ChthonicAustrian
01-29-2008, 04:10 PM
~GRADED~
Thanks pikahero2~
Wanted Pokemon: Gible
Difficulty Level: Complex
Character Count: 34,709
Needed Characters: 30k-50k
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~
“News reports are informing everyone to stay indoors, and keep their Pokemon away from one another, considering that the circumstances of this fatal virus have become extraordinarily versatile, it has a possibility of jumping from human to Pokemon, back to human once again. Please - until this has become solved - please stay indoors and away from anyone.”
That was the news broadcast that aired a year ago. Now, well, now I presume that I can just say on behalf of most of humanity that we regret never listening to that emergency broadcast.
-----
My pulse was caught deep within my throat. I felt on the edge- my adrenaline viciously pulsating throughout my body, my eyes thickly dilated in the darkness of the Wayward Cave. The heavy trotting of hooves by my side and the thick, shaggy fur occasionally brushing at my side reassured me that Taurisan, my Tauros, was keeping by my side. He snorted occasionally, his three tails frequently lashing and whipping out behind him as his own nerves jerked restlessly.
I placed my hand in his thick, unshorn mane, and gently guided him behind a towering mass of stalagmites, cowering low to the ground. I heard him settle himself uneasily next to me, keeping still and silent.
He snorted uneasily as we heard the hard, echoing footsteps of what sounded like many people. I gasped softly as a thick plume of ruby red fire streaked overhead. The light cast eerie shadows and made the figures of the Pokemon and people in their ragged clothing all huddled amongst one another.
The Pokemon bellowing the fire had been a Charmeleon, its own crimson skin seemed to ignite once it had hissed out another stream of flames that licked at the overhead stalactites. The fire on its tail intensified, and the rag-tag appearance of the half a dozen people huddled behind it could now be seen.
There were four men, and two women. One of the women had a bloodcurdling Gliscor hovered by her shoulder, with dark eyes that menacingly darted around the cave. A Crobat and a Golbat hovered overhead, continuously gaping their mouths repeatedly as they searched using their supersonic waves. The Crobat hesitated as it faced the group of stalagmites Tauros and I had been hiding behind.
The woman with the Gliscor formed a smug grin; she pushed a white-blonde lock of her curly hair from her face, her dark green eyes glinting threateningly. I narrowed my eyes as I could just make out the burned mahogany shaded outfit she had in tattered remains across her body - Team Magma, or, what was left of it would be more appropriate.
“Hey, Ryuko,” she hissed to the woman next to her. The woman had deep oriental features, her jet black hair framed her powdery white face, and her thin dark eyes had the same evil glare in their depths.
“Come out and play, little girl!” The blonde woman cooed her voice high and daunting as she strained her voice into a sing-song tone.
I held my breath nervously, and Taurisan stared ahead with wide eyes and a slightly trembling backside. I slowly and silently placed my hand comfortingly across his cheek, grasping hold of his heavy ivory horn.
“We won’t hurt you!” One of the men added in, as they all soon broke down laughing at his remark. I shifted my gaze to him. Much like Ryuko, he had dark oriental features, and high, strong cheekbones. He, too, wore a dilapidated Team Magma uniform.
One of the men, with fiery red hair, bent low to pick up a fist-sized rock. He hurtled it at one of the stalagmites the two Bat Pokemon fluttered by, and the top of the jutting cone-like rock shattered, as dirt and heavy rocks rained down on Taurisan and I.
Taurisan shot up, shaking his great body and snorting irritably. How lucky am I to have such a short-tempered Pokemon? I miserably thought as I stood up next to Taurisan.
“Hey, little girl,” the blonde Team Magma member cooed, keeping her high-pitched voice mockingly sweet.
“What do you want?” I snapped, “I have no food, no water. If you’re looking for any provisions then you’re on your own, I’m just barely getting by, myself.”
The red-haired man laughed heartily, his deep voice bellowing deep within the darkness of the cave. “Food? You think that we really want food?”
My voice seemed caught in my throat, “What do you want then?” I managed to croak uneasily.
