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The Dark Type	By : Manifest Destiny Category: Pokemon > General Views: 36310 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Pokemon is copy write by GameFreak, INC. and Nintendo. I make no money from this story, nor do I seek any.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
- 5
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Chapter 4: Meetings of Great Influence
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It was not until the sun had finally broken through the clouds did the snowstorm cease its relentless assault on northern Johto. It had been the largest snowstorm for quite some time. That, at least, the weather reporters got right. City workers had been hard at work since the early morning, trying to clear the roadways of the snow and ice. Any natural pathway held nearly two feet of accumulated precipitate, hiding all natural formations or characteristics beneath it, leaving a blank, white canvas across the land. With the arrival of the blazing sun, the city workers toiled with renewed vigor to clear the roads of Mahogany Town.
The late afternoon sun had done little to melt any snow that had fallen, but was doing wonders for removing Iruni from his unconscious state. The vibrant orange and yellow rays cascaded into his room, unimpeded by the curtains he forgot to close the previous day. The room’s occupants were still asleep, trying to recover from the events of the previous night and early morning. Iruni however, was finding it hard to stave off waking up any longer. In addition to the blinding sunlight, there were numerous conditions urging him to awaken for the day: hunger, pain, and the occasional tickle across his face.
What keeps hitting my face? Iruni struggled to open his eyes in the bright room. When he did, he was met with a pink feather barely brushing against his face. In the morning grogginess, it took him a few moments to recognize its origin. The young Sneasel had curled up against his bare chest, her head resting just below his collarbone. Iruni found that in his night movements, his left arm had, as much as his brace would allow, draped over the small creature. Surprisingly enough, this did not cause him too much pain. Iruni gently stroked the fur on the top of the Sneasel’s head, eliciting a contended murmur in her sleep.
Who put you here, I wonder…? Iruni took a few seconds to look for Karros, finding him lying half off the bed, front legs and head draped over the side. I guess you did it yourself then. That’s just adorable.
As he contemplated getting up for the day, he thought, Note to self: Don’t let Karros babysit.
Reacting to Iruni moving about on the bed, the Sneasel kept nudging closer to him, not wanting to be without his presence. She tried her best to stay next to him, until he finally stood up out of bed. Without his warmth against her, she began whining softly, and wore a wanting expression. Iruni bent down and gently stroked her head; Sneasel leaned into each pass and mewled contently.
“You’re such a cute little thing. If you don’t want to stay, I think I’ll be a bit sad to see you go,” he said quietly. Iruni pulled the covers over her, which seemed to placate her for the time being. Soon, she began sleeping peacefully once more. He passed by the foot of his bed without bothering to wake Karros; he’d be out for a while. He looked to his clock; it was nearly six o’clock in the evening.
Damn, it’s late. I wonder why no one’s come to wake me up? As he put on a shirt, he remembered the bandage on his hand. He looked at the slightly stained gauze, and wondered how to explain yet another injury to his family.
Iruni sighed, How in all the hells am I going to explain this? If I play it off as Karros again, they might buy it, but his teeth won’t match the mark if they checked it. Speaking of, I wonder if it’ll scar too badly? His eyes drifted to the sleeping Sharp Claw creature on his bed one last time. I don’t think they’d care too much if they found out it was you. Who knows how long I could even keep it hidden, considering she lives here… I guess I’ll have to tell them about you eventually. How I can even bring this up?
With that, Iruni began his descent into the rest of his house. It was oddly barren—considering the time of day and the current weather he had expected some activity. As he wandered about the house, Iruni had a strange sense of forgetfulness about him.
Why I can’t remember if I dreamed at all last night? Usually when I sleep this long, I can at least remember some of them… A cursory glance at his driveway noted that his father’s truck was gone. Iruni assumed he was either helping with clearing the roads. More likely, he was finding any sort of hill to ski down. That left Kate, and her Pokémon, unaccounted for.
While it seemed a bit inappropriate due to the time of day, Iruni set out for breakfast foods nonetheless.
“I should get some Pokémeal for those two. I wonder if I should get some special kind for young Pokémon for Sneasel. Though… I can’t remember if they make any specialty kinds… This’ll do fine for now.” Iruni set aside two dishes of food for his sleeping Dark types, and set about finding his own sustenance.
“I guess I could make some pancakes. I hope we ha—”
Iruni stopped what he was doing mid-step. Not because he wanted to, or because he remembered something; he had been stopped by something. He had lost his voice, for all the good talking would do him. Some unseen force bound his arms and legs. Try as he might to get his body under control, it continued to obey the commands of another. Despite the sudden assault on his nervous system, Iruni didn’t seem too surprised. He had a good idea as to who set about relieving him of his basic motor skills.
‘What is it, Ruby?’ Iruni had gotten used to her Psychic antics over the years—Ruby loved to toy with Iruni’s head, and today seemed no different.
‘Aww, you’re no fun. I didn’t even get to say “Guess who?”’ Ruby leapt up on the counter and leisurely strolled up to Iruni, relinquishing her hold on him. His sister’s Espeon sat and stared the human in the eyes. ‘You really need to lighten up a bit, kiddo. No wonder your dad didn’t want you leaving so soon.’
“But I am leaving,” he said as he gathered some syrup for his belated breakfast, and put it in the microwave to heat it up a bit, “He’s agreed to it. And despite what you might think, even Kate thinks I’ll be fine.”
‘Everyone makes a wrong call now and again you know.’
“Tell her that, why don’t you,” he watched the syrup spin slowly in the microwave, the contents slowly becoming more fluid.
Ruby flicked her two-pronged tail at his face. The Espeon grinned, ‘Hey, guess what?’
“What is it now?”
‘You smell nice.’
“Uh… thank you?” This was odd, even for Ruby, for her to compliment Iruni unexpectedly.
‘I bet you can’t guess what you smell like to me. It’s strong too. I’m surprised you can’t tell.’
“You’re starting to get a bit creepy on me Ruby,” Iruni said. The microwave started to beep, signaling a competed cycle, “Let me eat my food in peace for once and—”
‘You smell like blood. And lots of it.’ Iruni found himself paralyzed again. He found that he could still control his eyes, and met her stare with his own. Ruby’s red gem gleamed in the light, ‘Alright, spill it. Why are you up so late?’
‘You know I sleep in a lot, it’s nothing catastrophic.’
