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The Dark Type	By : Manifest Destiny Category: Pokemon > General Views: 36309 -:- 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
- 8
- 9
- 10
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Chapter 9: Long Way Down
—————
While Blackthorn City continued to be battered by rain, a large and bustling city in the Kanto region gleamed brightly in sunlight. Many tall buildings stood to greet the sky, their windows shimmering as they reflected the rays of gold light. At the center of the city, the largest building towered over the others. Anyone on the top floor of the Silph Corporation would be able to see Saffron City in its entirety; a bright and golden center of business.
Blocks away, the lively afternoon sun streamed through the windows of an apartment complex. On the third floor, a Dratini sat coiled in a chair in front of the sliding glass door of a small balcony, enjoying the warmth of the spring day. Inside the apartment, Kate’s Glaceon, Tom, sought out the coolest part of the room for his afternoon nap, wanting to avoid any unnecessary heat if he could. Ruby was laying lazily on the kitchen counter watching a few Spearow perched on the roof of a building across the street.
Kate was in her bedroom, sorting some laundry she had just finished folding. Before she could finish her chore, she felt the touch of another mind on her own consciousness, ‘What’s up Ruby?’
Ruby was alerted to a notification on Kate’s laptop that she had left on the counter, ‘Someone’s calling you on your laptop. I can’t read who it’s from, but I have a bad feeling it’s your brother… Today was going so well…’
Kate threw down the shirt she was folding and walked back into the kitchen, “Quit it Ruby, you know you miss him.”
‘As long as he isn’t planning any surprise visits, I’m fine.’
“Whatever,” she said. She answered the call, and the image of her brother appeared in a new window on her screen. Kate could see other people behind him, carrying out their business at the Pokémon Center he was calling from, and a light-blue feather sticking up from the bottom of the screen.
[“Okay, we’re on now. Say ‘hi’ you two!”] Iruni said. Rikalia quickly pulled herself into the camera’s view and waved at Kate and Ruby. Karros stuck his head in the frame as well, barking at the participants on the other end of the line.
Instead of greeting him, Kate started her side of the conversation with, “Cut your hair.”
[“What? It doesn’t look that bad, does it?”]
“The ponytail just doesn’t do it justice.” Kate said.
[“Ponytail? Oh, dammit…]
Ruby laughed to herself as she watched Iruni fumble about with the hair tie, evidently having forgotten that it had been in place.
[Why didn’t you tell me I still had my hair pulled back, Rika?”] Iruni asked. His Sneasel responded in her own tongue, leaving half of the exchange unknown to Kate.
[“It’s not supposed to be a regular thing, I only put it up when it gets in the way,”] Iruni said. [“I hate how I look with a ponytail.”]
“Oi, you two. Start talking to the person you called a few time zones away,” Kate said irritably. “And have you figured out how you’re doing that yet? The talking thing?”
[“No, not yet. But we might sometime soon.”]
“And the headaches? Those still happening?”
[“Yeah, but not as often or bad as before. We think they might be related, but we’re still unsure about the whole thing.”]
Kate nodded, “Be sure to let me know when you do, this could be a new way of communicating with Pokémon that you’ve just stumbled upon.”
[“Don’t worry,”] Iruni said, [“I’ll call you whenever I find out.”]
“So, how’re things so far? Rika hasn’t given you many more scars since last time, has she?”
[“Just one,”] Iruni said. He brought his arm into the view of the camera and pulled back the sleeve of his jacket. Kate could recognize the bite mark on his hand, as well as the four short claw marks he received right before she had left home.
[“This one,”] he pointed to thin, pale line on his upper arm, [“came from one of her toe-claws. She kicked me in her sleep.”] A quiet mumble just barely registered by the microphone sounded over the speakers from the Sneasel who was now looking down in embarrassment. [“Hey, this one was an accident, just like the others, you know that. I know you didn’t mean to.”]
“Yeah, don’t worry about it, Rika. So long as you keep away from clawing faces on purpose, no one’s going to think badly of you for a few accidents.” Kate saw the two currently in frame on the other end of the line exchange a nervous look, but she disregarded it.
“So, how’s everything? Holding up okay?”
[“We’re good. I just got back to the Center from a late lunch, and I called dad just before you. I’m surprised I managed to get Karros up before I called you, he was out like a light.”]
“Karros just wanted to see me, didn’t he?” Kate heard a short bark on the other end of the line. “Where are you guys anyway? Baring the obvious ‘at a Pokémon Center’.”
[“We just got into Blackthorn City this morning, or was it after noon when we got here? I can’t remember…”]
‘He’s taking his sweet time, isn’t he?’ Ruby said to herself.
“What?! How are you already at Blackthorn? There’s no way you’ve gone through seven gyms in two and a half months.”
[“Of course not, I just came this way on my way to Newbark Town.”]
Oh, that’s right. I forgot about that. Kate thought back to the memory Ruby shared with her about Iruni’s meeting with the Champion of the Indigo League, Lance. She decided to feign ignorance, “Why’re you headed to Newbark? You could’ve just gone through Ecruteak and went straight to Violet for your first badge, but you’ve wasted almost two months just roaming the region?”
[“I wasn’t wasting my time, this is good experience. Besides,”] Iruni paused. Kate half expected him to fumble for an answer, but he continued, [“I want to see Professor Elm and see if he can help me figure out how I can understand Rika.”]
“Oh,” she said, slightly impressed, “that does sound like a good idea. Speaking of experience; how’s the battle scene so far?”
[“It’s been good so far. Karros is a bit above Rika still, but she’s catching up really fast. Speaking of fast, you should see how fast she is now. Rika’s a bit faster than Kar. Hey— I’m sorry buddy, but she is.”]
