AN: Make no assumptions on this chapter. NO ASSUMPTIONS. Especially when it concerns OCs.
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Chapter 1 – Shalen
Running off the ship excitedly, I snapped my head left and right, up and down to take in my surroundings, which were… rather unusual.
"Don't get too excited, Red…" Blue sighed. I absentmindedly called back a reply and stared.
"Pikaa…." The yellow ball of fur on my shoulder gaped.
The beach wasn't vibrant and the sand was practically gray in color, making it seem like hard gravel instead. However, when I bent down to grasp some, it glittered slightly in the pale sunlight before floating away in the breeze easily. It was surprisingly soft. Like fragile powder. And now that I look at it this way, it now seemed like powder that had been grinded from a space meteor had been poured in great amounts all over the beach instead of sand.
Also, when you glance behind, you would see a deep dark blanket of blue silently rippling past. The water was already very deep even this near to land, as the ground suddenly dropped into a steep fall. I can see why they chose to dock the ship here, as there was no interference with the ground even when coming up this close to the island. The thing is that the sea already looked so unwelcoming and cold from the point where waves met sand… hardly the kind of sea where you just want to jump right in, or a place where you would want to go for a vacation.
When I straightened up, a whole forest loomed over me. There was nothing in particular I would like to say, but just that I didn't quite fancy getting lost in that thick bunch of trees. From this perspective, and add in the very dense looking undergrowth and tall trees that were growing together at close intervals, it looked even denser then any of the other forests in the other Regions I have visited and almost literally impermeable.
Plus, it was rather domineering too, because normally you wouldn't jump off a ship to find a whole forest greeting you, instead of the usual neat ship ports and human civilization. However, you couldn't expect to find a ship port here, because unlike other Regions, this one is way off technology.
The sky was also dull, it having rained earlier this morning, and the mist that lingered around due to the aftermath of the rain gave this whole island, especially that mountain in a distance, a mysterious air around it.
Opening my mouth, I breathed in the strange foreign air. I tasted the bitter coldness of the northern waters. It stung. The icy salt, a brackish tang. Danger from the ocean gave off a sense of wariness. But yet it was mixed with scents from the forest. Mustiness from the soil. Fresh green aroma of the plants. The serious lingering fragrance of boulders and stone. Both contrasted so strongly, but had a same caution to it.
There was almost nothing to be heard. The island was silent. Silently watching the foreigners step unto unknown territory. Even the sea behind us was unusually silent. The waves brushing against the sand gave almost nothing but a mere whisper. No birds, no occasional sound of crickets chirping, no calls from any sort of Pokémon. All, silent.
I felt as if I've just stepped back in time, into a fantasy terrain, and was now reliving an old, ancient past.
At that thought, I felt a sharp thrill run down my back as adrenaline rushed into my bloodstream.
"Hey Pika, I wonder what sort of adventures await me here!" I grinned to the Pikachu who was currently sniffing the air.
"Chu!" Pika said happily.
"Wow… this place is neat." I said to the cool footsteps behind me and looked over my other shoulder as my companion finished exchanging words with the captain of the ship. "And, it even beats you in terms of unwelcoming coldness!"
"I presume it will most welcome your enthusiasm then." Scoffed back a sarcastic reply.
I laughed at Blue's reply and glanced back at the silent island. "But aren't you glad Professor Oak asked us to do research for him here? I'm so excited!"
Honestly I was surprised when Professor Oak called us to his laboratory and asked us to help him out in a new Region up north.
"This Region isn't entirely new to the world." Professor Oak corrected me. "It has just been blocked off due to the severe lack of technology, and we didn't have technology advanced enough to reach it."
"However, a recent breakthrough in terms of shipping technology has made it possible for us to cross over and reestablish bonds with the locals of this Region." The Professor closed his eyes seriously. "But you boys must be prepared, for this Region, also known as the Shalen Region, and its inhabitants may not be entirely hospitable towards you, and may even show hostility."
"Are there new kinds of Pokémon in this Shalen Region?" Blue asked as he opened his eyes.
"That's what you're going there to discover, Blue." Professor Oak coughed and walked over to a small map on a table.
