Vigilante.

[Firefly17]

This is a fanfic I started last year. It is posted up on another Pokemon site, but I figured I would get some input from a different group of readers. Currently, the fic stands at 16 chapters. For now, I will post the first two, then add a new one every couple of days until it is up to date.
I hope you enjoy this, please post your thoughts and critique (even bad stuff).

Vigilante
Chapter 1 - A Quiet Town

An average night in Lavender Town. It's quiet empty streets were dimly lit by fading lampposts and small amounts of light filtering out of gaps in the curtains of household windows. Anywhere not reached by the artificial light, was illuminated by a pale grey glow from a half moon, hung in the center of an almost clear sky. The entire area was coated with a knee-deep, light mist, reminding everyone of the ominous presence of the Pokemon Tower, the graveyard at the northern entrance to the small town, which happened to be the source of the mist.

It was this tower that gave Lavender it's sad reputation, and it's moniker of "The Town of the Dead". Any outsider looking in on this town at the current time would believe this wholeheartedly. Yet the residents and regular visitors to the small, darkened village knew that there was life in this sorrowful place. You just had to look through the light filled windows and see the families within to see it, most notably due to the residents of the large house in the town center, Mr Fuji's house, a refuge for weary trainers and pokemon alike.

All these thoughts flooded through Kais's mind as he stood up on a high stone ledge, south-east of Lavender. He thought back to 6 years ago, where he awakened in Mr Fuji's house after being found unconscious at the end of Rock Tunnel to the north, and the subsequent affair with a tribe of Snorlax and Munchlax at the fishing piers several miles to the south.
"Nows not the time to be reminiscing" he thought, shaking his head to clear the memories. "I've gotta job to do."
His vantage point being high, a slight breeze was present, and it gently blew his long, dark, wild hair about his face and wrapped his black, knee length coat around his legs. He stood as motionless as a statue, except for slight turns of his head as his keen, deep brown eyes scanned the streets below him.

Kais was here for one reason; he was bored. Just two days ago he had been in Fushcia City, in an effort to alleviate some of his boredom and break the monotonous cycle of everyday life by taking part in various challenges within the Kanto Safari Zone. Having exited the area after one such challenge, the gate warden had handed Kais an anonymous letter, a tip-off referring to a plot centered around Lavender's Pokemon Tower. Lack of information non withstanding, Kais had leapt at this chance to have a bit of fun, and possibly become a hero. And so for the past 46 hours he had ridden his Pidgeot as fast as it could fly in the direction of Lavender, just to arrive on time to prevent whatever scheme was being planned.

The feisty bird pokemon had obliged fully, loyally carrying it's Master and friend, exhausting itself in the effort, to join Kais in his fun and glory. Knowing how hard Kazel had tried to get him here, and despite her best efforts to hide her weariness, Kais had ordered Kazel to rest in her Great Ball. Of course this had taken some bribery, with the promise she would be treated after the incident was dealt with. Two hours later, and Kais was still stood upon the ledge waiting for the something to happen.

Finally, just when he was reaching the limits of his patience he spotted 3 shadows detach themselves from the stone wall near the southern entrance and stealthily glide through the town, ducking low into the mist.

"Finally." Kais muttered to himself, reaching into his coat to remove a dark red Great Ball from his belt. "Now I can have some fun. He threw the ball upwards, calling out the name 'Kathon'.

The ball spun upwards and burst open, revealing a large dragon-like pokemon with a flaming tail. A Charizard. This one was slightly larger than the average. It had a red scarf tied around it's long neck, similar to the one Kais himself wore around his left thigh. It also had a noticeable red scar running across it's right eye and down it's cheek, a physical memory from their first meeting, where the then Charmander had defended an 11 year old Kais and his injured Pidgey from an angry Scyther. Kais also bore a scar from the time upon his left arm, an 11 year old marking to tie him and Kathon together.

"Let's Fly" he told Kathon, who bent down so Kais could sit upon it's back.

The powerful dragons wings beat, picking up a gust and carrying them into the night. They glided stealthily above their prey. Following them towards the destnation… Pokemon Tower.

Chapter 2 - Cloaks and Traps

The three figures slipped quietly over the low brick wall near Lavender's southern gate. Their heads were constantly moving left and right, each one cautiously watching as many directions as possible. They couldn't afford to not be cautious. True, they had given their pursuer the slip before they had reached the end of Route 11, but he was a skilled trainer and hunter that could pick up their trail at any time. Who knew how many friends he had warned about them either.

They kept to the shadows, darting between houses and bushes, keeping low so that their most of thier bodies were below the level of the mist that swept through he town streets. None of the figures features were visible, as they were clad in long silver-grey cloaks and hoods. The smallest figures cloak brushed upon a branch, revealing dark green trousers, light hiking boots and several pokeballs.

They reached their destination, the Pokemon Tower, quickly and without incident, believing their only witness to be a lone Meowth sat upon a fence. They quickly ducked behind the trees and bushes on the right side of the tall building and followed the wall around to the rear, looking for a back door rather than enter through the public main entrance at the front of the tower.

At the rear they found a sturdy metal door, obviously securely locked from the inside. The largest figure, the leader, motioned to his companions, pointing at the door. The taller of the remaining two immediately stepped forward and withdrew a feminine hand and a pokeball from the confines of her cloak. She pressed the button on the front of the ball with a click, splitting the ball in the centre with a small flash. A Gloom appeared at her feet. Evidently knowing what it was required to do, it nodded to it's trainer and spat purple acid at the door without instruction. The acid quickly melted away the metal with a small amount of fumes at some quiet hissing, leaving a large hole where the lock should have been. The leader pushed open the now unlocked door and the group quietly stepped inside.

They had entered a large store room, filled mostly with various gravestones and urns. A door at the far end led to the main atrium at the front of the building. The three looked around quickly, and satisfied, pulled back their hoods. The leader was a large man in his thirties. He had a square face and close cut auburn hair, looking quite the soldier. You could instantly tell he was physically strong, but his grey eyes showed he wasn't an idiot. The woman, was about five years younger, and had a thin face and pale skin, which contrasted with the shiny black hair that hung down her back. She was an attractive woman, and had also had a clever look in her eyes. The final figure was the youngest, a boy in his late teens. He was short, with blonde hair and wide green eyes. Though he looked fresh faced, it was obvious this was not his first outing of this kind.

"Ok then," said the leader quietly. "Our data says the best place to do this is the 5th floor, so we will be going there first, ok?"
The others nodded silently and followed him towards the door.

"And there's a bonus for the one who catches the most."

He pushed open the storeroom door and stepped into the atrium, followed by the others.

** ** ** ** **

No sooner than they had exited the storeroom, Kais appeared at the back door, peering through the acid burned hole. He smiled, and pushed it open, then stepped inside. He removed is coat and hung it on the end of a shelf. He was dressed in dark blue jeans and black walking boots, a black t-shirt with a small symbol on the chest and a grey long sleeved shirt. He also had a red scarf around his left thigh, and a chain around his neck could be seen tucked down into his t-shirt. Adjusting his collar and running hand through is hair, Kais stepped towards the other door.

"Time for some fun" he thought, grinning.

Reaching the door, he knelt down and peered through the crack, adopting a serious look. The three cloaked trainers, 2 men and a woman, were walking towards the stairs. Kais, pushed the door open slowly and darted behind a nearby potted plant, grabbing a grey pokeball from his belt.

** ** ** ** **

"Right, Silph scopes on," the leader commanded. "And Archie, get out your pokemon."

The three of them pulled out some bulky looking goggles and placed them over their eyes, tightening the straps around their heads. Archie and the leader tossed a pokeball each, the flashes revealing an Electrike and a Venomoth, which joined the Gloom behind the humans.