‘Ask about his losses,’ Ruby suggested, ‘I bet he’s hiding something interesting.’
“So, Ruby wants to know—”
‘Hey!’
“Oh quiet you… Anyway,” she continued, “Ruby wondering about your battle record. Any losses so far?”
[“Well, there was this one—”]
Rikalia immediately protested his retelling of the loss, putting her paws over his mouth.
Iruni laughed it off, pushing her away. [“Rika, it’s fine. We’ve never had any practice with double battles,”] Iruni said as he rubbed his Sneasel’s head. [“It was right before we got to Ice Path, and these two trainers both came up to us, and a double battle would’ve saved us a lot of time rather than a one-on-one, so I accepted the battle.”]
“So, how’d it go?” asked Kate.
[“Not as bad as you’d think, but still a loss. They had a Marill, and a Ditto. I was expecting the Ditto to transform into the Marill to take Karros down quickly, but it copied Karros, and we got beat pretty bad. Rika still beats herself up over it,”] he said, directing his voice down at her, [“even when I keep telling her to not worry so much.”]
“Wait, so you still only have those two? No new captures?”
[“Right now, yes. I haven’t seen anything I wanted to catch yet.”]
‘He’s not going to last long.’ Ruby said.
“You do have a point…” added Kate.
[“What? What’d she say?”]
“Well, are you sure you’re going to be fine with just Karros and Rika?” Kate asked.
[“The worst I’ll have to worry about on the way to Newbark are the Skarmory on Route 45, so I think we’ll be alright. But I think Rika should be able to handle them.”]
“You sure? I can send Ruby over to you to help you along you know.”
‘No you can’t.’
“Sure I can.”
‘But you wouldn’t… Right?’
[“No, that’s alright. I have to be able handle things on my own now, but thanks for the offer. You’re not too upset, are you Ruby?”] Even though Iruni couldn’t hear her response, her face alone easily sent a message of relief, as well as irritability.
“Well,” Kate said, “what about your match with Falkner? You aren’t going to try and put Karros in are you?”
The sound of Iruni’s Houndour whining could be heard over the speakers, [“Right now, no, I’m not. I’m hoping to catch something before my first Gym match, but if not, Rika might be able to win it for us. A little training with her Ice moves and she’ll easily cut through Falkner’s birds.”]
“A little risky letting a Gym battle ride on one Pokémon… How are her Ice attacks now anyway?” Kate asked.
‘Tom tried showing her a few tricks when we were still back home. He said she had a hard time maintaining any sort of form, but creating the stuff was simple enough to her. Without any tutoring or help, he said it might take her quite a while to get the hang of it,’ Ruby explained.
Iruni answered not hearing what Ruby was telling his sister, [“She’s doing great, aren’t you Rika? She’s almost got Ice Punch down, but it doesn’t last that long. The more we train, the easier it’ll come to her.”] Kate could see her brother’s Sneasel give a warm smile at the compliment.
“Good to see you’re optimistic.”
[“Well, I think I’ll go back to our room before it gets too late and finish organizing the stuff I want to keep on me when we head out. I over packed again.]
Kate sighed, “You always do. How much longer are you going to stay in Blackthorn? You’re not going to be an idiot and try the Gym are you?”
‘Now, I’d actually let you send me to him if I could see that…’ Ruby said snidely, Kate ignored her Espeon.
[“I really don’t know actually. I wouldn’t want to take too much time, obviously, but I want to try and at least get to Newbark in under a week. So definitely no more than two days, if that.”]
“Well, call me when you get to Violet and let me know how your Gym battle goes. I’ve got to finish the laundry, and I’ve got a few papers to get a head start on for next week, so I’ll talk to you later.”
[“Alright. Oh, Dad mentioned that he was going to call you sometime tonight by the way.”]
“Oh cool, thanks.”
[“No problem, see ya, Kate,”] he said, followed by Karros’ and Rikalia’s own farewells. The window holding the video-conversation went black as the connection was canceled.
Ruby followed Kate back into her bedroom where she resumed her menial task. Sensing unease in her trainer’s mind, Ruby said, ‘He’ll be alright, you know. Don’t tell him I said this but he’s not stupid. He’s not going to get himself killed out there. Rika and Kar are with him, they’ll be able to protect him if anything happens.’
“I know,” she said, letting out a long breath, “I know. I just hope whatever Cartographer deals with isn’t too dangerous.”
—————
The sound of snoring rhythmically interrupted the noise of the rain splattering on the window of Iruni’s room at the Pokémon Center. Karros had taken over the couch in the room after it became available. Iruni had finished cleaning out his travel pack of all unnecessary items and repacked his gear. The resulting weight was far more comfortable with his recovering shoulder.
The TV was on, but muted, providing the room with the only light apart from the streetlights outside the window. Iruni was sitting on the bed, his back against the headboard. Rikalia was lying to his side with her head resting on his lap. He idly stroked her back as he held his PokéGear with his other hand. He was idly scrolling through the old messages still saved on the device, letting his mind wander and dwell on things.
He sighed as he thought to himself, Maybe I am taking too long…
“Hey… Iruni?” Rikalia spoke up.
“Yeah?”
“You need to stop worrying so much.”
“What am I worried about?”
“That deadline we have with the Professor. You keep brooding over it.”
How did she…? “What makes you say that?”
Rikalia jumped off the bed and went to the small fridge, grabbing a fresh Pecha berry they had bought earlier that day. She split it in half, saving one piece for her trainer, “You still haven’t said how long we’re staying here, and every time you talk about it, you never come to an answer.”
“It’s just that I keep thinking I’m making a mistake by taking as long as we are…”
“Why? You keep saying we have plenty of time. That Jake guy said we could get there in a week if we tried,” she said climbing back on the bed. Rikalia finished her half in a few quick bites. She passed Iruni his half, but he just held it in his hand.
