Max's Hoenn Journey

[harryheart]

I have always wanted to know what Max got up to when traveling with Pokemon so I decided to create my own story of his journey. This is all about Max's travels in the Hoenn region and his developments as a trainer. It tracks his growth from where we last see him in the animé to where I envisage him heading, both in terms of development and also travels.

Please do comment on what you think of it, the plot, characters, techniques and skills and anything else that you feel you want to comment on. It's always better to get a review than not get anything, as constructive criticism is very helpful in improving the story and future chapters, bearing in mind that my latest chapters are a product of such helpful reviews.

Thanks a lot.

Intros
Max's Hoenn Journey Intro 1 - Chapters 1 - 16
Max's Hoenn Journey Intro 2 - Chapters 17 -27
Max's Hoenn Journey Intro 3 - Chapters 28 - 36/41

Awards
- 2010 Serebii Fanfic Awards:
Third Place - Best Human Supporting Character with Roxanne
Joint Third Place - Best Character Development

- Bulbagarden Fic Of The Month - April 2012

The Index Of Chapters

Chapter 1: Decision, Decision, Demander
Chapter 2: Tough Call Charmander
Chapter 3: Oldale Towns ‘Protector’
Chapter 4: Who are they?
Chapter 5: A whole lot-a steel trouble!
Chapter 6: Zigzag through the mind!
Chapter 7: Back with a clash!
Chapter 8: A Blast From The Past
Chapter 9: Typhlosion, Typhlosion, Typhlosion! I love that Pokémon!
Chapter 10: The right way to win!
Chapter 11: More Force behind the Punch
Chapter 12: Once more Round the Bend
Chapter 13: Time to Fly!
Chapter 14: Which way? - What way?
Chapter 15: Sigh Puppet
Chapter 16: A Week In Charge
Chapter 17: Rise and Shine
Chapter 18: A First Time for Everything (Part 1)
Chapter 19: A First Time for Everything (Part 2)
Chapter 20: An Iron Skill
Chapter 21: Rock, Paper, Scissors!
Chapter 22: Like a Burmy to a flame
Chapter 23: A Devious Agenda of Sides
Chapter 24: A Rampaging Solitude of Rock
Chapter 25: The Plane Game
Chapter 26: Conclusion in a Solution
Chapter 27: A Silhouette Backtrack (Part 1)
Chapter 28: A Silhouette Backtrack (Part 2)
Chapter 29: A Silhouette Backtrack (Part 3)
Chapter 30: The Music Style
Chapter 31: Don't Forget Me
Chapter 32: A Chance Brawl
Chapter 33: Hit 'em Hard
Chapter 34: Hey it's Mine!
Chapter 35: Stones Galore
​

Chapter 1: Decision, Decision, Demander

It was a warm and sunny morning in the heart of Petalburg City, as Max awoke to the calls of his neighbour’s Chatot repeating the news of the latest results from the Sinnoh Grand Festival.

“We have now finished the preliminary stages of this year’s Sinnoh Grand Festival. All contestants performed unique and inspiring acts, but the judges had to choose 60 finalists out of the 248 that entered this year. Who will come out on top and be crowned a Top Co-ordinator? I am honoured to announce these lucky finalists, they are as follows…”

‘Hnnn’, Max sighed sitting up and staring out the window into the forest of buildings known as Petalburg City while swinging his legs over the rim of the bed. His room seemed brighter this morning, today of all days. What a great day to get in touch with nature and Pokémon, a day to start his travels. He wandered over to the white coloured window, leaning against the wooden ledge that was a recurring theme in the house, something his Great Grandfather had thought of a century ago while he was Gym Leader in Petalburg. The hoard of Taillow were flying backwards and forwards, soaring through the wind with no difficulty and no need to flap their wings, only having to glide gracefully down the streets to reach their destinations.

“Honey, are you ready yet? You're going to miss Professor Birch,” called his Mum from the living room, where she was stocking Max's bag with enough PokeBalls to make his fist few captures and checking he had all the suitable items. “Max dear, you don’t seem to have packed an extra pair of clothes?” She called up to her child, zipping the bag closed and walking back into the kitchen to prepare a special breakfast for her little man, a nice send off before he came back ready for his first Gym Battle.

Just then back upstairs where Max was still intrigued with watching Pokémon in their habitat, the door burst open and Delcatty ran over to Max, jumping onto the ledge where she took full attention towards him. He hadn’t seemed to acknowledge her presence yet so she hit him with a Double-Slap directly in the face to break him from his trance.

“Delcatty! That really hurt,” Max growled, wincing at the pain streaking across his frowned face and turning his back to the beige coloured cat. “I’m in a real hurry so not now Delcatty. I need to get ready and sort out my clothes, but thanks for the wakeup call! We might have time for a game later.” With that remark Delcatty’s purple ears pricked on end; its bushy tail glowed brightly causing a blinding light, a blue beam formed in her mouth with a little charged energy. Max was hit with a full-blown ice-cold beam, a chill swept through the room even though the windows were shut. The cat Pokémon had used a move known as Assist, picking a particular attack from one of the Pokemon’s team mates. No one ever knew what move would be produced, but this time it was Glaceon’s Ice Beam and really caused Max to become angry, boiling over with rage.

“Nagh,” Delcatty sighed. May, Max’s sister, was a Pokémon Coordinator who was on her journeys in Johto. However she had decided to leave her Delcatty, and newly evolved Snorlax at home for training purposes with her Dad Norman, who ran the Petalburg Gym. Delcatty and Snorlax were both used in a few Gym battles from time to time under May's request, but mostly Delcatty had become the family Pokémon.

“Delcatty, you never know when to quit!” Max mumbled, attempting not to upset Delcatty again with any of his comments and causing more pain for himself, although at this point it wouldn’t have mattered, nothing was going to stop him from starting his journey; pain was just a slight hiccup.

Max took one last glance at the Taillow, stretching all of his limbs before slowly heading over to his wardrobe to begin to pick two outfits for his journey. Anything he forgot he could pick up in two weeks when he returned. The first was just an ordinary blue shirt with black trousers and a fluffy woollen jumper; his second choice was a green t-shirt with a Pokémon fleece and plain red shorts. The last t-shirt was the same as when he travelled with his sister, Ash and Brock. Since he had mostly been prepared, he had already packed the essentials in his bag the night before, so he wouldn’t be in a rush this morning. He rapidly pulled the last set of clothes on, grabbing the other items of clothing and racing downstairs, narrowly avoiding his Dad’s Slakoth that was lying on the landing, snoring his way closer to the edge like his nature predicted.

Max ventured toward the smell of sweet pancakes emanating from the marble kitchen, grabbing his bag on the way. At the same time his Dad opened the back door leading into the kitchen from the greenhouse where his Sloth like Pokémon loved to hang out.

“Morning Dad!” Max glanced at his neatly dressed Father walking inside, placing the metal food bowls onto the smooth side and reaching for the specialised Pokémon food.

“Good to see you with a beaming smile. That doesn’t come often!” his Dad teased, causing Max to become slightly embarrassed which was normally the case whenever he spoke to his Father.

“How’s Snorlax Dad? Doing well I hope.” Snorlax and Max were old friends, knowing each other from a few years back when May caught it as a Munchlax.

“He’s fine, and is getting the hang of using Hyper Beam. He’ll be a tough Pokémon to beat now!”

“That’s good, but I can tell you me and my Pokémon will succeed in beating you and earning a badge!” Max couldn't stop smiling from excitement, he was so eager to receive his future partner.

“Max honey, have you decided what you’re going to pick? That is a tough choice so I would start to think about it!” Carolyn tossed the pancakes into the air elegantly, as if she was in her childhood again, competing in contests.

“Mum, its obvious: it’s going to be Mudkip, it has so much potential that I want to help unlock."

“You’ve already decided?” His Mum was amazed; it had taken her a whole three hours to decide that she wanted a Treecko while waiting around her local Pokémon centre with her Mother coaching her into a decision. “Well good luck dear, I know you’ll make a great trainer.”

Max grabbed his pancake from the plate, stuffing it straight into his mouth and swallowing instantly without chewing. The car was waiting for him; ready to see him off into the wide world where many adventures lay in wait to catch Max off guard, some with life changing experiences. He slumped into the front seat of the car and quickly opened his yellow bag to check that everything he needed was in there, finally the moment was approaching. Norman slid in to driver’s seat, starting the car and revving the engine, kicking a dust cloud behind him.

“Good luck, Max. Remember I always love you.” Carolyn waved from the porch, wiping away a few spots of tears as Delcatty and Snorlax also made their way to the front lawn to wave off a dear friend.

Max sat in the car. He stared out the window at the flock of Murkrow flying over the Gym, eyeing all the possible food, one day one of them could be part of his team, battling for him. How great could that be, owning different species of Pokémon. The car began to kick up dirt...and they were away, on the path to gaining a Pokémon. Max wearily lay back against the seat and wondered about the journey he and his Pokémon would face, who they would meet and what obstacles would befall them. If only he knew what was there to trip him up. The moments were getting tenser and tenser as they approached the exit of the City, leaving the hum ad buzz that came with it. Max was becoming closer to the start of his travels. Thoughts began to roll across his mind. Will Mudkip like me? Will he obey me? Will it even be a he?

“Max, you're just worrying, Son,” Norman calmly said, in hopes of soothing his agitated boy while zooming along the road past rustling bushes.

“Huh? What do you mean Dad?" His blank face starring into the eyes of his loving father, pleading for help without intentionally asking, only needing to show his emotions.

“I can tell by the look on your face that you’re worried, and you're wondering whether the Pokémon will like you. I thought about the exact same thing when I was your age and went to receive my first Pokémon, although I hadn’t decided what I would have. I worried about the same thing. In the end I got there to find the Pokémon had escaped and Professor Birch’s father gave me a Slakoth to go and retrieve the starters. It ended up with me bonding with Slakoth and claiming that as my starter, but you already know that story.” The lab became visible through the thick forest of trees; Max was inches away from the start of his new life. “Looks like we’re here Son, you ready?”