“That’s Team Magma business, you filthy little brat.” The blonde Team Magma member snapped, her emerald eyes blazing in agitation.
I remained silent, exchanging the foul glares that they were casting me. I didn’t know what to say - these people were young, mean, and violent. They were armed with many Pokemon, considering each of the six had six Poke Balls on their belts, while I only had my own six Pokemon, who wouldn’t match up with these hot-tempered, abused Pokemon with a passion to fight and draw as much blood as possible.
I stepped forward and heard Taurisan snort irritably, rearing his head back and stamping the earth beneath our feet. I suddenly had an idea, as I glanced at the half-terrified, half-furious face of my Tauros.
“Taurisan,” I hissed to him, still staring at the Team Magma members as they leered at us, “Scary Face!”
Taurisan paused for a second, startled from the command. Its eyes grew fiery and it looked as if it had a ravenous thirst to fight. It charged forward to be in view of the strong, hot light of the Charmeleon’s tail, its face seemed to be growing more and more morbid, fiery and hot.
Taurisan bellowed loudly, the head-splitting cacophony made me cup my hands over my ears as the Team Magma members and their Pokemon shuddered from the great effect of the Tauros’ attack.
The Charmeleon fell to its knees, and although the Golbat and Crobat were affected, they still looked ready to rear up an attack.
“Taurisan, hurry!” I shouted as Taurisan’s great howl died down. He charged forward, his great burly frame always made him rather slow, but the effect of Scary Face slowed the other Pokemon down even more.
“Crobat and Golbat,” the dark-haired Team Magma man shouted as he helped the blonde Team Magma woman up, “give chase and once you catch up, show no mercy! Intoxicate them as much as possible, they can not leave this cave, we must take credit for her capture!”
The two Pokemon screeched out in acknowledgment, flying forward after Taurisan and me.
The damp, icy air of the cave made my lungs burn and cry out in protest, and I greedily gulped for air as I sprinted through the cave, my weak ankles shrieking in pain as they continuously twisted and maneuvered so I could keep a steady footing on the craggy ground beneath.
Taurisan panted in protest next to me, and I reached down to pull out his Poke Ball from my bag, but felt a sharp pang of fury, fear, and confusion as I only felt my own back behind me - my bag was gone.
“No!” I shouted to myself, “No, no!”
I felt the need to do something, anything, screaming even felt like a resolution. I had to continue running forward with my tiring Tauros, while those crazed grunts behind us could get into my bag. All my Pokemon, my items, my old letters from friends…
“No!” I screamed again, clenching my fists tightly as I continued forward, pounding the hard ground beneath me in fury and anxiety.
“Taurisan,” I panted tiredly, the Tauros looked up at me with wild eyes, its mahogany brown flank rapidly heaving in and out. “We can either keep running, or stay and fight back the Golbat and Crobat, what would you want?”
Taurisan snorted out viciously, his harsh breathing intensified from the short run. I nodded, still gasping for breath in the cold air of the cave, looking back I could just make out the dark silhouettes of the two Pokemon. Their wings flapped in the cave with such intense speed that it sounded like the low buzzing of a bug.
They screeched triumphantly as they spotted Taurisan and I, the Golbat gaped its mouth as it emitted a misty Haze attack.
The foggy attack settled around us, blinding us even more in the dark cave, I groaned suddenly as I realized they were regaining their great speed from Taurisan’s previous Scary Face attack.
“Taurisan, Rock Slide!” I suddenly thought.
Taurisan charged forward, thrusting its burly head against the cave’s opposite wall, as stalactites trembled and came raining down.
The Golbat shrieked inhumanly as one of the stalactites caught it by its wing and dragged it down to the ground.
The Crobat’s left wing was clipped, but the three wings kept it aloft as it hovered about, spewing great torrents of toxic sludge at Taurisan.
Taurisan stepped in one of the fizzing puddles, and roared out in pain as it ran forward, trying to shake the sickly purple poison from its hoof. The poison hissed and seemed to spread upwards, engulfing his leg.
He fell on his knee, bellowing and stomping at the ground furiously with his other three legs as he strained to stand up.
