Chapter 2; Velvet Lights
Adam Jenkins//Viridian Forest
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chapter two; part III
Aberdeen Black // Viridian Forest
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"Do you see it?" Aberdeen shouted out to the other boy, trying to sound like he was actually believing that they were chasing just another wild pokémon.
Adam pushed aside a branch as he continued speeding through the woods, gritting his teeth as the supposed Pokémon disappeared behind a tree and he came to a slight stop once reaching said tree, looking around, panting for air.
"... Damnit, I think it got away... ugh! It looked really odd... I think it was grey, and it had a big tail." Pausing, he raised a hand to rub the bridge of his nose, trying to get his breath under control, Blair looking around the area with the fire still blazing on his back.
Adam turned around to face Aberdeen, frowning softly, his arms crossing over his chest. "It was -so- fast. No way we could've caught up with it. Too bad... mrh. Anyways, should we-"
"Hold on jus' one tootin' moment!" a female voice called out. Adam blinked in surprise and looked around himself in confusion until a figure dropped out of a nearby tree and landed firmly in front of the both of them. Straightening out, Adam realized it was a woman, clad in a red jacket, a pair of shorts, a wide-brimmed, red hat and a whip at her hip. A moment later, a blue and black fox-like Pokémon landed right besides her, straightening out as well as it folded its arms across its chest looking rather menacing.
Adam opened his mouth to say something, just as a nearby... slightly funny-looking tree shuddered and began... walking towards them?! It turned around, and it looked like the tree had a face. And it looked... rather happy, as it stepped up aside the rather angry-looking ranger. "What in tarnation are you folks tryin' to pull off, walkin' 'round here, yellin' like a pair 'f vigoroths durin' matin' season?"
Aberdeen caught up with them. "Adam!" he began, then spotted the very good looking woman standing before him. "Well, hello there!" he said, automatically putting on his charm and forgetting all about ghosts and wild creatures. "Name's Aberdeen! I'm a pokémon trainer and this here is my friend Adam, who happens to be something of a pokémon trainer himself too!"
"Oh, for cryin' out loud. You just chased away the shadow I've been trackin' all week! Had a darn hard time learnin' its favorite spots 'n all!"
"Eh? Shadow? Oh, you mean..." Aberdeen turned paler, but the fact that this woman was chasing it meant that it was very real. Since this woman was very real. And since ghosts weren't real... that just couldn't be a ghost. A smile came back to him as he felt relief wash over him. "
That shadow? We just chased it here for you, madam!"
"Listen here, ya brat. I had that thing pinned down near a meadow here, but then y'all showed up and ruined it! You ruined my day and my efforts. Luke here's not pleased. No, not pleased at all..."
She patted the creature standing beside her with eyes fixed on Adam still. Aberdeen took a second to pull up his pokédex from the pocket where he had put it, and learned that it was a Lucario, a steel and fighting type. He of course knew that already, thinking back on the countless times he had seen a Lucario be used in movies or flashy tournaments on TV. Overrated pokémon, in his opinion.
Adam was at a loss for a couple of moments, despite pulling his hat off and making a slight bow as he was introduced. At the naming of the Pokémon they had been chasing, he lit up and glanced to Aberdeen and then back at the woman, taking the time while the two were talking to check out the two Pokémon at her sides. First, the Lucario, which he had seen on TV before, and then the... Sudowoodo? It looked a little... tarded, with its overly happy smile and its constant wriggling about on the spot.
As the woman called Aberdeen a brat, Adam frowned and took a slight step forward, making Blair glance up at him, away from the two Pokémon. "Hey, look here. We're sorry about messing things up, but we didn't do it on purpose. We were lost and trying to find our way through the thick forest and w-"
"I don't care -what- you nimrods were doin'! What matters is that -you- ruined my chance at catchin' the shadow Pokémon and in turn, my day, and now I'm gonna be ruinin' yours. Get ready to battle, brats!" With this, the Lucario seemed to narrow his eyes, his feet pushing a little apart, as if getting ready to fight, the Sudowoodo shaking its leaves about like an odd pair of maracas, Adam blinking a little in surprise, glancing to Aberdeen and taking a few steps back to get some room between the two of them and the woman.
