...
...
"Hey, stop making noise already! You're gonna wake him up!"
"Don't act like my mom! This all is new to me!"
"And don't you think it was new to me too when I first got here? At least I didn't look and touch everything while he was asleep!"
"Oh, come on, it's not like I'm gonna make something fall-"
Zoroark woke up to the feeling of something falling on his head and bouncing back onto the ground.
He quickly straightened himself and looked around frantically, and saw his three partners next to a fallen wooden stand where he had left his cap and his scarf. They were looking at him in shock.
"You were saying...?" Eevee smiled at Shinx, who widened his eyes.
"Uhhh..." He struggled to find an excuse. "Sorry?"
Zoroark simply sighed. "Good morning to you too, Shinx"
He rubbed his head and stood up. He looked at the coat rack that had fallen and put it back up. "Are you okay?" Cyndaquil asked him.
"Not how I expected my morning to start, but yeah, I'm alright." Shinx sighed. "You are not getting breakfast today, though."
"Huh?!"
His friends and even Wurmple looked at him in shock. "Oh, come on! I was just joking! But really, don't touch anything else, please."
Shinx sighed once again, earning a laugh from the bug type next to him. "Told you you should have been careful!"
"Anyway, leaving this aside, let's get ready for today." The ghost type said before casting his illusion and letting all of his Pokémon partners get on his shoulders.
Once he got outside, he found out Akari was waiting for him. "Good morning Rei! Did you sleep well?"
The boy nodded. "That's good to hear!"
...
"She wants something." Eevee commented.
"Why do you think that? Can't someone just-" Cyndaquill began.
"Listen, do you have some free time after this? There's something I could use your help with..."
Cyndaquill shut completely as the Eevee smirked triumphantly. "Told ya."
Rei paid no attention to the normal type and instead focused on Akari. He tilted his head a bit to signal her he was listening. "This is not a good place to talk, however. If you don't mind, I'll be waiting at the training grounds!"
And just as quick as she had appeared, Akari ran off to the training grounds, leaving Rei and his Pokémon alone again.
"Well, what do you think she wants?" Eevee asked.
"I don't know. But we should go and find out" Rei answered before casting a look to Wurmple. "But first..."
"Oh..." Both Shinx and Wurmple whinned.
"Do we really have to? I really like being with her!" The electric type added.
"I know but... the whole point of her coming with us was so she could go with that guard..."
"I hate to admit it, but he's right." Wurmple sighed. "Besides, we'll see each other whenever you guys walk around here, right?"
"I guess... But it won't be the same!" The electric type kept repeating.
"Come on, we are almost there. I promise I'll take you to see her whenever I can, okay?" Rei told the Shinx.
"Okay..."
They all walked to the entrance of the Galaxy Team headquarters, where they saw the guard, Beauregard, standing on his post. He perked up when he saw them. "Oh, hello there!"
Rei simply waved back and stopped in front of him. "Have you brought me a Wurmple?"
The boy looked to the shoulder where both Shinx and Wurmple stood. He then nodded, grabbing the bug type and leaving her on the ground next to him. Shinx was waving goodbye at her.
"You really brought me one!" Beauregard exclaimed. "You must be as good as the rumors say!"
Rei didn't know there were rumors about him at all. A small part of his mind wanted to worry, but he shoved it away, being thankful that, as far as he knew, those rumors were good.
"I'd like to name this Wurmple right away! Now, I've been told a Wurmple will evolve into a Pokémon known as Beautifly, so I should give it a name with that in mind..."
And there they went again. 'I'd like to name this Wurmple right away'. What if Wurmple didn't want to be named? Was that guard going to ask her for her opinion? Of course not! Humans only did what they wanted! Sometimes, he wondered what made him so obsessed with them.
Eevee seemed to pick up on what was going on in his mind and gave him a few pats on the head. Surprisingly, that managed to calm him down a little.
"Hmmm, this is a tough choice..." The human hummed.
He then turned towards Rei. "How about you decide for me, eh? Which is best, Beauticia, Beautifred, or Beaugene?"
He tried to contain his concerned expression. Those names are horrible!
Rei looked at Wurmple with a questioning glance. She was going to be the one to choose, at least. The bug type sighed when she realized the problem. "I have to choose a name? Ummm... well, I guess that the first one is the one I like the most..." She shrugged.
"Are you sure?" Shinx asked her.
"Yeah, don't worry about me."
"So?" Beauregard asked again.
Rei lifted one finger. "The first one? Yeah, I like Beauticia too! I guess it's decided then!" He looked at the Wurmple, and she looked at him. "I'll raise Beauticia to be a beautiful Beautifly, just you see!"
"Oh, you better do..." Shinx growled.
"Hey, calm down, Romeo. He's not gonna do anything to her!" Eevee chuckled.
Wurmple simply chuckled. "Now, as a thank you, I'll give you something!" Beauregard took out three combs inside a jar, all dripping with honey. "These are three combs of Dazzling Honey. Some Pokémon seem to like it, and I think you can use them to craft too!"
Rei nodded again. "I promise to come and see you whenever I can, okay?" Shinx told the bug type.
"I'll be waiting for you, sweetie" She replied, blowing him a kiss, which made the electric type look away shily.
Beauregard saw it. "I see your Shinx seems to like Beautricia."
"No I don't!" He pouted, which made the guard chuckle.
"Well, since that's the case, let's make a deal. I will most likely always be here on my post, so you can bring your Shinx to see Beautricia whenever you want, but in return, you'll have to teach me all you know about taking care of Pokémon!"
All he knew? He didn't know anything at all! He was the younger brother! Was being nice and understanding to Pokémon really something you had to learn?
Rei mentally sighed and nodded. "Alright! Then see you next time!"
Rei began walking away as he waved goodbye to the guard. The moment they were out of anyone's earshot, Eevee turned towards the Shinx. "Am I crazy, or did Wurmple blow you a kiss~" She teased.
"Shut up!"
Everyone chuckled as they made their way to the training grounds, where Akari was waiting, standing patiently. She waved at him when he got close. "Thanks for coming this fast. I know you're busy."
Not that much. It's my second day, after all.
"Listen, I had an epiphany!"
Rei tilted his head in concern. "No, it's nothing bad! You see, I have a partner of my own. We may not get along perfectly, but we've got to work together to complete the Pokédex!"
The boy widened his eyes. She has a Pokémon?
As if reading his face, Akari chuckled and grabbed a Poké-Ball, throwing it in the air, and letting out her partner. "This is my partner, Pikachu!"
The electric type stretched and sighed. "Finally out of that Arceus-damned ball! Gosh, it was starting to get cramped in there..."
Akari, obviously not understanding what the Pokémon meant, smiled at him and then looked back at Rei. "When we were attacked by those Shinx, I got to scared to think straight, and I couldn't handle battling as a team. Ever since then, my partner's refused to listen to anything I tell him..." She sighed.
"That's right! You almost got me paralyzed! An electric type, paralyzed! That's how bad things were!" The Pikachu growled, his cheeks sparkling.
Everyone flinched, including Akari, who let out another sigh after. "As you can see, he's still... very angry at me. And if I'm being honest, I'm not even sure how to order him, how to command him in battle..."
Rei frowned at the words 'order him' before he realized something. Akari wasn't calling her Pikachu partner 'it' like the rest of the humans did with Pokémon. He liked the girl more and more every time he spoke to her.
"Hmph!" The electric type simply said, making Akari look at him.
"But when I saw how you and your Pokémon work together, I realized we need to do more too."
The electric type crossed his arms before sighing himself. Before he could react, Akari suddenly yelled. "So please! Have a battle with me! I want to learn how to battle effectively!"
Rei expected something of that sort when she had taken out a Poké-Ball, but he hadn't really planned anything else from there. He nodded, much to the annoyance of the electric type beside the girl. "Great! Another loss added to my list..." He groaned.
Rei left those two to their own affairs as he turned to his team to strategize as discretely as possible. "Alright, who's fighting this one?" He asked to his Pokémon partners.
"I really want to... but I doubt electric versus electric would be practical." Shinx sighed.
"How about Eevee?" Cyndaquill suggested.
"No way." Rei answered almost immediately. "She's not fighting."
"Yes I am! I already spent yesterday resting, and I need to let out some energy!"
"What if you get hurt again?"
"Please! What are you, my mom?"
Rei had no arguments for that. "Alright, fine! Just be careful, alright?"
"Since when were you this worrysome?"
"Ever since I am responsible for whatever happens to you!"
"Alright, second mom. Can I fight now, pleeeease?"