"Let's go."

They began to climb up the stairs, looking down as the goggles blocked off their peripheral vision. All of them missed the pale red beam shoot past them towards the landing above. As they reached the halfway point of the stairway, there was a sudden skidding noise and the stairway began to vibrate loudly.

"What the....?" the woman muttered grabbing the handrail.

"Look out" cried Archie, pointing up the stairs at a large wheel rolling at them. Too late.

"Holy sh-ARRGGHHHH!" The surprised leader was hit square in the stomach and thrown forcibly down the staircase, hitting the Gloom on the way down. Electrike and Archie leapt to the side, narrowly escaping harm, whereas the woman was hit in the leg and spun into the handrail she was holding. Venomoth flew after it's trainer, concerned.

"Greg, are you ok?" Archie called. The leader was lay ten feet from the base of the stairs.

"Gloom?" the woman called, massaging her bruised leg.

The Gloom, more used to hard tackles stood up and shook itself, waving to it's trainer. Greg however, groaned loudly and rolled onto his back, winded and obviously in pain.

"Is that some kind of security system Haruka?" Archie asked the woman, watching the wheel head to the far end of the atrium and begin to turn around.

"There isn't supposed to be any, it's a graveyard for god's sake. None were reported." she replied.
"Well whatever it is, it's toast, lets go Electrike!"

Archie stood up straight and pointed forwards, as Electrike bounded down the stairs towards their attacker.
"Thundershock it!"

Electrike barked loudly and fired up the attack, it's fur crackling and standing on end as it sent a bolt of electricity towards the enemy. The wheel was enveloped by the electrical attack with a direct hit, but carried on undeterred, bowling into the Electrike and knocking it into the receptionist desk, cracking th thick wooden front.

"No, Electrike!" Archie cried. The green wolf-like pokemon lay knocked out.

"My turn," Haruka growled. "Gloom, Bullet Seed."

"Gloom!" It replied, bowing it's head towards the wheel, rapidly firing multiple seeds out of the flower upon it's head. It had tremendous accuracy and each shot hit with powerfully, causing the wheel to wobble on it's path.

"Nice, now use Acid!"

Their attacker had other ideas however, and changed cause quickly, hitting Gloom before it could do a thing, propelling it into the far wall. It slid down to the floor, unconscious.

"Greg, it's strong, get up and get Venomoth to help!" Haruka shouted.

The leader finally became aware and began to sat up. The wheel, however rebounded off of a wall and flew through the air, knocking Venomoth out of the air and into it's trainer, winding him again. Archie and Haruka looked shocked. The wheel landed with a bounce and finally stopped in the center of the atrium. It began to twitch, before bursting open, revealing itself to be a grey elephant-like pokemon with black armored carapace. It had a red scarf around its front left leg.

"A Donphan" Archie said with realization.

"Look at that scarf" Haruka pointed. "It must have a trainer, where are they?"

"Right here" called Kais, and he stepped out from his hiding place. "Good work Dozou."

He walked over to the Donphan and placed a hand on it's back. It smiled at him and trumpeted happily.

"Now then....." He turned to face the people on the stairs, smiling cheerfully.

 

[Lycaeus]

Wow, awesome! I really like this story, and I love how all of Kais Pokemon have the red scarf, I tend to write my stories with similar elements. Also, I like how even though the story is based in the Kanto region, there are other region Pokemon, very creative.
Can't wait to see what happens to Greg, Archie and Haruka!

 

[Firefly17]

Here's Chapter 3, hope you enjoy this. Thanks to Redwire for your comments.

Chapter 3 - Battle in the Vines

"Now then.... why are three, conspicuously dressed individuals sneaking around a quiet town in the dead of night, hmm?" Kais asked with the air of a teacher confronting some of their students doing something they shouldn't be. "I'm sure that if you had wanted to visit a grave you could of done so during the day and used the front door."

"Whats it to you?" Archie replied in a challenging tone. "And why are you here?"

"Oh you know. I'm just one of those people who pass by. I was bored to tell you the truth, and you guys looked like fun playmates." His expression remained impassive, ignoring the challenge, calmly smiling at the cloaked group.

"I guess we shall have to cure that boredom then, won't we?" Haruka said, returning his smile. She stood up favoring the uninjured leg. "Let's battle. Properly this time. We aren't so easily beaten when you don't have the element of surprise."

"Hmm, I think I shall accept, sounds fun. Nice to meet you, I am Kais of Violet City."

"It's a pleasure. I am Haruka the Leaf" she replied, stepping down to the bottom of the stairs. She turned back to her companions. "Archie, help Greg and go get the job done, I'll join you when I'm finished with this guy."

The boy nodded, and ran down to the leader, returning Electrike into it's pokeball as he ran, and helped Greg to stand and supported him up the to the next floor.

"See ya later guys" Kais called after them cheerfully, waving at them.

"What a freak, this be easy" Haruka thought. She shouted to him. "Time to battle, you ready?"

"Always" Kais' expression changed in an instant, the smile wiped clean away as a deadly serious look covered his face, his eyes sharp and ready for anything.

"Haruka the Leaf" he thought. "I bet that means she's gonna use Grass types, and perhaps Bug. It seems unfair to use Kathon....and dangerous too. "He looked around at the varnished wood furniture and numerous potted plants. The decision was out of his hands, as Dozou stepped forward, eager to continue.

"You know your likely gonna be disadvantaged" he informed the Donphan, who nodded and pawed the ground, ready to charge forwards. "Ok, I will use my Donphan, got anything that can stand up to it?" He asked Haruka, purposefully gesturing to Gloom.

The woman just glared at him. She remained silent, but was unnerved by the sudden change in character. She reached up and untied the clasp around her neck, throwing the cloak aside. She was wearing a long pale green skirt, split for ease of movement, a dark green low cut sleeve top, and a black jacket with a leaf emblazoned on the back and chest. She wore black leggings under the skirt, and brown, knee length boots. There were three pokeballs and a pouch hung from a thin belt by several straps. She grabbed two of the pokeballs, pointed one at Gloom to return it, then threw the other.

"This is my Tangela" Haruka introduced the bundle of slimy vines with legs to Kais. "She won't be beaten as easily as Gloom."

"Tangela eh?" Kais put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a palm sized object. He flipped it open along a split in the centre, revealing two touch screens. Kais quickly tapped them a few times, bringing up a load of data about Tangela. After a quick scan of the info, he looked up.

"That's no Pokedex" Haruka said, referring to the invention of the famous Professor Oak.

"Correct, though it has similar functions. My Dad made it for me during the research to create Oak's Pokedex, back before the Silph incident."

The mention of Silph prompted Haruka to finally remove her goggles, they wouldn't be needed here.

"Either way, it won't help you. Tangela, use Vine Whip."

"Dozou, Rapid Spin."

Several thick vines shot out from the tangle of Tangela's body, flying at high speed towards Dozou, who curled up like before and began to spin rapidly on the spot, deflecting the vines without damage. Kais commanded a Rollout attack, and the Donphan sped at Tangela, kicking up dust and avoiding the spray of an Acid attack. The Tangela lifted itself up over the attack with it's vines, then threw itself at the Donphan's side with a powerful Slam attack. Dozou unrolled and jumped back.

"Use Strength!" Kais shouted, and Dozou jumped forward instantly and lifted the Tangela with it's trunk, throwing it across the room into the desk, cracking the wood once again.

"Rollout again."

"Not happening" Haruka replied. "Constrict!"

The vines shot out again, this time faster, and wrapped around the Ground pokemon's head, legs and stomach, squeezing tightly. Kais frowned, thinking. Thanks to it's tough hide, Dozou would had taken very little damage from the physical Slam and Constrict attacks, but if he couldn't move, it was over, as a Donphan's main power came from it's maneuverability. Luckily, Haruka had yet to order Tangela to use any Grass moves, one of which was particularly worrying.