I strained my thoughts, there was no way that Taurisan could put up a fight against the Crobat if it were disabled like this, and Tauros can’t do many special attacks, either. I racked my mind for something, anything, and then felt a wave of memories pour over me.
My younger cousin had taught Taurisan Water Pulse shortly before the epidemic struck a year ago. I felt a wave of pain as I remembered how badly I’d scolded her for teaching Taurisan a special move when it was obvious that it was a physical attacker. I sighed briefly, pushing the nostalgic thoughts in the back of my head.
“Taurisan, try Water Pulse!” I commanded.
Taurisan looked up at me bewildered, before snorting in agreement. It gaped its mouth wide, its upper body convulsing as pulsating rounds of water of spiraled upwards towards the Crobat.
The pulsating rounds of the Water-type attack collided with the Crobat, colliding into it. It fell back a bit, but the weakness of the attack did very little damage, and the Crobat lurched forward to deliver a Leech Life attack on the backside of Taurisan.
Taurisan grunted out weakly, then fell to its knees, panting and whipping his tails as it would to a fly as the Crobat darted to and fro, sinking its razor-like canines into Taurisan repetitively, draining the hit points of Taurisan with great speed.
“Taurisan,” I shouted, I charged forward to Taurisan, who was now on his side, rapidly panting for breath as Crobat delivered one final blow. Taurisan quivered once more, before his head fell lax and he lay motionless on the floor.
Crobat reared back for another attack, I was about to pull Tauros over, despite his near two hundred pound weight, but the Crobat streaked forward, sinking its teeth hard into my leg.
I shouted out in pain and fury, feeling the tight clamping of the Crobat’s jaws against my leg, and felt fatigue wash over me, and a lack of stamina.
Darkness shrouded over my vision like the curtains being pulled shut on a marionette show, and I slumped forward into Taurisan’s dark, long mane.
-----
I felt something warm lick my face.
I giggled at the feeling, and scrunched my face up as I lifted my hand to push it away; it was probably just Glameow, anyway. She always liked to wake you up by licking your face.
Something warm and furry lay underneath me. Had I fallen asleep on Taurisan again? Oh well… he’s large and warm and strong… he wouldn’t mind at all.
Perhaps I’d fallen asleep in the living room. I tend to do that often, if the family is gathered around to watch a movie, I’ll lay back on Taurisan with my Pokemon cuddled near me and drift off near the end of the movie.
I’m surprised my older brother hadn’t rudely woken me up, he liked to do that. He’d even had his Granbull lick my foot one time and his Yanma would flutter over me, hovering in my ear to freak me out because he knew how much I hated the sound bugs made, and how paranoid they made me.
My eyes shot open. I wasn’t home, and I certainly wasn’t looking into the face of a Glameow.
Taurisan did lie underneath me, but as I regained consciousness I realized I wasn’t home. I couldn’t be home, I thought bitterly. Home was a mass of ashes along with other homes in our neighborhood, because of that virus that drove people insane.
I groaned as I sat up, Taurisan grunted and stirred beneath me. I looked down and saw that my pant leg had been pulled up across my knee and a bandage was clad against my calf. Taurisan had bandages as well, although they had covered most of his body.
I looked around, and realized I was in a bedroom.
I warily stood up, looking around. The bedroom was comfortable, homey even. The windows had been boarded up and sealed tightly, and I saw where Taurisan lay on a large queen sized-bed with a powdery blue quilt draped over it and an intricate design of a Milotic stretched gracefully over the oak headboard.
The room’s wallpaper was a moderate blue color, with many paintings and pictures of the sea and ships at ports. The oak dresser across the bed had a large mirror and I looked into it. I almost immediately felt revolted by my own appearance.
A year in the wild had certainly taken its toll. I stared back at my hazy powdery blue eyes and my disheveled sandy blonde hair. My usually pale complexion was now weathered from the countless hours in the sun, and my usual healthy-sized facial structures and cheeks were now sunken in, and my gaunt arms showed every lean bit of muscle I had.