“But… look at how long it took us to get here. We left home at the beginning of the month, and it’s already almost April. I’m afraid if we stay here too long, and if we run into any problems on the three routes we have to cover before we get there,” he dragged his hand across his face, “we’ll be replaced. And hell, I don’t even know what we’re supposed to do for them; what if it’s something I can’t even help them with? Why did I even agree to this, Rika? I’m not someone to trust with something like this… Or am I? I don’t know… I don’t—” a white-furred paw stopped him from continuing.
“Stop worrying about things like they’ve already gone wrong. They picked you because you were one of the best they could choose from. Do you think that teacher you had would have recommended you if he thought you couldn’t handle a hike in the mountains? No, of course not. Sure, they know what you can do, but I know you. You barely even considered turning down Lance’s offer. Just like the night you braved that snowstorm to find me.” she brought her eyes even with Iruni’s and let her hand fall from his face.
Even though he couldn’t see her clearly because of the glare from the TV, he could sense she had a serious expression.
“You went out without a second thought. Just like that time, you’re not going to give up on this. You can do it. The main reason you wanted to become a trainer is because you hated your normal boring life, right?”
“Yeah, that’s ri—”
“So stop acting like you’re about to just go back to that! You’re afraid before you even really start! So what if we’re late? So what if this project they have for us is hard or something we can’t handle? We’ll take it on, and try our best as it comes. Kar and I will be there to help you out, and we’ve already made friends out on the road you know…”
Iruni smiled, “You mean—?”
“Shut it,” she snapped, “I’m still not done. I may not like Coralis that much, but his other friends, they seem nice. And I’m sure we’ll meet others. I doubt this Elm guy would send us out without explaining what we’re supposed to do. He’ll help us. We’ve got Kate, Ruby, your father, and you’ve got me. I won’t let you give up, not for a second, you got that?”
The sound of rain had stopped, but Iruni hadn’t noticed yet. The TV faded to black for a moment during the show it was playing, and in that moment, the light from outside illuminated the room. He could see her red eyes staring back into his, and for a few seconds he couldn’t move. He glanced away from her as the TV brightened again and got off the bed. He walked over to the window and looked out into the deserted, previously rainy streets. He felt the juice from the slice of Pecha berry drip from his fingers, and slowly brought it to his mouth and ate it.
“Hey! Did you hear anything I just said?” she yelled at him.
“I did,” he said, swallowing. Iruni took a deep breath and turned back around to her with a wide smile on his face, “I heard you. Sometimes I wonder how we’d ever get along if you hadn’t started talking to me—but, that’s not the point. The point is, Rika, that you’re completely right.”
“I am?”
“Yes. I doubt you would’ve said those things if you didn’t think they were true. You’ve hit the nail on the head.” He let his voice carry around the room, momentarily waking his Houndour from his sleep. “I was too worried about all this uncertainty about what Cartographer is, that I completely forgot about something.”
“What?” Rikalia asked.
“I had always thought that when I would first start out on my journey, back when I got Kar and decided I wanted to be a trainer, that I’d be free to go about it how I wanted to. But with Lance coming to me with a job to do, it felt like something I was being forced to do, something I was meant or expected to do. Agreeing to their terms, meeting their deadlines, following their orders. But you said it yourself, I could’ve said ‘no’. I could’ve just gone with you two and had been a normal trainer, but I chose to take this path. This was always my choice, if I didn’t think I could rise to the challenge, I would’ve declined their offer. But I know that I can do more than just wander the countryside and compete in the League,” he turned back to the window, “I can do something to make a name for myself, to help out some of the most important people in our region.
“And you put it best, you know; they picked me, so I’ve obviously got something the next trainer doesn’t. And look at us!” he gestured around the room, “We’re here, in our first Pokémon Center room, just two Pokémon, no badges, and a novice trainer. And these people want my help! I’ll be damned if I just pass up this opportunity to show them how good we can be. I know we’ve got potential. I just know it, Rika. And… Huh…” he trailed off, staring off into the dark sky. After a moment, a small chuckle came from the self-proclaimed novice.
“What’s funny? Iruni?”
He slowly turned his head back to her, “Come here, Rika…”
She did as he said, and came to the window with him. He picked her up in his arms and set her on his shoulder, “What is it?”
He pointed out the window and whispered in her ear, “It’s snowing.”
“…What?”
“Look! Out there, just look at the street lamp,” Iruni pointed to the nearest streetlight. The light spreading out from either edge sent a pyramid of illumination onto the street below, and slowly, snowflakes passed through the light. “We’re high in the mountains, and it just got cold enough to freeze the rain. But look, the ground’s too warm and wet to let it stick. It won’t last, but it’s still snow. Think about it Rika. When else did it snow this year?”
“It was snowing the night you found me,” Rikalia said, remembering the wild snowstorm.
“The night my life really started to get interesting. I found you, then once the snow passed, Lance came and found me. That was the last time I saw the snow, that huge storm. And now, just like that time—like you said—I just have to go and not stop and think about the consequences.”
“Huh?”
“We’re leaving here early tomorrow,” he said, looking at her. “And we’ll get to Newbark before the deadline with time to spare. That’s a promise.”
“What’s with you all of a sudden? Why the sudden enthusiasm?”
“Your little pep-talk really kicked me in the teeth,” he said. He walked backed to the bed, and let Rika jump down before he threw himself back onto the bed. “You’ve got a lot of stubbornness and determination, and that’s all I needed to get my head out of the mood I’ve been in,” he pet her blue-feathered ear, “Thanks for that, Rika.”
“You’re welcome, just don’t let it become a habit,” she said, laying next to him. “You’ve got to show some confidence on your own every once and a while, and you’ve got to help me and Kar if we ever have problems.”
