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Stories
Feb 28, 2011 16:42:55 GMT -5
Post by mubz on Feb 28, 2011 16:42:55 GMT -5
Wanted: Charmander Category: Hard Required character length: 20k-30k Actual character length: 26,524
I threw the ball and it hit the weakened Pokemon. It opened and he was sucked in. The ball fell to the floor and the red circle in the middle started flashing as the ball writhed around on the dirt. I willed it to stay in… … … … Encounters with Rex
The day I met Rex was an ordinary day for everyone else in the region of Kanto, but not for me. It was my tenth birthday, and I could barely keep my excitement under control. My mother had just completed her annual ‘ritual’ of measuring my height on my birthday. “Five foot six!” she exclaimed, holding her measuring implement of choice, a tape measurer, in her hand. “You’ve grown so much!” she said, and I swore I could have seen a tear welling up in her eye. I mumbled an OK and dashed out of the house into the crisp spring sunshine.
My excitement level was unbearable. I tore down the quiet street in Pallet Town, and ran up a hill towards the Pokemon Lab. I was out of breath by the time I got near the Lab, and had to walk the last few yards. I walked through the automatic sliding door and entered. I had only been in the lab once before, when a ball I had overeagerly kicked had smashed a window and gone inside and I had to go in and retrieve it. The lab was exactly like I remembered, even though it had been nearly a year. The entire lab floor was tiled white, and the walls and ceiling painted white. Plants were spread around in a futile attempt to make the lab more pleasurable to be in. Bookshelves covered most of the walls, full of books about Pokemon. I scanned a few as I walked by. ‘Pokemon Evolution by Professor Rowan’, ‘The basic guide to Pokemon breeding by Professor Elm’ and the fattest book of them all, ‘Pokemon and their relationship with Humans by Professor Oak’.
Professor Oak himself appeared at the end of the hallway through a doorway, and beckoned me in. I followed him into the room. The room in question was filled to the brim with machines and smelled metallic somehow. Oak didn’t say a word, just walked over to a computer and pressed a button. A platform, a yard in diameter, rose from the ground, where it had been completely camouflaged. The top split and moved to the side, showing three Pokeballs. Each Pokeball had an image in front of it. A flame, a leaf and a raindrop. I knew what was inside each of them. Without hesitation I reached out and grabbed the Pokeball which had a flame in front of it. “Go Charmander!” I yelled, and threw the ball. It hit the floor and opened, and instead of their being a red light it just stayed where it was, empty. I looked in confusion at the ball, thinking I had done something wrong, and then I looked at the Professor.
“Oh yes” he said sheepishly “Someone else came earlier and took that Pokemon”.
I sighed, slightly annoyed I hadn’t come earlier and taken the Pokemon I had intended to take. I wasn’t sure which one of the others I would like, so I grabbed both balls and opened them, there was a flash of light and stood in front of me was a Bulbasaur and a Squirtle. I looked at both of them closely, thinking about which one I would prefer. Bulbasaur was apparently unnerved by my staring, and cowered behind Squirtle, who stood where he was, staring back. I took both of the balls and recalled them both, then returned the cowardly Bulbasaur to its platform. I didn’t need such a weak Pokemon in my team. “I’ll take this one”, I said to Oak, who nodded and smiled. I was walking out of the lab when I heard him shouting out for me. I turned, bewildered, then I saw that he was carrying a Pokedex in his hand. I had forgotten. The Pokedex was a crucial tool for any trainer, regardless of experience. I graciously accepted it, but then I saw that the Professor had something else in his hand. He handed me 5 Pokeballs, shrunk to about the size of golf balls which were perfect for carrying around on your belt. I thanked the Professor and dashed home to say my goodbyes, before setting off on my new adventure.
That was just five hours ago. It seemed like a lifetime. I had made good progress and had just entered Viridian Forest. I decided to avoid the beaten path to search for a Pikachu, who would be essential once I got to the Cerulean Gym. I was following some paw prints into a thicket of trees when I saw the blue light. It was shining out from the gaps in the trees in the direction I was facing. I ran up to the trees and peered through, hidden in the greenery. I heard someone talking but I was to far away to understand. I crept closer until I could see what was happening. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Right there, in a clearing in the middle of Viridian Forest, was a lone Charmander. I didn’t need my Pokedex to identify it. I tried to keep my emotions under control as I looked for its trainer, hoping it didn’t have one. It didn’t. I leapt out of my cover.
It never occurred to me that Charmanders are not found wild in Viridian forest, or that when Pokemon are released into the wild by their trainers they glow blue. I was an inexperienced, perhaps a bit naïve, rookie trainer, and I could not think of anything else than to catch that Charmander.
Charmander heard me jump out, and instinctively readied himself for battle. I grabbed a ball on my belt and threw it. It opened in mid-air and out came Pidgey, who I had caught on my way to Viridian City, and I was eager for it to get some battle experience. I ordered a Gust, which Charmander dodged. He was fast. Pidgey tried a tackle this time. Again, he dodged. Running out of options, I tried a Sand-attack. Well, if you can’t see your opponent you can’t dodge its attack. The Sand-attack neared Charmander when he unleashed a mighty Fire-spin. It decimated my attack, leaving me to stand there, shocked by his power.
