Author's note: Heyo!
Well, as you can see, the fic will follow the fun adventures of the riolu special! Though those of you who remember it miiiight notice that nothing's quite the same. The biggest difference being Buneary with her weird wave powers, of course, but also! Kellyn actually has a pokémon partner! Shock and horror! XD
As well as this, expect a lot of scenes to change, so I can make the story more fun, and properly advertise the pokémon ranger games the way the anime couldn't be bothered to! It's honestly insulting to a huge Ranger fan like me.
Anyway! Hope you enjoy the chapter! Like and subscribe!
(Also, I appreciate all reviews, though please be aware that I can't respond to anonymous reviews!)
Best mistakes of the day:
'Buneary made a mental note to ask more about ranges later'
(I guess she's interested in learning how to shoot. XD It'll make dealing with bad guys easier, that's for sure!)
'he replied, gabbing a pokéball.'
(This guy can talk your pokéballs off!)
'Afterwards, he used Fail'
(You fail.)
Chapter Three: An Imminent Threat
Buneary watched as the two large vehicles screeched to a halt, now fully in view of the group of four humans and five pokémon. When the hatches on the front opened up, two men emerged from each vehicle, dressed in grey uniforms. All four had waves of dark determination pouring off them.
"It's Hunter J's goon squad!" Dawn said angrily.
"Well, well..." the tall, bulky goon with black hair said with a scowl. He was clearly the same one from the shieldon incident. "If it isn't the annoying brats."
"And that ranger guy, too," the stoic-looking goon with clean-cut brown hair said.
Huh. Apparently, they'd met Kellyn before? Interesting. Buneary made a mental note to ask more about rangers later.
"What do you want?!" Ash called out angrily.
"We got a client who wants that riolu," the bulky goon replied. "Hand it over."
Surprised, Buneary glanced at the riolu, only to see him shrink further behind the tree, his waves emanating fear. She whipped her head back around to glare at the four goons.
"No way!" Ash yelled. There were hurried footsteps and, soon after, Buneary could see him next to her from the corner of her eye.
There were five more sets of footsteps as Dawn, Brock, Kellyn, Piplup and the munchlax followed suit, all standing around the riolu protectively, along with Buneary and Pikachu.
"Ugh, so tiresome..." the serious-looking goon with a mop of black hair muttered, his waves betraying irritation.
"Should we... take care of them?" the sleazy-looking goon with brown hair swished to the side asked with a grin, his waves oddly excited.
The bulky goon grinned back. "Let's," he replied, grabbing a pokéball.
The other three followed his lead, and all four threw them into the air with a shout of "Go!" The pokéballs popped open, and formed four crobat, who started flapping their wings to stay airborne.
Looking at them, Buneary could feel nothing but dark determination in their waves, too. Clearly, like trainer, like pokémon.
"You wanna battle?!" Ash called out. "Fine! Let's go, Pikachu!"
"(Sure thing!)" Pikachu replied rather calmly, though one glance told Buneary that he was very fired up.
It was like a blazing inferno in his waves. Determination, excitement and anger, all piled together in one big explosion of energy. Even though Buneary knew this was normal for him, it still caught her off-guard a bit every time.
"Hold on a moment!" Kellyn suddenly said. "May I borrow your pikachu's power? I need to charge my capture styler."
"Huh?" Ash asked in surprise.
"(... Huh?)" Pikachu asked calmly, though another glance told Buneary of his disbelief and crushing disappointment, as well as a lot of confusion.
... Wait, just how was he supposed to help charge the styler? Buneary had no idea.
"Enough of this!" the bulky goon called out. "Crobat, Air Cutter!"
Twisting his body around, the crobat swung two of his wings outwards, creating a blade of wind that shot towards the group.
"Piplup, intercept with Bubble Beam!" Dawn called out.
Buneary saw a stream of bubbles fly past her, crashing into the Air Cutter and creating a small explosion of smoke.
"Please, let me borrow your pikachu's power," Kellyn repeated. "The rest of you, hold off the henchmen!"
"You got it," Dawn replied. "Piplup, Buneary, get ready!"
Buneary tensed in response, ready for battle. If Dawn was using two pokémon this time, the rabbit would have to make extra sure to only pay attention to the commands called out to her.
"Sudowoodo, help us out!" Brock called out.
With a pop and a flash, Buneary saw the rock tree in the corner of her eye.
"(... Okay,)" Pikachu replied, getting on all fours and running out of Buneary's line of sight.
... Poor guy. She couldn't help but feel bad for him. He'd clearly really wanted to battle.
