Chapter 7 is up!
Authors notes at the end.
Enjoy!
On a Wing and a Prayer
The trio left the pokemon center, leaving behind Kristie, Alan, and Ares. Corphish nested on Jeff’s backpack while Treecko walked along side them. While they were walking on the long, populous street, Jeff felt as if every person that they passed knew about what happened and was mocking him. He avoided all glances and eyes. They walked by skyscraper after skyscraper, high rise apartment after high rise apartment. The roads sloped down, creating a hill that led to the commercial docks of Petalburg. The city was scattered with large office buildings and businesses, reminiscent to a Saffron City by the sea. They continued to solemnly walk along the seemingly endless street, and they passed a gym whose sign said “Under Construction!” There were large yellow cranes lifting big planks of wood into the half made gym.
Jeff turned and walked towards the active construction site. When he approached a Machoke wearing a yellow hard hat, he saw that the working pokemon carried a large, metal girder over his purple-gray shoulder and housed massive muscles. He looked very similar to a human except he had three crests on his head.
“Excuse me,” Jeff piped up to get the superpower pokemon’s attention. He pointed to the gym. “What’s going on here?”
“<If you’re a trainer, you’re out of luck, kid. This gym is undergoing renovations. The next closest gym is the one in Rustboro, which is through Petalburg Forest. If you like swimming, then you could try the gym in Dewford, which is right across the sea and down the road. I recommend swimming. It will give you more exercise!>” the Machoke told him.
“Thanks. I’ll try Rustboro and then Dewford. Hang in there… I know I need to,” Jeff answered with sadness.
Machoke blinked in confuson before continuing to move the girder.
Past the gym, the trio could see the gates of the town leading towards the beach and Petalburg Forest. They made it past the gates and out of the city and were soon faced by a large beach and calm blue shores in front of them. They looked on and saw people relaxing; there were people sunbathing, humans swam along side water pokemon, a game of beach volley ball was going on with humans and pokemon. Jeff looked at them enviously.
“
They’re all so happy and without worry… ” Jeff thought.
Quickly turning his head, he saw a dirt path leading to a dense forest. They followed the pathways until they reached the massive woodland.
“This must be Petalburg Forest,” Jeff said glumly, peering into the darkness. “Let’s go.”
The trio entered the forest. Murky roots and vines littered the base of the trees. The thick, tree canopies made it impossible for light to enter, and it was as if the sun dared not enter the woods. Mist fogged them from any long range sight.
They walked through the wooded area. Around them they could hear the trills of birds and the hisses of bug pokemon. Above flew a beautiful, elegant airborne bug. The patterns on its wings were dazzling. Treecko remained calm, but kept up his guard. After all, who knew what pokemon were hostile and what pokemon weren’t? Corphish rode on Jeff’s back, merrily enjoying the view; it was very rare that he got to be this high up.
“<Giddy up, Jeff!>” Corphish cried, poking Jeff’s head with his claw. “<Hi-ho, Silver!>”
“Y’know, Corphish… it's not exactly
easy carrying you and this hiking pack among other things. How much do you weigh?!” Jeff groaned.
“<I’ll have you know that I’m a very nice size for a Corphish of my stature!>” the pokemon shot in reply.
Jeff raised an arm in an ‘L’ shape, indicating them to stop.
“Okay, it's lunch time,” he said in a disheartened, monotone voice.
Corphish jumped off of his backpack and landed on the ground as he zipped open the backpack and took out three sandwiches. As soon as they were handed to him, he started to shovel the entire sandwich into his mouth and his face lit up.
“<Yes! I got caught by a trainer who gives us
real food as opposed to those lame, store bought riceballs!>”
Treecko wandered off from them while he ate. He didn’t linger far, but just enough so that he was away from the crowd. He looked up and noticed a red and white pattern moving from tree to tree in the air. Whatever it was seemed curious about the food. Meanwhile, Corphish was hopping around as if he were in an action movie. When he noticed Treecko looking up, he did, too, and he opened his claws and shot bubblebeams at the treetops in response to the mysterious figure. He fired with both his claws and shot in all directions to make sure that he hit it.
“<Take this! And this!>” Corphish yelled as he aimed at the high tree branches above. The bubbles exploded on contact with the limbs of the tree, and he did a clumsy barrel roll in the grass and fired at the top of the tree that Treecko was looking at.
