It came suddenly. What exactly came suddenly, you ask?
A heavy slap on Jake Celeste’s back, nearly knocking the wind out of him, his cries of protest muffled as his face was shoved into the sand. Jake’s Lucario’s telepathical cries rang in the Trainer’s ears, er, mind, as the Aura Pokémon tried to defend him, but they too were soon silenced. Jake felt his backpack being roughly pulled off his back, and he heard a shaking and rattling, accompanied by frantic footsteps and indistinct speaking. Someone yelled sharply, and the sound of running was heard as a cloud of dust kicked up around Jake. The footsteps faded into the distance.
After a few seconds of silence, the young Aura Guardian groaned as he pulled his face off the ground, wiping sand off his face. Lucario’s Luxury Ball lay within arm’s reach, the Fighting/Steel-type having apparently been called inside his Ball during the robbery. Jake hefted the Luxury Ball into the air with his right hand, and Lucario reappeared, getting to his feet and brushing dust off of himself.
...What happened just then? the Pokémon asked.
It all happened so fast…
“Desert bandits,” Jake spat, speaking choppily as he coughed up sand that had caught in his throat when he fell face-first. “I didn’t see them; the sand, agh! I say it now, never underestimate them. A lesson for all of us.” He was stopped from saying more as a particularly rough cough interrupted him.
Once the Trainer stopped honking out what was left of the sand in his mouth, he turned to the left and crawled over, examining his backpack. It had fallen on its side, presumably caused by the robbers, and one of its zippers had opened. The respective pocket’s contents lay scattered on the ground beside the bag.
Jake sighed and picked up the bag, putting it on the ground beside him as he sat down on a nearby rock. The training Aura Guardian motioned to Lucario, who obediently levitated the loose objects with
Psychic and scooped them all neatly into the backpack pocket. Jake picked up the backpack and dug into the pocket that had opened. After rummaging in the pocket for a few seconds, he groaned. “Those thieves made away with more than we should have allowed. Heck, we shouldn’t have allowed anything to be stolen! But I let my guard down. We’ve lost several Berries, even more Rare Candies, some of my cash savings, three of my TRs, and a Mysterious Gummi. They’d better use those things responsibly…or not...”
Meanwhile, Jake’s Fighting and Steel-type Pokémon companion had stood up and looked around, checking out what surrounded Lucario and Jake. Sand dunes as far as the eye could see, aside from the occasional rock here and there...a particularly large, sandy hill a few meters away covered part of the view, and a dusted path ran between the hill and the rock Jake was sitting on. A small green Pokémon lay on the path a little farther away, covered in some sort of net. Wait...a net!?
Jake! Lucario addressed his Trainer, pointing at the small Pokémon.
That green Pokémon over there!
The training Aura Guardian looked up. “Green?” He turned around and looked in the direction that his Pokémon was pointing. Upon spotting the Pokémon in question, Jake slung his backpack over his shoulder and ran over to the netted Pokémon, pulling out his Pokédex as he did so. He opened the Pokédex and held it up.
Treecko, the Wood Gecko Pokémon. A Grass-type. Treecko has small hooks on the bottom of its feet that enable it to scale vertical walls. This Pokémon attacks by slamming foes with its thick tail.
Jake put his Pokédex away and nodded. “Ah, so you’re a Treecko,” he spoke to the Grass-type. “Mind if Lucario and I help you out of that net? And…” he squinted at something covering Treecko’s left foot, “that trap thingy?”
The lizard Pokémon looked from the Trainer to Lucario, seeming to think about it, before nodding silently.
He seems in a lot of pain, Lucario observed.
Look at those scratches and bruises. Might have fallen off the back of a truck or something.
“Eee, yeah,” Jake agreed concernedly. “One of the only explanations for what a Pokémon that normally lives in the forest is doing in a desert. We need to get Treecko healing, stat.” The Aura Guardian turned and rummaged in his backpack for his healing items. “Lucario, you mind slicing open that net with
Metal Claw or something while I find something to treat the poor thing’s wounds?”
My pleasure, replied the Fighting/Steel-type, already sharpening the spike on each of his paws in preparation for using the attack.
You want me to be careful and not hit our friend here, got it.
