Visibly I can't stop right now. Not gonna lie though, it feels good to be on a roll.
And a big thank you to LugiaMoon for Beta reading this so far.
Third chapter, enjoy!
When it comes to our relationship as trainer and pokemon, my starter and I had a rough start, to say the least, back when she was just Poochyena.
It wasn't bad enough that she was subjected to the, yet unrefined at the time, process of being turned into a shadow pokemon after the trauma of her initial capture, which ended up turning the black portions of her fur entirely white, but on top of that she then was beat by her trainer after her first defeat, which coincidentally was also her first real battle.
This culminated into distrust, fear and hate of humans. All of which got channeled into the only way she could express as a shadow pokemon: lashing out at the world blindly.
It took work and time for her to become comfortable around me, and that was mainly because I saved her, tended to her and fed her. Even then, I had to be very careful for quite some time because there was still a good risk of her biting me.
Looking at us now, you'd think there was no way she would have happily gone for my throat at some point. Still, she is, and always will be, my first partner. And I wouldn't trade her for the world.
The trip from Pyrite Town to Phenac City in order to get the Poochyena in Aileen's arms to the Pokemon Center feels like an eternity. Despite the super potion she'd sprayed on the unconscious pokemon's wounds (after buying it with most of her remaining cash at the town's Mart), she knows that it needs professional help. She also feels like kicking herself for not buying a couple pokeballs earlier in Phenac City. It would have at least put Poochyena into stasis to prevent its condition for worsening.
And unfortunately, Pyrite Town doesn't have a Pokemon Center.
'If it's crippled or it dies because of that asshole..." She growls internally, jaw clenched as Phenac City finally comes into view. "Nothing will save him from my wrath."
Pom has barely slowed down the ATV to a stop that Aileen is jumping out, rushing to the Pokemon Center as fast as she can without jolting the creature in her arms too much.
"Out of the way!" She snarls at the people who'd curiously stopped to watch. Her expression seems to be intimidating enough as their eyes widen and they clear a path for her. A couple of them trip over themselves in their haste and she jumps over them without breaking stride, making a beeline for the building labeled 'PC' in big blue letters on the side.
She barrels into the Pokemon Center itself, shoving people away with her shoulders. "I have a wounded Poochyena in need of medical attention!" She shouts as she approaches the counter. "I've patched what I could but I fear it has internal injuries."
The violet-haired nurse takes one look at the pokemon in Aileen's arms and slams her head onto a button on the counter. "I need a stretcher for a small-sized pokemon, stat!" She barks into her mic. "What happened?"
"I found its trainer in Pyrite Town beating it for losing a battle." The amber-eyed young woman replies. "I used a super potion but that was two hours ago and it still hasn't regained consciousness."
"We'll take it from here." The nurse says as two aides come running with a stretcher between them. Gently, Aileen lowers the Poochyena onto it and they swiftly take the injured pokemon into the back. "Should we expect its trainer to come for it?"
Aileen shakes her head. "I made a deal for him to release it. Unfortunately, I do not have a pokeball. So that Poochyena is technically a wild pokemon at the moment."
The nurse nods. "Understood. As far as we are concerned, it is under your ownership now. Rest assured that we will take care of it to the best of our abilities." She pauses for a brief moment, putting a hand to her earpiece and nodding. "It will probably take an hour, maybe more, before we can give you an update. I suggest you use that time to buy a pokeball at the Mart."
Aileen hesitates, casting suspicious glances left and right at the other people in her peripheral vision. "I don't want to doubt her words, but Cipher is controlling everything from the shadows. Who's to say Poochyena won't simply be snatched while I'm not here?"
A hand lands on her shoulder. "Go, lass." Pom says as she turns, one hand clenched into a fist and ready to punch before she relaxes at the sight of the old miner, who'd caught up with her. "I'll keep an eye on things here 'til ye're back."
With a grateful nod to her friend, the young woman strides out of the Pokemon Center, ponytail swaying behind her and amber eyes taking note of the people watching her. Once outside, she takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out.
"What a mess..." She murmurs under her breath. "And this day had started out so well."
It takes her ten minutes, maybe fifteen tops, to go to the Mart, grab two pokeballs from one shelf, slap two hundred pokedollars on the counter to pay for them and go back to the Pokemon Center.
When she comes back, it's to the scene of a battle between Pom, who's guarding the entrance of the Center, and three men she recognizes and whose uniform reminds her of the Power Rangers, Rhydon and Murkrow are facing against a pair of Grimers and a Spoink. A few dozen people have formed a crowd and are watching from a respectable distance.
"Come on, old man, get out of the way!" The man dressed in red from head to toe shouts.
"Yeah, we just want that Poochyena. No one has to get hurt." The blue one adds.
