In the five months that passed since Necrozma's defeat, the world order had shifted greatly. Though humanity and Pokemon survived, peace still evaded their grasp. For they were their own worst enemy. When Necrozma's message pierced the mind of every living thing on Earth, the greedy and evil sat back and watched while the brave died for their survival. From individual petty thieves to groups of poachers to massive criminal organizations.
Since many noble Officer Jenny's and International Police members fell in the battle against Necrozma, with the latter mysteriously disappearing seemingly entirely soon after, there were very few who could stand up to these criminals. The fear they wrought hung over the heads of nearly everyone, which only served to fuel the public's downward spiraling morale.
On top of it all, some of them were directly employed by those criminal organizations, making them even deadlier. If you messed with them, you were messing with their employers' money. One could bet that they wouldn't take too kindly to that. They were virtually unstoppable. If they wanted something, they would get it.
In the dead of night, a particularly effective group of poachers, self-titled as the "Hell Hunters," had set up camp just outside of Ilex Forest and were ready for their latest hunt. They were comprised of twenty men, each one as burly as a Machoke with the destructive potential of a Hydreigon.
Their leader, a crooked man with a gigantic gut and a short, messy brown beard, barged into the largest tent where four other men were crowded around a desk. "Alright, men," He hissed, a yellow grin scrawled upon his face. "What's the plan for tonight's heist?"
One of the four, a gruff, old man with a head and beard full of white as well as an eyepatch over his left replied in a gruff, scratchy tone. "The others 'ave already circled the forest 'round and are awaitin' the order, Tony." He pointed down to the desk which held a map of the entire forest. More specifically, at a bobby pin that was imprinted near a lake. "Ten of us on one side, ten on the other."
The leader, now identified as Tony, nodded. "A pincer attack outta do it." He looked over to a tall, young looking man with glasses. He appeared well-clean and shaven compared to the others. "So," Asked Tony, "What are the assets like this time, Nevio? Last we checked, they shouldn't be any trouble. Anything changed?"
"No, sir," Replied Nevio with a bow. His voice was oddly smooth and composed. "With the guardian of the forest, Celebi, dead, these ones still appear to be easy pickings. Like Brutus said-" He motioned to the old man. "-Our usual plan of attack should yield perfect results. However, none of the Beasts have appeared here either."
A bald, broad man twirling an Ultra Ball in his hand said, "Damn shame. If we bagged even one of those things, we'd be rollin' in dough forever!" He chuckled, stopping the ball by catching it in his palm. "It'd definitely make things more interesting too."
"Ugh- Raphael," Spoke Nevio with a sigh, "If even a single one of the beasts was here, we'd be done for. At best, we'd escape with our lives and have to leave our captures behind. Not to mention what it would do to our influence."
Tony slammed his hands on the table, making Nezio jump. "We're gettin' off track!"
"M-my apologies, sir," Nevio said frantically. He cleared his throat and continued, pointing down at several bobby pins on one side of the forest. "First, we'll send in our Pokemon at these locations. They'll spread random chaos amidst the outskirts of the forest to drive the target Pokemon toward the lake. Five men of each team will stay in the trees to shoot down any Flying-Types that try to escape."
Tony nodded, satisfied with Nevio's plan up to that point. "Sounds good. But once they're caught, don't waste time transporting 'em just yet. Not until we've bagged every single one of 'em. Otherwise, it'll give more time 'fer them to get away."
"I will relay that to the others," Replied Nevio. "Shall I continue?"
Again, Tony nodded.
"Right," Said Nevio, returning to the map. "Once we drive them to the lake, they will be too crowded to move. The wet ground might be hard for them to traverse as well, which gives us the advantage from afar." He drew a circle around the lake with his finger. "I suggest we have our Pokemon form a defensive line at this point as to prevent any harm to our men should they retaliate. Meanwhile, we will once again take root in the surrounding trees and capture the wild Pokemon without danger to ourselves."
"And that's all?" Asked Tony to make sure he got it all.
Nevio nodded. "That's the long and short of it."
Tony grumbled, looking back and forth across the map. His eyes flicked from pin to pin, seemingly at random, with his grumbling only becoming more intense.
"U-um, sir?" Asked Nevio. "Is the plan not to your liking?"
"How many nets and Pokeballs do we got?" Tony asked.
Nevio knelt down, picking a small clipboard lined with numerous papers. He flicked through them until he came upon one in particular that he stared at intently before replying, "We currently have 142 Pokeballs and 347 fireable nets." He appeared to realize something, reading over the paper once more. "...That won't be enough to capture all of them, I'm afraid."
"That's the problem." Tony pushed off of the desk, standing back to his full height. "Save the nets for the fliers and the balls for any tough-looking Pokemon. The smaller ones could probably be…" He chuckled. "Coerced into the cages once they're surrounded."
Nevio quickly flitted his fingers through the papers once more, stopped, and read another one quickly. "Are you sure? We only have twenty cages besides the ones for our own."
A disgusting, toothy grin crawled up Tony's bearded face. "If we keep the ones caught in Pokeballs in some boxes and just tie the netted ones to the cages, I'm sure we can fit the others in quite...snugly."
"Can I make a suggestion to the plan?" Asked the final man, speaking for the first time. He was outfitted in a thick, black vest and leggings, practically armored from head to toe. On his head, he wore a hunting hat that shaded his face. Over his right eye was a large, three-clawed scar that went down across his entire face from forehead to chin. Unlike with Brutus, he wore no eyepatch to hide it. He leaned forward and said, "Have the men that aren't in the tree behind our Pokemon issuing battle commands. The wild ones will be easier to catch and keep contained when beaten half to death."
Tony stared at him blankly for a moment, then threw his head back and laughed. "Sounds good to me, Salomon! You n' Raphael head over to the guys on the opposite side of the forest." When they nodded, he turned to Brutus and Nezio. "You two round up the men here. Tell them the new plan."
The two nodded, but Nevio asked, "What will you do?"
Tony turned away from him, half-opening the tent's flap that served as a door. "You'll find out soon enough." With that, he exited the tent, letting the flap fall behind him.
"...Then, you will bombard the remaining Pokemon from the trees. When you run out of nets and Pokeballs, use our Pokemon to herd the wild ones back to camp and into the cages. Is that clear?"
As the seven grunts on the south side of Ilex Forest were in the midst of gathering their gear together and readying for the heist, Nevio explained the plan. They were each equipped with two burlap bags filled with Pokeballs. Strapped to their backs were large guns with an open firing hole, which they were hurriedly piling nets into from the back. Brutus, meanwhile, sat upon a crate and fiddled with his already-prepared weaponry.
Brutus was an awe-inspiring man amongst the Hell Hunters. Nearly as much as their leader. He easily towered over the others and was a broad and muscle-bound as a Gurdurr. It was as if he had never stopped growing since the day he was born. He rarely talked to anyone besides Tony and the other three elites, and his silence made him just as intimidating as he was awe-inspiring. And intimidation was something he knew was his strong suit.
So, when a Mightyena they were going to use for this night's heist dared to growl at him from its cage, a single backwards glance straight into its eyes was all it took to become silent and obedient once more. Brutus nodded, satisfied with his work, and went right back to fiddling with his gun until Tony's arrival.