The boy couldn't help but chuckle. "Just because you asked politely"
"Wait! How are you going to tell Eevee what move to use?" Cyndaquill asked Rei.
"Wait, you can turn yourself into a human, but can't speak their language?" Shinx yelled in shock.
"I'm working on it..." Rei simply sighed.
"Say something in human right now"
"What? Uhhh..."
Rei rumaged his brain for something that he knew that he could replicate, but only one thing came to his mind.
"Jolly good, Rei?" He whispered, very similar to Laventon.
"That's not going to cut it, you know?" The electric type laughed, shaking his head.
"Yeah, I know. I should find a way to learn how to speak before it's too late and someone starts suspecting something"
"So, back to the fight. How are you gonna 'command' me in battle?" Eevee interrupted.
"I was thinking using signs for each move, but thinking about which sign means what while you're battling is very confusing, so I think I've come up with another strategy"
"Which is...?"
"Alright, so saying your name is exactly the same in human and in Pokémon speech, right?"
"Yeah?"
"And if I remember correctly from my first actual battle against... Volo? I think I know how to say 'use'."
"I think I got you."
"And from the last battle with Cyndaquill, I can replicate the words 'Quick Attack'."
"A battle with only Quick Attack is going to be very easy for the opponent." Cyndaquill commented.
"Yeah, but I know Swift too. How are you gonna tell me to use that?"
"We can leave that to a simple arm slashing the air. Okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah! Let's do this!"
With that, Eevee ran to her corresponding side of the battlefield, facing the Pikachu, who clapped his hands, making his cheeks sparkle. "Alright, let's get to it!" He exclaimed.
"Are you ready, Rei?" Akari yelled, to which he nodded.
"Alright! Pikachu, go for-!" The girl was interrupted as the Pikachu's cheeks sparkled brightly and threw the electricity at Eevee, who easily dodged it.
"Blast!" The electric type exclaimed.
"Someone's having a bad day, I assume" Eevee taunted.
"Eevee, use Quick Attack!" Rei yelled, slightly slipping to Pokémon speech, something that caused Akari to glance at his direction for a split second before looking back at the Eevee, who was too fast for the girl to react, and thus, the normal type scored a hit.
"You're gonna need more than that to get close to me!" She taunted.
"Ugh, shut up!" The Pikachu replied, trying a Quick Attack, but Eevee was fast enough to use another Quick Attack to stop him, making both of them stumble back.
The Pikachu frowned and looked at Eevee with a killer glare. "See, Rei? This has been going on ever since our last failure. Pikachu doesn't even wait for me to finish my sentences!" Akari yelled before sighing. "I just don't know what to do anymore..."
"Is it really that hard to listen to her? I'm pretty sure some of her tips may come in handy." Eevee told Pikachu.
"Yeah, just like in the field!" He scoffed. "I don't need her at all!" He added, trying to Quick Attack Eevee again.
This time, he zig zagged instead of going in a straight line, but it was still no match for the normal type, as she dodged his attack once again and proceeded to headbutt him.
"Pikachu!" Akari exclaimed, as the electric type fell to his back, groaning.
"Why don't you start listening to her? You're not going to beat me just by yourself." Eevee said.
The Pikachu looked at his trainer and took notice of the almost pleading look in her face before glancing at the smirking Eevee again. "Ugh! Fine! I've got nothing to lose anyway."
Pikachu turned to Akari again and yelled something to the girl, which immediately made her perk up. "You're going to listen to me?"
Pikachu nodded. "Yes! Alright, let's get to this!"
"She seems excited." Cyndaquill commented.
"You mean Akari or Eevee?" Shinx asked back.
"Yes."
"Alright Pikachu, use Quick Attack to get close to her!"
"I've already tried that!" He growled.
"Do it. You never know what she may be planning." Eevee told him.
Pikachu groaned again before lunging at the normal type. Eevee prepared to dodge to one of the sides again before Akari interrupted. "Jump!" Without thinking, Pikachu jumped in the air, Eevee doing the exact same with the intent of tackling him.
Much to Rei's surprise, the girl smirked. "Thunder Shock!"
Before Eevee could do anything, the airborne Pikachu was covered in electricity, which was launched at the normal type. Pikachu landed on all fours, while Eevee fell onto the ground face first, getting up quickly and shaking her head.
"See?"
The electric type stood in awe. "Woah! That was cool!"
Rei smiled. We are getting somewhere. I'm sure he's gonna listen to her some more now.
"Alright, try again with another Quick Attack!"
"Eevee, Quick Attack!"
The two Pokémon launched themselves against each other. "Pikachu, dodge to the left!"
"Eevee, l-left t-too!"
Both of the Pokémon on his shoulders looked at him.
"Ocko, did I have something to do with you suddenly speaking human more?" Shinx asked.
But he didn't have time to answer.
"Pikachu, turn around and use Thunder Shock!"
"Eevee, dodge!"
The battle was starting to become difficult, which was something very bad for Rei. He didn't know how many battles he had fought, but he knew this was only his second one as a human and not as a Pokémon.
He should have trained his human speech before coming here. How could he find someone to help him? He needed someone to speak to him so he could repeat it, and that requiered telling someone what was going on.
Not a chance.
But then again... If he wasn't able to command his Pokémon in battle correctly, he was never going to win against more experienced foes. He wasn't even sure he could win against Akari and her Pikachu.
But who could teach him? His first thought was the professor, but he immediately discarded that idea. Telling a Pokémon professor that you are a Pokémon? Yeah, great idea, Rei.
Then he thought about the girl in front of him. How would she even react?
He shook his head. Was he really thinking about telling Akari what he was? He could learn human language on his own.
Probably.
A scream brought him back to reality. Eevee had been unable to dodge the latest attack and was thrown back, shakily standing up.
"Yeah! This is finally working!" Pikachu exclaimed.
"Glad you're enjoying it" Eevee groaned.
"Eevee!" Rei called her.
When she turned, Rei signaled her to use Swift. "Use Quick Attack!" He yelled, so that Akari thought that they weren't going to try anything new. Eevee nodded in understanding as she ran towards the Pikachu.
"Pikachu, Thunder Shock!"
Pikachu launched a bolt of electricity towards where he thought Eevee was about to run to, but she stopped in her tracks, launching star shaped projectiles towards the electric type.
They hit him fully, making him stumble backwards. "Quick Attack!" Rei quickly yelled.
"Pikachu! Quick, use-!" But she wasn't fast enough.
Eevee tackled Pikachu in his stomach, knocking the air out of the rodent's lungs. He fell backwards shortly after, swirls in his eyes.
Akari quickly kneeled next to her partner. "Hey, Pikachu! Are you alright?"
The Pokémon gave a faint nod. "Y-Yeah..."
He shook his head and stood up. "Geez! This was amazing!" He looked at Akari, his ears drooping down. "Sorry for, you know... being such a prick..."
Despite the girl not understanding the whole sentence, she smiled. "Don't worry. You were amazing. Now, I think you deserve a good rest." She said, picking up a Poké-Ball, which Rei assumed was Pikachu's. It emitted a blue ray which encased the Pokémon, before he was sucked inside the Poké-Ball.
After buckling the device to her waist, Akari looked at Rei. "Thank you for battling us" She quickly glanced at the Poké-Ball on her waist. "I could be wrong but..." She gave a wide smile to the boy. "I felt like Pikachu and I finally understood one another! Looks like the tactics I spent so much working on wasn't in vain, after all!"
Rei was doubting whether he should do what he was about to do. I heard that word a few times already. Just gotta be careful with the voice and don't mess up.
The disguised Zoroark took a deep breath. "Cong-" He began coughing.
"What?" The girl asked.
"Congratulations." He said, smiling.
Hey, I'm getting the hang of this!
Akari widened her eyes as if she had seen a ghost (which technichally was happening), but still managed to smile. "Thank you, Rei! You were very good in the battle too! You truly are talented!"
"Why the sudden urge to speak human?" Eevee asked him, jumping on top of his head.
"He probably realized he's gonna have a tough time in the future if he doesn't learn" Cyndaquill replied for him.
"Yeah. I'm surprised you have barely spoken in all the time you've been here. At least Akari looks less suspicious of you after you talked."
As if on cue, Akari chuckled. "You know, you're always so attentive to what your Pokémon are saying, it almost looks like you can understand them!"
Rei's heart skipped a beat. "Nevermind..." Eevee sighed.
Akari's tone was casual and joking as she laughed at what hopefully was a joke, but the look she was giving him was not a good sign.
She knows something's going on with me. Do I really act that unnatural?
Luckily, someone interrupted the duo. "So you're the one? That new recruit everyone's talking about?"