"Our boss has a vested interest in that pokemon, you see." The last one, clad in green, finishes.
Pom looks back at them, unimpressed. "I don' care what ya have to say, ye're not gettin' inside." He retorts, Rhydon smacking his fists together for good measure.
"It's your funeral, then! Grimer, use Sludge!"
"You too, Grimer!"
"Take him down with Psybeam, Spoink!"
For a moment, Aileen fears for her friend as she sees the attacks converge on Pom and his pokemon's position. But the old man's only reaction is to narrow his eyes.
"Murkrow, the Psybeam. Rhydon, Rock Blast." He orders calmly.
Immediately, the two pokemon move into action, Murkrow flying into the path of the Psybeam and letting the attack wash over him without any effect thanks to his dark typing, while Rhydon's horn glows white before it fires several drill shaped silver blasts at the balls of sludge spat by the Grimers, the projectiles neutralizing each other.
"Feint Attack and Iron Tail!" Pom barks next.
With a roar, Rhydon charges forward, his tail taking a metallic sheen as he turns and swipes it at the two Grimers, sending them flying. As Spoink looks at Rhydon with eyes widened in fear, Murkrow suddenly appears behind it and pecks the Bounce Pokemon hard in the back with a beak wreathed in a shadowy aura and making it cry out as it falls to the ground.
Just like that, the battle is over.
"Guh! Don't think we'll forget this!"
"You haven't seen the last of us!"
"Next time will be different!"
With those parting words, the wannabes Power Rangers -Rosso, Verde and... Blueno?- quickly recall their fainted pokemons and run away before any of the authorities can show up. The crowd bursts into applause as Pom returns Rhydon before quickly dispersing now that the show is over.
"I must say I'm surprised at how quickly the rats came out of the woodwork." Aileen says as she approaches Pom. "Impressive battle, by the way."
Pom shakes his head. "These guys have plants sharin' information between 'em everywhere, lass. Pretty sure if ya stuck around the Center a few days ya'd see a few shady people lurkin' around." He replies as they move back into the Pokemon Center itself and sit down at one of the tables. "An' I may be old, but ah've seen my fair share of pokemon battles. A couple grunts still wet behind the ears aren' gonna get the better o' me any time soon."
Which is fair, Aileen decides. Rhydon probably didn't get to evolve by being a pushover.
Time passes slowly as they wait for any news about Poochyena. Half an hour passes, then an hour, and then an hour and a half. By the second hour, Aileen is seriously getting worried about the little dark-type. The looks she gives the nurse at the counter are only returned with helpless shrugs.
"If they haven' come to give ya bad news, 's that they're doin' all they can." Pom tries to reassure her. "Have faith, lass."
The clock almost rings a third hour as the nurse puts a hand to her earpiece. Mouths something with a nod and then comes by their table.
"Ma'am, if you'll come with me?"
The nurse leads the young woman to one of the post-operation rooms, opening the door and gesturing Aileen inside.
"Doctor Pelam, the Poochyena's owner is here." The nurse says to a bald man in a lab coat leaning over a small white and bandaged form.
"Thank you, Reina. Please return to your duties, I'll take it from here." The man says in a soft voice as he turns, revealing a slightly wrinkled face framing tired blue eyes.
The nurse, Reina, gives a nod to the doctor and to Aileen before closing the door on her way out.
"Please sit, we have lot to talk about." Pelam says as he goes to sit in his own chair, massaging his forehead. Aileen follows, plopping into a chair across the man. "First of all, allow me to thank you for getting that poor pokemon away from her previous trainer and bringing her here as fast as you did. Had you done so even half an hour later, it's entirely possible Poochyena wouldn't have survived. Without the super potion you used, it would most certainly have been a guarantee. So, thank you for saving her life."
"That's good to hear." Aileen exhales in relief at that before she straightens. "But I suppose that's where the good news end concerning its -I mean- her health?"
The doctor nods. "Unfortunately, yes. As you can see," He motions at Poochyena's bandages covering her midsection and the casts on her left legs. "The damage is quite extensive. She has several broken ribs, who resulted in internal bleeding and fractured bones in the legs on her left side. Thankfully, she seems to have protected her head from anything more than bruises, which the super potion took care of." He lists. "However, we've also found traces of older injuries dating back to several weeks, which suggest a less than gentle treatment of her before she ended up into the hands of her previous trainer."
Aileen closes her eyes for a moment, letting the information slowly sink in. "Give it to me straight, doc. What's the worse case scenario here?"
Pelam looks at her for a few seconds, before nodding slowly. "Worst case scenario is she never totally recovers the mobility in her legs and can't ever do physically challenging exercises for risk of rupturing her damaged internal organs. In short, she wouldn't be crippled but battles would definitely be off the table for the rest of her life."
