Zore
Reaper
- 53
- Posts
- 17
- Years
- Seen Feb 8, 2012
Author notes: So, I've been planning on getting back into this fanfic writing business for a while. I've been working on this for a while and stalling out a bit, figured posting some of what I've got so far and getting feedback may spur me on to greater heights. So without any further ado, I present
Alexander cursed softly as he stubbed his toe, grimacing for a moment. Not for the first time that evening he wished for some light, but he knew what he'd signed up for. Sighing with annoyance he pushed forward past the offending rock and deeper into the dark cave, barely able to discern the walls by the thin beams of moonlight that penetrated through cracks in the ceiling. Tonight was a big night, the capture of the final Pokémon to finish out his team, and he knew it would all be worth it in the end.
Didn't stop him from wishing he could have some more light.
As he crept deeper he kept his eyes peeled and his hand on the release button of a pokeball. None of his team was well-suited for sneaking up on wild Pokémon and he didn't want to frighten the notoriously skittish breed he was after tonight. Not until it couldn't escape.
His breathing sounded very loud to his ears, his feet crunching audibly over every rock. He sensed, in the darkness, wild Pokémon dart from his presence. The soft click of the claws of a colony of Sandshrew ambled away from him. He almost tripped again over a rock that turned out to be a Geodude which expressed its displeasure loudly before curling back up and rolling away like a rocky ball. Above he could hear the Zubat who had stayed behind while the colony was outside hunting, the weak and the young restlessly shifting against the stalactites.
Still there was no sign of his quarry. Annoying, but part of the reason he wanted one was their stealth. Sighing once again he scanned the area, straining his eyes in the poor light, when he felt the soft prick of claws very gently digging through the thick leather of his jacket and touching his arm. He whipped his head around and came face to face with two enormous crystals that glowed faintly with a bluish light.
Alexander froze, unwilling to move. The crystalline eyes kept staring unblinkingly and he could vaguely make out a few other gems seemingly floating in midair above his arm. He heard no breathing, and expected none. Sableye were not, after all, living Pokémon.
"Hey there guy," He said in as soft and comforting a voice as he could manage with a wild Pokémon perched inches from his face, "How's it going?" The Sableye didn't react to his comment, holding on motionless and staring into his eyes. "Funny you should latch on to me; I've been looking for you. Well not YOU specifically but one of you. You understand what I mean?" Alexander began to ramble and cut off when he felt the claws dig slightly deeper into his arm.
He stood stock still, breathing as shallowly as he could. This was not how he imagined this going at all. Thinking as fast as he could he ran through his options, though none seemed great. He couldn't call one of his Pokémon, to do so would just beg for the Sableye to attack and none of the one's he had brought would be very useful at attacking it without harming him. Likewise moving seemed a bad idea, as did shouting and calling for help. Talking didn't seem so hot either. Or maybe it was just rambling without purpose.
Seconds turned into minutes as Alexander stood as rigid as a statue, internally debating what to do. Finally he worked up his nerve and began to speak again.
"So, I was wondering if you wanted to be part of my team. I'm a student you see, from the academy near here, and I just got authorization to start training my sixth. I graduate in two years and after that I'm planning to travel and take the Gym challenge in one of the major leagues. It'd be a lot of travelling and I think you would be a great asset to the team."The Sableye kept staring directly into his eyes and he belatedly realized he was rambling again, and must sound beyond incoherent to the Pokemon.
"Okay, umm... Let me start that again." Alexander said taking care not to make any kind of threatening move, "You can understand me right?" The gems hovered steady as ever above his arm for a long moment before slowly bobbing down and up.
"Okay, I have a question for you. Do you enjoy battling?" He asked carefully. The Sableye seemed to consider for a second before slowly nodding again. "Do you ever want to leave this cave?" To this the Sableye did not seem to respond though Alexander almost swore he could feel the sharp claws digging the tiniest bit further into his skin.
"Right, um thing is I'm a Pokemon trainer. I have a team, five other Pokemon, and pretty soon we're going to be leaving on a journey to compete and show just how great we are. I've got a really amazing team of Pokemon right now, and I think someone with your unique abilities could really help us out and help us reach the top. It wouldn't be too bad a deal for you either, I can promise you a better diet with more precious gems. A place to sleep and the opportunity to really show everyone how strong you are."
He kept looking into the eyes, buoyed by the distinct lack of claws digging further into his arm, "You don't have to decide right away either. You can come with me back to school and see if you like it first. If you don't I can drop you right back off here." He waited, his breathing almost stopped.
For a minute the Sableye didn't react, the large crystals floated steadily and motionless.
"Sableye," The Sableye whispered softly as it drew its claws completely away from the skin. Alexander breathed out heavily.
"So, yes?" He asked pleadingly. The crystalline orbs bobbed up and down slightly. "Alright! I gotta capture you in a pokeball first but after you can stay out if you want. It's mostly for records and stuff." The Sableye descended from his arm as lightly as it had come and stood in front of him as he drew his free pokeball and expanded it. In one smooth and practiced motion he threw and the ball split wide open and enveloped the Sableye in a bright red beam before settling on the ground.