Everyone looked at the source of the voice. It was a robust looking woman, with vibrant red hair, and a uniform that had similar patterns and marks as Rei and Akari's, but with more orange and Red accents. She walked closer to the two and stopped in front of them. "The name's Zisu. Captain of the Security Corps. I see you've got sone fight in you. Figured I'd stop by and give what advice I could!"
"Captain Zisu is a master of an ancient martial style, one that specializes in Pokémon battles." Akari explained, waving at her.
"Now listen!" The Captain continued. "If your Pokémon had truly mastered a move, it can use it in different styles!"
Rei and his Pokémon tilted their heads. "Different styles?" Cyndaquill asked.
"No idea. Eevee, do you know something?" Shinx replied.
"I heard my pack leader say something about different styles, but I was really young, and I can't remember" She replied.
Rei turned to look at Akari. She seemed like she was looking at him, but the moment Rei turned to look at her, she averted her gaze.
"I see you don't know too much, so let me explain it to you!" Zisu interrupted his thoughts. "On the one hand, you can choose to deliver a move in the strong style. This means that the Pokémon uses more energy for the attack, making the move stronger, but causing the user to become a bit slower for a small amount of time because of the energy usage."
Strong style, hmm... Maybe I should have a rematch with my dad someday after this.
...
If I ever go back, that is.
"On the other hand, you can choose to unleash a move in the agile style. Such move focuses more on channeling the energy to buff the user's speed rather than brute force, which means that the attack will be weaker, but your Pokémon will most likely be able to attack once again due to said buffs, depending on the opponent. Of course, using any of these specialized move styles will cause the Pokémon to wear out faster, so be careful"
She paused. "Agile style moves, strong style moves, and of course, regular moves... Choose which is right for a given situation and direct your Pokémon with a little nudge."
Rei nodded, taking everything in. "Oh, and one more thing! If you want to teach your Pokémon some strong moves, or need any help with mastering any of those styles I told you about, just let me know!"
"Thanks Captain Zisu" Akari said. She then turned to Rei. "Now, I suppose it's time I went to meet Mai."
Rei vaguely remembered that name. "You remember? I mentioned yesterday at the Wallflower that I could use your help with Mai's request!"
That's right! I remember!
"I'm to meet her down past the foot of Aspiration Hill. You should come as well, once you've readied your Pokémon team for the task."
Rei nodded. "I'll be waiting for you at the entrance gate. Don't take too long if you're going to ask Captain Zisu to teach you anything!"
And with that, she walked away waving at the two of them. Zisu then turned to Rei. "That girl has gotten a lot better since I last saw her battle" She gave a sigh and turned to Rei. "You know, I think you had something to do with that"
The boy tilted his head, to which Zisu smiled. "Not in a bad way. I think your ability may have inspired her to try and do better. She was really let down after those Shinx attacked and then her partner didn't want to listen to her..."
Rei definitely didn't expect that. Him? Inspiring other humans to do the exact work his farther despised? Better not let him find out. He chuckled to himself.
"But I'm rambling now, aren't I?" Zisu suddenly laughed. "Want me to tell you a few quick tips as to how to use the different move styles so that you can go after Akari?"
The boy thought for a moment before shrugging. "Great! Alright, so first of all, your Pokémon need to master the move they want to use. This usually happens all on its own whenever the Pokémon uses that move a lot of times, but if you have any problems, you can always come here and ask for help. You and your Pokémon will know when they have mastered a move, trust me. You will notice how they use it much more fluently than before."
Rei looked at Eevee and she looked at him, probably thinking the same. Have we mastered a move and we haven't even realized?
The boy then looked at Zisu again and nodded. "You understood? Very good! Now, this is where it gets tricky, and it's hard to understand how your Pokémon masters a move, so I'll give you the basics and help you figure out the rest another day, alright?"
Rei nodded again. Hopefully they could test it out later. "Very good. So for the strong style, your Pokémon will need to use the move as it regularly would, but calling more energy than usual. That causes more strain and is the reason why your Pokémon is left more vulnerable to an attack."
A pause, as if to make sure Rei didn't have any doubts. "Now, the agile style is a bit more complicated. The procedure is exactly the same as with strong style moves, only with a few more steps." Zisu looked at the three Pokémon riding on Rei. "Listen carefully, you lot!" She told them. "To use an agile style move, you need not only to draw more energy than you usually would, just like before, but also to distribute it along your whole body evenly, which is harder than what it may sound."
Rei tilted his head, expecting something else. "That's everything I can tell you verbally. You can try to make your Pokémon master a move and then try to use different styles while you're out in the field with Akari. Maybe even help her and her Pikachu?"
The boy was visibly disappointed when he realized he wasn't going to be able to train the different move styles now, but he was sure he was going to try and train them with Akari.
"Remember, if you ever have any sort of problems with your Pokémon's moves, or need help with move related problems, I'm always free!" Zisu finished, waving at Rei.
He waved back and started walking away, ready to meet Akari. On the way there, he found Beauregard right where he had left him before, and Shinx and Wurmple (Beautricia now) waved at each other, Rei and the guard doing the same.
Rei kept walking and saw the girl talking to the guard standing to the side of the exit. Rei managed to catch some of the conversation she was having. "...he's not that suspicious when you get to meet him. I mean, he's a bit weird, I'll give you that, but aren't we all a bit weird in our own sense?"
It was then she noticed Rei walking towards her. "Oh, hello there, Rei!" She waved. "You didn't happen to listen to the conversation, right?"
He was about to nod, but he decided to spare her the embarassment, shaking his head instead. Akari sighed with relief. "Thank almighty Sinnoh..."
She smiled at him again. "Did Captain Zisu give you any tips? Or perhaps told you some new moves for your Pokémon?"
Rei shook his head again. "Styles." He simply said. He could swear he saw the guard widen his eyes. "M-Move styles."
"Move styles, huh? The Captain also told me about them. Quite an amazing thing that gives so many possibilities to battles, am I right?"
Rei smirked. Energetic today, aren't we? The disguised Zoroark thought to himself.
"Very well, I believe it's time to go! We have a pretty long walk ahead, don't we?" She turned to the guard. "I'm not sure if I told you before, but this guard's name is Ress."
He nodded. "Good luck." Ress told them.
And with that, the human and the four Pokémon started walking away from Jublife Village, Rei ready to help with whatever 'Mai's request' was.
"Hey, Rei?" Akari suddenly interrupted the silence. The boy looked at him in confusion, not being sure what she wanted. "You know, it's weird how you haven't said a word ever since you came here. Then, you suddenly spoke to give orders to your Pokémon when you battled against Volo, only to go back to being silent again. And now you suddenly start talking more? It's like you don't even know how to speak!" She chuckled at that last part, making sweat fall from Rei's forehead.
"I like it. I think it fits you. And also, speaking from time to time, even if it's just two words everytime, will probably make the villagers less wary of you. No one really trusts a completely silent outsider, not even if he does good deeds." She added, making Rei's eyes widen.
Fit me? Duh! I don't know the language! He internally chuckled. First time in history someone of my species has been complimented by a human. I doubt this counts though...
"Th-Thanks."
"You're welcome, Rei. Now, let's keep up our pace, shall we? Mai is waiting for us!"
Rei didn't want to admit what he felt at that moment, but there was no point in denying it.
He was having actual, non job-related fun with a human.
"You know something! And you're going to tell me now if you know what's good for you!"
Alpha had spent almost two whole days in the search of his son, but it all had proven pointless. There was no trace of him anywhere inside the Icelands, and if what he feared was correct, searching for him all around the region was going to be almost impossible.
And that's why he had resorted to the second best option. "I already told you I don't know anything!" Zoroark's sister yelled. "Now leave me alone!"
But Alpha didn't even let her move an inch. "Two days." He said. "Two days ever since you last saw him, and you haven't shown a single bit of worry. That is not like you."
Small sweat droplets appeared on her forehead, but she still held her ground. "I told you I don't know anything! If you have problems finding him, it's not my fault!"
Alpha was furious at his own pup's disobedience. "I thought you knew better than your brother. Am I going to have to get the answers out of you by force?"
"What other answer do you want? I already told you I don't know anything!"
Alpha prepared a Snarl. "You insolent little-!"
"Alpha!" A Zoroark ran into the cavern. "We may have found a lead to the whereabouts of your kid!"
Alpha looked at Zoroark's sister and growled. "Saved by the bell."
He turned away from her, ready to follow the Zoroark that had just interrupted. He was about to exit the room when his daughter yelled something. "Maybe you should worry less about where he is and more about why he's not here! "
But Alpha was too tired to listen to anything else from her. Yet, those words echoed in his head for longer than he would have liked.