While Jake opened and closed zippers, occasionally shaking his bag, Lucario expertly hacked away at the netting surrounding Treecko. A few cuts later, the shredded fibers lay on the ground, chopped to bits, while the Wood Gecko Pokémon himself, now freed from the net, remained unharmed by the Metal Claw. Treecko nodded gratefully, though he drew the Aura Pokémon’s attention to a device that was clamped over his left foot, clutching it in both hands.
At that, Lucario lightly tapped his Trainer on the shoulder.
Hey. What do you think we should do about this? When Jake turned to see what Lucario was talking about, the Pokémon motioned to the claw-like...thing...that was latched onto the Treecko’s foot.
“Hmm.” Jake examined the strange device. A scallop-shell-like clamp was the culprit, the knob of rotation being connected to a small gray box, which was just smaller, and much lighter, than an average brick. On the box was a small red LED light, which was currently on, as well as an antenna pointing in the opposite direction of the clamp knob. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Looks pretty primitive to me, as if it were hastily put together. Not professional at all, I’d say. My instincts point toward this being some sort of tracking device, that also functions as a trap,” Jake stated. “For sure, though, whatever this is, we need to get rid of it.” With a sudden surge of adrenaline, the Trainer pried the device off of Treecko’s foot and jammed it into the dirt, beating it with his fist. Startled at this seemingly sudden change of mood, the perceptive Lucario jumped backward.
Uh, need some help there? the Fighting and Steel-type asked, gesturing towards the device, which now lay partially crumpled on the desert ground.
Jake nodded calmly, having not actually lost his temper after all. “Might be best to smash this thing with a
Power-Up Punch, Lucario,” he said.
Right. Lucario gathered Fighting energy over his fists for a few seconds, before launching them into the makeshift tracker several times, nearly disintegrating it beneath the forceful attack. When the energy from the move dissipated, Jake shook his head in something of contempt as he picked up what remained of the completely smashed device. The light on what had been the box had turned off
as it obviously would have.
“Man, I don’t know what the makers of this thing were thinking,” remarked Jake. “It folds to a human punch, and falls apart completely when struck by even a weak physical attack!” He lowered his voice. “But the thing about this device is that someone has been tracking this Treecko. Treecko is the target of some Trainer, and by the looks of it, this Trainer is a hunter! I’m calling it now, the hunter is committing an illegal act of some sort by deploying this device.”
Even while Jake spoke, the Treecko remained silent, however; sensing that the Grass-type was still troubled, the training Aura Guardian shifted his attention to the injured Pokémon. And when he did, his eyes widened.
“Whoa, this is not good.” Jake pointed at Treecko's left foot, now uncovered, which appeared red and swollen. “I’m no Pokémon doctor, but I’d say this is a burn.” He picked small grains of sand off the foot. “This sand...it’s strangely hot for such small grains. It was probably used in a Pokémon’s attack, but what move involves sand that can burn?” The Trainer took his Pokédex out of his pocket and opened it, proceeding to scroll through the list of Pokémon moves, before Lucario slapped his arm and knocked the Pokédex out of his hands.
Don’t you see that Treecko needs medical assistance? Lucario asked urgently.
If I were you, I’d save my investigations for later and tend to this...burn. What should we do to help heal it?
Jake sighed and picked up his Pokédex, storing it away. “You’re right, Lucario,” he replied. “Unfortunately, I found nothing in my bag that could specifically cure burns. Fortunately, though,” he added, “I would think that a
Life Dew would work just as well to heal wounds, if even better, than a Burn Heal, so let’s give it a try. Lucario, use Life Dew on Treecko! And I guess on me and you as well,” Jake shrugged at the last part of what he said.
The Aura Pokémon gave a determined growl as he formed an orb of clear water between his paws. The orb floated over to Treecko, bathing the Wood Gecko in sparkles of healing water, before bursting and showering its remaining drops of water over the two aura users, as was the move’s cooperative nature.
With the healing move used, the Trainer took another look at Treecko’s affected foot. The swelling seemed to have been alleviated for the most part, though the redness and abnormal warmth of the area remained. “All that’s left here that we can do is wait. It seems that the burn wound should heal with time. At least we got rid of the other scratches Treecko had to endure,” said Jake. “I’m honestly no expert on things like these, but I’m glad Lucario and I could help,” the young Aura Guardian reassured the Grass-type, who gave a calm smile in return, feeling much better from the help he had received.