Grinning as widely as he could he stooped over and picked up the pokeball. Tapping his ear with two fingers he spoke, "Mission accomplished, ready for extraction."
"Good job Garnet, ETA to extraction three minutes." A gravelly voice crackled back over the earpiece. Alexander sat down cross-legged and turned the pokeball over in his fingers, his grin still firmly in place. He knew it wouldn't all be sunshine and roses, and earning the Sableye's trust and respect was going to be a time-consuming process. But for now at least he could feel accomplished in that his team was finally built. Training had always been his favorite bit anyways.
What felt like mere moments, but was probably closer to three minutes, later an Abra winked into existence in front of him. Nodding a greeting to the Pokémon he reached down and touched its head and was instantly whisked away and reappeared inside the rather spacious and ornate office of his faculty advisor, Mr. Ryba.
Dizzy from the sudden change in scenery, Alexander checked to make sure he had ended up in the right place. He spotted the enormous wall covered with an antique bookcase filled with leather-bound tomes, the lush burgundy carpeting and paint of the walls and the strange collection of long dead Pokémon statues that littered the entire room. Sitting in the center at a rather modern desk that appeared to be made of glass was Mr. Ryba himself. Tall and imposing even when sitting, he had well a well cut and trimmed hair and beard that was light brown and shot through with grey. His green eyes were hidden behind a pair of ancient-looking horn-rimmed glasses. He was wearing very modern clothes, an interestingly cut brown suit with a dark red shirt. Tapping his desk to hide whatever program he had been running he gave Alexander a large smile.
"Good job, I thought you'd be out there much longer. Sableye can be tricky to find at the best of times. I didn't want to get your hopes up, but I never thought you'd run into one your first night much less capture it!" He sounded amused, "Interesting choice though."
Mr. Ryba turned to the Abra that still sat and said kindly, "Good job and thank you Caesar. You can go back to sleep now." The Abra didn't outwardly acknowledge the words for a moment before vanishing with a soft popping sound.
"Heh, well I didn't so much find him as he found me." Alexander said rubbing the back of his neck, "Was on my arm inches from my face before I even spotted him. Had a few tense moments but nothing I couldn't handle." He said with a slight smirk.
"No doubt, "Mr. Ryba replied with a grin of his own, "I was just reviewing the medical data sent by the pokeball. Young male, looks to be healthy and strong. I've sent a notice to the cooks to provide your room with a small supply of precious gems for him."
"Thanks Mr. Ryba," Alexander said, "This year's been flying by so far huh? Can't believe I've already been approved for my sixth, and right after Rex hatched…"
"I know you can handle it. Rex's egg took so long you were going to be one of the last in your year eligible for a sixth. I got you special dispensation, so do well." Mr. Ryba chuckled, "With your talent we wouldn't want you to be that far behind."
"Yeah, thanks." Alexander said stifling a yawn, "Ugh, I'm tired. Think I'm gonna do a final check on my Pokémon and head to bed. I've got a special training session for Lily tomorrow."
"One more thing before you go," Mr. Ryba said and held up his hand, "Have you decided what to evolve your Eevee into yet?"
"I got turned down again when I requisitioned a Thunder Stone; apparently my Electric professor doesn't think I can handle a Jolteon." Alexander replied with a slight scowl, "He's still a bit angry about that thing with his Pikachu and the Rhydon. Echo really doesn't want to become a Flareon or Vaporeon, and I'm not too keen on the climate restrictions for Leafeon and Glaceon. So at this point it's either going to be Umbreon or Espeon unless I miraculously get on my Electrics professor's good side."
"Hmm, based on the Sableye and the fact you already have a Murkrow I'd go with Espeon if you can persuade her. A good psychic type should help even up your rather physical bias too."
"I have Cam!" Alexander said hotly, his tiredness momentarily forgotten.
"Whose main technique is currently magnitude. I have your battling records here and so will your competitors. And besides your Numel you're rather ill equipped for anyone with a strong physically defensive team." Mr. Ryba looked slightly disapprovingly at Alexander who squirmed and then nodded.
"Alright, Espeon it is. I'll talk to Echo about it before I go to sleep. Anything else before I go?"
"Your Murkrow is set to be returning tomorrow morning. Tracking indicates he's in the aviary in Atlus town. His endurance is improving and Ms. King is impressed with his development. She estimates about three months before she clears you for Dusk Stone requisition."
"Hmm, maybe I can talk her into doing it earlier. Catch ya later." Mr. Ryba nodded and tapped his desk again, pulling up some files. Alexander pushed open the wooden double-doors and stepped into the spacious hallways of the Academy.
Normally bustling with students the hallways seemed eerily empty so late at night. The lights were dim to preserve power and they barely illuminated the wide white panels of the hallway. Alexander strode purposefully down the hallway and past all the other advisor's rooms, most of which were entirely empty. Few took their jobs as seriously as Mr. Ryba.