The young woman winces before forcing herself to take a deep breath. "Alright. So how do we avoid that?" She asks, her voice steady.
"Before I can answer that question," The doctor says, leaning forward and gazing at her intently. "and for the sake of my peace of mind, will you swear that you will take care of that Poochyena to the best of your ability?"
"I swear it." Aileen replies without hesitation, fishing out one of her two pokeball in its shrunken form and laying it down on the table between them. "I accepted that she would become my responsibility the moment I made the bargain with her previous trainer."
Pelam looks between the item and the young woman for a moment, before he gives her a small smile and leans back. "Pokemon are tough creatures by nature, and they heal remarkably fast compared to us humans. However, just like us, they have limits, and Poochyena's condition clearly went past those. As she is, it's best she doesn't try to move for at least a couple weeks, and do nothing beyond light exercise for another two."
"And after that?"
"Come for a checkup and then we'll see." The man says as he flicks the pokeball back to Aileen and stands up before gesturing to Poochyena's form.
Wordlessly, Aileen approaches the sleeping creature. Where a Poochyena's fur on its face, paws and belly is supposed to be black, this one's is a pure white that contrasts just as much with the light grey on the rest of her body. Slowly, the amber-eyed young woman lays a hand on the Bite Pokemon's side and threads her fingers through the fur, feeling the slow rise and fall of the dark-type's chest.
"This is it."
With her other hand, she presses the switch on her pokeball, unshrinking it, and gently taps it on Poochyena. With its iconic sound, the ball opens and Poochyena's form turns into energy as she's swallowed inside. The pokeball doesn't even twitch before it clicks shut and flashes red once, signaling a successful capture.
And just like that, Poochyena officially becomes Aileen's first pokemon.
The thought doesn't comfort her as much as she'd thought it would.
It's several hours later, after signing multiple forms, coming back to the home trailer and once they've eaten, that Aileen lets Poochyena out, with Pom and Murkrow watching from the other side of the kitchen.
The Bite Pokemon materializes in a burst of light on the couch, laying on her side and with the tips of her paws dangling off of it. She blinks and yawns, before sleepily looking around, assessing her surroundings. Then her eyes lock onto Aileen's form, crouched at the foot of the couch and they sharpen before she attempts to lunge with a snarl, her mouth opening to reveal gleaming fangs.
As soon as she sees the attack coming, the young woman grabs Poochyena by the scruff of her neck, holding her away from her as the canine closes her mouth around empty air and starts flailing.
"Shhh... There's no need for that. You're safe now." She says, soft but firm at the same time. "No one here is going to hurt you. Calm down."
Almost abruptly, Poochyena ceases to struggle and goes limp, emotionless eyes staring blankly at Aileen, who represses a grimace as she feels her heart sink. A frightened or angered animal simply doesn't go from a fight or flight reaction to... this. She'd hoped that she'd mistaken what Calda had said, back in Pyrite Town, but it appears she's heard correctly.
Poochyena is a shadow pokemon.
Carefully, Aileen lays her pokemon back on the couch, before picking up a bowl of food she'd prepared in advance and putting it in front of Poochyena, who doesn't even seem to notice it.
"Come on, girl. Aren't you hungry?" The young woman cajoles the dark-type, slowly stroking her fur. "You need to eat, otherwise you won't recover your strength or heal properly."
It takes several minutes of this before Poochyena twitches and leans her head toward the bowl, eating mechanically. The same process repeats itself with water, the Bite Pokemon only drinking a few minutes of having the bowl in front of her face.
All the while, Aileen never stops stroking Poochyena's fur and murmuring reassurances, though the dark-type barely seems to register either.
After about thirty minutes, Poochyena seems to have had her fill and resumes staring at nothing. With a sigh, Aileen washes both bowls in the sink and puts a blanket around her pokemon before heading outside. Pom, who had been observing silently until now, follows her while Murkrows stays to watch over Poochyena.
The cold air of the desert night greets the young woman as she sits down on the ground, leaning back against the home trailer as she stares at the night sky. Beside her, Pom drops down onto the wooden steps.
"...I dunno what I just watched, lass." He says after a while. "But I sure as hell dun like it. What in Arceus' name happ'nd to that poor Pooch?"
"I don't know." Aileen replies, and it's not a lie. She has no idea how Cipher turns regular pokemons into shadow ones. "Calda said something about her being a shadow pokemon, but I have no clue what he meant by that."
Pom hums thoughtfully, rubbing his chin through his beard, before shaking his head. "Can't say that runs any bells." He turns to her. "Still, are ya certain about this, lass? I saw how she almost attacked ya there."