On the opposite side of Ilex Forest, Raphael and Salomon weren't exactly as gentle as Nevio and Brutus. The bald Raphael leered at the eight grunts under their command with a smirk as he watched them toil away. Saloman, not caring for their noise, leaned up against a tree to await Tony's signal. He noticed the glare of many of the caged Pokemon and glared right back, resisting the urge to uncage them for the sole purpose of beating them within an inch of their lives. They were still useful. Beyond that, they were needed, and he wasn't exactly one to jeopardize the state of his wallet.
"When I get back here, I want every single one of you ready to move on command!" Raphael called to the grunts. "You hear me?!"
They awkwardly saluted to him, their heavy weaponry still in their hands for fear of punishment for dropping them. "Sir, yes, sir!"
"Then make it quick, cuz I'm only gonna be gone for a few minutes!" The bald man chuckled when he saw the eight grunts immediately scrambling to hasten their preparations. With them busy for the moment, he decided to preoccupy himself with the caged Pokemon instead. As he approached them, an infernal grin from ear to ear, he made sure to raise his foot and stomp the ground as hard as possible with each foot in order to kick dust into their cages.
They glared at him, but most of them knew that the man before them was bad news, and far from lenient. Raphael struck fear into the hearts of Pokemon, and with it, obedience. He knew how to push just the right buttons to irritate them, and the perfect ways to punish them for doing anything about it. Contrary to his foolhardy-looking smile and mannerisms, Raphael's fear mongering was methodical—meant to yield results on the field rather than for his own entertainment. At least, not entirely.
This was because, as many unfortunate Pokemon knew, this man loved every second of his job.
So, when one daring Liepard couldn't take any more of his tormenting and hissed at him, the other Pokemon's blood collectively ran cold. "Woah!" Raphael jumped back, the grin on his face not faltering in the slightest. In fact, it only grew. He approached the Liepard's cage and kicked it repeatedly, rattling the entire thing. It swiped at him repeatedly, but the metal bars were too thin for it to actually reach him. Chuckling, Raphael knelt down so that he was staring directly into its eyes and asked, "You think you're real tough, don't ya? Well, I'll be sure to correct that."
He turned around and called over to Saloman. "Hey, we got a fighter! You wanna teach it a lesson?"
"I'll pass," Salomon called back. "Gonna save it for the heist."
Raphael shrugged. "Suit yourself!" He then called out to the eight grunts, who had just finished with their preparations. "Hey, maggots!" They flinched, immediately going rigid upon his call. Raphael pointed to the nearest one. "You! Go grab the taser I made!"
He nodded. "The punisher, sir?"
With an eager chuckle, Raphael responded, "That's the one! And make it snappy!"
With another nod, the grunt hastily raced to a small wooden box and opened it, digging around inside until he stood back up with something in his hand. After shutting the box, he raced over to Raphael and presented 'the punisher.' It barely looked like much of anything, being only a black rubber handle and two silver wires that jutted out in a 'U' shape.
"Here you go, sir."
Raphael held his hands up to protest. "What the hell are you doing?!" He demanded, making the grunt flinch. "I ain't touchin' that thing!" Instead, Raphael backed away from the grunt, sneering at the caged Liepard. "Anyways, just sit tight in there." He snapped his fingers at the grunt, who held out 'the punisher' as far away from his face as possible. "Cuz there ain't nowhere to run."
The grunt pressed a button on the handle, immediately making two streaks of crackling electricity appear from each wire's tip. They met in the empty space between the wires, making an awful, gut-wrenching buzzing noise. The electricity that it produced was so volatile that the air itself began to burn.
Raphael leaned his head back and laughed as the Liepard's eyes went wide, his bald head practically shining in the moonlight. It backed away into the corner of its cage, yowling in fright. This only served to amuse Raphael further, all while the other Pokemon cowered in their cages, unable to look.
"You can try hiding in that corner all you like," Hissed Raphael, "But you're gonna wish you hadn't soon enough." He knocked his hand on the cage's exterior, then vigorously shook it to disturb the Liepard further. "There's more than one reason these cages are metal, y'know. But don't worry your fuzzy lil head too much. I won't hurt ya more than I need to." He chuckled cruelly, stepping away from the cage while the grunt stepped forward.
"Too much, and we can't use you anymore."
Back on the forest's southern side, Brutus stopped messing with his weapon as he saw their leader coming toward them. "Tony's back," He warned Nevio and the others, sending them into a panic.
"Already?!" Shaking off his surprise, Nevio quickly cleared his throat and said to the grunts, "Finish up what you're doing and get into position!"
The grunts hastily put on the last of their equipment and lined up shoulder to shoulder. Nevio, meanwhile, stood still in wait for Tony anxiously, his form upright and straight as could be. Brutus, meanwhile, merely shoved himself off of the crate, strapping his net gun to his back.
"Everything ready?" Asked Tony upon arrival.
Nevio nodded. "Yes, sir. At least on this front." He motioned to the grunts, drawing Tony's attention toward them. They flinched, but barely managed to keep still. "The men are all outfitted and equipped with as equal of a portion of our nets and Pokeballs as possible. However…" He trailed off for a moment, looking at the now-empty chest of Pokeballs by the crates. "I noticed that some of the Pokeballs, about ten, were missing."
To Nevio's surprise and relief, Tony merely chuckled at the news. "That'd be my handiwork. Figured I could use a few extra."
Brutus, noticing that there was something small behind Tony, peered behind him. "...You're bringing the boy?"
Indeed, behind the feared leader of the Hell Hunters was none other than a child. He was a meager, short thing for his age, being only ten years old. Yet, he barely came up to Tony's waistline. The boy shuddered at Brutus's gaze and intimidating appearance and attempted to hide behind Tony's legs, only for the poacher leader to grab him by the scruff of his shirt and pull him out into the open.
Tony knelt down and clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder. "That's right!" Said Tony with a grin on his face. "Tonight, I'm bringin' my boy Shaun along for the ride. Figured it's best to get him in the swing of things as soon as possible since he's gonna be running this whole thing one day." He chuckled, jerking his son's shoulder to get a response out of him. "Ain't that right?"
Shaun tried to fumble out a response and failed repeatedly. After a dozen or so attempts, he resigned himself to simply nod and say, "Y-yes…"
Raising an incredulous eyebrow, Nevio asked, "Surely you can't be serious, sir? At his age? You do know how imp-" He swiftly cut off that train of thought to re-word his meaning. "I'm sure you don't need me to tell you how imperative it is for us to continue being in Giovanni's good graces. Tonight's mission is key in furthering our goals. If there is even a single lacking factor, then-"
"Shove it." Hissed Tony, immediately silencing Nevio. The poacher leader grabbed ahold of Shaun's wrist and stood back up without regards to his son's protest. "My boy isn't going to be a weak link if that's what you're insinuatin'." He jerked Shaun's arm up, holding him higher off the ground so they met at eye point. "Ain't that right, boy?!"
Shaun hastily nodded, forcing back the wetting of his eyes for fear of what might happen should he let them flow. "Y-yes, s-sir!"
He was lowered to the ground roughly and fell onto his backside. "That's right!" Bellowed Tony as he let his son's wrist go to instead point at Nevio and the grunts. "No blood of mine knows what weak means, and we're about to prove that tonight! If anyone thinks otherwise, then they're free to step up right now and say it to my face!"