"Everyone attack at once!" the bulky goon called out. "Air Cutter!"
"Sludge Bomb!" the serious goon called out.
"Dark Pulse!" the sleazy goon called out.
"Shadow Ball!" the stoic goon called out.
The first crobat shot a blade of air from his wings, the second spat a glob of purple gunk from his mouth, the third fired rings of dark energy from her mouth, and the fourth shot a ball of ghostly aura from hers.
"Dodge it!" Dawn and Brock cried out in panic.
Buneary jumped out of the way. As she did so, she caught sight of Piplup and Sudowoodo doing the same, before the four attacks hit the ground. They exploded on impact, sending up a blast of wind that blew Buneary backwards.
She yelped and tried to correct herself in mid-air. Landing on her feet, she skidded backwards, until she came to a stop. The soothe bells jingled in her paws.
... Right, the soothe bells! She was still holding them!
"Gligar, I choose you!" Ash suddenly called out.
With a pop and a flash, the bat appeared in the sky, hovering above the group.
"Gligar?!" Dawn asked incredulously. "Is that a good idea, Ash?"
"Hey, he needs the training!" Ash retorted. "So now's as good a time as any!"
Well, Buneary couldn't deny that. It was a bit risky, though, since Ash had only recently caught Gligar. Well, as long as the bat didn't fall out of the sky and crash into anyone, then fine by her. Unless it was the goons, of course. Then that would be funny.
Stifling a giggle, she passed a soothe bell from one paw to the other, then turned in Ash's direction. "(Hey, Ash! Catch!)" she yelled. Swinging back her arm, she threw the two soothe bells with all her might.
With a startled yelp, Ash reached out and caught them with cupped hands. They jingled as they landed.
Wasting no time, Buneary took off her orange vest and turned towards her trainer. "(Dawn!)" she called out, throwing it in the girl's direction.
With just as startled a yelp, Dawn caught it. Nodding, Buneary turned back towards the four crobat. She didn't like wearing her vest in battles, just in case it got dirty. Her precious keepsake was fine, though, because it was hidden in her fluff, out of the way.
"Alright, Piplup, Whirlpool!" Dawn called out.
There was a battle cry nearby, before a large tornado of water hurtled towards the four crobat.
"Dodge!" all four goons called out at once.
Unfortunately, the crobat all managed to get out of the way in time, and the tornado of water flew right over the two large vehicles. Arcing downwards, it crashed into the ground, spraying water everywhere.
"Buneary, Bounce!"
Heeding the command, Buneary sent flying-type energy to her feet. It swirled around them, tickling them slightly, before she pushed off from the ground and shot into the air towards the crobat.
... She had no idea which one she was supposed to attack, so she decided to pick one at random. Choosing one, she flipped upside-down and kicked out a foot as she soared upwards.
"Cross Poison!" the serious goon called out.
His upper wings glowing purple, the crobat crossed them over himself in a block. Buneary's foot connected with the barrier, desperately pushing against it, but going nowhere. With a hefty shove, the crobat pushed her away from him.
Flipping upright again, Buneary fell towards the ground. Glancing to her side, she could see one crobat constantly flying at Piplup, his wings glowing white from Wing Attack. With his beak glowing and elongated, the penguin was doing his best to dodge the attacks, but Buneary wasn't sure how long he could keep that up. His waves were a bit panicky, after all. Hopefully, he'd get a chance to hit back with Peck.
Elsewhere, she could see another crobat using Feint Attack. She zipped forward at a blinding speed, ending up behind Sudowoodo and striking him in the back. The force sent him flying forwards, though he corrected himself in time to use Fake Tears. Crying dramatically while lying on his side, he looked the crobat dead in the eyes. She faltered heavily at the sight of him, her dark determination briefly melting into awkwardness. Sudowoodo, on the other hand, was immensely pleased with himself.
Gligar, meanwhile, was being blown back by Ominous Wind. His wings glowing silver with Steel Wing, he was clearly trying his best to fight through the eerie purple gale and attack, but he was heavily struggling and his waves were fretful.
As Buneary landed on her feet, she paused, observing who was calling out what attack. Wait... the bulky goon's crobat had Wing Attack and Air Cutter... the sleazy goon's crobat had Feint Attack and Dark Pulse... the stoic goon's crobat had Shadow Ball and Ominous Wind... and the last one, the serious goon's crobat, had Cross Poison and Sludge Bomb.
So... unless they had other types of moves she wasn't aware of...
She groaned to herself. Oh, she just had to pick the poison one, didn't she?
Pikachu kept his face neutral as he approached the pokémon ranger on all fours. On the inside, though, he was utterly fuming.