I ran my fingers haphazardly through my hair which had grown several inches longer, reaching my upper back, and reached to open the brass handle of the door slowly. I managed to wrench it open, for it stuck a little, and looked outside.
I found myself looking into a small family room, where a man of dark hair and several weeks’ worth of unshaven stubble grew across his face. He wore a neat and tidy charcoal-colored overcoat with a chain hanging limply across his chest.
He looked up at me as he had a half-raised piece of bread into his wide mouth. He set the bread down, and studied me.
“I wouldn’t put too much weight on that leg if I were you, Crobat are nasty biters.” He said with a rather blunt tone, watching with pursed lips and thin, watery eyes as I uneasily shifted my weight to my normal leg.
“Sir? Uh, who exactly are you?”
“Survivor,” he said simply, shrugging nonchalantly. “That’s all you really need to know now, anyway.”
I furrowed my brow at him, and took a step forward as he gestured for me to sit across from him at the small table he sat at, where a large pile of papers lay askew across it.
“How did you find me? I just remember being in Wayward Cave… And these Team Magma survivors came… Then this Golbat and Crobat came after me and my Tauros…” I muttered, half to myself to refresh my memory. I then glanced at him, and felt my gaze trail off around me. This man must have obviously loved the sea, for he had many paintings and curios of ships and sea creatures and the like.
I fixed my gaze on him once more, and my eyes widened in disbelief, “Hey! Hey, I know you, you’re-”
“Hang on,” he said, gesturing for me to be silent as he pulled out an iron gray mobile phone that emitted a soft buzzing sound as it vibrated. He pulled it open and raised it to his ear, standing up and walking into another room.
I strained my ears to listen in on what he was saying, I overheard something about shells, and someone named Sean. I felt a spark of hope, perhaps he was a survivor who had strong connections with others who didn’t want to loot or steal or cause crimes, but to just survive and maybe even thrive.
I sat for a moment, before he returned slipping his mobile phone back into his pocket. I grinned at him. He returned my grin with a frown.
“What is it?”
“You’re from Team Aqua,” I said bluntly, my grin never faltering.
He stared at me, shock rippling in his eyes. “I don’t know what would give such a naïve girl such a foolish thought.” He scoffed.
“You’re Archie! You led Team Aqua!.” I exclaimed, feeling a wave of excitement come crashing over me. Everyone knew about Team Magma and Team Aqua’s lust to fight one another, if he still led a secret band of Team Aqua members, they could retrieve my bag and belongings, and maybe even help to stamp out Team Magma from the Sinnoh region for good.
“I used to,” he sighed miserably, “no longer, Team Magma became too powerful over the last few months.”
“No, I heard something about Sean in there! Sean was a co-admin of Team Aqua! I know, I heard you! And you said something about shells… Shelly? Yes! Shelly! She’s another one of Team Aqua, she’s a co-admin as well!”
Archie stared at me with genuine disbelief, his eyes wide, “Girl, how do you know this information?”
I remained silent, deciding to test him. “My father was a Team Aqua Grunt,” I replied cunningly. This was partially true, he did consider joining Team Aqua and cared deeply for Water-type Pokemon, he even tried out for Team Aqua, but he failed the test to register, considering his passion overrode his knowledge of Water-type Pokemon and sea benefits.
Archie blinked in mild surprise, a hint of an unreadable expression across his face. “Well, looks like you’d be more interesting company than I’d thought.”
I grinned wildly, I’d always been secretly driven to join Team Aqua in replace for my father’s failure to join, and Shelly had always been a role model of mine, far more than most girls my age who idolized over Fantina or Cynthia.
“Well, if what you’re saying is true - even if it’s not - we need more members. I suppose letting you in on this dirty little secret will only benefit us,” he grinned malevolently, “we could use a Tauros.”
“Well Mr. Archie, could I join Team Aqua?” I asked, deep down I was pleading, begging for him to allow me to join, but my facial expression remained cunning, mirroring his menacing grin.
He pulled his lips back in a harsh, fiendish grin one might find on a Houndoom ready to sink its teeth into the flank of some prey.