‘I suppose. But look over there. Two servings of Pokémeal? I know that Houndour of yours eats, but he’s no glutton.’ Ruby held her stern gaze on Iruni’s eyes.
‘He hasn’t eaten since lunchtime yesterday. If he doesn’t eat it all, I’ll save what’s left for later.’ Iruni was feeling a bit uneasy at this barrage of questions.
‘Oh, getting a little defensive, are we? That’s quite the drive you have going there. Maybe you could earn a gym badge or two.’ Iruni still couldn’t manage to free his mind from the clutches of the Sun Pokémon. ‘But what,’ Iruni felt his left hand rise up out in front of him, blood-stained bandage in plain view, ‘happened here? Care to elaborate?’
How does she keep asking all the right questions? he thought. Iruni should have remembered that Espeon could read the thoughts of humans. His mind was an open book; it was at mercy to Ruby’s every inquiry.
‘How do I, I wonder?’ she said with a smirk. Ruby didn’t seem like she was trying to hide how much she was enjoying toying with Iruni. She had developed a liking to watching him squirm under her influence over the years.
This is what I hate about Psychic types, always so damn intrusive. Still, Iruni was open to her.
‘It’s what we do.’
‘Get out of my head, Ruby! Let me go, now!’
‘I’d love to, but not until we go on a little walk. A walk isn’t so bad, is it? Besides, you have someone waiting on you. By the way, you sure do know how to have fun out in a blizzard.’ With that, Ruby leapt up to Iruni’s uninjured shoulder and took control of his motor skills. She walked him out of the kitchen, his body traveling subject to her whims.
—————
A dull thud, followed by a yelp, was what brought Sneasel back into the waking world. She sat up—a task she found more difficult with the thick blanket that now covered her. She was in the room she found herself in when she last awoke, but this time sunlight was pouring in through the open window, allowing her to see what the strange den held in detail. She also noticed—aside from the fact that she was covered by the strange, heavy fabric—that she was alone on the bed. Surveying the now blindingly bright room, she could find no source of the noise that had awoken her until a pained groan soon drew her attention to the edge of the bed.
“That’s just a bad way to wake up…” After shaking his head to rid himself of his post-slumber delirium, Karros jumped back up onto the bed, and took notice of the creature eying him. “Oh, hey. Nice to see you’re up and about.” Karros padded over to the still waking Sneasel. “Did I wake you?”
“I guess so… who’re you?” she asked as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
“The name’s Karros. I pushed that tree off you last night and got us out of those woods,” he said with a little annoyance in his tone, perhaps annoyed he made so little of an impression.
“Oh, that’s right! I’m sorry,” she reached up and gave him a hug around his neck. “Thanks… um…?” she had a nervous expression on her face.
“Karros, and you’re welcome.” He began to head over to his side of the bed, intending to get some more sleep before Iruni inevitably came back up with the delusion of getting anything done today. The quizzical young Dark type however, seemed to have more on her mind.
“No, I remembered, but… um…”
“What’s the matter?”
“That human that was with you, the one who carried me… is he still here?” she asked as she looked around nervously.
“Oh, my trainer? His name’s, well, he goes by Iruni, but his first name is something different. I can’t remember it, but I know it’s kinda long. All I know is that he hates being called that, so he decided to go by ‘Iruni’. He’s here, but not right here. My guess is that he went down to get some food. I doubt he’ll be gone too long.”
“So… his name is ’runi?” asked Sneasel.
“Iruni,” he repeated.
“‘runi.”
“Eh, close enough. Like I said, he’ll probably be back up here sometime so—,” Karros ended that with sudden sneeze, a few embers of flame escaping his maw. “He’ll probably— Hey, what’s the matter?” Sneasel had hidden her face from him, quivering in fear at the sight of the accidental bit of fire.
“I—I… I don’t like fire… Please don’t burn me…” she looked up at him with a terrified face, but hid herself again as he approached her.
“Listen,” he said as he laid a paw on her shoulder, “I’m not going to hurt you. That was an accident. I promise I won’t let it happen again. You’re safe here.” Karros wasn’t too experienced in comforting anyone else but his message got through.
“R—Really?” she could barely muster the courage to face the fire hound, but the sincerity of his voice won through the fear.
“I promise. As long as you’re here, I’ll make sure you’re safe. So will Iruni. He’ll probably do more than I could anyway. So just relax until he comes back, hopefully with food.” He went back to lay down next to the Sneasel, who seemed much more at ease being near the fire-dog.
“Alright. I’m really hungry, now that I think about it. I’m sorry I was afraid of you…” she reached out to hug his neck once more. “No more fire?”
“I’ll try my best, I promise. Those sneezes have been a bad habit of mine for years. Once, at one of Iruni’s birthday parties, let’s just say the fire department wasn’t there for the cake.” Even though many references were lost to her, Sneasel could tell he was trying to cheer her up, and she laughed along with him.
“I’m sorry, again. I just—”
“Hey, it’s not your fault. Just instinct I guess. Don’t apologies about it.” He felt another sneeze coming on and stifled it. “Like I was saying before I almost set the whole house ablaze. Anyway, Iruni probably went down to get some food and he’ll probably be back with some for us pretty soon. So until then, just relax, and get some rest. That’s what I plan on doing.” He gave her a reassuring pat on the head, and went to lay back down.
In the minutes that followed, Sneasel took her first real look around the room. While she was looking around, she noticed that it had stopped snowing outside. “Hey, Karros…?”
He had been trying to sleep, but he didn’t expect to get far with such a curious creature sharing the bed. “Hm, yeah?”
“How did you find me last night? You and ‘runi I mean.” This had been nagging at her since she woke up.
“He heard you. Well, we both did, but Iruni was the first to hear your calls for help. It was kinda odd though, he could hear you well before I did, and what I heard was very faint. He was really determined to find you too; something really drove him to make sure he found what was making those screams. Surprising, especially considering him going out in the storm as he was.”
“What do you mean? Is something wrong with him?”
“Well, a few days ago, he was hurt pretty badly. He had a bad run-in with a Gyarados up at the lake, but he rushed out into the storm without a second thought. He almost hurt himself even more when we were trying to find you, but he never gave up. He kept saying, ‘I have to find who’s in trouble,’ over and over again. I hardly ever see him that determined.” Karros told her of everything that happened that night, up until they reached the house.
