Pokemon: Quartz Version (Violet Arc)

Save no. 3 – Tutorial for hard mode.


7:00 AM blinked the Pokenav's internal clock, the lone trainer having finished with customizing the device soon after obtaining it. All that was left was to input her trainer name.

"Hmm.."

Wanting to have some thought put into this next task Shinobu took a seat atop a nearby tree stump and let her thoughts wander... And wander they did...

All the way into the past.

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It was a cold and windless late afternoon in the ashfields of route 113, and a group of about six children were playing with thier pokedolls... And while they did a seventh child trudged through the ash with a bag for collecting the substance in the right hand, a beautiful flute in the left.


"Pikachu! use tackle attack!"


"Ahh --Oof!"


The seventh child lay on her stomach now, stuck between wiping away the brimming tears and keeping her soot-covered hands out of her eyes, visibly gritting her teeth against the high-pitched cackles a distance behind her as the cheap plastic replica had bounced off the back of Shinobu's head to land with a 'whump' , the landing padded by the ash and grass that it blanketed. Eventually the little one proceeded to dust off her sweater and pants, sitting up with a frustrated groan -not beacause her head hurt, but beacause the last how many hours was spent collecting all that ash... Only to have most of it wind up right back on the ground. The toy's owner soon ran over to pick up her possession, a girl who looked to be Shinobu's age, brown eyes and blonde hair reaching the shoulders dressed with a large red bow on top, she wore a knee-high red button-up dress witha yellow coat overtop. A second little girl caught up to the first, a blue-eyed and brown-haired child wearing light blue jeans and a longsleeve shirt with a blue jacket overtop.


"Direct hit!" Exclaimed the owner of the plastic Pikachu, while the brunette practically sneered.


"Too bad this one's so weak, what a waste of time! I bet the only move it knows is splash..."
The rest of the group -three boys and another girl- had caught up in time to hear the those remarks, which had them laughing along with the ringleaders. Feeling encouraged by the amusement of her friends the blond chimed in with a giggle

"....Yeah, or cry!"
Nearly beside herself with anger the purple-haired one quickly got to her feet and was about to say something less than pleasant involving that blond girl's mother and a muk, but when she caught sight of a taller figure approaching she happily held her tongue, the almost instant change of mood going unnoticed by the group of childeren however, until the older boy spoke. he was standing right behind them too.


"And this, coming from some wannabe trainer who can't handle a real pokemon? Pathetic."


Almost as soon as he had spoken did the kids fall silent, turning thier heads -some craning- to watch the boy circle round to stand now, beside his little sister. Not about to feel the burn of retrobutive insult in front og her peers the one in the yellow coat made her indignant retort, clearly angered that not only had her fun been ruined, but also the fact her lack of ownership over a real pokemon had been jeeringly pointed out.

"Oh yeah?! Well my mom's gonna buy me a real pikachu when i become a trainer!" The kid announced, her hands on her hips as she swelled with pride, which only caused the older one to laugh, shaking his head slowly with a grin that clearly mocked her.
"Isn't that special... Well next time, why don't you tell mommy to buy a needle and thread.."

And in a split second the once calm expression had switched from just that, to an angry sneer that barely failed to hide the contempt he held for dress-clad brat.


"...So that she can sew your pretty little mouth shut. Now get out of my sight."


Whether it were his spiteful words, or the look on his face the girl with the bow wasn't sure. Maybe it was a little bit of both, but whatever the case the kid was quick to turn around whilst averting her gaze all the and run off, the other five groupies following suit except they glanced and stared, some showed fear and others, spite. The brunette had given them both a mean glare as they turn to catch up to thier friend.


With those little delinquents gone the lad turned and made an easy task out of refilling the bag using the ash that had been dropped, and that brought the last little one's arms around her brother in a big hug once he had come to stand again. Returning the embrace he spoke, that calm and content tone returning instantly.


"C'mon, let's go see if we can't still get something out of this."