“No,” he said, as he rose from his seat and briskly strolled into another room, shutting the door.
Thanks pikahero2~
Wanted Pokemon: Gible
Difficulty Level: Complex
Character Count: 34,709
Needed Characters: 30k-50k
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~
“News reports are informing everyone to stay indoors, and keep their Pokemon away from one another, considering that the circumstances of this fatal virus have become extraordinarily versatile, it has a possibility of jumping from human to Pokemon, back to human once again. Please - until this has become solved - please stay indoors and away from anyone.”
That was the news broadcast that aired a year ago. Now, well, now I presume that I can just say on behalf of most of humanity that we regret never listening to that emergency broadcast.
-----
My pulse was caught deep within my throat. I felt on the edge- my adrenaline viciously pulsating throughout my body, my eyes thickly dilated in the darkness of the Wayward Cave. The heavy trotting of hooves by my side and the thick, shaggy fur occasionally brushing at my side reassured me that Taurisan, my Tauros, was keeping by my side. He snorted occasionally, his three tails frequently lashing and whipping out behind him as his own nerves jerked restlessly.
I placed my hand in his thick, unshorn mane, and gently guided him behind a towering mass of stalagmites, cowering low to the ground. I heard him settle himself uneasily next to me, keeping still and silent.
He snorted uneasily as we heard the hard, echoing footsteps of what sounded like many people. I gasped softly as a thick plume of ruby red fire streaked overhead. The light cast eerie shadows and made the figures of the Pokemon and people in their ragged clothing all huddled amongst one another.
The Pokemon bellowing the fire had been a Charmeleon, its own crimson skin seemed to ignite once it had hissed out another stream of flames that licked at the overhead stalactites. The fire on its tail intensified, and the rag-tag appearance of the half a dozen people huddled behind it could now be seen.
There were four men, and two women. One of the women had a bloodcurdling Gliscor hovered by her shoulder, with dark eyes that menacingly darted around the cave. A Crobat and a Golbat hovered overhead, continuously gaping their mouths repeatedly as they searched using their supersonic waves. The Crobat hesitated as it faced the group of stalagmites Tauros and I had been hiding behind.
The woman with the Gliscor formed a smug grin; she pushed a white-blonde lock of her curly hair from her face, her dark green eyes glinting threateningly. I narrowed my eyes as I could just make out the burned mahogany shaded outfit she had in tattered remains across her body - Team Magma, or, what was left of it would be more appropriate.
“Hey, Ryuko,” she hissed to the woman next to her. The woman had deep oriental features, her jet black hair framed her powdery white face, and her thin dark eyes had the same evil glare in their depths.
“Come out and play, little girl!” The blonde woman cooed her voice high and daunting as she strained her voice into a sing-song tone.
I held my breath nervously, and Taurisan stared ahead with wide eyes and a slightly trembling backside. I slowly and silently placed my hand comfortingly across his cheek, grasping hold of his heavy ivory horn.
“We won’t hurt you!” One of the men added in, as they all soon broke down laughing at his remark. I shifted my gaze to him. Much like Ryuko, he had dark oriental features, and high, strong cheekbones. He, too, wore a dilapidated Team Magma uniform.
One of the men, with fiery red hair, bent low to pick up a fist-sized rock. He hurtled it at one of the stalagmites the two Bat Pokemon fluttered by, and the top of the jutting cone-like rock shattered, as dirt and heavy rocks rained down on Taurisan and I.
Taurisan shot up, shaking his great body and snorting irritably. How lucky am I to have such a short-tempered Pokemon? I miserably thought as I stood up next to Taurisan.
“Hey, little girl,” the blonde Team Magma member cooed, keeping her high-pitched voice mockingly sweet.
“What do you want?” I snapped, “I have no food, no water. If you’re looking for any provisions then you’re on your own, I’m just barely getting by, myself.”
The red-haired man laughed heartily, his deep voice bellowing deep within the darkness of the cave. “Food? You think that we really want food?”
My voice seemed caught in my throat, “What do you want then?” I managed to croak uneasily.
“That’s Team Magma business, you filthy little brat.” The blonde Team Magma member snapped, her emerald eyes blazing in agitation.