“Wow… He went through all of that… just to help me?” Her eyes betrayed her awe as Karros finished explaining the story. To think that someone would go through the trouble of braving such a powerful snowstorm to save her, all the while bearing an injury, was almost too much for her.
He nodded, “Iruni’s a good guy. He did the right thing, at the right time. You and I have that in common it seems.”
“Hmm? How?”
“Well, I was originally from a forest outside Saffron City, in Kanto. Pretty far away from here. One day, I tried to get at some Spearow eggs while their nests were unattended. Long story short, the parents weren’t very happy when they found me stalking around their nests,” he sighed. “They were brutal. They didn’t even stop attacking me when their eggs were safe from danger. No, they were intent on killing me. Iruni happened to be with his family in Saffron that day while on vacation in Kanto, and they were passing by where it all happened. He managed to scare off the Fearow with the help of his sister, but not without taking some damage himself. If you ever get a good look at his back, you’ll probably see some lingering marks from those damn birds.”
“And you stayed with him?”
“Yeah. He officially caught me later on when we got back here, but there wasn’t much opposition on my part.”
“‘Caught’ you? What’s that?”
“It means that—here,” Karros got up and jumped to the floor. Sneasel could see him reach up and grab something off the large pedestal-like structure at the end of the room. He came back with a small, round sphere in his mouth. It was half red and half white, with a dark line splitting down its center. He set down the plain Poké Ball where she could get a good view of it.
“This is called a ‘Poké Ball’. It’s what humans use to ‘catch’ Pokémon with. From what I know, there are a lot of different kinds of these things, but this one here is mine,” explained Karros.
“What does it do?” asked Sneasel.
Karros was beginning to feel his pride swell despite being aware that his teachings were common knowledge. “Here, watch this. In a few seconds, press this button I’m about to push, alright?”
Sneasel nodded, and Karros pressed his paw on the button on the red and white orb. In a blinding flash of light, he warped into the ethereal space that characterized the invention. The Sneasel was, suffice to say, surprised at his disappearance. She looked around fervently for him, but could not find a trace of the Dark Pokémon she was just talking to. Then she remembered what she had been told and tapped the button on the center of the ball with one of her dull claws. In a flash the same as the first, Karros was once again standing in front of her.
“As you can see, I just went into the Ball. Humans use these to carry their Pokémon around with them when they travel. It’s usually up to the trainer if they want to keep their Pokémon in their balls or not, but Iruni lets me out when I feel like it. Whenever we go somewhere though, I usually go inside. I hate walking.” Karros picked his Poké Ball back up and put it back where he found it.
This development left her amazed. “Wow! Those are neat. Do I have one, Karros?”
“No, actually,” he jumped back up onto the bed, “You’re still free. Iruni hasn’t caught you.”
“Oh… Will he? Do you think?” Sneasel had a disappointed expression.
“Well,” he yawned, “I heard him saying to the nurse at the Pokémon center, where we got your leg patched up, that he’d leave it up to you. He did the same for me back in Kanto. As I said, there wasn’t much thought on my part, I immediately agreed. I have to say; these past six years have been good to me. Iruni’s a good friend, he treats me well, and we’re planning an adventure soon.” Karros had been longing for the day he and Iruni would set out on their journey. Finally, he’d be able to see what the world had in store for him. “So, Sneasel, what do you think of Iruni?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, what do you think of him? If you decide to stay, you’ll have to at least like the guy. In general terms, really. Do you like him?”
“I,” she started fidgeting with her head feather, “I guess I do like him. I mean, I just met him, but he seems nice. He saved me, and he took me to get help for my leg. He brought me back here too. And I think he likes me too…” she stayed silent for a time.
“Karros?” Sneasel spoke up.
“Yeah?”
“You—You don’t think he’s mad at me, do you?” she had her head lowered; her voice held a regretful tone.
“For what?”
“For biting him last night. I really didn’t mean to. But I was really scared. And he bled a lot. He could’ve died! All he was doing was trying to help me and—” she began to tear up a bit.
“Hey, now stop with that. It should be obvious to you that he isn’t mad at you. Look at how much he’s cared for you, even after just meeting you. He made sure you got care before he did. He brought you here, to his home. He’s already considered letting you stay if you wanted to. I don’t that in all the years I’ve known him, I’ve ever seen him get mad at anything. Sure minor things maybe, but I know him. He isn’t going to think any differently of you because of what you did. You were scared, and you acted on instinct. He knows it. You know it. I know it. You worry too much. Now just relax for a bit until we get our… well obviously not ‘breakfast’.” They had a good, long laugh. With the tension in the air gone with the recent snowstorm, Karros had a much more positive thought for conversation.
“So, I guess I’ll ask you now, but I’m sure Iruni will bring this up soon anyway. Do you want to stay here, with Iruni and me? It’s entirely up to you. He says you’re welcome to leave once your leg is better, but until then, he thinks you should stay here.”
“What will happen if I stay?”
“Well, he’ll catch you, like he did me, and you’ll probably come with us when we leave for our journey. But that won’t be until Iruni’s injuries are fixed up.”
“What’s gonna happen on the journey? Where will we go?”
Karros began to sound off an explanation he remembered his human master once give him, “The typical trainer life style consists of a trainer and his team of Pokémon—six at most, but sometimes people carry more—as they travel around the country, taking part in Pokémon battles, catching more Pokémon, and most importantly, competing in the regional Gym Circuit. Trainers from all over travel around the country to the eight gyms in their respective region. There, they challenge the Gym Leader to a battle, for that Gym’s Badge. Once a trainer has all the badges in the circuit, they challenge the Elite Four, and if they win, compete for the Championship title, by challenging the current Champion,” Karros was starting to become a bit weary from having to explain so much. “He’s told me a lot about the region, and what to expect, but we’ll still be out there in the wild. Who knows what will happen?” He began gazing out the window, watching the sun begin to set.
“That sounds really exciting! I don’t really get a lot of what you said, but I’ve always wondered what the rest of the world looked like, and I’ll get to see it with you guys! I’d love to stay.” She wore a sunny look, infinitely more suited to her character, as opposed to her previously sour demeanor.
