Pokemon: Nuzlocke
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Chapter 6: A new event, a new challenge!
Two days of battles in the park had padded my bank account and added a lot of experience to my Pokemon. On top of that, I felt much more comfortable with battles against people. As much as my loss outside of the gym had stung, I couldn't help but feel that his advice had made me a better trainer. With that in mind, I planned to battle some more today to get Odin to the next level, and perhaps push Prophet up one as well. Thankfully the experience system seemed just like the game, as far as I was concerned at least. Everyone else kept giving me weird looks when I'd start the battle with Kurama out, and immediately return her to send out Odin or Prophet instead. Either way, she had leveled once, and would probably do so again today.
I made it to the park, stifling a yawn as it was still early morning. The sun was just barely rising this early in the day, but already a group of trainers was out here battling. The parks in Celedon seemed to be placed in such a way that no houses were close enough to be bothered by the noise, which definitely helped when a crowd was cheering you to victory. I stood off to the side, checking the Poke-News, and glancing up at the battle every now and then. After a rather spunky Rattata duo took down a Pidgey and Pikachu, the field cleared to make room for anyone else interested. I stepped over, pulling Odin's ball from my belt, and looked around to see if there were any takers.
A girl pushed from the small crowd to stand on the other side. I felt like I recognized her, possibly from seeing her battle a few days before. Either way, the battle was on!
"Go, Odin!" I called out, tossing out his ball.
Odin exploded from the Pokeball, landing on all fours to face his new opponent. The girl hesitated for a moment, before tossing her own to the field.
"Go Pig!" She calls out.
From the explosion of red light, I hear the flapping of wings, a large bird Pokemon forming from the light. A Pidgeotto lands in the grass, eyeing Odin closely.
"Pig" Pidgeotto
Lvl 18
HP - 17 - 32 - 51
ATK - ? - ? - ?
DEF - ? - ? - ?
SATK - ? - ? - ?
SDEF - ? - ? - ?
SPD - ? - ? - ?
'Shit…' I think, seeing its level. '18 is a bit high…'
"Double Kick Odin!" I call out, starting the battle.
Odin runs in, his little feet tearing up the grass as he pushes forward to attack.
"Sand Attack!" The girl calls.
The Pidgeotto jumps back, flapping its wings hard, kicking up a cloud of dust. It envelopes Odin, and then me as well.
"Cough! Poison Sting!" I wheeze out, covering my mouth and nose.
I can see the Pidgeottos HP bar drop, but it doesn't turn purple. The girl calls out a quick attack, which knocks Odin's HP down to nearly half. My streak of bad luck continues, Odin's Poison Point ability failing to activate. Another hit like that and he would definitely be knocked out.
"Return Odin! Go Prophet!" I yell, switching them out.
The sand cloud has cleared, giving Prophet a clear field of view.
"Fury Attack!" I call out.
Prophet jumps forward, rapid-fire pecking at the Pidgeotto. Three out of five hits, dealing about 15% of its HP. It retaliates with a swipe of its wing, knocking Prophet back. He gets up, stomping its feet in anger.
"Shit...He's raging." I say, shaking my head.
One issue I've been having with him is that when he gets hurt, he almost always uses Rage to follow up. While he does a lot of damage, it makes him impossible to handle. I have to return him and take him to the center each time. The Pidgeotto seems to almost laugh at Prophet.
"Get it Prophet!" I yell, egging him on.
He takes off at a run, steam practically pouring off of it from its rage.
"Dodge Pig!" The girl yells, seemingly worried.
The Pidgeotto takes off, but Prophet jumps to intercept, a passable drop kick slamming into the Pidgeotto, knocking it back to the ground. Prophet's two heads scream in unison, before it once again jumps into the air, slamming down onto the Pidgeottos back.
"R-return!" My opponent yells, the red light absorbing the Pidgeotto.
Battle Over!
Odin - Lvl 13 +212EXP *LEVEL UP!*
Prophet - Lvl 14 +214EXP
I pause, wondering if the alert signifies that she plans to not send another Pokemon out, before shrugging. I return Prophet, making my way over to the girl to collect my prize.
"Hey, thanks for the batt-" I start before she interrupts me.