I remained silent, exchanging the foul glares that they were casting me. I didn’t know what to say - these people were young, mean, and violent. They were armed with many Pokemon, considering each of the six had six Poke Balls on their belts, while I only had my own six Pokemon, who wouldn’t match up with these hot-tempered, abused Pokemon with a passion to fight and draw as much blood as possible.
I stepped forward and heard Taurisan snort irritably, rearing his head back and stamping the earth beneath our feet. I suddenly had an idea, as I glanced at the half-terrified, half-furious face of my Tauros.
“Taurisan,” I hissed to him, still staring at the Team Magma members as they leered at us, “Scary Face!”
Taurisan paused for a second, startled from the command. Its eyes grew fiery and it looked as if it had a ravenous thirst to fight. It charged forward to be in view of the strong, hot light of the Charmeleon’s tail, its face seemed to be growing more and more morbid, fiery and hot.
Taurisan bellowed loudly, the head-splitting cacophony made me cup my hands over my ears as the Team Magma members and their Pokemon shuddered from the great effect of the Tauros’ attack.
The Charmeleon fell to its knees, and although the Golbat and Crobat were affected, they still looked ready to rear up an attack.
“Taurisan, hurry!” I shouted as Taurisan’s great howl died down. He charged forward, his great burly frame always made him rather slow, but the effect of Scary Face slowed the other Pokemon down even more.
“Crobat and Golbat,” the dark-haired Team Magma man shouted as he helped the blonde Team Magma woman up, “give chase and once you catch up, show no mercy! Intoxicate them as much as possible, they can not leave this cave, we must take credit for her capture!”
The two Pokemon screeched out in acknowledgment, flying forward after Taurisan and me.
The damp, icy air of the cave made my lungs burn and cry out in protest, and I greedily gulped for air as I sprinted through the cave, my weak ankles shrieking in pain as they continuously twisted and maneuvered so I could keep a steady footing on the craggy ground beneath.
Taurisan panted in protest next to me, and I reached down to pull out his Poke Ball from my bag, but felt a sharp pang of fury, fear, and confusion as I only felt my own back behind me - my bag was gone.
“No!” I shouted to myself, “No, no!”
I felt the need to do something, anything, screaming even felt like a resolution. I had to continue running forward with my tiring Tauros, while those crazed grunts behind us could get into my bag. All my Pokemon, my items, my old letters from friends…
“No!” I screamed again, clenching my fists tightly as I continued forward, pounding the hard ground beneath me in fury and anxiety.
“Taurisan,” I panted tiredly, the Tauros looked up at me with wild eyes, its mahogany brown flank rapidly heaving in and out. “We can either keep running, or stay and fight back the Golbat and Crobat, what would you want?”
Taurisan snorted out viciously, his harsh breathing intensified from the short run. I nodded, still gasping for breath in the cold air of the cave, looking back I could just make out the dark silhouettes of the two Pokemon. Their wings flapped in the cave with such intense speed that it sounded like the low buzzing of a bug.
They screeched triumphantly as they spotted Taurisan and I, the Golbat gaped its mouth as it emitted a misty Haze attack.
The foggy attack settled around us, blinding us even more in the dark cave, I groaned suddenly as I realized they were regaining their great speed from Taurisan’s previous Scary Face attack.
“Taurisan, Rock Slide!” I suddenly thought.
Taurisan charged forward, thrusting its burly head against the cave’s opposite wall, as stalactites trembled and came raining down.
The Golbat shrieked inhumanly as one of the stalactites caught it by its wing and dragged it down to the ground.
The Crobat’s left wing was clipped, but the three wings kept it aloft as it hovered about, spewing great torrents of toxic sludge at Taurisan.
Taurisan stepped in one of the fizzing puddles, and roared out in pain as it ran forward, trying to shake the sickly purple poison from its hoof. The poison hissed and seemed to spread upwards, engulfing his leg.
He fell on his knee, bellowing and stomping at the ground furiously with his other three legs as he strained to stand up.