“Well, I expected as much. You seemed to take to Iruni in no time, and I didn’t think it’d take much to sway you. I know he wants you to come with us, but he’ll come to you with what I said later I bet.” He laid his head down on the bed once more, hopefully to get some more sleep before his trainer returned.
“Hey, what do you think he’ll name me like you? I wonder what it’ll be like. What do you think he’ll pick, Kar? Hey… C’mon, what do you think? Tell me…” Karros looked up to see the excited face of a Sneasel who seemed intent on not letting him sleep, and began dreading what having such a lively creature on the team could mean for his sleep schedule.
—————
["… … … … Hello?"]
["It’s about time you answered your damn phone! Where’ve you been?"]
["I had a conference over in Goldenrod. And with that snowstorm causing hell up north, I decided to stay there a few days to see if it would hit us."]
["Why didn’t you get any of my messages?! Don’t you have your computer on you?"]
["I did bring it with me, or I thought I did when I left. Turns out it never got packed."]
["I swear, you are the most unorganized professional I’ve ever had the misfortune of being associated with. Check the most recent one and go over the attachment."]
["We’re not already going ahead with Cartographer are we? I thought we had more time."]
["Well then, check the other twenty documents I’ve sent you, and tell me we have 'more time'! I’ve already contacted everyone, and they’re ready to move at a moment’s notice. I just need your confirmation on that list I sent you. Three. Days. Ago."]
["Alright, sheesh. Let me pull it up … … … … Hey, this third one, I’ve heard about him. He’s an up-and-coming trainer from my region."]
["Yes, Auburn passed his name to me, so I can assume he’ll do just fine. How about the rest?"]
["Well, this list looks good on my end."]
["Alright then, I’ll forward this list to everyone else then. You go prep everything that you need to as soon as you can; we’re all set for them over here."]
["Alright. Contact me again if any problems come up."]
["… … …"]
Hanging up the phone, Professor Oak sat back in his office chair in his lab, “Project Cartographer has begun. I hope we’re not too late.”
—————
Bitter cold, blinding sunlight, and a severe lack of oxygen. These were the current top-three on his list of “Things I really could do without right now”. Rather than be trapped in the behemoth weather disturbance that was just now dwindling below him, he had opted to fly above it, into the realm of Rayquaza. A risky move for anyone unprepared, but he was well aware of the implications of his chosen flight path. Giovanni’s concern was currently centered on his means of transportation. While his mount was a strong creature to be sure, it was unfamiliar to the high demands that he usually puts on his Pokémon.
“How are you holding up, Honchkrow?” he yelled over the deafening roar of the passing wind. He had to keep a firm grip on his hat, lest it fall to the impossible winds below. His large coat was doing what it could to stave off the bitter cold of the upper altitude. While it was proving effective for his body, it left his hands and face at the mercy of their stinging torment.
His Big Boss Pokémon cawed back an affirmative response, letting his trainer be at ease. His wings were screaming at him for a reprieve from their seemingly endless task, and his lungs burned with every breath, but he pressed on regardless.
“We’ll be landing soon. I can see the mountaintop just a few miles off. Try to land a ways below the summit. We can’t really show up falling from the sky and expect a warm welcome.”
Giovanni wasn’t expecting to be greeted with open arms even if he had sent word months ahead of time. His intended audience wasn’t too amiable when it came to old ‘friends’. It hardly mattered now however; the option of arriving unawares were forfeited long ago, when he spotted a large, orange, dragon-like beast flying just to the west of them confirmed his suspicions as to the whereabouts of his target. Once the beast spotted their approach, it sped up and headed off toward their destination, no doubt alerting its master of their impending arrival. Without receiving a Blast Burn from below, Giovanni took that to mean that he didn’t pose much of a threat to him.
After diving back into the clouds and landing, it was merely a lengthy hike up the side of the mountain face. His Honchkrow flew close by and low to the ground, forgoing receding into his ball to escape the now-present barrage of hail and snow. They were well above the tree line, where the fresh snow met old. Underneath the new powder were layers of permafrost, unthawed for decades at a time. The man’s footsteps left a crunching sound under as he marched ever forward. As they increased their altitude, the remnants of the snowstorm began to be less prevalent; soon the blizzard had lessened to nothing more than the falling of tiny ice crystals. They sparkled in the setting sun, like diamonds falling from the heavens.
Finally, after nearly two days of flying in blinding sun, bitter cold, and air that made his lungs spit back out, he found his quarry. He was harder to track down than one would expect, considering a reputation like his. Normally, any trainer who sought this man out would be hard-pressed to find out where he was, let alone survive the resultant confrontation. Luckily, for the ex-Gym Leader, he wasn’t looking for a mountaintop battle today. Not to say he didn’t expect one.
Giovanni’s target stood casually atop a mound covered in snow, hands in the pockets of his jacket, facing away from the setting sun, his features eluding any cursory glance. He wore no attire that would be suitable for the current climate; a t-shirt covered with a red and white jacket, blue jeans, a pair of seemingly uninteresting shoes, a plain backpack, and a simple red hat. Despite this, he showed no concern for the cold around him. A small, yellow creature resided on his shoulder. Its ears perked up at the approach of their first visitor in many weeks. The trainer continued to pay no attention to the company who had just appeared, but Giovanni knew he was clearly aware of his arrival. He had to calm his Honchkrow and reassure him that they weren’t walking to their doom.
The silent young man simply went by the name “Red”.
“Do you have any idea how hard it was to find you?” Giovanni asked him. “You made such a name for yourself, and yet naught a soul could tell me where you were. Luckily, I have a few good sources left who can give me a straight answer every now and then,” he then turned to whisper a command to his large bird Pokémon. “Go ahead and land, get some rest. If he’s in a bad mood we might need to take our leave rather quickly, but I’m going to try and make sure our business is concluded before flying again.”
The Honchkrow nodded and landed next to his trainer. The winged Dark type would be lying if he thought he wasn’t worried. Even with their target facing away from them, it was clear from his mere presence that he could easily wipe them out without much effort.
Red took his time in facing his company, showing no sign of interest or urgency in his movements. He didn’t seem angry to see Giovanni again after all these years, but it had been a long while since anyone had seen any emotion on Red’s face. He merely stood there, silently gazing into his seeker’s eyes. A cold and calculating stare that exuded enough meaning to make any sort of vocalized warning an unnecessary act.