Iruni fanned his right arm round on the bed looking for the remote, “Of course, what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t?”
“The worst,” she said. “Not to mention a failure as a trainer, not looking after your Pokémon like that…”
“Yeah, yeah… I get it.”
The two didn’t stay awake for much longer. It didn’t take long for their excitement to dwindle to drowsiness. They lazily began preparing for their early departure the following morning, with Karros back asleep on the couch, and started to get ready to sleep. Iruni took a quick shower to clean his hair that had gotten wet in the rain. As he came out of the bathroom, Rikalia was already asleep on the bed, facing the window. He checked the clock on his PokéGear, and saw it was nearly midnight. He set his alarm to go off in seven hours, and quietly got under the sheets. Soon after he settled in to the bed, Rikalia, either in her sleep or awakened by Iruni’s movements, turned over and put an arm around his shoulder. Iruni pulled her close to him, and gently rubbed her back as he began to feel himself fall asleep.
—————
The next morning, the snowfall had returned to rain and continued to drench the mountainous areas of northeastern Johto. The rain was warm, casting a blanket of fog over the town of Blackthorn and the surrounding routes. Outside the city’s limits on Route 45, two trainers were enjoying an early morning Pokémon battle.
“Faster, Bagon! You gotta be faster!”
“You’re not going to increase your Pokémon’s speed by yelling at it, Jacob…” Galian said in his usual calm voice. His Buizel circled its opponent, waiting for her next order. Jake’s Bagon stood panting and covered in mud, but it was quickly being washed away by the morning rain. Galian’s Buizel was easily out speeding his senior’s Pokémon in the rain, still not having received a hit in their morning duel.
“Ah, shuddup already! I know! What’s with you this mornin’ Cora? It’s like you’ve finally got some fight in ya!”
Galian smiled inwardly at the compliment, and ordered an Aqua Jet from Amé. The naturally impressive speed of the attack coupled with the increase in speed from the drizzle made the movement a fierce sight. The orange-furred Sea Weasel enveloped herself in a self-contained torrent of water and rocketed toward her target. Jake’s Bagon had enough time to lower its head in defense—or a last-ditch attempt at a Headbutt attack—before the bullet of water crashed into him.
“‘Fight’?” Galian repeated. He extended a hand and held the palm to the sky, “No, I’d say I just found a great opportunity to let my strengths rise to the surface.” His Buizel sauntered back to him, enjoying the opportunity to train in the rain. “Quick as ever, Amé. Very good work.”
“Bagon!” Jake ran to his downed Pokémon, the tails of his orange and blue trench coat flapping behind him. Picking it up in his arms, Jake made sure it wasn’t terribly injured. After a few groans, the Bagon opened its eyes. “There he is! You okay Bagon?”
It dejectedly responded to its trainer, growling in defeat.
“Oh don’t beat yerself up over the loss. I doubt anything can stop that Buizel when she’s in the rain. Just too quick,” he patted his dragon’s head and returned it to his ball.
“I’m not so sure of that, Jacob. I bet I know someone who would like to try…” he turned to the wall of fog behind him. “Did you enjoy the morning performance?”
Footsteps closed in on the battlefield, “How’d you know I was here?”
“Iruni Thomas,” he addressed the younger trainer approaching him, “we may have only just met, but you should have easily figured out one thing about me: I notice things normally gone unseen.”
“‘Ey! Iruni, good morning to ya!” Jake called.
Iruni cleared the remaining distance between them. He had on a lighter coat, more suited for the rainy weather. His backpack was noticeably less crammed. “That was a pretty impressive attack there, Galian. Amé’s a force to be reckoned with.”
“As my colleague would have me believe, she is among the fastest he’s seen.” Galian looked over Iruni’s appearance, “Where’s Rikalia then?”
“Here!” she popped her head out from her now familiar spot inside his coat, hiding her head from the rain under his chin.
Jake let out a hearty laugh at the sight. “You two make quite a pair, you do! I’ve not seen a Dark type so friendly before, have you Cora?”
“Rikalia is quite well mannered, and his Houndour is as well. But I doubt he’d enjoy walking in this rain.”
“Yeah, he’d hate it,” Iruni laughed. “What’re you two doing out training so early?”
“We’re usually the first out and about,” Jake answered. “It’s Cora’s idea, really. He always says to seize every moment at its earliest, but the others can’t seem to get their heads around the concept of early rising, eh?”
“The saying extends to more than training as well. My father always said to me: ‘Time wasted is time lost, and time lost is gone forever.’” Galian’s voice fell, “Time made a fool of me once, and I was made late for something very important… I intend on never letting that happen again.”
“What happened?” Iruni asked.
“If you keep talking to him,” Rikalia whispered to her trainer, “we’re going to be the ones wasting time…”
“A story for another day,” Galian said.
“Oh you always say that whenever you bring that up,” Jake said. “Well, what about you, Iruni? Why the early riser lifestyle?”
“I’ve got a deadline looming over my head,” he said. “And time is rarely ever on my side. I guess we’ve got more in common, huh Galian?”
“Perhaps so…”
The three exchanged a few more bits of idle chatter before going their separate ways. Galian and Jake continued to spar as the rest of their group began to gather and start the day. Iruni and Rikalia walked down the path that was the beginning of Route 45. The sun was still hidden behind the thick clouds and had yet to dispel the fog from their path, so he began cautiously. The decision to leave as early as they did proved to help their travel time more than Iruni initially thought. The late-morning rain delayed some of the wild Pokémon from venturing out for their dens for a little while longer, and there were no other trainers in sight.