"... Looks like she's not gonna back down. Well, if the lady wishes for a fight, I suppose I won't be the one to deny her. You with me, Aberdeen?" He asked, glancing to the boy by his side with a bit of a grin as he pulled his hat slightly further down his head, Blair stepping in front of his trainer and lowering down in a ready-to-pounce pose, growling out lowly.
"What? Is it really necessary to battle? I mean, she's a
lady after all!" Aberdeen said, gesturing.
"Chicken, brat?" the 'lady' said with a glaring look. "Suther, take care of that whelpin' lad there. Woodhammer him." The order made Aberdeen raise his eyebrows. Would she... attack him directly? Meanwhile, the ranger turned to face Adam together with Lucario.
The Sudowoodo moved forward wearing its freaky grin and raised a glowing fist that seemed to enlargen as Aberdeen watched, stunned by the strangeness of a pokémon being ordered to attack a human directly. He just... didn't... do... anything. But his pokémon did.
Metapod was still in his arms, but now it suddenly glowed, at the same time as the Woodhammer on Sudowoodo's arm began to glow. As the rock pokémon charged in a wobbly kind of way, Metapod twitched and jumped up from its trainer's arms in the nick of time. The hammer attack collided with Metapod's Hardened skin instead of Aberdeen's head. Sudowoodo landed right next to the boy, who let out a scream and jumped several steps back. Metapod was pushed down into the ground between them.
"Gah! Are you alright, Metapod? Jeez! If you want to battle, battle someone of your own strength... coward!" Aberdeen shouted to the hostile pokémon. It only kept smiling widely and oddly. Metapod gave out a noise that was hard to define. Maybe that was how metapod sounded when they did sound. Sudowoodo shifted its attention back to the pokémon.
"Metapod? You can't battle, you're a tiny cocoon! Oh, man..." Aberdeen worriedly put his hands on his head and grabbed his own hair in frustration over the cause, looking to his side to see what the ranger would do to Adam..
Adam had gotten ready to battle the Lucario, who seemed to have locked eyes with the Quilava, who was growling up at the black and blue Pokémon. Just as he was about to announce an attack, he saw the Sudowoodo about to attack Aberdeen and only managed to call out "Ab', watch ou-" before the Metapod lept up and took the hit for him. Adam let out a sigh of relief. "Ab', you can't let it fool you! Even the silliest Pokémon can pack one heck of a punch!"
"Nice sentiment, teachin' your friend here. Maybe ya should do it outside of a tussle though." The woman's voice was smug, and just as Adam looked back to her, he saw a flash of blue and black as the Lucario had run up to Blair and aimed its black paw at him, a blast of blue energy sending the Quilava tumbling backwards with an outrcry.
"... Blair! Attacking when your enemy is looked is unfair! Usually, I treat ladies with the respect they deserve, but that was -low-!" The woman let out a snort and waved her hand dismissively. Meanwhile, Blair had gotten up again, growling out angrily, Adam looking as determined as his Pokémon as he called out. "Alright, Blair! Let's give her a piece of our mind! Ember!"
The Quilava took in a deep breath before spitting out several balls of flame, the Lucario managing to dodge most of them, but one of them hit it square in the face, letting out a howl of pain. Apparently it REALLY didn't like the fire. Adam grinned, readying the next stage of his strategy. "Get ready for anything, Blair!"
"Hnngh, alright," Aberdeen growled, turning back to his own predicament, where Sudowoodo was now facing a Charged up Blitzle. "Use Shock Wave!"
The new attack had been identified by the pokédex and Aberdeen wanted to see what it was really like when he was prepared. The blitzle blinked once and sent out what really looked like shock waves of electricity. They went in all directions but were the longest straight ahead towards Sudowoodo and thankfully didn't reach Aberdeen who was standing behind the attacker. "So that's how they never miss... they just attack everywhere at once!" he realized, remembering the pokédex page on the attack.