“Oh, come now. We can cut it out with the ‘death-stare’ can’t we? We’ve been through this all before. We both know that, as of now, I would have a hard time stopping anything you could throw at me, so let us forgo all this pent up hostility.”
When he didn’t get a rise out of him, Giovanni shook his head. “But, I can guess what that look in your eye means; you’re probably wondering why I’ve shown myself now, and to you of all people,” Giovanni kept at his rant without breaking his gaze from Red’s—if he did, he knew he’d be wide open for an attack. “Coming here wasn’t my first option, but it was my best one, despite the fact that your people would love to get their hands on me again. I didn’t come here to pick a fight for some petty vengeance, just to talk. Like reasonable adults.” He opened his coat to show that his five occupied Ultra Balls were clearly in locked stasis, and that his Honchkrow would stay out in the open.
“Your sparky little rodent could make quick work of my feathered friend here, I’m not so blind to the fact that any sort of attack on you would fail, even if I tried it. I’m asking for ten minutes to plead my case, then I’ll let you get back to your solidarity.”
For a moment, Red acted as if he hadn’t even heard Giovanni's proposal. His Pikachu lowered its ears and began to build up electricity, sparks crackling around its cheeks, but Red lifted a hand to halt his attack. He sat down on the mound of snow and rested his elbows in his knees. He extended his hand out toward the man garbed in black, five fingers extended, never once breaking the stare he had on him.
“Wow, five minutes? You’re as generous as you look.”
When Red lowered two of his fingers in response. Giovanni laughed, “And a sense of humor to boot! The years have been good to you my friend.” Two fingers remained raised.
“Alright, fine. I’ll cut to the chase. Like I said, I didn’t come here to fight; I came here to ask for your help. Not for you to join me in a feeble attempt at global domination, however likely of a plan that would be, but of mere cooperation. My sources tell me of a small group about to try to bring about some sort of wrong doings, the nature of which would generally be handled by you and your people, but so far, they’ve managed to stay quite under the radar. And normally, I wouldn’t give a rat’s ass if someone was plotting some debauchery here and there, but they’ve stumbled upon something that could actually prove to my disadvantage.
“I know what they’re planning, because I was the one who had planned to do it originally. I’ve come here for your support, as I have already gained a few new cohorts to support my efforts; I think you could be a valuable asset.” Red had only his index finger raised at this point, and it was slowly curling back into his palm. “Alright, I get it. I’ll have to show you something then. These people have taken some bits and pieces of a plan I had thought up a while back, but I scrapped the idea for bigger opportunities. They have barely the outline of the plan, but what they have could be very detrimental should they enact it,” the Pokémon Trainer from Pallet Town kept his finger aloft, “But luckily, as far as I know, they never found out about this plan’s back up. Something to use should the original source not be available. Once I got wind of these people dredging up my old work, I worked out a contingency scheme so that when their efforts do inevitably fail, they won’t be able to start back up again, even if they figure out my back up.”
Giovanni opened his coat and withdrew a large jewel, about the size of a small melon. The many facets that reflected the orange light of the setting sun, obscuring its natural light-blue tint, offset its smooth surface. This move actually resulted in wrenching a look of surprise from the younger trainer’s usual calm expression.
“Ah, you know what this is then? Wonderful. That’ll save me some breath—It sure is hard to breathe up here, isn’t it? They’ll need this to make the plan work if the main one fails. I came here to ask you to—”
His sentence was cut short as Red extended his finger in his direction. Hardly a moment later, a gleaming metallic cannon extended from out beneath the mound of snow on his right. A blast of super pressurized water shot straight toward Giovanni, carving a new ravine into the side of Mt. Silver. The trainer stood, and his Blastoise followed suit, shaking off the snow that covered him. Red looked up and saw that his target had evaded the Hydro Cannon.
He hovered just above the site where the deadly attack had barely missed him seconds prior. His Honchkrow was true to its word, and made for an escape. He wasn’t shooting to kill. He’s still soft.
They began their descent down the side of the mountain, with as much haste as the bird could spare, “Well that sure didn’t go as planned, did it?”
Just as he finished the phrase, a rather determined Charizard with his trainer and electric partner on his back, came soaring down from clouds above. Further down the mountainside, a Venusaur was lying in wait, just inside the tree line, absorbing the surrounding trees and plant life and aiming a slew of Frenzy Plant attacks in his direction. As if anything ever goes as planned when he’s involved.
If the staff at the Pokémon Center at the base of Mt. Silver weren’t busy answering the seemingly random questions of a red haired trainer and his Dark type partner, they all would’ve been able to look outside and see the sky light up in a brilliant display of yellow and orange. Not from the setting sun, the thick clouds and snow blocked out any light coming from the sky, but from the many Blast Burns and Thunderbolts that were clearing sections of mountainside that had been snow-covered for decades.
—————
‘You mind letting me go anytime soon?’ asked Iruni.
Ruby was taking her time, leading Iruni around the house in a seemingly endless loop. This had been repeating itself for the past quarter hour. ‘Now if I did, you’d run away, wouldn’t you? Can’t have that.’
‘Then get whatever you’re trying to do over with. Karros and–’ he stopped himself before he said anything he shouldn’t, but it was a futile effort.
‘And who?’
‘Oh just shut up already. You know everything anyway. Why don’t you just run and tell my dad everything like I know you’re wanting to?’
‘As satisfying as that sounds, that would make this whole process worthless, wouldn’t it? Besides, your dad’s off doing something in town, he’ll be back later tonight. As to why I’m driving you around the house, I’m just enjoying some quality time with an old friend.’ Her sarcasm was evident, even through her mental voice.
‘That’s cute and all, but seriously, this is getting old! I don’t have the time to mess around with you.’
‘Oh will you calm yourself? Isn’t it nice to just— Oh?’ Ruby paused, ‘Yeah, he’s up. I have him here. No, he wouldn’t tell me anything. Yeah, that sounds like him. Now? Sure, heading to you now.’
‘What are you babbling about now?’
‘Looks like you’re getting your wish; she’s ready for us now.’
‘“She”? Wait, Kate?’
‘You catch on quick; you’ll make a decent trainer yet. Now, let’s get to it.’ Silencing any further comments from Iruni, she led him through the house to her trainer’s room. Kate was sitting on her bed when they arrived. She had an expectant expression. As they entered, Ruby closed the door behind them, denying Iruni that particular escape route.