"This is a rough sketch of the Shalen Region made by the recent sailors who first visited the island." I glanced at it properly, looking at the Region map. To me, it kinda looked like a large irregularly shaped dot with extensions and smaller islands surrounding it. Looking at the size of it, it was probably only a quarter the size of the Hoenn Region. Pika hopped off my shoulder and patted the paper.
"Now, I shall give you a brief introduction to Shalen and the Shalenians with the little information that was gathered and given to me." The Prof said as he sat down.
"Shalenians are very traditional. They reject technology because they think it's a violation of nature and refuse to accept its convenience. Completely shutting off from the world since about a thousand years ago, we have lost contact and valuable information and news on what is going on in Shalen. They have also developed their own language called Shalenese, which they teach their children first, before they go on to developing their second language skills in English. This also results in a little difficulty for you, because their English skills aren't very good. But rest assured that the sailors have found you a reliable guide that is both fluent in English and Shalenese."
The Prof stopped and thought for a moment, gathering little bits of information. And then he continued.
"Also, the sailors reported that the Shalenians have their own religion called Shuko. I do not know what this religion is about and who they worship, but I do know that they worship a Goddess and this religion celebrates the diversity and equilibrium of nature and its wonders. The sailors also said something about guardian spirits, but I cannot completely recall what was said about that."
"More on this mysterious race and Pokémon is yet to be reported, and you'll just have to find out the rest by yourselves." Prof Oak glanced at the map.
"Quite a secretive place." I said. Blue nodded as he observed his new surroundings.
"Red and Blue?" An unfamiliar feminine voice called in an unknown accent. The accent strangely complimented the way the female spoke English however, making the language seem more appealing. However, we were caught off guard at the informality. As we turned around, we caught our first glance of the Shalenians.
"You must be Leah." Blue said.
The young girl nodded confidently and winked. She was… well. I really don't know what to say because she was… just… just… exotic. I wouldn't know if all the Shalenian girls were all as striking as that, or maybe she spent extra time tanning in the sun.
"Wow, catch your eye much huh Pika?" I murmured to the electric mouse who automatically nodded thoughtfully with its eyes closed.
Her skin was an olive golden color, and underneath that, I gulped inwardly at the lean but definitely powerful muscles that rippled every time she moved. Not bad for a girl. Her slanted eyes were the color of dull gold, and her extremely wavy sand colored hair fell to her shoulders. As expected of the Shalenians who have distanced themselves from technology, she only wore a simple shirt and shorts. Overall, she was very pretty. I'd give her that. The kind of kick-*** girl you would expect to see acting in a modern secret agent movie.
"Welcome to Shalen!" She flashed us a smile that has definitely seen boys faint at least ten times during its lifespan. "Here, in Shalenese, we would say, Selima! Translated to English, it's Welcome."
"Then I would say Kriestha." Blue said tonelessly. He must've found out some Shalenese phrases from the Prof before we left…
"Not bad." Then after catching sight of my raised eyebrow, "It means Thank you." She grinned cheekily. "Anyway, the grouchy elders, yea they're always grouchy, are like, waiting for you guys, so let's hurry."
"She sure speaks modern for one being stuck here." I muttered to Blue who, as usual, grunted in reply.
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Darkness.
It was overwhelming, but I didn't mind.
It was the heat and stuffiness that bothered me.
I hate heat, high temperatures, fieriness, fever or anything that was associated with fire. I really do. A little warmth was okay, but when it came to the flame, I really really disliked it.
The pungent musty smell of this place also bothered me at first, but now I've sort of gotten used to it, but nothing would beat the fresh air I was breathing just a few hours ago.
I uncurled myself from the floor and paced around a little, shaking off the restlessness of the past few days. The chains that were attached to the metal clasps around my ankles made metallic sounds as they brushed each other and the floor. It was noisy, and the ringing sound they made after hours of silence hurt my ears. The metal clasps were also too tight, and my limbs were numb. It was uncomfortable.