Alexander loped down the stairs in a hurry, and burst through the wide glass doors and into the night air. He needed to check on his Pokémon before bed, and he was already having difficulty keeping his eyes open. Close to the Administrative building was the Water center and he broke into a brisk trot to see the only one of his Pokémon who didn't stay with him in his room.
Opening the door to the water enclosure for the massive water types he tried to be as silent as possible. The room itself was huge, covering hundreds of square feet with an opening out to the open sea. Every Pokémon had its own berth if it wished to sleep there though only about half were currently filled. The nocturnal hunters were still out it appeared. Alexander walked down the row of Whailords and Milotics towards the far end where they housed the more volatile Water types.
In the Gyarados area he found Lily, sleeping with her head out of the water and her body curled up tightly as possible. She breathed heavily with sleep, but Alexander patted her lightly on her muzzle and woke her up. Sleepily she cracked open her eyes and upon seeing him began nuzzling affectionately.
"Hey girl, got our last team member today." Alexander said stroking her head. She was possibly the most docile Gyarados in existence and he always felt guilty he was unable to spend as much time with her as with his other Pokémon. "And tomorrow you and I got that special training session. So far the out of water training is pending, they're worried." Lily snorted roughly at this, the gust nearly blowing Alexander back a pace. "I know, I know. They also denied the request to move you again, said you'd set a bad precedent for the younger Pokémon." Lily dipped her head, "Hey, not your fault. They just don't want the young Wailmers getting too comfortable around Gyarados because not all of them are awesome like you." He rubbed her whiskers and got a pleased snort.
"The other good news is with our sixth we can finally start our unique survival training and group training. So we'll all be seeing more of each other." Lily let out a tiny happy roar at this, "Yeah its great I know. Anyways still gotta talk to the others before bed. I'll see you tomorrow. He said regretfully as he gave her one last pat on the head. He left feeling slightly bad and pretending not to hear the disappointed sigh from behind him.
As Alexander made his way from the Massive Water building he spied one of the nocturnal classes leaving the Academic building. It looked to be mostly sophomores like himself, some with their Zubats and Hoothoots still outside of their pokeballs and hanging onto them. He nodded to a few people he knew and drew his tablet to confirm the time.
The tablet, which looked like a book-sized glass pane with a handle, was slow to start and he realized belatedly he probably should have left it to charge longer earlier. He grimaced a bit at the time, he'd only get about three hours of sleep if he was lucky at this rate, and nearly ran head first into someone.
"Hey, Alexander, I know you're glad to see me but you should probably resist the urge to throw yourself into my arms. People might talk," Said the tall redheaded girl playfully.
"Well you're just sooo irresistible Rachel," He said with a grin.
"I didn't even know you stayed up past eleven most days, what brings you out at this hour?" She said, playfully hitting his shoulder.
"Just saying goodnight to Lily." He said with a wry grin.
"Right because that takes four hours," She said rolling her eyes, "What's really up?"
"I got my sixth tonight."
"Get out of here, they let you? With your little Aron all newly hatched?" Rachel said with her mouth hanging almost comically open.
"I told you I was gonna ask…"
"I totally thought they'd turn you down! I had to wait almost six months after Charm hatched."
"They made a slight exception for me." He said sticking his tongue out, "Speaking of which what are you doing here anyways? I thought you only had night class last night."
"Teacher was sick, got moved to tonight. Did you really get a Sableye?" She asked, her eyes almost gleaming.
"Yep, right here," He said raising the pokeball.
"Wow, nice work. You gonna be joining me for Ghost class then?"
"I think so; I forgot to ask Ryba while I was there. Anyways I'm exhausted and I still gotta talk to the rest of my Pokémon before I go to sleep. So you mind if we keep walking?"
"Nope, not at all. I need to get back to the dorms myself."
The pair began to wend their way towards the dorm building, passing several of the night watchmen on their way. The watchmen were dressed in dark blue uniforms with large reflective stripes and each had one of their Pokémon patrolling with them. Most were Growlithes, but a few had Houndours or even Absol.
"So," Alexander began, "What time is your exhibition tomorrow?"
"Noon, so not too bad." Rachel replied though she kept looking at the watchmen, "I'm going against Rowan so it shouldn't take more than a few minutes."
"Rowan," Alexander said with a sigh, "He still hasn't let any of his Pokémon evolve has he?"
"Nope, still the Everstone king," She replied with a roll of her eyes, "His Whismur hasn't won a match in almost a year. It wouldn't be so bad but he still isn't training them outside of class." Alexander winced.
"Yeesh, Whismur was his first right? I haven't battled him in a while. Last time I remember thinking about him was being jealous he got an Elekid egg."
"At this point he should probably just drop out of the battling program and go into another one. Even if he started applying himself now I doubt he could catch up."