Meanwhile, however, Lucario was scanning the area warily.
My senses tell me something is up here, he warned,
and I have a sinking feeling that it is not a good thing. The sand is kicking up all of a sudden. Might we be in for a sandstorm?
Jake stood up, putting on his backpack, and looked around. “Yikes,” he murmured. “What’s even more alarming is that the sand seems to be especially rough around our Treecko friend here.” Indeed, as he looked down, the whirling sand beat away at Jake and Lucario’s legs, while spinning in a familiar shape of a circle around the now stunned-with-fear Wood Gecko Pokémon…
“Flygon,
Sand Tomb!”
In an instant, a bomblet of sand exploded in the group’s faces, forcing Jake to cover his eyes with his arms as he tried his best to keep from being blown away by the sudden burst of sand, which was intensifying all the more. Around the two aura users, but especially around Treecko, the gusts of sand continued to whirl, and when the Trainer finally uncovered his eyes, he at first thought the small sandstorm had subsided. That was not to be, however, as Jake turned a bit to the right to check on Treecko, only to see that the lizard Pokémon was hidden from his sight. The spinning sand had stopped bothering Jake and Lucario, but it had now completely focused on the Grass-type Pokémon and enveloped him in its tall, sinking cyclone.
“No! Not Treecko!” the training Aura Guardian cried out, reaching his left arm out towards the sand tornado, perhaps in desperation, perhaps out of reflex, perhaps out of pure compassion.
“Oh yes, the Treecko,” replied the same voice that had given an order for a Flygon to use Sand Tomb. Indeed, the person in question came into view on the beaten, sandy path as Jake turned back to look: a desert-dressed man climbing off a Flygon that he seemed to have been riding. It wasn’t hard to deduce that this man had commanded this very Flygon to use the move that surrounded Treecko.
The young Trainer narrowed his eyes. “Ah,” he said to the man, in an understanding tone. “So you’re the one who can’t get ahold of actual tracking devices, and has to conjure up some worthless junk that was the foiled box and clamp.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the man replied impassively.
But the Aura Guardian couldn't—and wouldn’t—be fooled so easily. “Don’t try to play dumb,” Jake scolded the man. “I know you sought after that poor Treecko for a long time. You burned his left foot—with
Scorching Sands from your Flygon, now I know,” he suddenly realized, “and slapped your stinkin’ clamp tracker thing over it. Pathetic,” he spat. “Just use a freaking Pokéball already!”
At this, the man’s eyes widened, but only by a small amount. Jake could tell that what he said to him was right on the money.
The man, trying desperately to keep calm, waved his right hand in an arc, dismissively. “Kid,” he chided. “You don’t understand. Not one bit. That Treecko’s not for me. It’s—it’s for my boss. Treecko is his favorite Pokémon, I think, and he wants to catch one for himself. So I’m doing him a favor and bringing a Treecko to him. Helping is caring, isn’t it? Isn’t that what you’re all about, kid?” He chuckled and forced a cheeky smile.
“
You are not making one bit of sense, sir,” Jake replied in kind. “Who is your boss, a little child? Smaller than me, maybe, who just wants a Pokémon?” The Trainer laughed and pointed an accusing finger at the man. “And this is further evidence that I was right about you from the start!” he declared. “I knew it! You’re working for a company, one that is up to no good! You’re a
poacher!”
The busted poacher narrowed his eyes, knowing that his cover was blown. “Yes, I’m a Pokémon hunter,” he retorted. “It wouldn’t take someone like you to know that, huh? How dumb
are you, anyway?” He leaned forward and made a swiping motion of his hand away from himself. “No more Mr. Nice Guy from me,” the man snapped. “I’ll dispose of anything in my way by force if need be, including that Lucario beside you, and I’ll keep the Treecko in that Sand Tomb until you scram.”
Jake regarded the hunter with a mix of confusion and disappointment. “Such a sudden change of heart?” the Aura Guardian asked curiously. “I don’t see why you’re asking me to leave so quickly. Fizzytopia is a public area, after all.”