I was also hungry and thirsty. After being shut in here for who knows how long, only once do my captors remember to throw a bit of bread and a bowl of water in daily, probably the leftovers from their meals. However, they forgot I was wearing this thing on my mouth, and it made it difficult to eat…
Sitting back down, I placed my forelimbs on the metal muzzle. They replaced the rope that held my jaws earlier with this metal contraption that was shaped such that I couldn't open my mouth properly. With the space that was given, it was only enough to lap water, and to nibble bits of bread. I couldn't even pant properly for heaven's sake!
Suddenly there was a heavy bump against the wall I was leaning on, throwing me off balance. I stumbled forward and cursed violently at whomever that did that. A muffled snarl from my mouth escaped.
Then, I found my currently situation quite amusing. I'm sure none of my numerous brothers and sisters had ever gotten into trouble like this, even though many are after them. Even if they did get into a bigger mess then I did, I'm quite sure they had put up a much better fight then I ever did. Although… If I'm not wrong, Hai and Adam did get into a rather big sticky mess, one or two years ago, leaving Ryuu to clean up after them…
I sighed. Feng… I wonder where you are now.
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Shalenian houses were really interesting. Not your usual made out of brick and cement kind of houses, but more of mud and rock kind of houses.
They were build in such a way that the outside reminded me of the Tanoby Ruins where the unknown resided, back in the Sevii islands. These foreign houses still held their ground even though they have probably seen a fair amount of generations come and go, judging by the amount of erosion that we could see.
And as we slowly walked deeper into this strange town, the newer buildings - which were of a more grayish color and had less erosion then the older ones – slowly lessened and gave way to the older ones. The yellowish brown stones were half covered with dark green moss that sometimes stood out in tuffs at the cracks. The stones were also eroded, some slightly and some badly, in certain places, probably by the rough weather or wild Pokémon.
I opened my mouth and breathed. The forest smell was stronger then ever. I could even smell the fresh morning dew, and the sweet scent of honey somewhere further away.
"Like what you smell?" I laughed as I caught Pika who near fell off my shoulder leaning towards the scent of honey.
"Chu~"
Like before, there was not much noise as we walked through the silent village. I could only hear the crunch of stone and grass as we walked over them, maybe an occasional laugh or shout from children that were out of sight, and quiet murmurs the Shalenians exchanged while we walked past. Not a single clash from anything dropping, not a single trickle of water.
The silence was so overwhelming, sooner or later, we were all forced to be silent as well. Even Pika felt the need to be silent, and withdrew quietly on my shoulder.
I've also noticed that the Pokémon here all were all the same as the ones back in the other Regions, and I haven't seen any new Pokémon yet. Maybe this Region didn't have any new Pokémon.
Also, I noticed that Shalenians, they were all very slim, and that I understand because all of them need to do heavy work as there was almost no technology here at all. However, I noticed that most of the girls were all very beautiful in the same exotic way Leah was. It wasn't disturbing or anything, but it was rather strange.
Plus, I realized that Leah was the prettiest of the lot, and she was in high demand from the boys, seeing the number of them greeting her on the way, and seeing the envy in their eyes as they watched Blue and I.
Of course, I could understand why. With her bright, friendly and outgoing personality, added in her looks, Leah made a great catch. In a way though… she was a little too loud at times, and she also had a flirtatious side to her. I can even say that she has even tried making 'movements' on Blue and I as well. Honestly, we weren't too impressed, although I can say I was flattered by the attention.
But what really caught my attention more then Leah's flirting, was a massive temple like structure that loomed over us. It was able to be seen at the edge of the village, and now that we've gotten closer to it, it was so enormous. I could tell that it was obviously older then the rest of the smaller buildings, and I also knew that the houses built closest to this structure were the oldest houses around.
As we entered, Leah reached up to the wall on her toes and took down a cone that held fire from its metal holder at the side, and then we walked deeper and inner into the ominous blackness beyond.
The temple smelt musty and I could even catch sight of tree roots digging into the walls from above. The scent of soil grew stronger, and I realized that we were going underground. The thought was honestly a little worrying, but on the other hand, this was amazing.
As we entered, I immediately registered a fact even before registering my surroundings. The elders were very intimidating. I gulped. Their stare was so intense that it seemed like they were looking into my soul. Most of the elders were female, I noticed, and the only Pokémon that was seen in this special chamber was the Ninetales. They lounged on the ledges on the high walls, on the laps of others or just at the sides. Eyeing us with lazy curiosity for less then a minute, they dismissed us, flicking one of their nine slender tails.