Close to eleven o’clock, the rain had finally stopped and the sun began breaking through the clouds. Rikalia opted to walk with Iruni now that the rain had stopped. For the majority of the time, she would scale the rocky side of the path with ease or run ahead of him to perch herself in a tree and wait for him. One such time, Iruni had to wait for her to come down with an armful of fresh Pecha berries; the tree she found just happened to be bearing the fruit.
Towards midday, the rocky path began to split into two paths as streams that flowed down from the peaks of the many mountains combined into an impressive river. The water way carved a wide gorge which made up the majority of the route. The two halves of the route were connected by a series of land and man-made bridges. The roar of the rushing waters below caught Rikalia’s ear, and she asked to stop on a nearby grassy hill for lunch and a rest.
The sun was high in the sky by the time they found a suitable spot; the place Rikalia had first picked out didn’t last long as a restful place to stay. A Skarmory nest in the cliffs above their small picnic soon turned their quiet afternoon meal into a screeching and screaming sprint out of the steel birds’ territory. Their current location was still next to the river, and far enough out of the Skarmorys’ way that they did not mind their presence. A few Aipom waved at them from a distant tree, but didn’t approach them.
Before they set off again, a pair of Gligar swooped in from the rocks above. Iruni thought this an excellent opportunity to get some ground-to-air combat practice under their belt. Luckily, Karros hadn’t been too startled by the winged scorpion-bats and joined Rikalia in a chance to improve their double battle tactics. The Ground/Flying Pokémon were especially susceptible to Rikalia’s Icy Wind, and even as weak as her Ice Punch was, it was proving effective. Karros’ Flamethrower carried much farther with the boost from the Charcoal, but the Gligar proved to be quicker than he could aim.
Iruni soon abandoned the fire tactic and ordered Karros on a physical offensive. The rookie mistake cost Karros a hit from one Gligar when a Thunder Fang proved completely ineffective against its intended target. The Gligar stung the Houndour with its poison-tipped tail, injecting enough venom in Karros’ blood to leave him gasping for breath. The Gligar that had stung him moved to execute an X-Scissor on the downed Dark and Fire type, but was met with a pair of claws ripping into his stomach and neck.
Rikalia sent the other Gligar off with an Icy Wind attack and left the one she had just slashed on the ground behind her and ran to her fallen teammate. Iruni was already by his side, his pack sat where it fell from his shoulders a few feet away.
“Karros! Are you alright?” Iruni frantically tried to rouse his friend, but was only met with a whimper. “Come on, Kar… You’ll pull through.”
“What happened?” Rikalia asked. “Why didn’t Kar’s attack work on that Gligar?”
“I’m an idiot, that’s what happened. I’ve always had it in my head that Gligar are Poison types, but no, they are Ground type!” Iruni ran over to his pack, panicking while hunting though the pockets, “Oh, but look what happened, Kar got poisoned by a Ground type! What the hell? What the hell!? Where are the antidotes?! I thought I… No… I remember. I just passed them while in the store. I remember thinking: Oh, gotta pick some up, and what do I do? I don’t buy them!”
“Iruni!” Rikalia put a hand on his shoulder, “Calm down. Karros’ll be fine, won’t he?”
“No Rika… I didn’t bring any Antidotes… I can’t cure the poison, and we’re too far away from anywhere to get him any help! All I have are potions, but that won’t cure— Wait…” his head snapped up. “I know I’m forgetting something… something obvious… something… something I forgot to mention…”
Iruni looked over his shoulder at his wounded Houndour, racking his brain trying to remember something he felt he was on the verge of realizing. Come on… it isn’t that hard, just think… We were back in the room, and I thought about… He smacked himself in the forehead, “Of course! Poison! Or rather,” he looked back to Rikalia, “what cures it. Pecha Berries are a natural cure for all poisons! Rika, you’ve still got some, right?”
“Yes! I made sure to save some for the trip!”
“Good,” he said, grabbing a super potion from the side pocket, “Find one, that should be enough.”
Rikalia didn’t search long—she memorized where she kept her favorite snack. She dashed over to her trainer and partner, Karros’ head was resting on Iruni’s lap. She held it out to Karros to eat, “Here, Kar. Iruni says Pechas cure poison…”
Exhausted, Karros took the berry into his mouth and chewed it up. He grimaced at the taste, evidently not as enthused at the sweet flavor of the fruit as his friends were. Iruni applied the potion to Karros’ various wounds—as well to Rikalia’s, though she managed to sustain far less than Karros did. Soon after eating the overly-sweet berry, Karros managed to get up on to his feet.
“Easy… Easy Karros, how’re you feeling?” Iruni knelt down next to his Pokémon.
He barked happily, letting a burst of flame out above their heads.
“You’re okay!” Rikalia flung her arms around the fire-dog’s neck. “Sorry about the pechas, Kar. I didn’t know you’d hate the taste that much.”
He responded with a loving lick to her face.
“That was too close…” Iruni said, falling back on the rocky ground. He caught his breath that he hadn’t even noticed he had lost as he relaxed from the experience.
“Too close…”
—————
The final rays from the setting sun cast a brilliant ruby shade over the rocky terrain that bridged Routes 45 and 46. A high plateau lined with trees had already been covered in shadow, not to be illuminated again until the morning. In this darkened area of the mountains, Iruni had set up his camp. The path continued south and then took a sharp turn west, which marked an entrance to the Dark Cave—a shortcut he might’ve taken if he were headed to Violet City.
Karros was already asleep for the night inside his tent, and Iruni soon would be as well. He doused the fire with liberal handfuls of dirt, making sure no embers remained. The lack of sun proved to cool the night quicker than Iruni had expected, and he quickly got inside the tent. He set out his sleeping bag, maneuvering around Karros to do so, and set his alarm for the following morning.