The glassworker was indeed able to create something beautiful from the ash that Shinobu gathered and as usual it had taken some time. The siblings waited outside on a patch of short grass that remained untouched by the sometimes copious sootfall. Actually that patch was apart of a bigger ash-free area surrounding the house. After an hour's wait the glass artisan stepped out the front door to walk up to the two from behind, where the younger one enthusiastically took the newly-crafted instrument with her sincere thanks, the older one doing the same with considerably less gusto, but with just as much appreciation.


"Here Kazuo, this is for you!" Shinobu chimed gleefully, eagerly taking the other's hand to place in his palm a transparent yellow flute that, in the light, shined as if it were gold.


"Aw, thanks. You didn't have to go through all that you know..."
He slowly lifted the instrument against the light of the setting sun, as a strong breeze tussled locks of rose quartz hair reaching the base of his neck. Bangs cut to varying lengths often obscured a pair of eyes that held a prismatic shine to them, despite being the same colour. Wearing a large-hooded jacket and cuffed jeans, altogether this trainer seemed average but, if appearances could decieve then Kazuo was no exception, thanks to his unusual traits.


"Seeing as how you'll be leaving to start on those badges I wanted to help you out. The league is going to be tough and after all, And you can't always rely on potions 'n' stuff."


Those words touched him. knowing how much his litle sibling disliked being anywhere near the other children -much less having to put up with thier antics without him around- and that she spent possibly the whole day trying to get this item made, for him... It made his smile grow into one of sincere gratitude. He wasn't always going to be around forever to help or stick up for her but somehow the lad felt that Shinobu was aware, the fact that she went through the trouble she did to assist someone else, rather than vice-versa, proved that. A depressed sigh followed by extra weight leaning against his side brought Kazuo from his thoughts, and before the question 'what's the matter?' could be asked the answer was given.


"Grr! Why can't we be treated like we're normal?! Can't the other stupid kids see that we're just like them?!"


"Haha, that's beacause we're nothing like them -you saw the way they acted... As for the first question I can't help you there. Dosen't matter anyways beacause..."

He paused to put away the flute, then turned to catch the sun's fading rays on the horizion.

".. We're outcasts... Simple as that."


"Beacause we're outcasts....." Shinobu repeated slowly, falling alseep against big brother, and waking up back in the present still seated but this time atop the treestump where she had taken shelter under the rain.

"Hmm.." Nimble fingers glided over the pokenav's keypads, and that was that, the usual welcome message greeted the device's fully registered owner who smiled at the small yet significant accomplishment, an aura of sadness providing a hint to her true mood..


"Help!"


..Which would soon change.
"Someone please help!" The voice called out again, dismissing at once the thought of 'just hearing things' as the girl got to her feet, purple eyes carefully in hopes of spotting the source of that voice.


"Where are you?" Shinobu called out, and where eyes failed ears succeded when there was a response.


"Over here! Please help us!"


And not a second more went to waste in tracking down the faint plea through brush and branch. To the trainer's confusion, even though the distressed voice grew louder the closer she drew it also became weaker, as if under some sort of strain, but once the last treebranch had been pushed aside she immediately saw why. In a clearing of very short grass dotted with moist patches of flattened ground, clawmarks and fallen needles were scattered about but more important were thier sources; In the clearing two pokemon battled -a beedrill against a vulpix- the latter belonging to a trainer about her age while the former belonged to an older woman, looked to be near twenty dressed in a grey short top, skirt and boots with a red "R" on the front, wearing a black sports bra underneath and matching gloves. She looked pissed, even though she was clearly winning, which within itself was the second surprise. The fire fox should have had the advantage, so why couldn't it take down this killer bee?


"Vulpix it's okay! Just flee and leave me behind!" The boy pleaded, looking just as worse for wear as his partner, but his little friend barked defiantly and braced itself for whatever would come next, slowly turning it's gaze toward the hidden trainer with a look that would have broken her heart.


"You...." And something clicked. This was the voice that had been calling desperately for help!


"Beedrill!" The uniform-clad female called, and the insect prepared for what could have very well been the final assault, had Shinobu not, from her hiding place, leapt into the middle of the battle at that very moment. The downed trainer's face was a portrait of surprise and the rocketeer (if possible) looked even more angry than before.