"Absorb."

"Damnit." She had read his mind. Tangela began to glow green, then the light flowed down the vines and enveloped Dozou, who began to struggle vigorously and cry out in pain. The energy flow reversed, and Kais was horrified as he watched the Donphan's energy visibly drain away. He had to act quick to break Dozou free, but had preferred not to damage the tower.

"Quick, use Earthquake Dozou!" The pokemon open it's eyes and wrenched it's powerful trunk free of the constricting vines, smashing it into the atrium floor. The attack instantly split the marble floor tiles and the concrete below, and several large cracks appeared across the room as the tower shook. Tangela lost it's balanced as it foot fell into one of the cracks, the vines slackened.

"Rapid Spin!" Dozou seized the opening Earthquake created and quickly jumped, spinning fast. The vines snagged and Tangela was yanked fiercely out of the crack and across the room, straight towards the spinning Donphan.

"Horn Attack." Dozou stopped spinning and caught the Tangela on it's ivory tusks, throwing it towards Haruka, causing the vines to be released.

"Tangela, are you Ok?" asked Haruka concerned. It stood up, shaking angrily.

Kais looked at his Pokemon, Dozou was breathing heavily, but his counterattack meant that Tangela shouldn't be able to last much longer, despite the Absorb.

"I'm finishing this." Haruka declared, glaring at Kais. "Tangela, use Sunny Day."

Kais watched in shock as light gathered in front of the grass pokemon, forming a minature sun. It floated up to the ceiling, brightly lighting the room as if they were outside on a clear summer's day. Wondering how Tangela should know this move, he tapped the screen on the device in his hand, bringing up a list of attacks Tangela could learn with help from a trainer.

"There, Sunny Day, that explains it, but why....?" Kais scrolled down the list. "Hyper Beam, Protect, Giga Drain, Frustration, ..., no…" He looked up at Haruka.

"You know what's coming don't you?" She grinned at him. "Tangela, wipe out that annoying Donphan....Solar Beam!"
"Nuts! Dig quickly Dozou!"

Light gathered once again in front of Tangela, this time drawn from the mini-sun. It exploded forwards with a loud rushing sound, blasting a powerful beam of sunlight directly at the spinning Dozou. The Donphan had rolled up and plowed into the cracked floor, digging through the ground quickly, but the Solar Beam managed to just graze it's back, before blowing the storeroom door off it's hinges. Even that slight connection though had caused the digging Pokemon to squeal horribly.

"Nows our only chance, use Rollout!" shouted Kais urgently, seizing the charging opportunity Solar Beam presented. Donphan burst out of the floor and rolled towards Tangela.

"Hah, you forgot about Sunny Day you idiot." Haruka laughed triumphantly. "No charging required, Solar Beam again Tangela!"
"No, dodge it!" cried Kais.

But it was to late. Dozou connected with Tangela at the same moment Solar Beam fired. For a split second the two Pokemon were frozen, bathed in light, before an explosion engulfed the two battlers.

 

[Lycaeus]

Awesome! Your use of detail is really good, and I honestly can't pick who I think won between Donphan and Tangela :P

 

[Firefly17]

Thanks once again Redwire.

Chapter 4 - Memories. A Clash of Arms.

Kais and Haruka could only stand and watch, horrified, as their two pokemon collided in a small explosion. For a few tense moments they stood there, rooted to the spot in the fading light of the Sunny Day, watching the dust cloud billow about. As soon as it began to settle, both quickly ran forward, completely forgetting their opponent out of concern for their pokemon.

The two battlers were lay either side of a small crater blown out of the atrium floor, clearly knocked out, covered in bruises, burns and scratches. The Tangela's vines where Dozou had contacted with it were charred an ugly black colour, whereas Dozou had a large, bleeding graze down it's armoured back.

Kais acted quickly, worry etched onto his face, pulling a small bandage roll and spray bottle labelled 'Super Potion' from his back pocket. He tore of a section of the bandage and carefully cleaned the wound, then sprayed the Super Potion on and around it. Then he lifted Dozou a little and wrapped the remaining bandage around his torso. Relaxing a little now the wound was treated at least a little, he moved round to look at the pokemon's face. Behind him he could hear Haruka muttering to Tangela, but chose to ignore her for now.

"Dozou" he asked softly. "How are you feeling?"

Dozou made a low, sad growl and opened it's eyes weakly. It reached out with it's trunk to touch his hand, regarding him sorrowfully. Kais smiled at it, chuckling slightly.

"Now you're just being melodramatic."

Laughter flashed across it's eyes, though it was obviously in pain.

"You did great, really. I'll get you to the Pokemon Centre as soon as I can. Once you're fixed up I'll treat you too."

The Donphan nodded at him slightly, and Kais pulled out it's pokeball and returned it. He smiled again and replaced the ball on his belt. He turned around to see what his opponent was doing. Haruka was talking in a low voice to her pokemon, one hand caressing it reassuringly, the other sprinkling some kind of dust over it's wounds.

"She knows what she's doing." Kais thought as he watched her curiously. "Both in medicine and in battle. Pretty too. I wonder why she's running around in the middle of the night with those guys."

Haruka finished her work, picked up Tangela's pokeball and returned it.

"We should leave this battle here. Go, take you pokemon to the Centre." he told the woman. Kais was completely unprepared for her reaction.

"Don't you tell me what to do you wretch!" she screamed at him. Spinning around and rising to her feet, she pulled a knife from her boot with her left hand, her right removing her final pokeball from her belt.

Haruka's face was a mask of anger, and the knife streaked upwards, one single swing straight from her boot, right through the air where Kais' neck had been a split second earlier. Only his surprised step back to her reaction had saved his life.

"Holy Cow....calm down!" he cried, ducking under the return swing. "Not fun."

"You will pay for hurting my Tangela and Gloom. You and that stinking Donphan!" she raged, now livid with anger. Haruka stabbed downwards with the knife, straight at his face. Instinctively, Kais raised his arms to block the attack, the knife bounced of his Beta-Pokedex, cracking it's screens. The impact jarred the weapon out of Haruka's hand, and it flipped through the air, landing two feet away, point down, quivering.

They both looked at each other; Kais was wide eyed with the surprise of being unhurt, Haruka shocked by the loss of her weapon. The shock brought her back to reality though, she looked at Kais calmly, although there was still a fire in her eyes.

"We shall finish this battle like intended, this won't be a repeat of last time." she told Kais firmly, raising the pokeball to eye level.
"She really does care about her pokemon. Although her mood definitely changes way too quickly." Kais thought, looking at the new determination on her face. Her earlier confidence was returning. He nodded to her and stepped back.

"Ok then" he replied.

"This is my final and strongest pokemon." she informed him, throwing the ball. "Scyther."

Instantly Kais' body froze, he wasn't expecting that. Before him stood a humanoid preying mantis-like pokemon, as tall as a grown man. It's hands were long blades, wickedly sharp, glinting in the moonlight flooding through the windows. It's small wings buzzed rhythmically. It crossed it's bladed arms, waiting for Haruka's orders. "Scyyy-therrr." it said quietly.

Flashes of 11 year old memories flooded Kais' consciousness. A Scyther, tall, menacing, it's claws splattered with blood. A Pidgey, Kazel, lay on it's back, feathers flecked with blood, a deep gash in it's chest. A Charmander, defiant, a claw over it's right eye, more blood. His own arm, a deep wound beneath shredded clothing, dripping yet more blood. Vision blurring...