"That's kinda harsh," Alexander said raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I know," She replied, "I'm just a little frustrated. I've been against him in four of the last five of my exhibitions and I lost the other one. His ranking is so low I can't make up the loss until I face someone better." As they spoke they reached the foyer of the dorm. The lights were low and most of the furniture was unoccupied. A younger boy and his Lotad were curled up near the back fast asleep.
"Alright, see ya tomorrow then. We're still on for training after your match right?" Alexander said as he began making his way towards the elevator.
"Yeah, we should be. Henry and Veronica can't make it though, their exhibition got postponed." Rachel said as she walked down to the access for first floor rooms. Alexander merely nodded, too tired to ask why.
Four floors up he stepped off the elevator and walked down to the end of the hallway, room 401. Grabbing his tablet out of his bag again he quickly tapped his password and the red LED next to the door turned green. The door opened with a slight whoosh and he let out a contented sigh, happy to be back.
Dropping his bag on the desk he scanned his room to make sure nothing was amiss. It was organized into a three room suite, a small study area with a desk and a few chairs for when he had to study or have people over that had two doors. One lead to the bathroom which had a place to accommodate smaller Pokémon and human toiletries. The other lead to his bedroom and he went through into there now.
His bedroom was larger than the study and contained a small twin bed shoved as far into one corner as possible. It had a wide window with a small perch for a bird Pokémon that was wide open and letting in a soft autumn breeze. The floor was littered with small toys for his Pokémon and their individual bedding. On the wall opposite the window the wall could be retracted to reveal a closet that was less than half full with clothing. A black box on the wall blinked green and he headed there first, opening it to reveal two tiny rubies. He smiled a bit at the promptness of the chefs and pocketed the rubies, closing the dispensary.
Rubbing his face in a vain attempt to get rid of his tiredness he dropped three of his Pokeballs on the ground, revealing in turn a small Aron, Eevee and Numel who blinked before tackling his legs and bringing him down.
"Ouch, hey guys! Not right now, later okay?" He said. The Numel and Eevee backed off but the little Aron just squealed and rammed its metal head into his side.
"Rex." He said as authoritatively as he could while lying on his back with what felt like two cracked ribs. The Aron stopped and looked up at him. He pulled himself to his feet and brushed off his knees, wincing with the pain brought by his Pokémon's attacks. He was going to need to stop this before they got much stronger or they might cripple him by accident.
"Alright guys, tonight we got our sixth team member!" The Numel and Eevee squealed with delight but Rex just cocked his head to the side. "He's a Sableye and not used to here so be extra nice and don't scare him okay?" He said with emphasis looking at Rex. Alexander then reached down and opened the final pokeball on his belt, letting the Sableye free.
Instantly Rex let out a shriek and dove for cover, burrowing into the bedding in the far corner. Alexander sighed and looked towards his other two for their reactions. His Numel didn't seem to have registered the new Pokémon yet and Eevee was curiously sniffing the air. The Sableye for his part looked reserved and was standing rather still.
"Alright, these two," He said to the Sableye, "are Echo and Cam. The other one is Rex, he's a bit shy still but you'll probably see more of him once he gets used to you. Tomorrow I'll introduce you to Lily and Jet." The Sableye nodded slowly at his words, giving a tentative nod of his head towards the Eevee and Numel.
"Alright, I'm going to bed. You can stay up and explore the room if you want, I'll show you around campus tomorrow, or sleep wherever. Cam and Echo should be able to show you where things are if you need them, ask them if you have any questions. Tomorrow I've got some training and you can come with if you want or not if you don't, entirely up to you. We also might start going through nicknames for you if you want." Alexander stopped and smiled, "Welcome to the team. Any questions?"
The Sableye looked up at him and gave a quick shake of the head, unconsciously drawing its head a bit closer to his chest. Alexander frowned for a split second, before smiling again. "Alright, oh before I forget here are a couple of rubies in case you're hungry." He drew the gems from his pocket and squatted down offering them to the new Pokémon who grabbed them warily from his hand.
"Night all," He said with a yawn, ambling over to his bed and collapsing face first into it.
----------------------------
In the dark part of a forest, not far from the Pokémon Academy Alexander was sleeping at , a shadowy figure bent down by a large oak tree to be face to face with a smaller figure bound to it roughly with thick ropes. It spoke with a very casual tone, as if commenting politely on the weather.
"You're still very hungry aren't you?" The words were met with a pitiful moan. "Very hungry indeed it seems." The shadowy figure almost seemed to smile. It turned to its left where stood a Hitmonchan who stared impassively down at the bound figure, his arms crossed across his chest. "Do you think he deserves anything to eat yet?"
"Chan," The Hitmonchan mumbled, sounding bored and turning away.
"Sorry my little friend," The voice said continuing in the same conversational tone, "Looks like it won't be tonight." It moved away from the struggling bound figure, revealed as a Munchlax, who was sobbing. "Remember, good Pokémon get fed. Good Pokémon listen to me. You do want to be a good Pokémon, don't you?" The Munchlax's crying redoubled in volume as the shadowy figure and Hitmonchan moved away, leaving the Pokémon alone.
