Chapter 4 - Capture

Nearly two weeks had passed since the battle on Route 8. During that time, Lucian had cemented himself as a black mark on the City. Many outsiders came to wish him well or challenge him prior to the League Challenge starting, but almost none of the citizens even bothered to acknowledge him as they passed on the busy streets. All but Havila, who was adamant that he would rematch her once Slowbro and Pangoro had recovered from their wounds. Despite all that, one day she did manage to grumble out a 'thank you' for going easy on her during the battle. But that brief moment of levity was dashed as she cursed him and demanded a rematch before running off to school, Artemis in tow.

Lucian was cleaning up the gym, removing some of the more recent graffiti - a rather detailed drawing, if he were to admit. The door opened in a hurry and one of the local construction workers ran in. "Hey, Leader. Mayor is looking for you." There was an urgency in his voice that nearly drowned out the contempt. Lucian stood and followed the man outside, heading down the hill towards City Hall. The Mayor was outside with a nervous Aisha and distraught Tyna. As they drew closer, Tyna ran up to him.

"You have to find him, please. Do something!" She grabbed his shirt and gently shook him, the facade of the well-together receptionist long gone. Aisha and the Mayor calmed her down long enough to explain. Arron - nurse at the PokéCenter and Tyna's fiance - was supposed to be home four days ago. He sent a call from Beryldine, a small town to the east through a forest called the Sootwood, saying that he would cross the forest and be there by dinner. No one has seen him since. That was a long time to be missing, and to make things worse a Ranger patrol that went in looking for him also vanished.

Lucian nodded slowly to the explanation. "I'll get ready, then. Aisha, do you have a flying type Pokémon?"

"I do, yes."

"Fly to Beryldine and get an update from the Ranger Post there. Mr Mayor, please stay here in case Arron or Aisha return with news. I'll take a team and head into the forest."

"Wait!" Tyna grabbed his arm. "I'm going with you."

"No, it's too dangerous -"

"I have Pokémon, and I won't just sit here and wait. I'm tired of waiting." Tears were about to fall from her eyes, and though he wanted to protest, she had a point.

"...okay. Go grab something of Arron's, I'll be right back." Lucian excused himself and ran to his house. Quickly changing into something more appropriate for a rescue mission and grabbing a set of six Pokémon, he raced out of this house still putting on his coat. He met the group just outside the city, the path leading down to the dusty gray-brown forest. "Here is my number. If you find anything, start a conference call. I'll pay for any charges." He retrieved three Pokéballs and unleashed the Pokémon inside. Two Dodrios and a Linoone. The others nodded and Aisha took to the skies on her Tranquill.

"Tyna, Linoone can track down anything or anyone with its move Odor Sleuth. It just needs to get a whiff of Arron and it will be off like a shot. Only Dodrio here can keep up with a Linoone at full tilt." The woman nodded and put a scarf down to the Pokémon's level. It took a few short sniffs before a long, deep inhale. It rotated in place for a bit until it found the right direction. Lucian helped Tyna onto one of the birds, and hopped onto his. "Go find him, boy." The order was given and the Pokémon reached max speed within a second. Dodrio began to run after it, sending the group careening down the path towards the Sootwood.

According to what he had been told, the trees here had a mutation that had affected the Chlorophyll in the plants, changing their color. The Grass Pokémon in the region were also changed, giving them a dusty coloration unique to the Acria region. This did hurt their ability to perform Photosynthesis, but thanks to the ash content of the soil the plants are able to make due. The mayor has said "it's a marvel that the land is able to heal so thoroughly" but hadn't explained more than that. Lucian didn't feel like prying. The group dashed through another tangle of underbrush, four of the six Dodrio heads on high alert. That was concerning, they were on edge. Linoone also seemed nervous, whimpering but continuing ahead with blinding speed.

Eventually, Linoone led them to a clearing where Arron had been tied and thrown on the ground. Thick, ashy vines wrapped around him, and he looked tired and battered. One of his legs was definitely broken and there were bloodstains on his clothes and all around him. A single Pokémon Ranger boot was nearby. Not a good sign. "Oh Arceus, Arron!" Tyna hopped off the bird and ran into the clearing. Linoone whimpered and began spinning in a square, scanning the environment. Both Dodrios huffed and stamped the ground nervously, all their heads now going on full alert. The anxiety had even spread to his other Pokémon - their Pokéballs shaking. Tyna knelt next to her beloved, trying to wake him up. His breathing was shallow, but he didn't seem to be in any danger yet.

Lucian pulled out his PokéGEAR and was about to start a call when Arron coughed and opened the one eye that wasn't too swollen. "Huh…who…" he was delirious, not recognizing anything, but seeing people nearby he began to sob and cry out. "No! No no no, run! Get out of here, please leave now!"

"It's okay, you're okay. We have you. We're going to take you home-"

"No, it's still out there…you have to leave now!" His words became incoherent as he began losing consciousness again. He kept weeping. All three Pokémon simultaneously jolted upright and froze in terror. Tyna gently put him down and turned to run to Lucian. As soon as she had let go of Arron, there was a small noise from the forest. A noise that caused both Dodrio to take off running. Lucian didn't have time to register what was going on before a loud buzzing sound caught his ear. A Heracross screeched and flew towards Tyna, its horn glowing with energy. Lucian's heart skipped a beat, but thankfully Linoone was there. It dashed forward with a Headbutt and sidelined the attacking Pokémon. The move barely saved Tyna.