When no one did, Tony nodded. "That's what I thought. Now, get ready to move out. Brutus, you and three of the grunts let the Pokemon loose." Brutus nodded, silently motioning for the grunts to follow him before making his way to the cages. "Nevio," Tony said next, tossing a flare gun into his hands, which he momentarily fumbled over. "You and the other four grunts head up into the trees and get ready to fire on command."
Hastily nodding, Nevio bowed and replied, "Will do, sir." He turned to the remaining grunts and motioned to the trees. "You lot split up. Find a large, sturdy looking tree each and aim your net guns to the sky. Be sure to go in far enough into the forest that you can easily hit a target, but not far enough that you would alert the Pokemon."
"Sir, yes, sir!" They cried with a salute. With that, they headed into the dark green, leaving Tony alone with Shaun.
The leader knelt down once more and shoved a small bag into the boy's hands. "In here's ten Pokeballs," Tony explained, an excited grin returning to his face. "This is your first time, so I'll make it easy for ya. When our Pokemon take down one of the wild ones…" He reached into the bag and took out a ball, fake-throwing it toward the forest. "All you gotta do is throw one of these at 'em and make sure it stays in.
When the ball was forced into Shaun's hand, he looked at it with disdain. Shaun did not like his father's "business." In fact, he utterly despised it. Though, he wasn't keen on admitting it aloud for fear of what his father might do. "...How will I know which is which?" He asked.
"What, the Pokemon?" Tony let out a hearty laugh and roughly pat his son on the back, making him stumble forward. "That's easy, son." He stood back to his full height and began making his way toward the trees. He took out a small radio and, just before turning it on, replied, "You just look at the ones that are either runnin' or too hurt to run."
Tony flicked the radio on and asked, "Brutus, how's it coming on your end?"
Brutus and the grunts had tied ropes to the handles on the cages, readying to pull them up and allow their Pokemon to begin the hunt. The old man himself, unlike the grunts, wrapped three dozen ropes with his massive arms in preparation to release as many as possible in one go.
"We're ready, Tony," Replied the giant of a man, holding the radio between his cheek and shoulder.
"Good," Replied Tony, "How about you, Nevio?"
Nevio and his crew of grunts held their net guns to the dark sky in wait for the order. While the grunts had one finger on the trigger and the other on the built-in flashlights of their guns, Nevio had his free hand on the trigger of the flare gun. "On your command, sir," He responded. "I've notified the northern squad as well."
Tony nodded, giving Nevio only a grunt for a response. "Raphael, Salomon, are you ready?"
Like Nevio, Raphael and four other grunts were in the trees on the northern end, ready to let loose on whatever was unfortunate enough to fly in their line of sight. "You got it, boss," Raphael said, an eager grin from ear to ear.
Salomon was between the Pokemon cages, kneeling down like a sprinter at an Olympic event would so that he could fly right into the action as fast as possible. "I'm ready as can be. Let's bag the entire forest, eh?"
"That's the plan," Replied Tony with a chuckle. "Hold steady for just a minute longer, will ya?" He momentarily turned the radio off and walked back to Shaun, grabbing him by the wrist and carrying him to the edge of the forest. "Once I give the signal, you n' me are gonna run into the forest. Try to keep up, else you'll get lost in there forever."
He laughed in wake of his son's terror and pulled out the radio once more. "Now, then…" Nezio and Raphael narrowed their sights on the stars anxiously, but with two very different types of anxiousness. Brutus dug his boots into the ground, preparing to pull. Salomon growled, eyeing the forest impatiently. Shaun's heart was practically pounding out of his chest, internally screaming that he was not ready for this.
As for Tony, his grin had just kept getting wider and wider until he could hold back no longer. "GO!"
Brutus and his grunts tore down the ropes, pulling open the cages and allowing the Hell Hunters' Pokemon to go rushing into the forest. On the opposite side, Salomon took off alongside the Pokemon the second their cages were opened. Nevio fired the flare gun into the air. This particular flare obviously wasn't meant for the Hell Hunters, considering they had the radios. No, it was meant for the wild Pokemon.
The flare suddenly exploded in the night sky, illuminating it for a brief moment and creating a nearly deafening boom. Raphael let out a mad cackle as he and the grunts turned on their flashlights. It didn't take long before shadows began flying up from the trees a ways away from them. "Now!" Commanded Nevio, dropping the flare gun in favor of the nets. "Open fire!" By the dozens, net after net were launched up after the terrified Flying Types.
They scarcely had the time to screech in shock before, one after another, the birds and bugs found themselves bound by heavy metal nets that wrapped around every inch of their bodies. Without use of their wings, they quickly fell back to the ground. Feeling the recoil of the net gun and watching the Pokemon falling before him like rain, Raphael was having the time of his life.
"YEEEEEEAH!" He roared as he fired, bringing more down by the dozens. "It's like Christmas mornin', aint it?!"
Nevio, on the other hand, was far more focused on the task at hand. Every Pokemon that made it too far away for the nets to hit meant more money that was lost. He and Tony shared the role of tactician among the Hell Hunters, but there was still one title he had all to himself: The sharpshooter. Nevio was farsighted to the point that he could see anything up to three miles away as if it were crystal clear, hence why he normally wore glasses.
So, when he took them off and gently pocketed them, he became even more dangerous to the fliers than Raphael. Without a word, he sunk into position, lined up his eye with the net gun's reticle, and fired. A Swellow that had gotten ahead of all the other fliers was nearing the escape zone, being a higher point than the nets could reach. The swift pull of Nevio's finger sent a net soaring after the escaping prey. The Swellow noticed this and evaded, but there was one factor that it could not have accounted for.
The net guns fired metal capsules that held nets within them, and those capsules opened based on proximity. So, even though the experienced Swellow evaded the capsule, it could not evade the net that shot out from the capsule and was captured along with the others. It let out a fearful wail as it plummeted back to the ground, which was abruptly cut off by impact with the ground.
Upon seeing that his target had been hit, Nevio let out a sigh. "It's a good thing I ordered the proximity sensors from Team Rocket when I did." With that, he began firing at the highest targets once more, dousing their hopes of escape.
Inside the forest itself, chaos reigned as far as the eye could see. The poachers' Pokemon rampaged, launching attack after attack and destroying everything in their path. Behind them, Brutus and Salomon were issuing orders to them and lobbing the occasional net or Pokeball at any fallen or escaping wild Pokemon they came across. Unlike the grunts, who were relatively close to their Pokemon to prevent any harm coming to themselves, Brutus went it alone in an effort to pick up any stragglers.
A small Venonat briefly squealed in fright, attempting to flee as Brutus approached its hiding spot. It didn't go far before the large man ensnared it in a net that pinned it to the ground. After bagging his target, Brutus knelt down and set it by a nearby tree for later. He looked around in an attempt to find any others nearby, but there were none in sight. It seemed like the Pokemon were doing their jobs right and driving the wild ones toward the lake as planned.
The lumbering man turned toward the fires up ahead and went to make his way toward them, but stopped in his tracks upon hearing the rustling and crunching of branches. He pinned his back against the tree with the captured Venonat so nothing could sneak up on him. His old eyes scanned the forest landscape for the source, then snapped to where the next appearance of the sound came from. From the brush, a Tauros slowly made its way toward him, and it looked furious.