Max nodded and swung the car door open climbing out into the blinding light that unveiled him to Professor Birch and Professor Oak who stood in front of him.

“Huh? Professor Oak?” Max was astounded to see Professor Oak here, at Birch’s lab. “What are you doing here? I heard you were at a Professor conference meeting up with Gary in Sinnoh!"

“Well, the conference isn’t happening right this instance. So I wanted to come and visit an upcoming Trainer. Conferences can always wait, but visiting you can't, as I presume I will find it difficult to visit you again in the future.”

“Well Max, let’s show you to the Pokémon, come inside so you can choose your starter,” stated Professor Birch.

Max nodded, and everyone followed Professor Birch inside the laboratory to where six PokeBalls sat on the table with their outsides shining with a pristine sparkle. Max looked at them with beady eyes, wondering with deep thought which one contained Mudkip and his future partner, someone he could be proud of! The excitement suddenly phased over him, as he realised that instead of the normal three starter balls that lay there, there were instead six with three mysterious Pokémon awaiting his presence.

“Why are there six PokeBalls Professor?”

“Ah, a simple reason really. As well as the Hoenn Pokémon you also have the choice of three special Pokémon that I brought along with me from Kanto who have been excited to meet you all day long. I decided to do this because you gave me help when you were visiting my lab in Kanto, looking after the new starters for another Trainer. So I thought I owed it to you.” Professor Oak said while walking over to the PokeBalls and opening them up one by one with the Pokémon appearing in the most majestic sparkling light that was rarely seen.

First appeared the quiet and shy orange bird Pokémon Torchic that was ruffling its small feathers to give it a more natural look, 'Torr' it cried, becoming excited and charging around the room knocking into Max’s legs before waddling round the room trying to hold back tears of pain. Secondly the elegant grass Pokémon Treeko was sent out, perching up on its wonderful spotless tail and giving Max a very childish wink, acting rather cheeky for its own good. Next appeared the sweet water-Pokémon Mudkip, who seemed more perfect than first conceived by Max. It sprayed him with a weak jet of water and Max gave a little chuckle before wiping his face dry.

“Wow Professor!” Max couldn’t believe it, in a few more minutes he’d be walking out of the lab with his brand new friend Mudkip, only after viewing the mysterious Pokémon that were rare to this region.

“Now Max, here come the Kanto Pokémon, a commodity to have in a region such as Hoenn,” Professor Oak stated as he opened three more PokeBalls. Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander appeared at once, as if they were a synchronized team performing in a Pokémon Contest, each having been pruned and cleaned showing of their most glorious attributes.

“They’re all so cute... but I’ve already decided what Pokémon it will be, I choose you…” He concentrated his attention solely on Mudkip who was paying the upmost care toward him, already showing a high bond between the two. Max was about to continue with his sentence when a little knock originated from the windowsill in the far corner of the laboratory which only Mudkip could hear. All his attention was lost and had now wandered over there to investigate leaving Max slightly hurt.

“Mudkip, wait,” the young trainer cried, waltzing after the little water type who had managed to securely leap onto the white coated wood. He was so caught up in this moment that he completely missed noticing the small Charmander who had playfully chased after him. Not seeing the fire type, Max unknowingly trod upon the fiery tail causing a hot yelp to spur out of the orange lizard’s mouth. Max took the full brutal force…

“Ah, that’s really hot,” he shouted reeling back over to the table, “Sorry about that little buddy, are you okay,” the little voice of Charmander squealed an excited response at the prospect of being noticed. There was a silence, Max stared into the eyes of the little Charmander understanding that this Pokémon seemed eager and raring to travel with someone just like Max, and would probably prove to be a great Pokémon addition to his team.

“Max, looks like fate has collided with you,” Professor Birch noted, bending down to pick up the little dancing ball of fire that seemed completely unmoved by the slight pain sent coursing through its body.

“Do you want to travel with me?” Max softly inquired, giving a little stroke of the burning red tail. Charmander nodded in excitement and utter glee from the realisation of gaining this success, “Okay, then. Looks like Charmander has chosen me. My starter Pokémon shall be Charmander then!”

The two of them looked at one another, gazing into each other’s eyes. A solemn look broke the moment by papering itself across Max’s face, before he turned to look at Mudkip who had returned from its little excavation and was happily enjoying playing with the other Pokémon after wandering back into the centre. Charmander, however, had taken full interest in him, so maybe it was meant to be... A small chuckle began to break the barrier of his lips; Max knew that this would be the start of a great friendship and that Charmander would be his loyal friend, even if that hadn’t been his original plan.

This is the start of Max's Hoenn Journey!​

 

[Lyvee]

Hey Harry, this is a great story!

I just noticed a few spelling mistakes, that is all. other than that, it was superb

 

[harryheart]

Hey Harry, this is a great story!

I just noticed a few spelling mistakes, that is all. other than that, it was superb

Well thank you for reviewing already. I have writen the first 13 Chapters so that I can stay ahead of myself and no that to begin with there will always be a chapter ready on time for the correct release date.

The spelling mistakes must have slipt me and I looked over the Chapter again for mistakes and to no avail. If possible could someone point them out?​

 

[Lyvee]

I'm probably coming across as a picky person, but 'touff'(Tough?) and 'Jhoto'....But they're only little things. Like I said, its just me being picky >_<

 

[Flaze]

Hey harry nice to see you here and nice to see your fic here too

 

[harryheart]

I'm probably coming across as a picky person, but 'touff'(Tough?) and 'Jhoto'....But they're only little things. Like I said, its just me being picky >_<

I've changed touff to TOUGH thank you for pointing that out. And Jhoto can be spelt either way I found out so I stick to this one - sorry if that bugs you​

Hey harry nice to see you here and nice to see your fic here too

Thank you for commenting - Thanks for the introduction to the forums hoping that this becomes popular here to​

 

[harryheart]

Here is Chapter 2 a day early so all enjoy and please rate and review!​

Chapter 2: Tough Call Charmander

The path seemed endless as its trail drifted off onto the horizon, an unseen end to a tiresome road. By now Max had started to stoop lower and lower from the exhausting strain of walking for hours on end. His body had become more accustomed to the sofa in recent years since the end of his travelling days with his sister. He thought back to those days with Ash, May and Brock, the great journey’s they experienced meeting Jirachi, Kyogre and Groudon. Oh how he longed to be travelling with them again, some companions through Hoenn, but no; Ash was now off with Brock finishing his Gym ballets in Sinnoh and May was still in Jhoto tying up a few loose ends. He had to do this on his own! He had to prevail, to become the world’s greatest trainer, on his own.

Max reached down to his black belt that kept his flashy red shorts around his waist. His friends PokeBall dangles from it, alone as of the moment. He unclipped it and pressed the white button in the centre, making the entire red and white ball bigger in his palm, an astonishing experience still after all these years. Max halted and threw it in front of him, calling upon his new partner, “Charmander, come on out!” A white flash of light appeared from within the ball fading to reveal an orangey-red lizard that had a fire burning brightly at the end of its tail. ‘Char,’ it called before jumping nimbly onto Max’s shoulder, nuzzling into his neck. Max gave a light laugh, acknowledging their friendship; he could feel they were going to grow close. He reached into his Shorts pocket and brought out his Pokédex, the red small computer device clicked on and began to give a description of Charmander.

“This Pokémon is the pre-evolution of the Fire Dragon Pokémon, Charizard. This is a starter Pokémon for all beginning trainers from Kanto. One major point of interest, if the fire on Charmander’s tail should happen to diminish then the Pokémon will fall very ill and need to have medical treatment right away,” the young trainer listened intensively to what the mechanic device had to offer, intrigued by its last comment. Although he was a wiz on Pokémon compared to many people he knew, that piece of information had managed to elude him for so long. He returned his focus upon the gravely path, noticing the equivalent of a lay-by flourishing with a lush coloured grass, just right to make up their first camp. Max felt a last stretch of life reverberate his legs, giving them enough energy to reach the site up ahead.

Max placed his belongings on the ground, feeling the damp moisture against the back of his hand. The sensation tickled his nostalgic thoughts, as a child he had always loved camping, not only to get close to Pokémon but because of the fresh smell you woke up to, every morning. He snapped back into reality, unclipping the blue sleeping bag from the compartment at the top and setting it out ready for the night. His attention flickered over to his Pokémon who was gazing into tree where a few Bug type Pokémon were making habitats for themselves.

“Charmander, get over here buddy, let’s take a quick break, then you can go and play again,” Max kindly said slumping against a fallen log that just happened to be right where they were. He gazed into the affectionate evening sky, noticing the faint stars winking one by one down on the still Earth, now was the perfect time to help themselves to supper. Inside his bag contained the dinner that Max had prepared for himself the night before, while still awaiting the arrival of his 10th birthday, a feat for any budding Pokémon trainer, or Co-ordinator.

Max took a small bite out of the cheese sandwich, wary of its taste, and he was right to do so, it didn’t quite compare to Brock’s stews and soups while Charmander dug into a little bit of his meal given to them by Birch. It seemed like the perfect picture, two friends eating side by side, there was nothing that could ruin it. The bowl full of Charmander’s food was rapidly left clean, Charmander was eager to get off and play, Charmander was eager to get off and play, amongst the marshy patch by the river.

“Be careful little buddy! Don’t get your tail wet; you heard what the Pokédex said!” Max mentioned, with a subtle tone of concern in his young voice, not wanting to rush Charmander off to a Pokémon centre after a few hours. He finished off his cheese sandwich, placing the box back in his bag and turning around to where Charmander had been heading. He had disappeared from view.

“Charmander, stay where I can see you please,” Max called, hoping his little friend would appear in a matter of seconds, but he didn’t there was just silence, with only the faint wind whistling through the forest. “Charmander, where are you?” Max called again, jumping onto his feet, feeling a little cautious about the situation. He ran over to the riverbank only to find there was no sign of Charmander. Where had the little Pokémon gone?

Max heard a rustle coming from the bushes behind the resting point, immediately heading back.

“Charmander, is that you? If this is a game it’s not that funny.”