Charmander launched onto the offensive. He opened his mouth and released an Ember. Pidgey tried to dodge but was too slow. The move struck Pidgey’s left wing and it spiralled down to earth and landed with a sickening thud. Pidgey got up but as it tried to fly off it fell over. Its’ wing was too damaged for it to fly. It slowly got up and I was about to recall it when, out of nowhere, another Ember hit Pidgey. Pidgey was flung to a tree and hit it hard. I didn’t even bother checking to see if Pidgey was knocked out. I knew there was no way it could continue battling after that attack. I recalled it and somehow smiled. Even though I had just seen Charmander’s awesome power, I was confident. I grabbed the second ball at my waist and threw it. It opened and the escaping red light materialised into Squirtle. Charmander did nothing to give away any emotions it had at this moment. Squirtle opened with a Water Gun. Charmander blocked it with another Ember. It collided with the Water Gun, and both attacks vanished, replaced by a thick fog from the evaporated water. Squirtle tried desperately to see where its opponent was, but he was well hidden.
Suddenly I saw a movement in the fog and cried out to Squirtle to dodge. But Squirtle seemed to exist a split second before me, and flipped backwards, dodging the Scratch attack. “Now, use Bubble!” I yelled, and Squirtle began filling the area with bubbles, removing the fog in the process too. The bubbles cornered Charmander, who had nowhere to escape to. I thought I had figured it out. I was wrong. Charmander scratched his way free, popping the bubbles. I was furious. All of my attacks, rendered worthless. “Full power Tackle!” I shouted “Straight at him!” Squirtle obediently started charging towards Charmander. Charmander looked ready for any sort of trick. I murmured quietly “That’s the plan” Charmander had proven himself a worthy adversary, dodging and anticipating all of my attacks. This time, however, there was not going to be any trickery or tactics. There was just going to be a direct hit from a turtle’s skull.
Charmander, sadly, had called my bluff. He raised his claw, which began to glow white. It was Metal Claw. Squirtle quickly withdrew into his shell. There was no way to avoid it. Squirtle was going too fast. The attacks collided, but Squirtle was send flying, and Charmander stood where he was, dazed slightly by the power Squirtle had hit him at. Squirtle was flung to a tree, where it hit a surprisingly resilient branch and rebounded straight back at Charmander. Charmander was unimpressed, and used another Metal Claw to hit Squirtle skyward. Squirtle was helpless throughout all of this, still inside its shell, probably unconscious, and there was no way to get Squirtle inside its ball, he was too far away. Charmander opened his mouth and an almighty Fire-Spin raised upwards, its opening at the top like a snake about to devour its prey. The flames covered up Squirtle, hiding him from view.
“Use Bubble!” I cried in desperation, knowing it was in vain.
The flame eventually subsided and suspended in mid-air almost by a thread, was the shell of Squirtle. It looked slightly blackened and charred. It began to fall, slowly at first, but it picked up speed and I was still stunned until I realised the best thing I could do at the moment was save Squirtle from a fifty foot drop. I pulled out its ball and a red beam shot out from the front and hit Squirtle just at he was about to land. The red beam turned Squirtle red as well, until you could only make out the outline of its shell, and the light morphed until it went back inside the ball.
I turned and ran, not thinking for a moment about my own safety, cradling my two Pokeballs as I tore through the forest, and I didn’t stop until I had realised I had arrived at Pewter City. I jumped on a train that led to the City Centre, hoping a Pokemon Centre would be near the station. It wasn't, but I had gotten seriously lucky. A trainer who apparently knew the city well was on the train as well, and could see the wild look in my eyes. He was dark-skinned, had short pointy hair and his eyes were small. After explaining that I needed to get to a Pokemon Centre right away, he told the quickest route involved getting off at the next stop and taking a different train. Following his advice, I arrived, out of breath, at the Pokemon Centre and was greeted by a Chansey, who I pushed aside and ran towards the desk, where a nurse was present.
“Hello, I am Nurse Joy. How may I help you today?” she said, with a smile.
“It’s my Pokemon” I panted, still out of breath. “Please help them”
The smile vanished and was replaced by seriousness. I thought she was going to tell me off for not taking care of my Pokemon, like dad used to do whenever I fell over and tore a pair of brand new jeans, or dropped a new toy and break it. Instead she took the balls off me and said “Don’t worry; I’ll get them to perfect health in no time”. She deposited the balls in a machine that looked like it had been taken from an 80’s disco and walked over to her computer, where she pressed a key. The machine started whirring and crackling. It lasted only four seconds. The machine went silent, and Nurse Joy retrieved the Pokeballs and handed them back to me. “There you go. They’re now perfectly healthy”
I looked at the balls, bemused. My brain couldn’t grasp how Squirtle and Pidgey could be perfectly healthy after being put into an ancient looking machine for four seconds. Disbelievingly, I sent them both out to see for myself. Sure enough, Pidgey was there, chirping, its wing perfectly healed. Squirtle was fine too. Its shell was glossy, showing no trace of the battle. I was happy, but sad at the same time. Looking at them two reminded me of the battle, and seeing them healthy almost made me want to go back and challenge Charmander again, but I knew better. I knew that we would need to train to stand a chance.