Brutus set the net gun and the bags of Pokeballs next to the Venonat and walked over to another tree to his right. The Tauros kept is eyes trained directly on him. "So," He said, "I'm your target?" The Tauros stopped all of a sudden. It snorted, letting spouts of hot steam fly from its nose. It dug its foot across the ground repeatedly as it prepared to charge. In turn, the giant of a man raised his fists. "We're in the same boat."
The Tauros raised its head and bellowed. It crouched down and began sprinting toward him with a Take Down attack. Brutus stood unflinching, merely grumbling in response to the Pokemon's aggression. Just before the Tauros slammed into him, Brutus stepped out of the way and allowed it to impact the tree. The collision staggered the Tauros, making it stumble backwards and shake its head to rid itself of its newfound dizziness. The tree was less fortunate.
As the cracking of splintered wood filled the air, Brutus barged his shoulder into the Tauros's side. It yelped in surprise more than pain, but was, much to the large Pokemon's shock, pushed backwards. Before it could retaliate, Brutus placed his arms on the beast's underside. He let out a thunderous roar that shouldn't have ever come from a human mouth as he attempted to lift the Tauros. It flailed in response, attempting to free itself from his grasp, but the giant man managed to flip it onto its side where it landed with a loud crash.
He backed away from the beast, raising his fists defensively once more to prepare for when it next stood up. It didn't take long for that to happen, and the Tauros glared at him with bloodshot eyes. The bull charged once more, and there was no tree directly behind Brutus this time. Instead of attempting to evade, Brutus stood his ground and opened his hands. When the Tauros came close, he grabbed onto its horns. He let out a grunt as the force behind the Take Down stung his gloved hands and pushed him back, but did not fall.
Another inhuman scream came from the giant man, and the Tauros found itself being lifted off of the ground. It let out a surprised yelp, then was violently thrown to the ground. It was left in a complete daze, scrambling frantically in an attempt to get back onto its feet while letting out bestial cries and roars. Brutus turned away from the Pokemon and made his way back to the Venonat, which was now frantically squirming around in its net and had made it a few feet away.
When it saw Brutus approaching, it hastened its fearful squirming, which the large man swiftly put a stop to by hanging the net on one of the tree's sturdier-looking branches. He curved it upwards to make sure the Venonat wouldn't go anywhere. Brutus knelt down and took a Pokeball out from one of the burlap sacks. Since a net, even a metal one, wouldn't be able to hold a Tauros, this would have to do. Though, when he turned his gaze back upon the beast, he found that it was back on its feet...and it was fuming.
Brutus was not impressed. "Are you going to try for a third?" He asked bluntly.
The Tauros's response was just that. It barreled toward him with even greater fury and force than before. Knowing that he wouldn't have time to grab his equipment, Brutus tossed the Pokeball into his left hand and prepared for impact. He pulled his arm back and met the bull's glare. When it got close, he thrusted his gigantic arm forward, slamming it straight into the Tauros's forehead. The Pokemon's body seemed to crumple from the impact, and its eyes whitened over. It staggered backwards for a moment, then collapsed.
Wordlessly, Brutus shook his now-pained wrist and tossed the Pokeball at the fallen Tauros. Enshrouded in a red light, it was sucked into the Pokeball and captured without further incident. Brutus nodded in satisfaction and placed the new Pokeball in a secondary empty sack, slung his equipment onto his back, and began walking toward the fire.
On the opposite side of the forest, Salomon was in the middle of an inferno, surrounded by a veritable war between Pokemon. Theirs and the wild ones fought viciously with tooth and claw, all the while he and the grunts took down any target that was open. It was doubly lucky, then, that their own Pokemon wore shock collars, else he wouldn't be able to control himself. Salomon despised Pokemon after one gave him the scar he wore over his eye, but was no fool. He concentrated his hatred on the ones laid before him, for every capture meant profit.
A wild Dustox flew above the other Pokemon just before reaching the tree's leaves. Its wings began buzzing vibrantly, which Salomon recognized as an attempt to spread spores of some kind. "Not happening!" He drew his net gun and fired, knocking the Bug-Type right out of the air. An Aggron, one of theirs, reached down to it and threw it behind them outside of the fire. They'd been trained to never leave a target near fire, because a dead capture was useful to no one.
That same Aggron snatched up a Furret that was attempting to sneak by. It squealed and squirmed in its grasp, but was silenced and stilled when the Aggron blew a Flash Cannon straight into its face. Like the others, it threw the Furret behind itself. A Pokeball thrown by a grunt met it mid-air, and another grunt awaited the ball to fall right into his bag, which he then strapped over his back once more and went on his way.
Salomon dove headfirst into the frey, rushing past all the grunts and, though he was disgusted to admit it, allied Pokemon to attack the wild ones. By now, their Pokemon had successfully created a ring of fire with their attacks that was constantly getting smaller as they moved toward the lake. So, when Salomon pierced the flames and made it into the inner circle, he couldn't help but grin when he saw the game that awaited him.
Panicked Pokemon were running toward the lake as far as the eye could see. Whenever any of them tried to escape atop the trees, their net-covered bodies fell down from the leaves shortly after. Unable to contain himself, Salomon switched his net gun from manual to auto—something that Tony had forbidden since it potentially wasted nets and, therefore, money. But now, the nets had a greater chance at hitting something than not.
He chuckled, raising the gun's reticle to his eye and said, "Smile, boys." Then, he pulled the trigger and watched utter carnage ensue.
There were two members of the Hell Hunters who were not at the battle's forefront or in the trees. Ordinarily, one of these people would be leading the entire onslaught, but today, he had another mission in mind. "Hurry up, boy!" Ordered Tony to his lagging son. Shaun, inexperienced and small, was constantly stumbling over rocks and greenery that got in his way. It was because of this that the leader of the Hell Hunters could not join the rest of his crew.
"W-wait up-" Cried Shaun, only for a particularly large leaf of a fern to get caught in his face as he tried to catch up. After pushing it out of the way and pressing onward. "Hold on, dad!"
Because Tony realized it was unlikely that the two would ever make it to the others on time, he resigned himself to finding a target that slipped through their grasp. He was just as annoyed as he was proud that there weren't any to be seen. "...Pah." Tony turned back to his son and said, "Alright, I'll cut you a break, kid. I want to head where the real hunt is, but I can't do that while dragging you along." Shaun let out a sigh of relief and relaxed his stance, but immediately righted himself when his father said, "But!"
He made his way over to his son and yanked the bag out of his hand, reached inside and handed him a single Pokeball. "We ain't leaving til' you bag at least one." His attention snapped over to the sound of rustling bushes, and a wide grin crept up his face. "Perfect…" Two small Houndour were being led by a Houndoom. It was likely their mother. The second it noticed Tony and Shaun, the mother Houndoom stepped between them and the Houndour and snarled viciously at them.
Shaun stepped back, shuddering. Tony, however, merely laughed at the Houndoom's attempt at intimidation. "Watch and learn, kid," He said. Before Shaun could protest, Tony stepped toward them as an act of war. On top of it, he dug his foot into the dirt and kicked up a rock at the mother Houndoom. Infuriated, she leapt at him with a Crunch attack, which he promptly countered by slamming the butt of his gun into the side of her head before she came too close.