I strained my thoughts, there was no way that Taurisan could put up a fight against the Crobat if it were disabled like this, and Tauros can’t do many special attacks, either. I racked my mind for something, anything, and then felt a wave of memories pour over me.
My younger cousin had taught Taurisan Water Pulse shortly before the epidemic struck a year ago. I felt a wave of pain as I remembered how badly I’d scolded her for teaching Taurisan a special move when it was obvious that it was a physical attacker. I sighed briefly, pushing the nostalgic thoughts in the back of my head.
“Taurisan, try Water Pulse!” I commanded.
Taurisan looked up at me bewildered, before snorting in agreement. It gaped its mouth wide, its upper body convulsing as pulsating rounds of water of spiraled upwards towards the Crobat.
The pulsating rounds of the Water-type attack collided with the Crobat, colliding into it. It fell back a bit, but the weakness of the attack did very little damage, and the Crobat lurched forward to deliver a Leech Life attack on the backside of Taurisan.
Taurisan grunted out weakly, then fell to its knees, panting and whipping his tails as it would to a fly as the Crobat darted to and fro, sinking its razor-like canines into Taurisan repetitively, draining the hit points of Taurisan with great speed.
“Taurisan,” I shouted, I charged forward to Taurisan, who was now on his side, rapidly panting for breath as Crobat delivered one final blow. Taurisan quivered once more, before his head fell lax and he lay motionless on the floor.
Crobat reared back for another attack, I was about to pull Tauros over, despite his near two hundred pound weight, but the Crobat streaked forward, sinking its teeth hard into my leg.
I shouted out in pain and fury, feeling the tight clamping of the Crobat’s jaws against my leg, and felt fatigue wash over me, and a lack of stamina.
Darkness shrouded over my vision like the curtains being pulled shut on a marionette show, and I slumped forward into Taurisan’s dark, long mane.
-----
I felt something warm lick my face.
I giggled at the feeling, and scrunched my face up as I lifted my hand to push it away; it was probably just Glameow, anyway. She always liked to wake you up by licking your face.
Something warm and furry lay underneath me. Had I fallen asleep on Taurisan again? Oh well… he’s large and warm and strong… he wouldn’t mind at all.
Perhaps I’d fallen asleep in the living room. I tend to do that often, if the family is gathered around to watch a movie, I’ll lay back on Taurisan with my Pokemon cuddled near me and drift off near the end of the movie.
I’m surprised my older brother hadn’t rudely woken me up, he liked to do that. He’d even had his Granbull lick my foot one time and his Yanma would flutter over me, hovering in my ear to freak me out because he knew how much I hated the sound bugs made, and how paranoid they made me.
My eyes shot open. I wasn’t home, and I certainly wasn’t looking into the face of a Glameow.
Taurisan did lie underneath me, but as I regained consciousness I realized I wasn’t home. I couldn’t be home, I thought bitterly. Home was a mass of ashes along with other homes in our neighborhood, because of that virus that drove people insane.
I groaned as I sat up, Taurisan grunted and stirred beneath me. I looked down and saw that my pant leg had been pulled up across my knee and a bandage was clad against my calf. Taurisan had bandages as well, although they had covered most of his body.
I looked around, and realized I was in a bedroom.
I warily stood up, looking around. The bedroom was comfortable, homey even. The windows had been boarded up and sealed tightly, and I saw where Taurisan lay on a large queen sized-bed with a powdery blue quilt draped over it and an intricate design of a Milotic stretched gracefully over the oak headboard.
The room’s wallpaper was a moderate blue color, with many paintings and pictures of the sea and ships at ports. The oak dresser across the bed had a large mirror and I looked into it. I almost immediately felt revolted by my own appearance.
A year in the wild had certainly taken its toll. I stared back at my hazy powdery blue eyes and my disheveled sandy blonde hair. My usually pale complexion was now weathered from the countless hours in the sun, and my usual healthy-sized facial structures and cheeks were now sunken in, and my gaunt arms showed every lean bit of muscle I had.