A sharp twinge on his arm dragged him back to the present, his hand shot up to grasp it. He blinked rapidly clearing away the visions. It was an old, irrational fear he had, but something created by his young mind from the pain and fear he had felt back then. He shook his head. "I'm a grown man, get over it." he thought to himself.

"Hey, are you gonna call out a pokemon or what?" Haruka asked him. She was unaware of what was going through his mind, he just looked a little lost all of a sudden.

"Who the heck is this guy?" she thought. "First he's grinning like a moron, then deadly serious, then caring and now he looks like he forgot who he is."

"Hey, Kais!" she called again.

"Wuh, oh yeah, sorry." He muttered. Kais shook himself again. As soon as he had seen the Scyther, his hand had jumped to Kathon's ball. "I can't use Kathon, the tower will be set on fire." he reminded himself. "Be calm, make a proper decision."

Kais matched Haruka's determination.

"I'll make this swords versus swords." he told her. He took his hand off of Kathon's great ball, and grasped the one next to it. This one was white and green. He pulled it out slowly.

"I choose Musa." He threw the ball into the air. Another humanoid pokemon now stood between the two trainers. The Gallade's legs, lower torso and face were white, the rest green. It had red horns on his chest and back. It's head was shaped like a gladiator's helmet, complete with a pale blue crest. The 'swords' took the form of blade-shaped bony protrusions extending from it's elbows. It bowed it's head slightly and regarded the Scyther with deep red eyes, then took up a warrior's stance, ready to fight.

 

[Lycaeus]

Awesome! I really don't know why more people aren't commenting this. It's truly a fantastic story. I love how the flashback happened too, really vivid. Can't wait for the next chapter!!

 

[Firefly17]

Chapter 5 - A Clash of Arms

Both trainers moved to take up positions once again either side of the now half-destroyed atrium. Musa and Scyther remained near the center, the crater to the left of them, ready to attack upon command. As he walked, Kais looked down at his Beta-Pokedex. The knife had smashed both screens so they no longer worked, and a hole in the lower one revealed a crack in the motherboard.


"Hopefully I can save the memory chips, but this is toast. Sorry Dad." he thought, frowning. He deposited it onto a chair. "It's a shame, it took me years to collect that info."

Both trainers turned to face each other, and stood silently a few seconds, holding each others gaze. The pokemon were doing the same, both sizing each other up, looking for potential openings and weak points. Haruka and Kais started simultaneously.

"Scyther, Slash Attack!"

"Musa, Cut!"

Without a second wasted the pokemon leapt at each other, both leading with their left shoulder. Musa spun quickly to his right, bringing his right arm up and around. Scyther jumped into the air and brought its blade down to meet it's opponents in a backslash. Both attacks met mid-swing and the two battlers struggled against each other for a second, blades locked, then they both stepped back, before rushing in once more slashing and parrying, thrusting and blocking, in constant motion.

"I've gotta end this without hurting either pokemon too much." Kais told himself. "It doesn't seem like Haruka realizes that Musa is part Psychic-type, she's at a disadvantage, but she is being way to confident. Either that or she has a lot of faith in Scyther's abilities."

The fighters broke apart once again, and Haruka called out a change in tactics.

"Scyther, go at it with Fury Cutter!" she ordered. Scyther nodded, then threw itself forward, attacking with reckless abandon, right claw, left claw, right claw, left claw. The Gallade moved quickly to avoid the first flurry of attacks, sidestepping or ducking.

"Use protect!" Kais shouted to his pokemon. Musa reacted without delay and moved it's arms up across it's chest and began to efficiently block the attacks one after the other.

"You know that won't last for long" Haruka told Kais, a smirk on her face.

He frowned, she was right, no matter the defence, the longer it's in place under attack, the easier it becomes to crack open, and Scyther's attacks were gaining strength by the second. He decided to act when one of the slashes caused Musa to step back.

"Drop down and use Leaf Blade" he shouted. The warrior pokemon followed orders, crouching down quickly so one of Scyther's attacks flew harmlessly over it's head, Musa swung his own blade, now glowing a light green colour, in a right hook aimed at it's opponents abdomen. Haruka had responded promptly however, calling Scyther back so the main blow of the attack missed. Even so the plant-based energy grazed Scyther's stomach, and it winced in pain.

Both pokemon stopped moving, breathing slowly but heavily, a few paces apart. Kais looked at his Gallade, glad he had ordered the attack in time as it had already suffered several small cuts to it's lower arms.

Haruka yet again took the initiative and restarted the battle, eager for her revenge.

"Scyther use Leer, then Slash." she cried. Scyther complied, grinning evilly at it's opponent, and slight glow in it's eyes. The attack worked, and Musa baulked at the stare, involuntarily taking a step back. It lowered it's guard for just a second. The opening was what Haruka had planned on, and the Slash attack raked down Musa's chest, causing a small eruption of blood to spray across both fighters and the floor. Musa's eyes clamped shut as it threw it's head back and cried out in pain.

"Nooooo!" Kais cried, holding his head between his hands, eyes wide with shock and fear as the memories assaulted him again. Musa, stepped back, and fell to one knee, holding it's hand to the wound on the left side of it's chest, trying to staunch the blood. It stared at the Scyther for a few seconds, trying to regain focus, before turning it's head to call out to the distressed Kais.

The questioning, pained and concerned shout from his pokemon awoke Kais once again from his fear, he realised he must do something to prevent further injury happening. Determination brewed by care for his friend gave him new focus. Slowly, he regained composure, standing up straight.

"Now more, this ends here." he said with conviction. "Musa, Calm Mind."

Musa nodded, understanding the plan and closed it's eyes again, entering an almost meditative state, brewing up it's Psychic energy and condensing it.

"What good will that gonna do you?" Haruka asked, a confused look on her face.

"Guess you weren't aware that Gallade are part Psychic, due to being an evolution of Kirlia." Kais informed her, smirking at the shock and realization upon her face. "Musa, Psychic."

The wounded pokemon stood up, the blood now stopped by a Psychic bandage. It opened it's eyes, which were now glowing the familiar pale blue associated with a pokemon using a Psychic attack, a determined look in them mirroring the one in it's trainers. It raised it's arm, pointing it at the blood sprayed Scyther, and clenched it's fist.

Instantly the bug type was surrounded by the blue light, and it cried in pain, mimicking Musa's earlier action by falling to it's knee.
"Scyther, no!" Haruka cried in concern. "Shake it off."

"Sorry Haruka, but you've lost this battle" Kais said calmly. "Musa, Psycho Cut."

The Gallade's right arm and blade was covered in a deep purple glow that solidified and formed into a long curved sword. Musa, rushed forward, and swung this newly formed weapon in an uppercut, punching into Scyther's chest and following through into it's jaw. The mantis was thrown backwards from the force of the blow, and though there was no physical damage, it's face a mask of pain. By the time it landed at Haruka's feet, it was unconscious.

"It's finished, well done Musa" Kais said. The warrior pokemon nodded at him, the Psychic blade dissipating. The battle was over.

 

[Lycaeus]

Once again, WOW! Can't wait for the next chapter ^^.

 

[Firefly17]

Chapter 6 -Aftermath and Disappearance

As soon as the battle was over, Kais walked quickly over to the wounded Musa, once again pulling the bandage roll and some spray potion from his pocket. He checked over his pokemon's wounds with a concerned face. The cuts upon Musa's arms from the Fury Cutter attack were largely irrelevant, many only just breaking the skin, and would heal just fine on their own, so Kais just gave them a light spray of the potion. The large wound on Musa's chest, however, would require much more attention. Looking closely, Kais could see a few small glints of bone amongst the blood and torn flesh. He looked up at the stoic pokemon's face.

"Musa, please remove the Psychic barrier so I can fix you up." Kais told him.