“Thanks a bunch, Ruby,” she said as Ruby leapt to the bed, and severed her control over Iruni’s body, “Now then, where do you want to start? Before or after you left the house last night? I’d love to hear it all.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Ruby’s just going on one of her crazy rants,” he said defiantly, hoping that he’d be able to lie his way out.
“Cut the bullshit, dammit! I don’t know everything that went on last night, but Ruby’s told me enough! She said you went out last night, and came back hours later, reeking of fresh blood! She also said there was something else, but wouldn’t tell me. This isn’t a joke, not some rebellious teenage act; this is serious! You go running around in a blizzard at night and come back soaked in blood and bandaged up, and you expect us to think you can live on your own as a trainer? Right now, Dad doesn’t know, but I’ll let you tell him yourself. I want you to explain what happened, and I hope you have a good enough reason.”
“How do you know Ruby’s even telling the truth? She could be lying you know.”
“Oh I believe her, Tom followed you last night and saw everything,” she motioned to have her Glaceon join in the conversation. He had been hiding under the covers of her bed before now, and held a proud stance as he showed himself to Iruni.
That’s why I couldn’t see what was following us! Tom’s a Glaceon, they have natural camouflage in the snow. Hands down the worst gift Pryce ever gave Kate… I’ll be sure to ‘thank’ him, if I ever I get to challenge his Gym. “Stupid Glaceon…” His offhand comment was met with the Eeveelution blowing snow into his face. “I’ll get you for that…”
“Hey, cut that out, both of you. You’re on the spot here, Iruni, not him. Anyway, I told Tom to wait outside for the next few nights to keep an eye out and make sure you wouldn’t go and do anything reckless now that Dad’s given you the go ahead to leave early. Sure enough, he saw you head out into that storm on the same night. But putting aside everything stupid you did, Tom told me he stopped following you after you had apparently spotted him, but he said you returned with something 'interesting', or at least that’s what Ruby says he said. She and Tom are being stubborn and won’t tell me everything they know or what you have with you, so I want you to tell me everything. Now.”
‘I know Kate, I’ll give you a hint: You know how I always said that his mutt always looked like a haze of static in my mind’s eye, right? Well guess what? I can clearly sense two balls of static up in his room right now. We told you it was 'interesting', didn’t we?’
“Shut up Ruby! You’re not helping!”
“And you’re stalling!” Kate stood up and looked him straight in the eye, “Tell me now, Iruni. I’m not doing this because I want to get you in trouble, I’m worried about what you’re going to be doing when you really leave home!” She looked down, “ I mean look at your hand! How bad is that wound!? This is what I’m talking about! We can’t have you out in the wild and getting yourself hurt doing something reckless, or getting yourself killed. So, please, tell me what happened before I start assuming the worst.”
Iruni met his sister’s gaze as long as he could muster before finally relenting to Kate’s urgency. “Alright, fine. I’ll tell you, but try and not freak out? It’s really not as bad as Ruby’s making it seem.”
He began retelling what had transpired that night in the storm. With Ruby and Tom putting in their two cents here and there, it went slower than he had hoped. Unfortunately, with Tom’s testimony, Iruni couldn’t lie and say that it was Karros who had marred his hand with a new set of scars. “It’s not like she meant it. She was just acting on instinct,” Iruni explained as Kate began redressing the wound after inspecting it. “How bad is it?”
“Well,” she paused, “It’ll scar, that much is for sure. Right now, just keep the wound’s covered up and it shouldn’t reopen unless you try to use that hand too much. I can’t believe you were running around with a wound this deep! You could’ve passed out in the snow and bled to death!”
“Okay, I get it, enough of the scolding already,” Iruni said. “I know it was reckless, but the Sneasel might not be alive right now if it wasn’t for me. How’s that for an excuse for being out in the storm?”
“Well, it could’ve gone a lot worse, I guess. I’m glad you actually managed to do something worthwhile instead of just acting a dumbass,” she laughed, and Iruni scowled back at her. “So now there’s only one thing left to do now. Let me see her.”
“Who?”
“The Sneasel you almost got lost in a blizzard over, you idiot! She’s up in your room now, isn’t she?”
‘Yes, she is.’ Ruby hopped off the bed and opened the door with a telekinetic pulse. ‘I’ll come with you, if you don’t mind. It looks like that idiot brother of yours is planning on keeping the little runt, so I’d better take a good look at what will be soon destroying the house.’
“Ruby! Don’t judge her before you even meet her!”
‘I don’t need to 'meet' her to know she’ll be trouble. You and your Dark types… You coming, hon?’ Tom shook his head, ‘Well then,’ She leapt back up onto Iruni’s shoulders, deciding not to take control of his body this time, ‘Let’s get this over with.’
“I hate you sometimes, you know that Ruby?”
Kate usually let their little fights resolve themselves, and she was laughing at this point. After years of near-constant fighting, it had become humorous to her.
‘I live for it. Now, let’s go already.’
The group had started to make its way up to Iruni’s room, when Kate asked, “So, do you plan on keeping this Sneasel? Same deal with Karros then?”
“That’s the plan. I’ve been asked to take care of her until her leg heals, so she’ll be staying here at least that long. I’ll ask her some other time, maybe after her leg’s healed, if she wants to stay. She seemed to be grateful to me for saving her, so I think there’s a chance she’ll choose to stay.”
“Well, I’d suggest finding out soon, you’re telling Dad as soon as he gets back.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll get to it,” he said as he rounded the corner to the stairway leading to his room. Ruby kept quiet for the most part, occasionally offering her own comments to anything Iruni had to say. When they got up the stairs and to his room, he could hear sounds of commotion coming from inside his room.
I hope that’s Karros entertaining her.
He asked Kate and Ruby to wait outside while he went in to check on the two Dark Pokémon. He walked in to seeing the Sneasel restlessly poking Karros in the head, calling out in annoyance of his lack of response. At the return of his trainer, Karros shot him a pleading look to save him from any more torture.
“Well, then, looks like it’s the other way around,” he said as he walked in. the sound of his voice caught the Sneasel's attention. “Hey there, Sneasel. How’re you doing today?”
The Sneasel greeted him warmly, scurrying over to Iruni as best as she could manage in her condition. She sat on the edge of the bed, and thrust out her arms up at him.
