams struck the fire-type, accompanied by a shout of "GAAAAAASSS!", throwing the houndoom onto his side.
"Pathetic," said the male voice. "Get up, get up now! Take out the gastly first. Dark pulse."
Kimiko scrambled to her feet and darted over to her backpack, looking on as Fantomé was struck by a purple shock wave from the houndoom's mouth, the black pokémon back on its feet and ready to pounce. The ghost crashed down into the dirt with a grunt, shaking himself as he tried to get airborne again.
"Marsh!" Radar cried, commanding Kimiko's attention. The silhouetted man had Radar in his arms, apparently having no trouble lifting him, but the marshtomp appeared to be waking up. She started to call back to him but was distracted once again as a flamethrower further illuminated the area and Fantomé wailed in agony. She quickly pulled his ball from her backpack and recalled him.
"What's going on?" came a shout from behind the rock. Kimiko breathed a sigh of relief – Alex had finally woken up and had come out from the tent on the other side of the boulder. He'd been more of a deep sleeper than she'd thought.
"The hell – Where did you come from?" the man gasped, dropping Radar in surprise, who bounced off the rock and into the grass, and threw a pokéball at the newcomer. Alex already had one in hand and likewise tossed it to meet the stranger's.
"Keep them busy, Alf," the man shouted as his new pokémon, some sort of floating mint-green creature with a large head, materialized opposite Thorn. Without warning, it raised an arm and Thorn was thrown back by some invisible force, knocking over Alex as she crashed. "Lucifer, the bag, now!" the man bellowed, this time at his houndoom, who had since been distracted by a now awake marshtomp.
The silhouetted man struggled to play out two different battles at once, looking in two directions to try to command his pokémon. His elgyem was having little difficulty keeping the bayleef and her trainer from getting close, but he was losing patience with his houndoom. He never should have taken that night shade from the gastly, and now he's fighting a slow water-type and still can't take it down? The ball of light created by the sunny day was beginning to fade. If his houndoom was too dense to figure out by now what to do with it, then he'd better just tell him and punish him later – they were outnumbered and running out of time.
"What are you waiting for, Lucifer? Solar beam!"
"No!"
Kimiko dove at her marshtomp instead of out of the way, before he could react. Radar, however, was thinking more clearly. The attack was right on top of them, and there was no time to get them both out of harm's way – so he instead forced her arms from around his body, stepped forward and took as much of the blast as he could.
Kimiko screamed as a part of the solar beam that Radar hadn't been able to cover seared her exposed leg, just above the ankle. Her marshtomp was thrown from the force of the attack right into her and they tumbled backwards. Her green bag slipped from Kimiko's grasp as she and Radar crashed to the ground, the marshtomp out cold from the super-effective hit, the bag landing a short distance away and spilling out the contents.
Lucifer charged forwards as Kimiko recalled Radar to his ball. "Ariel, we need you!" she cried, but her clamperl, still motionless next to the boulder, refused to budge. Kimiko grabbed at her bag just as the houndoom leapt over her, spun around, and clamped the strap in his mouth. She played tug-of-war with him briefly but she was quickly losing ground, as the fire-type was physically stronger.
Then she caught a flash of white light in the corner of her eye and suddenly the houndoom was lying on his side again, an angry sableye tearing at his eyes. Both Kimiko and the man, now off the rock and letting his black cloak swirl around his feet after the fading of the sunny day, looked towards Alex –Thorn was still taking on the elgyem with minimal success, but he had seen Kimiko's team struggling and sent in backup.
With a sigh, Kimiko crawled over to the spilled contents of her bag and began to scoop them up. Among the pile was Ariel's ball, which she grabbed and recalled the apathetic clamperl to its confines. She spared a moment to look down at it disapprovingly. Then, as she made to return it to the bag and finish collecting her spilled belongings, Diamond flew passed her, struck by a powerful flamethrower. She gasped and looked towards the source, but the houndoom was nowhere in sight – that was, until he appeared right in front of her in a purple haze, snatched the pokéball from her hand, and disappeared again.
"Alf, let's go!" the man shouted. His elgyem tossed another blue wave of a confusion attack towards Thorn before teleporting to his trainer's side.
"Diamond- Thorn, stop them! Tie them up with your vines!" Alex called desperately, sparing his sableye a concerned glance. Diamond was still on the ground, though he was sitting up and rubbing his head, seeming winded, but okay. Meanwhile, the man and his elgyem vanished, just barely escaping the bayleef's trap.
He appeared in a flash of light behind them, next to his houndoom. Lucifer dropped Ariel's pokéball into his outstretched hand, and he looked down in disgust. "One ball? I told you to get the bag!" He glanced upwards – he was several meters behind the other humans and their pokémon, but they had already seen him and were launching attacks in his direction. "Flamethrower," he demanded, pocketing the pokéball and pulling a different one from inside his cloak. Lucifer's fire attack incinerated the razor leaf from the bayleef and deflected most of the sableye's power gem. That would have to do.
The man returned Lucifer to his pokéball before grabbing Alf's hand. He cast one last death glare at the sableye before ordering, "To the hideout. Teleport." They disappeared in a flash just before the ghost's claw slashed at the space they had been occupying.