So that’s how it was for the next day at least. We trained at the edge of Viridian Forest, battling wild Pokemon and the occasional Trainer. Apart from the obvious benefits of training, there was another good thing that happened to me during training. I had encountered a wild Pikachu, and caught it. Even though, I felt it might not be enough. There wasn’t much help in training to my Pokemon batting Caterpies, Weedles, and the occasional Metapod. It was then that I realised why Pewter City was so important to any trainer. There was a Pokemon League Gym here! In my haste to capture Charmander, I had forgotten all about it.
Immediately I went there straight away. The sun was tiring, ready to retreat beyond Mt. Moon, casting its last rays onto the city. I reached the Gym, and was immediately disappointed. It was closed. Apparently the Gym Leader was busy in the evenings and a notice on the door urged challengers to ‘be annihilated’ tomorrow morning. I retreated back to the Pokemon Centre, slightly glad that I had extra time to ready myself for my first Gym Battle. I did some research on the Gym and its Pokemon, and as I finally went to sleep late that night, I was confident.
I awoke next morning full of hope. I knew a win here would be the final preparations for my grudge match. I entered the Gym and knew immediately this Gym was meant to help its own Pokemon. The battle arena itself looks like it was hauled in one piece from a cave. The floor was rock and solid earth. The Gym Leader entered the room with an official looking referee. The clothes were different, but the face was the same. It was the same trainer who had graciously given me directions to the Pokemon Centre two days ago!
“My name is Brock, Leader of the Pewter City Gym” he said loudly, giving away no emotion or showing that he remembered me. “The rules of this battle are simple. We will have a one verses one battle” and with that he pulled out a Pokeball and threw it. The Pokeball hit the floor and opened, releasing a gigantic Onix. Onix roared, and I flinched ever so slightly. Luckily my Pokemon didn’t see that. I pulled out my own Pokeball and released Squirtle. It looked comical. The tiny blue turtle was looking up at the enormous rock snake.
The referee waved his flag and the match began. I started with a Water Pulse. Squirtle charged up and released the light blue ball of water, which rushed towards at blinding speed. Rock Pokemon are not usually known for their speed. It hit Onix, who roared out in pain. I used another Water Pulse, but this time Brock was ready. He ordered a Rock Tomb, which blocked the attack in its tracks. I tried a Bubble, hoping the same tactic I used against Charmander would help me here. It did. Onix desperately tried to use Rock Throw to get rid of them, but there were too many. He writhed as the bubbles hit, each only doing a small amount of damage, but together, they were a powerful force. I could see Onix was weakening. This badge almost seemed too easy. Almost. Onix released a Dragonbreath which eliminated the remaining bubbles.
Brock launched on the offensive. Onix started throwing rocks at Squirtle, who was doing his best to dodge the incoming boulders. He skipped backwards and forwards gracefully, as the missiles hit harmlessly to the sides of him. Until a particularly large one hit him square on, sending him tumbling as the rocks still rained down. Squirtle withdrew into his shell for protection. The rocks suddenly stopped.
“Ok now use Water Gun…” my voice trailed off as I saw that the space where Onix was hurtling rocks from was empty. In the middle was a large, distinctively Onix-sized hole. By the time my brain had put the pieces together, Onix rose out of the ground and Wrapped itself around Squirtle, who was now trapped. Squirtle was being crushed, but I knew this was something that was supposed to happen. Apparently this was to test trainers’ battling skills while under pressure. I had found out about the night before when I was researching. I smiled. No difficulty when you know what to do. Squirtle went back inside its shell to try and do a Rapid Spin. It didn’t work, and the smile vanished. Onix’s hold was tight. It was so tight Squirtle couldn’t even move. “Water Gun” I yelled, and Squirtle’s head popped out from the shell as he released a jet of water from his mouth. It had the desired effect. Onix stayed strong for about five seconds, but the pain was too much to bear. Onix roared and released its hold on Squirtle who was keeping up the barrage of water magnificently. The attack had now soaked Onix. Then the unexpected happened. Onix opened its mouth and a powerful Dragonbreath burst out. It travelled towards Squirtle, who jumped out of the way.
Squirtle was about to start Water Gun again but I stopped him. I could see that Onix had taken a lot of damage from the previous attacks, and was nearly finished. A so-called ‘good’ trainer would have finished it off gently, or even try and reason with the opponent that their Pokemon was finished. But I didn’t. Ever since my fateful battle with Charmander, I had somehow grown a sort of loathing for anything that tried to hurt my Pokemon. Now I know it was a horrible thing to do, but at that moment, I ordered a Hydro-Pump. We’d been working on it in our training sessions and we had nearly got it perfect. Squirtle jumped up into mid-air, retreated into its shell, and almighty blasts of water were coming from the holes in the shell as it span. The water hit the already weak Onix and sent it flying into the back wall, where it collided with concrete, leaving a noticeable mark. It then slid down, and landed in a heap.