Once more there was no reply, sparking a rapid fear to spread, and with the recent description he had heard from his Pokédex he began to justify all sorts of crazy ideas that were springing into his young mind. Had Charmander become badly injured that it couldn’t respond?

Suddenly, a ferocious roar echoed throughout the woods with a piercing sound that began to provoke a real sense of panic inside of Max. Where was his little friend? The sky was slowly shifting its colour into a dark grey as the clouds rolled into the setting. His nerves were getting to him, the growl had worries him more than he first realised, and with his new friend disappearing his cause for concern was placed correctly. He scanned the area of the bushes; however there was no glimpse of Charmander. What if this creature had him? What would he do? The roar sounded again, this time seeming closer than the first. Max had no clue what to do, May would, Ash would, but he wasn’t anything like them. It seemed hopeless.

‘GRRRR,’ the noise was unbearable, and Max could see why. A gigantic Pokémon loomed over him, with his shadow penetrating everything surrounding it, thrusting them into deep darkness. His legs were shaking; he had never encountered this Pokémon before and knew nothing of it, it wasn’t the time but he had to find out what it did. The new trainer reached for his Pokédex; it clicked on when he flipped open the lid with the blue screen flashing a scaled down image of the Rock Pokémon before delving into its detailed description.

“Ryperior, the final evolution of Rhyhorn, this Pokémon is one of the strongest Rock Pokémon capable of being encountered and should be viewed cautiously and at safe distances if in the wild. Be careful of its Megahorn and Rock Wrecker attacks as they can dish out immense damage.” Max stood there, staring at the colossal sized Ryperior who seemed to take no care of him. His legs started to shake more vigorously, enough so that he could move. With each step he gained his speed; soon enough he was running, running as fast as his legs could go, but was it quick enough to escape? A white gleaming beam began to form in Ryperior’s mouth being formed into a Hidden Power. There was no chance for Max to flee! With the beam unleashed, Max was sent flying into the water. He sunk towards the bottom, kicking about as he fell to try and resist the weight upon him. The light began to fade; his eyelids became heavy. Max hit the bottom with a soft thud.

*****​

Further along the road which Max and Charmander had stopped off on, the petite fire type was scrounging through the bushes, looking for other friends to play with after he had caught a glimpse of a smallish green blob sliding into the thick foliage, leaving a green slime residue behind it. His intriguing knowledge had overcome him, and now he just had to continue searching for new friends, but the roar that caught him off guard changed his priorities. His emotions were rapidly changing, making him evermore scared; he had to find his trainer and get to safety. His little legs moved as fast as they would go as he charged back along his tracks, worried about the situation. He came to an abrupt holt, as he crashed into a tense rock leg blocking his path. Casting his eye upwards, he saw an angry, distraught Pokémon firing white beams into what seemed like nowhere.

‘Charrrrrrrrrr!’ the voice of the little Pokémon rang out like a distraught bell, altering all it could to danger, the Pokémon didn’t want to hesitate and quickly dived into the surrounding bushes where he could stay safe yet see everything that occurred.

A young female came running around the corner, noticing the intimidating Pokémon engaging in a battle with an unknown opponent. She stood there, watching as Ryperior was hit with two more attacks, but she wasn’t able to get close enough to see where they were coming from without endangering herself. Suddenly an eerie spiral of light encased the bushes and three silhouettes were tugged into its vast pit, before disappearing from sight, the rock Pokémon stumbled backwards caught off guard but was relieved the attacks had suddenly died down, but his anger was overflowing. This person knew she had no time to worry and had to sort out the Pokémon standing in front of her.

Ryperior, stop this at once,” she called, attracting Charmander’s attention. The voice had originated from a female blocking Ryperior’s path, outstretching her arms to indicate to the Pokémon that it had to stop. Her physique was comprised of long dark brown hair with a darker shade of colouring in her skin tone. The hair was tied up in a few pink hair bands, and followed by a blue blouse and pink tights that was noticeable from the colour of her body. Charmander didn’t recognize this woman, but was pleased she had come to the rescue.

“I can’t let you go on a rampage like this; I challenge you to a battle.” She cried as Ryperior eagerly reacted with a smile creping, his strong rock face that seemed to crinkle in disgust. It clasped its huge outstretched fists together which seemed to be disfigured at the joint on which it attached to its colossus chest. The fins just seemed to add an extra sense of power, another implement that could unleash damage.

“Well, let’s go Nosepass.”

A tall orange beaked rock Pokémon came soaring out into the night air with another white light encasing it before evaporating into the atmosphere. Its body was coloured blue apart from its orange nose. It also seemed to be hard as a rock, although its colourings suggested otherwise, the battle was going to be tough.

“You ready to fight?”

Nosepass gave a grunted approval, unlike how Charmander communicated.
“Well then use Rock Tomb to start off with and we’ll see where that gets us,” she called while her Pokémon immediately reacted to what she was asking. Its beak started to flash from orange to russet as its concentration built up inside. Then shards of rock flew out of the ground straight for Ryperior, enclosing it in a pile of soaking earth. Ryperior gave a roar and the rocks started to rumble before exploding and sending shards of rocks raining down like a meteor shower.

“Nosepass dodge the oncoming rocks, and then use Earth Power,” the woman cried yet again, herself eager in the battle. The Earth began to shake; small explosions from within the ground began to unnerve the restless Ryperior with shoots of liquid mantle rock shooting into the air slightly. Ryperior wasn’t going to take it, and responded by stomping his feet, creating small earthquakes. The lady was now worried, her Pokémon needed more encouragement.

“Nosepass quickly put more power in it, I believe in you.”
The nearby trees started to shake and collapse. Ryperior was knocked to the ground, weakened by the force of Earth Power. The woman unclipped a PokeBall from her belt.

“Well I’d better capture this one Nosepass; it’s too dangerous on its own. PokeBall go!” The red and white ball raced towards the wounded Ryperior, missing bits of debris on its way. Finally it hit Ryperior; a red light enveloped itself around the hard rock Pokémon. In a flash it was inside the ball. The white circle at the seal flashed red, the ball shock, after a few seconds it stopped. Ryperior was caught.

“Well, Nosepass, we better get back on the road and do what Norman and Birch asked us to do. We have everything we need and there’s nothing else out here for us.”

Now Charmander saw its opportunity to ask for help, Max had vanished and had no idea what to do. ‘Chaaarrrrrrrr,’ cried Charmander leaping out of the shelter of the bushes and into the path of the Nosepass and her trainer. They were taken aback, bewildered by the surprise, and Nosepass didn’t hesitate to protect themselves and began to create a yellowy blue ball at the tip of its nose.

“No Nosepass! I don’t think it wants to hurt us. Who are you little guy? Are you lost?”

‘Chaaar, Charmander Char.’ Charmander was trying the best it could to try and make her understand that his trainer had gone, the last he saw of him was a hand slipping into the depths of the river. He pointed at the shoreline, trying to indicate his feelings.

“What are you trying to tell me? Someone fell in?” Charmander nodded in agreement. He turned towards the river and ran over to the bank, watching for any sign of movement.

“Looks like I’m going to have to go in.” She dived into the cold blue water, a chill passed through her body. I have to keep going, I need to get further. She mustered up all the courage in her soaked body and began to push her way towards the riverbed. There was a faint light, gradually getting brighter and brighter which she swam towards, a few Lanturn had gathered round a young boy flaccid as he lay upside-down against the bottom. They were tugging at him, trying so hard to move him, but they couldn’t. The woman reached out and grabbed a hold of a piece of clothing with the Lanturn following suite, they had to give it all they could and save Max.

Only moment later he was lying on the sand, as the woman lent over him immediately recognising him, “Oh no! It can’t be, Max, Max.” There was no time to waste, she had to bring life back into him the best she could, before something like pneumonia began to home in. “Come on Max, wake up come on!”

Max gasped, sitting up and spiting water everywhere, like a machine gone wrong. “What …… happened?” Max said panting and gasping for air at every opportunity. He looked around him and noticed Nosepass and a woman sitting next to him. “Roxanne! What … are you doing … here?”

“It’s a long story, and there’s no need to waste your time right now Max while you should be resting.”

“I’ll be fine, trust me,” Max spluttered attempting to stand up but falling to his knees. His eyes strolled to where Charmander stood, blinking so innocently at him.

“Thanks buddy. You helped save me.” There was a silent moment; Charmander looked up towards his new trainer. He sprang into his arms and gave Max the warmest hug he had ever felt, “And Roxanne, I owe you my gratitude as well, without your help I could easily be dead right now, so as my gift would you like to camp out with us tonight? You can tell me everything that happened then, that way you won’t be wasting my time.”

“Thanks, and seeing as we’re both heading in the same direction I presume, I would love to stay with you, and I’m sure the story would intrigue you.”

*****​

A few hours had passed, and now Max was unbearably tired, supper had been consumed and there was no real reason to stay up, all he wanted was a cosy fire he could fall asleep next to.

“Roxanne, do you have a match?” Max asked.

“A match, honestly sonny boy, you have a fire Pokémon, ask it to perform a fire move.” Roxanne shook her head in amusement.

“Okay. Charmander use a weak ember,” Max calmly said, watching his little friend eagerly chipper at the thought of benefiting the two. ‘ Char,’ a shot of fire burst out of Charmander’s mouth and hit the pile of twigs. The cold night air began a transformation into a warm sanctuary. “Thank you Charmander, you’re a great help, and Roxanne going back to your story, one thing I don’t understand is what you were doing in these woods. Rustboro is a few days away.”

“Good question. It was all to do with Professor Birch. He asked me to come and collect something known as the ‘Protector.’ Supposedly it helps a Pokémon known as Rhydon to evolve. This was what I collected. Here, have a look.” Max took a hold of the object and examined it carefully. He noticed the arch and the rusty redness of the colour.

“Wow! It’s…magnificent.” He proclaimed sounding very stunned.

“It is, definitely. But I have to make sure it reaches its destination, Oldale Town.”

“Why Roxanne, the only reasons someone would want it is if they had a Rhydon or wanted to evolve one?” Max seemed puzzled; why couldn’t someone just go out and buy their own one, but it was to presumptuous to think anything sinister was undergoing.