"Woah, not a very friendly bunch." I gulped to my company of Blue and Pika.
Blue shushed me.
Then I took time to look around. We were in a huge chamber. The same flame cone holders brightened the place from high positions above us, and smoke from those flames wafted around near the ceiling, twisting and coiling downwards in lazy spirals. Eerie shadows were cast against the walls because of the flames, and everything was bathed in a reddish hue.
"Anlor ian to li." Leah said as she went down onto one knee. I looked to Blue, and we cautiously got unto one knee as well.
The elders were whispering to one another quietly, in Shalenese, and I could hear some bits of their foreign language slip out. They wore robes of white and black, and they seemed to be priests and priestesses of some sort. More then half of the elders were sitting, but one who was in the centre stood up to greet us once their private discussion was over.
"Leah, atonai etsai ilu." She said in a coarse voice that even though old, still demanded respect and was firm. "Anlor kailu iyuiyu to, avien na yori eni."
Leah got up and signaled to us that it was okay to get up now. "Vi." She said in an affirming tone and turned to us. "Sorry guys, gotta run!" She winked and stuck out her tongue playfully at us before disappearing into the wall. I blinked and stared and then realized that it was actually a door being covered by a thin veil of cloth that matched the color of the walls so perfectly, it almost seemed invisible.
"Greeting foreigners, my name is Kalinse." The same elder that ordered Leah away said in the same accented voice as Leah's. The priestess like woman walked with a surprising gracefulness towards us. This was definitely not your usual kind of elders.
She bowed to us slightly and I awkwardly bent my body in a less graceful manner. I grumbled to myself silently as I saw Blue doing it without any difficulty.
"Chu…" Pika patted my shoulder *** he sensed my irritation.
One of the Ninetales suddenly got up from one of the high ledges and leaped down gracefully. The elegant fox padded over without fear of these new visitors and sniffed at Blue who backed away from it with a frown. The Ninetales didn't like that, and it growled to show its disapproval. Blue immediately stiffened up as the Ninetales surrounded him with its tails and blocked him from backing away any further.
"Does it like him or something?" I whispered worriedly to Pika. I wasn't sure if these Ninetales were domesticated or anything, but they sure seemed like they had a mind of their own, and the elders only seemed curious about what this one was doing to Blue, and not concerned. If this one decided to attack Blue…
Pika tensed in anticipation of an attack.
The Ninetales suddenly nudged Blue's waist, and the sound of a Pokémon being released echoed though the hall.
"Nine!"
"Eh?" I blinked and stared. That Ninetales just released Blue's own Ninetales.
Immediately, the whole hall was filled with murmurings, not from the humans, but from the Ninetales that were now paying attention to what was happening. Some even got up and trotted over to examine this newcomer.
They sniffed and assessed the rather nervous looking Ninetales who glanced at Blue for help.
"Ah, so you own a Ninetales as well, young man." Elder Kalinse said and smiled. The wrinkles on her face increased as she did so.
"Yea…" Blue said guardedly as he placed a reassuring hand on his Ninetales's mane.
"Interesting…" The Elder said before her eyes sharpened in the direction of the wall where Leah disappeared into earlier. "It seems our Leah has finished her preparations." Elder Kalinse bowed and backed away. "It is our way of welcoming visitors warmly, so please enjoy the show Leah is going to put on for you, and the experience our culture…"
There was a soft ghostly music suddenly being played in the room. Before the lights got diminished by the other Ninetales, I caught a quick glimpse at the corner of the room. There were musicians there.
A figure suddenly pranced into the room. It was Leah, as the elder had informed us, but she was dressed differently. Her silhouette was slightly leaner and she seemed to be holding streamers of some sort. Whatever sort of bottom she was wearing billowed around her legs, and her hair was less wild then before.
"Nine!" We lifted our heads to the ceiling where the Ninetales were putting on an elegant display of a fire show. Fire blasted across the room uncontrollably only to be captured in those flame holders. Both wild but the Ninetales handled the power perfectly.