Seeing that neither Jake nor the hunter seemed to have anything else to say, Lucario sent a quick telepathic message to his Trainer, which the poacher had no idea the Fighting/Steel-type even had the ability to make.
Might it be time for a battle? We need to scare off the poacher to save Treecko, and fast!
Jake nodded at Lucario in response, before taking a Pokéball out of his pocket and turning to the man, stepping forward. “Alright, now,” he exclaimed. “If you’re not gonna back down from your crime, then I’ll have to back you down
for you.” The Trainer pointed the Pokéball directly at the poacher in defiance. “A one-on-one battle. Choose your Pokémon, now! As for me...” Jake threw the Pokéball in his hand forward with all his might. “Staravia, let’s
gooo!”
“
Staaar!” chirped the avian Pokémon who appeared from Jake’s Pokéball, flapping his wings eagerly. Unlike the others of his species, Jake’s Staravia sported blue and white plumage instead of the normal brown and white, as a result of being exposed to the strong aura of his Trainer.
The hunter, taking a deep breath, raised an eyebrow at Jake’s choice of Pokémon. “You’re not choosing your Lucario and instead a colorful bird?” he asked in a rhetorical tone. “Very well. I accept your battle request, and will not be using my Flygon.” At that, he stepped back, also nodding at the Ground/Dragon-type flying beside him, who nodded back. “Rather, a colorful bird, as you wish.” The man swiped a Pokéball from one of the many pockets on his own camouflage-colored jacket, and tossed the Ball forward. “Braviary, to battle!”
With a flash of light, an eagle-like Pokémon with bright red, blue, and yellow feathers appeared from the man’s Pokéball, cawing loudly as he flapped his wings.
As the poacher spoke to his Braviary, trying to convince him that Jake and his Pokémon were the enemies and deserved to be decimated with Braviary’s full might, the young Aura Guardian took out his Pokédex yet again and opened it, scanning the Pokémon opponent in front of him.
Braviary, the Valiant Pokémon and the evolved form of Rufflet. A Normal and Flying-type. Known for its bravery and pride, this majestic Pokémon is often seen as a motif for various kinds of emblems.
Jake closed his Pokédex and put it back in his pocket. “Alright, Staravia,” he called to the Starling Pokémon. “I know our opponent is much bigger than you, but don’t fear them. With your speed and quick reflexes, you can best that Braviary! We’re doing this for the Treecko!”
“
Star!” Staravia cawed in approval, spreading his wings wide as he flew, preparing for an aerial battle.
As if in response, the poacher’s Braviary gave a loud war cry, signalling his readiness to battle, and with that, the two bird Pokémon turned to their Trainers for the starting orders.
Jake opened his mouth to give Staravia a command, but before he could say a word, the opponent was already mid-order. “Braviary! No mercy!” the hunter shouted. “
Giga Impact at full power!”
The Aura Guardian was taken completely by surprise by the order. “What the!” he exclaimed out of pure shock, even as the Braviary charged full speed at Staravia, surrounded by a comet-like trail of light. “Staravia, dodge it!
Aerial Ace!”
The Starling Pokémon gave a small squawk as his form shimmered mid-flight. When the opposing Normal/Flying-type reached where Staravia appeared to be, the swift bird Pokémon had disappeared, seemingly into thin air, leaving Braviary confused and exhausted from expending a large amount of energy for the Giga Impact. As the Valiant Pokémon breathed hard and looked around for his opponent, Staravia reappeared directly above him and barreled into him, hitting him square on the back.
Braviary squawked in surprise at the sudden contact, but not in pain, Jake could tell. As Braviary ruffled his feathers, Staravia glided back to Jake’s side of the battle.
“Yes!” the Trainer cheered. “We landed the first hit after all, Staravia! Speed is the way!”
The opponent fumed. “Bah!” the man spat. “If that’s how you want to do things, then watch out! Braviary, recharge! We’ll have our way soon enough.”
Jake shrugged and turned to Staravia. “Let’s seize the initiative!” he suggested. “Unleash your
Acrobatics on that Braviary while it’s recovering from its Giga Impact!”
