(OOC: This chase sequence is very fun to write!)
The dark furball went down another back ally. John and Cinder went in after him. John saw no other means of escape. He nodded to Conider and began walking down the ally. Another bum was apparently sleeping. John stepped in front of him.
"I'm not falling for that trick again!" John said.
"What the h***?" the bum said. Then the pokemon that he had been chasing jumped out of nowhere and landed on his chest. John fell to the ground hard.
"OOF!" was what he said as his head collided with the pavement.
"You're really kind of slow!" the pokemon said to him, as he stood trimuphently on John's chest. John looked the pokemon over, getting a clear view of it for the first time. He was actually a she, and she had dark brown fur. Her feet were red, as was the top of the crest on her head. She had bright teal eyes, and they were very playfull looking. In an instant, John knew what she was. A Zorua. Not native to this part of the state. So what was she doing here? No wonder his pokedex didn't register her. It was the nationaldex, not the worlddex. She took off down toward the other end of the alley, where Cinder was blocking her. He roared angrily at her, as John got to his feet. She turned into a Blastoise again and took aim at Cinder.
"Don't move!" John ordered Cinder. She blasted a large Hydro Cannon at Cinder, who didn't even flinch. He roared at her again, then blasted a Flamethrower at her. She turned back and jumped out of the way. She blasted Cinder with a Shadow Ball. This one was a real attack, and it caused him to stumble back a few steps.
"Don't mess with me! I'm strong!" Zorua said smugly. John had to disagree. He bent down and picked her up by the scruff of her neck.
"Strong huh?" John said, just as smug.
"Hey! Put me down!" Zorua protested. She began to struggle, but couldn't get loose. She tried turning into different and heavy pokemon. John had to laugh when she tried turning into a Snorlax. She eventually gave up.
"You're coming with me!" John said. She turned into him now. He was so shocked that he let her go. She jumped away from him and laughed.
"Why should I?" she asked, still in his form. John had never wanted to hit a pokemon before, but she was pushing his buttons in all the wrong way.
"Which is more fun, hanging out here, or going to explore new places. Surely you must be pretty lonely here?" John said. She stopped and thought about it for a moment. She turned back into herself.
"Fine! But you have to beat me! I don't want to go with someone weak!" she said.
"I'm the greatest pokemon trainer in the world! I will only need one pokemon! Cinder! Let's do this! Dragon Claw!" John said. Cinder ran out and slashed at Zorua with glowing purple claws. She leapt out of the way, laughing the whole time. Cinder was mad, and John was impressed. She had to be at least five levels lower than Cinder, yet she was holding her own against him. She turned and her eyes began glowing. Cinder got hit with sometihng and began holding his head. John knew that move! Extrasensory! Cinder flinched, and she hit him with a Faint Attack. Cinder was livid! He used Flare Blitz, and rammed her into the wall. She hit the ground and began crying. John was not impressed.
"Fake Tears. Cinder, give her something to cry about!" John said. Cinder hit her with Metal Claw, and she hit the ground hard. John chucked the Ultra Ball the old man had given him to catch her with, and it hit her. The ball began shaking and rocking vigorously. John was afraid that she would break free, but the ball stopped right when he began to think that. He smiled and picked up her pokeball.
"Great job, Cinder! You alright?" he asked his pokemon.
"Oh my god! You actually caught the shadow! You're a hero!" the bum said. He stood up and ran out of the alley, yelling about the red-haired hero.
"Freak!" John muttered to himself. He returned Cinder.