"She's just scared, Pom. Poochyena are pack pokemons, and this one is without her pack, wounded and in unknown territory." She sighs. "Of course she's going to attack humans when they're the ones who hurt her. But don't worry, I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think I could handle it."
"Ye're certainly doin' great so far." The old man acquiesces with a nod. "I'll leave it in yer hands then, lass. I just hope this won't come to bite ya in the arse later."
"Oh, it probably will! Maybe quite literally at that." Aileen laughs. "But I won't turn my back on her, Pom. Just like you helped me, she needs help."
"Fair 'nough." Pom acknowledges with a smile as he turns to go back inside. "Don't stay out too long, lass. Or ya'll catch a cold. An' trust me, tryin' to dig treasure with a cold? It sucks."
"I won't." She replies as he closes the door behind him, leaving the young woman to her thoughts.
"I guess I'll have to start with 'opening the door to the pokemon's heart' as they call it." Aileen muses, one hand mechanically twirling strands of her ponytail around her fingers. "But a purification ceremony can only be done at Agate Village or by Celebi itself, so that's troublesome. Moreover, Cipher isn't aware of the Relic Stone or the Time Flute yet and I'm not sure I want to risk either." After a moment, she shakes her head. "Do what's necessary first, then you can do what's possible and start worrying about the impossible, as mom says." She mutters to herself.
The thought of her mother causes an almost physical twitch of pain in her heart. Oh, how Aileen wishes she could ask her for advice. She has always been closer to her mom than her dad, the two sharing the kind of complicity that you'd expect from sisters rather than of a parent and her child. It had also been reinforced by the fact that Aileen had gone to live with her after her parents had divorced. This doesn't mean that she grew up not loving her dad, far from it, but while her mom calls her at least once a week, she and her dad could sometimes go months without really speaking to each other.
"If time hasn't stopped moving in my world... Then I hope they're doing okay. Maybe I'll be able to go back, someday."
Trying to not dwell on such thoughts, Aileen goes back inside the trailer, finding Poochyena asleep on the couch and Murkrow still on the kitchen counter. The bird lazily opens one eye and preens as she gives him a few scratches in thanks for keeping watch on the other dark-type.
As she finishes her preparation for sleep, Aileen slowly approaches Poochyena and crouches beside her before gently laying a small blanket on her pokemon. Satisfied that the canine hasn't woken up, she then lies down on her own makeshift bed, opposite of Poochyena.
She's still gazing at the sleeping form of the Bite Pokemon when sleep claims her.
After what feels like no time at all, she's woken up by something insistently poking her in the shoulder. Blearily opening her eyes, she blinks to see Murkrow looking down at her.
"Wass it?" She sleepily mumbles.
The flying-type gestures with his beak and Aileen turns her head to follow it. Her eyes sharpen at the sight of Poochyena, who is trembling and tossing her head from side to side in her sleep, letting out small and almost inaudible whimpers.
"Damn. Thanks Murkrow." Aileen quietly curses as she scrambles to get up and throw away the covers at the same time. Carefully, she gathers Poochyena into her arms, making sure to keep the blanket wrapped around her pokemon as the dark-type is startled awake and flails a bit, and starts murmuring reassurances to her.
For a moment, fear flashes across Poochyena's eyes and she bares her fangs before returni,g to her emotionless expression, despite still trembling and twitching. Aileen keeps the canine against her chest, continuing her ministrations, and, eventually, the trembling subsides as Poochyena is slowly lulled back to sleep.
With a relieved sigh, the young woman lies down again, the Bite Pokemon still on her chest, and closes her eyes.
"I knew what I was getting myself into, but hopefully things can only get better from here." She thinks as she gazes down at her pokemon. "I will free you from this, Poochyena. No matter how long it takes. This I promise you."
With one arm keeping Poochyena secured, Aileen goes back to sleep.
It's not the last time she's awakened by the small creature on her chest during the night.
"Ya alright, lass? Ya look like ya haven' slept much." Pom comments in the morning, both of them back in the mine, as Rhydon drills ahead. "The little pooch keepin' ya awake?"
"She had a few fits through the night, yeah." Aileen yawns. "Nothing I didn't expect, to be honest. But hopefully those won't last too long."
"Aye, but ya can worry 'bout that later. Right now, it's minin' time. The treasures aren't gonna dig 'emselves up after all!" He says as he rolls his shoulders and starts collecting rocks into his wheelbarrow.
With a grunt, Aileen copies him and together they get to work.
The following week is a repeat of the same schedule. Wake up, eat, check your gear, head out, put on your gear, mine 'till sundown, go back, separate coals and Aron's food from the normal rocks, feed the pokemon, have a one on one session with Poochyena, go to sleep, get woken up by Poochyena a few times during the night, rinse and repeat.