"...and that's basically what most people don't understand about you."
Akari and Rei had almost arrived at the Fieldlands after a long walk, which Akari used to engage Rei in small talk, forcing him to answer with words from time to time.
He was sure he was going to make mistakes, and he was sure he made quite a few. Luckily, those mistakes were nothing more than sttutering, and Akari didn't seem to mind that. When they finally got to their destination, he was a bit less reluctant to speak human, but he still left it for emergencies only.
Akari had just finished explaining to him the reasons why the villagers of Jublife Village were suspicious of him, and from an objective point of view, he had to admit they made sense.
After all, everyone knew he had fallen from the sky, but no one really knew why. They thought he had fallen from a 'Space-Time rift', when in reality, he had just been teleported very high in the air.
"They are a few, but most of them are slowly becoming just rumors. In my opinion, they should try and speak with you instead of talking behind your back. But don't worry, I'm sure they'll give it up eventually"
Rei chuckled. Hopefully...
They stopped at the top of Aspiration Hill, taking in the sights. "Beautiful, isn't it?"
Rei nodded. "Yeah."
They spent a few minutes of silence, where even Rei's Pokémon didn't talk or make a sound.
"BOO!"
Rei and Akari jumped in their place as Eevee Cyndaquill and Shinx all fell to the ground from the shock. They all turned around to see Volo with a triumphant grin. "Did I surprise you? I bet I did! I was trying to, anyway."
Akari sighed while Rei supressed a light chuckle. "Volo?" She asked, a clear annoyance present on her voice.
"Oh, come on! Don't get angry because of a prank! Can't you be more like your friend here?"
Akari side-glanced Rei before looking at Volo again and sighing. "Whatever. What do you need?"
"I just wanted to share some tips with you! If you're not in a hurry, that is!"
The girl turned to Rei as if asking if he didn't mind, to which he nodded. "Sure. But be quick, please."
The merchant smirked. "There's a secret technique to catching Pokémon, you see. It's what I call the Secret Back Strike Technique! Hitting a Pokémon's back with your Poké-Ball will surprise it, making it easier to catch or giving you an advantage once a battle starts!"
"Duh!" The three Pokémon on the ground exclaimed in unison.
Both Akari and Volo raised a brow, the former chuckling. "Looks like it's not that of a secret, is it?" The girl mused.
"Well, it is among humans, at least..." Volo sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Anyway, now that you are part of the survey corps, working to create that Pokédex as they all are, you might end up meeting every last Pokémon in the region! You should know I'm already looking forward to the day you accomplish that!"
Saying that, he turned and began walking away. "He's really a character, alright... He has an amazingly good talent to appear from nowhere..." Akari sighed. "Now let's go. Mai must be waiting for us."
Rei nodded and followed Akari down the slope. Eevee, Cyndaquill and Shinx all separated from the two and began running around. Shinx and Cyndaquill were busy looking for Pokémon to spar against, while Eevee was simply enjoying herself in the unfamiliar land that this Fieldlands were.
He wished he could lay down on the grass without his illusion, free of any fear of humans watching him and freaking out at the sight of him.
He sighed. "Something bothering you, Rei?"
The boy simply shook his head. "N-No."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
Akari didn't look too convinced, but she didn't insist anymore. "If you say so, I'll believe you."
They kept walking down the slope and through the Fieldlands as they found themselves next to a bridge. In the middle, a guard stood, guarding it. He made the two stop in front of him. "Halt! There are many strong Pokémon that make their home on the other side of this bridge. I know you, Akari, already are, but I can't let your friend pass until he's at least a One Star member of the Survey Corps!"
"Actually, Rei has earned his first star already." Akari told the guard, before winking at the boy.
"Oh, really? Is it true?" He asked, looking at Rei.
He nodded. "May I see your Survey Corps ID card?"
Rei grabbed it from his satchel and showed it to him. "Seems legit..." He gave it back to him. "At your rank, you both should be fine. But don't let your guard down! Remember to retreat to safety if you need it."
The two nodded. Rei turned around and whistled loud enough for his friends to hear him and turn around to look at him. He signaled them to cross the bridge, and they followed behind them to the other side.
There was someone on the other side. She wore a blue robe with markings that differed from the ones that Akari and Rei had on their own, with different Pokémon drawings that decorated it. She also had a belt with three small bags to store things.
She turned to look at them, waving. "Hello, Akari! Who's your friend?"
"Hello, Mai! This here is Rei."
"My, my... A new face in the village?" Rei nodded. "Not that it matters to me if you're new. If you're here, that means you're prepared to be of help."
Saying that, she crossed her arms. "I am one of the wardens of the Diamond Clan. You may call me Mai." She arched a brow, slightly looking up. "Though, I suppose you may not know what a warden is if you're new to Hisui..."
Rei shook his head. "'Warden' was what that human used to call the shirtless human in the Icelands, right? And what that Froslass called her trainer... Gaerick, was it?" Eevee asked.
True...
"But such talk can wait. Right now, I'd rather we get straight to the point. I have a problem that I need help solving. So the more important question is..."
She crossed her arms. "Do you feel confident that you can lead your Pokémon in battle?"
That was a hard question. Did he? He was confident on his own ability to battle, but he doubted he would have a chance to do that anytime soon. He had to find time to train his own fighting, but that was beside the point.
Sure, fighting a Pokémon by himself was going to be a piece of cake, but telling another Pokémon what to do, while not being able to speak in a way that wouldn't be suspicious to the humans that he was always close to, was not.
Still, he was not going to let himself have doubts. He frowned his face in determination and nodded.
That seemed to make the Warden relax a bit. "Such determination is good to see. That Security Corps of yours certainly wasn't up for the task."
"Yup!"
It was then when everyone took notice of a small Pokémon standing beside her. Rei had only seen a few of them, but he recognized the species. A Munchlax.
Mai turned to look at him. "This here is my partner, Munchlax. We were raised together, like siblings. He battles at my side by choice, without needing any silly little balls like you use." She then looked at the three Pokémon standing beside Rei. "Well, except you, apparently. Good to see someone that lets their partners out for some fresh air."
Rei couldn't help but feel a little bit amazed at that. "Humans always think they are the better ones!" He remembered his farther say. "Always thinking they are above us Pokémon for reasons only Arceus knows! And now that they have their little 'Poké-Balls' to catch us, they are even more bigheaded than before!"
Yet, this girl and her partner made all those things wrong, at least in some way. A human that grew up with her Pokémon, as if they were siblings? Zoroark's dad wouldn't have believed it in the slightest.
"Really? Is that true?" Cyndaquill asked the normal type.
"Yup! Ever since we were really young, we've been together!" Munchlax said proudly.
"Aw, that's cute! Kinda like-" Eevee began, but she stopped herself before she gave away the very thing Rei was trying to hide. "You know what? It's nothing."
Munchlax shrugged. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to put your strength to the test." Mai interrupted. "How about a quick battle so I can show you the power of our friendship?"
Rei looked hesitant. He had already fought a battle today, and he was not really in the mood for another one. "I want to battle." Cyndaquill interrupted. "I need to get stronger, and for that, I have to battle other Pokémon!"
"Are you sure you are okay from that other Shinx's attacks?" Shinx interrupted.
"Of course I am!"
"Go for it!" Eevee cheered.
"Okay! I'll do it!" The fire type exclaimed jumping in front of Rei, flames sparkling.
"I suppose that's a yes?" Mai smirked, readying herself.
"Alright, I'll referee this match!" Akari said. "Prepare yourselves!"
"I'm going to win!" Munchlax exclaimed.
"We'll see about that." Cyndaquill shot back.
"Are you both ready? Then let's go!"
Immediately after Akari finished talking, Munchlax curled into a ball and threw himself against Cyndaquill, who didn't have enough time to dodge.
The move hit him square in the face, knocking the Pokémon a good distance back. Cyndaquill could only groan as he saw Munchlax roll back and towards him again, but this time, he jumped to the side, getting out of the way. "You know Rollout?!" He exclaimed, to which the normal type responded by trying to hit him again.
"Poké-human! What do I do?!"
"Uhhh..." How do you counter a Rollout? "Quick Attack! Left!"
Cyndaquill jumped to the left just as Munchlax rolled to him, the fire type tackling him with speed, which managed to stop the Rollout from going on for any longer. Cyndaquill threw a few Embers at the downed Pokémon, but he quickly dodged them.
"Hmm, pretty good, Rei!" Mai commented. "But let's see if you can beat this! Munchlax, try the strategy we have planned!"