“<Could I
be anymore awesome?>” he said with a joking cockiness. Just then, the red and white pattern emerged again from the darkness and the floating chips of bark, which were ripped from the trees during the bubble attacks. Surrounding the outlined figure was a series of dark, hazy blue feathers. It appeared injured from the attack as it fell from its perch but righted itself in the air. It circled the trio in a hunter-like fashion, and Jeff was able to recognize the pokemon as a Taillow, like the one that he battled against before Petalburg--when times were simpler. The angered Taillow squawked for the aid of his comrades, and soon, three more Taillows appeared from the misty forest and descended upon the three intruders.
“<Corphish, you idiot!>” scolded Treecko. He threw the remainder of his sandwich with striking dexterity at the lead Taillow, hitting him in his face. The bird pokemon managed to stay afloat, but was obviously enraged. Treecko assumed a battle stance and awaited the oncoming enemies.
“<Hey! I didn’t know that this birdbrain would sit around
waiting for me to attack him! Nice throw by the way! That Taillow is still picking ham out of his beak!>”
“Corphish, return!” Jeff frantically called, shooting the pokeball.
“<What are you doing!? We need Corphish’s help to fight… as big of an idiot as he is! Although… I think I can take all four of them, solo,>” insisted Treecko confidently.
“No! We’re running!” Jeff ordered adamantly. He scooped up Treecko and began running before the pokemon could make a move. They took off into the forest, pursued by the small flock of angry Taillow.
“<Jeff, what are you doing? We’ve never run from a fight and there are only four of them! You could catch one!>” Treecko protested.
Jeff ignored him and held him tightly, running with all of his strength.
“<What the hell are you doing? Let me down, now!>”
“No way!”
“<I swear to Arceus, Jeff, if you don’t stop running…>” Treecko threatened, wedging out of Jeff’s grip.
“What are going to do? Shout at me?”
Treecko had had enough. He pounded Jeff across the face with his tail, causing them both to fall into the mud.
“What the hell was that?!” shot Jeff with a large and red tail imprint across his mug.
“<
That's what I’m going to do! Now you better get up and help me battle, or else I’ll do it solo!>”
“No, I’m not letting myself force you or Corphish battle for my personal gain again! I don’t want to put you guys in danger!” Jeff angrily yelled.
“<Don’t give me that crap! We chose to come with you and battle alongside you! If we don’t fight, we’re going to be bird food, so STOP feeling sorry for yourself and DO something! We’ll battle to save you, so give us a chance, or you might as well paint targets on our heads!>”
Jeff sat there in shock for a moment. He looked up at the descending Taillow.
“Treecko, it’s not that simple!” he yelled in retort.
Treecko huffed, annoyed and insulted by the ‘retreat order’.
“<I’ll do this myself…>” he growled, walking past the dumbstruck Jeff.
He stood in front of the diving Taillow, making himself the target for attack. Unflinchingly, he spat several light green, high-powered seeds at the flock that had hit the lead Taillow and scattered the rest of the them. The injured bird pokemon let out a cry and began to fly in a downward spiral. He landed in front of them, skidding in the dirt until he reached a halt.
“<There. My work’s done, so do your job!>”
Jeff raised a pokeball-wielding hand and reared it back. He noticed that his arm began to shake again. Treecko looked up and noticed this as well.
“<Jeff, throw the ball!>”
“I… can’t. I can’t take another pokemon away from its home!”
“<Jeff, if you don’t catch that Taillow right now… he’s going to wake up, call for help, and then we’ll be up to out necks in Taillows! So throw that damned ball!>”
Jeff still stalled. He looked up at his hand, and then down at the Taillow who tried to support itself on one wing. He took pity on the sad sight and slightly lowered the ball. The pokemon opened his mouth in the preparation of a shrill peep. Treecko noticed this, sighed, and took matters into his own hands. He whacked the ball from Jeff’s hands and then batted the ball again before it could hit the ground. The ball rolled quickly and hit the Taillow before he could let out a chirp. He was engulfed in a red light and sucked into the ball, which wriggled and rolled about the forest floor, refusing to lock. After much struggle, the Taillow gave in and the ball locked shut.
Treecko picked up the ball and threw it to Jeff. “<Now, was that so hard?>” he spat in response to the dislike of the human’s attitude.
Jeff pined and sat on the earth, cross-legged. He looked somberly at Taillow’s pokeball before releasing it. The irritated blue-feathered bird appeared on the grass in front of them.
“Hello, Taillow. Sorry about that,” Jeff greeted him.
“<I have a name, you know. Stupid human!>” the Taillow shot back, not expecting to be understood.
“You have a name?” Jeff asked, confused by the response.
The Taillow’s eyes widened and he became flushed. “<You… understood me, human?>” he asked awkwardly.
“Yeah, I did.”
“<Every human I’ve seen was unable to understand their pokemon, though,>” he explained.
“I guess I’m luc… different,” Jeff corrected himself in reply.