Damn it, damn it, goddamn it all! Just when he'd gotten all riled up to kick the asses of Hunter J's goon squad, he'd been fecking interrupted! Now he had to charge this stupid, godforsaken capture styler, instead of fighting the damn crobat!
And, for that matter, just how the hell was he supposed to charge the damn thing?! He hardly knew anything about how capture stylers worked!
Suddenly, a whole bunch of attacks were called out behind him, followed by a huge explosion. Jumping onto two feet, Pikachu whipped his head around, only to see Buneary skidding across the ground backwards towards him. Luckily, she managed to stop before she skidded too far.
Hearing a click, and an enlarging pokéball, Pikachu looked up to see Ash calling out Gligar. In his head, he let out a huge huff of aggravation. Oh, so the new guy, who had no battle experience, got to fight before he did? Gligar could hardly glide properly right now, let alone battle!
... Okay, so maybe he did need the experience, but did it have to come at Pikachu's expense?! Urgh...
"(Hey, Ash! Catch!)" Buneary called out.
He snapped to attention, and saw her throw the soothe bells over to Ash, who caught them with a yelp. Immediately after, Buneary took off her vest and threw it to Dawn, who also caught it with a yelp. Nodding, the rabbit went back to facing the four crobat.
... Goddamn, she was cool sometimes. And cute other times. And... he was gonna stop there.
Turning back to face the pokémon ranger - whose name was Kellyn, according to the munchlax earlier - he awaited instructions on how to charge the stupid capture styler.
The boy smiled back at him. "Alright," he said. He held out his arm, which had a red device attached to it. It looked very different to the stylers of the other rangers they'd met. "All you have to do is use a weak electric attack on it for a while, and it'll charge." He paused. "Oh and don't worry. It's specially designed so I won't get hurt."
... That didn't make a lick of sense, but Pikachu smiled and nodded anyway.
Kellyn flipped open the device, which started bleeping. "And I've already checked. You know Thunderbolt, which is perfect." He clicked the device shut again. "So, you ready to go?"
Pikachu beamed, still annoyed on the inside. "(Yep!)" he replied. He charged up electricity in his cheeks.
... It was really tempting to overcharge and break the damn thing for getting in his way, but he refrained. He wasn't that cruel.
Charging a weak Thunderbolt, which was more like a Thunder Shock, he let it loose. It arced through the air, hitting the capture styler and lighting it up with a faint yellow glow. The various panels on it flashed different colours, though Kellyn himself was completely unharmed, just like he'd promised.
... Ranger gear was fricking weird.
"(Woo hoo!)" the munchlax cheered. "(Keep it up!)"
Pikachu smiled at him, his anger subsiding a bit. He had nothing against this guy, after all. "(Thanks,)" he replied. After a moment, he paused in immense confusion and curiosity. "(Hey, why aren't you fighting, too?)"
Putting his arms down, the munchlax beamed at him. "(Oh, me? Well, I'm not very good at fighting. In fact, that's not what a ranger's partner is for, at all!)" He threw his arms into the air in a cheer. "(I'm a helper pokémon!)"
... Pikachu couldn't say he understood at all. Helping? Instead of battling? What kind of weirdo did that, when battles were so frigging exciting?! He said none of this aloud, however.
"(Ah, I see.)"
"(Yep! I even trained myself to use Work Up in a cool way!)"
... Now he was intrigued. "(Oh yeah?)"
"(Yeah! I can use it on the capture disc - you know, the spinny thing - to boost its power and improve its capture line!)"
... He'd say he was surprised, but, since he was charging it with a goddamn Thunderbolt right now, he supposed it made sense.
... Hell no, it didn't. Ranger gear was weird.
"Ugh, this is so annoying..." the serious goon grumbled. "Sludge Bomb barrage!"
The crobat spat a glob of purple gunk from his mouth, followed by several more.
"Buneary, spin and dodge!" Dawn called out.
Nimbly jumping out of the way of each glob, Buneary twirled left, then right, looking stylish while staying uninjured. One after another, the globs splashed against the ground around her.
Amused, she shot a grin at the crobat, whose waves briefly flashed with anger.
"Now, Ice Beam!"
Nodding as she landed, Buneary built up cold air in front of her mouth and shot it towards the crobat.
"Dodge!"
Responding, the crobat swiftly dodged to the side, but one of his lower wings got nicked by the cold beam, freezing it solid. The crobat wobbled in mid-air, his waves a bit more frantic than before. When he levelled himself out, though, they returned to the normal dark determination.