"Hi boys…" A soft captivating voice whispered, almost at the edge of my ear. I flinched, turned, and gaped.
Leah, was drop dead gorgeous. Anyone would agree on me with that at the current situation. I really wanted to catch a glimpse of Blue's expression, but unfortunately I couldn't tear my eyes off what I was looking at right now.
"Tempting is she not?" One of the elders asked as Leah danced.
I snapped out of it and glanced at the elders now, even though I badly wanted to look back at Leah.
"Every generation, we pick out the most beautiful girl in the village that is of sixteen years old." The Elder said, looking meaningfully to Leah. "She becomes a representative of our guardian spirit, the Goddess had so graciously bestowed on us fifteen years ago, Behold, the Enchantress, Venus!"
The flames got wilder still, and even though we weren't really paying attention to her anymore, Leah kept dancing.
That was when I saw it. An inscription drawing at the back wall behind the elders.
It depicted a Ninetales, but this Ninetales wasn't any normal Ninetales. The mane fell to the front of its face instead of just at the back, and awkwardly shaped wings sprouted from its back. I squinted at those wings and then I realized. Those wings looked like ice.
Venus? A new evolution of Ninetales maybe? Or a whole new Pokémon altogether?
It wasn't possible for that Pokémon that was inscribed on the wall o be a new evolution of Ninetales, because Ninetales was a fire type. Most Pokémon can't their element no matter how many times they evolved, Eevee an exception. Plus, this 'Ninetales' had ice for wings. It was unlikely that a fire type would suddenly evolve into an ice type. Venus, was definitely a new kind of Pokémon, if it even existed.
Also, a vague reasoning rose up from the back of my mind. Because of the honor of representing their guardian spirit in rituals or whatever they might do, the young females of the village spend time on their looks, waiting for an opportunity that they might get chosen for the position.
"Even Leah here is no match for Venus's beauty, for Venus can enchant even the most chaste and cold men in the world. Captivating, seducing the soul, she leads evil away from the village and seals them away."
"Here, beauty is cherished the most out of all the traits we possess."
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It was irritating. The constant bump that sent me tumbling across the floor to the opposite side of the box. I wonder where they were taking me. It must've been at least a week or so now.
Were they taking me across the seas to new foreign lands where Feng Akani told me he resides? It would certainly be nice to see him again, my mentor, my brother and my guardian all in one. I'm sure he would be pleased to see me too, but definitely not in this state.
I just hope that I would find an opportunity to slip away soon.
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I can see why Venus was an Enchantress. The beautiful fox-like creature was a must have for anyone who wanted an exotic pet, for those that participated in beauty contests –I suddenly thought of Ruby and chucked to myself- and for those that wanted power. Although Venus may look beautiful, there was no doubt she was powerful as well.
Leah was with us now, and we were walking on the gray soft sand along the beach. She was her usual self, acting normal, as if she didn't try to seduce us just ten minutes ago. Explaining that the guardian spirits that her elders were talking about referred to the legendary Pokémon, and Venus being their own guardian spirit, obviously she should be powerful.
A sharp yell snapped me out of my thoughts, and I glanced forward at a strange sight. Leah stiffened beside me.
Some sailors were hauling a wooden crater across the sand. Machokes and Machops were helping out, but it seemed very heavy. A lone medium sized boat, about the size of a large modern yacht –but it definitely wasn't a yacht- waited at the edge of the beach, and a high tech machinery like thing leaned over the railings to lift the box up once it reached into its range.
The crater was huge, it easily being a little taller then myself. Normal craters that were sent for shipping wasn't usually that big, and where did that machine come from? Shalen was a place that rejected technology, and that ship shouldn't even be here. Disturbingly, there were air holes on top of that box, as if something living was inside.
We watched with quiet curiosity as the machine bent over and grasped the box tightly.
Leah shifted nervously before saying lightly, "Come on guys, let's go, none of our business anyway!"
Blue's eyes narrowed a little as he watched the crater being lifted up. "Something's wrong…" he said in a hard quiet voice.
"Pika…" Pika's ears flicked as he whimpered on my shoulder, restlessly twitching.