"Can you track them?" Alex asked, approaching his pokémon, Kimiko right beside him in a panic. Diamond looked up from where he landed in the dirt, frowning, his head cocked downwards in an obvious 'no' – from the expression, he may as well have asked if the ghost could fly.
"Damn!" he shouted, kicking a small rock. He turned to Kimiko. Thorn was there, nuzzling her stomach with a worried look. "Are you both okay?"
"Bay…" Thorn croaked, continuing to look upwards at the female.
"He's got Ariel," Kimiko choked out.
"I know," Alex replied. "But are you okay?"
"He's got Ariel," she repeated.
"What about the others?"
Kimiko gave a start and whipped her bag off her shoulder, digging in it furiously. Then, letting out a breath, she pulled out the balls belonging to Radar and Fantomé. "I've got them… they need healing."
On instinct, Alex checked his belt, gathered earlier to send Diamond into the fray. One, two, three… Two of his pokémon were in front of him and Koyomi's ball was still there, so he had all his as well.
Kimiko suddenly fell down to one knee, grabbing at her ankle, which caused her to curse. Thorn looked downwards and Diamond crept closer, observing curiously. Alex knelt down too, gently pushing his girlfriend's hand away so he could get a better look in the faint moonlight.
"That looks bad. We need to get you and your team checked out."
"We need to get Ariel back," Kimiko responded.
"We don't even know where to look," he answered, putting a hand under her chin and gently tilting her head up to stare into her eyes. "We're too far from Neutron to get back there, but Clairval isn't too far. We can be there pretty quickly. We'll report Ariel's theft and get your leg and your team healed. You too, Diamond," he added, glancing at the ghost.
The sableye, having lost interest in the girl's blistering ankle, had climbed up into Thorn's back and started picking at his claws. He looked up towards his trainer and grunted. "Eye sasableye eye." Satisfied that he wasn't too damaged, Diamond leapt back to the ground and began to walk away.
"Can you do that feint attack thing?" Alex asked. "You know, that move that Kirsten's toxicroak could do? The thing that houndoom just did?"
Diamond continued walking, waving him off. Thorn growled at him and smacked the back of his head with a vine. The ghost whipped around, growling right back, preparing for a counter attack.
"Better be careful," Alex cautioned. "Thorn's on even footing with you now since she's evolved."
Diamond grunted again, as if the very thought in itself was offensive, but nevertheless backed down. Thorn, however, did not relax.
"What's with you lately? You're starting to get rebellious again." Diamond just crossed his arms. "Well, fine, be that way, but this isn't over. We need to get moving. Can you do it or not?"
"Eye," Diamond grumbled, sounding suspiciously like an exasperated sigh. He half turned away, focusing intently on the pebble that Alex had previously kicked away, and vanished in a purple flash. He was gone for less than a second before reappearing, less than half the distance between the pebble and his previous location covered. He stumbled upon reappearance, tripping and falling flat on his face in the grass. Without getting up, he turned his head and glared angrily at his trainer.
It was Alex's turn to sigh. "All the attacks you know, and you can't bring yourself to learn one that has a non-battle use… Fine. We'll have to do this the hard way." He took Kimiko's hand and helped her back to her feet. Thorn knelt down as Alex tried to help the girl onto her back.
Diamond, meanwhile, balled his claw into a fist and pounded it to the dirt with a hiss.
"All that work, and for what? A single fucking pokéball!" the shout echoed loudly through the cottage.
…We did not know she had a companion, Alf responded telepathically. Two humans, one tent, who knew?
"Inexcusable!" the cloaked man bellowed. "He was no threat. At least, not at first." He sat down in a metal folding chair, pulled out from the ancient wooden table in the corner of the room.
The bayleef was not a difficult opponent, Alf agreed.
"Yet you still could not defeat it," the man countered angrily. "I realize that you were incapable of so much as blowing a breeze passed the ghost, fine. But the other one should have been down long before the sableye showed up. And as for you," he hissed, rounding on Lucifer. "How many times have we discussed strategy against water pokémon? You were even already set up! There is absolutely no excuse for that. Not one!"
The houndoom let out a small whine and a bark. Alf attempted to translate. I believe he was afraid of injuring the human. Lucifer nodded his agreement.
"I don't care," the man countered. "I gave you an order. The girl's physical condition was not your concern, it was mine. Your target was her pokéballs. You had several opportunities to grab that bag, and you instead degraded yourself by wasting time toying with her pets! Poorly, I must say! What the hell was that, letting a baby gastly shoot you down mid-jump?"
Lucifer whined again, but the man cut off Alf before he could translate again. "No, I don't care. There are no excuses. Neither of you will be eating for the next two days because of your failure. The next time I say we have a target, you go for that target. Understand?"
Yes, master, Alf groaned, head bowed. Lucifer followed suit, until the man nodded and turned towards the table, at which point the houndoom silently bared his teeth.
"Well, we may not have gotten the girl but at the very least, clamperl are rare around these parts," the man continued, now rolling the stolen pokéball – his sole prize – along the table's surface. "She should fetch a decent enough price on the market. Maybe more if we could evolve her first… yeah, there's an idea. Alf, I've got a mission for you."
A/N: Last update: Oct. 22, 2015. This update: Nov. 26, 2015.