Dangerous Games
CHAPTER THE FIRST
CHAPTER THE FIRST
Alexander cursed softly as he stubbed his toe, grimacing for a moment. Not for the first time that evening he wished for some light, but he knew what he'd signed up for. Sighing with annoyance he pushed forward past the offending rock and deeper into the dark cave, barely able to discern the walls by the thin beams of moonlight that penetrated through cracks in the ceiling. Tonight was a big night, the capture of the final Pokémon to finish out his team, and he knew it would all be worth it in the end.
Didn't stop him from wishing he could have some more light.
As he crept deeper he kept his eyes peeled and his hand on the release button of a pokeball. None of his team was well-suited for sneaking up on wild Pokémon and he didn't want to frighten the notoriously skittish breed he was after tonight. Not until it couldn't escape.
His breathing sounded very loud to his ears, his feet crunching audibly over every rock. He sensed, in the darkness, wild Pokémon dart from his presence. The soft click of the claws of a colony of Sandshrew ambled away from him. He almost tripped again over a rock that turned out to be a Geodude which expressed its displeasure loudly before curling back up and rolling away like a rocky ball. Above he could hear the Zubat who had stayed behind while the colony was outside hunting, the weak and the young restlessly shifting against the stalactites.
Still there was no sign of his quarry. Annoying, but part of the reason he wanted one was their stealth. Sighing once again he scanned the area, straining his eyes in the poor light, when he felt the soft prick of claws very gently digging through the thick leather of his jacket and touching his arm. He whipped his head around and came face to face with two enormous crystals that glowed faintly with a bluish light.
Alexander froze, unwilling to move. The crystalline eyes kept staring unblinkingly and he could vaguely make out a few other gems seemingly floating in midair above his arm. He heard no breathing, and expected none. Sableye were not, after all, living Pokémon.
"Hey there guy," He said in as soft and comforting a voice as he could manage with a wild Pokémon perched inches from his face, "How's it going?" The Sableye didn't react to his comment, holding on motionless and staring into his eyes. "Funny you should latch on to me; I've been looking for you. Well not YOU specifically but one of you. You understand what I mean?" Alexander began to ramble and cut off when he felt the claws dig slightly deeper into his arm.
He stood stock still, breathing as shallowly as he could. This was not how he imagined this going at all. Thinking as fast as he could he ran through his options, though none seemed great. He couldn't call one of his Pokémon, to do so would just beg for the Sableye to attack and none of the one's he had brought would be very useful at attacking it without harming him. Likewise moving seemed a bad idea, as did shouting and calling for help. Talking didn't seem so hot either. Or maybe it was just rambling without purpose.
Seconds turned into minutes as Alexander stood as rigid as a statue, internally debating what to do. Finally he worked up his nerve and began to speak again.
"So, I was wondering if you wanted to be part of my team. I'm a student you see, from the academy near here, and I just got authorization to start training my sixth. I graduate in two years and after that I'm planning to travel and take the Gym challenge in one of the major leagues. It'd be a lot of travelling and I think you would be a great asset to the team."The Sableye kept staring directly into his eyes and he belatedly realized he was rambling again, and must sound beyond incoherent to the Pokemon.
"Okay, umm... Let me start that again." Alexander said taking care not to make any kind of threatening move, "You can understand me right?" The gems hovered steady as ever above his arm for a long moment before slowly bobbing down and up.
"Okay, I have a question for you. Do you enjoy battling?" He asked carefully. The Sableye seemed to consider for a second before slowly nodding again. "Do you ever want to leave this cave?" To this the Sableye did not seem to respond though Alexander almost swore he could feel the sharp claws digging the tiniest bit further into his skin.
"Right, um thing is I'm a Pokemon trainer. I have a team, five other Pokemon, and pretty soon we're going to be leaving on a journey to compete and show just how great we are. I've got a really amazing team of Pokemon right now, and I think someone with your unique abilities could really help us out and help us reach the top. It wouldn't be too bad a deal for you either, I can promise you a better diet with more precious gems. A place to sleep and the opportunity to really show everyone how strong you are."
He kept looking into the eyes, buoyed by the distinct lack of claws digging further into his arm, "You don't have to decide right away either. You can come with me back to school and see if you like it first. If you don't I can drop you right back off here." He waited, his breathing almost stopped.
For a minute the Sableye didn't react, the large crystals floated steadily and motionless.
"Sableye," The Sableye whispered softly as it drew its claws completely away from the skin. Alexander breathed out heavily.
"So, yes?" He asked pleadingly. The crystalline orbs bobbed up and down slightly. "Alright! I gotta capture you in a pokeball first but after you can stay out if you want. It's mostly for records and stuff." The Sableye descended from his arm as lightly as it had come and stood in front of him as he drew his free pokeball and expanded it. In one smooth and practiced motion he threw and the ball split wide open and enveloped the Sableye in a bright red beam before settling on the ground.