"What the hell is wrong with you!" She yells, practically in my face. "You need to get control of your Doduo before it hurts someone's Pokemon badly!"
"W-what? He didn't hurt your Pokemon all that much. It wasn't even knocked out when you returned it!" I yelled back in surprise.
"Just-Just control your bird!" She yelled, before storming off.
I stared after her in silence for a moment, wondering what the hell just happened.
"She just played you, man." I hear from behind me.
I look back to see another one of the kids that battle here often. "What do you mean?"
"She freaks out when she loses to throw her opponents off guard. Think about it for a moment." He replies, eyes widening, eyebrows going up.
"...I didn't get my prize money." I reply lamely.
"You didn't get your prize money, no." He says.
"Well shit! That's low of her. I felt guilty and everything." I say, shaking my head.
"Don't let it get to you. Some people are weird about their Pokemon, and won't let even the slightest damage happen to them. Freaks them out." He explains. "Generally though, trainers that battle eventually learn that their Pokemon are stronger than we'll ever be."
I nod, considering what he's said. "I get you...Well, thanks for the heads up. I'd have probably spent all day worried about it."
"No worries man!" He says, waving as he walks back to his friends.
I consider watching a few of the battles, but since Prophet had raged, I needed to get him healed at the center. Potions wouldn't calm him down, even if it would help Odin. A few streets over was one of the smaller centers that were only for healing, as opposed to the large ones that were more community center than anything. I popped in and turned in my Pokemon, plopping down on one of the chairs to wait my turn at the healing machine. Thankfully there were only a few people ahead of me, and the few minutes wait passed quickly.
After collecting Odin and Prophet, clipping their Pokeballs to my belt, I made my way back out into the city. I had a few different options open to me, either heading back to the woods for wild Pokemon, the parks for trainers, or maybe another run at the gym...Of course, as soon as I considered anything, the option was taken from me.
Event Notice!
Trouble In Celedon!
Someone is up to no good! Find them, and stop them!
I pause, the person walking behind me nearly colliding with me at the last second as I read the event. Pulling up my map, I see a blinking indicator a few streets over, so I start heading in that direction. A quick jog down the road, and passing through a horrible smelling alley, I find myself on a road I hadn't seen before. Warehouses and random buildings line both sides, giving the area a very lonely feeling. I make my way slowly down the street, glancing between the buildings as I go. The indicator doesn't point in a specific place, just the local area. As I'm making my way closer to the end of the street, I spot a shrunken Pokeball slowly rolling across the alley.
I move cautiously over to it, looking around me to see where it came from. No one is around, no indicators for trainers or Pokemon, so I bend down and pick it up. The center button isn't depressed, so there is definitely a Pokemon in the ball. I press it to my C-Gear, and an information box pops up.
"Turn around, keep your hands where I can see them."
I slowly turned around, surprised to find a rough-looking man blocking the side of the alley I had entered on. I take a half step back, which angers him.
"Don't move!" He yells, motioning with his hand.
It's at this moment that I register the gun in his hand, pointed right at me.
"You're going to hand me your Pokemon, and the ball you picked up. Got me?" He asks quietly. "Follow the orders, and you get to walk out of here."
I nod, my mind racing. I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't quite as scared as I felt I should be. This was a game after all. While being injured sucked, if I died, I'd just wake up at the start screen again. That being said, this piece of shit thought he could just rob me. Who robs children?! My hands were at about chest high, one holding my C-Gear, the other holding the found Pokeball. I took a step closer to him, holding out the Pokeball for him to collect, letting my hand shake in the process. As he reached for it, the gun still trained on me, I dropped it, throwing caution to the wind.
His reactions were shit, almost a whole second passing before he snaps his hand down to catch it. His eyes follow it, the C-Gear dropping from my other hand as I snatch Odin's ball from my waist.
"Poison Sting!" I yelled, clicking the button to release him while stumbling back.
I was worried that Odin may hesitate, but apparently, he's got my back. The man hesitates between keeping the gun on me or switching to Odin, and that second cost him. Odin's little horn slams into the man's midsection, goring him. Odin may not be that large, but his horn was still sharp, and it ripping into the man's stomach, injuring him badly, was a horrible sight to see.