The Houndoom was knocked into the dirt, but she was far from finished. The moment she got back onto her feet, she blasted a Flamethrower toward him. Or, at least, she tried to. Before she could actually get the attack out, Tony shot a net her way, constraining her to the point that she couldn't even open her jaw. When she tried to force out a Flamethrower, the flames that seeped out the gaps in her mouth that the net would allow simply heated said net up and burned her skin.
"That's easy money right there, kid," Said Tony as he strapped the net gun to his back once more. As he looked over to the terrified Houndour pups, a cruel grin crawled up his face. "Follow me," He ordered Shaun. Begrudgingly, the young boy obliged. The Houndoom barked at her children to flee, but they hesitated. That hesitation allowed Tony to fire a net at one of them and incapacitate it. The other one yelped and bit the hard metal exterior of the net in an attempt to save its sibling.
Behind them, the mother Houndoom whined and barked at the two. Shaun gripped the Pokeball in his hands tightly, shutting his eyes. He was yanked forward by his father, who said, "Now's your chance! Throw the Pokeball and you can go back to base!" Shaun slowly brought his arm back to throw it, but hesitated when he heard another panicked yelp from the Houndoom. "Go on!" Urged Tony. "All you gotta do is throw it and you're done for today." He affectionately ruffled his son's hair.
The Houndoom continued to scream and bark at its young, urging the one that hadn't yet been captured to flee while it still could. It ignored her, fiercely pulling at the net for the sake of its sibling even at the expense of its teeth. Shaun swallowed a lump in his throat, tightly shutting his eyes. "I...can't-"
"Do it!" Tony roared, making the boy flinch and nearly drop the ball. "You can! You will! Don't you remember what these things did to your mother?!" Shaun shuddered. He could still recall the face of his mother looking at him blankly in the hospital room. She didn't recognize him, nor his father. She didn't recognize the world around her. After the war...it was as if she could no longer even think.
Shaun turned toward him and protested. "Th-that was Necr-"
"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN!" Shaun winced again as his father raged. "Do you think it makes any difference that he came from space?! What about Solrock and Lunatone, then?! They're the same damn thing, and if given the chance, they'll all kill us either way!" He forcibly turned Shaun to look at the captured Houndoom, who was still barking at her children. "If that net wasn't there, do you think that thing would show you mercy?! No, it would sooner burn you alive or tear you to pieces!"
Tony grabbed his son by the front of his shirt and hoisted him into the air. His eyes were as wide as could be. They were so red that he nearly popped a blood vessel from his rage alone. "So do it! These things exist for profit, or else they'll do the same to you! They will hurt and kill whatever they need to to get their way, so we should do it to them first!"
Shaun looked at his father in horror. For the first time in his life, he felt no relation to this man whatsoever. He looked over to the struggling twin Houndours, then back to the mother Houndoom. It had since stopped pleading with its children and now silently pleaded to the two of them. In its eyes it saw only fear...and it was begging for mercy. Shaun shut his eyes tightly, shook his head, and let the Pokeball fall from his hands.
"...I can't do it…"
Tony violently threw him to the ground, eliciting a pained cry from the boy as the air rushed out of his lungs. "WORTHLESS!" He roared. Before Shaun could even move, Tony kicked him with the toe of his boot. Shaun was sent airborne for a brief moment before crashing back to the cold hard dirt with a thud. He let out an agonized scream upon landing.
"SHUT UP!" Bellowed Tony once more. Out of pure, raw, almost-instinctual terror of the man he could no longer call his father, Shaun managed to silence his cries of pain. Tony sneered at him, bending over to pick up the Pokeball and hurling it at the remaining Houndour. Its sibling and the Houndoom yelped as it disappeared into the ball before their very eyes. Shaun managed to stumble back to his feet, holding onto the stricken area.
This did not go unnoticed by Tony. "Get out of here! As far as I care, you're no longer my son!" In spite of the terrible things that Tony had done to him, Shaun couldn't help but cry at those words. The young boy turned away from his former father and began hastily limping away toward the camp. It was the only place he knew as home. Tony spat at him and called out, "BASTARD!" When his disowned child disappeared through the bush, Tony turned back to the Pokemon he'd caught with rage in his eyes.
"What the hell are you looking at?!" He demanded of the Houndoom, who flinched at his voice. It let out a yelp as Tony stomped onto its head, using it as a stepping stone to retrieve his equipment. He glared at it with a fiery hatred and said, "You're going in the pit. The only reason you're still alive is for Giovanni's sake." He kicked it once more, earning another yelp from it. Leaving them to be picked up later, Tony grabbed his equipment, slung it over his back, and began making his way toward the inner circle.
Nevio, through narrowed eyes, scanned the now-empty night sky thoroughly. The pace of each fleeing shadow had become much slower over time as they fell back through the trees until they stopped appearing entirely. Risking missing a potential target, Nevio took a hand off his net gun and spoke through his transceiver. "Raphael," He called, "Anything on your end?"
"Not a thing," Replied the bald man. Nevio heard him chuckle. "Guess we caught 'em all, and with ammo to spare!"
Nevio replied, "I see." He opened the call to every member in the trees. "Everyone, it seems like our business here is done. Head toward the lake and climb into the trees just behind our Pokemon for the final step of tonight's mission."
"Yes, sir!" The grunts collectively called back, dropping through the leaves one after another. Nevio slung his net gun over his back and collected his equipment, dropping from branch to branch until he made it safely back to the ground. Before following the others, he knelt down and picked up the flare gun he'd dropped before, inspecting it for damages. Upon finding that it was unharmed, he pocketed it and went on his way.
Brutus, Salomon and the others neared the lake, following behind the other Pokemon who had already formed the final circle. While the large man was busy attempting to find a tree sturdy enough to hold him, Salomon took one last look at the field of netted Pokemon he laid in his terrible wake with a smirk before turning to the lake. "Alright," He said. "Time for the grande finale." He and his platoon of grunts climbed into the branches just underneath their leaves so they could see their targets. After failing to find a tree that could support his weight, Brutus merely shrugged and pushed his way to the front of the circle.
Before them lay the remaining Pokemon that had yet to be caught. Many of them had been pushed into the lake regardless of their typing due to lack of space. They were screeching and whining in panic. "Should we open fire yet?" Asked Salomon, sneering down at a wild Scolipede that was hissing at him and their Pokemon. "I can already see a few rowdy ones that look like they'll be problematic."
"Hold on a moment," Said Nevio through the transceiver. "Have our Pokemon attack the ones that look like a threat so they'll be easier for capture later, Raphael and I are en route as we speak. Once we start firing the nets and Pokeballs, we can expect retaliation, so it's best if we all do it at once."
Saloman scoffed, lowering the net gun. "If you say so. Just hurry it up." His finger was already on the trigger, twitching. "I dunno how much longer I can hold back."
On the other end of the radio, Nevio let out an exasperated sigh. "You can and will hold back. Besides, it should only be a few minutes. If you really must amuse yourself, do as I instructed earlier and attack the more dangerous Pokemon with our own."
Salomon chuckled. "I may just have to take you up on that." Clipping the small radio to his suit, Salomon gave out his orders. "Hey you! Aggron!" An Aggron under their command glared up at him, which the scarred man paid no heed to. Instead, he pointed out at the troublesome-looking Scolipede. "Take that thing out, will ya?" It nodded, turning back to the Scolipede and launching a Flash Cannon. It hit it square in the face, eliciting a screech from it and the surrounding Pokemon.