Onix was recalled back into its ball. Brock turned and walked over to me. It still hadn’t sunk in that I had won my first Gym battle. Maybe it was the adrenaline that was coursing through my veins. As he approached he reached into his pocked and retrieved a small piece of metal. It had no purpose, other than to certify that the owner had beaten the Gym Leader of Pewter City in a battle. He tossed it to me, and I fumbled it as I caught it. I looked at it closely. It was grey, and was shaped like an octagon. I couldn’t believe it. I had the Boulder Badge! I was about to start jumping on the spot in joy when I looked up and saw that Brock, along with the referee, were nowhere to be seen. The confusion only lasted a few seconds, before the ecstasy returned. I considered heading off to Viridian Forest right then and there, but the battle had taken a surprisingly large chunk out of the day. The sun was getting pretty low when I got outside, and I didn’t want to create a disturbance during my battle, especially since Charmander had proven he wasn’t about shy about using his fire type moves. Besides, to give myself the best chance of catching him, I needed my Pokemon at perfect health. So I headed off to the Pokemon Centre, thinking up my battle strategies on the way.
The next morning could not have gotten off to a worse start. It was not the sound of the portable alarm clock that I had set to go off at ten o’clock. It was the sound of Chansey doing its afternoon rounds of cleaning the guests’ room. It was particularly surprised when it went to tidy the bed and saw me, dozing peacefully. But it still dutifully completed its tasks, until of course when she had to vacuum-clean the room. The din woke me from my slumber and I jumped up, baffled. Then I checked my watch and saw the time. I gasped in horror as I saw the directions the arms were pointing. I got ready in record time and dashed out of the room, leaving it in a state that was worse than that of which it was when Chansey entered. This did not please her. She chased me out of the room and, once she had caught me up, started her barrage of Double-slaps. I thought I was being mugged. Eventually it took Nurse Joy and two other Chanseys to pull her off me. I checked myself in the reflection of a mirror on the wall. It did look like I had been mugged. My nose was bleeding slightly and I had a deep purple bruise on my left cheek.
Trying to not let the fact that I had been beaten up by a Pokemon get me down, I rushed to Viridian Forest. We eventually found the spot where we had first met Charmander, but he was nowhere to be found. I then decided to send out Pidgey in the hope of luring him here.
It took a while for the flames to leap out of the forest into the sky, narrowly missing Pidgey. Pidgey returned back to me as the greenery was ripped aside as Charmander appeared. It seemed confused by my appearance, then starting mocking me, apparently for the way I looked. Apart from the facial injuries, I was wearing my shirt inside out, mismatching socks and my hair wasn’t particularly tidy. That’s what you get for getting dressed in thirty seconds. I decided to ignore his attempt to bruise my ego and sent Pidgey to do a Gust. The battle had begun.
Charmander dodged the attack. I tried a Wing Attack. Again, he dodged. This was turning out to be rather annoying. Charmander clearly had decided he liked the way the previous battle had ended and wanted the same result again. Pidgey wasn’t impressed by Charmander’s stalling techniques and went head on into a Tackle. Once more, history repeated itself. But I had an ace up my sleeve. Pidgey sent out a Sand-attack. Charmander, purely for the sake of it, sent out a Fire-Spin to counteract it. As the dust settled from the collision, Pidgey appeared out of nowhere, and landed a Wing-Attack right in the chest of Charmander, who was rammed backwards, hard. Pidgey then tried to get out of range of Charmander’s fire attacks, but failed miserably. Charmander let out an Ember straight at Pidgey, who took it straight on. Charmander had gotten stronger since last time. I wondered if he had battled any other trainers since. Pidgey flapped hopelessly as it circled down towards earth. It landed softly into some grass. It got up slowly and for a moment I thought it couldn’t fly but it flapped its wings and rose of the ground, still looking a little shaky.
“Now, circle and use Gust”, I shouted. Pidgey started climbing. Charmander tried a Fire-Spin but his accuracy was limited at such range. Then Pidgey dove. It circled around Charmander in tight circles as it rapidity fell. Then, when it was only a meter above his head, Pidgey spread its wings and flapped forcefully once. The momentum of the fall made the Gust extra powerful, and the spinning had stunned Charmander. The Gust threw Charmander to the floor for the first time. “Ok, use Wing-Attack” and Pidgey flapped some more so it was pushed backwards. It then flew straight at Charmander, head on and spread-eagled.
Charmander was suddenly aware of the situation. In an instant it pulled its claw behind it, and started charging up Metal Claw. Both attacks clashed, and almost as if life was written by a man who loves repetition, my Pokemon was worse off. Pidgey was lying on the grass, unconscious, while Charmander was knocked over, but still had plenty of fight left. He jumped up and was rearing to go. I recalled Pidgey. I decided it was time for a surprise for my little antagonist. I reached and pulled out an unfamiliar ball from my waist and threw it. The red light subsided and there stood my second Pokemon, Pikachu.