Grinning as widely as he could he stooped over and picked up the pokeball. Tapping his ear with two fingers he spoke, "Mission accomplished, ready for extraction."
"Good job Garnet, ETA to extraction three minutes." A gravelly voice crackled back over the earpiece. Alexander sat down cross-legged and turned the pokeball over in his fingers, his grin still firmly in place. He knew it wouldn't all be sunshine and roses, and earning the Sableye's trust and respect was going to be a time-consuming process. But for now at least he could feel accomplished in that his team was finally built. Training had always been his favorite bit anyways.
What felt like mere moments, but was probably closer to three minutes, later an Abra winked into existence in front of him. Nodding a greeting to the Pokémon he reached down and touched its head and was instantly whisked away and reappeared inside the rather spacious and ornate office of his faculty advisor, Mr. Ryba.
Dizzy from the sudden change in scenery, Alexander checked to make sure he had ended up in the right place. He spotted the enormous wall covered with an antique bookcase filled with leather-bound tomes, the lush burgundy carpeting and paint of the walls and the strange collection of long dead Pokémon statues that littered the entire room. Sitting in the center at a rather modern desk that appeared to be made of glass was Mr. Ryba himself. Tall and imposing even when sitting, he had well a well cut and trimmed hair and beard that was light brown and shot through with grey. His green eyes were hidden behind a pair of ancient-looking horn-rimmed glasses. He was wearing very modern clothes, an interestingly cut brown suit with a dark red shirt. Tapping his desk to hide whatever program he had been running he gave Alexander a large smile.
"Good job, I thought you'd be out there much longer. Sableye can be tricky to find at the best of times. I didn't want to get your hopes up, but I never thought you'd run into one your first night much less capture it!" He sounded amused, "Interesting choice though."
Mr. Ryba turned to the Abra that still sat and said kindly, "Good job and thank you Caesar. You can go back to sleep now." The Abra didn't outwardly acknowledge the words for a moment before vanishing with a soft popping sound.
"Heh, well I didn't so much find him as he found me." Alexander said rubbing the back of his neck, "Was on my arm inches from my face before I even spotted him. Had a few tense moments but nothing I couldn't handle." He said with a slight smirk.
"No doubt, "Mr. Ryba replied with a grin of his own, "I was just reviewing the medical data sent by the pokeball. Young male, looks to be healthy and strong. I've sent a notice to the cooks to provide your room with a small supply of precious gems for him."
"Thanks Mr. Ryba," Alexander said, "This year's been flying by so far huh? Can't believe I've already been approved for my sixth, and right after Rex hatched…"
"I know you can handle it. Rex's egg took so long you were going to be one of the last in your year eligible for a sixth. I got you special dispensation, so do well." Mr. Ryba chuckled, "With your talent we wouldn't want you to be that far behind."
"Yeah, thanks." Alexander said stifling a yawn, "Ugh, I'm tired. Think I'm gonna do a final check on my Pokémon and head to bed. I've got a special training session for Lily tomorrow."
"One more thing before you go," Mr. Ryba said and held up his hand, "Have you decided what to evolve your Eevee into yet?"
"I got turned down again when I requisitioned a Thunder Stone; apparently my Electric professor doesn't think I can handle a Jolteon." Alexander replied with a slight scowl, "He's still a bit angry about that thing with his Pikachu and the Rhydon. Echo really doesn't want to become a Flareon or Vaporeon, and I'm not too keen on the climate restrictions for Leafeon and Glaceon. So at this point it's either going to be Umbreon or Espeon unless I miraculously get on my Electrics professor's good side."
"Hmm, based on the Sableye and the fact you already have a Murkrow I'd go with Espeon if you can persuade her. A good psychic type should help even up your rather physical bias too."
"I have Cam!" Alexander said hotly, his tiredness momentarily forgotten.
"Whose main technique is currently magnitude. I have your battling records here and so will your competitors. And besides your Numel you're rather ill equipped for anyone with a strong physically defensive team." Mr. Ryba looked slightly disapprovingly at Alexander who squirmed and then nodded.
"Alright, Espeon it is. I'll talk to Echo about it before I go to sleep. Anything else before I go?"
"Your Murkrow is set to be returning tomorrow morning. Tracking indicates he's in the aviary in Atlus town. His endurance is improving and Ms. King is impressed with his development. She estimates about three months before she clears you for Dusk Stone requisition."
"Hmm, maybe I can talk her into doing it earlier. Catch ya later." Mr. Ryba nodded and tapped his desk again, pulling up some files. Alexander pushed open the wooden double-doors and stepped into the spacious hallways of the Academy.
Normally bustling with students the hallways seemed eerily empty so late at night. The lights were dim to preserve power and they barely illuminated the wide white panels of the hallway. Alexander strode purposefully down the hallway and past all the other advisor's rooms, most of which were entirely empty. Few took their jobs as seriously as Mr. Ryba.