“<Well, you shouldn’t expect that every single pokemon’s name is their species name. It’s just…how you humans would say… ‘Straight up ignorant’,>” replied the Taillow, making quotation signs with his wings. “<How would you like it if I called you ‘human’ everytime I address you? It’s insulting!>”
“I’m sorry. What is your name?” Jeff answered warmly.
“<My friends called me Daedalus… but I guess I’m stuck with you now.>”
Jeff crouched to his level and extended a hand. “I’m Jeff. Nice to meet you, Daedalus.”
Daedalus rolled his eyes and reluctantly humoured the human by shaking the human’s hand with his wing in retort. Jeff shot a glare at Treecko. “Well, Daedalus, I plan to make this journey as painless as possible for you.”
“<
Bloody fantastic!>” thought the defeated Taillow as he had no choice but to follow these new strangers. “<
I’ve been captured by a human; I really let my boys down. Now who will lead them and guide them when things get rough? I can’t believe this!>” He held his face with his wing in pure frustration. “<
The only bright side is that I can tell the human exactly how I feel and he won’t pretend to listen and then make me do a barrel roll.>”
After awhile of being perched on Jeff’s shoulder as they walked, Daedalus asked, “<Aren’t you going to put me back in my pokeball or something?>”
“Not unless you want to…” Jeff replied.
“<You put the orange guy who hit me back in his pokeball.>”
“Yeah, I didn’t really think you two would ‘hit it off’ so well…” Jeff attempted the joke, but the delivery was poor due to his saddened voice. “I hate to ask, but can you show us the way out?”
Daedalus reluctantly nodded and pointed his wing from his collarbone perch. Jeff and Treecko followed the unhappy guide’s directions.
Daedalus began to think, “<
Isn’t this poetic? I’m being forced to show the human the way out of my home so that he can take me with him! This human called ‘Jeff’ seems rather depressed, too.>”
They walked for ten minutes before the light of day could be seen in the distance. Before they could reach it, however, something moving in the dark popped out in front of them. Jeff and Taillow jumped back at the action of the figure and were inspected. A boy about Jeff’s age and height stood before them. Covering his blond, curly hair was a large, sun hat, and beneath that was a boyish face that had a large grin spread across it. He had a green bandana tied around his neck. There was a single pokeball attached to his belt, which divided a white t-shirt and green soccer shorts. He blocked their path with a large, staff-like stick.
“Can I help you?” Jeff asked the stranger in irritation.
“No… but I can help you… battle me,” the guy said with an all-knowing voice, guised with a crooked smile.
“I’d rather not. I just want to get by,” replied Jeff, trying to move by the stick. The teen raised it, stopping him.
“You will get by me once you fight me in a pokemon battle,” he explained, the smile still glued in the same spot.
“Look! I’m not in the mood to battle, so just let me by!”
“That’s exactly the problem,” the mysterious guy grinned. He took the pokeball from his belt and threw it on the ground in front of him. What appeared in the darkness was an intense flare of light. Jeff and Daedalus squinted since their eyes weren’t used to the luminosity, but Treecko gazed straight into the beam, unbothered by it. The light dissipated and something that was the same size as a beach ball appeared on the ground. It span around in circles, but it could still be seen that the ball was a tan color and it that had brick-like scales on its stiff back. The sphere stopped rolling and the pokemon came from out of its folded position, revealing a white underbelly, a strong tail and legs, which had sharp claws for digging, and a cute shrew-like face with beady black eyes.
“If you can beat Deyja, my Sandshrew, with any of your three pokemon, then you can go on your way.”
“I’m thrilled that you want to battle me, but I’m sorry. I’m not fighting you!”
“I’m afraid that’s not up to you.” With a smile, he pointed his finger and ordered, “Deyja, use scratch on Daedalus!”
Jeff’s eyes widened at the command. “How does he know his name?” thought Jeff to himself.
"<What?!>" chirped a shocked Daedalus, who was perched on Jeff's shoulder. He quickly darted his head at him.
The Sandshrew lunged at Jeff, who leaned back in an attempt to dodge. Deyja jumped on his chest, which acted as a platform as he leaned back. He scrambled up the green shirt and jumped, headbutting Daedalus from the perch. The bird fell to the ground, followed by Deyja, who jumped on his wings, pinning him down. He began to scratch at Daedalus, and dark blue feathers with tints of crimson shot up after each swipe.