It nodded slightly, then the blue glow in it's eyes faded, returning to their original deep red. Almost instantly the blood began to flow again, and Musa winced at the pain, but hid it quickly. He was one to take the Gallade's reputation of 'knight-pokemon' seriously.
Kais worked quickly to clean up the excess blood and to try and staunch the blood, but each time he had been ready to apply a bandage, the wound would start bleeding once more. Even after forcing Musa to lie down, he could not get it to stop. Soon his own hands were slick with blood. Help arrived from an unexpected place, as a feminine hand appeared at his shoulder holding a small leather pouch.

"Please, use these herbs, they act as a coagulant and will help to stop the bleeding." said a quiet voice. Kais turned to regard Haruka, a little surprised. The earlier intense hostility and confidence had disappeared, replaced by a solemn and concerned look, and although it was almost indiscernible, Kais could see a look of sad defeat deep in the woman's green eyes.

Still surprised, but grateful nonetheless, Kais took the pouch from her and thanked her sincerely. With Haruka's help, he sprinkled the herbs, a mix of fine khaki powder and deep green shredded leaves, into the wound, then cleaned and bandaged it. The herbs had worked well, stopping the bleeding quickly and they seemed to be repairing the flesh slowly.

Once, they had finished their work, Kais looked at Musa's face, more than relieved that he would be ok. The pokemon had fell into a semi-concious state, its own will probably keeping it from falling completely concious, and it seemed pale even with it's white skin. Kais whispered some reassuring words to it, then recalled it to it's pokeball. Then he turned back to Haruka.

"Err... thanks for the help, really means a lot." he told her. "Umm, was your Scyther, Ok?"

She nodded silently, slowly wiping her hands on her skirt to clean them a bit. Kais, felt a bit awkward, defeated members of any previous team he had thought would run away, shouting daft things about revenge, instead the woman before him had kinda deflated. He dismissed the thoughts, he'd worry about it later, for now, there were still two criminals awaiting him upstairs.

"Err....thanks for the great battle, see you around." He called as he walked towards the now unoccupied staircase.

*** *** *** *** ***

The upper floors over the pokemon tower were basically one huge multi-storey graveyard. Rows and rows of stone tablets and ceramic urns filled them, leaving small walkways in between for trainers to visit their deceased comrades. On this night, the paths were covered in the same ominous mist that blanketed the town below. Kais felt himself being quieter than usual, although he had never had any of his pokemon die, he knew all to well the emotions that came with it due to his mother's Rapidash dying when he was eight. The Rapidash's remains were not kept here, his mother had scattered the ashes in some fields near Violet City, but he still kept a respectful silence as he walked.

An hour later and Kais had reached the top floor, having searched the entire tower. Now he was bored again and immensely disappointed at the missing trainers that were supposed to be here waiting to battle him. In the end, the only trace he could find was a smashed window on the seventh floor, evidently they had done what they came to do and escaped.

Annoyed, he started to climb back down the stairs. It wasn't until he had got back to the 6th floor, did he finally find another presence. A single Haunter was floating along a row of gravestones, morosely dragging its fingers through the dust across the top of them. It was only now Kais realised that there was a lack of ghost pokemon here.

"Haunter?" he called out it.

At the sound of his voice, the ghost-type jumped, and started floating away as fast as it could, a fearful look on it's face.
"Wait, I'm not here to hurt you." Kais cried out, confused.

The Haunter stopped down and spun to face the human, it's expression still wary. Kais made sure to show no hostility, and so he placed his feet apart and held his arms clear of his pokeballs.

"I want to ask you why there aren't more Pokemon here." he told the ghost. The Haunter looked at him for a second, then began bawling loudly, tears streaming from it's eyes. In between sobs it described to the trainer what happened, all the while waving it's limbless hands around wildly. In the end Kais was no clearer to what happened, the tirade just sounded to him like a mix of crying and the pokemon's name. He sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Haunter, try and explain so I can understand." Kais said with a reassuring tone. He walked over with the intent of patting the pokemon sympathetically, but remembered it was a ghost, so he looked calmly into its large eyes instead.

The pokemon stopped crying slowly, breathing heavily, if ghosts did that. It narrowed it's eyes like it was thinking. It then grinned at Kais, and flew over to the wall. Slowly, it scratched several child-like drawings into the plaster. Kais walked over to study them. It was a picture of two stickmen, one bigger than the other, a pokeball with a line coming out of it, and a crude Haunter shape.

"They came here to capture you?" Kais asked, indicating the stickmen. Haunter nodded. "How many got caught?"

"Haunter, Haunter Haunt Haunter.…" It began counting it's fingers.

"No, draw them please." Haunter scratched more pictures. There were 3 Gastly, a Haunter, a Gengar, 2 Misdreavous and 2 Shuppet and a Duskull.

"How many are left?" The Haunter pointed at itself and began sobbing again.

Kais frowned. They were here to collect ghost-type pokemon, but for what reason? He would find those thieves a question them,
"I'll bring your friends back Haunter, don't you worry. I do not break my promises."

The Haunter stopped crying and began to follow him. It grinned widely at him then began to guffaw loudly, before rushing to hug the bemused trainer. Kais shivered involuntarily as the deathly cold ghost-pokemon passed clean through his body. Haunter laughed more.
"Well, see you soon Haunter." Kais said weakly. He waved to the laughing ghost and stepped down the staircase.

"What an emotional pokemon." He thought, a grin across his face. "And now I have a reason to continue the fun and find the guys who got away. Not that I wasn't going to anyway."

*** *** *** *** ***

He was still grinning when he reached the atrium, but looking up, the grin was swapped for a look of surprise. Haruka was still sat in the place he had left her, holding her pokeballs to her chest in a quiet hug. She appeared to be crying.

"Haruka, are you ok?" he asked softly to avoid startling her. She may have been the enemy, but Kais was one with a soft spot for comforting depressed girls. He just hated seeing people upset. He walked over and sat crossed legged in front of her.

"Why couldn't I beat you?" It was a rhetoric question, but Kais answered anyway.

"You nearly did." He replied quietly.

"It's not enough, I thought I was finally strong enough to stop losing."

"Err...well everyone loses a bit."

"But I always lose." she cried, looking up sharply, a tinge of anger in her voice.

"But you were so confident earlier."

"That's because I believed the grass master had trained me enough to defeat anyone."

Kais frowned.

"...Grass master?"

"I'm not supposed to say."

"Please, I can help you. I need to know."

"I joined an organization. It is a group made up of a single master for each type of pokemon and their apprentices. I was one of the three grass apprentices."

"Oh, so you joined them for strength?"

"Yes, that was obviously a waste of time." The tinge became bitter regret and she hung her head again.

"You don't have to be in a fancy organization to be strong. You could train alone, or try the Celadon gym since your a grass specialist."

Haruka shook her head.

"But, it would take to long."

"Why do it quickly, real strength comes from patience and years of training."

"I need to do it quickly." She said quietly.

"Why?"

"I can't tell you…"

"So, why did you tell me about the organization?"

"I don't know, I… I don't care about it any more." She looked back at Kais. "Let me come with you! You can teach me to be strong."

"Wuh....why, I'm not that strong." Kais said taken aback.

"You are, you willingly confronted the three of us without knowing what we could have done." She smiled. "And you really care about your pokemon."

"Thanks, so do you, but.…"

"But what?"

" How can I trust you? You just turned your back on those guys and a master you seem to have had some respect for."
"I know, I don't think I would trust me. But that's for you to decide, I never really paid attention to anyone else, just the grass master during training."

Kais began to think about the offer. She was an intriguing, and good looking woman. Also he hadn't travelled with any other people in a while now. Plus, she had helped with Musa and she really did seem a nice person, if maybe too competitive. He might not trust her fully, but trust always had to be earned."