“Max if I had the answers, I would tell you,” Roxanne's face started to show worry and concern, what was she hiding?

The discussion continued for a long period of time, even though both parties just wanted to rest their heads and nap off, however it didn’t seem like the sand man would make a stop tonight!

 

[LightningKimba]

Hahah... I did notice this fic popping up with a flair on SPPf, but never really had time to review or anything. ;P

Mm... Though there's a few typos here and there (You spelled Rhyperior correctly the first time in the second chapter, then you proceeded to forget an h for some odd reason or another), but it's shaping up to be a good fic indeed. Max is still rather nerdy in terms of being a trainer, I see.

 

[harryheart]

Hahah... I did notice this fic popping up with a flair on SPPf, but never really had time to review or anything. ;P

Mm... Though there's a few typos here and there (You spelled Rhyperior correctly the first time in the second chapter, then you proceeded to forget an h for some odd reason or another), but it's shaping up to be a good fic indeed. Max is still rather nerdy in terms of being a trainer, I see.

Thank you very much for reviewing and I'm glad you finally did review as all are helpful. Yes it seems that I've been spelling Rhyperiror wrong which is realy annoying so I'll try and change all of them! But again thank you for reviewing Chapter 2 has had a rehaul from the original one​

 

[harryheart]

Well this is late but I was frantically tying to make edits to it so that it would be a better read however I only got up to the ***** which isn't terribly great. I should completely finish the edits by the end of Summer along with Chapters 4,5 and 6!

Chapter 3: Oldale Towns ‘Protector’

The morning damp breeze whistled through the forest treetops awakening sleeping Pokémon from their blissful sleep whether big or small, young or old. It was a natural daily routine. Somewhere amongst the forestry of tress, a young and chirpy Charmander began to open its turquoise eyes beginning to arouse to the calls of Dodrio and Doduo which to the small fire type seemed like calm and beautiful voices. These two Pokémon were like the forests bell doing a number of jobs for all the Pokémon of the woods, alerting them to danger such as the night before when a Rhyperior rampaged along by the lake before being subdued by Roxanne. However in this case they were just an alarm clock for the young Pokémon as it stretched its limbs and clambered out onto the dew soaked grass.

‘Char,’ the newly awoken Pokémon yawned as it began to inhale all the forestry smells and the morning fresh air. Its legs seemed weary and weak but that wasn’t going to hold it back at all. Instead Charmander decided the best way to stay awake was to practice a few of its moves thus helping it improve in its power and strength as well.

In the corner of its eye it noticed the crisp burnt out embers from the fire that he had created the night before trying to control its flame, now was another chance to try and control it by sparking the fire once more ready for breakfast to be fried over the flaunting flames. Within a few seconds the remaining logs of wood and kindle were spread over the area just ready for a little match to allow it to fume again, and that’s exactly what Charmander intended. He jumped high into the morning sunlight having his shadow cast across the sleeping human members of his group. It seemed menacing and creepy and although the small Pokémon knew where it came from he couldn’t help but worry. Charmander turned his attention away from the shadow and inhaled a vast amount of air to give the embers a bit of a punch behind them to help them gracefully reach their target.

The few shots of fire flew out of the orange Pokémon’s mouth creating a cackling noise as they gained upon the logs. Unfortunately though Charmander had released a larger quantity of embers being pushed by an extreme amount of power, trouble was brewing. The impact seemed okay momentarily until the flames leapt onto the grass sizzling from the damn texture it contained until they were left sore and dry easily ignitable by the rest of the fire. Charmander’s panic was placed rightly so as the fire spread like a rabid Rattata hungry for a few berries. Smoke began to cover the vicinity where Max and Roxanne where still sleeping, not yet aware of the danger beginning to coat them. Charmander was scared for its life and that of his fellow friends, suddenly realising how hazardous his moves could be if untamed and not properly instructed. It knew that in order for everyone to be safe he had to wake them up somehow and a Screech was going to work. The piercing sound could not only be heard by the three next to Charmander, but by a few Pokémon further away that had hightailed it the minute the noise sounded. They weren’t going to wait around to find out what on earth was releasing the noise or causing it!

“Argh,” Max and Roxanne cried as they leapt out of their sleeping bags, clutching onto their ears as if they might suddenly drop off. The noise was unbearable and really took their first initial reactions before their bodies began coughing as the fumes were inhaled inside their organisms causing a sensation of drowning which terrified Max. Yesterday’s experiences still hadn’t passed him and the sensation he had experienced was extremely frightening and wouldn’t easily be ridden from his conscience; and the fumes wafting about his system were just building upon the terror.

“What the hell is happening,” Max called trying to be heard over the dreadful noise.

“I believe its Charmander’s Screech attack commonly used when a Pokémon experiences fear,” cried Roxanne, “And it seems this smoke is what’s causing it, now we’d better try and clear it away. Nosepass use your Rock Tomb to put out the fire and Max command Charmander to use another Screech to blow the Smoke away but concentrate the vibrations so they hit one centre point with a pushing force.”

“Right, okay Charmander, you heard Roxanne let’s get to work. Screech attack.”

Both Pokémon immediately did as commanded attempting to stop the fire spreading and getting the smoke cleared. Rocks came crashing from the heart of the ground breaking up the earth and then landing down upon the crisps ground in order to restrain the fire, while the fast vibrating airwaves began to clear the area of any hazy smoke making the air cleaner, a fresh breath to Max.

It didn’t take long until the area was completely void of fire where only small cinders were fuming smoke. Everyone stood relaxed feeling a gentle relief as they managed to thwart another ordeal within two days; Max didn’t remember journeys with Ash compiling of such things.

“Charmander are you okay?” Max asked in a gentle fashion so as not to hurt his Pokémon’s feelings, noticing a great relief from its eyes as it snuggled up in his warm moisture arms.

‘Char, Charmander, Charmander.’ The orange lizard squawked trying to explain his story as best he could, almost beginning to cry from the sheer worry encountered with the experience, but Max couldn’t understand. He felt solemn and withered knowing that his Pokémon was scared yet he had no clue what to do and what he was saying. If only there was some way to understand.

“Roxanne, do you know what Charmander is talking about?” Max’s face seemed glum, his Pokémon needed him yet he couldn’t help, he didn’t even sense his partner was in danger. If something more drastic had occurred it could have been a hazard to all of them and ended up putting them all at great risk and could have ended the new journey already.

“I’m afraid if I answered that then I wouldn’t be teaching you a very good lesson, try to listen to Charmander. Open up your heart to your partner, then you may begin to understand.” Max took a hold of Charmander, gently lifting him off his shoulder and placing him firmly on his lab, brushing the dangling salty tears away from the corners of his eyes which felt cold and slimy against his skin, different to human tears.

“Now Charmander, repeat everything you said as I want to understand and be here for you.” Max shut his eyes and tried to imagine Charmander speaking in his head. He listened intensively, but nothing, “Just a little more,” The Pokémon language was slowly transforming into a rough language he understood, not by words but by the sounds of the voice such as a quivering tone and nature that helped define his emotions and roughly what he was trying to communicate. That was the key. With just a little concentration he understood his Charmander through the tones and textures of the sounds made, it seemed quite a complex idea yet he accomplished the understanding and could finally communicate with a better manner. The little Pokémon finished what he had to say and gazed lovingly into the down heartened hazel eyes of his trainer who was awe struck by amazement an sorrow. The Pokémon didn’t quite understand the mix up of feeling and stood up, noticing Nosepass in the corner of his eye. ‘Char,’ the small rascal called before running over to Nosepass and beginning to play a game of tag whilst glancing over in Max’s direction.

“Looks like they’re having fun, Max!” stated Roxanne, “Now onto more pressing matters, what was it that Charmander attempted to tell you?”

Max climbed up onto his feet and looked at Charmander, who seemed very reluctant in his game, with his movements looking rather slow and tired, “He tried to start another fire, but things went way over the top and he caused a small fire which escalated into what we saw. He then screeched to wake us up and keep us from danger.”

Max looked around the forest glimpsing at the sparkling bushes radiating in the Sun’s rays causing a basking sensation of happiness that Max could spend eternity in. The magical ripples on the waters’ surface, and the treetops swaying from side to side caused even more eager emotions and the rhythm from the movement seemed melodic as if singing them a lullaby. However Max’s thoughts were drenched in agony and irony and he started to ponder over the idea of being a successful Pokémon trainer, ravelling with his Pokémon, caring for them in thick and thin. Would he make it in the world of Pokémon?

“Umm Roxanne, I’ve been wondering just of now whether I’m cut out to be a Pokémon trainer. It’s something that I’ve always wanted and hoped to achieve, but now the opportunity is here...it just feels different.”

The tone of his voice implied heavily that Max had lingering doubts in his capabilities and choices, questioning his loyalty, “I should have been able to understand Charmander, to help him out when he needed me. But instead I couldn’t understand him and had to leave him on his own while he faced the blazes of the fire. What does that make me?” Tears broke out of their protective casing, pouring down the cheeks of his face with no murmuring to drown them, just the watery droplets. He pulled a tissue out of his pocket and dabbed the salty drops away.

“Max. The answer is…you’re putting too much pressure on yourself. Try and relax and enjoy your time with your Pokémon.”

Silence then crept into the forest, infecting everything including the wild Pokémon.

“Thank you Roxanne. That was a real comfort booster. Now, shouldn’t we start heading off to Oldale Town, because I think it’s time to find out the whole story behind the ‘Protector.” Max seemed to have forgotten the past few minutes and changed his attitude to one of a concerned parent, seeking comfort in the answers that stood before them. He looked around facing Charmander, his beloved friend. Max unhooked Charmander’s PokeBall from the black leather belt holding his shorts in place. “Charmander re…”He wasn’t able to successfully finish his statement. Roxanne cut him off in the nick of time.

“What are you doing? Why don’t you let Charmander have fun and play for a while? Instead of calling him back at your convenience.” Roxanne suggested while watching Charmander enjoy his time with Nosepass. Had Max really made a mistake? “You can’t always have Charmander in his PokeBall. You have to let him roam!”