Pokémon attacking humans wasn't too uncommon - territorial pokemon, protecting their nests, hungry and needing food, the usual reasons that any animal would attack. But this Heracross had laid a trap. It was trying to hurt them. Hunting them for sport. The Heracross stood and hissed at them. Its body rippled with a strange energy, and there was hate in its eyes. So much hate. Murderous hate. It roared and struck at Linoone, its body shrouded in a purple haze. One shot was all it took to send Linoone skipping across the dirt, coming to a rest against a tree. The Pokémon was clearly finished, struggling to stand and limp away. But the Heracross flew forward and slammed it again, raising its arms to continue the pummeling.

"Flareon, Overheat!" Lucian threw out a Pokémon, and it was quick to respond. An inferno shot forth from the already furious Pokémon, dousing the bug and nearby forest in such intense heat that it turned things to ash rather than set them on fire. Using the opening, Lucian returned Linoone and searched. Heracross wasn't in where they had left if. "Tyna, stay by Arron, stay where I can see you." Lucian cautioned. The woman nodded and rushed to Arron's side, seconds before Heracross re-emerged and slammed into Lucian. He flew backwards, narrowly missing a tree. Even though it was burned, it was still at full power.

Lucian grit his teeth and slowly stood up. Everything ached, but he was still in one piece. Flareon had begun to attack with smaller-scale fire attacks. Lucian really didn't want to engage it in melee where it was strongest, but Flareon's special power was weakened due to Overheat's recoil. He would chance a capture. He reached into his jacket pocket. He had three on him, probably not enough - an Ultra Ball, Net Ball, and a standard Pokéball. He took the empty Pokéball and threw it while the Heracross was distracted. Or so he thought. Without turning, Heracross caught the Pokéball and crushed it. "Fire Fang!" Lucian ordered, grabbing the Net Ball. Flareon bit down onto Heracross, but it threw the Pokémon off, almost unscathed. Flareon was spent, barely able to stay standing.

"I needed at least one Dodrio…" Lucian muttered. His other Pokémon weren't a good match against Heracross, but he didn't have a choice. With a quick motion, an Abomasnow appeared, bringing a horrific hailstorm with it. Heracross snickered and weaved between chunks of falling ice. "Use Blizzard!" In the hail, Blizzard wouldn't miss. It was a decent strategy, but a shame that it wouldn't be super effective against the target. His Pokémon howled and let out a massive snowstorm from its mouth. Heracross didn't even slow down, slamming into Abomasnow, making it stumble backwards. It wasn't an attack Lucian was Familiar with, yet it seemed to be Super Effective. He quickly threw the Pokéball on hand, this one making contact and opening. A massive net of energy opened up, entrapping the Heracross before sucking it into the waiting Pokéball.

It began to rock back and forth. Once. Twice. Then it stopped. Never in his life had the dread of failing to capture a Pokémon hit him this hard. The Pokéball began to rattle violently as the Heracross was about to come free. "Tyna, take him and get out of here!" He ran up to them and helped cut the vines tying up Arron. She sent out her Pokémon - a Herdier - and placed Arron on its back. She took off seconds before Heracross broke free with a roar. It lifted a tree and threw it towards the fleeing trainer. Abomasnow lunged in front and took the blow, collapsing to the ground.

Lucian stood alone in the clearing now. Three of his Pokémon were down, and his only other Pokémon was Koffing. He looked down at the Pokéball and winced. "I'm sorry buddy - Explosion!" He sent out the Pokémon, which began to glow. Heracross swatted it out of the sky, interrupting the attack. Koffing grimaced in pain, rolling away from the attack. Lucian took the Ultra Ball and tossed it, a hail Mary. Heracross caught it again. But before it could shatter it, Koffing spit a glob of sludge into its face. The ball dropped to the ground and Koffing began to glow. Not from the attack, but from something else. It began to grow in size, its body expanding and twisting. A second, smaller lump began to form on its body until it emerged in a cloud of thick gray gas.

"Wheeeeze…." The newly evolved Pokémon huffed as Heracross could see again. The smaller head closed its eyes and spat out a Sludge Bomb while the big head unleashed a cleansing Haze. Heracross dodged the bomb and charged straight through the mist. That meant this power was all its own. Not good. Wheezing and Heracross struggled for a moment before Wheezing began to glow and shake, before erupting into a horrific explosion three-fold as strong as when it was a Koffing.

The Ultra Ball landed nearby, and Lucian quickly grabbed it before calling to Wheezing through the smoke cloud. But Wheezing was unconscious. The only thing moving in the cloud was Heracross. It was battered and barely standing, but it had enough energy to rush Lucian with killing intent. Mere moments before it hit him, the Pokémon went flying sideways by a set of elemental attacks. Both Dodrios had returned, and together had launched a Trip Attack. Lucian took the moment of reprieve to return his fallen Pokémon and get behind the pair of birds.

"Alright, good work! Keep hitting it. Duo, keep going with Tri Attack. Tres, use Drill Peck if it gets too close." Lucian issues orders, waiting for his moment to try for the capture again. It was a rare second chance. The birds got to work, trying to keep the opponent at bay. He saw it - his opening. He took a deep breath, his mind going back to the moment he caught his first Pokémon.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Focus. A firm throw is needed. Strong, fast, confident. He threw the Ultra Ball with as much force as he could muster. It flew past Duo and towards the target. Heracross got ready to catch it again, but a hit from Drill Peck knocked it off balance enough to get a face full. The Pokéball opened, snaring Heracross in and snapping shut. Both Dodrio paced around it nervously as it rocked.

Once.

Twice.

Click.