"You can come with me for now." he said hesitantly. "But your gonna have to earn my trust. And at some point you gonna tell me why your obessed with gaining strength."

Haruka went to object, but stopped at the frown on Kais' face. She inhaled, then smiled, before dropping her Pokeballs gently onto her lap, and leaning forwad to hug Kais tightly.

"Thank you so much."

Kais laughed, then pointed at Haruka's pokemon.

"Come on, lets get these to the pokemon centre. Then we can decide what to do."

She nodded and let him go. Then after returning her pokeballs to their straps, and picking up her cloak from where it was discarded earlier, they made to leave back through the store room.

 

[Lycaeus]

Didn't see that coming at all. Haruka joining Kais?? Wow, ok lol. And I love the Haunter scene, it made me laugh :D

 

[Firefly17]

Thanks for your continued support Redwire.


Chapter 7 - At the Pokemon Centre

Kais and Haruka exited the tower quietly, sticking to the shadows until they reached the road. They turned west and headed towards the pokemon centre through the mist filled streets. Once they had reached the halfway point, Kais decided to continue the conversation from within the tower. Their words misting in the chilled air.

"Can you tell me why you were sent to capture the ghost pokemon living at the tower?" he asked the woman beside him. She turned to look at him.

"How did you know what we were doing?" Haruka replied a little surprised.

"An artistic Haunter told me." Kais replied, smiling at the memory.

"Artistic....? Never mind, but yeah that's it." She lowered her voice a little. "The ghost-type master apparently has yet to take any apprentices, and due to the fact that not many people own a ghost pokemon, let alone a full team, we were sent to capture some, so that they can be given to the new apprentices when they are recruited."

"I see. Why didn't they send trainers with an advantage to ghost-types?" Kais replied thoughtfully, scratching his head. "That would make sense to me."

"Apparently they did. Some were sent to Mt. Pyre and the Lost Tower. Greg, the big guy. He is an apprentice of the bug master, and was sent as training, due to bugs having the disadvantage. Same with me and Scyther."

"Ok, was it all apprentices who were sent?"

"Yeah, the master's rarely do anything as far as we know, they just give orders and train us."

"Right. Are they powerful?" Kais asked, obviously eager to know if he would get a bigger challenge.

"Apparently so. My old master was extremely skilled, and was known to be able to hold his own against even fire-types."

Kais said nothing else, but rubbed his chin, a grin on his face. He'd missed tough battles, and it looked like a few were on the horizon. This was going to be fun.

*** *** *** *** ***

They reached the pokemon centre in a matter of minutes due to the small size of Lavender Town. The centre mirrored the town's size, having only a single floor instead a large hospital/hotel that made up most Pokemon centres. The building itself was white-washed with a red, tiled roof that was ornamented by an oversized pokeball. The entrance was a set of glass doors set into the middle of front wall. Through the glass, the trainers could see, a small, comfy looking reception area. Unfortunately, due to the time, the curfew was in effect, and they had to knock loudly for several minutes for the resident Nurse Joy, a mature pokemon doctor in her thirties, to appear from her quarters in a dressing gown and let them in.

The nurse frowned and them, a little annoyed at being woken at such a late hour.

"What time do you call this, adults should know better than this." Joy said haughtily.

"We're really sorry Nurse Joy." Kais apologised. "We got attacked by a wild Nidoking and our pokemon are badly injured, this was the closest pokemon centre."

Joy's angry face smoothed quickly to concern at the mention of injured pokemon and hurried them inside without further questioning of the cover story. Kais stole a chance to wink at Haruka as the nurse turned around to start her computer and turn on a lamp.

"Ok, pass me your pokeballs and I'll get them fixed up." Joy asked, now wide awake and acting professionally. She placed two trays in front of the trainers, upon which Kais placed four pokeballs and Haruka placed three.

"My Donphan has a large wound on his back, and Gallade has a deep cut in his chest. Pidgeot is exhausted from a lot of flying. The Charizard is due for a checkup as well." Kais told the Nurse.

"My Gloom is badly bruised, and Tangela has burns and bruises." Haruka glanced at Dozou's pokeball. "And Scyther got caught by a Psychic attack."

A Chansey appeared from Joy's room putting on it's hat. It walked over smiling at the two trainers and collected the trays, taking them through to the examination room.

"Ok, I'll get them healed quickly, but how did Tangela get burnt and Scyther suffer psychic wounds when you were attacked by a Nidoking." Joy asked, suspiciously.

"Err...well, this Nidoking was real clever, it used our attacks against us." Kais explained quickly, adopting an embarrassed look. "Tangela was burnt by it's own Solar Beam. Whereas Scyther got hit by my Gallade."

Joy surveyed his face for a second, then she smiled.

"Ok, don't worry yourself about getting beat by that Nidoking then. It sounds like a Pokemon even the famous Red would have trouble with. I'll have your pokemon back to full health in no time. Until then, please make yourselves at home."

"Thanks a lot." Kais and Haruka both replied sincerely, returning the smile.

Joy bowed politely and left in the same direction as the Chansey. Kais looked around, then tapped Haruka's arm, pointing at some couches along the east wall.

"Do you wanna sit down?" He asked.

"Umm, yes thanks." Haruka replied nodding. "Actually, Id like to get some rest, do you mind if I sleep."

"No of course not, unless there's anything else you can tell me about the organization?"

"I'm afraid not, I guess I was pretty low ranked, I never got told much that didn't concern me directly." she apologised.

"Figures. But never mind, sleep well. I'm gonna go get some stuff I left at my campsite before I went to the tower , I'll be back soon."
"Hmm, goodnight Kais, and thank you, be safe." she smiled at him.

"No need to worry." Kais said enthusiastically, puffing out his chest. "Nothing can hurt me."

With that, he turned and left the building, Haruka watched him leave with tired, still smiling slightly as she drifted easily into an exhausted slumber.

*** *** *** *** ***

Having left Kazel and Kathon back at the centre, Kais was left without a pokemon to fly him to his destination. It took Kais about an hour to get back to the cliffs where he had watched Haruka and her previous associates sneak into Lavender on their way to the Pokemon Tower. The top of the cliff was forested, but he had hidden his belongings in a large round holly bush that was positioned out of the tree line so he could remember it easily.

He found it quickly without problem, and crouched town to retrieve his luggage, two large cylindrical bundles lashed together with an extra strap so he could carry it over his shoulder. It wasn't anything special, but it contained most of his belongings; a small tent, spare clothes, food for him and his pokemon, sleeping bag, wash bag, and various other stuff for living in the outdoors.

Kais looked over the bundle quickly to check no wild pokemon had been in it, then hefted it over his shoulder and began to make his way back to the town.

Getting back to Lavender took less time than leaving, mostly due to it being downhill. Kais started to walk towards the pokemon centre when he had an idea. He quickly change his route and arrived back at the Pokemon Tower within 10 minutes.

Running back through the storeroom he ran over to the receptionist's desk and checked the floor. It took a while in the dim light but he managed to find some fine green hairs on the floor. Electrike hair. He smiled and reached for one of his two remaining pokeballs, releasing the contained pokemon in a flash of light.

"Hey there Puran." he said stroking the pale green fox pokemon. The Leafeon stretched languidly, and smiled at her trainer, before sitting before him in a very demure manner.

"Can you get the scent off of these hairs?" he told her, holding them out. She wrinkled her nose and looked away in disgust. "Please Puran, you gotta find where this pokemon and it's trainer went." Kais pleaded. The grass-type considered it for a moment, then sniffed the hairs, deciding to give in to her trainer's polite request. She was too proud at times.