Alexander loped down the stairs in a hurry, and burst through the wide glass doors and into the night air. He needed to check on his Pokémon before bed, and he was already having difficulty keeping his eyes open. Close to the Administrative building was the Water center and he broke into a brisk trot to see the only one of his Pokémon who didn't stay with him in his room.
Opening the door to the water enclosure for the massive water types he tried to be as silent as possible. The room itself was huge, covering hundreds of square feet with an opening out to the open sea. Every Pokémon had its own berth if it wished to sleep there though only about half were currently filled. The nocturnal hunters were still out it appeared. Alexander walked down the row of Whailords and Milotics towards the far end where they housed the more volatile Water types.
In the Gyarados area he found Lily, sleeping with her head out of the water and her body curled up tightly as possible. She breathed heavily with sleep, but Alexander patted her lightly on her muzzle and woke her up. Sleepily she cracked open her eyes and upon seeing him began nuzzling affectionately.
"Hey girl, got our last team member today." Alexander said stroking her head. She was possibly the most docile Gyarados in existence and he always felt guilty he was unable to spend as much time with her as with his other Pokémon. "And tomorrow you and I got that special training session. So far the out of water training is pending, they're worried." Lily snorted roughly at this, the gust nearly blowing Alexander back a pace. "I know, I know. They also denied the request to move you again, said you'd set a bad precedent for the younger Pokémon." Lily dipped her head, "Hey, not your fault. They just don't want the young Wailmers getting too comfortable around Gyarados because not all of them are awesome like you." He rubbed her whiskers and got a pleased snort.
"The other good news is with our sixth we can finally start our unique survival training and group training. So we'll all be seeing more of each other." Lily let out a tiny happy roar at this, "Yeah its great I know. Anyways still gotta talk to the others before bed. I'll see you tomorrow. He said regretfully as he gave her one last pat on the head. He left feeling slightly bad and pretending not to hear the disappointed sigh from behind him.
As Alexander made his way from the Massive Water building he spied one of the nocturnal classes leaving the Academic building. It looked to be mostly sophomores like himself, some with their Zubats and Hoothoots still outside of their pokeballs and hanging onto them. He nodded to a few people he knew and drew his tablet to confirm the time.
The tablet, which looked like a book-sized glass pane with a handle, was slow to start and he realized belatedly he probably should have left it to charge longer earlier. He grimaced a bit at the time, he'd only get about three hours of sleep if he was lucky at this rate, and nearly ran head first into someone.
"Hey, Alexander, I know you're glad to see me but you should probably resist the urge to throw yourself into my arms. People might talk," Said the tall redheaded girl playfully.
"Well you're just sooo irresistible Rachel," He said with a grin.
"I didn't even know you stayed up past eleven most days, what brings you out at this hour?" She said, playfully hitting his shoulder.
"Just saying goodnight to Lily." He said with a wry grin.
"Right because that takes four hours," She said rolling her eyes, "What's really up?"
"I got my sixth tonight."
"Get out of here, they let you? With your little Aron all newly hatched?" Rachel said with her mouth hanging almost comically open.
"I told you I was gonna ask…"
"I totally thought they'd turn you down! I had to wait almost six months after Charm hatched."
"They made a slight exception for me." He said sticking his tongue out, "Speaking of which what are you doing here anyways? I thought you only had night class last night."
"Teacher was sick, got moved to tonight. Did you really get a Sableye?" She asked, her eyes almost gleaming.
"Yep, right here," He said raising the pokeball.
"Wow, nice work. You gonna be joining me for Ghost class then?"
"I think so; I forgot to ask Ryba while I was there. Anyways I'm exhausted and I still gotta talk to the rest of my Pokémon before I go to sleep. So you mind if we keep walking?"
"Nope, not at all. I need to get back to the dorms myself."
The pair began to wend their way towards the dorm building, passing several of the night watchmen on their way. The watchmen were dressed in dark blue uniforms with large reflective stripes and each had one of their Pokémon patrolling with them. Most were Growlithes, but a few had Houndours or even Absol.
"So," Alexander began, "What time is your exhibition tomorrow?"
"Noon, so not too bad." Rachel replied though she kept looking at the watchmen, "I'm going against Rowan so it shouldn't take more than a few minutes."
"Rowan," Alexander said with a sigh, "He still hasn't let any of his Pokémon evolve has he?"
"Nope, still the Everstone king," She replied with a roll of her eyes, "His Whismur hasn't won a match in almost a year. It wouldn't be so bad but he still isn't training them outside of class." Alexander winced.
"Yeesh, Whismur was his first right? I haven't battled him in a while. Last time I remember thinking about him was being jealous he got an Elekid egg."
"At this point he should probably just drop out of the battling program and go into another one. Even if he started applying himself now I doubt he could catch up."