The Normal and Flying-type nodded to Jake, before flapping his wings harder and zooming towards the currently incapacitated Braviary. In sharp, quick streaks, the Starling Pokémon had struck the Valiant Pokémon several times in different directions, almost like the shape of a star, leaving behind afterimages from the attack. As Staravia flew back to his Trainer after finishing the attack, a burst of light jumped from Braviary, who had painstakingly finished recharging.
“Now, Braviary!” the hunter commanded. “Make them regret it!
Brave Bird!”
Before the man had even finished speaking, the large bird Pokémon had already started flying forward at high speeds. Braviary gradually built up his speed, as an orange outline surrounded him that later turned to blue. After swooping in and out, performing some loop-de-loops in the process, the Normal/Flying type leveled out and dove in towards his opponent.
Jake and Staravia hadn’t just been staying where they were, idly; the training Aura Guardian had simply transmitted a mental message through his aura to Staravia.
Staravia, match that power with a recoiling attack of your own! Use Double-Edge! In response, the bird Pokémon flew straight at Braviary, building up intense Normal energy, the move powered further by the Starling Pokémon’s
Reckless Ability. The two battling Pokémon flew straight at each other, both packing some of the strongest and most dangerous moves of their type, and collided in an air-rattling expenditure of force and dust.
As the dust cleared, Jake could see the two bird Pokémon eyeing one another determinedly, even as dust settled on them and their surroundings. “That’s not even the widest extent of our power in this battle!” the young Aura Guardian exclaimed. “Oh yes, sir, you will be surprised.”
“As if I wasn’t already surprised enough today,” the poacher muttered under his breath, assuming that Jake couldn’t hear him when he very much could. The man raised his voice. “If you were thinking that that is all we have got, then I am sorry to say you are utterly and completely wrong!” He laughed mockingly and made the same swiping motion with his arm as he made earlier. “Braviary, unleash the
Sheer Force of your
Sky Attack!”
“Staravia, show them!” Jake responded with just as much confidence, if not even more. “Release the
Recklessness of your
Wildest
Charge!”
“What?” Now it was the hunter’s turn to have his mouth drop open in surprise. “Did you say Wild Charge? But Staravia can’t learn Wild Charge!”
“Doesn’t mean that mine can’t, especially with the magic of Bond!” Jake replied. “See, our Pokémon are already executing their attacks!
Including Staravia’s Wild Charge!” The Trainer pointed, and true to his claim, the aura-colored Normal/Flying-type surrounded himself with yellow electricity while the white-crested Normal/Flying-type gathered golden light.
As the two Pokémon prepared their attacks, Jake held his breath in anticipation. The man was right, the Staravia species couldn’t naturally learn Wild Charge. But Jake had had his Staravia since he ventured into the Adoption Center that day a little more than one year ago, and they had been through thick and thin, growing Bond all the while. Eventually, the Starling Pokémon had gained the confidence to reach moves his kind couldn’t normally learn, though he still needed to become more versed with some particularly outrageous moves like Wild Charge.
Finally, an electric burst came out from Staravia, who spread his wings wide and flew steadily toward Braviary, covered by a crackling veil of electricity. Just after he did, the Valiant Pokémon completed the charge for his Sky Attack, and, enveloped in sparkling orange and gold light, the poacher’s bird Pokémon sped toward Jake’s. The immensely powerful attacks, surpassing the potential damage of even the two Pokémon’s previous moves, met in an explosion even more spectacular than the last; a kind of shockwave rippled out across the land. Everyone in the battle’s vicinity covered their faces as the wind from the impact blew them backward, and when said wind finally died down, Jake warily uncovered his eyes and ears...just in time to see and hear the poacher calling out a command.
“
Superpower!”
The Trainer whipped his arms away from his face. He could only watch in silence, mouth open, as the two Pokémon descended from the point of collision, but only one of them flew toward the other. Braviary stuck out his talons, which were covered in a bright orange glow of Fighting energy, and dove for Staravia, knocking the latter out of the sky. Just after landing the attack, the Braviary too crashed into the sand, exhausted, like Staravia had done after being struck by the Superpower. The two Pokémon in the battle lay on the ground for a moment, motionless.
Could the battle be decided right then and there?
While everyone watched, both Trainers holding their breath, the man’s Braviary pushed himself off the ground, stumbling as he got back to his feet, scratched and battered with dust and sand.