The albino dark-type is slowly but surely getting better. It's visible in how she slowly walks around in the home trailer, sniffing around and familiarizing herself with her new environment. Her emotionless expression, a reminder of the fact that she was subjected to a process intending to turn her into a soulless fighting machine, still sends a shiver down Aileen's back every once in a while.
Poochyena still growls at the young woman when being approached, but has stopped trying to bite her at this point, at least recognizing the hand that feeds her means no harm. Each evening Aileen spends taking care of her pokemon brings its own progress.
The first mistake she makes, however, is letting Aron approach Poochyena.
Murkrow and Rhydon are experienced, they know something isn't right with the Bite Pokemon and they refrain from getting too close to her. Aron, however, is a curious and playful little thing who doesn't really know better. So when she sees Poochyena, a new pokemon she's never seen before and who is more or less the same size as her, she tries to invite her to play. With a headbutt.
The reaction from Poochyena is instantaneous and, if Aileen hadn't been watching for it, she never would've been able to stop it in time. Shadows coalesce around the Bite Pokemon as she snarls at Aron, who seems to have realized she's made a mistake and is backing away in fear, before she hunches down, readying herself to charge with a fully powered Shadow Rush.
Before she can pounce on the steel-type, however, Aileen quickly grabs her pokeball and returns Poochyena in a flash of light.
Crisis averted. Aron, however, looks ready to cry.
"It's not your fault, Aron. You didn't do anything wrong." The amber-eyed young woman consoles the steel-type, who keeps looking at her with wet eyes. "Poochyena is just hurt and she can't play because of that. She thinks playing means fighting, so right now you can't try to play with her, okay? But you can try again later when she's better."
That seems to comfort Aron enough that she stops trying to hide between her father's legs and goes back to eating, though less enthusiastically than before.
Aileen, however, doesn't miss the way that Rhydon's horn looks a bit less shiny than it was when Poochyena was out. The Rock Blast would've hit before the Bite Pokemon could even touch Aron if Aileen hadn't returned her.
This also leads to Aileen's second mistake as she witnesses Poochyena entering what she remembers being referred to as 'Hyper Mode'. The moment she releases the white-furred dark-type from her pokeball again, Poochyena Howls, a primal sound of such fury and pain the young woman would have expected it from something at least twice her size, before trying to charge her owner.
The young woman is lucky that she manages to chuck her blanket at the dark-type, tangling the canine in it, before wrapping said blanket around Poochyena and holding her against her chest as she calls for her pokemon to calm down. She gets a few cuts for her troubles, courtesy of Poochyena trying to bite her face and fingers, but the dark-type goes back to her usual state after a few minutes.
And on it goes for five days of work in the mine, one day to sell the weekly haul to Sophia and buy supplies, and one day of rest.
Aileen has to say that she's proud of the fact that they don't need to dip into Pom's emergency stash this time. Water Stones are still a hot commodity and they'd managed to find two, along with a gold nugget and a few gems. The end result is Aileen having a two thousand pokedollars gain once the cost of their groceries is taken out.
Which isn't much, considering the cost of things around Orre, but it's progress toward her goal of eventually getting out of the region.
The week after that is, unfortunately, less profitable, with them barely making enough to cover the cost of their weekly spending.
"I ain't too surprised." Pom, who isn't much phased by this, says with a shrug as he reads a book at the table, Murkrow on his shoulder. Aileen wonders if the bird can read. "There's always a risk that might end a day with nothin' to show for yer efforts. Just like with any job, ya can have good days an' bad days."
"Should we go deeper, then?" She asks from the couch, stroking Poochyena's fur as the dark type sleeps on her chest, her bandages finally off. On Aileen's right side, Aron is slowly but surely sinking into the couch as she occupies the young woman's other hand by demanding scratches.
"That only increases our chances of findin' rarer stuff, lass. Doesn' mean we'll find more." He replies, turning a page as he does. "Also means more effort and time ta bring the wheelbarrows back. But we can give it a try if ya think ye're ready. Ya already got the basics down so it's yer choice."
Aileen decides she'll think about it.
One week and a half later, after a couple of rather frustrating days of finding nothing but coal and some of the lesser valued items such as Hard Stones, they go deeper. Their hard work this time is repaid with a gold nugget. Which, while it doesn't quite make up for two days of labor with no results, does make Aileen feel better.
The one-month milestone of her arrival in Orre is marked by a visit to the Phenac City Pokemon Center for Poochyena's checkup.
"I see you've kept your promise. She's in much better shape." Doctor Pelam notes as he examines the dark-type, who'd tensed like a coiled spring as soon as she saw the man in the lab coat, but is keeping still thanks to Aileen's hand on her neck and her soothing words. "Good enough for training, if you intend to go that way. That said, nothing too intensive for at least another week."