Indeed, the attack hit, shocking Sudowoodo until it stumbled around as if burned. The grin disappeared, but only for a moment. Then it came back, even wider than before. "I don't like that pokémon!" Aberdeen stated. Blitzle nodded in agreement.
Once again, the disguised rock type charged forward in its wobbly way, launching another attack. A strange glimmering occurred in the air in front of it as it came to a stop mere meters from Blitzle. Then a Shock Wave was launched and hit the unsuspecting zebra spot on.
"WHAT! How can a Sudowoodo know Shock Wave?" Aberdeen was clueless, until his pokédex which he still held in his hand, beeped. It told him that the move just used was not Shock Wave. But Mimic. "Oh.. that's just... unfair!"
Adam tried not to get distracted by the quite literal sparks flying from the nearby figh between the Sudowoodo and Aberdeen's Blitzle, as the Lucario seemed to prepare itself for another attack. "Don't give him any chance to recover! Hit him with a Quick Attack!" Blair growled out and bent his legs before zooming forwards, aiming to slam square against the Lucario's chest.
However, just before hitting him, the Lucario dove to the side and launched a paw which slammed into the side of Blair's head, sending him to the ground. "W-whoa! What the hell?!" Looking down to his Pokédex, he gaped slightly, realising that the move used was Counter. "... Alright. Different tactic, I guess. Blair, Smokescreen!"
As Blair got to his feet again, he let out a growl and the flames on his back was almost extinguished, black smoke billowing from them to cover up the Lucario and Quilava. "Perfect! And now Quick Attack him into submission! He can't counter what he can't see!"
The smoke spread to the other battle, where Blitzle backed away. For someone who liked sparks flying and bad weather, he sure didn't seem to like smog and smoke at all. "Easy, boy!" Aberdeen said, running forward and putting a hand on the blitzle's neck to calm him down. Then, he noticed that Metapod was out of his sight. Sudowoodo as well; they were both enveloped by the smokescreen.
"Metapod!" he called out, afraid that it would get stomped or crushed by the rock type when he couldn't see it and help it.
But he worried for nothing. Sudowoodo did find the bug pokémon and grinned madly as it made its hand glow again, readying another Woodhammer attack. Metapod just sat on the ground and stared up at the much bigger opponent. It's body glimmered as it stiffened from several Harden in a row. The Woodhammer was swung downwards-
But it was stopped. A stricky string had suddenly been spun around the arm, and tied it together with a tree that was just nearby. Sudowoodo pulled and pulled and the grin disappeared and was replaced by a look of frustration. As the smoke faded away from this part of the battle, the two pokémon came back into Aberdeen's sight. The boy gasped when he saw what the little pod had done. Then he laughed and ran forth, picking it up into his arms.
"You're a genius! Crazy and risktaking, but a genius!" he cheered, spinning on the spot holding up the metapod. "How do you like that, huh?" he said, sticking out his tongue to Sudowoodo, who growled. But then, it smiled again...
Adam glanced towards Aberdeen and smiled as he saw how his new friend was doing, quickly turning his attention back to the smoke billowing around the area. The ranger had disappeared from view and he could only vaguely see Blair as he darted back and forth in the smoke, hitting the Lucario again and again, slowly wittling down its health. Suddenly, however...
"A'ight, 'nough playin' around! Luke, Counter!" Adam blinked in surprise. "How's he going to do that? He can't see anyth-" A sudden flash of movement within the smog and Blair came skidding out, growling angrily and looking a little beat up. The ranger's mocking laugh was heard. "Ya obviously didn't read that fancy little encyloperdierps ya had there. Lucario can sense auras, which means, he can sense when your little friend is attackin'."
Adam grit his teeth and looked down at Blair, clenching his fists. "Right. This is a really tough fight... but we still have the upper hand. Ember! He's not going to be able to counter -that-!" Blair took in another deep breath and began barraging the figure in the smog with embers, a confident smirk now on Adam's lips. He knew -just- how to finish this fight in one, fell swoop.