All eyes turned to Jake’s unusually-colored Staravia, still lying on the ground in front of his Trainer and seemingly struggling to get back up. As everyone watched, a bright, bluish-white light overcame the Normal and Flying-type and enveloped him in the aura; it wasn’t long before the Starling Pokémon increased in size, growing larger and broader wings and tail feathers. The avian climbed to his feet, his talons widening and his beak lengthening, and a characteristic feather crest formed and draped itself over his head. The brilliant glow subsided, revealing the form of a
standing tall and giving a proud battle cry.
“
Starrr...raptor!” the newly-evolved Pokémon exclaimed, spreading his wings wide and flicking some sand off himself in the process.
Giddy with excitement, the Aura Guardian took his Pokédex out of his pocket (for the last time today, I promise) and opened it, scanning the blue and white-feathered Pokémon. Despite the non-standard coloring of the Pokémon being scanned, the Pokédex nevertheless pulled up the species’ natural coloring.
Staraptor, the Predator Pokémon and the evolved form of Staravia. A Normal and Flying-type. The muscles in its wings and legs are strong. It can easily fly while gripping a small Pokémon.
“And you even learned a new move, Staraptor!” Jake exclaimed, reading his Pokédex one last time before returning it to his pocket. “We’re definitely ready to continue this!”
Meanwhile, the Pokémon poacher was fuming, on the verge of having smoke spill out of his ears. “You, you cheater!” he shrieked, pointing an accusatory finger at the Trainer. “We had this win in the bag, and you just had to go and evolve your worthless bird when we’re not even finished! The fancy coloring means
nothing!”
“
Rav,
Rav!” the poacher’s Braviary added, squawking angrily.
“Hey, it wasn’t me who decided that it was the right time for Staravia to evolve,” Jake answered in defense. “He made that choice himself, and I for one am perfectly fine with it!” He shifted his focus back to the battle at hand. “Alright, Staraptor, take to the skies once again!” the Trainer called. “Use
Heat Wave!”
With a loud cry, the Predator Pokémon rose into the air, beating his strong wings as he stirred up a hot wind at the opposing side, scorching Braviary’s feathers.
“Get up there, Braviary!” the hunter commanded. “Show them!
Crush that inferior bird under those sharp
Claws of yours!”
Upon being given the command, the Valiant Pokémon flapped his wings and flew up over Staraptor, then dove downward, with his talons cloaked in a menacing red aura as he descended.
Seeing this, Jake clenched his fist in readiness. “Staraptor, now’s our chance! Use that new move of yours:
Close Combat!”
“
Staaar!” called the Normal/Flying-type, flying in toward the Braviary as a red-orange glow surrounded his whole body. The two Pokémon collided in a cloud of dust and feathers as Staraptor battled Braviary with beats and kicks. Both of the battlers were pushed back by the force of their attacks, cawing warily at one another as the cloud dissipated. At this point, both sides could tell that the two avians had fought to their near limits, both speckled with thin grains of sand and covered in claw scratches.
You think the battle will last much longer? Jake’s Lucario asked his Trainer with a silent burst of telepathy.
That Flygon’s been concentrating intensely the entire time, but luckily Treecko’s Sand Tomb is starting to die down.
We shall see, the training Aura Guardian replied quickly, not daring to turn too much of his attention away from the ongoing battle.
While Jake was answering Lucario, the man was busy muttering under his breath, this time Jake not bothering to listen. As soon as he knew Jake was paying attention, however, the hunter called out to Braviary.
“That Staraptor’s got its defenses down!” instructed the poacher. “Go in for one more attack and beat ‘em into the ground!”
As the poacher’s Normal and Flying-type flew back towards his opponent, the Aura Guardian gave a counter-command to his own uniquely-colored Normal and Flying-type. “Let’s win this, Staraptor!” Jake called. “Meet that war eagle halfway!”
Despite their exhaustion, both Flying Pokémon cawed loudly as they flew in towards the center, eyeing one another with a serious and confident stare. As they beat their wings faster and more vigorously as they neared, it was clear that the battle had come down to this deciding moment. The two Trainers gave their orders in short, quick bursts of dialogue.