I could feel it too. Something was very wrong with that box. I could feel the tension rising from it, the emotion and distress being cascading in waves over us. A distant howling echoed in my ears and I feel it.
"Come on, let's go!" Leah urged, her voice anxious now, catching unto my hand and pulling. I shook it off without a thought.
Who are you?
What do you want?
I stepped forward, and suddenly Pika's nervousness vanished as he stopped trembling, as if from a sudden realization. He started to growl, and the sharp prickles at the side of my cheek, and the sharp sounds told me that he was emitting electric sparks.
"Red, Blue!" Leah growled more forcefully this time. She had probably tried to persuade Blue to leave the place as well, but without avail.
Then, that tension reached a sharp pitch.
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I had enough of this pathetic treatment. I am a legendary Pokémon, why should I be scared of these puny humans? It's not like I couldn't wipe a handful of them out in one attack.
I opened my eyes sharply.
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There was an ear splitting crack as the wood shattered into splinters. I caught a handful of the debris and realized that there was metal among the timber.
A fierce leopard like yowl shook the air, distracting me from the remains of the crater in my hand. I winced and glanced up.
A steel cage remained behind from the wreckage, and inside that, the panel, the inscribe we saw at the temple.
Venus.
The Enchantress.
But that wasn't what struck me. The way her beauty was being destroyed by chains and collars… As if that wasn't enough, her mouth was bound by a metal muzzle and her eyes and ears, by a blindfold. I can tell it was very tight, tuffs of fur stood out at the outline of the blindfold. There were bloodstains on her dull fur coat and saliva mixed with blood was dripping out of her mouth. The poor thing.
She snarled in irritation, throwing her weight and ice beams against the metal cage, injuring her mouth in the process as it was not able to open properly due to the muzzle. She shook the cage it to its very roots, making it sway dangerously in the air. The machine wouldn't be able to hold out long. I realized as I watched the machine sway precariously as well as it leant over the ship.
I took a step back at the outrageous sight. The cage was very strong, as the ice beams that Venus was dishing out had no effect on it whatsoever.
The fox was neither raging, nor was she calm. She was annoyed by the way she was being treated, and she wanted out, to get some revenge against those that dare bind her this way. She may be Venus, but because she was so similar to the Ninetales, she still probably had some Ninetales traits in her. That was for sure.
"Okay Pika, Lets go!" I yelled as a signal to the eagerly waiting electric mouse on my shoulder.
"Pika!" He shouted as he launched off my shoulder.
"Ninetales!" Someone called from beside me, and I remembered Blue was with me. Since his Ninetales was already out anyway, he may as well use it.
"Fire blast!" Blue growled. I grinned. He wanted to end this as quickly as I did.
"Thunder!" I joined the battle.
The sailors then took notice of our presence. Their gaze flickered back and forth with anger and then called on the fighting Pokémon to busy us while they tried to get Venus on board before she could cause any more damage.
Meanwhile, the fox was still banging her full body weight against the cage bars, alternating between ice beams that injured her muzzle every single time she used one. She growled, shook herself and then turned her eyes on the machine that was already at its limit to haul the crate overboard the ship.
Her eyes hardened.
Oh boy. "She's gonna try breaking that crane!" I shouted to Blue.
"I noticed that a minute before you did." He said coolly and pointed elsewhere.
An orange dragon was circling the cage. However, Venus didn't seem to appreciate the help as she began to attack Charizard. She paced around the cage restlessly, not knowing if this Pokémon was friend or foe, chains noisily clinking against each other. Attempting a feeble snap, she tried to bare her fangs through the metal muzzle at the dragon who just watched her with something close to amusement mixed with annoyance. Charizard didn't know whether to feel amused or irritated that she was refusing his attempts to help her in this helpless situation.
A sudden jerk in the cage caused Venus to lose her balance. She snarled irritably. Apparently this wasn't the first time she fell down due to jerking of the cage. The cage jerked again before she could even pick herself up.
-BOOM-
A roar echoed through the air as the last jerk brought the cage down. I coughed as the wind blew up the powdery sand from the beach, shielding my eyes from the sudden sandstorm.