Aberdeen had glanced over at Adam's struggle and didn't see Sudowoodo's new smile before it was too late. Another Mimicked Shock Wave hit him and his bug hard all of a sudden. That move never missed. Aberdeen cried out in pain and Metapod's shell did not withstand elemental attacks. The boy fell to the ground, weak in the knees, and Sudowoodo laughed manically. The electric shock had fried the string that bound the pokémon.
All of a sudden, a Quick Attack hit his belly, throwing him to the ground. Blitzle made a sharp turn and came in again for another Quick Attack. He was furious. No one should harm his herd in a cheating way like that. But the normal type attack didn't injure the rock type pokémon much. When the second attack came in, Sudowoodo stuck out his foot and tripped the zebra before it could make impact on its own accord.
"Low Kick...!" Aberdeen panted. "Blitzle!"
Blitzle gathered his limbs together and got up, but not before the Sudowoodo had laughed again and held up its hands, creating small rocks seemingly out of pure energy and sending them towards the zebra. Blitzle used Quick Attack to hop around and avoid them, but not for too long. One bigger rock struck his head and made it fall to the ground, groaning. Aberdeen crawled up to him, Metapod clasped in his arms. Sudowoodo kept smiling its crazy smile and slowly and determinedly marched closer to the group. Aberdeen's eyes widened. What should he do? His opponent was simply too strong...
"... Ab'!" Adam called out as he saw him fall to the ground from the electric attack made by the rather creepy tree. Gritting his teeth, he glanced back and forth between his own battle and Aberdeen's. He had to help him, but he was afraid the woman would let her Lucario pull off some kind of special move in the meanwhile. Then again, he couldn't just stand by and watch his new friend -and- his Pokémon get hurt.
Reaching to his pocket, he pulled out his Nidoran's Pokéball, opening it to let Stomps out, the little Pokémon letting out a squeak at the commotion, but quickly readying itself for what might happen. "Stomps, you need to help Aberdeen and Blitzle! Double Kick that... thing!" "... N-Nid, ran!" The rodent didn't seem at all sure about this, but Adam's confidence rubbed off on him and it darted past the smog, lept into the air and came flying straight at Sudowoodo who hadn't even seen it coming.
The Nidoran bent its legs and just as he was about to collide with the Sudowoodo, he turned around and slammed both of its hind-legs against the trunk of the Pokémon, sending it sprawling backwards in pain, Stomps landing firmly on the ground before running over to Blitzle's side, nudging it to try and get it up.
"Hey, that's cheatin'! Y'all are no-good cheaters!" The woman cried out from the slowly dispersing fog. "-We're- cheating?! You're attacking people with your Pokémon! If there's anything I don't like, it's a lady who behaves like a thug!" The woman scoffed and from inside of the smog, a pair of blue eyes lit up. Adam's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to issue an order to Blair, but just as he did, a dark-blue pulse emitted from within the smog, dispersing it once and for all. Not only that, but the shadows moved up and seemed to overwhelm both Blair and Adam, both of which was knocked on the ground, Adam letting out a pained yelp. "Ngh! That's... it, I'm not holding back anymore! One more attack and you're -done-!" he called out as he scrambled to his feet, panting, as did Blair. The Lucario also seemed rather damaged, and he was hoping that his next attack would be the last.
Aberdeen and Blitzle got up from the ground as Sudowoodo got kicked down. Blitzle neighed thankfully at Nidoran.
"Adam..." the boy panted, smiling. Seems like he really had gotten a new friend. A friend in need is a friend indeed. "Now... You!" he said, turning back to the almost broken rock type tree. "Metapod?"
The pod in his arms stared back at him in a way that told him 'Ok'. "Use String Shot! Bind it!"
The strings came out of the top of Metapod's body and enveloped the struggling Sudowoodo. It fought against the strings and tried to load up another Woodhammer. But Blitzle and Nidoran suddenly tackled it to the ground again, where the String Shot bound it and made it impossible for it to get up.
Aberdeen let out a huge breath. He'd done it. But not on his own. This silly looking pokémon had been much stronger than it had looked like. Aberdeen hadn't been careful. If Adam hadn't been there, he would have lost. He looked up at the other boy and saw the Quilava scramble up. Lucario was hurt. This was it.