Jeff looked on--dumbstruck and pathetically--at the mouse pokemon who was tearing his new teammate apart. Daedalus lay there, twitching and wincing helplessly. Jeff could see his contempt, and he could tell that it was like he was thinking, “<
Oh, great. I’m just another pawn in this guy’s game of chess.>”
“<Jeff, are you going to just watch this?!>”
He ignored Treecko and looked on. He whimpered, “Dae…Daedalus…” The Taillow’s wide eyes began to close as he slipped away. Jeff ran over to him, nudged the Sandshrew off of him, and picked him up. He clutched the bird tightly to his chest despite the blood soaking his green shirt.
"<What,>" Daedalus began weakly as he opened one eye to look at the trainer, and then continued, "<…kind of trainer are you?>" Jeff only gulped in response.
“So, will you fight me with your Corphish or should I sic Deyja on your Treecko before you finally decide to battle?”
Jeff's stomach churned in self loathing while he cradled and looked at the badly wounded Daedalus. How come he kept letting his pokemon down? “I guess I have no choice, but why are you doing this and how do you know I have a Corphish?” Jeff grilled.
The guy remained silent. He just tipped his hat and continued to grin. Jeff frowned and gently placed Daedalus and his backpack on the ground next to him.
“Treecko, give Daedalus a potion! Come on out, Corphish. I guess we have to battle.”
Corphish emerged from the red beam and stood, facing the Sandshrew.
“<Somebody call PBS because Hammie the Hamster escaped and now he’s a hardass!>” Corphish joked, looking at his opponent.
“Corphish… uhh… use… erm… ” Jeff acted as if this was his first battle and he had never seen a Corphish in his life. Too much was racing in his mind, and it was damaging his concentration.
Corphish turned to Jeff to make a deadpan joke, but he found himself being blindsided by Deyja. He was knocked sideways and stopped at the base of a tree. He groaned and got to his many feet using his claw, and he raised his pincers in front of him threateningly.
“You’ve got to take control, man! Your pokemon need you just as much as you need your pokemon!” advised the odd stranger. “Now I’ll give you one moment before Deyja uses swift!”
The Sandshrew reared back his head.
“Corphish, use… use… ” Jeff stammered. He had no confidence in what move he should make. What if he said the wrong move and Corphish was left vulnerable? What if he made a decision that killed Corphish?
Deyja jerked his head forward, spitting out numerous shiny, star-like blades. The stars cut into Corphish’s sides before disintegrating into sparkling dust. It soon became a struggle for Corphish to stand as the volley worsened.
“Corppy, no!” Jeff called, returning his pokemon to the security of his pokeball.
“So now, your Treecko… I hope you’ve learned something from your Corphish’s defeat,” the sagely guy scolded.
Treecko stepped towards the Sandshrew. He moved the twig from one side of his mouth to the other, hoping that Jeff would come to his senses. Even if he didn’t, Treecko was confident that he could win on his own.
“Deyja, use dig!” The mole pokemon dug fiercely in the earth with his sharp talons. In a matter of seconds, he was completely underground. Treecko looked around him; he was on his sharpest guard.
“Now, use sand tomb!”
Treecko could feel the earth become soft beneath his feet. He tried to jump but a pair of claws grabbed his left foot and dragged it down and under the mud. With one foot completely submerged, he couldn't free his foot. He angrily looked around him in anticipation for the next attack.
“<Jeff, I could really use your help here… or are you afraid?>” Treecko growled.
Jeff stared on as his friend was helpless. “
I can’t let him get hurt! But what can I do? I’m just a failure. This creep is playing for keeps and if I lose my best friend, then what do I have? Think, Jeff, think! How can you help?”
Jeff’s train of thought was distracted when soil exploded from behind Treecko. In the wave of earth was Sandshrew about to attack with razor sharp claws, and it was then that Jeff decided to finally do something. He subconsciously pushed his love and confidence issues to the side of his mind and before he realized it, he felt words leave his throat and his tongue sound out words.
“Treecko, behind you! Use bullet seed!" Jeff yelled in a furious fervor, spitting wildly as he roared.
Treecko jutted his head behind and saw the beige figure lunging at him. He spat out an intense spray of light green bullets, which hit Deyja, throwing him backwards.
“Keep at it! Don’t let up!”
Treecko continued firing without stopping even to gasp for air. The light green seeds created dirt clouds around the Sandshrew. The smoke created a mask over the battlefield, and the badly injured pokemon could be seen crawling back to the outsider when it cleared.
“Congratulations, Jeff. You pulled yourself together and managed to defeat Deyja. My name is Chad, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Chad,” beamed Jeff. He walked over to Treecko, kneeled down and hugged him.
“<I’m happy you can fight again, too, but what have I told you about hugging in public… or private for that matter?!>” Treecko grumbled uncomfortably.
“Sorry. I’ll have to watch that,” he said and smiled in reply.