"On it!"
Munchlax once again curled and rolled towards Cyndaquill, and he prepared an Ember attack.
"Now!"
Just as he was about to fire the attack, however, the Munchlax stopped rolling and jumped towards the Cyndaquill. He was once again knocked back.
Cyndaquill struggled to stand on his feet, but he still tried. "Okay, that was fast." He groaned once again.
"Come on, Cyndaquill! You can do this!" Shinx cheered.
"Don't let it get to you! Keep pushing!" Eevee added.
That made the fire type smile slightly. "You are a boy of few words, Rei. While I respect that, not commanding your Pokémon properly in battle will cause you to lose battles in the future." Mai told Rei.
I'd like to see you in my situation. Rei mentally groaned. Come on, how do I say Ember in human?! There's gotta be a way to at least put together syllabes of different words, or something!
"Cyndaquill, Quick Attack! Close! Em-ber!"
"What?" The fire type yelled, dodging another tackle.
"I think he means to get close with Quick Attack and then use Ember!" Eevee told him.
"Oh!" He darted forward, clashing against Munchlax. Before he could react, Cyndaquill, made Embers rain on him. "You have to be more clear next time!"
Rei frowned, but didn't comment. Couldn't comment. We would be winning if I were alone and that Munchlax was a wild Pokémon...
"Impressive! You've really got a talent to make Pokémon understand you with the minimum amount of words possible! You're starting to wear Munchlax out!" Mai cheered. "But let's see if you can handle our all out strike!"
Munchlax curled into a ball again, but instead of going against Cyndaquill directly, he started spinning in a circle, slowly increasing his velocity.
"'All out strike'?! What do I do against that?!"
What do I do? Surely he can't dodge that!
Rei thought of a strategy quickly, but only one thing came to his mind. And it was dangereous. Was it going to cost him the fight? Most likely. Did he have any other plan? No.
"Munchlax, NOW!"
"QUICK ATTACK!" Rei yelled on instinct, seeing the impeding doom that approached Cyndaquill.
Cyndaquill dashed forward without a second thought, probably knowing that he was unable to dodge Munchlax as well.
The two connected.
Cyndaquill's speed managed to stop the ultra fast Rollout, and so did Munchlax with his Quick Attack. Time seemed to slow as the two Pokémon remained stationary, clashing against each other to be the one to win, until...
They were thrown back. Munchlax fell to his knees, panting, while Cyndaquill... was laying on the ground, barely conscious.
Rei had lost.
Or so he thought until Munchlax fell onto his belly. He wasn't out, but worn out enough for him not to be able to move.
"It's a draw!" Akari interrupted, making what happened finally register inside Rei's mind.
The battle was a draw. Him, a Pokémon had managed to knock out a warden's partner. He almost wanted to laugh at the irony. He kneeled down to pick up Cyndaquill and gave him the last Oran berry from his satchel.
Mai began slowly clapping.
"Good job, Rei. You really aren't one of the usual Galaxy buffoons if you could defeat my partner. Well fought, Munchlax."
Rei looked at Akari, silently asking her if that was something usual. She simply shrugged, not really knowing what to make out of the warden's antics.
"As a reward, I'll let you have this. You people make all kinds of things with your crafting, don't you? These should prove to be useful materials."
Saying that, Mai gave Rei five small blue and yellow flowers. "These are Vivichokes. Very useful for crafting things that restore vitality to Pokémon."
Rei stuffed them inside his satchel and made a mental note to empty it as soon as he could. "You and your Pokémon fought pretty well together. Better than what anyone should have with so few words. Rather similar to the legendary hero of old... the one we tell our children stories about. Despite your flaws, I think you're one for the job."
Rei slightly frowned, but nodded. Flaws. Of course I'd have flaws.
"You see, I need someone to deal with an alpha Pokémon causing trouble upon Deertrack Heights."
Rei's eyes widened. "An alpha?!" Shinx and Eevee exclaimed.
Oh great. Just what I needed. Rei thought, rolling his eyes.
"Mmrg? An alpha? Where?" Cyndaquill groggily asked, looking around.
"It is a large, fearsome foe, like any alpha, but you'll come, won't you? To Deertrack Heights?" Mai asked Rei, a confident smile on her face.
If someone knows a lot about alphas, that's me. Rei nodded with determination. Hopefully, this one won't be like my father.
"Do you mind if I tag along? I want to see how you do against an alpha Pokémon by myself." Akari said. "If it's not a bother, I mean."
Rei smiled and nodded. Why not? He thought.
The girl also smiled. "Great! Thank you!"
Mai also gave a smile of her own. "It seems you're quite the asset to the Survey Corps, new one."
The boy rubbed the back of his head. "Though... Before we continue, I must ask. Do you already know about almighty Sinnoh?"
Almighty Sinnoh... I heard those words a lot now. What do they mean? Rei shook his head.
"Hmm, doesn't matter really. I will tell you the true story of almighty Sinnoh now, just so you know about it more."
She cleared her throat. "Almighty Sinnoh steers all time. It's said to have created the very universe using its power over time's flow, and this land if Hisui was born in the process. It's by the grace of almighty Sinnoh that Pokémon can live and thrive here. We of the Diamond Clan are descendants of a people who crossed the sea and settled here in the Hisui region to venerate almighty Sinnoh. However, it stole away from this world long ago, hiding from our sight... Almighty Sinnoh has only rarely been seen by any human, if the old tales are to be trusted. But there are still Pokémon here in Hisui with a connection to almighty Sinnoh. And it is the duty of wardens like myself to tend to their needs. The Pokémon that graces Deertrack Heights is one of those honored few. It is directly descendant from a Pokémon that was blessed with almighty Sinnoh's protection. Follow me, and you may understand."
Mai turned around and began walking away. "See you soon!" Munchlax added, following behind her.
Rei was left there thinking about the story. So that 'almighty Sinnoh' created universe, huh? That... sounds like Arceus, but... did he have the power to control time Mai is talking about? Man, I knew I was gonna regret not paying attention to the stories my mom told me!
"Rei?"
Akari's voice brought him out of his thoughts. He looked at her and simply sighed, motioning her to follow him. The girl looked like she was confused, but walked after him regardless.
On the way up Deertrack Heights there were many Pokémon never seen by Rei, like 'Kricketot' and 'Geodude', as Akari called them. They both took their chance to advance a little bit with their research tasks, even defeating some Pokémon as practice for the Pokémon.
Little did Rei know, that was barely going to be enough for what was about to come.
"Alright! Here we are! We have arrived at Deertrack Heights!" Mai exclaimed. She had led Akari and Rei to an arena looking clearing, surrounded by tall stone formations. A path with some stairs made out of stone led to some torches marking the entrance, and some barricades made out of metal were also present.
"Pretty impressive place..." Akari muttered.
"Oh? Did your professor decide to join us as well?" Mai suddenly asked, making the two humans turn.
Indeed, behind them professor Laventon was running towards them, stopping near the group as he gasped loudly. "Whew... Thank goodness... I... got here... in time..." He wheezed between breaths. After a pause, he took out the same object he used to take a picture of Rei. "As a Pokémon researcher, I could hardly miss out on a chance to observe an alpha, now, could I?" He added, smiling.
"Professor, did you run all the way here?" Akari asked him.
"Oh, Akari, it really was no issue for me! Anything for this special chance!"
Akari sighed, shaking her head. Mai followed suit, but still smiled. "I suppose that's your business... Fine, as long as you stay out of the way." She told him.
Mai then turned around and signaled to the big clearing. "This, as said before, is Deertrack Heights. This is where I've long come to pay tribute to a special Pokémon, a Pokémon descended from one of those ancients blessed by almighty Sinnoh."
Suddenly, a loud cry interrupted her monologue. Everyone was shocked as they looked at its source. A giant Kricketune came running from one of the sides of the field and stopped in the middle of it. Mai frowned. "That's not it. That's only a troublemaker, here to disturb the peace with its racket." She said.
The alpha Kricketune once again screeched loudly unintelligible words Rei didn't manage to understand. "And that's what you're here for, Rei. To drive that interloper from this place."
She turned towards him and gave Rei three potions. "Give this to your Pokémon so that they will be ready for the fight."
Rei turned to his partners and opened the bottles, leaving them on the ground. "Do we really have to?" Cyndaquill whinned. "They taste awful..."
"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad!" Shinx replied, taking a sip of the potion before shuddering. "I retract my statement."
Eevee drank the potion without any complaint, but her face betrayed her stoic attitude.
