Chapter 5 - Sootwood Patrol
Lucian arrived at the Pokémon Center a few minutes after Arron. While Aisha was trained as a Pokémon doctor, she knew enough basic first aid to bind up his wounds and keep him alive until the ambulance got to him. When Lucian arrived, he was lucid and a bit shell shocked. The sound of the door got everyone's attention as he entered. A collective sigh of relief was breathed out by everyone who knew what had happened in the forest, but Arron managed to speak. His voice was hoarse and distant.
"Wha…how…w-where is it? The…the…the monster." He clutched for Tyna's arm and looked at Lucian. He was a bit scraped up from the attack, sore all over, but nothing too serious. Compared to Arron, he had gotten off easy. Lucian nodded, giving a small smirk.
"Right here." He said, holding the sealed Pokéball in front of him.
"You…you caught it?!" Arron seemed relieved and leaned against Tyna. "It's over…I-it's….over." His breathing calmed down and he closed his eyes. Aisha gently shook his shoulder.
"Hey now, don't fall asleep. Stay with us, okay? What happened out there?" Arron shook his head.
"It was…horrible. I saw some…b-bad accidents in the ER…but that Heracross…that monster…it…if fucking tore them apart." He muttered, seeming to retreat into his head again. His breathing quickened, so Aisha began to usher people away. The Mayor pulled Lucian aside once they had left the center.
"Lucian, what happened out there?" The gym leader recounted the story, from start to finish, including the strange Heracross. The Mayor thought for a moment before glancing back to the PokéCenter. There was a long silence. "Lucian, how many Pokémon do you have in fighting condition?"
"I can get a team." He nodded and pulled out his PokéGEAR. "What were you thinking, sir?"
"I want to find this creature's nest. It was a Heracross, yes? There are only one or two trees large enough to act as it's home. Irena and Havila are on their way - the three of us are the best trainers in Old Sun City. With you here, we won't have any problems dealing with the Pokémon." The explanation seemed sound, but Lucian felt on-edge thinking about the situation. That Heracross hadn't thought twice about attacking a human. What happens if something stronger than that appears? What if it was running from something? And what power turned it into such a monster? Too many questions, but the mayor was right. As awful as it was, the nest needed to be destroyed. Eggs and all.
Lucian grabbed his supplies and his extra Pokémon before returning to the edge of the city. The sun was still high in the air, but it wouldn't be long until nightfall. The mayor and his family had gathered and had their Pokémon ready. "Alright. Lucian, please go with Irena and return to where you found Arron. I will go with Havila and check the outskirts of the forest." Havila huffed and turned to follow her great uncle. Irena looked a bit nervous and called out.
"Wait, Uncle. I'd feel safer if Havila went with Lucian."
"What?! Absolutely not! I don't want to -"
"Havila, he is much stronger than any of us, he can protect you. If anything happened to you or uncle…I'd…" the mayor put a hand on his great niece's shoulder. Havila looked up to protest, but eventually shook her head and ran back into town. "Havila! Wait, get back -"
"Mr Mayor, I'll be fine on my own. I have a Pokémon with Teleport in my party. If things get bad I'll be back in a flash." Lucian offered a small smile, slightly hurt from Havila's outburst. "Go make sure everyone is okay - I'll check the forest." Lucian gave a thumbs up before heading down the path again. On foot, this time. The mayor watched for a moment before going back home with Irena.
"She's become quite rebellious." He muttered softly, staring up at the soft clouds moving by. "And she throws herself into training too hard. She'll chase away her Pokémon, make them resent her."
"She still hasn't gotten used to life without them, you know? I haven't…either…" Her voice trailed off, the pain clearly dripping from her words. He nodded, careful not to say anything too harsh. He gently put a hand on Irena's shoulder.
"I don't expect her to accept Lucian. But you both would do good to open your hearts." He spoke, unaware of the prying ears around the corner. "I want the best for you. Both of you…why don't we go buy some flowers tomorrow. It's been ages since we visited their graves." Irena nodded and continued the walk in silence. Havila, on the other hand, took off running in the direction of the Sootwood.
By the time the sky started to change to peaceful orange and red hues, Lucian had found a nest matching what he was looking for. It was a horrific sight, and Lucian was very glad he couldn't see too deeply into it. He had called the Ranger Station - they would come by in the morning to recover everything. Thankfully, no eggs. The threat had passed, he supposed. He climbed down the tree after leaving a marking on it for the Rangers. He started the long walk back home when he heard a scream from deeper in. Lucian froze for a moment before he started running off in that direction. The voice was familiar, but he couldn't place it from this distance. Still, it was close.
He ran through the underbrush, nearing the source of the screams until Havila jumped out of the bushes and collided into him. The two of them collapsed into the underbrush and tumbled, spilling off the main road. Lucian groaned, his body sore from earlier. "Geez…are you okay?" He muttered. Havila didn't seem to hear or notice. She jumped up and yelped before clutching onto Lucian. Lucian stood and readied a Pokéball when an Ekans slithered out of the bush. Havila hid behind Lucian and shivered.
"Ugh, it…it touched me and it won't leave me alone." It flicked its tongue at them and tilted its head. Havila whined and hid again. "Make it go away, make it go away, please!" Lucian smiled softly and looked over his shoulder at her.
"Hey, calm down now. She's just a curious little gal."
"No! It's scary and disgusting and…and…" Lucian chuckled and took a step forward. Havila yelped again, but she never let go of his coat. He kept inching forward towards the curious snake while Havila begged him not to. Finally, he put his hand out. And despite his words, it opened its mouth and chomped. Havila shrieked again, but Lucian chuckled and petted the snake with his other hand.