“<And while you’re at it… want to get my leg out of the ground?>”
Jeff nodded and began digging at the dirt around Treecko’s leg. After a large pull, the pokemon was freed and he dusted his leg off and folded his arms. They turned around to talk to Chad, but he had completely disappeared from sight.
“What a weird guy…”
Daedalus hopped over to the two; he had completely recovered with the potion. He hopped onto Jeff’s shoulder and the teen grabbed the bag before they headed towards the exit. When they left the woods the light burned their eyes.
“I think we should stop a few minutes so that we can adjust to the light. I think I’ll heal Corphish while I’m at it.”
“<Doesn’t he have a name?>” Daedalus chirped.
“He wouldn’t tell me. Treecko wouldn’t tell me his either,” answered Jeff suspiciously as he released Corphish. Jeff applied the potion to Corphish’s cuts. “Oh, yeah, Corppy, this is Daedalus. He's the Taillow you hit while you were being ‘Bruce Wayne’.”
Daedalus nodded in acknowledgement.
“Careful, Daedalus, he jokes…”
“<Could you
be any more of a bird!?>” he said, glancing at the Taillow
Treecko sighed. “<That phrase will never get old,>” he muttered sarcastically.
“<What’d you say?>”
“<I said your jokes are old and repetitive.>”
“<What the hell is your problem?>” Corphish spat, taking offense to the insult of his pride and joy.
“<My problem is that your damn antics almost caused Daedalus and his buddies to kill us!>” Treecko quickly retorted, scowling.
“<Aw, what’s wrong? Did you hear a tree fall in the forest?>” mocked Corphish.
“Hey, you two!” Jeff tried to interrupt, but they ignored him.
“<Didn’t you say you were too pathetic during mating season to get a female Corphish?>” Treecko growled, stepping forward. His smug grin stayed on his face while he approached his rival.
“<Listen, salad *ss! That’s a completely different subject!>” Corphish shot back, clicking his claws together, preparing to fight.
“<Settle down you two, NOW!>” Daedalus twittered with annoyance.
Treecko and Corphish shot him a cold glare. They stepped forward and Corphish threw the first punch, hitting Treecko in the jaw. Treecko stumbled back but quickly recovered and tackled the other pokemon backwards into the dirt. Jeff ran over to the two rolling around on the ground and tried to pry them apart, but he ended up with a claw and tail in the face and legs. The simultaneous blows sent him flat on his back.
“What the hell, guys!?” Jeff shouted as the two began to fight on top of his chest. Treecko swung around, slamming his tail hard into Corphish, who flew backward and hit Jeff in the face before sprawling down the hill. Treecko jumped down the hill after him.
Jeff put his shirt to his bleeding lip as he got up and looked at Taillow. “Welcome to the family, Daedalus,” he growled. “Now let’s go get those idiots back!” Daedalus shrugged and decided to after him as he began to slowly traverse down the hill.
Corphish and Treecko found themselves tumbling over dirt and on the riverside. One of them would get up to run, but the other would drag them back to the ground and they would keep fighting. The cycle continued, and they became bruised and beaten. Over the sand they rolled until they were past a crudely-made sign that showed a picture of a man and pokemon crossing a line with a red X drawn over them.
They panted heavily while still throwing punches at the other until they were under a tree with a large branch reaching over them. They stopped, stood up, and panted with a scowl imprinted on both of their faces. Treecko stepped backwards onto a hidden noose in the sand. The rope suddenly shot upwards, snagging his tails and one of his legs. He dangled upside down from the tree, and Corphish walked beneath him and began to laugh hysterically.
"<What's the big idea?!>" Treecko growled.
“<Not so cool now, are ya?>” mocked Corphish.
“Treecko cko cko!” Treecko grunted and swore at Corphish, swinging around to try to get free.
“<Maybe I’ll use you as a piñata!>”
Treecko struggled and then glared at the other pokemon. He opened his mouth and fired a bullet seed down, causing Corphish to jump backwards. When the attack was dodged, he activated a trap on his own, and a net came shooting up from the hidden sand, ensnaring Corphish. Treecko grinned because he knew that the water type got his comeuppance.
“<So now I’m trapped, too. congratulations,>” Corphish scowled. “<I might have gotten you down too, if you begged.>”
“<Oh yeah?>”
“<Yeah, ‘Tree Hugger’!>”
“<Why don’t I swing over there and pound you into Corphish soup?>” Treecko shouted back from the suspended rope.
“<Well, Tarzan, in that cozy rope I’d like to see you tr…>” Corphish was cut off and knocked out by a speedy blunt blow to the head.