Once they were done, Rei grabbed the bottles and gave them back to Mai. "Upon my world... what a large specimen! Little wonder alpha Pokémon are feared across the land if they're all as oversized as this one!" The professor mused, looking at the Kricketune.
"Pretty fearsome indeed..." Akari added. "I wouldn't like to be caught defenseless against one of them."
Rei resisted the urge to laugh at that sentence.
Mai turned to the alpha again. "They are strong and may know moves that others of their kind do not. They're naught to be trifled with, let me tell you. Nevertheless..."
The warden gave a sideways glance to Rei. "I believe you're still stronger than that alpha. So go show it that, beyond any mistaking."
"Be careful, Rei. Size is a potent weapon in and of itself. No doubt this alpha is a powerful and hardy foe. Make sure your Pokémon know some strong moves at their disposal." The professor told him.
"Good luck, Rei." Akari finished.
Rei gave a determined nod as he motioned his Pokémon to follow. "We really are doing this, huh?" Eevee asked, to which the boy weakly nodded. "Bet this wasn't where you thought your dream of exploring the whole region would take you, huh?" Rei shook his head. "Me neither." She finished.
"Arceus, alphas are huge!" Shinx yelled. "Is your dad this big too?"
Rei looked back to make sure he was far enough from the group and nodded. "Imagine the biggest human you've seen."
"Okay."
"Now almost triple the size. That's my dad."
"Wait, really? That big?"
Both Eevee and him nodded. "Woah! You gotta take me to those Icelands soon."
"Guys, can we focus on the big and scary looking Kricketune in front of us?" Cyndaquill interrupted.
"Good point."
Once they got close enough for the Kricketune to notice them, she ROARED at them. "WHO DARES STEP INTO MY TERRITORY?!"
The four winced at the tone, but they kept their ground. "This isn't your territory." Rei said authoritatively. "This is a sacred place, apparently, and you are disturbing its peace."
The Kricketune began roaring with laughter. "AND WHO ARE YOU TO TELL ME WHAT'S MY TERRITORY AND WHAT'S NOT, HUMAN? "
Rei laughed. "Funny you say that."
"WHAT'S SO FUNNY ABOUT IT?"
"Nothing, nothing. Whatever, we're here to make you leave the clearing. You can do this the easy way or the hard way."
"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, HUMAN? I COULD SLASH YOUR PATHETIC BODY IN HALF IF I WANTED TO!"
Rei laughed again. "You're lucky those three are right there watching the fight. Now, this is the last chance for you to leave peacefully. What are you even trying to do here anyway?"
"I AM SEARCHING FOR A PLACE FOR MY PACK, AND THIS IS PERFECT. NO ONE WILL TAKE ME AWAY FROM HERE!"
"You hear that guys?"
"Sounds like she wants to fight!" Shinx yelled, his cheeks sparkling with anticipation.
"YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN BEAT ME?! HA! I WANT TO SEE YOU TRY!"
"Yeah, try and win! " Cyndaquill yelped.
"Whenever you're ready, Rei!" Eevee finished.
Alright, I gotta make sure not to let them hear me...
"Alright guys, prepare yourselves!"
Everyone took a battle stance as they waited for the Kricketune to make a move. She roared once again and tried a Slash attack on the four of them.
Rei narrowly dodged the attack, not without his hat falling to the ground. He picked it up as he smirked.
"Alright, this counts as self defense now! Cyndaquill, Ember! Shinx, Thunder Shock! Eevee, try to use a strong style Swift! If you can't, just go for the regular!"
"AYE!" The three exclaimed as fire and electricity flew towards the Kricketune.
She simply Slashed them away.
"Ah, you're more smart than I thought. Looks like we'll have to use actual strategies after all." Rei taunted.
"YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE!" The bug type roared as she tried Slashing Rei again, but another dose of electricity and fire stopped her.
"No one touches my Ocko!"
"Rei, now what?"
Eevee was too focused trying to follow the vague steps that Zisu had explained to Rei before, but she ended up sighing in defeat. "Yeah, what now?"
"Can't do it?"
"I feel something, but I can't focus enough to control it."
"Well, don't worry too much about it if you can't. Well ask that human later about it, okay? Keep trying, but don't dwell too much on it."
"Okay!"
"Shinx, try again with a Quick Attack! Eevee, follow him! Different angle! Cyndaquill, you too!"
The three Pokémon darted in different directions crossing each other's trajectories, confusing the alpha. She didn't know where or who to attack as she was suddenly surrounded by three airborne Pokémon.
"Shinx, Thunder Shock! Cyndaquill, Ember! Eevee, Swift!"
Three different attacks came from three different sides, and such, the bug type couldn't stop them. A huge cloud of smoke lifted from the attacks.
"Woooo! Way to go, Rei!" The boy heard Akari cheer.
"Impressive! Keep it up!" Mai added.
"Nice battle skills, Rei!" The professor added.
That only gave him more confidance. A shame I can't battle myself...
"GRAAAH!" The alpha Pokémon roared.
"Yeah, what did you say about slashing us before?" Rei taunted.
"YOU INSOLENT BASTARD!"
One of the Kricketune's arms began glowing red as she set her eyes on Eevee. Rei's eyes widened when he realized what that meant.
Fuck!
"EEVEE! DON'T LET THAT ATTACK GET EVEN CLOSE!"
The normal type dodged the first attack on instinct, but couldn't bring herself to dodge the second strike. She screeched in pain as she was thrown away, barely moving while laying on the ground.
FUCK!
"EEVEE!"
Rei took a look behind him and saw the three humans with a worried face, the professor wincing especially. Everyone was too focused on them for Rei to do anything by himself, but thankfully, none seemed to have heard him speak to his team. "You're gonna pay..." He almost growled.
"I'LL GLADLY SEE YOU TRY!"
"Cyndaquill, spray her with Ember attacks! Shinx, Thunder Shock until you can't do anything! Buy me time to check up on Eevee!"
"Got it!" Cyndaquill replied.
"Will do!" Shinx added.
Rei nodded and dashed towards the fallen Eevee, dodging a few strikes from the alpha Pokémon which were quickly halted by both Shinx and Cyndaquill. Thankfully, Rei already had some experience with dodging an alpha Pokémon's attacks.
"Eevee! Are you alright?"
"Ugh... Would you believe me if I said yes?" She said, coughing.
"That was Brick Break. Square in the face. Are you sure you're alright?"
"Just give me one of those purple things. I'll be fine..." She groaned.
Rei quickly took out a potion and gave it to Eevee. She drank it quickly and coughed, but slowly stood on her feet.
"Are you sure you can fight?"
"As long as I don't get hit by anything ag-" She couldn't finish that sentence as Shinx was thrown against her, knocking her out.
Shinx was mostly unharmed. "Ugh, stupid Kricketune! At least Eevee cushioned the hit..."
He then looked at Rei and the unconscious Eevee under him. "Oh... That was my bad, right?"
Rei sighed. "Not much we can do now." Rei grabbed Eevee's Poké-Ball. "Let's get her-"
Cyndaquill was thrown against Rei, making him drop the Poké-Ball. He didn't have time to react as he barely dodged a Slash that cut to close to his face. It was then when he realized the gravity of the situation.
If I get hit, my illusion is gonna burst. That would be a disaster.
Grabbing Eevee, he rolled out of the way of another attack, his hat falling once again. He tried to go back to that one time his sister and him got cornered by an alpha back when he was still a weak Zorua and the Glalie they were fighting knew powerful and, most importantly, super effective dark type moves.
How could you beat someone that was stronger than you almost in every way, and with moves that could break you?
You have to confuse them.
"Shinx! Cyndaquill! Circle around her in opposite directions! As fast as you can!"
"Okay!" They both yelled, dashing in circles around the Kricketune as she tried to land a Slash on one of them, to no avail.
"STOP MOVING RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"
"Oh, what's wrong? The big, strong alpha can't hit two weak Pokémon?" Shinx laughed. The alpha groaned again just as fire hit her back.
Rei could practically see the smoke coming from her head as the fire and electricity hit her again.
And again.
And again.
"ENOUGH! "
One arm Slashed into the ground, making both Shinx and Cyndaquill bump into each other. The alpha then put her arms in a X shape and launched an attack, throwing both of them away. Cyndaquill quickly stood up, covering Shinx and throwing another Ember.
The attack connected, but the alpha didn't seem to care. She used her X-Scissor once again, making the fire type stumble back before a Slash knocked him away. Rei rushed to pick them up, just as the bug type tried to Slash them again.