Rikalia had taken up a perch in a tree since they had finished their evening meal. Worried about her sudden quiet nature, and because she hadn’t yet come down for the night yet, he stepped out of his tent and went to the foot of tree she was still sitting in.
“Hey, it’s getting late,” he called to her. “We’ve got to get to sleep soon you know.”
The Sneasel looked over the branch she was sitting on, “Alright…” She nimbly climbed down the tree in a few quick movements. She landed on the ground silently, keeping her head down.
“Hey, what’s the matter?” Iruni asked as he knelt to her level.
She looked up into his face, holding a serious expression, “Don’t lie to me.”
“What?”
“No, don’t say ‘What?’. Just say ‘yes’. I’m about to ask you something, and I’m telling you,” she stepped closer, “I’m asking you, to please tell me the truth. Okay?”
“Okay, I promise.”
“That mountain,” she pointed to a snowcapped peak in the east, still clinging to the last remnants of daylight. “Is that mountain called ‘Mt. Silver’?”
Already, Iruni could guess where the conversation was leading them, “Yes.”
“I want to go there.”
“We can’t Rika. We have—”
“I know, I know! I mean after we’re done at Elm’s! I want to go there and try and find my family. I’ve got to; I’m the closest I’ve been to them since they left me. I’m not going to let this chance go by!”
“Rika, I—”
“No! Just answer me, and don’t lie! Can we try and find my family?”
Iruni sighed and sat on the ground, ignoring the cold, “Rikalia…” he paused for a few minute. He beckoned for her to come sit on his lap, but she stayed where she was. “Okay Rika, I’ll answer you, but first, there are things you need to understand. Mt. Silver is… It’s one of the roughest places to live in the region. The Pokémon there are strong, and the Pokémon League only lets trainers with a lot of badges even set foot on the routes up there. We’re a long way from there… We’ve got this Cartographer business to deal with, but Lance said we would be given a lot of free roam, so that helps with this, but we have to be ready for that sort of wilderness.”
Anger slowly began to creep up in her voice, “You didn’t answer me…”
Iruni gave her a warm smile, “Sorry, but yes. I will. I promise, Rika. I’ll help you when we’re ready—as soon as we’re ready. We’ll look for your family, together. We’ll find them, and from there, I’ll leave it to you unless you want me there with you.”
His last words seemed to soften her composure. Her eyes softened, and she asked in with a subtle pleading nature, “Really?”
“Of course. All you would’ve had to do is ask for my help, and I would’ve said yes. I wouldn’t deny you this.”
“Then…” she said, coming closer to him. “When do you think we can? What if they move again before we’re ready?”
“If they do, a large population of Sneasel and Weavile migrating will cause some commotion, I’m sure. We’ll find leads here and there.”
“We’ll find them…?”
“We’ll find them, Rika. And if we don’t, well, they’re worse off for not knowing how strong their daughter is,” he pet her head, teasing her ear-feather. “Now, we’ve got a lot of hiking to do tomorrow, Rika.” He stood to his feet and started walking to the tent. “The rest of the path from here is a lot rockier than what we just went through, so we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
Rikalia stood in place for a moment and watched Iruni enter the tent. Hope welled up in her heart at the thought of finding her family, but as she watched the sun complete its setting and the peak of Mt. Silver sank into the purple and blue of the sky around it, the thought of the time it would take almost sent her back into her depression. Oh well… she thought. At least he’ll be with me…
“Rika! Come on, it’s starting to get cold out!”
It was true. The sun was completely gone from the sky, and a chilling breeze blew through the campsite. Truthfully, she wouldn’t mind sleeping outside in the cool weather, but ultimately, a warm tent seemed much more inviting.
“I’m coming, calm down…”
—————
Walking back to his spot at the lookout station that bridged routes 29 and 46, Iruni angrily shoved the older-generation PokéGear back into his jacket’s pocket. His gear—along with Rikalia—sat on a bench underneath a skylight. The afternoon sun was streaming through and glinting off the Sneasel’s amber tinted gem on her forehead. She noticed Iruni coming back with the refreshments and hopped to the ground.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Lance just called to harass me to ‘get a move on’… Like we haven’t been running ourselves to death out here already, but he was really just checking up on us to see if we had even left yet. I actually surprised him when I told him we made it here from Blackthorn in just five days.”
“He’d better be impressed, my feet hurt…”
“You know you can rest in your ball if you–”
“Nope.”
“Thought as much…” he said. The trainer shouldered his pack again, letting Rikalia ride up on his shoulders while she drank her drink, and they set out onto the much more forgiving route leading to Newbark Town. Andrea—one of the women from the group of trainers he met in Blackthorn—had said that Route 29 was calm and peaceful, and Iruni had to agree with her description. As they walked through the grassy field that separated the route into halves, a warm breeze flowed through the area, shifting the grass as it passed by.
Taking the fork heading east, Iruni and Rikalia soon entered a spacious forest; their last obstacle before arriving at their destination. They saw a few young trainers—likely from the quiet town—playing with their Pokémon. Something began to stick out in Iruni’s mind as he walked along the path in the forest. He looked into the trees, between them, around them, above them.
“Rika…?”
“Yeah?”
“We’re in one of the tamest areas of the region. Pokémon like Pidgey, Rattata, and Sentret are really common around here because they’re not too strong, and rarely attack humans unless they’re provoked. Pretty much the perfect area to start a trainer career,” he said.
“Yeah? Hey, you’re not disowning your hometown, are you?”
“No, no… that’s not my point. The point is… Why are there Wurmple in the trees?”
He pointed to a branch above his head, where a bright red caterpillar Pokémon was silently chewing on the leaves it could reach. On the same tree, cocoon Pokémon—Silcoon and Cascoon—hung woven around the branches.