The Scolipede, brushing aside the smoke in its face, fiercely glared at the Aggron and charged toward it with little regard for its fellow wild Pokemon. "I had a feeling this one was trouble!" Said Salomon with a laugh. He called out to the hunters' Pokemon all at once. "Let's make it a party! The one who knocks out the most Pokemon gets double dinner portions tonight, starting with that one! But don't you dare break the circle or let anything through or it's the pit for ya!"
That sentence alone kicked the Hunters' Pokemon into action. They were scarcely fed more than scraps, so the thought of more food could not possibly be passed up. Lining up shoulder to shoulder, they began firing attacks wildly into the crowd. The smaller, weaker Pokemon squealed in terror as they were crowded and pushed to the pack of the crowd, eventually into the lake itself. The stronger ones, on the other hand, weren't about to take this sitting down.
They raged against the circle, firing attacks off on their own. However, their lack of coordination led to some attacks hitting their fellow wild Pokemon, and it wasn't long until friend became foe. Taking advantage of this, the Hunters' Pokemon increased their fire rate, attacking anything that didn't focus their attention on them. A Hunters' Bisharp attempted to cut a wild Musharna down with Night Slash, but an allied Absol beat it to the punch with Dark Pulse.
It turned on the Absol, growling like a feral animal. Seeing the hostility, the Absol did the same. To these Pokemon, food was everything. Like the wild Pokemon, they, too, soon delved into squabbles with one another until the entire lake became a warzone. "...Aw hell," Said Salomon with a chuckle. "This is bad. Fun to watch at least."
Brutus and the onlooking grunts disagreed. The large man pulled away from the main group, taking refuge from the free-flying attacks behind a tree. "Nevio," He said to the transceiver, "Salomon ordered our Pokemon to attack the wild ones. Now every single one of them has started killing each other."
"He did what?!" Balked Nevio.
Salomon chuckled. "Sorry about that. Figured I could get ours to take 'em out before you got here so we'd be able to take the others in one fell swoop, but now they're killin' each other over the food I offered."
They heard gruff laughter from Raphael. "Sounds like a party. Should I activate their shock collars?"
Nevio let out an exasperated sigh between his teeth. "No, Raphael. Without our Pokemon, the wild ones will surely escape. As for you, Salomon,I told you to only attack the strong ones, not to fire indiscriminately! Every wild Pokemon that gets killed is-"
"-Outta our paychecks, I know," Interjected Salomon. "Anyways, should we just start opening fire ourselves?"
"That seems for the best now," Nevio replied. His head perked up upon realizing something. "Wait- Tony isn't there?" If the infamous leader of the Hell Hunters were there, this incident never would have happened. The fear he held over their Pokemon was like that of a smothering blanket, putting even Raphael to shame.
Salomon answered, "No. I haven't seen the boss since the hunt began."
Nevio scoffed. "It's likely because he brought his son along-"
The four elites of the Hell Hunters collectively threw their heads away from their transceivers upon hearing the enraged screaming of their boss. "DON'T MENTION THAT BASTARD! As far as I'm concerned, that worthless leech is no longer my son!" He took a moment to compose himself, clearing his throat before he spoke again. "Start firing now. You all better have this under control when I get there." With that, he abruptly cut communications.
The four needed no further words and quickly went to carry out their orders. Brutus pushed the nearest Pokemon that formed the ring out of his way and began firing into the crowd en masse. Salomon took aim, his gun still on auto, and followed suit. It didn't take long for Raphael and Nevio's groups to get to the inner circle and open fire as well. They were silent, focused, and efficient, for fear of what would happen if they weren't.
In a matter of seconds, the hail of Pokeballs and nets that rained from the trees snatched up Pokemon after Pokemon. All the while the younger, weaker Pokemon watched on in horror from the lake surface. Seeing their masters taking up arms, the Hunters' Pokemon stopped their infighting and watched on in silence. A few of the smarter ones gulped nervously, for they knew their masters' ire would soon be turned on them for their behavior.
The four elites of the Hell Hunters' fingers and eyes moved from target to target nearly as fast as the nets they fired, filling the air with a storm of whistles as the nets flew. Now, out of fear of their leader...out of fear of Tony, the Hunters worked at maximum efficiency. The forests' Pokemon scarcely knew what had hit them, and in a matter of minutes, it was over. Brutus clicked his trigger and found no response. When he reached into his bag of Pokeballs, it was empty.
"I'm all out," He said through the transceiver.
"Same here," Responded Salomon.
"Right with ya," Followed Raphael.
Nevio tossed one last Pokeball at a small Budew that was sitting on the shoreline and captured it without issue. "I'm all out as well. Is everyone else the same?" The grunts responded with a multitude of affirmations. Nevio nodded. "I see. Let's round up the ones caught in Pokeballs, then. Raphael, have our Pokemon drive the remaining wild ones out of the lake and surround them until Tony arrives."
"Will do," Responded the bald man.
As Nevio and the others collected the Pokeballs, Raphael took out his transceiver, turning off all other frequencies and putting the volume on max. On top of that, he took out a small remote from his pocket that had a small rotating notch on it. Upon the slight movement of that notch, the Hunters' Pokemon collectively let out yelps as their collars shocked them.
"LISTEN UP!" He called through the transceiver. "YOU ANIMALS DESERVE TEN TIMES THE SHOCK I'M GIVING YOU! YOU ARE TO ROUND UP EVERY LAST POKEMON AND SURROUND THEM UNTIL THE BOSS GETS HERE, OR…" He turned the notch's intensity up by five times, making their Pokemon scream out in agony, then swiftly turned it back to prevent permanent injury. "NOW GET TO IT!"
Needing no further motivation, the Hunters' Pokemon raced after the frightened, weak Pokemon. The few who had tried to run were immediately cut off by the swifter Pokemon like Weavile and Crobat. Many had been pushed into the lake during the commotion and stayed there out of fear. When they saw the myriad of fearsome Pokemon headed their way, they screeched in terror. None of them stood a chance. They were grabbed, pulled, bitten and dragged back to shore where they were thrown into a small circle with the Hunters' Pokemon surrounding them.
Nevio put one last Pokeball into a burlap sac and, upon finding no others in view, tied a rope around it to shut it. "That should do it," He said contently. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the fuming leader of the Hell Hunters marching toward them. 'And not a moment too soon, it seems.' "Look alive, everyone! The boss is here!"
At once, the grunts fumbled with their things and scrambled into a line to greet Tony. Brutus, Raphael and Salomon stood beside Nevio to await him. Tony didn't say anything at first, merely glowering at everyone and everything in sight. "...Is everything done?" He asked. Though his voice was low, Nevio and the others could practically feel rage boiling within him, ready to burst at the slightest offset.
"Yes, sir," Nevio replied with a bow. "Every Pokemon in the forest has been captured. There wasn't a single escape."
Tony seemed to relax at that, much to the Hell Hunters' relief. "At least I can count on someone." He turned his gaze upon the Pokemon with an odd look. His face wrinkled to absurd proportions. "What the hell are they doing?"
Nevio hastily replied, "Our Pokemon are currently surrounding the remaining wild ones. I counted forty-three. Now that your here, I can have them lead the wild Pokemon back to ba-"
He was cut off when Tony abruptly snatched the collar remote from Raphael and stepped away, marching toward the Hunters' Pokemon. "Have the grunts do it!" As the Pokemon noticed Tony's approach, their eyes went wide. They stood upright, their eyes trained solely on him. His infuriated expression told them that this encounter would not end well.