His hat fell to the ground for a third time as he yelped in pain at his hurt leg. Oh, and how it hurt. His illusion didn't break, but he knew some parts of it weren't completely fine. Mostly because he could see a tuff of his mane in front of his face.
This is bad, this is bad! Arceus, this is so bad!
"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NOW, HUMAN? WEREN'T YOU SO CONFIDENT YOU COULD DEFEAT ME?"
Rei looked behind him. The three humans didn't seem to have noticed his now more ghostly-looking hair, looking more concerned about his wellbeing.
"You can do whatever you want with me, but don't you dare touch them." He snarled, standing up.
"Poké-human?"
"Ocko, what are you doing?" Shinx tried to let out a spark, but Rei stopped him.
"OH, DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT AFTER YOUR INSOLENCE AND YOUR TAUNTING, I WILL JUST LET YOU WALK AWAY?"
Rei frowned. He couldn't do anything. He couldn't fight by himself while he was being watched, and his Pokémon were struggling to stay conscious. Eevee was the most trained Pokémon among the three, and she had been knocked out first with a Brick Break, and the other two were on their last legs. What were they going to do?
Behind the alpha, Rei saw the unconscious Eevee slowly rise up to her feet, breathing heavily. She wore a killer look as she looked at the Kricketune, who was oblivious to her having woken up.
"AND NOW..." The Kricketune raised an arm. "ANY LAST WORDS?"
Rei looked at Eevee again. She had closed her eyes as her body began glowing in a faint orange aura. Don't tell me she's...
Rei smirked. He looked up at the alpha. "Should have checked your back."
The bug type didn't have enough time to react. Eevee threw herself against the alpha's back with a force Rei had never seen coming from her. That and the sudden attack was enough to make the alpha tumble as she lost her balance.
Rei reacted quickly and shoved him and his friends out of the way, just about when the alpha hit the ground, creating a big cloud of smoke.
Perfect time for a quick recovery.
The disguised Zoroark quickly grabbed three potions from his satchel and gave two to Cyndaquill and Shinx, who drank it as quickly as possible. Once they were done, Rei chugged the third one, coughing as he did so. "You weren't kidding when you said this stuff tasted awful..."
Once the smoke cloud settled down, Rei saw that Eevee hadn't stopped tackling the alpha yet. She threw Quick Attack after Quick Attack and didn't look like she had any intention to stop. Every time the alpha tried to stand up, she was thrown down again.
"How's that for a weak Pokémon, HUH?!" She yelled. "You really think that a stupid Brick Break is going to knock me out after living my whole life in the Icelands?!" The alpha growled, trying to somehow find a way to get on her feet again, but those attempts were quickly shut down by Eevee.
"You think you can threaten with killing my friends..." A hit to her face. "My CHILDHOOD FRIEND?!" Another one. "MY BEST FRIEND?!" The orange aura was slowly fading away, just as her mouth quivered, but she still didn't stop. "Say it!" The Kricketune had stopped trying to stand up long ago. "SAY YOU GIVE UP!"
"NEVER!"
Shinx and Cyndaquill both began using their own attacks against her, a screech escaping the alpha as her head felt limp. She was gasping loudly, still trying to get on her feet.
After a long two minutes of continuous strong styled Quick Attacks, fire, and electricity, she finally, finally, stopped trying.
Rei sighed with relief, falling to his knees. He grabbed a Poké-Ball from his satchel and showed it to the alpha. "You lost."
The Kricketune growled. She looked like she was going to say something, but didn't. Instead, she sighed. "I understimated you." Her voice didn't have that ominous and loud tone anymore. It sounded more... strained. "Your Pokémon fought well, human. Though, I doubt it's appropriate to call you that if we're having this conversation."
Rei simply nodded. "You fought well too." He threw the Poké-Ball at the alpha and saw the huge Pokémon becoming a beam of light that got sucked inside the Poké-Ball, making Eevee fall to the ground with a grunt.
One shake. Two shakes. Three shakes.
And at last, the Poké-Ball emitted a puff of smoke, making Rei fall to his knees.
"We... we did it?" Cyndaquill asked.
"We did it." Replied Rei.
"THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" Shinx yelled. "You guys were amazing! This was so much fun! And Eevee learned how to do that strong style move, right Eevee?"
...
No response.
"Eevee?" The three looked at the normal type, who was silently looking at the ground, her legs wobbling.
"We..." Was everything she could say as she fell unconscious once again.
Rei quickly ran towards her and grabbed her, lifting her up. She looked beaten up, unconsciously twitching her muscles from the overusage she had given them. Even in her sleep, battered as she was, she looked...
Beautiful? Really, brain?
"She's completely KO." The electric type stated.
"Makes me want to..." Cyndaquill began, his eyes unconsciously rolling up. "...follow her." The fire type closed his eyes as he suffered the same fate as the normal type.
"Ocko, I think I..."
"Yeah, go for it."
"Thank you."
Shinx fell unconscious as well.
That's it, I guess. I wish I could just go to sleep too...
"Rei!"
Akari ran and kneeled next to him, Mai and Munchlax doing the same. The normal type looking at him skeptically. The professor focused on helping the unconscious Pokémon. "Are you alright? We saw the Slash hit your leg!"
"Something like that must have at least teared through your uniform." Mai added, taking a look at his... completely fine leg and clothes. "Or not..."
Rei's face went pale. "How in the world..." Akari added. "Did the attack not hit you at all?"
Rei quickly shook his head trying to look as neutral as possible. This can't be happening to me!
"What do you mean no? We heard you yell!" The girl kept insisting, to which the boy shook his head again.
"We must have heard wrong then. It's clear that he's completely uninjured." Mai sighed with relief, offering her hand to him.
Rei stood up, nodding to her in silent thanks. Akari looked at him weirdly, then to his leg and then back at him. She sighed. "I'm glad you made it out fine."
Rei winced slightly, but nodded. "Thanks."
"My boy, so you do speak!" Interrupted the professor. He carried the three unconscious Pokémon on his arms. Eevee wore yet another bandage on her head, this time slightly stained crimson, while the rest were simply sleeping, with minor cuts and bruises.
"I took care of your Pokémon for you! Your Eevee looks like it's very worn out, but it should be fine after a long rest. I suggest you put your Shinx and Cyndaquill in their balls to rest, while carrying your Eevee until it's time to take off the bandage, hm?" He explained with a smile.
Rei wasn't keen on doing that, but he knew that carrying three unconscious Pokémon was going to be really difficult. With a sigh, he grabbed Shinx and Cyndaquill's Poké-Balls and recalled them both, grabbing Eevee from the professor.
"Thank you." He weakly said.
"Of course, my boy!"
Rei looked down and saw that Munchlax hadn't stopped looking at him for a second. "You understood that alpha..."
The boy winked at him with a smirk, causing Munchlax to flinch slightly. Mai looked down at him, silently asking if everything was alright before glancing at Rei.
He couldn't even open his mouth before a huge scream pierced the silence in the clearing. "YOUUUUUU!"
The professor looked up towards the source of that voice, his eyes widening in shock. "W-What in the world?"
Rei decided to follow his gace, and he too gasped. On top of one of the taller cliffs that surrounded the clearing, there was a huge, white Pokémon, imposingly staring at the group. His beautiful and smooth fur looked like it was carefully combed, and his golden antlers were one of the best sights Rei had seen ever since he left the Icelands.
While most of the group was busy marveling at the Pokémon, Mai interrupted them. "It's the great Wyrdeer!" She exclaimed as if that were normal.
The 'Wyrdeer' began making his way towards the group, walking down the slope and stopping in front of the four. He turned to look at Rei, his eyes piercing.
He could almost feel as if he was looking right through his disguise, yet no words were spoken.
"He looks upon you with kindness, Rei."
Kindness? No way that's the look of someone being kind... He thought, supressing a shiver.
Wyrdeer nodded and turned around, walking away. That only left Rei even more confused. What is... Who is this guy?
"I'd say the great Wyrdeer has taken a liking to you. That is fortunate." Mai told him.
A liking? That meant he likes me?
"He is an esteemed Pokémon that can dash across the expansions of Hisui while bearing a human on his back, a human he deems worthy, at least. He is blessing to us all."
"A Pokémon letting someone ride on it?" Akari thought out loud.
"Remarkable! Truly outstanding stuff! Why, it's just like the Ride Pokémon of Alola!" The professor said.
Someone cleared their throat behind them. A guard carrying a backpack walked towards them. "Hello, professor and company. Captain Cyllene sent me to tell you that once Rei carried out his mission, we could set up a base camp." She said.