He stared blankly at the ground, as if grovelling for answers beneath true intelligence.

“Okay! Yes you’re right.” Max cast his eyes upon Roxanne, waiting for a sign of confirmation of his understanding. It didn’t fall onto him. She just gazed at her Nosepass, happily enjoying itself in the company of the bouncy Charmander.

“Well…Charmander. It’s time to set off!”

*****​

The sun had wriggled higher, smiling down on the tired young Trainer, Max, travelling to Oldale Town with his Gym Leader friend, Roxanne. They were only a few hours away from setting foot in the ruins close to the main town centre. Max had heard stories from his older sister, May, about the ruins, circling the small, quiet town. She had visited these caves; under imprisonment with her newly found friend, Ash. Using a combination of their Pokémon to defeat the devious, Team Magma and escape their clutches. They too had been held up in a plot to find out the mysteries surrounding the ruins but had not been too successful in the forthcomings because he had too become entangled within their evil wrath.

Max’s thoughts wandered, landing on the memory of his first ever meeting with Professor Oak, a top Pokémon researcher from the region of Kanto. The weather was roughly the same as that of this very day that shrouded the forests in a golden light. Sunny, mildly humid and a few clouds dotted here and there. Professor Oak was visiting his friend Professor Birch, bringing along the three Kanto starters with him for a new trainer, beginning the long journey to becoming a Pokémon Master. The day had turned out to be a typical day, fighting three members from Team Rocket, but Max remembered some advice Professor Oak had given him. ‘Always believe in yourself. You have the will to accomplish what you want!’

Thinking upon the heart found words; he speculated the future that was beginning to unfold in front of him, as if a Red Carpet had been placed at his gracious feet, how all his journeys that were to follow would start off with the mystery of the ‘Protector,’ this illustrious item that held with it the secrets of a certain evolution whilst also being of some value to a certain someone.

He searched the ongoing road through the ever-growing trees that seemed to reach the tips of the sky, where noticeable bird Pokémon flocked from either side of the forest as if commuting from work. His vision flicked back down to the ground where he noticed a black blur, positioned close to the path. It seemed as if it was moving, possibly advancing on the two travellers’ positions, but his naïve nature left him oblivious to the possible danger.

Max speculated the possibilities that lay with this very figure, something intriguing and unknown could lie in its clarity, maybe a new Pokémon that had never been found on anyone’s radars; he could be opening a new secret to the Pokémon world.

“Arrrrrgggghhh,” someone cried as they flew out of the concealed bushes. Roxanne, notably worried, pushed Max out of harm’s way and was knocked to the ground herself, ripping her pink tights. Nosepass, out of its ball, quickly reacted, forming a yellow and blue ball at the end of its orange beak. The Zap Cannon flung itself at the attacker crackling with the fall intensity of electricity. The attacker screamed, falling and hitting the ground at an incredible force as he was struck with this flooded ball of lightening. He winced as the pain rushed through his body as if caught up in a tremendous flood.

His face turned red, scowling, attempting to hold in his anger. “What did you do that for?” The man yelled at the top of his voice, echoing it around the once quiet forest.

“Nose, Nosepass,” The answer was simply that of protection.

“Me? Attacking you? You must be joking!” The attacker sounded annoyed at the accusation, “I was protecting myself and my town! How dare you accuse me!” The rage was boiling inside of the mysterious man; he couldn’t keep it withheld in the boundaries of his skin. It burst out in a blinding temper, “You are the ones coming to wreak havoc upon our civilised town! So don’t question my loyalties. I challenge you to a battle.”

Max was rather bemused at the man’s accusations, and the plain fact that he decided to solve it through a Pokémon battle. He was standing at the sidelines watching idly onto the mini soap opera performing directly in front of him. The idea of a battle though intrigued Max, even if it was a rather odd choice of solving this problem, but with that in mind it was a good chance to finally test his skills with Charmander.

“Sir, I’ll accept your challenge.”

“You, kid I wasn’t challenging you, I was challenging the lady. Anyway, you wouldn’t stand a chance against me!” he rather cockily responded.

“I’ll have you know that the ‘lady’ happens to be Roxanne the gym leader. And I happen to be the son of Norman. So I have a few tricks up my sleeves, Mr!”

With a smug smile, Max turned to Charmander, “You ready to have our first battle Charmander.” Smiling back at his trainer, Charmander nodded showing utter delight and respect for his new best friend.

“Okay Kid. I’ll battle you instead. And Miss Roxanne, pardon my stupidity!”

Max and Charmander gazed into the mysterious man’s eyes. They were all set and ready, but the thought of who they would face haunted them the most. It would make sense if he chose a water type or even a rock type since it would be super powerful against Charmander, but he had already proved himself to be a loony so there was no hope in guessing.

“Well here is my choice!” The man unhooked a PokeBall from his brown leather belt, “Right, come on out!” A small green Pokémon appeared in the flash of light. Different parts of its body were different shades of green. It smiled kindly at Charmander and Max, gazing toward its opponent as it gave a little shake of its coiled plant like qualities on the tip of its head, “You ready.”

‘Budew, Bud!’ The cute grass Pokémon replied, jumping into the air in a bound of joy. It kicked its little legs to show appreciation for its trainer.

“Hey! Roxanne do you think you can judge this match?”

“Sure thing Max, both trainers ready?” she asked, receiving a nod from both corners indicating their readiness, “Begin!”

“Kid you can have the first move.”

“You’ll regret this!” Max couldn’t wait; he was psyched and eager to call his first move, “Okay! Charmander use Ember.”

Multiple shots of fire flew from Charmander’s little mouth, showing the power behind this small fire Pokémon.

“Budew, jump out the way!” screamed the other trainer. It was too late. Budew was directly hit and sent soaring against the large Oak tree, nearby to the battlefield, “Are you okay, Budew?”

Budew clambered back onto its small tiny feet, shaking the dust from its pristine body.

“Right, Budew lets use Water Sport.” Budew began to shake its body in a vigorous fashion, spraying water everywhere in sight.

“Huh? What does that do?” Max asked, puzzled by the strange move performed by Budew.

“Young Kid, if you don’t know that, then you have a long way to go until you understand the world of Pokémon.” The strange man began to urge a smile onto his face, broadening into a full-blown laugh. “Ha! You make me crack kid.” Swiftly the man became serious, “Budew, let’s show them your Bullet Seed.” Fast seeds came bellowing out of Budew’s petite mouth.

“Charmander, use another Ember to counter!” Again, shots of fire raced towards the opponent, only this time hitting the Seeds speeding towards Charmander, “Yeah! That’s got rid of them.” Unfortunately, to Max’s astonishment, the Bullets kept on coming. The Ember wasn’t destroying the seeds as Max had originally predicted but instead seemed to be weakening in power the longer the battle progressed. “What? Why?” Max was gob smacked, had Charmander become considerably weaker from just one attack.

“It’s because of the move Water Sport. When a Pokémon uses that move all fire moves become exceedingly weaker, giving Budew an upper hand.” Roxanne explained, looking into a disheartened boys face.

“Well, there’s no point in moping around. Let’s use Scratch attack Charmander.” The small orange lizard charged towards Budew. Charmander’s claws began to glow a dazzling white. Two swipes were all it took to knock Budew into her trainer. Roxanne looked at the cute little grass Pokémon, struggling to get back into the fight.

“Budew is unable to battle, Charmander wins!” The tone of voice seemed confident, hinting at her over joy for Max’s first win, “Congratulations Max.”

“Well done young man. After that match I can tell that you are not a crook, especially if you hang around with such a great Gym leader like Roxanne. That was a pleasurable match, and I know you’ll become a great Pokémon trainer!" A sudden pause swept past the travelers, it was clear that he was still contemplating something in his mind, "I know this is really sudden and out of the blue, but because of the skill and compassion you have shown, I want you to have my Budew!”

“What? I can’t do that! She’s your Pokémon. She belongs with you.” Max stepped away in a flash, still looking into the eyes of the desperate man. He hoped to indicate his thoughts on the idea; he couldn’t take someone else’s Pokémon. Could he?

“As sad as this may be. It’s for the best. You see…” The man indicated to a clearing, where the three could just about make out the ruins. They started to wander in that direction, whilst listening to the man talk. “I use to travel all over the place, battling Gym Leaders and entering the league. The last region I visited was Sinnoh, where I met my friend Budew.” He glanced over to Budew walking beside him, also looking unbearably unhappy from the thought of losing her friend, “Budew, I know this is hard. But Max will look after you properly and give you the chance to travel again, even compete in more Gym Battles.” Budew continued to stare blankly at the ground, struggling to hold back her desperate tears.

“Budew return,” a beam of red light struck the Bud Pokémon, turning it into energy that glided back into the ball. The man broke down in tears, dropping to his knees. “Here Max. Take the PokeBall.” He raised his trembling hand; Max gently took the PokeBall looking straight at the shiny object.

“No, wait I really can’t do this, look at you, you’re a wreck at the thought!”

“But it’s for the best…” he responded, “Sometimes what’s best for a trainer isn’t best for the Pokémon.”

Max pondered over the phrase, looking back up at Joshua, “I suppose you’re right, thank you Sir. I’ll make sure Budew is looked after with proper care. You have nothing to worry about.” Max replied, attempting his best comfort techniques, “And think about it, you can come and visit any of my Gym Battles and I’d be happy to have you travel with us if you’d like.”

“No my place is here I’m afraid, that’s why I’m giving you Budew, but I might just take you up on the Gym Battle offer,” he looked up with a flicker of joy about him.

“So, what’s your name Mr?” Roxanne inquired.

“Oh, sorry, I completely forgot about that. I’m Joshua, and I enforce the law in this town. So I suppose you could call me Oldale Town’s Protector in a way,” Joshua joked, as he wiped away the salty tears, attempting to hold back the flood line. “And the reason I tackled you earlier on was because I thought you were coming here to steal the item ‘Protector’.”