A squeal caught my attention, and I noticed Charizard flying overhead, a bruise on his left cheek. It didn't look serious, but Charizard looked as if he'd like to drop the protesting Venus right now and then. The roar just now must've belonged to him as he caught Venus as the cage dropped. The poor thing probably got hit by one of her random ice beams.
The sailors growled as Pika and Blue's Ninetales completely overthrew their Pokémon. Pika launched another Thunder attack that electrocuted an estimated three machokes and a machop, while Ninetales's latest Fire Blast fried the rest, consisting of a machoke and two machops. With that, the Pokémon quickly retreated away, leaving the sailors to tail after them into the boat and race away.
"Calm down!" Blue snapped suddenly. I turned around to see Blue backing away from the white fox.
She fanned out her tails, unable to give her best intimidating look as her wings were bound. Ice blue chips sparkled near the ground from where she was standing, and I realized that her wings were slowly being chipped off at the sides.
Sending an ice beam across the beach, she snarled as she shook her head back and forth, before sending another ice beam across the land, creating lanes where the sand parted for the beam to pass through.
"Is there anything we can do, without us hurting her already injured body anymore?!" I yelled over the noise.
"She not going to listen to us, not after the treatment she received from the other humans!" Blue shouted back.
All of the sudden, the barrage of ice beams stopped. We lifted our arms away from our eyes to see an exhausted Venus panting. She tried to dish out another ice beam, but it just wouldn't form.
I glanced at Blue who nodded.
"Hush…" I said softly to the ice fox. She growled warily and made another feeble attempt to snap. I heard a snort in the background and recognized it as Charizard's.
She growled in return and sniffed the air before returning her cautious gaze towards me as she detected where I was by scent.
I edged towards her carefully, hands reaching out in a hopefully non-threatening way to her, not that she could even see it.
"It's alright now…"
Almost there… when she backed away again. If she chose to run, it would be pretty bad, but seeing her body tremble and waver slightly, it wouldn't be very likely as she seemed to be beaten up too much already.
"Everything's fine now…" I murmured as my hand came into contact with her cheek.
Her body trembled again, this time more violently. If Pokémon could cry, she would probably be now.
I reached behind and untied the blindfold and let it drop unto the sand.
I turned to Leah who was silent since the battle had started. "Leah, let us take her to our Region." I pleaded. "She'll survive on our technology."
Venus turned her quiet but still trembling gaze on me.
"We'll send her back as soon as she is fully recovered." Blue said calmly as he turned to face the girl.
Leah hesitated, but after seeing that state her guardian Pokémon was in, it was true that Venus might not survive if she did stay on the Shalen Region, for even if her wounds healed, she might get an infection somewhere if they were not careful.
"I… I think it would be best for her to go with you." She finally said. "Take her and go before the others come here to discover the commotion that had arisen during the past few minutes."
"Our ship is still docked back at the beach." Blue said. "I was speaking to the captain earlier to stay for awhile incase an emergency happened."
I smiled weakly at Blue, my hands still gently pressing against each side of Venus's cheeks. It was just like Blue to be prepared. He knew that we would be in need of assistance if something went wrong on the first day, and he wanted to make sure everything was manageable before he let the ship return to Kanto.
"Venus, sorry about this, but it's for your own good." I said as I reach into my bag, wincing as I injected a tranquilizer that was prepared also incase of an emergency, into her bloodstream.
She stiffened a little, disbelief crossing her features before she collapsed, leaning her body weight onto my arms.
"I'll take her, because I have only five Pokémon on my team, I left Lax back at Prof Oak's lab incase Shalen had not enough food to feed him." I said decisively and took out a spare pokeball and let it capture Venus.
"Hurry, they're coming." Leah urged. "I shall explain to them an emergency cropped up at your hometown and that you needed to return."
"Thanks Leah, c'mon Blue!" I flashed the lone girl who waved at us, a weak smile as we dashed across the debris filled beach.
Hang in there girl. I channeled the thought firmly to the pokeball that was held snugly in my hand.
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Author's Note:
Hello all! This is the second chapter, as usual please give me your comments and constructive criticism :D
Sorry the last part was a little rushed "
~AutumnFeather
P.s Please do not make any assumptions on this chapter like it being a humanxpokemon fic please ._.