"Who invited you weakling?! Get lost before I take your pokemon too!" She spat.


Shinobu wasn't sure what made her say the next words she did, but she certainly hoped her newfound courage would hold out until the end of this ordeal. Driving her left hand into the left pocket of her jacket it emerged with a minimized pokeball, which was extended to full size as she spoke, exuding confidence she never thought she had.


"Heh heh, weakling? Do I LOOK like a feebas to you? Whatever, i'll show you who's weak... And if I can't use a mirror to do it, then i'll use something else!" She leapt back as the ball was tossed forward, and a bright flash of light revealed.....

Wait, it didn't reveal anything! The pokeball was empty!

Everything seemed to go silent, the other trainer's face remained pretty much the same as it was while the look on the rocket member's face actually lightened up some.

"That's not right... Hang on.. Okay!" Again she pulled a ball from her pocket, but it yielded exactly what the first one had -nothing.

By now the rocketeer's scowl was a cocky grin and the injured trainer was looking much like the vulpix did.


"So what's your next trick gonna be? ya gonna pull a buneary outta your hood?" The woman jeered, crossing her arms as she casually shifted her weight onto one leg, her beedrill stretching it's limbs before landing beside it's mistress.


"Alright, no more jokes! Those last two were spares... Let's go!" Shinobu produced the remaining three pokeballs and tossed them all at once, and when they landed the combined light forced everyone to avert thier eyes until it cleared. As the light faded, so too did both trainer's hopes, for to thier horror (and the rocket's utter amusement) those three pokeballs were empty, too.


"Shoulda brought your mirror, pipsqueak. Beedrill, pin her."


Before Shinobu could recover her pokeballs or defend herself, the large insect became a blur ending with the newbie up against the tree behind her, wrenching a pained shout out of her throat from the forespikes stuck just below her chest. The male trainer struggled to get back up, falling back down thanks to the paralysis inflicted from the poison-type's stun spore eariler. The tree's leaves fell about the two figures, one awaiting it's mistress' order, the other struggiling with little result.


"Now, you had your chance to turn around, so i'm gonna teach you not to mess with Team Rocket. The hard way."


One glance exchanged between fighter and trainer, and the beedrill lifted it's poison-soaked stinger until it was level with the girl's stomach. Shinobu 's world was already a bit tipsy from the pain, she could feel her jacket's sleeves and front grow wet and the scent of blood flooded her nose. For a scarce moment she wondered what Kazuo would say if he were to see his jacket now, all bloody and a mess... Her thoughts then went to her dear friends, the zangoose and ghastly she hadn't the chance to formerly part with. How could she ever say hello to them again if she died?! Dimmed amythests rolled back into her head as her eyes shut tight, calling at the top of her voice for thier help. In reality it was barely abouve a whipser, and she had to struggle to draw breath every few seconds.

"Zantetsuke... Garuda... Nii-san.. Please..."

This feeble plea was met with more laughter as the rockette flipped back her long green bangs, hazel eyes alight with malice and that rush of power one obtains from dominance over another.


"Don't worry pipsqueak, if I run into any of your friends i'll send'em your way. Beedrill, toxic."


"Nooo!" The boy cried out, reaching out his hands toward the poor would-be heroine as the insect drove the large spike toward his victim... but what happened next went by so fast, noone realized what exactly occured until thier eyes could fully register three things: Shinobu was now slumped against the tree on the ground half-way consious, a white ball of fur about Shinobu's size bearing meanacing claws and ever more frightening teeth had sent beedrill rolling and into a tree all the way across the clearing, and a floating ghost was now hovering protectively abouve the bloody one. Surprisingly enough, the wounded rookie was first to realize what went down but the green-haired thief was first to issue a command. Whatever the hell this turnaround was, she wasn't about to back down so easily just beacause.


"Beedrill, get back up and turn that furball into a pincushion!" Just as angry that it's prey had been snatched from the claws of death, the beedrill lifted itself a metre off the ground before unleashing a ministorm of sharp needle-like spikes toward the normal-type.