"That's kinda harsh," Alexander said raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I know," She replied, "I'm just a little frustrated. I've been against him in four of the last five of my exhibitions and I lost the other one. His ranking is so low I can't make up the loss until I face someone better." As they spoke they reached the foyer of the dorm. The lights were low and most of the furniture was unoccupied. A younger boy and his Lotad were curled up near the back fast asleep.
"Alright, see ya tomorrow then. We're still on for training after your match right?" Alexander said as he began making his way towards the elevator.
"Yeah, we should be. Henry and Veronica can't make it though, their exhibition got postponed." Rachel said as she walked down to the access for first floor rooms. Alexander merely nodded, too tired to ask why.
Four floors up he stepped off the elevator and walked down to the end of the hallway, room 401. Grabbing his tablet out of his bag again he quickly tapped his password and the red LED next to the door turned green. The door opened with a slight whoosh and he let out a contented sigh, happy to be back.
Dropping his bag on the desk he scanned his room to make sure nothing was amiss. It was organized into a three room suite, a small study area with a desk and a few chairs for when he had to study or have people over that had two doors. One lead to the bathroom which had a place to accommodate smaller Pokémon and human toiletries. The other lead to his bedroom and he went through into there now.
His bedroom was larger than the study and contained a small twin bed shoved as far into one corner as possible. It had a wide window with a small perch for a bird Pokémon that was wide open and letting in a soft autumn breeze. The floor was littered with small toys for his Pokémon and their individual bedding. On the wall opposite the window the wall could be retracted to reveal a closet that was less than half full with clothing. A black box on the wall blinked green and he headed there first, opening it to reveal two tiny rubies. He smiled a bit at the promptness of the chefs and pocketed the rubies, closing the dispensary.
Rubbing his face in a vain attempt to get rid of his tiredness he dropped three of his Pokeballs on the ground, revealing in turn a small Aron, Eevee and Numel who blinked before tackling his legs and bringing him down.
"Ouch, hey guys! Not right now, later okay?" He said. The Numel and Eevee backed off but the little Aron just squealed and rammed its metal head into his side.
"Rex." He said as authoritatively as he could while lying on his back with what felt like two cracked ribs. The Aron stopped and looked up at him. He pulled himself to his feet and brushed off his knees, wincing with the pain brought by his Pokémon's attacks. He was going to need to stop this before they got much stronger or they might cripple him by accident.
"Alright guys, tonight we got our sixth team member!" The Numel and Eevee squealed with delight but Rex just cocked his head to the side. "He's a Sableye and not used to here so be extra nice and don't scare him okay?" He said with emphasis looking at Rex. Alexander then reached down and opened the final pokeball on his belt, letting the Sableye free.
Instantly Rex let out a shriek and dove for cover, burrowing into the bedding in the far corner. Alexander sighed and looked towards his other two for their reactions. His Numel didn't seem to have registered the new Pokémon yet and Eevee was curiously sniffing the air. The Sableye for his part looked reserved and was standing rather still.
"Alright, these two," He said to the Sableye, "are Echo and Cam. The other one is Rex, he's a bit shy still but you'll probably see more of him once he gets used to you. Tomorrow I'll introduce you to Lily and Jet." The Sableye nodded slowly at his words, giving a tentative nod of his head towards the Eevee and Numel.
"Alright, I'm going to bed. You can stay up and explore the room if you want, I'll show you around campus tomorrow, or sleep wherever. Cam and Echo should be able to show you where things are if you need them, ask them if you have any questions. Tomorrow I've got some training and you can come with if you want or not if you don't, entirely up to you. We also might start going through nicknames for you if you want." Alexander stopped and smiled, "Welcome to the team. Any questions?"
The Sableye looked up at him and gave a quick shake of the head, unconsciously drawing its head a bit closer to his chest. Alexander frowned for a split second, before smiling again. "Alright, oh before I forget here are a couple of rubies in case you're hungry." He drew the gems from his pocket and squatted down offering them to the new Pokémon who grabbed them warily from his hand.
"Night all," He said with a yawn, ambling over to his bed and collapsing face first into it.
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In the dark part of a forest, not far from the Pokémon Academy Alexander was sleeping at , a shadowy figure bent down by a large oak tree to be face to face with a smaller figure bound to it roughly with thick ropes. It spoke with a very casual tone, as if commenting politely on the weather.
"You're still very hungry aren't you?" The words were met with a pitiful moan. "Very hungry indeed it seems." The shadowy figure almost seemed to smile. It turned to its left where stood a Hitmonchan who stared impassively down at the bound figure, his arms crossed across his chest. "Do you think he deserves anything to eat yet?"
"Chan," The Hitmonchan mumbled, sounding bored and turning away.
"Sorry my little friend," The voice said continuing in the same conversational tone, "Looks like it won't be tonight." It moved away from the struggling bound figure, revealed as a Munchlax, who was sobbing. "Remember, good Pokémon get fed. Good Pokémon listen to me. You do want to be a good Pokémon, don't you?" The Munchlax's crying redoubled in volume as the shadowy figure and Hitmonchan moved away, leaving the Pokémon alone.
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