“Braviary,
Superpower!”
“Now! Staraptor, use
Close Combat!”
Braviary and Staraptor met, their talons and wings extended, clashing in a burst of smoke and sand as they fought toe-to-toe.
Bam,
bam,
bing,
bong,
BOOM!
In a victorious shriek, the blue and white-feathered Pokémon thrusted his leg into his opponent, clearing away the cloud of dust and sending the primarily red Pokémon barreling down toward...the other of his Trainer’s Pokémon that was currently out. With a great crash, the man’s Braviary slammed backfirst into the Flygon, knocking both of them into the ground.
The sand and dust that had kicked up around the impact settled, revealing the dazed expressions of
both the Braviary that had been battling
and the Flygon that had been maintaining the Sand Tomb, and that had now been accidentally hit.
The Pokémon poacher put his hands to his head. “No, no, no, no, no!” he cried. “This isn’t supposed to happen! Come back, you two!” The man took out two Pokéballs and withdrew his Braviary into one, his Flygon into the other. He then turned to Jake and glared.
“Listen, kid,” the hunter warned. “If you ever show up trying to mess with my plans again, I swear to Arceus I'll exact my sweet, sweet revenge. I warn you now, you do not want to mess with me again.”
Jake shrugged nonchalantly. “Well, with my luck, I won’t need to!” he replied. “The problems that you cause will likely take care of themselves, whether you like it or not.” He winked at Staraptor and Lucario, the former of which had settled satisfiedly on the ground.
The man said nothing, simply putting his Pokéballs into his pockets and shooting one last sharp glance at the Aura Guardian and his Pokémon before taking off, running up and over the sand hill nearby and disappearing from sight.
With the poacher having been scared off, Jake took out Staraptor’s Pokéball from his pocket and recalled the Predator Pokémon. “I forgot to say, congratulations on the evolution,” he whispered. “You were great today. Thanks for the help, Staraptor.” The Trainer then turned to where he expected the Sand Tomb that swallowed Treecko to be, only to see that the attack had abated completely, luckily.
When had it subsided he didn’t know, but that was the least of his worries.
“Lucario, we need to get Treecko to the Pokémon Center, preferably quickly,” Jake stated, gesturing to the Grass-type, who had been coughing and sneezing from the sand he had ingested while in the Sand Tomb. “Especially since Staraptor also took a beating from his battle. Let’s continue onward, to where we were going before all of this happened; the Pokémon Center there was our destination anyway.” The young Aura Guardian walked over to Treecko and knelt down.
“Hey, Treecko,” he said softly. “We’re gonna take you to a Pokémon Center and get you all healed up, alright?”
“
Ko,
Treecko,” the Wood Gecko Pokémon managed to reply, finally spitting out the last of the sand that had gotten in his mouth. Treecko then jumped to his feet, standing up as tall as he could muster, cracking a small smile and pointing at Jake. “
Treecko?”
Jake pointed to himself. “What, you want to come along with me? Join my team?” the Trainer asked, to which Treecko nodded affirmatively.
At that, Jake chuckled and took an empty Pokéball from one of the side pockets of the backpack on his back. “Why, of course!” he exclaimed. “Might you want to do the honors, Treecko?” The Aura Guardian held out the Pokéball in front of him, gesturing to the lizard Pokémon.
“
Tree!” Treecko grinned, tapping the button on the Pokéball, which promptly opened and sucked him inside. The Ball shook one, two times before finally sitting still, shooting small stars and sparkles out of it to signal a catch.
“Yes!” Jake exclaimed, jumping up and holding the Pokéball containing his new Treecko high in the air. “I just caught...a Treecko!”
All right! Lucario cheered.
With the celebratory pose done, Jake tossed Treecko’s Pokéball up in the air, letting out the Grass-type once again and picking Treecko up in his arms. “Let’s go to the Pokémon Center together, shall we?” the Trainer suggested to the two Pokémon of his that were out of their Pokéballs, as he started walking toward their collective destination.
The happy Wood Gecko Pokémon smiled and gave what sounded like a squeak or chirp of approval, which Lucario quickly joined in with the same cheerful tone.
We shall!
02-28-2021, 12:50 PM
Declaring Treecko's Ability to be Overgrow.
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