“So? What’s the matter? They’re just bugs.”
“Those Pokémon aren’t from here, Rika. Not normally native to Johto, at least not that I remember.”
“Is that important?”
“I don’t know…” he trailed off. “Swarms and mass outbreaks happen all the time, but they’re small.” Looking into the trees as he walked, he noticed more of the insects and their evolutionary relatives. “But the more I look at this, the more it looks like this is more than just a temporary appearance. I don’t know, I’m probably wrong. I’m not an expert at ecology anyway.”
Iruni heard a rustling sound in the underbrush a few feet ahead of him. A glint of silver broke through the shrubbery, a round metal plate with a band of metal above the eyes of a small quadrupedal creature. Its body was tan and bulky, short stubby legs ended in dull, white toes. Its back bore a similar material as a sort of hump. The majority of its head was the plate that the creature was now rubbing up against the tree it stood next to; the bark being scraped away without much resistance.
“A Sh… Shieldon?”
“Shiel-what?” Rikalia asked, but Iruni was already over kneeling next to the creature.
“Shieldon. Rika… this Pokémon is—at least used to be—extinct,” he looked off into the forest, tracing the path the living fossil came from; similar marks were on the trees for a hundred yards. “Few specimens have been ‘revived’ from fossilized remains, but here’s one now, alive and well, and leaving a path of destruction in its wake.”
Iruni cautiously extended a hand to the Shield Pokémon, to his surprise, affectionately rubbed its plate-like forehead against his palm. Amused, Rikalia came over to inspect the new development. She gently raked her claws down the plate, causing an ear-splitting screech to fill the area. Rikalia and her trainer immediately regretted that decision, both holding their ears in pain. The Shieldon however, seemed to think it a joke, and laughed and encouraged Rikalia to play with it.
“Huh,” he smacked his head, desperately trying to get the ringing sound to stop, “That didn’t look like it bothered him at all. That little guy thinks we’re playing a game with him.”
“I wish I was… ow…”
“But what’re you doing here, I wonder?”
The prehistoric Pokémon called up at the human cheerily.
“Iruni! Look out!”
Iruni’s head turned toward Rikalia in reaction to her warning, when he should've turned to where she and the Shieldon were looking. A swift kick collided itself against the side of his head, sending him reeling backwards and tumbling onto the dirt path. Iruni vision blacked out for a split second, coming back to the sight of pair of clawed hands on his side, and a new voice among the trees.
“–you could get away with it, eh?!” the voice yelled, the sound pounding into Iruni’s already sore head. “Well not today! Not to my Pokémon! Wallace, come.”
Iruni groggily sat up, Rikalia helped stabilize him. His eyes came back into focus to see a young man—a bit older than Iruni—with short, curly blond hair, a red t-shirt, gray cargo pants, and a blue vest. On his right shoulder, he wore a large section of padding or what looked like remnants of an old coat. A travel pack slung over his right shoulder. The young man’s arms teemed with muscle, and his skin was lean and tan. The Shieldon he had found happily scampered over to who Iruni assumed to be its master.
Iruni heard the sound of metal shifting against metal and looked up. A bird—a metal bird—came down from the sky and landed on the man’s padded right shoulder. The Skarmory was different than the ones he had seen in the mountains. Its blade-like feathers were scuffed and worn from battles, and it was overall larger than any of the ones Iruni had seen in the wild.
“Good work spotting Wallace, Panzer.” The young man looked down at the Shield Pokémon, “And you, stop running off on your own, you hear?! I swear the next time you do, you’re gone!” The threats fell on deaf ears and the Shieldon only gave a cheerful reply to his master. The blond haired trainer sighed and muttered something under his breath as he returned the Steel type to its ball.
“Hey!” Iruni got the man’s attention.
“What do you want?”
“Well, for starters, what the hell is wrong with you?! Why’d you kick me?!” Iruni stood up, but faltered and steadied himself on a nearby tree.
The blond trainer laughed, “Look at you, can’t even stand up on your own… I shouldn’t have panicked when I saw you trying to steal my Shieldon if I knew you were this bad.” The Skarmory on his shoulder seemed to sneer with its trainer.
“Steal? I wasn’t trying to steal anything! What the hell are you even— Who are you!?”
“Don’t try and play it off, kid. I can spot trouble from a mile away, and you were eying my Wallace like a fresh piece of meat.”
“I thought it was wild… I was only being friendly to it. Any normal person would at least call out to me to say ‘Hey! Get away!’ if they didn’t want me near their Pokémon,” he felt a wetness drip down the side of his head, he subconsciously wiped it away.
“A Wild Shieldon?” he laughed again. “What are you? I really mean it, what are you? Shieldon have been extinct for some time. Mine’s a rejuvenated fossil; expensive procedure, but well worth it. Why would you ever look at a one in a forest and think: ‘Oh hey, a wild extinct Pokémon!’”
“I didn’t know what to think, and besides, look at the trees! There’re wild Wurmple around here. As far as I know, there have never been wild Pokémon like that in this area. Then I found your Shieldon, and thought—”
“Save it, I don’t have time for your delusional fantasies about wild fossils in the forests,” he reached into his pocket and pulled out a bulky handheld device. Iruni watched as an upper portion extended with a camera. The blond trainer pointed it at a tree and took a picture, “But thanks for the Wurmple tip though, I doubt I would’ve cared to notice something so small and insignificant.”
“What was that? That thing?”
“None of your business,” he glanced down at the Sneasel angrily staring up at him. “Looks like someone’s rearing to rumble. What’s the matter, runt? Angry that I kicked your trainer around like the nothing he is?”
Rikalia’s claws would’ve made contact with the trainer’s flesh, but his Skarmory blocked her Slash attack before she could even leave the ground. The Skarmory named Panzer forced her back with a stroke of his wings, effortlessly sending her into the bushes with a Wing Attack.