“Alright, I get it. Here we go,” he bent down to pick the small Dark type into his arms, “How’s your leg today?” she called back in affirmative, hugging his chest tight, “I guess better enough to be so cheerful, huh? And your voice sounds a lot better than last night,” he patted her on her head as she nuzzled him.
“Was she too much for you, Kar?” His response came in the form of a sarcastic feigned cardiac arrest. “Hey, I need you awake for this too, you’re my witness,” Karros roused himself enough to sit back up. “Sneasel, I’m going to ask you to bear with me for a bit, alright? There’s someone who wants to see you.”
Finding no reason to refuse him, she agreed.
“Alright you two, come on in.” Kate and Ruby walked and sauntered in to the room respectively. The appearance of the newcomers made her nervous, but Sneasel tried to show confidence. “Sneasel, this is my sister, Katelyn. And this is Ruby, who is currently challenging you to a staring contest. Don’t worry; she’s harmless, say hi.”
The Sharp Claw Pokémon offered just a short “hello” and then buried her head in Iruni’s chest.
“Aww, she’s shy. That’s adorable,” Kate said. “Can I hold her?”
“Let’s see. Sneasel, come on, they just want to get to know you,” he stroked her head a few times, “They’re nice, I promise. Now say hi to Kate.”
He carefully handed her to Kate, who cradled the nervous Dark and Ice type in her arms. Once she noticed that she was out of Iruni’s arms, she frantically reached out for him, crying out.
“Hey there, it’s alright,” Kate tried her best to console her, but to no avail.
Iruni tried what he could to cease her calls. He walked over, and let her grasp his arm for comfort. After a few minutes, and more than a few words of confidence, she eventually grew comfortable in Kate’s arms. Kate tried easing her awkwardness by tickling her, which threw her into a fit of laughter. With the initial nervousness gone, Sneasel was soon just as friendly to Kate as she was to her brother. After a few minutes of being acquainted, Kate asked, “Hey, when are you going to ask her if she wants to stay?”
Hearing Kate’s question, Sneasel began to eagerly call out to Iruni, trying to convey a message that was lost to the language barrier.
“Whoa, there Sneasel, calm down. Uh, Ruby? Care to help translate for her?” asked Iruni.
‘And why should I?’
“Because I would owe you one, wouldn’t I?”
‘Well look at that, you’re learning.’ She addressed the frantic Sharp Claw creature, offering to relay her words for her. ‘She wants you to ask her “the question” now. Karros has apparently told her everything.’
“You trying to put me out of work, Kar?” His Houndour gave an apologetic whine.
Sneasel started pawing at Iruni’s arm to get his attention again.
‘Go on already… she’s making me anxious.’
“Alright, calm yourself. Well Sneasel, how much did Karros tell you?”
She relayed another message to Ruby, ‘She says he’s explained the Gym Circuit, and what you have planned in terms of keeping her here for her leg to heal. She said Karros said you want to keep her, and wants you to ask “the question”.’
“Alright then,” he sat Sneasel down in front of him on the bed. “Sneasel, do you want to stay here with Karros and me? It’s entirely up to you, and you can refuse if you wa—”
She leapt from Kate’s arms into Iruni’s and hugged his chest, nuzzling him emphatically.
‘That’s a 'yes', if you didn’t catch that.’
“Thanks Ruby. Well, it’s great to have you Sneasel. I’m really glad you want to stay.”
Sneasel faced him with a sunny expression and smiled.
Kate got up from the bed, and looked out Iruni’s window, “Hey, guess what? Dad’s back. You know what you have to do, right?”
“Yeah, yeah… I’ll get right to it. You think you can handle another introduction, Sneasel?”
She nodded and then eagerly asked something Iruni couldn’t understand.
“Ruby?”
‘Heh, I wondered that too. So, what are you going to name her?’
—————
The next few days were filled with nothing but preparation. Preparation for Kate’s eventual departure and for the impending journey that awaited the now three-member party. Iruni’s father had been much more lenient on him than he was expecting. His punishment being to shovel what little snow remained on the walkway leading up to the house. Bruce, despite his initial anger at Iruni for breaking curfew and injuring himself, was beside himself with pride for his son.
“To think you would risk that storm to help an injured Pokémon. Your mother would be very proud of you,” he had said.
Today, Iruni had plans to head out into town, but he found himself trapped in the house for longer than he liked. He was asked to help pack, unpack, and sort the various things Kate needed for her trip to Saffron City. Of course, “asked” would be the polite term. This was merely Ruby’s way of cashing in her favor from Iruni.
With Sneasel's leg being in a cast, Karros had her ride around the house oh his back. Tom had taken to her very quickly, and often took over for Karros to help entertain her. Ruby was not the kind to warm up to Dark types, and kept her distance as best she could. Sneasel had tried to make contact a few times, only to receive a cold shoulder. Whenever she could, Sneasel would try to be with Iruni. She slept on his bed at night, and kept close to him as much as possible during the day. To be able to enact his plans to their fullest however, he would need to go into town alone.
“Hey, Ruby. Come here a minute,” Iruni called from his father’s workroom.
‘What is it? You know how busy we are today, don’t you? We’re leaving in two days, and there’s still a lot to do, and you’re not helping as much as we’d agreed to, now are you?’
“Yeah, I get it. I’ll help out more in a bit, but I need your help for a little while.”
‘Again? What kind of Dark trainer are you? Always asking for help from a Psychic type,’ Ruby sneered.
“You sure are on top of things, aren’t you?” he asked, resisting the urge to swat at the Sun Pokémon. “Anyway, I want you to spend a few hours with Sneasel. I want to head to town for a bit, and I’m picking up something for her that I want to be a surprise. I also want you to try to get to know her. She just wants to be your friend, and you’ve done nothing but ignore her.”
‘And why should I try and become friends with her? I’ll be leaving soon anyway, what’s in it for me?’
“I’d owe you again.”
‘Yeah, that’s really enticing. You’re already disappointing me from the last time, so you’ll have to do better than that.’
“Well, I’m heading into town; I’ll pick something up for you. How’s that sound?”
Ruby paced the length of the room a few times before responding, ‘Get me a Dream Eater TM, since Kate always refuses to. Take it or leave it.’
“But— Ah, fine. I’ll be sure to pick one up.”