Aww. Pity she hadn't hit one of his upper wings, instead. Then he might have had a bit more trouble flying.
Taking a moment to look around her, she saw Piplup firing Bubble Beam into the air, trying to hit the bulky goon's crobat. After his call of 'Acrobatics', however, the crobat began to zip around at a rapid pace, flittering in and out of view, and easily avoiding the attack. Huh, Buneary had never seen that move before.
Elsewhere, she saw the sleazy goon's crobat use Dark Pulse, which struck Sudowoodo and sent him reeling backwards. Recovering quickly, however, he activated Mimic, then used Dark Pulse right back. It struck the crobat, briefly knocking her out of the sky.
As for Gligar, he looked like he was really struggling, as the stoic goon's crobat pelted him with Shadow Balls. Now flying low, he smashed his pincers into the ground, kicking up dirt with Sand Attack. It struck the crobat in the eyes, temporarily blinding her. He then swooped in to deliver a quick X-Scissor, though the hit didn't seem to do much.
Suddenly, an aura that blazed like fire appeared around Gligar. He looked at himself, his waves full of shock, awe and confusion. Blinking, Buneary turned to glance at the ranger's munchlax, only to see that he was holding out his paws in Gligar's direction, also glowing red.
Oh, so he was helping them! She beamed. Nice!
"Poison Fang!" the serious goon called out, snapping her back to attention.
The crobat's teeth glowed a bright shade of purple, and she could practically see the poison dripping from them. Okay, that was something she definitely didn't want to get hit by.
... Wait, another poison-type move?! Did this guy seriously have nothing but poison-type moves?!
"Dizzy Punch!" Dawn called out.
As the crobat swooped down at her, Buneary sent energy to her ears. Feeling the tips bulk up with normal-type power, she readied herself. When the crobat got close enough, he tried to bite her. Swinging her body around, she punched him away with an ear.
"Urgh," the serious goon groaned. "Do it again!"
The crobat came in for another bite, so Buneary punched him away with another ear. They did this song and dance for a little while, him desperately trying to bite her, while she kept punching him away. The ice on his lower wing wasn't helping him with his balance, either, so she just had to keep it up!
After one too many punches, his gaze suddenly became really unfocused. Oh! He was confused! This had turned the tide even more in her favour! Nice!
She was about to approach, to try and end this quickly, but the crobat started flying around erratically, firing off Sludge Bombs in every direction. Yelping, Buneary jumped out of the way of one.
There was another yelp from the side. Whirling in that direction, she saw Piplup dodge out of the way of a Sludge Bomb, only for the bulky goon's crobat to zip straight into him with Acrobatics. Wheezing in pain, the penguin was sent flying backwards.
Another yelp from elsewhere caught Buneary's attention. She saw Sudowoodo dodge out of the way of another Sludge Bomb, only for the sleazy goon's crobat to swoop in, her fangs glowing black. She chomped down on the tree's branch arm, earning a yell from him.
Buneary watched as one of the crobat's upper wings started glowing black, before the bat let go with her teeth. Immediately, she swung her wing, striking the same spot her fangs had been with Assurance. Sudowoodo howled in pain. Afterwards, he used Flail to desperately keep her away, his branches smacking her repeatedly.
Hearing another yelp, Buneary looked over at Gligar, who was staring down at the fallen Sludge Bomb in surprise. The stoic goon's crobat flew in close, screaming in his face and startling him. The black shockwaves the scream generated smacked into Gligar. While he was flinching, her eyes started glowing a variety of colours. In a flash of panic, Buneary recognised it and closed her own eyes. A few moments later, she cracked them open, only to see Gligar flying around erratically, his eyes unfocused.
She huffed. Yep. Confuse Ray.
Well, great. Thanks to her, confusing the serious goon's crobat, the other three crobat had taken advantage and gained the upper hand in their fights. Darn it all...
In her moment of distraction, a Sludge Bomb splashed against her body, sending her flying backwards with a yelp. She landed painfully on her back, where she skidded a bit before stopping.
... Dang it.
Wiping off the purple gunk, which stung a bit, she tried to push herself to her feet. It was in that moment that she noticed the serious goon's crobat swooping down at her, his fangs glowing bright purple. Her eyes widened. Uh oh. It looked like he'd gotten over his confusion!
Darn it, darn it! She and Dawn should've taken advantage!
She tried to struggle to her feet, but she wasn't fast enough. A pair of fangs sunk into her shoulder, spreading pain all across her body. She screeched, trying to shake the crobat off her. Once he broke free, she felt nausea overtake her, curdling her stomach contents and making her vision fuzzy.
... Oh no.