"I was planning to wait a bit more anyway." She replies. "Physically is one thing, mentally is another."
"If only most trainers were as thoughtful as you are." The man sighs wistfully as he turns away to put away his scanner and medical instruments while she returns Poochyena to her ball. "Still, you've done a wonderful job with that Poochyena, I was half-expecting to need to sedate her. Did you work at a daycare before coming here?"
Aileen shifts uncomfortably, not that he can see it. "I... have helped rehabilitate abused pokemon in the past, yes. But that's more my mother's passion than mine."
"Well, she certainly seems to have passed down her skills onto you." Pelam nods to himself. "Might I suggest visit Agate Village's daycare in the future? They could certainly use the help of someone like you."
The young woman settles for a vague "I'll take your advice into consideration."
"Oh, and before you go and I forget, here." He says as he turns back to her and handles her a card.
Aileen looks at the card, which has her name, a serial number, and a picture of her face. "What's this?"
"Your ID." Pelam replies and she gapes at him. "I took the liberty of putting you into the system after you signed those forms last time. This is about the only kind of legal document you really need around here, after all."
"I... Thank you. Truly." She numbly says as she pockets the ID card. She had forgotten about the administrative side of things since her arrival as Pom had handled everything.
He snorts. "Make sure that Poochyena is never hurt like she was ever again and I'll consider us even. Now shoo, I've other patients to see to."
He doesn't need to tell her twice.
The first thing Aileen does with her new ID is creating a bank account to put five out of her six thousand pokedollars into it. Thankfully the bank is an international one controlled by the League, so she doesn't have to worry too much about it being scammed by Cypher.
The second thing she uses her ID for is buying a collapsible baton. It won't do much against most pokemon, but one can never be too careful when it comes to your own safety. At the very least she'll be able to beat the hell out of any creep or mugger that might think her an easy target.
The opportunity to use it comes sooner than she expects.
It happens two weeks later, while they're at one of the outskirts stands near Pyrite Town that doubles as a mechanic workshop, stopping there for a drink after selling their coal. Pom is catching up with the owner, Wulfric, a big burly man with tanned skin and slicked back salt and pepper hair who Aileen remembers Pom quoting a few times before, while the young woman is asking the man's wife, an equally tanned curvy woman with curly blond hair named Rebecca, for tips on where she can buy her own personal vehicle instead of having Pom ferry her everywhere.
"Boss!" One of Wulfric's assistants shouts as he runs back into the underground bar beneath the garage. "We need you upside! We've got Snagem incoming!"
All conversations stop as people turn to the worker, the ambient music being the only sound filling the silence for a few seconds. Then it's panic as the information registers in the mind of the customers, especially those who have pokemon with them, and everyone starts shouting over each other.
Aileen lets it go on for all of five seconds before she takes a deep breath and makes use of her paternal vocal cords.
"QUIET!" She roars at the top of her lungs. Most people stop to stare at her, but when some just continue to shout she adds an ear-piercing whistle for good measure.
"Now that I have your attention," She drawls, taking a sip of her drink to soothe her throat and glaring at the cluster of people before speaking again. "Let's first see what we're dealing with, here. You," She points at the worker, who flinches. "how many of them are we talking about, here? And how long do we have."
"I-I'm not s-sure. B-but with that m-much d-dust, t-there must be a-about a d-dozen vehicles." The man stammers out. "A-and they were less than five m-minutes from here when we s-spotted them for sure."
Aileen nods. "That means we're dealing with around twenty hostiles and not much time to prepare, then. Now," She then turns to the other people. "Who here has at least one pokemon on their person? Raise your hand if you do." Six of them, including Wulfric -who tells her his two other assistants also have pokemon of their own- and his wife, raise their hands and she rolls her eyes. "For your own sake, I want an honest show of hands here. Lying won't help anyone when Snagem starts rifling through your pockets."
At that, four more raise their hands. With her and Pom, that makes a total of fourteen trainers.
"This might just be enough."
"Alright. You eight are with me." She orders. "Everyone else, I suggest you wait to see if a battle starts and try to make a run for it. If you're lucky they'll miss you."
"You want to fight them?!" A man with short blond hair yells incredulously. "That's just asking for our pokemon to get snagged! I say we make a run for it!"
"We don't have a choice!" She yells back as some of the others start voicing their agreement. "If we all try to run, then we'll just get chased and have our pokemon snagged! And do I need to remind you that Wulfric, his wife, and their workers don't have anywhere to run? What do you think will happen to them?! No." She says firmly as those who'd thought of running look down in shame. "We need to take a stand. Enough opposition might force them to retreat once they see we're more trouble than they expect. Now if there are some of you who don't have any pokemon and who want to help, grab something you can smack people with if necessary, and let's go. And someone contact the authorities if that's not done already! MOVE IT, PEOPLE!"