"Ah, about that, I know this was a joint decission by Adaman and the commander, but still, is it truly safe for us to set up more base camps like this?" Mai asked, turning to the professor. "The Hisui region is a land created by almighty Sinnoh for the sake of its Pokémon. As long as your goal is to thrive and coexist with the Pokémon, then I imagine you should also be allowed to use the land."
She then turned to Rei. "The great Wyrdeer has taken a liking to Rei as well. That is a good sign."
Mai smiled at Rei. "You have my thanks for what you did today. Our clan leader will hear of how you aided us. I'll come to show my appreciation with a proper reward as soon as I can." And with that, she began walking away, waving at the group.
The professor, Akari and Rei watched her and her partner slowly disappear into the horizon, Munchlax occasionally looking back at Rei.
"If we want to 'thrive and coexist with Pokémon', we'll need to stop fearing them and start getting to know them better. That starts by completing the Pokédex!" Akari said, a slight smile on her face.
"Anyway, we should be able to have that base camp set up once the Construction Corps arrive."
They waited for some time, casually talking among themselves until a few humans appeared, they too carrying backpacks with what Rei supposed were the stuff needed for a camp.
The Construction Corps started building the camp, and the three helped them whenever they could, something that Rei found to be harder than what it looked like.
By the time they finished everything, the sun was starting to set, and Rei wiped the sweat from his face. This wasn't what he imagined he would be doing when he said he wanted to join the humans.
"Here we have it!" The professor exclaimed. "Our new base camp upon Deertrack Heights! I'll call it the Heights Camp!"
"Having another base camp will be a great help on our survey." Akari sighed, leaving a few stones next to the campfire. "Nice work today everyone! What say we all head back to the Wallflower?"
A few nods and cheers were the answer.
Rei and Akari showed Laventon some of the progress they had made on their Pokédex, the professor humming in delight at the new information and promising to give them their reward later or the next day. Rei also gave Laventon the Poké-Ball with the alpha inside so that he could take her somewhere safe.
The trip back to Jublife Village was shorter than what they originally had thought, though it might have been the hunger that pushed them forward.
Before long they were sitting on the same table as last day, ready for dinner. "Beni, old chum, the usual potato mochi, please! And make it for three today as well!" The professor yelled.
Beni nodded and went inside the restaurant, bringing a plate of that delicious food shortly after. "Have you heard the grave news?" He asked as he left the plate on the table. "The frenzied Kleavor from the rumors... It ended up mauling some of our Galaxy folks who went to investigate it this morning. The Medical Corps has had a hard time getting all the injured on their feet."
Akari silently gasped while the professor hummed. "Ah. This was the Kleavor that reportedly struck by powerful lightning, yes? I did hear he's been acting most erratically since then..." He mumbled.
"Still, if further investigation is in order, the Survey Corps will, of course, step up to the task. A certain amount of danger is inevitable when researching unfamiliar Pokémon, but I'm sure someone like Rei here can handle things just fine!"
Rei froze halfway through biting his food to give an uncertain smile to Laventon. Akari worriedly looked at him. "Are you certain? I've heard Kleavor's so mighty even alpha Pokémon can't compare to him..." She said.
That made Rei's eyes widen. "Now, now! You forget that the strengths of Pokémon are key items of information that we of the Survey Corps are duty bound to research!" The professor exclaimed, taking another bite of the food. "And since this perilious work of ours calls for a clear head and fighting fit psyche, I believe a good night's sleep is in order after this fine meal!" He added.
With no more words spoken, the three finished their meal, and with a quick goodbye, each of them went to their respective headquarters.
Once the door was closed, Rei carefully left Eevee on the ground, dropped his illusion... and himself on top of his fulton. Groaning, he reached for his satchel and grabbed the two Poké-Balls with his friends in them.
Without lifting his face to look where he aimed, he threw the spheres, causing Shinx and Cyndaquill to come out of them.
"Gosh, poké-human, you look awful!"
"Maybe it's because I haven't been able to take a break ever since we fought the Kricketune..." He groaned, voice muffled from the pillow. "And Eevee is KO again!"
"Your voice sounds gruff." Shinx pointed out.
"Yeah, my throat's been killing me ever since I started speaking human. May be because I'm not used to it yet."
Eevee slowly opened her eyes as she stirred. "We won right?"
A weak nod coming from Zoroark. She walked next to him and lifted his head. "I think you deserve a rest now, don't you think? You were amazing out there."
"You were the one that saved us with your strong styled Quick Attacks. Congratulations, by the way." He smiled.
Zoroark heard whispers between Cyndaquill and Shinx, but he decided to ignore them. "The problem is, we can't rest yet."
"What?" The three Pokémon said in unison.
"Well, the professor and the old man that serves that delicious food you guys like so much talked about a very powerful Pokémon called 'Kleavor'. And the worst part is that he's apparently 'frenzied', whatever that means. And I'm pretty sure they're gonna send me to do the job."
"And? What's the problem?" The fire type asked.
"You saw how we only beat that alpha by the skin of our teeth, and I need to practice too, so I think it's time we train for a bit. All of us. Well, except Eevee."
"But how? You can't train inside the village! What if someone sees you? I suppose you're not gonna train with your illusion up."
"Exactly. That's why we're gonna wait until it's dark outside, and we will go and train in the beach we first woke up in."
"That's-!" Eevee tried saying but was interrupted
"Training?" Shinx said. "That sounds like a great idea! We will become stronger and beat stronger Pokémon!"
"Hate to admit it, but some training could definitely come in handy. You're right when you say we almost didn't make it against that alpha, and that Kleavor doesn't sound weak either. You should focus on training your human language too, probably more than your fighting skills."
"Hard to do that without a human that can help..."
Eevee sighed. "I guess we're doing this... If you get caught, you're gonna be in huge problems, you know that?"
"That's why we aren't going to be."
The wait was long, but at last, the Sun set, leaving the village mostly in darkness, only broken by the torches illuminating the streets.
Rei slowly opened the door, looking around to check if there were any humans nearby, and he sighed when he realized there were none.
He motioned his friends to follow after him. They had thankfully decided not to use him as a vehicle to give him some actual time to recover, but he obviously insisted in carrying Eevee, much to her annoyance.
The silently made their way towards the outskirts of the village, to the beach where Rei had first woken up in.
Rei took off his cap and scarf, left them and his satchel on the sand, and uncasted his illusion once he took a good look around to confirm they were alone.
There wasn't much light around, the only one being provided by the torches that signaled the way to Jublife Village, so they decided not to wander to far in and stay close to them.
"Alright, we have to make this a quick training session, so let's just do one or two battles."
"I guess I'm battling Shinx." Cyndaquill said.
"Yeah! Ready to eat some thunder?"
"In your dreams, buddy." The fire type chuckled.
"Alright, remember that this is sparring, so if you know that you can't fight anymore, just say it! We don't want anyone fainting." Zoroark reminded the duo.
"Okay!"
With that, their fights began. As Zoroark had said before, they didn't last too long, just enough for them to learn new strategies and combos for a later date. Eevee also explained to Shinx and Cyndaquill how to do a strong styled Quick Attack, but they decided to leave the practical training for another day, since they were all tired. Rei also spent that time practicing the human words he already knew.
"I almost got you there!" Shinx groggily said.
"Yeah, just because I was holding back!"
"Whaaat? You were holding back? That's no fun!"
"I just feel so-" A yawn interrupted Eevee. "So tired...And I haven't even battled!"
"Come on... we're close... to the bed!" Rei managed to stammer in human. "Agh, still not getting used to it..."
"You'll manage soon, poké-human. I'm sure."
Finally, they reached the village again, and headed towards their little hut they called headquarters. Rei once again closed the door and dropped his illusion.
He was so tired he simply laid on the bed without any other word, not even caring that two little stowaways decided to get inside his mane, the last one opting to lay next to him. "I can't believe we slipped away so easily." Eevee said.
"It really wasn't that hard, was it?" The ghost type chuckled. "Come on, good night guys. We should train like this again tomorrow."
"Good night!"
"Yeah!"
Despite his answer, Zoroark couldn't help but feel a bit like his friend. Eevee's right. It's been easy. Too easy.
True to his words, there had been a human that was just coming from her occasional stroll around the village. She happened to see them all get inside, which of course lead to questions. She didn't try to look into it too much, but it only added a bit more to her list of suspicions.
That boy was a mistery she was going to solve.
Hey guys, it's me.
I know it's been a long time since my last update, but I just couldn't find the motivation and time to write as much as I did previously, so expect this kind of wait from now on. Sorry.
But anyway, I had fun writing this chapter, and I hope you had fun reading it as well! As always, leave a review if you want and see you next time!