Pikachu opened with a Thunderbolt. The sheer speed of the electric attack was enough to stun Charmander into doing nothing, and the attack hit, shocking the Lizard Pokemon. He clearly wasn’t happy. He responded with an Ember, but Pikachu dodged sideways. Next, Pikachu went for a Quick Attack, moving left and right as it got closer to its opponent. Charmander countered with Smokescreen, effectively blinding Pikachu. Charmander took advantage of the situation by sending out an Ember, which hit Pikachu, sending it off to the side. The Ember continued on and hit a Butterfree, who had come to investigate the smoke. Butterfree, in self defence, released a powder all over the smoke covered area. Charmander managed to escape it, but Pikachu was still confused by the smoke, and was covered in the powder. The Butterfree escaped into the woods, and as the smoke cleared, I found out what it had done.
Right there, where there should have been a Pikachu that had a chance to win this battle lay a Pikachu which was asleep. Sleep Powder was what it was, and now Pikachu had to take the consequences for Charmander’s brash behaviour. The loathing simmered, just beneath the surface, but I kept it there. I knew if I caught Charmander, it would all go away. I just knew it. I wasn’t risking Pikachu to wake up. So I sent out my final Pokemon, Squirtle. This was it. I wasn’t expecting Pikachu to wake up and save the day should Squirtle lose, so I had to give it all I had.
I opened with a Water Gun. The jet of water shot out from Squirtle’s mouth and went straight forward, with unerring accuracy, at Charmander. Charmander blocked it with an Ember, and the water evaporated, creating a thick fog. Squirtle went straight in with a Skull Bash. The collision sounded horrible. Like a bone snapping. Charmander shot out of the fog and hit a tree. It slid down and howled out in pain as it cradled its left arm. His flame on his tail shrunk. I knew the end was near. What happened next was completely unexpected.
Charmander began glowing white. He got brighter and brighter, until he was completely white. Acting on impulse, I ordered a Water Gun to try and put Charmander off. It worked. It hit him on his injured arm and he fell backwards. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was. It had taken all three of my Pokemon to do any serious damage to Charmander, and if it were to evolve into Charmeleon, I would have had no chance of capturing him. Charmander lay on the grass, staggered, and I took my chance and threw my Pokeball. It hit Charmander and he was sucked in and the ball fell to the floor, wriggling. Eventually the ball stopped moving, but not because it had been a successful capture, but because Charmander had escaped.
Charmander released a Fire-Spin at Squirtle, who dodged backwards. He used Fire Spin again and Squirtle was bounding off trees to dodge, and eventually ended up at the other side of him. I could have used a Hydro-Pump, but I didn’t want to risk fainting Charmander, so I used another Water Gun. Charmander was weak, and tried to block with his good arm, and was forced backwards, towards me.
It was at that moment that I realised Charmander was not wild. He had a dog tag of sorts around his neck, and on it was etched one word: ‘REX’. It had been released by its trainer for some reason, and that’s why it was so mad. I pulled out my Pokeball for a second time and tapped Rex with it. He turned around, surprised, as he was transformed into energy and sucked inside. I dropped the ball and it writhed on the floor. I willed it to stay in… … …
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Stories
Feb 28, 2011 16:43:31 GMT -5
Post by mubz on Feb 28, 2011 16:43:31 GMT -5
Pokemon wanted: Abra Category: Hard Recommended length: 20k-30k Actual length: 21k
No Reason
It was raining. The boy ran through the council housing estate, his feet pounding the concrete floor. He jettisoned his load that was his school bag onto the floor, trying to boost his speed. The barking grew nearer. He turned a corner and instantly regretted it. He had unintentionally gone straight into the playing field, and the rain had made the grass and earth incredibly slippery beneath his school shoes. He considered turning around, but the barking grew even louder. He turned and he walked across at a steady pace, fearful of falling. He got halfway through when his pursuer entered the field. He looked behind and saw that the Houndoom was bounding across the field, still barking.
The boy started running again, trying to escape through a gap between two blocks of flats. Ten yards from his escape route, the inevitable happened. He slipped and fell heavily onto the floor. He got up and continued his getaway, but the fall had cost him valuable seconds, and as he started running he felt a sharp pain in his left leg. He fell once more and saw the Houndoom’s jaws sunk into his calf. He cried out in pain. The Houndoom, as taught by his master, went for the neck next. The boy saw the beast coming towards his head and protected it using his arm. Houndoom bit into his arm and the boy reflexively pulled his arms away, and let out a scream that reverberated throughout the field. With the neck exposed, the Pokemon sunk his teeth into it. Blood gushed out, and the boy was too weak to do anything about it.
The boy’s vision became blurred and he passed out for a while. He awoke into what could only be his worst nightmare. The Houndoom was over him, and behind was its master. He could barely make out the image on his killer’s shirt, but he knew exactly who his killer was. The killer drew his face towards his victim’s, and said a few words into his ear. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you make the ten o’clock news” he whispered mockingly. With that, he drew out a knife, and finished the job.
… … …
It was raining the day of the funeral. It was pouring down in such quantity that the words of the reverend were drowned out. Alex stood there, next to the coffin, motionless. The last few days had been a blur. The police coming to his home to explain what had happened to his brother, then offering their condolences and leaving. He remembered the brief visit to the funeral directors with his mother and father to pick out the coffin. It had been raining through it all. As if the rain was trying to wash away what had happened. But it couldn’t. Nothing could.
Alex didn’t hang around after. He was in the car before he knew it. He returned home and tore off his black suit, suddenly angry. Who had killed Sam? Why had they killed Sam? There was no reason that sprung to mind. No reason.