"You got a plan, lass?" Pom asks lowly beside her as everyone starts scrambling up the stairs.
"Something like that." She answers. "But let's see what we're working with first."
She looks at Poochyena's pokeball with a slight frown. Though she's started doing some light training with the Bite Pokemon in the past few days, testing her strength, speed, ect... and having her spar against Rhydon (who's the only pokemon she doesn't have to worry about taking a Shadow Rush to the face) it will be their first real battle together.
"Talk about a trial by fire." She muses as she climbs the stairs after the other people.
It's worse than she'd hoped but not as bad as she'd expected it to be.
Between fourteen trainers, they have twenty-one pokemon able to fight, though some of them probably haven't ever seen a real battle in a long time, if ever. Their fighting force is made of two Zigzagoons, two Magnemites, a Baltoy, a Maril, a Conkeldurr and a Machamp belonging to Wulfric, a Meowth, a Panphy, an Ambipom and a Girafig belonging to Wulfric's wife Jessica, a Parasect, a Silicobra (and ain't that one a surprise), two Kricketunes, Pom's Rhydon and Murkrow, a Kanghaskhan, a Natu and lastly her Poochyena.
"Alright, who here has support or hazard moves? Light Screen, Reflect, Heal Bell, Stealth Rock, Protect, Wish, Spikes, I don't care. If you have something which can help all of our pokemon or affect all of theirs, you're third line and I want you to start to set up." She barks, eyeing the approaching vehicles. They have a minute, maybe two at most. "Long-range attackers, you're second line. I want Thunderbolts, Swifts, Confusions, everything you can throw at them from a distance. Heavy hitters, tanks and physical attackers, you guys will make up the front line. If you have augmenting moves like Bulk Up, Iron Defense, Amnesia, I suggest you use them now." She continues to direct and soon enough she hears moves being called.
It's only thirty seconds later that the vehicles, two jeeps accompanied by six motorcycles stop in a semi-circle around the workshop, men dressed in red jackets, black shirts, and brown cargo pants dismounting and approaching. Aileen counts eighteen of them.
"Well, well." One of them with sunglasses, who she assumes is the leader of this operation, drawls. "Would you look at this, boys. They've been kind enough to get them lined up for us. Such generosity."
As the other members begin to laugh, Aileen steps forward, Poochyena at her side and already growling.
"That's close enough." She says loudly, cutting the laughter short. "Your presence is unwanted on these grounds. I suggest you turn back now and return to your lair, or you won't like the consequences."
The Snagem grunts look speechless for a moment, as if unbelieving that someone would dare to challenge them this way.
"Did she just...?" "And to Agrev's face." "She's got guts, that one." "The audacity of this bitch!"
And so on and so forth until the leader, Agrev, snaps out of it.
"And who the hell do you think you are, lady?!" He shouts. "Team Snagem only has one boss, and you're not him!"
Aileen gives him an unimpressed stare, looking over at the squad of bald heads... and one with silver hair. "Obviously, otherwise I'd have all members wearing protection against the sun on their heads. I wonder, how many of you will suffer from heat strokes by the time the day's over?" Seeing Agrev's face reddening in anger, she smirks. "Careful now, we wouldn't want your head to start boiling."
Behind her, she hears snickering as the man's head gets redder and his teeth grind in anger.
"That's it! I'm going to teach you not to mess with us!" He yells as he grabs a pokeball from his belt and throws it, not in front of him to let out a pokemon, but straight at Poochyena.
A snag ball.
Aileen's reaction is instantaneous. In a quick movement, she extends her collapsible baton and smacks the pokeball out of the air before it can touch Poochyena, making the sphere bounce off the ground with cracks marring its frame.
"Last chance. I won't ask again." She bits out, amber eyes narrowing at Agrev. "How dare he!" "Turn back, or face the consequences. Regardless, you will not steal a single pokemon here today."
The Snagem admin seems to consider it for a second before sneering at her. "If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you're gonna get." He spits as he sends out a Marshtomp and a Nuzleaf.
Behind him, the goons start sending out their own pokemon. Soon enough, thirty-six creatures stand before her, all of them of various types and sizes, and she can't help but wonder how many of them got stolen from other people. Koffing, Corphish, Zangoose, Mankey, Yanma... not two of them are the same, except for a pair of Eevees.
"Get them!" Agrev shouts and the pokemon start charging.
At that moment, a multitude of rocks rise from the desert's ground, courtesy of Baltoy's Stealth Rock, and start pelting the approaching enemies. It takes all of them by surprise and the pokemon are forced to stop in their tracks as they try to protect themselves or avoid the rain of sharp stones.