“What… you mean…”

Max and Roxanne looked at each other with a puzzled complexion. What mysteries lie ahead for our hero? Will Budew accept Max as her new trainer? And who is after the item ‘Protector’?

 

[Reggaehype]

This is great, I love the direction it's taking. I love the way you describe things, it makes you feel what the characters feel.

 

[Legacy]

Great story! I look forward to reading more.

 

[harryheart]

This is great, I love the direction it's taking. I love the way you describe things, it makes you feel what the characters feel.

Glad you like it and I have 16 Chapters written and can tell you that it does begin to get very complex within the storyling - not like a normal journey fic. I also have so many chapters planned that writing has become easier and I can work from the plans but I am busy re-writing a few early chapters from 3 - 7 as they need to be updated to my new style and better writing!​

Great story! I look forward to reading more.

Again thank you for reviewing as well. I should have another chapter up soon once edits to that are done so the schedule might be a bit off but once the first 7 are posted if I'm behind I'll post the amount of Chapters I'm behind so you all can catch up!​

 

[harryheart]

This is very late but its because I'm now thrust into my GCSE year with about 40 days left in school! I'll follow the release dates now but for this year so they'll all be posted a year late but here is Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 to keep you intrigued for a little longer!

Chapter 4 and 5 haven't been re-writen so are not terribly great in the writing style and I'm sorry about that as I really just don't have time to re write them at the moment - but from Chapter 8 onwards the writing style is my newest one!

Chapter 4: Who are they?

​

“What! You thought we were going to steal something?” Max was astonished at the thought. Why would someone mistake him for a crook?

“I’m truly sorry!” The middle aged man replied. Tugging at his light blue jumper, lapping it over his musky brown coloured trousers, and scratching his newly shaven stubble. “I received a report that a group of thieves had planned for someone to deliver the item ‘Protector’ to them giving a false story to Professor Birch to make him deliver the item sooner than needed.”

“Huh?” Roxanne seemed puzzled. Had she just been caught up in an elaborate ploy, thought of by criminals. “No! This can’t be? See!” Roxanne took the item out of her handbag, showing Joshua.

“What? You are delivering this item? Good job I found you then. Quick over to that hut!”

The trio sprinted across the open clearing, narrowing the distance between them and the small house. Max looked up, not noticing the root that lay await, ready to pounce on any unsuspecting person.

“Umph.” Max fell against the ground, loosing his glasses in the process. He pushed himself onto his knees, fumbling around for his pair of glasses. After placing them back on his nose, he rose to his feet, continuing on toward the hut. Unfortunately for Max (due to the fall) he didn’t notice Charmander disappear into the ground, to shocked to cry for help.

Max reached the hut, slamming the door behind him with such a force that caused the building to shake.

“Why did we need to run?” Max panted, tired from having to sprint from no apparent danger.

“Because! It is highly likely that whoever wants that item is here. Now!” Joshua replied as calmly as possible.

“How do we know that you aren’t the one intending to steal the item? You could have easily tricked us.” Roxanne seemed shy to ask this, hinting that she already knew the answer.

“I suppose I could have. But you have to trust me!” Joshua directed his Glaze toward Max, regarding the fact that Charmander wasn’t there. “Ugh, Max! Where’s Charmander? Did you return Charmander to its PokeBall?”

“No silly! He’s rig…ht…here.” Max began to twist on the spot, starting to panic. “Aagghh! Where is he?”

Unexpectedly, an explosion echoed throughout the ruins. Drawing the three’s attention outside. The door swung open in a hurry, to reveal to Max and his friends what had caused the interruption. They all noticed a net hanging from a weirdly shaped balloon holding the poor little Charmander inside. Their gaze then lifted to see who was standing inside the balloon.

“Who are you?” Max cried from the ground, partially recognizing whom the person was. He stared at the big Raticate balloon wrenching itself from the ground.

“Hehehe. You don’t recognize us? Mwuhahah! We were here to steal an item for our boss, but a Charmander will do!” A blonde haired woman glared down menacingly toward Max, giving a tremendous laugh. On her t-shirt was a red lettered R. “Now. I think you should all Prepare For Trouble!”

“And Make It double!” A green haired man poked his body above the rim of the basket attached to the balloon; he also had a red R on his black t-shirt.

“Now here’s our mission so you’d better listen!”
“To infect the world with devastation!”
“To blight all people in every nation!”
“To denounce the goodness of truth and love!”
“To extend our wrath to the stars above!”
“Cassidy.”
“And Butch of course.”
“We’re Team Rocket circling Earth all day and night!”
“Surrender to us now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!” The duo finished their motto, thus triggering more laughter.

“I remember who you two are now. You’re Cassidy and you’re Butch!” Max seemed to show a slight smug look.

“It’s Butch not…Oh, that’s what you said!” The green haired man drew one of his PokeBalls from his black trouser pocket. “Mightyena, let’s show them a thing or two!” A black and grey wolf appeared inside the balloon, growling at the onlookers.

“I won’t let you steal my Charmander.” The anger inside Max began to boil. He had met these two previously on his journeys in Kanto, where they had tried to scam people out of their Pokémon. “This is for Charmander! Budew, come on out!” The little green bud appeared in a flash of white light. “You ready for our first battle?” Joshua watched the two, noticing the bond that they already seemed to share. At least Budew would be all right staying with Max; he couldn't help think back to the days traveling through Sinnoh with his beloved Budew by his side.

*****
​

"Budew, use your Bullet Seed." Joshua cried. The opponent was a strong Rock snake Pokémon Onix. The Onix dug into the ground, unnerving Joshua and Budew. "Just stay calm Budew. Don't worry, concentrate on where Onix might reappear."

"Onix! Attack from below!" Roark commanded. He was the Gym Leader of Oreburgh City; they were both using their third Pokémon. Whoever won this battle would be the victor. "Now!" The Onix crashed through the floor; it was a direct hit against Budew.

"You all right buddy?" Joshua seemed worried. 'Bud' Budew regained its balance, "Okay, one more Bullet Seed!" This time it worked, Onix collapsed against the floor. Joshua and Budew were the victor's. "Yes we won! We won the Coal Badge!"

*****​

Max was ready to prove to himself that he had what it took to prevail. “Budew, let’s use Bullet Seed to break the net!” With the command called, Budew shot multiple seeds from its mouth. The attack struck the balloon with full power; unfortunately the net was unharmed.

“Yahahaha! You really think you can destroy a contraption created by Team Rocket! Butch, I’ll give you a helping hand. Granbull, let’s help out!” Casidy cried in her wildest voice. In an explosion of light a Purplish Pokémon arrived on the balloon, its fangs shined in the mid day sun. It gave a humungous growl.

“Mightyena, use your Shadow Ball directly at Budew.” Screamed Butch; showing his entire passion with some simple words. The black ball zoomed straight toward the unprotected Budew. What was it to do?

“Nosepass hit the Shadow Ball with your Zap Cannon!” The blue Rock Pokémon arose from the light. A sphere of electricity began to form at the end of its orange beak. The electricity was hurled directly at the oncoming Shadow Ball. BANG! The two balls of energy collided, creating a sheer force in the aftermath that was able to knock the Raticate balloon out of the sky.

“Noooo! Charmander!” Max rushed into the black smoke surrounding the area.

“Swellow, go and grab Charmander,” cried Joshua, “You can’t let it get injured!”

The balloon raced to the ground. Both Cassidy and Butch screamed for help at the top f their puny voices, recalling their Pokémon back into the PokeBalls the duo held in their hands.

“Aggghhh! My beauty is becoming dirty,” whined Cassidy like a little baby wanting candy. The dust kicked up from the explosion was settling upon Cassidy and Butch, making their pristine PokeBalls blackened.

“Swellow, now!” The swallow Pokémon gained speed, producing a white glow behind the sparkling bird. With one movement it was able to slash the ropes of the net open, freeing Charmander.

“Charrrrrrr!” The little lizard slipped out of the net, plummeting toward the ground at a raging force.

“I’ve got you buddy! Nothing is going to happen to you!” Max watched his little friend wriggle in the air as it fell, producing tears as it fell. Max jumped high into the sky, nearing Charmander. The small Pokémon slipped into Max’s arms like a foot into a slipper. Max held Charmander tight against his chest, tucking and hitting the ground, rolling at immediate contact. “You’re going to be fine Charmander,” the young trainer said calmly and softly, rising to his feet gently. “Budew, Charmander! You ready to teach them a lesson?” A cheer from everyone sounded, it was time to work as a true team.

“Butch! It’s six against two. We better get our Team Rocket selves out of here at the speed of light.” Cassidy yelled tripping over the wrecked balloon as she sprinted into the distance.

“Oy! WAIT FOR ME!” Butch hurried after Cassidy, getting caught up in a tremendous explosion. “Yaaaghh!” Butch slid across the ground, straight into the balloon wreck. Cassidy flew through the air, declining vertically into Butch. “Ummph! WHAT HAPPENED?” Butch snapped at Cassidy, clutching his body in agony.

“You two couldn’t complete our task! And for that we will banish you!” Five silhouettes began to emerge in the cloud of dust brought up by the explosion.

“Who are they?” Max asked Roxanne and Joshua, bending down, and picking both Charmander and Budew into his arms. The five people stared directly at Max and his friends.

“You will regret not having given us the ‘Protector’! Steelix and Bronzong, Show yourselves.” Two PokeBalls broke the barrier of the dust, opening to unveil a Steel type snake, silver all over and towering into the sky. Next was another Steel Pokémon, in the shape of a Church bell, its two red eyes beaming in the sunlight.

“Butch, we better get out of here!” Cassidy cried in fear and terror.
“You’re not going anywhere on your own. Bronzong use Flash Cannon!” Bronzong became horizontal, pointing the hollow end at Team Rocket. A huge light formed at the end of Bronzong, flying squarely toward Butch and Cassidy. Another explosion was caused!

“Look’s like Team Rocket are blasting off again!” The duo became smaller and smaller until they were no longer seen.

“Now back to you three. Time to get what we want!” The other four caped people unhooked PokeBalls from around their Necks.