… … …
A month had passed. Life had returned to almost normal. Alex had returned to school and the original sympathy that he received from friends had all but disappeared, along with the lenience he received from his teachers when he didn’t complete the homework. He hadn’t felt happy for a while now. Not even when Kenny, his archenemy, had complained loudly about Alex not being punished over his homework and received a detention for ‘not being sensitive to others’.
Alex only found comfort in his Pokemon. His Abra never left his side during all of this, and was always ready to Teleport him to wherever he needed to be. Alex was grateful for Abra and his support through all of the emotional turmoil that he had been in, but even looking at Abra would make him sad again. He could still recall the day when he received Abra.
It was a blustery autumn afternoon, and Alex had just left his home to get to his friend’s house. He was jogging there, knowing he was late. It was then that he heard a boy crying. He stopped and listened closely. The noise was being accompanied by another sound, a muffled sound. He walked along the pavement, knowing he should be going to his friend’s house, towards the noise. The crying stopped. Even before he saw what was going on he knew what it was. Gangs had always been a problem in his area, and they often resorted to mugging and killing people in order to pay for their drug addictions’. His peek around the corner confirmed his fears. A boy, no older than twelve, lay on the floor, bleeding from his head and unconscious. Around him stood four stocky teenagers, all wearing the same clothes: jeans, trainers and green jumpers, showing which gang they belonged to by the colour of their jumpers. One was holding a few notes of money in his hand, barely enough for all of them to enjoy themselves for a few hours. Alex was shocked that people could assault someone so badly just for some loose change. He let out a little gasp which carried in the wind and they all turned around, staring at him. He turned and ran, and he heard the sound of eight feet hammering the concrete behind him.
There was no way he could outrun all of them so Alex decided to hide. He turned and went inside a block of flats and hid beneath the stairs in a small hole. His hunters ran up the stairs, completely missing him as he prayed they didn’t find him. They didn’t. He got up and completely forgot that there was a step and tripped and hit the floor hard. He yelled out in pain, and heard a gruff voice say from two floors above him say “He’s down there!” Alex got up slowly and started limping away and heard a sound he had heard before, but never so close to him. The sound of a gun going off. The bullet hit the floor well away from him, but he wasn’t taking any chances. Ignoring the pain from his leg, he ran out and started going back the way he had come, albeit at a much slower pace. He got only ten yards before the door opened behind him and a shot sounded out. He instinctively fell to the floor, and landed heavily on his injured leg. He was in too much pain to even move and turned around, waiting for the end. The person with the gun aimed with deadly precision at him, and fired.
Life seemed to slow down for a moment. He saw the bullet fly through the air, straight at him. Then he saw a pale blue light surround him like a bubble, and the bullet hit it and rebounded harmlessly. A hand grabbed him by the shoulder roughly and the world began to darken, disappearing. He thought he was dead. But as soon as he thought that the world began to reappear, although it was a different scene to what he had exited from. He had returned into a room that was exactly like his. The posters of his favourite band, the unmade bed, even his clothes on the floor. He found himself on the floor and he jumped up and turned around. He saw Sam, along with something that looked like a human, but was brown and had skinny arms and legs.
“This is Abra” Sam said, his face devoid of any emotion. “And He’s the one you should be thanking for saving your life”.
“Thank you…” He said, utterly baffled by what had gone on. Sam sighed and shook his head.
“You idiot! Why did you let yourself get chased? You nearly died!” He yelled. At the time Alex thought he was being harsh, but now he knew Sam had had every right to shout at him. “Lucky I arrived, otherwise…” he continued.
“OK you made your point!” He fired back, cutting him off.
“No we’re not OK! What if you had died, huh? Then would you be OK?” his anger had rising with every comment I made, so I decided the best thing to do was to just shut up. He sighed and looked down.
“Which is why you need this” Sam handed Alex a Pokeball. It was roughly the size of a tennis ball, but a little bit bigger. The top half of it was red and the bottom half was silver. It felt metallic. Alex had read about Pokeballs before, but he never thought he would ever own one because they were incredibly expensive. Sam had a paper round which barely paid, and Alex didn’t’ dare to think about how long Sam would have had to save up for to buy one. “You need Abra to protect you. Like today you needed him. You’ll need him again soon enough” I was barely listening through all of this, still stunned from the events of the past five minutes. Sam began walking out of his room, and Alex opened his mouth, about to say something. Through the thousands of questions, swirling, rioting, in his mind, one forced its way to his lips. “Where did you get Abra?” I asked in a weak voice.
Sam turned around and I swore I could have seen a smile on his face as he spoke. “Somewhere” he replied cryptically, and walked out.
Alex was jolted awake from his day-dream. His father was calling him for dinner. He got up and looked at himself in the mirror. His jeans were torn, the image on his green t-shirt was faded beyond recognition, and his blonde hair was a mess. He walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. His dad was plating up the food. His dad looked like he had aged twenty years in the last month. Two deaths in the family had taken its toll. First there was the death of Sam, which was followed swiftly by Alex’s mother, who had died only a week later of a heart attack. The previous death was undoubtedly the cause, and his father had taken the full brunt of the emotional torture. His hair had begun to grey recently, his face suddenly showed more wrinkles, and he had begun drinking. Alex had started doing a lot of things around the house to try and take the pressure of juggling a job and being a parent off his father, but his father insisted on doing some jobs as well.