Tony grabbed the nearest one, the Bisharp that had instigated the infighting to begin with, by the collar and pulled it toward his face mere inches away from the axe in its head. "You worthless FREAKS!" With nigh inhuman strength, he threw the Bisharp onto its back and stomped on its chests. "You nearly jeopardized this mission, and for what?! Food?!" He showed them all the remote, making their eyes collectively widen in terror.
He turned the remote off momentarily, but shifted the notch until it would no longer move and hovered his thumb over the activation button. "All of you...every last one of you are going to comb this entire forest for Pokeballs and netted Pokemon. If even a single net or ball is missing—and we have the numbers—then I will come up with a torture method that would give Raphael and Necrozma nightmares! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!"
The Pokemon nodded hastily, shrinking under Tony's furious glare. They turned toward the forest and began to carry out their orders, but the merciless boss of the Hell Hunters stopped them suddenly. "Hold on a moment," He said, freezing them in their tracks. Begrudgingly, they obliged, turning back toward him. His face was dark, shadowed by the moon, but they could practically sense his malevolence. "What exactly made you think we were done?"
He held up the remote, his finger still on the activation button. "Did you honestly believe you were going to leave without punishment after what you've done? No...no, we're not done yet. Push one out." The Pokemon looked back and forth between themselves and Tony oddly. "You heard me," He said with authority. "Push one out. One of ours. Or else…" Again, he held the remote out for all to see, jerking it back and forth in the air with his fingers. "None of you are irreplaceable. Oh, and if you show me a disgusting display like you did over the food offering, I will kill every. Last. ONE OF YOU!"
They looked back and forth at each other, unsure what to do. If they fought over who would be sacrificed, they would be killed. If they did nothing, they would be killed. Tony had already lost most of his patience over the night's course, and wasn't about to be pushed any further. He growled at them, preparing to press the button when, all of a sudden, an Aggron shoved a small Pokemon from the group at Tony's feet. A Fletchling.
This Fletchling was small, only used by the Hell Hunters as a scout. It couldn't even have participated in the fight if it wanted to, yet the grin that crawled up Tony's face said that he didn't care. Before the Fletchling could hope to flee, Tony grabbed it and held it in his arms. It shrieked in terror, violently trembling in fear. It did not squirm or, Arceus forbid, retaliate for fear of his fury. Instead, it shut its eyes tightly and awaited the end.
"You're free to go," Said Tony, taking the shock collar off of the small Pokemon. The jaws of the other Pokemon collectively dropped. Behind Tony, the other Hell Hunters looked on in utter bafflement. Tony chuckled. "You heard me. Go. Run free. I don't much care to spend more money on food for you lot than I need to after today since we now have many more mouths to feed, so...the world is your oyster."
Not needing a second word from Tony, the small Fletchling gratefully tweeted and prepared to fly off, but Tony held his hand over it to stop it from doing so. "Hasty, aren't you?" He asked with a chuckle. He pinched its tiny legs with his fingers, making it cry out in pain. The cruel leader of the Hell Hunters smirked at it and said, "Everything comes with a price, you know. Food. Shelter. Lives. Freedom is certainly no different...wouldn't you agree?"
He twisted his fingers like a wrench, snapping the poor bird's legs like a twig. As it let out an agonized wail, its fellow Pokemon, both wild and enslaved, flinched and turned away. The onlooking Hell Hunters' expressions returned to normal upon realizing that their leader hadn't changed in the slightest. No...perhaps he was even more cruel than before. Tony tossed the Fletchling over his shoulder as if it were a discarded piece of trash.
"If you can get out of this forest alive," He said, "Then you've earned your freedom." Tony glared at the other Pokemon next. "Get to it," He hissed. "You have your orders." As the Pokemon begrudgingly nodded and turned away to do just that, Tony motioned to the others to quickly surround the wild Pokemon, which they did immediately after. "Take them to the cages or the pit. I don't really care. Just keep them alive until Giovanni sends his pickup team."
An hour later and the newly captured Pokemon had been successfully rounded up. Most of the enslaved ones were squished together in cages to the point that they couldn't move. The same could be said of the newly-captured ones. Those caught with nets were tied to the cages with rope to stop any chance of escape, and the ones that were lucky enough to have been caught with Pokeballs were dumped into a large crate. Meanwhile, their capteurs laughed and ate and jeered for their victory.
The unluckiest of the bunch were dropped into the pit. The pit was a method of torture and captivity that was conjured up by none other than Raphael. It was a twelve-foot deep gigantic hole in the ground dug up by the enslaved Pokemon. At its bottom were jagged rocks, metal shrapnel and even broken glass that dotted most of the ground. To prevent escape, multiple heavy glass panes were placed over the top. The panes opened when something was dropped in, but getting out was much harder.
A certain individual used this to his advantage, pressing one of the panes down so that he could drop small slabs of meat he stole from the food pantry and feed the Pokemon unfortunate enough to be locked down there. This was Shaun, who returned to the base in spite of what had happened. Below, a pair of young Houndour gratefully snapped up the dropped meat. Shaun was doing this as his way of apology, feeling responsible for their current situation.
Unfortunately for him, this did not go unnoticed by Tony.
"What the hell are you still doing here?" Demanded the poacher leader, making Shaun jump up in fright. He narrowed his eyes at the slab of meat, which he promptly snatched out of the boy's hand and grabbed him by the neck of his shirt. "After everything you've done, now you're stealing from me?! For what, those Pokemon?!" Shaun was too terrified to answer, merely looking up at the man who was once his father with his eyes wide open.
Tony scoffed at him. "What, do you think they're your friends or something? That if you give them food, they'll forgive you?!" Shaun yelped as Tony pushed him to the edge of the pit. He was practically hanging on by his ankles. "Let's put that to the test, why don't we?! If you want to side with Pokemon…" Tony shoved Shaun over the edge. "YOU CAN LIVE WITH THEM!"
Shaun screamed in terror as he fell into the black pit. He heard a sickening crack upon landing, and the air was, again, forced right out of his lungs. Above, he heard Tony laughing. "Good luck in there! Tell ya what: If you can survive a night down there, I'll give ya another shot!" Knowing that such a thing would be impossible, the cruel man descended into laughter once more and walked away to drink with the rest of his crew.
When the young boy next tried to move, he cried out in pain, feeling something sharp in his arm. He cried out in shock upon seeing that his arm badly scraped against a piece of broken glass when he fell, and was bleeding badly. Shaun stood up and cried, "Help! Dad, please! I'm hurt!" Of course, there was no answer. He kept calling as any child would do, even though the effort was fruitless, and only stopped when he saw the two Houndour from before running up to him.
He cried out in fear and stepped back, tripping on a loose rock and falling onto his back. "N-no!" Shaun cried, holding his hands up defensively. When he saw the two Houndours looming over him on both sides, he winced, preparing for the terrible pain of their fangs...instead, feeling something wet running up his injured arm. The young boy dared to open his eyes and, to his surprise, found the Houndour pups licking away his wounds for him.