I ran my fingers haphazardly through my hair which had grown several inches longer, reaching my upper back, and reached to open the brass handle of the door slowly. I managed to wrench it open, for it stuck a little, and looked outside.
I found myself looking into a small family room, where a man of dark hair and several weeks’ worth of unshaven stubble grew across his face. He wore a neat and tidy charcoal-colored overcoat with a chain hanging limply across his chest.
He looked up at me as he had a half-raised piece of bread into his wide mouth. He set the bread down, and studied me.
“I wouldn’t put too much weight on that leg if I were you, Crobat are nasty biters.” He said with a rather blunt tone, watching with pursed lips and thin, watery eyes as I uneasily shifted my weight to my normal leg.
“Sir? Uh, who exactly are you?”
“Survivor,” he said simply, shrugging nonchalantly. “That’s all you really need to know now, anyway.”
I furrowed my brow at him, and took a step forward as he gestured for me to sit across from him at the small table he sat at, where a large pile of papers lay askew across it.
“How did you find me? I just remember being in Wayward Cave… And these Team Magma survivors came… Then this Golbat and Crobat came after me and my Tauros…” I muttered, half to myself to refresh my memory. I then glanced at him, and felt my gaze trail off around me. This man must have obviously loved the sea, for he had many paintings and curios of ships and sea creatures and the like.
I fixed my gaze on him once more, and my eyes widened in disbelief, “Hey! Hey, I know you, you’re-”
“Hang on,” he said, gesturing for me to be silent as he pulled out an iron gray mobile phone that emitted a soft buzzing sound as it vibrated. He pulled it open and raised it to his ear, standing up and walking into another room.
I strained my ears to listen in on what he was saying, I overheard something about shells, and someone named Sean. I felt a spark of hope, perhaps he was a survivor who had strong connections with others who didn’t want to loot or steal or cause crimes, but to just survive and maybe even thrive.
I sat for a moment, before he returned slipping his mobile phone back into his pocket. I grinned at him. He returned my grin with a frown.
“What is it?”
“You’re from Team Aqua,” I said bluntly, my grin never faltering.
He stared at me, shock rippling in his eyes. “I don’t know what would give such a naïve girl such a foolish thought.” He scoffed.
“You’re Archie! You led Team Aqua!.” I exclaimed, feeling a wave of excitement come crashing over me. Everyone knew about Team Magma and Team Aqua’s lust to fight one another, if he still led a secret band of Team Aqua members, they could retrieve my bag and belongings, and maybe even help to stamp out Team Magma from the Sinnoh region for good.
“I used to,” he sighed miserably, “no longer, Team Magma became too powerful over the last few months.”
“No, I heard something about Sean in there! Sean was a co-admin of Team Aqua! I know, I heard you! And you said something about shells… Shelly? Yes! Shelly! She’s another one of Team Aqua, she’s a co-admin as well!”
Archie stared at me with genuine disbelief, his eyes wide, “Girl, how do you know this information?”
I remained silent, deciding to test him. “My father was a Team Aqua Grunt,” I replied cunningly. This was partially true, he did consider joining Team Aqua and cared deeply for Water-type Pokemon, he even tried out for Team Aqua, but he failed the test to register, considering his passion overrode his knowledge of Water-type Pokemon and sea benefits.
Archie blinked in mild surprise, a hint of an unreadable expression across his face. “Well, looks like you’d be more interesting company than I’d thought.”
I grinned wildly, I’d always been secretly driven to join Team Aqua in replace for my father’s failure to join, and Shelly had always been a role model of mine, far more than most girls my age who idolized over Fantina or Cynthia.
“Well, if what you’re saying is true - even if it’s not - we need more members. I suppose letting you in on this dirty little secret will only benefit us,” he grinned malevolently, “we could use a Tauros.”
“Well Mr. Archie, could I join Team Aqua?” I asked, deep down I was pleading, begging for him to allow me to join, but my facial expression remained cunning, mirroring his menacing grin.
He pulled his lips back in a harsh, fiendish grin one might find on a Houndoom ready to sink its teeth into the flank of some prey.
“No,” he said, as he rose from his seat and briskly strolled into another room, shutting the door.