Alex finished his dinner and went back to his room. He lay on his bed, trying to get to sleep. Instead his mind began thinking about the episode that led to Alex getting Abra, and wondering if Sam had had Abra, then maybe none of this would have happened. His mind became a swirling tempest of regrets and anger. He stayed like that until the early hours, when exhaustion took over and he slipped into a troubled sleep.
Alex needed to clear his thoughts, so he went for a walk. It was raining heavily, and no one was about. He jogged lightly, trying to keep himself warm. It didn’t work. He slipped into an alley and pulled out a Pokeball from his pocket. The top half popped open and a light filled the alley as Abra appeared. It looked like a human child, except its skin was brown; its head was out of proportion in relation to the rest of its body, and it looked like it was wearing shoulder pads. Instinctively, Abra used Barrier, and the rain stopped falling on both of them.
“Nice” said Alex, smiling, “But let’s get out of the rain properly”. Abra understood and used Teleport. Alex felt the familiar sensation of feeling weightless for a moment as the world around him was sucked away, leaving a dark abyss around him, before returning in different surroundings. He was in the alleyway behind the café to avoid anyone seeing him with Abra. “Thanks” said Alex, and returned Abra to his Pokeball. He had done this many times before, and Abra was getting to know a lot of the places where Alex liked to go. He turned to see someone at the end of the alley, staring at him and the space where Abra was, eyes wide. Alex opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. The man, well he assumed it was a man, ran. Alex followed. He knew it looked suspicious chasing a man down the street, but it was better than leaving him alone, because although owning Pokemon was not illegal, stealing them was, and Alex doubted that the police would buy his story of his brother getting it from ‘somewhere’ and giving it to him. The Pokeball made it worse, given that they were about two-hundred big ones each. The man turned sharply into another alley. Alex turned and ran straight into the metal bin the man had thrown at him. His face erupted in pain and he slipped on the wet ground. He fell back and hit his head hard on the ground. He was unconscious instantly.
… … … Alex’s head felt like it was made of lead. He was groggy, tired, and had a dull pain coming from his nose. He opened his eyes a crack, trying to get his bearings. He was in a dark room. A very dark room. The gloom made it impossible to determine the dimensions of the room. He tried to get up, but was unable to. His arms were hidden from view behind his back, and he felt the unmistakable texture of rope. Alex groaned, trying to piece together what happened. He only remembered a few things, like the chase, while the rest of the episode was a blur.
Trying to focus his mind, Alex realised he needed to get away. He wiggled in his chair, trying to loosen the rope. No luck. He twisted his arm and managed to get a finger into his pocket, where he pushed a button. Light shone out of his pocket and Abra appeared once more. “Ok Abra, now get rid of these ropes with Psywave,”
Abra put his arms out in front of him, as a ripple ran through the air towards Alex. It shredded the rope, but unfortunately for Alex, Psywave’s power varied, and it seemed considerably powerful this time. The ripple hit the chair, and it exploded, sending splinters through the air. Alex was sent flying across, and he collided with a wall. He fell to the floor and groaned in pain. That woke him up. Alex dragged himself off the floor, and began thinking about what to do. He stood up and moved along the wall blindly looking for a door, his hands moving across the bumpy concrete for a doorway. He eventually felt metal, and a latch as well. He yanked it hard, but it didn’t budge. He stood back, though it didn’t make any difference, since there was no light. He called out to Abra, trying to formulate a plan. Abra materialised by his side, startling Alex.
“OK, now use Psywave over there” Said Alex, pointing in the rough direction of where the door was. There was silence for a moment, before a loud metallic ringing reverberated throughout the small room. The door had held. “Again” he ordered, his ears still ringing. This time the sound was minute in comparison to before. Alex thought for a moment. Abra wasn’t powerful enough to take out that door, and there was no chance of him doing it either. “If only Psywave could be more powerful…..” He stopped in mid-thought. “Abra use Calm Mind” He said loudly, now disorientated as to where to look at. The silence after didn’t help. “Now try it again”
Abra focused. His mind was sharp thanks to the Calm Mind. He forced his Psychic energy at the door, and he felt the air part for the powerful wave. The wave moved quickly, and it ripped the door off its hinges as the sounds of the outside world entered. “Yes!” said Alex, punching the air with his fist. “Come on, let’s go” Alex ran outside and stopped, taking in his surroundings, baffled. He had expected he was in a cellar or room in a building, but he was walking out into a deserted piece of land, where it looked like a building once had been. “What the hell…” he said. He turned around to see his former prison. It was little more than a concrete box with a hole in it, where the door had been. It did nothing to calm him and he feared he was a long way from home. Abra tugged at his jeans, and Alex realised that Abra could easily Teleport him back home, but something didn’t feel right. He then noticed something in the distance. A warehouse that looked like it could still be in use.