"You can find it, right?" Puran gave him a look as it to say, 'Who do you think your talking to?', then stood up and ran out of the building head held high.

"Make sure your back by morning!" Kais called after her. He then left to return to the pokemon centre.

*** *** *** *** ***
When Kais returned to the centre, Haruka was still fast asleep. The seven pokeballs that they had left with Joy were on the table. He walked over and placed his other two onto the table, then sat down next to the sleeping woman. Haruka shifted in her sleep, her hair falling away so Kais could see her face. He smiled at the peaceful serenity on it, so different to her expressions from several hours previously. He pulled away is gaze and reached into his bundle, pulling out his sleeping bag and a blanket.

He spread the blanket over Haruka to keep her warm. He found himself staring at her face again, she was really beautiful. Kais shook his head, annoyed at himself. He could trust to easily, getting drawn in to people, mostly girls, only to get betrayed. He rubbed his face and stepped over to his sleeping bag. Kicking off his boots, and removing his coat, climbed into his sleeping bag with a satisfied sigh.
Within 2 minutes he was fast asleep.

 

[Firefly17]

Here is Chapter 8.
For any of the readers out there, I'm looking for a full review of sorts. Please give me your thoughts on my writing abilities, the characters and plotline (and anything else you can think of). Thanks for reading.

Chapter 8 - To ride!

By day, Lavender Town looks completely different to it's eerie-looking night. In fact it looked quite lively, as several wild Doduo had awoken to caw a welcome to the sun. The mist that seeped from the Pokemon Tower had faded. The town now looked welcoming and homely in the cool morning light.

Haruka certainly thought so. She had gotten used to waking up with the sun, since her Gloom and Tangela would do so, attuned as they were to the daytime, and so she was awake at the crack of dawn. She had released her grass-types and they sat in the patch of light by the glass door, absorbing the sunlight. Haruka went and sat back down with the blanket.

Kais finally awoke about an hour and a half later, when the centre's Chansey had begun to cook and a delicious smell fresh bread, bacon, sausage and other breakfast foods was floating into the lobby. Haruka watched as his head rose a little, eyes still closed, as he sniffed the air.

He opened his eyes slowly, then peered around the room blearily. When he spotted Haruka, sat watching him with her arms folded in her lap, he gave a weak smile, then dropped his head back onto the cushion with a groan. Suddenly, forgetting that he was still zipped up inside his sleeping bag, Kais tried to stand up.....he struggled in mid-air for a second, then crashed onto the tiled floor.

"Ouch." he muttered, his face squashed against the laminet. Haruka burst out laughing. He wriggled about like a worm for a few seconds then finally wrestled himself free. Kais stood up with a red face and kicked the bag across the room. "I win." he mused defiantly, then turned and grinned at Haruka. She laughed and tears streaming from her eyes. Kais looked around aimlessly while he waited for her to stop.

It was at that moment Kais finally noticed a Leafeon looking at him irritably from by the doorway where it had been dozing with Gloom and Tangela. Kais looked at it for a few seconds, before his memory returned.

"Puran!" he shouted. "Your back!" He ran over and picked up the disgruntled pokemon and hugged her. "What did you find?"

"Wait, she's yours?" Haruka asked as she wiped the tears from her eyes, walking over to them. "I thought she was wild, she came here about an hour ago and just lay down with my pokemon."

"Yup, she's mine." Kais replied. "I sent her out to do something for me, whilst I was out last night."

"What was that?" Haruka reached up and began to stroke the Leafeon's soft fur. It purred happily.

"Puran is a great hunter, so I sent her to track the guys that were with you last night."

"Oh." Haruka dropped her hand, then looked at her feet. She was obviously ashamed of being associated with them. Kais pretended not to notice.

"Did you find them Puran?" he asked.

Puran gave him a look as if to say 'Duh.' and jumped out of his arms to pick up something from where she was lay. It was a piece of ripped cloth. Silver-Gray cloth. Like the cloaks the men wore last night, and the one on the chair where Haruka had slept right now. Kais smiled and knelt down, scratching Puran behind the ears.

"Good girl."

*** *** *** *** ***

Haruka and Kais spent the next half hour breakfasting in the cafeteria with their pokemon. As promised Kais treated his pokemon to extra. The two groups were getting along well. Dozou and Kazel were joking around with Gloom. Tangela was getting advice from Kais' Quagsire, Dorol, who despite his dopey looks was wise and fatherly. Kathon was listening to this nodding along to the water pokemon's words. Musa and Scyther (who Kais kept his distance from) it seemed, had gained a mutual respect for each other after their battle, but were not saying much, they had just nodded on meeting, then sat together, eating with knight-like dignity. Puran was asleep again, which was understandable since she had been out all night.

After breakfast, Kais called home, so he could transfer two pokemon.

"Hi Mom." he said, as the screen lit up to reveal a woman in her early forties with long, curly, dark brown hair.
"Oh Kais, hello, how are you?"

"Great thanks." he replied. "How is everyone?"

"They're good." she said. "So what's the occasion?"

"Occasion?"

"What're you calling for, it must be special since you don't call much." She asked with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Mom, I called last week, your just being daft."

She pouted.

"I know that, I just miss you."

"I know you do, I'll pay a visit as soon as possible, ok?"

"Ok." She smiled.

"Now, can you transfer me my Ponyta please?"

"Which one? Strider or Swift?" His mother replied, using Kais' two Ponyta's nicknames.

"Both please.

"Why both? You can only ride one at a time."

"I know, someone else will be riding the other."

"Who?"

"Err... Haruka" Kais muttered, scratching his head.

"Haruka? A girl? ....... Oh Kais, you have a girlfriend, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"What....no Mom, she's not my girlfriend! I only met her yesterday." Kais cried defensively, waving his hands around.

"You sure? I bets she's pretty. Where is she?" Kais' Mom started trying to look behind him.

"She's not here, she's sorting out her pokemon. Anyway." He said, quickly changing the subject. "I'm sending over Dorol and Dozou, ok? You gotta be nice to Dozou, he's just recovered from a big injury."

His Mom nodded, but didn't question the wound, as she knew the dangers of pokemon battles, having been a trainer as a teenager.
"Ok, let me go get your Ponyta then. I'll be right back. She left the screen for a few minutes then returned a with two pokeballs. "Here we go. Ready?"

On both ends, Kais and his mother placed two pokeballs onto a small shelf attached to the side of the phone. There was a burst of electricity, and the balls vanished, to be replaced a second later by two new ones.

"There we go, thanks a lot Mom, take care of Dorol and Dozou."

"I will, and you take care of yourself, and call soon."

Kais nodded, and smiled. "You know me Mom. I'll be fine."

"I do know. Love you. Goodbye."

"Love you too, Mom. See ya."

The connection was cut and the screen turned black. Kais picked up the pokeballs and turned round to see...

"Was that your mother?" Haruka queried.

"Arghhh! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Kais cried dropping the pokeballs.

"Who are they?" She indicated the pokeballs.

"My Ponyta, we'll be able to catch those guys quicker this way. You ready to go?"

"Oh, ok." She nodded. "And yeah I'm ready."

"Ok then. See ya Nurse Joy, thanks for everything." Kais shouted.

Joy waved them off as they collected their luggage and left the Pokemon Centre.

*** *** *** *** ***

Once outside, Kais released Puran and instructed the grass-type to lead the way. It led them straight through the west gate, the route to Saffron City.

"Ok, here is were we mount." Kais told Haruka. He reached into his coat and pulled the two new pokeballs from his belt. "Come on out guys!"

Both balls burst open, revealing two Ponyta in a flash of light. They were stallion and a mare, with the male being larger.

"I'll ride Strider." Kais said, pointing at the stallion. "You ride Swift."