Treecko looked around and struggled, confused since he didn’t deliver the blow. He looked at the branch above and saw a purple fist come towards him. The blow smashed him down the face, and the beaten up wood gecko hung there unconscious, too.
-------------------------------------
Jeff ran down to the beach where they fell. Daedalus perched on his shoulder as they stepped in the sand. In the sand they could see small blood spatters and sand sifted in a struggle. Jeff noticed the sign and asked, “Do you think they went in there?”
The Taillow nodded and they slowly traipsed through the sand. After they walked a bit, Jeff lifted up his foot and began to place it back in the settled sand and Daedalus immediately knew that something wasn't right.
“TAILL!” Daedalus trilled as he outstretched his wing, warning him not to place his foot down.
Jeff froze and retracted his foot, carefully placing it in his old footprint. He kneeled down and touched the snare trap in the ground.
“<Look over there!>” Daedalus pointed. “<Drag marks! There’s something that lives here who is very protective of its territory. I don’t think he wants uninvited visitors. You follow your footsteps back to the other side of the sign. I’ll scout around from the air, because I think it has them…>” said the Taillow, feeling a certain sense of responsibility
Jeff nodded and did as told, while Daedalus took flight.
-----------------------------------------
Treecko briefly opened his eyes. He found himself lying next to an unconscious Corphish and he noticed that they were both being dragged in a net over the ground and through the forest. The pain in his head worsened as they went along. He looked up and saw a large, purple blur clutching the net. He weakly tried to resist but then a small rock lying on the path collided with his head. The searing pain in his head caused him to fall back into unconsciousness.
------------------------------------
Awhile later, Treecko felt an annoying prodding at his head. He opened his eyes and saw a dim orange outline hovering over him. He got up and looked around, and he saw that beside him was Corphish and on all sides were wooden bamboo bars, creating a dome cage in the middle of the forest. On the other side of the bars was a relatively small wooden shack made of bamboo in the shape of a box.
“<What the…>” Treecko groaned, rubbing his swollen and bleeding head.
“<They don’t have room service. I’ve checked,>” grumbled Corphish, who was shaking the bars.
Treecko jumped upwards, slamming his tail on the roof, trying to break it. Corphish flew up as well as he jumped. The bar remained sturdy. Treecko landed gracefully and Corphish fell onto his head, his horns digging into the dirt.
“<I’ve also tried that, Twig Boy,>” Corphish growled. “<We’re not moving an inch. Oh, and F-Y-I, my claw and your hand are tied together, so don’t go prancing around like you’re starring in ‘Rent'.>”
Horrified by what he'd been told, Treecko looked down and saw rope tying his right hand tied to Corphish’s left claw.
“<Terrific…>” mumbled Treecko grumpily.
“<A little help?>” Corphish asked, struggling to get his horns from the ground.
Treecko coolly unleashed his frustration and swung the other pokemon out of the ground with his arm and tail. Corphish hit the side of the cage and slumped to the ground. When he finally got himself to stand upright, he angrily held his head and held up his free claw threateningly.
“<I said ‘give me help’, not ‘give me hell’!>”
Treecko ignored him. “<These bars really won’t budge.>”
“<I KNOW! Why don’t you hit me against the bars HARDER?!>” Corphish sarcastically suggested.
“<This is just like a pokeball.>” he shuddered, tuning out the words of the water-type again.
“<Except there’s no refund if we break it… and you’re here. This is all your fault!>”
“<Back off! You’re as much to blame as I am!>” Treecko grunted, wiping blood from his mouth.
“<Could this
be any more your fault?>”
Treecko snarled and held his tied arm up against the cage wall, causing Corphish to dangle off of the ground. The grass-type reared his fist back, ready to punch his rival, and he had a claw clamped around his neck in retaliation.
Suddenly, a deep, growly voice came from beside them, on the other side of the cage.
“<What’s wrong? You two thieves not getting along? Well, you’d better suck it up and get used to being cell mates!>” chuckled a massive purple pokemon. He had large ears, and massive claws, tail, and stature. There were large purple spines running down his back and his nose was home to a horn bigger than Corphish’s head.
“<That’s a Nidoking!>” whispered Corphish to Treecko.
“<You’ve got it all wrong. We’re not thieves,>” Treecko attempted to explain to the furious ‘land owner’.
“<And if we were, we’d probably rather be doing the 'two claw discount' at the Pottery Barn,>” Corphish joked.
Treecko glared at Corphish. “<You don’t get to talk anymore!>”
Nidoking frowned and crossed his arms. “<My *ss! You expect me to believe a story from a pokemon known as ‘the ruffian pokemon’?>”
“<Really. We’re telling the truth…>” Treecko insisted.