But Aileen isn't about to miss the opportunity the hazard move has granted her.
"Second line! Fire!" She shouts.
Following in the wake of the Stealth Rock, a swarm of star-shaped projectiles from the Zigzagoons and Ambimpom's Swifts home in onto the foes, accompanied with Sonicbooms from Magnemites, a Nightshade from Murkrow, a Mudslap from Baltoy, a Psybeam from Girafig, a Rock Blast from Rhydon, a Bublebeam from Maril and a Stone Edge from Conkeldurr.
Aileen hears cheers from the defenders' side as the attacks connect but she doesn't join them save for a grim smile.
"Hopefully that took out a fair share of them."
When the dust settles, it's clear that, while most of the pokemon can continue to fight, a serious amount of damage has been dealt. The few bug, flying and fire types Aileen had spotted are unconscious on the ground and being returned by their owners, the rest is divided between those who look more or less battered and heavily breathing from the onslaught, those who seem barely winded, and those who had succeeded in evading or used others as a shield, looking mostly undamaged.
All in all, the initial assault had managed to take down nine of their opponents, with more than a few of them looking like it wouldn't take much to finish them.
"Nuzleaf, use Solarbeam! Marshtomp, Mud Shot!" Agrev orders, signaling the enemy's counterattack as the other grunts also start calling out ranged moves.
"Shields!" Aileen shouts.
At her words, two layers of hexagon patterned screens made of yellow light snap into place, followed by a round blue barrier appearing in front of the defenders. Their opponents' answering salvo crashes against the Light Screens and the Reflect, which start to buckle against the strain. The first Light Screen layer quickly shatters with the sound of broken glass, prompting the second to start cracking.
"Protect!" She barks out next, Conkeldurr and Kanghaskhan stepping forward and raising their arms as green barriers appear around them. The second Light Screen and the Reflects break under the assault, but what few attacks didn't lose their momentum splash against the Protects with no effect. "Batters up! Get ready!"
From the smoke and dust come out the enemy pokemon, with several snag balls thrown above them. It might seem like a stupid move to try and snag pokemon who aren't weakened, but Aileen knows how much a few seconds where someone is out of the fight can change things. Wasting a few snag balls to time out some of their pokemon for the seconds it takes them to break out of the balls is a smart move.
However, she and the non-trainers are there. Pipes, sticks, crowbars, and other such tools smacking the spheres away before they can touch their side's pokemon. She even manages to catch a couple with her off-hand that she pockets.
"Poochyena, Howl!" Aileen orders.
Not needing any other incentive, the dark type Howls. The primal sound of fury and, this time, bloodlust rings across the battlefield, making a few of the opponents stop in surprise even as Aileen's allies' pokemon answer Poochyena's call with their own.
"First line, engage! Second line, covering fire! Third line, you're on support and hazard duty!" The young woman shouts. "Push them back!"
And so Poochyena, Kangaskhan, Conkeldurr, Machamp, Rhydon, Murkrow, the Kricketunes, Meowth, Panphy, Silicobra and Parasect charge the Snagem pokemon.
The battle goes quickly. Between the initial damage and the power-ups Aileen's side had time to set up, the difference in numbers or strength doesn't matter as much as it should. With Aileen's call-outs and the non-trainers swatting away the snag balls thrown into the fight, it's not long before the only Snagem forces left standing are Agrev's Marshtomp, the two Eevees, and a Gloom.
Still, it's not like their side doesn't have casualties either. Of their front line, Poochyena, Rhydon, Conkeldurr and one of the Kricketunes are the ones still in fighting shape, while the second and third lines have been reduced to just one of the Magnemites, Baltoy, and Natu.
All in all, Aileen considers this a win. Especially when none of their side's pokemon was snagged, thanks to her and the other non-trainers batting the snag balls away through the fight.
"Dammit! Retreat, retreat!" Agrev calls as he returns his Marshtomp. "Let's get the hell out of here!"
As the defeated Snagem team runs back to their vehicles and the defenders cheer in victory, Aileen's eyes lock onto a single figure putting to his belt the two pokeballs he used to recall his Eevees as he runs to his motorcycle.
Though he wears the same red jacket, black shirt and brown cargo pants as the rest of the Snagem goons instead of the blue attire she knows he will use in the future, his silver hair and that opaque steel-colored visor covering his eyes leave no doubt in her mind as to his identity.
Looks like Wes is still a member of Snagem at this point in time.
"I wonder. Are you just a petty thief who wants the snag machine for his own interests, or is there more depth to you than this?"
Only time will tell.
And scene.
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This is MidnightFenrir, signing out.