“Why you—!” Iruni took to his feet to retaliate, but the Skarmory rammed his head into Iruni’s stomach, sending him flat on his back, gasping for air. Spots clouded his vision for the second time, and when he gathered himself, he found his neck between two of the Skarmory’s red wing-blades.
“Great work again, Panzer.” The blond man said. He stood over Iruni, looking down with an air of pompousness and superiority. “As for you… you’re not good enough to even touch me. I guess you weren’t after my Wallace after all… oh well. I got a nice entry out of it, and Panzer loves to put the smack down on weaklings like your runt Sneasel over there.”
“You shut up!”
“And he continues talking! Oh man, I think I’m going to enjoy what I’m about to do…”
Iruni heard a screech from the man’s Skarmory, and reflexively shut his eyes. He felt a gust of wind, the weight on his chest disappeared. He opened his eyes and saw the Skarmory had landed on his master’s shoulder again. The blond man looked at him once more and turned and walked away.
“Hey! Come back here!”
He sighed, “He’s so bossy, isn’t he Panzer?” he turned back around. Iruni had gotten on his feet, and Rikalia stumbled out of the bushes, still dizzy from the attack. “Well?”
“Battle me,” Iruni demanded.
“Excuse me?” he asked.
“Right now, a fair fight. We’ll show you who’s weak.”
Regaining her composure, and anger, Rikalia let out an intimidating growl at that metal bird.
“Not interested. Not yet at least.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s six to zero.”
“What?”
“Do I have to spell everything out for you?!” he pulled the left side of his padded vest out, six badges of the Johto league pinned on the inside. “See? I’ve got six badges to your zero. Panzer alone would crush your little Dark Pokémon and whatever else you have. You’re not in my league. I’d bet there’s even some sort of regulation against this kind of overkill.”
“You don’t know how many badges I have.”
“I don’t need to either! Someone at my level, and someone as mad as you’re letting on, would’ve just attacked me by now. If you did attack me, I highly doubt you would’ve actually done any damage of some sort. So, until you’re at least… two-thirds of my caliber now, I won’t even give you the time of day.”
“Is that a challenge?”
“Do you accept challenges, mister…?”
“Iruni Thomas. And yes, I do accept challenges. And I’ll easily overcome your little standards in no time!”
“I’m impressed, for someone with such an uninteresting name… you’ve got the determination of someone like me. I can relate with that… Wait, Thomas… I wonder if you’re…” he began taking a close look at Iruni.
“I’m what? Hey! Answer me!”
“Never mind, it isn’t important. Well, I’m off. I’ve got another two badges to clear and then I’m set for the league.” He turned away and started walking the way Iruni and Rikalia came. He stopped and looked over his shoulder at the still-angry pair, “My name is Carter, by the way. Carter Maximilian Altswalder, the future champion of this and the Kanto region! Don’t forget that name, Iruni, it could come in handy some day!” he laughed. He laughed until he was out of earshot.
As soon as Iruni was sure they were rid of him, Iruni dropped to the ground and knelt by Rikalia, “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
She gaped at him, “Iruni, look at you! You’re bleeding and you got rammed in the chest by that stupid bird of his. If anyone isn’t ‘okay’, it’s you!”
He shuddered at the image of blood running down his head, “I’m fine… or I will be.” He shifted and sat down on the ground. “But really, Rika… are you okay?”
“I… no…” she sheepishly hugged her trainer’s side, “No, I’m not… I was too weak to protect you.”
“You couldn’t have—”
“I even didn’t try!” she didn’t look up at him, she couldn’t bring herself to. “I just laid there after that attack. I saw you get pinned by that Skarmory. I saw you continue to stand against that guy, and I just… I just…”
“Come here,” he pulled her into his arms and set her on his lap, but she didn’t look up at him. “It’s okay, I know.”
“No you don’t…”
“Sure I do. I couldn’t stop you from getting hit either, how do you think I feel?”
“I’m…”
“Don’t apologize Rika… this is just… our first big loss, I guess. So, what do we do after we lose? We pick ourselves up and continue on.”
“But… I was so scared…”
“I know…” he rubbed her back. “I understand.”
She wrapped her arms around his chest and hugged him tightly. “Never again…” she whispered.
“What’s that?” Iruni asked.
“I won’t let that happen, ever again Iruni… I won’t just freeze up like that. I’ll never just give up like that again! Next time, I’ll protect you!”
He smiled, “Then, we’ll just have to get stronger and show that guy up, eh?”
“Yeah!”
“There’s your normal self!” he patted her head, and she nuzzled him under his chin. His hand moved up to the side of his head, “I swear… I’ll pay that guy back for that kick.”
“Are you alright?” she asked.
“After this gets better,” he pointed at the small cut and bruise on the side of his head, “I will be.” He could already feel a pounding headache starting to build, “Let’s get into town; I think we can wait until tomorrow to head to Elm’s. I think we need a break.”
Rikalia agreed, and Iruni gathered his things that had fallen on the road, and the two set off to clear the final stretch to Newbark Town. The welt from kick Carter dealt Iruni swelled considerably on the walk toward town. Rikalia surprised Iruni by concentrating her Ice powers into her paws and rode on his shoulders, using her icy hands to act as an ice pack. As the sun began its decent into the horizon, the small town came into view. Iruni decided, and Rikalia agreed, that they should forgo attempting to find Elm’s laboratory in their current state, and decided to head to the Pokémon Center for the evening. They would head to the lab first thing in the morning, and finally learn why they were called in to be a part of the project called Cartographer.
—————
End of Arc 1
—————
To Be Continued…
—————
- 8
- 9
- 10
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The Dark Type