"Umm, Ok." Haruka replied.

"Swift, this is my friend Haruka." Kais informed the female Ponyta. "Can you let her take a ride?"

Swift looked at her mate, Strider, who studied Haruka for a second, then nodded. Swift seemed to smile, then stepped over to Haruka and nuzzled her cheek.

"Ahh, there we go, now you won't get burnt." Kais said happily.

"Why did she ask permission?"

"It's just what they are like, Strider is protective of Swift as they are mates." Kais replied. "Now, let's just put these on."
He pulled a pair of saddles and reins from his bag. Haruka only just realising that the bags were considerably bigger. "He must've withdrew them from the PC." she thought. Kais spent five minutes attaching the reins and saddles, altering Swift's stirrups for Haruka's height.

"Ok then!" Kais cried as he mounted. "Puran, let's go. Strider, Swift follow her!"

Haruka almost lost her balance for a second as Swift sprang away after the agile Leafeon, quickly followed by Kais and Strider.

 

[Neiko Star]

Okay, I didn't exactly read the whole thing, but I would seriously advise you to change paragraphs each time a new person speaks. And that means skipping two lines, not just one. It makes your text much more readable. So try it out, 'kay?

 

[Firefly17]

Thanks. I always forget to double space.

 

[Neiko Star]

It's really good now! ^_^ I enjoyed reading it. Your characters are nice and your grammar is pretty good. Just one thing:

"Swift, this is my friend Haruka." Kais informed the female Ponyta.

This should be:

"Swift, this is my friend Haruka," Kais informed the female Ponyta.

In sentences like those, which normally end by a period, it takes a comma instead of a period. (Don't ask me why, I have no idea. XD It's just like that.) But that's only when you have 'she', 'he', 'they', 'we', 'I', 'it', or whatever after it. Like, when you say stuff like:

"Hello," she greeted.

"Hi," her friend replied.

But in other cases, it's a period. (Confusing, eh?) Like this:

"Hello." She looked at her friend.

"Hi." Her friend looked happy.

Or whatever. Did you get the idea? If you didn't, I could always explain it properly instead of rushing it like I am right now. xD

Also, when you make one of your characters shout or yell, you should put ! instead of the normal period(well, comma). It makes your sentence more...believable. (You don't see many people say yell things calmly.)

 

[Firefly17]

Yeah I got what you meant. I'll edit the previous chapters when I get the chance. Thanks for your help.


Chapter 9

Two sets of pokemon's hooves clattered down a worn dirt track in the morning sun, in pursuit of a third, quieter pokemon. Three figures; two people riding Ponyta were following a third, a small female Leafeon. The fox-like pokemon was running at great speed, to the point were the fast Ponyta were running to keep up. The riders clothes billowing behind them.

"How can Puran run so fast?" Haruka called to Kais from the back of Swift.

"Haven't you noticed?" Kais replied. "She's using Quick Attack to increase her speed to match Strider and Swift."

"She must be exhausted." Haruka cried, looking shocked.

"Nope, after bathing in the sun this morning, she has plenty of energy." Kais said with a grin. "Besides that, thanks to this lovely whether, Puran is absorbing the sunlight constantly. It'll be a while before she wears out."

"Oh." Haruka turned back to face their route, gripping Swift's reins a little more tightly.

"I should have known that." She thought to herself. "I'm supposed to be a grass trainer, and I let my own pokemon bathe in the sun as well."

She glanced at Kais, who was leaning over Strider's neck, talking into the stallion's ear. "But his pokemon sure are powerful. The way his Donphan stood up to Tangela when at a disadvantage and already weakened, or his Gallade fighting on after that wound. Even now with Leafeon. He's …" She frowned. "I gotta catch up to him, I can't be a burden if he is planning to take on the masters."

*** *** *** *** ***

They rode for almost two hours at this speed, before Kais called a stop at a small stream running through some hills near the eaves of a forest.

"Well done, guys," he said to his three pokemon. "You deserve a good rest."

Strider and Swift walked over to the stream to take a drink, before going to graze in a patch of healthy looking grass. Puran joined them at the stream to lap up some of the clear water, before going to lie down on top of a large flat stone.

Kais walked around a bit, stretching his legs and arms to remove the stiffness of riding. Then he grabbed a pokeball and tossed it into the air. The familiar red light burst out and reformed itself into the shape of a large, golden-feathered bird, Kazel, Kais' Pidgeot.

"Hey there Kazel." Kais said to the flying-type, stroking it's neck. "Can you do something for me? Fly up and see if you can spot anything unusual, or anybody wearing cloaks like Haruka's."

The large bird, nodded and cooed, before spreading it's wide wings and taking off into the sky with a loud cry. It returned several minutes later after circling the area.

"Find them?" Kazel shook it's head. "That's good. You can go take a drink if you want." Kazel nuzzled her beak against his chest, then flapped over to the stream.

"What were you looking for?" Haruka asked.

"I was checking to see if those guys where still in the area, and whether or not they met up with any others. It seems that they haven't, so we're good. I don't wanna be outnumbered."

"Oh, ok then, that makes sense."

"Say, do you know where they are heading, you haven't really said a word regarding this chase." Kais asked, turning to look Haruka in the eye.

"No, I was instructed just to follow them as backup." Haruka explained. "The only bases I know of are the one near Vermilion, that's Archie's master's, where we met before coming here. And the one at the southern end of the bike path, which is where I trained. We were instructed to follow Greg to the bug master's base after the mission, that's all.

"So you were kept in the dark about each other's whereabouts until it was needed." Kais said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "Hmm, convenient. As if any of you were captured by the police or an opposing group, only one base would be compromised. Seems this group knows what they are doing."

"Actually, speaking of getting captured, we were followed for some time on the way to Lavender, though we gave him the slip. But he was a skilled tracker, he could've picked up our trail by now."

Kais snapped out of his thought patterns for finding the other bases.

"Followed? By who?" he asked.

"Umm, we don't know, he was about your age, a trainer. Had silver-coloured hair, and a coat like yours, but white."

Kais' eyes opened wide in realization. He turned to the Pidgeot bathing in the stream.

"Kazel, did you hear that description?"

The bird nodded.

"Did you see him?"

Again a nod.

"Where?"

Kazel lifted her wing in the direction of Lavender and chirped.

"Great, if I'm right your lucky you gave him the slip." Kais said, walking over to collect his bag. "Kazel, for future reference, he counts as 'something unusual'. Thanks for noticing him though." Then he returned Kazel to her pokeball.

"What, who is it?" Haruka asked, following him.

"Strider, Swift, Puran, time to go!" Kais shouted urgently. "He's an old…friend, and one of the few trainers I've ever lost to. Now let's go. We gotta reach Archie and Greg first."

Haruka nodded. They mounted quickly and rode fast after Puran, who led them straight in to the forest, following the river.

*** *** *** *** ***

A tall man with a flowing long white coat and silver coloured hair walked briskly along Route 8, a golden Ninetails at his heel. Every now and then he'd stop to inspect the ground, checking the tracks, the Ninetails assisting with it's powerful sense of smell. He'd seen the Pidgeot fly up to survey the area, and recognised it instantly thanks to it's distinctive golden plumage.

"We're getting closer, Ninetails." he said in a deep voice. "I wonder if Kais has noticed me yet? Actually, I wonder if he even knows who accompanies him. He never was one to pay attention much. Such an idiot involving himself with a group of villains.....must be the girl."

The chuckled to himself, rubbing his chin with a large hand.

"Shame this hunt is almost over, I was enjoying it, especially since I'm going to get to beat Kais again."

Ninetails barked happily, sharing her trainers love for battle.

"Let's go." the man ordered.