"See? Curious. It only looks scary." Havila finally peaked out from behind him and watched as the Ekans let go of Lucian's hand and started nuzzling his side pouch. "I think it's hungry. Want to feed her?" Havila fiercely shook her head but stopped hiding behind him. Lucian shrugged and put some snacks down for the snake. The Ekans nibbled them down and looked at the girl. "I think she likes you."
"Uh…oh…uh….h-hello…" she said quietly, still keeping her distance. The Ekans flicked its tongue again, still curious. But it suddenly jolted upright and looked around. Havila jumped as it moved, but quickly the snake began to scurry off into the forest. It was too familiar. Lucian grabbed Havila and started to move away.
"Okay, get ready to run. I have a Kirlia that can teleport us home." Lucian sent out the Pokémon, and the move began to power up. A moment later, a blast of dark energy ripped through the forest and struck Kirlia. It cried out in pain and collapsed, knocked out in a single blow. "Okay, go!" Lucian said, pushing Havila in front of him just as the followup attack exploded from the forest. She was slower than he was, so he had to make sure she got out to safety.
Lucian sent out a Gliscor. "Protect!" He ordered right as the third attack nearly hit them. Gliscor intercepted and blocked the attack with a carefully placed shield. "Substitute and follow us." Gliscor dropped a disguise before gliding above the group. The forth attack absolutely shredded the decoy, and finally they could hear movement in the forest. Lucian grabbed Havila and turned away just as their assailant finally revealed themselves - blasting Gliscor and flinging it away. It caught a stray branch and watched as its opponent emerged.
It was a Lilligant, clearly a special breed from the Sootwood, as it was speckled an ashy gray in places. The flower on its head was in poor condition, and a sickly purple pollen fell from it as it moved. It clearly wasn't very healthy and clearly it was horribly enraged. The Pokémon howled and tossed an Energy Ball at Gliscor. The Pokémon took the hit, and countered with a Poison Fang. The fighting began to get fierce, too fierce to stick around. Lucian and Havila continued running, Gliscor keeping up while trying to keep the aggressive mon at bay.
They made it out of the forest, staring up the hill towards home when Gliscor shot out of the trees and landed close to Lucian. He returned his Pokémon and watched as Liligant stalked closer to them. "Go, Muk."
"Go, Slowbro!" Havila sent out her Pokémon as well, watching the Pokémon approach. They were still so far from home, they had to hold it back here. Lucian and Havila exchanged a look and nodded before giving orders. Muk was big and nasty, taking the front lines. Hopefully it would be enough. "Flamethrower!"
"Go for a Toxic!" The Pokémon moved in tandem, but their opponent was fast. It weaved through the combined sludge and fire, leaping it on the air and unleashing a massive, dark energy attack. It blasted Muk back and badly injured Slowbro. "Are you alright?! Use Acid Armor!" Muk hardened itself, preparing for another attack.
"Slowbro - Ice Beam!" The Pokémon was still suspended in air, unable to dodge the attack. It grunted and hit the ground hard, rolling upright and facing the party for another devastating group attack. Slowbro stumbled and fell forward, but Muk held on - only barely. Havila ran towards her Pokémon, only to have the Lilligant target her with an Energy Ball. Before it could, a Poison Sting shot from the forest and hit Liligant, sending the attack wide. The Ekans from before had followed them, attacking when it saw an opening. The opponent winced and jumped back, its body slowing down from the poison.
"Venoshock!" Lucian called out, and Muk fired out a ball of sludge. It hit Lilligant, exploding outwards as the poison already taking hold erupted. The Lilligant drooped forward, but before it hit the ground, it turned and darted away. Lucian quickly pulled out a Pokéball and threw, but it was too far gone and the Pokéball missed. Lucian muttered a soft curse before he felt a tug on his jacket.
"It's still there…" she said, pointing towards the Ekans, which had coiled up and watched them. It was curiously flicking its tongue out. It called out to Havila, and she flinched. Lucian laughed and handed Havila a Pokéball.
"Sometimes, Pokémon choose us. It looks like this Ekans wants to travel with you."
"But…it's so…" she whimpered, "I don't like snakes. I don't like Ekans. I don't like scary Pokémon." She shook her head and tightly shut her eyes. "Please just make it go away. Please." The Pokémon in question heard her words and looked down dejectedly.
"...okay, but you can make it go away." She opened her eyes and looked at him, fearful tears in her eyes. He pointed down at the Pokéball in her hand. She shook her head violently again and started to panic. Lucian gently put his hand over hers. "Trust me…just hold out the Pokéball and call to it." He gently stretched out her hand, even though she resisted at first. Eventually, she had her trembling hand extended out in front of her.
"E-ek-k-kans…" she mumbled, barely loud enough to hear. The Pokémon slowly perked up, slithering over as slowly as possible. It looked into Havila's eyes, and the two were still for what felt like hours. Finally, just as the sun was setting, Ekans gently touched the center of the Pokéball with its nose. The device activated, capturing Ekans. It clicked without shaking once, a sign that this bond was chosen by the Pokémon itself.
"Congratulations, Havila. You have a new friend now." She looked down at the Pokéball in her hand. She stared for a moment before she looked up at him and scowled. Without a word she turned and trudged home. About halfway up the hill she turned, looked back at him, then broke into a run. He watched her until she vanished from sight. Then with a sigh, he began his walk to the PokéCenter to get his friends healed up.