“<Cram it, lizard lips! You’re pretty shifty yourself, what with that twig in your mouth. You look like a gang leader or something!>” Nidoking interrupted.
“<Shifty, huh?>” Treecko grinned to himself, taking it as a compliment. Corphish rolled his eyes.
“<Give us freedom or give us d…>” Corphish began to intone, but Treecko, with a yank of his arm, shoved his head into the dirt before he could finish the sentence.
Nidoking walked up to the bamboo cage and leaned up against the bars, peering in like a scientist to lab rats. “<You think you can live in my territory and expect to get away with it?!>”
Treecko remained silent and stared frigidly through the wooden barriers into the brown eyes of the Nidoking, who stared tauntingly back at him. The collected rage surged into the glare that was directed at their captor. Nidoking actually stepped backwards when the other pokemon concentrated the defiant stare. His yellow, squinting, enraged eyes said, “<
You’ll get yours.>”
When Nidoking retracted from the stare, he chuckled at himself for having been intimidated. “<
What are you afraid of? After all, look at the size of them…and they’re in a cage! What could they possibly do?>” he thought.
“<You two thugs stay put until I get back…as if you have a choice!>” Nidoking continued to snicker as he stomped off into the forest.
“<What was that?!>” accused Corphish, spitting out dirt.
“<That was ‘saving us before you could put that idea into his head’!>” Treecko spat, annoyed. Treecko rubbed his raw ankle and left tail and then folded his arms and turned to face his partner. “<What the hell do we do?>”
“<Well, I’ve got to call in sick to work and then we can order a pizza, and maybe have ourselves a nice night of talking about our feelings,>” Corphish kidded.
“<I’m being serious! This is exactly why we’re in this mess in the first place and why Nidoking won’t believe our story! Your dumb jokes have gotten us in all this crap. Now we’ve been captured and at the mercy of that Nidoking!>” Treecko yelled, turnig towards Corphish menacingly.
“<Hey,>” the ruffian pokemon said nervously, “<what happened to your ‘as cool as a cucumber’ attitude?>”
They stopped as they saw a shadow cascaded on the ground of the cage. They looked up and saw Daedalus roosted on one of the bars of the dome cage overhead. He was perched directly above Treecko and Corphish.
“<Good afternoon, fellas,>” the Taillow grinned.
“<Took you long enough.>” Treecko said. “<Where’s Jeff?>”
“<I told him to stay back at the beach. The ground is laced with traps everywhere!>” the Taillow replied.
“<Hell, there’s probably surface to air missiles around here!>” Corphish added.
“<How do you expect to get us out of here?>” Treecko asked.
“<Can’t peck through it… so I have no idea.>” Daedalus shrugged apologetically.
“<Think, you bird brain! You’re a leader, so lead!>” Corphish coerced the bird.
“<Don’t rush me; I’m not good in these situations!>”
“<Or what? Will you go all ‘Alfred Hitchcock’ on our hides?>” Corphish spat in return.
“<Damn it, Corphish! Piss off! You’re not helping!>” Treecko glared at him.
Daedalus raised a wing with an idea. “<Howabou->” He was suddenly cut short as he gasped and was grabbed by a giant, purple hand, which appeared out of nowhere. Nidoking walked out from underbrush with a triumphant grin. He squeezed Daedalus, winding him, and then slammed him into the ground as if scoring the final touchdown of a football game. He grinned as he saw the bird lay in the dirt, unconscious.
Nidoking lifted the cage slightly and kicked Daedalus under it. Treecko and Corphish looked at the body of their only hope of escape, in shock.
“<I’m sorry. Was I interrupting?>” Nidoking asked, spitting out poison pins to the ground triumphantly.
“<Look!>” Corphish began to explain. “<We weren’t here to take over your home or steal anything. We were fighting and we rolled onto your territory!>”
“<That’s too bad… Trespassing in my territory is punishable by thrashing!>” He chuckled. “<I think you two have had enough time to think about what you’ve done… so the pain will begin.>”
Nidoking walked towards the cage, fist raised. Treecko whispered to Corphish, “<Listen, he’s beyond reason now. We have to work together to attack him at just the right time… so on my signal…open fire at his face.>”
Nidoking began to swing his tail at the cage.
“<NOW!>” Treecko yelled. They shot bullet seeds and bubblebeams through the bars of the cage. The projectiles hit Nidoking in the face, knocking him off balance. His tail’s path was changed so that it struck the cage just above their heads. The two prisoners ducked as the upper half of the cage was shattered into splinters.