“Bronzor, Magneton, Gligar and Prinplup. Come on out!” Roxanne, Max and Joshua were surrounded. It seemed like there was no escape. What had they got themselves into?

​

 

[harryheart]

Chapter 5: A whole lot-a steel trouble!

The four Pokémon appeared at their trainers beckon, immediately surrounding Max, Roxanne, Joshua and all their Pokémon. The five-cloaked people stepped forward in an oddly fashion, not seeming bothered by this inevitable hold up. They were edging slowly closer towards the heroes, intimidating with every foot.

“So are you going to give the item up willingly, or are we going to have to take it by force?” The man in the middle snarled through the gap in the clothing around his face, the other four masked people stood there, staring blankly at the trio as if conduced into a trance. Max’s fists began to clench, tightening his anger inside like tension on a rope. “Tick Tock, Tick Tock. Time is running out, I would suggest you make a decision now rather than later.” Again the man in the middle didn’t seem bothered, the words just came naturally to him suggesting an apparent joy to this form of intimidation.

Joshua glanced into the sky, discretely looking for his Swellow. When the five had first arrived (attacking Butch and Cassidy) Joshua had ordered Swellow to retrieve Officer Jenny from Littleroot Town, sensing that danger was possibly ahead. It was no use; they just wouldn’t arrive in time.

“Looks like I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands! Skarmory, grab Roxanne’s handbag and fly to somewhere safe.” Joshua threw the red and white PokeBall into the air. A Steel bird Pokémon appeared, with armour all over its body. It grabbed Roxanne’s handbag in its mouth, beginning to climb at rapid speeds away from the ruins. Max immediately pulled his Pokédex out of his pocket, forgetting the apparent danger that possessed their future. The small device clicked on and began to describe Skarmory.

“Skarmory, the Armour Bird Pokémon. Despite being clad entirely in iron-hard armour, it manages to fly at speeds of 180 mph. In battle Skarmory can be a difficult opponent to defeat.”

“Gligar, go grab that Pokédex! We can’t have them using it as a tracking device!” This was the first sign of anger any of the five had shown, the small flying scorpion reacted with quick movements heading directly for Max. The young trainer was terrified, he couldn’t move out of the way in time! Gligar’s pincer began to glow a bright purple, it was preparing for a Poison Jab attack. One simple Slash was all it took to send Max flying. In the process, the Pokédex slipped out of Max’s sweaty hand, Gligar swooped down and caught it in his small claw. Max came crashing down onto his back, the Pokémon reacted quickly sending warning growls to not approach.

‘Char, Charmander,’ the little Pokémon watched as his trainer fell, calling out in fear, Budew stood as still as ice, intimidated by the other Pokémon!

“Max! Are you all right?” Roxanne was concerned, running to the aid of Max and totally ignoring the other Steel Pokémon. He was stunned and badly injured, wincing at the pain infecting his entire body.

“Look’s like your time has run out. Tie them together and bring them to the helicopter! Nahahahaha!” The man standing in the centre swivelled around, tearing off his mask and cloak, summoning the others to follow. Roxanne was grabbed from behind, being lifted onto her feet and having her hands tied, Max was dragged to Roxanne being attached to the same rope, while Joshua was to frightened to decline.

“Let us go! Let us go! Let us go!” Roxanne’s voice was heard, echoing for a few seconds with a hint of a tremble thrown in. “You can’t do this to us...he needs a doctor! Please.” Roxanne could feel Max’s hands becoming colder; his energy was draining out of him, making him weaker. Following them were Charmander, Budew and Nosepass, all being watched by Magneton, Bronzor and Prinplup. Budew was becoming more scared by the seconds, anticipating the worst. She looked to her left at Charmander acting brave and strong. He seemed to have a feeling that they would all escape unharmed.

They reached another clearing where the helicopter became visible; the size of the machine was gigantic. A ramp began to unfold from the revealing a metal hatchway to clamber aboard, making a tremendous racket as it touched the ground before everyone.

Without turning around, the main person began to speak to an audience of willing ears, “Our main goal is to find that Skarmory no matter what. Without it our trip out here would have been for nothing.” An eerie silence arose, nothing and no one made a single movement, not wishing to tempt fate. After a lengthy pause a siren began to ring throughout the black flying machine. The line began to move again, climbing up the ramp into darkness’s mouth.

“Sir! What should we do with the Pokémon?”

“Take them to the same holding cell as our human guests. Just separate them by a barrier, so they can both watch each other in pain and suffering!” A slight chuckle just squeezed out his lips, sounding pure and whole. “One last thing!” He directed this comment towards the only one that was truly listening and not pre-occupied, Roxanne. “If you don’t give us what we want…your Pokémon will become Rock Statues displayed for all to see!”

*****​

‘Cruughh,’ Skarmory called, descending upon Littleroot Town’s Police Station. The massive armour bird landed on the rooftop, gracefully tucking its wings against its body. The force from touching the rooftop created a ripple throughout the building.

“What was that?” The female Police officer known as Officer Jenny enquired, “Head for the rooftop!” She rounded her men together, running to the metallic steep stairs. Her black high heels echoed through the building, she unhooked two PokeBalls from her blue miniskirt. “Arcanine and Tangrowth, we need your assistance.” The Fire dog appeared first, it’s red and black coat sparkling like a star and producing a tremendous growl. Next was the Grass Pokémon Tangrowth, which looked alike in some ways to a heavily overgrown bush.

The door leading to the roof finally arrived; it was time to find out what was going on! The door creaked as Officer Jenny and her team piled through, quickly surrounding Skarmory.

“Skarmory?” Officer Jenny seemed to recognize it, “Your Josh’s Skarmory aren’t you?” She noticed the handbag hanging out of the Pokémon’s mouth. “What’s going on?”

As the Steel Bird began to speak, a cry was heard from up above, ‘Swellow, Swell,’ the Navy White Pokémon elegantly swept toward the collaboration of people and Pokémon, perching onto Skarmory’s shiny silver head. ‘Swellow!’

Arcanine became startled and started to rapidly shoot an endless flame from inside its mouth attempting to ward the Pokémon away. Bursts flew in all directions startling even the Police Officers.

“Arcanine stop that Flamethrower at once!” Jenny was furious at the outburst from Arcanine, although she knew that he was indeed attempting to protect her, it wasn’t needed. Jenny immediately became embarrassed, issuing the men to get back to work, “There is no need to panic. These Pokémon are Josh’s, resume whatever you were doing before the disturbance, that goes for you too Arcanine!” A rush of body’s descended back through the steel door in a matter of seconds, Officer Jenny watched ore struck as all these men complied to her command straight away. “Wow! That’s, that’s co…” turning around to face the four Pokémon she suddenly halted her speech, intending to forget the last few comments, “Right! Back to the point.” Her piercing voice became soft in a split second as if she had a split personality. “Skarmory, Swellow. What brought you here?” Skarmory took the instinctive lead in explaining the situation to Arcanine and Tangrowth who then relayed it onto the Green Haired Police Women.

“Grw, Grw Greuw!” Arcanine said with an apprehensive tone attached to his deep growls. Since Officer Jenny had known her Arcanine for over 10 years she instantly knew that trouble was brewing not far that far away.

“Oldale Town? Is that where we need to go?” Swellow nodded rising into the early afternoon sky and promptly heading in the direction of Joshua. Jenny held out two PokeBalls pointing them both at Tangrowth and Arcanine, “You two, I’m going to ride on the back of Skarmory. You’re going to have to stay in your PokeBalls for the meantime.” Two red beams of light flew from the white circle on the Balls. Once in contact with the Pokémon, it turned them red and sucked them inside. “Okay, Skarmory lets go!” It didn’t take that long for Jenny and Skarmory to be next to Swellow, who also swept over and landed on the shiny Pokémon.

*****​

The brig was dark, damp and cold, two watchmen sat on either side of the gloomy door that entered the imprisonment. Max had luckily fallen to sleep due to Budew using her Sleep Powder directly on him to hopefully help ease the pain he was in. His body was sprung out draped over Roxanne, who, like Joshua, had changed her attitude to scared and frightened. She lent over Max who seemed peaceful at last, snoring calm melody’s as he dreamt of far off lands full of cheerful and playful Pokémon! The door buzzed as it slid open to give way to the unmasked man, however since it was relatively dark Roxanne was not able to identify whom he was.

The man stepped forward easing closer towards the bars of their cages. “Are you going to tell me what I want to know?” He calmly stood there waiting for a positive response to what seemed like a simple question. “You know I don’t’ like waiting. So put me out of my misery.” Roxanne turned her glance at Joshua and then the ground. His presence felt extremely intimidating, presenting many problems to the need of communication. “Fine, if that’s how you want to play it that’s how we will.” He began to leave the room however stopping before he made it out. “Just to let you know, when we find Skarmory he’ll need all the help he could get. Or I suppose we could sell him off for money. That won’t be too bad!”

“Noooo! You leave him alone. If you even lay a single finger on my precious Pokémon you will pay for it.” Joshua grabbed the iron bars shaking them with all his might. What he planned to achieve was far from what the eye could see. The door again began to make the buzzing noise as it closed to leave the distressed voice of Joshua. Tears dripped down his fair skin, again producing Joshua into a distraught heap on the floor. Roxanne felt the pain that Joshua had bundled inside, she couldn’t even imagine what it would feel like to lose two Pokémon in the same day.

A bump surprisingly trembled the bars of the cage that everyone was in, stirring Max awake. Roxanne clenched him tightly afraid he would come to more harm. “Are you all right Max?”

Groaning he sat himself upright, “I feel a lot better than before, but that isn’t hard!” Seeing how dull the situation seemed to be Max decided to enlighten the mood with a pinch of humour. The bars began to rattle again issuing Joshua with an excuse to relieve himself from a clump of sorrow on the floor. Standing up and brushing the dust off, he quickly ran to the edge of the cage to have a peak through the window to take note of the current dilemma and being very careful and cautious to not touch the side. A silver wing brushed the glass of the window piercing the ears of everyone in the room thus making the guards stop the game of cards. Joshua knew who the wing belonged to and needed a simple distraction to help Skarmory in its activities. He plucked the first idea out of his head straight to the tip of his tongue.