*BANG*
There was an explosion of noise, leaving nothing but a ringing in my ears. The man hits the ground, Odin still on top of him. I don't feel any pain, but it's a life or death situation, and I can't afford to hold back. Odin has started kicking at the man as he tries to bring his gun to bear. I run forward, throwing myself on to both of them, my hands wrapping around the man's wrist to keep it pointed anywhere but at us.
*BANG*
I felt it more than heard it, my hearing still nothing but loud ringing. I try and get my feet on the ground to give me leverage but the ground is slick. The man is strong, but I'm somehow pushing his arm away. He stops pushing at Odin, trying to get his other hand to the gun to push back. I can't push against both hands, and the gun is nearly pointed right at me. I shove hard, buying myself a moment, and grab the next ball on my belt and toss it away.
The alley is lit with red light as I yell for help. There is a flurry of motion behind me.
*BANG*
My whole body jerks back like I was kicked in the chest by a horse. I'm screaming but I can't hear a thing. Prophet lands next to me, my fingers digging grooves into the man's wrists as I hold on for dear life. Odin's HP bar is flashing red, dropping almost instantly.
PECK
PECK
PECK
Celedon Police Station
I'm still shaking from the events of the past two hours, my shirt crusting with the blood that coats it. Every movement a little more cracks and falls off, earning me dirty looks from the woman tasked with watching over me. I'd been here for over an hour, after calling for help from the Pokemon Rangers once the man had...stopped moving. Once they had arrived they whisked me away, locking down that area. They took my Pokemon from me, and after sitting me down in this seat, went off to investigate. I considered calling my mom but felt it was best to just wait and see what happens next. There was a soft knock at the door to the room, and a tall man enters.
"Billy?" He asks and continues after I nod. "I'm Detective Whitaker. We just finished our preliminary investigation, and received a confirmation on who that man was."
I look up, finally meeting the man's eyes.
"His name isn't important, but what he was, is. He was wanted in Johto and Kanto for questioning in at least three separate murders. We have a team out in the warehouses investigating another crime scene that we believe was his as well." He explains, leaning slightly against the wall. "I'm telling you this so you understand that the situation you found yourself in was life or death and that you had no choice but to do what you did."
I nod, processing everything he's saying.
"With that being said, you're free to go. Your Vulpix and Doduo are at the front desk. Your Nidoran is still at the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy tells me it will be at least a day or two before he's healed. Getting shot isn't easily healed." He explains. "Do you need anything? Do you need to see anyone? Do you need us to call your mom?"
I shake my head, simply standing and being escorted to the front desk. I sign my name, and receive my stuff back, before turning and walking out the door. My thoughts are flying by at a million miles an hour, trying to block out the memory of what has happened. His face...what was left of it...I shake my head to force the thought away, setting a course for the large Pokemon Center. The doors slide open allowing me in, the place quieting down at the sight of me.
"B-billy?" Nurse joy asks, as I simply walk past everyone.
I travel down the hallway, down the flight of stairs, and swipe in at the first door showing no one had claimed it yet. The door locks behind me, and I'm already pulling the blood crusted shirt and pants off, balling them in my hands. I empty the pockets methodically, before throwing them into the shower. I grab the third ball, bright white, from my belt, and let Kurama out into the room with me.
"I need you to burn those for me. Ember." I order.
Kurama looks up at me, a questioning look, but whatever question she has I ignore. She studied me for a moment longer before letting out a small puff of fire, the clothes being engulfed almost immediately. I waited a few moments, watching them burn to ash, before turning on the showerhead, allowing the water to put out what is left of the flame, washing the ash down the drain. I climb in, the water warming me.
'I didn't realize I was so cold…' I think before I simply sit on the floor of the shower.
"Vul?" Kurama asks, watching me from outside the shower.
I don't answer, just grabbing the soap and scrubbing away the blood. My blood...Odin's blood...his blood...I can only be thankful that I made it to the shower before the tears began to fall.
A/N: Friendly reminder that the world of Pokemon isn't all sunshine and daisies. Guns are technically canon…
Billy has suffered another tragedy, this one leaving a man dead. In a fight for life or death, can he really be to blame? Or will he only continue to blame himself? Odin is injured once more, and Billy's psyche isn't doing itself any favors. Will he find the will to go on? Find out next time...on Pokemon: Nuzlocke!