With no idea as to where to go, he began walking towards a warehouse in the distance. There were wild bushes all around, but as he neared the warehouse he noticed that the path he was on was getting flatter, as if it was well used. “Hmm…” he murmured to himself as he continued. He got to the warehouse, which was surprisingly large from the outside. He walked around until he found a door and tried. He felt it click and he slowly opened it. The warehouse was definitely still in use, but the use was too shocking to comprehend.
The entire warehouse was filled with row upon row of cages. Inside each was a Pokemon, a poor creature that had been stolen from their homes, and shoved in cages, probably waiting for whatever unknown fate it was destined for. Alex went straight for a cage containing a Charmander, attempting to prise the door open. He touched the bars, and 200 Volts travelled through his body. Alex screamed and let go. He lay on the floor, panting. He tried to gather his thoughts but one thought kept coming back to him and clouded the rest of his mind. When he had gotten close to the cage it looked like it had what seemed to be an electronic lock. If he could find the power shut off switch he could free them, or at least get rid of the electrical current in the bars.
He threw caution to the wind as he raced down an aisle, desperately trying to find a power source. He completely forgot about Abra, who now teleported in front of him, with a look that told him he was making a mistake, although with Abra it was always hard to tell. Alex stopped in his tracks and the lights switched off.
“What the….” Alex said out loud, but as quickly they had turned off they switched back on, but were accompanied with something. A loud alarm sounded throughout the entire warehouse, and Alex heard boots pounding the ground from behind him. “No time. Sorry!” as he returned Abra to his Pokeball. He still had the option to Teleport home, but he couldn’t leave these Pokemon alone. He continued running until he saw another door to his left. He turned and ran towards the door. As he neared it he heard a sound that sent a shiver down his spine.
Barking
Alex got to the door and twisted the handle, but it was locked and refused to move. “Come on come on!” He mumbled to himself as he struggled to force the door open. The barking grew noticeably louder and more terrifying, but still he tried to pry open the door. After fifteen long and petrifying seconds, he decided on a different tactic and began ramming the door. Again and again, he took two steps back and then hurled himself at the door, attempting to break it off its hinges.
The barking stopped.
Alex turned around, unaware of what to expect. What he saw sent shivers down his spine. A Houndoom was there, growling softly, with his eyes full of hatred and rage. The Pokemon began bounding forward, saliva dripping from its open mouth. Alex managed to turn around and try one last time giving it his all. Fear is a powerful motivator, and instead of feeling the pain from bouncing back off the door, Alex felt weightless for a moment as he flew through the air and landed on top of the door. Alex fell hard, and was winded. He turned around as the barking began again, and the Houndoom pounced.
Time seemed to slow as everything seemed to have a brilliant clarity about it. The look in Houndoom’s eyes, the trail of saliva leaving its mouth as it travelled through the air, heading straight for Alex. As Houndoom neared, a bright light instantly flashed, blinding him. Alex cried out and rubbed his eyes once the light dissipated. He looked to see Abra, who had exited its Pokeball of his own accord, with his arms out, and a thin Barrier in front of him. In front of him was the Houndoom, who had hit the barrier head on and was now on the floor, groaning.
Alex thanked Abra and began looking around. The room wasn’t the utility room he has hoped. In fact, it was a small storage unit. There was nothing here that looked anything like a power switch. He glanced around, and saw that Houndoom was back up, and unleashed a powerful Flamethrower. The flames hit the Barrier but didn’t break through, although the screen looked pretty fragile.
An idea sprung to Alex’s mind, and he ran towards a light switch on the wall, grabbing a fire axe from its location on the wall. He got there, and swung the axe at the wire above the switch that led to the power source. He had hoped that he could short circuit the electricity, making it fuse, but he wasn’t sure it would even work, and he was risking a lot hitting a live electrical wire with a metal axe, but by the time he had realised this it was all over. He swung hard, so hard that the axe slipped from his grasp as it embedded itself in the wall, straight through the wire. Instantly there was a sharp crackle of electricity and the lights went out, which would have covered them all with darkness, but for the one source of light still alive close by. He turned to see the Flamethrower was still blazing away, and in the flickering light he could just make out Abra straining to keep the Barrier up. Before Alex had a chance to react, the Barrier shattered and the flames burst through, smothering Abra and pushing him back towards the wall.
Houndoom roared, and pounced once more, attempting to bite down on Abra, who was now defenceless. “NO!” Alex screamed, and his hand somehow found the handle of the axe and he hurled it into the darkness. The weapon span in the air, and it was the handle which hid the hound, the blunt end slamming hard into his ribs and changing its flight path into the wall. It crashed into it, leaving a dent in the wall, and whimpered as it lay on the floor, motionless.
Alex was now completely disorientated in the darkness. He stumbled across to where Abra was. “Hey buddy, you ok?” he said softly, trying to mask the fear in his voice.
“Abra….” He replied weakly.
“Let’s go home” Alex smiled and pulled out his Pokeball and recalled Abra. He turned, and heard a sudden racket. He could barely make out what was happening, but he could hear enough to take a guess. The Pokemon were breaking out of there cells, realising it was now safe. A Charmander, possibly the same one Alex had tried to help earlier, walked past, illuminated by the small flame on its tail. Alex decided to was time to go.
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