‘And be quick about it! I’d rather not spend more time than I have to with that icy weasel.’
“Ruby, making friends means you have to be nice first. I know that’s a new concept to you, but a Pokémon of your caliber should be able to handle it.”
‘Whatever. Hurry back anyway.’
“Well, let’s go get you two acquainted then!” he caught Ruby off guard as he picked her up and carried her to the living room, where Sneasel was playing with Karros. The Houndour was seemingly exhausted with trying to keep up with the demands of such an energetic creature.
“Karros, you can go lie down upstairs if you want.” He didn’t have to be told twice, and Karros all but sprinted for his spot on the bed. “Sneasel, Ruby says she wants to spend the afternoon with you today. I’m heading into the town for the day, so you’ll be playing with her today, alright?”
Sneasel whined and shook her head, desperately clinging to Iruni’s hand to get him to stay.
“Hey, it’ll be okay. I’ll be back in a little while, alright? When I come back, I’ll have a surprise for you. How’s that sound?
Without needing to be asked, Ruby quickly translated the Sneasel’s immediate and nosy question. ‘She asked what it is. Not too keen on the idea of a surprise is she?’
‘Cut it out, Ruby…’ Iruni sent to her privately. “A surprise is a gift that you give someone, but you don’t tell them what it is before you give it to them. It helps make the experience for the person receiving the gift much more exciting.” After thinking on it, Sneasel reluctantly let go of his hand, but had an unsure look on her face. “I promise I’ll be back in a bit, but until then, Ruby’s here to keep you company.”
‘Whoopee.’
—————
The midday crowd in Mahogany Town had dwindled when the first signs of twilight began to show themselves. Piles of snow still lingered on the sides of the roads, with large collections pushed up on to the sidewalks. Despite the large amount of snowfall, the roads of Mahogany were cleared remarkably fast, thanks to the help of Pryce and his Mamoswine. Iruni was headed to the Poké Mart on the opposite end of town. His ankle had ceased troubling him, leaving only his shoulder to be healed. He walked alone, aside from the occasional passersby.
When he arrived at the Poké Mart he gave the clerk a friendly greeting. Iruni went straight to the store’s Poké Ball section and perused the selection, gazing from sphere to sphere, contemplating their usefulness. A Nest Ball would be fitting considering she is a bit young. I could splurge and get a Luxury Ball, but I don’t want to spoil her. If I got her a Heal Ball, that’d fix her leg instantly. Damn, they’re out of Dusk Balls. I guess I’ll—
Iruni noticed a Poké Ball he hadn’t recognized. It was mostly white with the middle ring being of a very dark black and a deep crimson activator button. The top half of the ball had what appeared to be two black crescent shapes, encompassing third, smaller crescent that nearly completed a circle. The most interesting quality of the Ball was that its finish always seemed to fade to black, no matter the angle of light. A trick of the paint, Iruni assumed. He looked to the shelf for the Ball’s description:
[Umbra Ball: for use on Dark Type Pokémon and Pokémon that evolve with a Dusk or Moon Stone.]
"A Ball for Dark types? Sold.” He almost hit himself for not knowing about them sooner. He grabbed three Umbra Balls, five standard ones, and a Great and Ultra Ball. “This should last me a while. At least till I get a second badge.” He walked up to the technical machine counter and checked for what Ruby had tasked him to buy. Luckily they had the Dream Eater in stock. Normally, Iruni would be more conservative with his purchasing habits, but he decided to break in his new bankcard.
“Thank you for your purchase, sir. As a store promotion, with the purchase of ten Poké Balls, you receive a Premier Ball as an added bonus!” He handed the glossy, white sphere to Iruni.
“Thanks you.” As he went to pocket his store bonus, his PokéGear received a text message.
“I wonder if Kate needs me to pick up anything—” He looked at the address the message was sent from and didn’t recognize the number. Curiosity urging him onward, he chose to open the mail:
[Can you be alone in 5 (FIVE) minutes? Responses other than “Yes” or “No” will be rendered INVALID.]
What the? This unnerved Iruni. He rarely gave out his number, and he surely didn’t remember the number the cryptic message had come from. He glanced around the Poké Mart and wondered if someone in the building was playing some prank on him.
“Hey mister, you got a bathroom?” Iruni asked the clerk.
“Sure do, it’s in the back,” he tossed him the key.
Once he entered the musty bathroom in the back of the store, Iruni followed the vague instructions given to him and replied with: [Yes.]
The remaining minutes lasted forever to him. Not because he expected something to happen, but to see if anything would. Luckily, something did.
[Can you be in Mahogany Central Park in TEN minutes? Responses other than “Yes” or “No” will be rendered INVALID. If “Yes”, proceed to Mahogany Central Park. If “No”, disregard these messages.]
[Yes.]
—————
Two minutes left, and then I’m heading home.
Iruni had made it to Mahogany Central Park in less than three minutes, and was now waiting out the remainder of the allotted countdown. He started to get skeptical when he didn’t receive a reply to his response, though the directions never stated they would respond to his answer. Leaning against the statue of Ho-Oh that was the center of the park, with his spoils from the Mart at his feet, he watched as the crowd of people that came and went through the park slowly diminished to only him. He was alone.
He checked his PokéGear; the time was up. As far as he could tell, nothing spectacular was going to happen. Oh well, what did you expect anyway? However, as soon as he made to get up, a thick fog quickly enveloped the park. All Iruni could see was vague shapes and hues, no more than a few feet in front of him could be seen. He started to follow what path he could see out of the park, but was met with an invisible barrier. He was trapped.
“Good job Dragonair, cancel the Light Screen around us, but maintain the one over this square.”
Iruni had heard the voice before. Vaguely, almost dreamily he remembered it. He turned around, not believing his ears, to see who had addressed him. It was who he guessed it to be, but he still could not believe it. He saw him phase into his vision out of an orb of bent and redirected light, standing on the head of a serpentine dragon.
“Now then,” said the red haired trainer as he descended to the ground from atop his Dragonair, “You are Bartholomew Iruni Thomas, correct? I believe we have business to discuss.” Addressing him by his full name, striding up to him with a confident, almost grand gait, cape flowing down evenly in the absence of any wind, was the Champion of Kanto and Johto.
Lance, the Dragon Master.
—————
To Be Continued…
—————
- 3
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- 5
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The Dark Type