"Come on! As much as I hate fighting against pretty ladies, this lady's only pretty on the outside!" Aberdeen called out. "I believe in you, Adam!"
Aberdeen's words removed the last sliver of doubt from Adam's mind. He'd often act big and then back down to let the women ahead, as he'd been taught by his father, but his newfound friend's words were true. A lady is only a lady as long as she acts like one. Or at least vaguely like one, and this woman did neither.
Sending Aberdeen a wry little smile, he turned back to the fight, raising an arm to point at the Lucario who seemed to brace himself. "Alright, this is it Blair! End it with a Flare Blitz!"
"Oh no ya don't!" The rather angry-looking lady yelled, her hands gripped into fists as she glared at the two boys. "Luke, Detect!" The Lucario growled and his eyes flashed blue again, just as Blair was about to set off, Adam quickly interjected. "Change of plans! Quick Attack instead!" Blair seemed confused for a moment, but set off at high speed, the Lucario diving out of the way, as Blair landed on the ground behind him and spun around.
"Now, Flare Blitz!" "Quil!" Blair called out, the flames on his back roaring as they spun out of control and enveloped the Quilava, slightly blackening the grass around them before he set off at almost as high a speed as the Quick Attack, the ball of flames with the Quilava within zooming towards the Lucario.
"****! Detect, again!" Adam clenched his fists, hoping dearly that the Detect would be as defect as he'd heard it. Apparently it worked best if not used before, so maybe... And just as he thought of this, the Lucario tried dancing backwards, but misjudged where Blair would land, and the giant ball of fire slammed square into the fox Pokémon's stomach, engulfing it in the flames and sending it recoiling into the squirming Sudowoodo and onto the grass besides it, unconcious.
Adam let out a laugh and pumped his fists into the air. "Hahah! We did it, Ab'! She cheated, but we -beat- her!" He flashed a wry smile over at the woman and took his hat off, placing it against his chest and bowing down overexaggeratedly. "Thank you for the bout, m'lady. Hope our paths cross again."
The ranger was fuming. For a moment, she just stared at her pokémon and back to Adam and then shortly at Aberdeen. Then she took forth two pokéballs and retreated her pokémon. "Pathetic!" she uttered and then spat in their direction. "Pure luck and mean schemes. That boy there used two pokémon!
That's unfair. But it doesn't matter anyway. You hillbillies won't never catch up with mah shadow creature. Stay away or I won't go so easy on y'all next time."
With that, she turned on the spot and marched away. "So long, fair lady!" Aberdeen cheered and made a fake bow towards her. She was soon gone from sight.
"Haha, Adam, you're awesome! Quilava is really cool! Only, not cool but hot, but in a cool way! Ahaha, I think you get what I mean." His eyes twinkled as he praised the other trainer. He meant it, he really thought Adam was cool. Just as skilled and brave as Aberdeen wanted to be. One day. Whenever he got over his crybaby ways...
Adam laughed at Aberdeen's reaction, placing the hat back on his head and using the Pokéballs resting in his pockets to recall Blair and Stomps, smiling. "Haha, yeah, I get it. That was one heck of a battle. And you did really well too! I couldn't have done it without you." He gave Aberdeen a bright grin and raised a hand to give his shoulder a light smack with his hand.
Then, Aberdeen's gaze suddenly froze. His eyes widened and his mouth slowly opened without speaking. He was looking at something just behind Adam.
It was the shadow creature. Not so shadowy anymore, it now stood right before the boys, at least twice as tall as they were, with a gray and purple skin and a face that looked like it had just murdered someone. Or wanted to.
Aberdeen screamed and ran, forgetting Adam, forgetting his pokémon... It didn't matter if that was a real pokémon or not; it's atmosphere scared the life out of that boy.
"H-hey, Ab', where are you going?!" Adam called out as the boy ran off, looking more than confused, up until he noticed the shadow covering him and the ground around him. Eyes wide and his heart pounding in his chest, he slowly turned around and tilted his head back, lips parted in a soundless, surprised shriek as he took a stumbling step backwards. The Pokémon towering over him slowly raised its arm, and everything went black.