One yipped at him, its small tail wagging happily. Tentatively, he reached his hand out to it to pet it, which it let him do. For the first time since the war against Necrozma, Shaun felt relief. One of the Houndour nestled its head on his chest playfully, earning a laugh from the young boy. The other soon followed suit, and soon enough, Shaun was 'smothered' by the two puppies. Though, their playtime soon came to an end when Shaun heard angry growling not too far from him.
The Houndoom, their mother, glared at him from the darkness and chilled him to his core. It barked viciously, making him and the Houndour flinch. They gave Shaun a sorrowful look before returning to their mother's side. Baring its fangs, it walked over to him. He tried shuffling across the ground, but the Houndoom pressed its paw down on his chest to keep him still. It was about to deliver a Crunch to his neck that surely would have ended his life in an instant, but a familiar scent made it stop.
In his eyes, she saw the same terrified boy from before. The one who refused to capture her children. She took her paw off of him and backed away. Her eyes no longer retained their fiery hatred. Only a sorrowful pity. Shaun, however, was still utterly terrified of her. His chest heaved for air that seemed to evade him, and his heart was practically pounding out of his chest. The Houndoom lightly barked back to her pups, allowing them to return to the boy.
As the Houndour happily returned to their new friend's side, their mother noticed the looks they were getting from the other Pokemon. Upon seeing her see them, they decided to make their move. The Houndoom quickly put herself between the Pokemon and Shaun, barking viciously at them in an attempt to dissuade them. The Houndour perked their heads up, allowing Shaun to see what was happening, and he gasped.
Every Pokemon in the pit was glaring at him much like the Houndoom had. What was worse was that they were all marching toward him. Like their mother, the twin Houndour stood guard over Shaun protectively, yipping at the oncoming Pokemon. Seeing that her attempts at intimidation weren't working, Houndoom used Flamethrower on the ground around her and Shaun, forcing them to stop. She continued barking at them, something that Shaun figured was her trying to tell them something.
He realized that he still had another large piece of salami that he stole in his pockets and pushed himself onto his feet. "H-hey!" Shaun called to the Pokemon, getting their attention as well as the Houndoom's. The young boy winced. His legs were trembling like jelly, but he didn't want the Pokemon to hate him. He held up the piece of meat and said, "I-I can share...if you want. I'm not...bad like th-them." The Pokemon looked at him skeptically. Then, they noticed the gash on his arm.
The Houndoom barked at them again, looking up at the glass pane Shaun was dropped from. She did the same at her two Houndour pups, telling them that the boy had refused to capture them and was injured for it. She recalled the ferocity with which Tony threw his son to the ground. The Pokemon looked at Shaun once more, who still held the sausage up for them. It was then that they realized he was different from the others. They were all in the same boat.
A Magmortar walked through the flames, earning a vicious defensive bark from the Houndoom. She was about to pounce, but stopped when she saw the look on its face. Shaun felt his blood run cold seeing the imposing figure approaching. Still, he held up the offering to it and looked away with his eyes shut tight. The Magmortar reached down toward him...and picked off a small piece of the meat. Shaun opened his eyes and watched the large Pokemon throw it into his mouth with a delighted expression.
It smiled down at him appreciatively and waved back to the others, calling out to them. A Crawdaunt doused the flames, allowing the others to approach. They all wore smiling faces now, relieved that they would have something to eat. The young Shaun, though he was still utterly terrified, returned the smile. One after another, each of the Pokemon trapped down in the pit with him took a small piece of the sausage until it was gone entirely.
When morning next came, Tony was the first to rise. Eagerly, he jumped from his bed and made his way toward the pit. He couldn't wait to see the remains of his worthless bastard son. "Oh Shaaauuun!" He called mockingly, believing that there would be no one to answer his call. "Rise and shiiii- WHAT IN THE-?!"
Tony expected to find red stains adorning the walls of the pit, yet when he peered over the glass roof of the tortuous containment chamber, he found his son surrounded by Pokemon and sleeping. Happily so, by the looks of it. The poacher leader balled his hands into fists, trembling with rage. His face reddened like a tomato, and his teeth grinded against each other to the point they nearly cracked. Then...an idea struck him.
"...That boy...he must have one hell of a knack for taming those beasts." He relaxed his stance and chuckled. "Maybe you're not useless after all, son." By now, the other Hell Hunters were emerging from their tents, so Tony turned around and shouted, "Brutus! Get a rope over to the pit! Looks like I have a son after all!"
Brutus nodded, walking over to a nearby chest and taking out a large leather rope. Nevio asked, "Your son? Did you actually throw your son into the pit?"
"Got a problem with that?" Retorted Tony.
Nevio quickly shook his head. "I-It's your decision, of course. But, more importantly, he's alive? How is that possible?"
As the two spoke, Brutus kicked open a glass pane of the pit's roof and dropped the rope down, waking Shaun and the Pokemon. Before the boy could protest, a Weavile with a control collar dropped down, grabbed Shaun by his wrist, and climbed back up the ladder in the blink of an eye. The Pokemon leapt to their feet and threw attacks up at the glass after it, but Brutus had already retracted the rope and closed the pane. Their attacks merely bounced off harmlessly.
"H-hey!" Protested Shaun. "Let me go! Let me go!"
Tony laughed at him heartily. "I see that night in the pit toughened you up." Shaun glared at him, but his father shot one back that made his bravado melt like ice in a summer day. "Take him to my tent," Tony ordered Brutus. "And keep him there until I get there. He and I are gonna have a little talk later." Brutus nodded wordlessly, grabbing onto the squirming boy and dragging him off. Next, he looked to Nevio. "Get the Pokemon ready for Giovanni, would ya? I'm gonna give him a call."
Nevio nodded. "Will do, sir. " He bowed, then promptly went on his way to look for Raphael.
The poacher boss stepped away from the campsite, taking out a device that looked incredibly high tech. He tapped the screen and, after a few seconds of waiting, none other than the Team Rocket boss Giovanni himself appeared on the screen. "I assume," He said, "That your calling means you were successful?"
Nodding, Tony replied, "Just as you ordered, boss. Every Pokemon that was in Ilex Forest is now under our control. Soon, they'll be in yours."
"Excellent," Commended Giovanni, pressing a multitude of buttons on the arm of his chair. "I'll send a pickup team immediately. They will deliver your reward." The leader of Team Rocket smiled; a very rare occasion. "Time and time again, you and your Hell Hunters have impressed me. It is not often that a group like yours does not fail me time and time again, yet you haven't failed me once."
Tony returned the smile, bowing to Giovanni. "You are too kind."
"...Which is why I impart this next mission solely to you."
The poacher leader's head perked up at that. "Another mission, sir? So soon?"
Giovanni nodded. "I realize that it is sudden, especially after just finishing a mission. But this one in particular cannot wait, and trust me, if this is completed successfully, you and your men will spend the rest of your days with money lining your pockets."
Tony's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. "W-we'll do it!" He said prematurely. Clearing his throat and regaining his composure, Tony asked, "What will this mission entail?"
"Three Legendary Pokemon from Kanto," Replied Giovanni. "I want you to get them for me, along with any other Pokemon you can find." Tony's bravado visibly faltered at the mention of the Legends, which Giovanni was quick to address. "You won't need to combat them with your current equipment. I will grant you access to any level of technology that I have in my posession. No price is too great."
Tony leaned forward. "No price is too great, huh?"
"For them," Replied Giovanni, "No price is too great."
No Author's Note Today. Next chapter will respond to all reviews.