Out of it as she was this trainer was just as quick to the punch, issuing an order of her own as she used the tree to support her transition to a standing position.


" Garuda, blow their ears off and Zan-kun, double team and use the trees to get close. Cut that pest down!" She wheezed, watching as the ghost floated into the battle zone above the pin missle's radius to let out the horrible din known as screech. While everyone was left covering thier ears the cat-ferret moved in for the kill, multiple copies leaping to and fro for the upper foliage, but only the real deal came rocketing back out of there to deal out a painful cut to the insect, one that sent it hurtiling back at it's trainer.


After landing in a less than graceful heap the rockette jumped to her feet and recalled her partner with an angry growl. Rookie or not, she knew better than to battle when the setup was two to one in the foe’s favor, instead of the other way around.


“You better bet your sorry ass I’ll be back, pipsqueak!” The green-haired one called out over her shoulder, leaping over the surrounding shrubbery into the dense wood to make her escape. But not before Shinobu’s angry words had reached her ears.


“For the last time… the name’s NOT pipsqueak! It’s Outkast!”


Those words took with them the last of the girl’s adrenaline rush, and back to her knees she fell as the vulpix stalked cautiously over to her.

“I cannot thank you enough… but I ask of you one more request. My master’s paralyzed, might you have something that could help?”

To which she nodded, gingerly taking off her backpack and opening it to pull out of it’s depths a small can of chewable pills. Those were unscrewed and the open bottle, handed to the fire-type. “One should be enough.”


Now to the boy laying there watching this, it looked like Shinobu was the only one talking, since the canine had yet to say a single word. The only time it spoke was when it barked, so how could this trainer understand what he was saying? But that could wait for later. What mattered now was getting himself and this girl to the nearest hospital. Moments after consuming a pill that uncomfortable tingling sensation receeded gradually, until he was back on his feet and that feeling all but gone. He wasted no time in replacing the pill container back into the backpack, without even waiting for his fellow trainer’s response. In fact, why was she so quiet all of a sudden?

“Hello..? Hey you okay?.... Shit!”

One nudge and the poor thing had fallen onto her side with a groan so he moved to pick her up, and that’s when a large pair of paws wrapped around her waist before he could do so, and lifted her up into it’s arms, that Zangoose from earlier fixing the kid with a look that said “Leave it to me.”

He hadn’t even noticed the two pokemon return until then, but knew better than to argue so he picked up his vulpix and made doubletime all they way into a city now awash in the day’s fading rays, the group following the ghastly that floated a small distance ahead, holding the fallen one’s backpack in it’s mouth.


It took nearly the entire day -and her life- but Mikado Shinobu.. Outkast… had finally reached Viridian city.



~Authour's Corner~

AllllllRIIIGHT! It took me WAY past one week but I did it! I finally got chapter three up! Somehow I have the feeling that this is gonna wind up looking short, even though it looks super long in my Hotmail letters... -_- sigh. But oh well, with the way it turned out i'd rather submit it late then on time and rushed to hell.
My spacing may seem odd, but that's cause i'm still trying to figure where and when double-spacing is best, and where/when one-spacing is better.

On a similar note, the reason why I skimped on describing the new kid is cause that's coming up in the begenning of next chapter. I had a hard time on deciding on whether it should be an original character or just one of the game series' NPCs... which is 3/4ths the reason this chaptie took so long to finish.

On a final note, I'd like to ask (being the newbie that I be) How does one code Italics and bold into text? is it like this? [ / b ] Or is there a different method? Orrr is there a panel for editing stuff like that when i'm adding/editing a chapter?

Okay And now to list the current OCs and thier teams:

1. Trainer: Outkast
Class: Move Tutor
Pokemon:
Zantetsuke (Zangoose)
Garuda (Ghastly)

2. Trainer: ???????
Class: Info N/A
Pokemon:
Vulpix (registration status unknown)

Welp that's it.
Gotz any questions? Complaints? Customer service? then feel free to drop a line in the reviews section. Now to work on chapter four ~.^