“<GRAAAAAGGHH! MY EYE!>” Nidoking yelled, holding his bleeding right eye and stumbling backwards, blinded. A slow trickle of scarlet blood leaked from the covered eye.
Treecko awkwardly boosted Corphish to the top of the broken bars before following him up, still being attached to him. Treecko grabbed Daedalus with his free hand and pulled him up. Treecko and Corphish then jumped at the same time, landing on the dirt. Daedalus fell beside them. Nidoking tried to stand up, but the other two conscious pokemon ran toward him, jumped up, and clothes-lined him using their rope-tied arms. Nidoking fell back to the dirt, holding his neck while the duo went to help Daedalus. They draped him over their bound hands and began to run.
“<Wake up. We need you to spot traps while we run,>” Treecko muttered to Daedalus.
“<Hey, buddy,>” Corphish smiled at Treecko. “<I guess now that we’re outta there this makes you a ‘
Freecko’…>”
“<…I’ll put the whole ‘salad ass’ thing behind us if you never say that again… ,>” Treecko said, nonchalantly.
Daedalus slowly came out of the daze as they ran through the forest.
“<Trap ahead. Two meters,>” he murmured weakly as he tried to see where they were going.
They dodged the pitfall and followed Daedalus’ navigation.
“<Left, straight, keep going, trap, trap, right, straight,>” Daedalus spat out directions as he struggled to stay conscious.
They finally exited the forest and saw the sign on the beach. As soon as they were able to see Jeff pacing back and forth, they ran up to him and embraced him after gently placing Daedalus in the sand. Jeff accepted the embrace, but he quickly pulled from it and dropped to the ground to check Daedalus’ wounds. The bird spat out a bit of blood and muttered, “<How you doin’?>” in a state of shock.
“What happened!?” Jeff asked, concerned as he examined the three bloodied pokemon. He immediately dropped his backpack and shoveled through the bag for potions.
“<If I have to tell this story
one more time…>” Corphish joked.
Treecko eyed Corphish warily. He wasn't amused by the joke, but he decided to let it pass.
“<Daedalus needs some professional medical attention, but Corphish and I could use some basic first aid… Oh, and can you untie us while you’re at it? I’m beginning to smell like seafood.>”
Jeff took out a knife and cut the rope binding Treecko and Corphish together. He then looked at the two and asked, “Are you guys cool?”
Treecko shrugged indifferently. Corphish folded his claws. “<I don’t have a problem if he doesn’t!>”
Jeff smileded, happy that the two sort of reconciled. “Good, because that was pretty dumb crap you guys pulled back there. You could have gotten the other killed!” Jeff reprimanded them for their behavior.
Corphish looked at the ground ashamed. “<Sorry…>”
Jeff dressed their wounds with a potion and small bandages, which were just big enough to staunch the flow of blood. He perked up, “Let’s head into town before whatever it was that took you guys comes back! And seriously… what happened?”
They nodded and followed Jeff up the hill and back onto the road outside of Petalburg Forest. Jeff cradled the injured Daedalus in his arms while the four crossed the bridge over the sparkling water. Corphish filled in Jeff on what had happened, to which the trainer replied, "That must have been fun."
"<Yeah. Being trapped, beaten, beaten some more, and perhaps a third time is
just like going to Six Flags at Celadon!>" Corphish weakly said, smiling.
As they walked over the bridge, the sun began to set behind the four, creating an orange shimmer in the waves. Corphish grinned at Treecko. “<You’re not so bad, Salad-***. You get on my nerves sometimes, but you’re pretty cool.>”
Treecko glanced at him. “<Uhh…>” He trailed off.
Corphish grinned. “<I’ll assume that means ‘You’re okay, too, Corppy!’>”
The wood gecko didn’t dignify that with a response, he just rolled his eyes and walked past him. The water type grinned and placed his pincers behind his head. “<This is gonna be an
awesome trip.>”
********************************
Author’s notes:
-This chapter is the first official beta’d chapter. Beta’d by diamondpearl876 (Who did a very good job at that)
-Now at this point I know it seems like I’m just making Ash’s Advanced Generation team, but that’s simply not the case. I’m simply using those who best help the plot (Most of them happen to be my favorites). So far, I like how it’s working out. And don’t worry, the next pokemon will not be a Torkoal, a…Donphan, or anything like that.
-A few new recurring supporting characters are introduced.
-I’ve decided against ending on cliffhangers often so that when I DO end with cliffhangers, it will really grab people by the nose and hit them in the arse (or so the saying goes)
This was a pretty fun chapter to right because I love working with my characters and giving them dynamics and fun interactions. That’s one of the main reasons I write.
Anyways, Read. Review. Enjoy
Cheers, Griff4815