“That noise was me!” The guards both stared at him, intending to be rather scary. “I did it to attract your…attention.” The guards again just stared at him as if he seemed meaningless, hoping not to have to ask for an answer to be given. “…I…Well I…I…Skarmory is going to be back at the ruins. We intended to trick all of you!” Upon the last letter both guards rushed out of the holding cell, obviously both wanting to be the first to tell whoever was in charge perhaps hoping for a promotion into higher ranks. This gave Joshua the perfect opportunity; time seemed to have switched sides.

*****​

The wind howled through the strands of Officer Jenny’s hair, giving her thrill that she would never forget. Once again they attempted to break the side of the copter open, to free Max and the others but time after time it just didn’t work. Jenny took her eye of the helicopter and scanned the ground for confirmation of where they were and where they were heading. Directly beneath them was the start of Petalburg City and the buildings stretching as far as the horizon. The giant mechanic machine suddenly tilted slightly to the left, dipping lower to the ground. The noise vibrated the air around them; nearly everyone came out of their houses to see what was creating the tremendous ear ache. Both Carolyn (Max’s Mum) and Norman (Max’s Dad) were already outside having training matches between Slakoth and Snorlax. They didn’t seem bothered by this commotion unaware of who was trapped inside.

After a long and (to Skarmory) tiresome fly to the ruins of Oldale, the helicopter seated itself neatly onto the fresh grass, motivating Jenny to wake herself from her drowsy state. Skarmory dove into the near tree tops allowing Jenny to jump from its armoured back, she held tightly to the hand bag. “Arcanine and Tangrowth your assistance is needed,” she very delicately whispered, both Pokémon were able to take the hint from her voice. Arcanine crouched down, rolling its fluffy tail out straight, Tangrowth melded with the bushes to be able to hear any conversation clearly. Skarmory and Swellow took to the sky in order to keep a beady eye on their friends.

The hatch screeched as it laid softly upon the clean ground. Five cloaked men immediately stepped from inside the contraption being crudely followed by three chained people and Pokémon. “Skarmory…will be in those ruins over there…You promise not to hurt him.” Joshua felt an urge of sudden glee flowing within his body, the only people getting injured wasn’t them but the 5 masked men. Their pride would be sufficiently attacked.

This was Officer Jenny’s chance to shine, not thinking she half heartedly scurried into sight, skidding across the damp green ground. Arcanine and Tangrowth alike bolted out of hiding to support their trainer and stop the evil doings of the thugs. “Hand over the hostages now!” Angry as ever her rage boiled over, needing to escape and scold someone else. She wasn’t going to let anybody break the law, let alone get way with it. “Let’s show them what we can do guys. Arcanine use Flamethrower and Tangrowth use Power Whip” Nodding in agreement the two Pokémon released their attacks; the endless flame engulfed the five men causing a panicked reaction. The gigantic whip then slapped the men directly in the stomach, sending them soaring into the side of the chopper. Officer Jenny headed straight for the three tied together worried about their health and safety, “Are you all Okay?”

“Yeah, we’re okay,” Max bluntly replied rubbing his sore chest as Jenny untied them all. He lifted his head high, thanking the world for his well being and his chance to be the greatest Pokémon Master ever! “Don’t you want to go after those lot?”

“Not this time! I’ll let them go for once, but if they ever mess with me or my friends again…They will regret it!” The young woman raised her gaze into the reddening sky, the evening was looming ever closer preparing for the arrival of a new fresh day. Would a fresh start help erase the evil along with it?

 

[Lief Katano]

There was only one problem that I cared about: Max was supposed to start with Ralts. And also: Who is:
1.The Chikorita
2.The girl and
3.The Ralts
in your banner?

 

[harryheart]

They are all revealed ... I'll post Chapter 5 now for some more info for you! But they are all revealed! ​

Chapter 5: A whole lot-a steel trouble!

The four Pokemon appeared at their trainers beckon, immediately surrounding Max, Roxanne, Joshua and all their Pokemon. The five-cloaked people stepped forward in an oddly fashion, not seeming bothered by this inevitable hold up. They were edging slowly closer towards the heroes, intimidating with every foot.

“So are you going to give the item up willingly, or are we going to have to take it by force?” The man in the middle snarled through the gap in the clothing around his face, the other four masked people stood there, staring blankly at the trio as if conduced into a trance. Max’s fists began to clench, tightening his anger inside like tension on a rope. “Tick Tock, Tick Tock. Time is running out, I would suggest you make a decision now rather than later.” Again the man in the middle didn’t seem bothered, the words just came naturally to him suggesting an apparent joy to this form of intimidation.

Joshua glanced into the sky, discretely looking for his Swellow. When the five had first arrived (attacking Butch and Cassidy) Joshua had ordered Swellow to retrieve Officer Jenny from Littleroot Town, sensing that danger was possibly ahead. It was no use; they just wouldn’t arrive in time.

“Looks like I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands! Skarmory, grab Roxanne’s handbag and fly to somewhere safe.” Joshua threw the red and white PokeBall into the air. A Steel bird Pokemon appeared, with armour all over its body. It grabbed Roxanne’s handbag in its mouth, beginning to climb at rapid speeds away from the ruins. Max immediately pulled his Pokédex out of his pocket, forgetting the apparent danger that possessed their future. The small device clicked on and began to describe Skarmory.

“Skarmory, the Armour Bird Pokémon. Despite being clad entirely in iron-hard armour, it manages to fly at speeds of 180 mph. In battle Skarmory can be a difficult opponent to defeat.”

“Gligar, go grab that Pokédex! We can’t have them using it as a tracking device!” This was the first sign of anger any of the five had shown, the small flying scorpion reacted with quick movements heading directly for Max. The young trainer was terrified, he couldn’t move out of the way in time! Gligar’s pincer began to glow a bright purple, it was preparing for a Poison Jab attack. One simple Slash was all it took to send Max flying. In the process, the Pokédex slipped out of Max’s sweaty hand, Gligar swooped down and caught it in his small claw. Max came crashing down onto his back, the Pokemon reacted quickly sending warning growls to not approach.

‘Char, Charmander,’ the little Pokemon watched as his trainer fell, calling out in fear, Budew stood as still as ice, intimidated by the other Pokemon!

“Max! Are you all right?” Roxanne was concerned, running to the aid of Max and totally ignoring the other Steel Pokemon. He was stunned and badly injured, wincing at the pain infecting his entire body.

“Look’s like your time has run out. Tie them together and bring them to the helicopter! Nahahahaha!” The man standing in the centre swivelled around, tearing off his mask and cloak, summoning the others to follow. Roxanne was grabbed from behind, being lifted onto her feet and having her hands tied, Max was dragged to Roxanne being attached to the same rope, while Joshua was to frightened to decline.

“Let us go! Let us go! Let us go!” Roxanne’s voice was heard, echoing for a few seconds with a hint of a tremble thrown in. “You can’t do this to us...he needs a doctor! Please.” Roxanne could feel Max’s hands becoming colder; his energy was draining out of him, making him weaker. Following them were Charmander, Budew and Nosepass, all being watched by Magneton, Bronzor and Prinplup. Budew was becoming more scared by the seconds, anticipating the worst. She looked to her left at Charmander acting brave and strong. He seemed to have a feeling that they would all escape unharmed.

They reached another clearing where the helicopter became visible; the size of the machine was gigantic. A ramp began to unfold from the revealing a metal hatchway to clamber aboard, making a tremendous racket as it touched the ground before everyone.

Without turning around, the main person began to speak to an audience of willing ears, “Our main goal is to find that Skarmory no matter what. Without it our trip out here would have been for nothing.” An eerie silence arose, nothing and no one made a single movement, not wishing to tempt fate. After a lengthy pause a siren began to ring throughout the black flying machinge. The line began to move again, climbing up the ramp into darkness’s mouth.
“Sir! What should we do with the Pokemon?”

“Take them to the same holding cell as our human guests. Just separate them by a barrier, so they can both watch each other in pain and suffering!” A slight chuckle just squeezed out his lips, sounding pure and whole. “One last thing!” He directed this comment towards the only one that was truly listening and not pre-occupied, Roxanne. “If you don’t give us what we want…your Pokemon will become Rock Statues displayed for all to see!”

*****​

‘Cruughh,’ Skarmory called, descending upon Littleroot Town’s Police Station. The massive armour bird landed on the rooftop, gracefully tucking its wings against its body. The force from touching the rooftop created a ripple throughout the building.

“What was that?” The female Police officer known as Officer Jenny enquired, “Head for the rooftop!” She rounded her men together, running to the metallic steep stairs. Her black high heels echoed through the building, she unhooked two PokeBalls from her blue miniskirt. “Arcanine and Tangrowth, we need your assistance.” The Fire dog appeared first, it’s red and black coat sparkling like a star and producing a tremendous growl. Next was the Grass Pokemon Tangrowth, which looked alike in some ways to a heavily overgrown bush.

The door leading to the roof finally arrived; it was time to find out what was going on! The door creaked as Officer Jenny and her team piled through, quickly surrounding Skarmory.

“Skarmory?” Officer Jenny seemed to recognize it, “Your Josh’s Skarmory aren’t you?” She noticed the handbag hanging out of the Pokemon’s mouth. “What’s going on?”

As the Steel Bird began to speak, a cry was heard from up above, ‘Swellow, Swell,’ the Navy White Pokemon elegantly swept toward the collaboration of people and Pokemon, perching onto Skarmory’s shiny silver head. ‘Swellow!’

Arcanine became startled and started to rapidly shoot an endless flame from inside its mouth attempting to ward the Pokemon away. Bursts flew in all directions startling even the Police Officers.

“Arcanine stop that Flamethrower at once!” Jenny was furious at the outburst from Arcanine, although she knew that he was indeed attempting to protect her, it wasn’t needed. Jenny immediately became embarrassed, issuing the men to get back to work, “There is no need to panic. These Pokemon are Josh’s, resume whatever you were doing before the disturbance, that goes for you too Arcanine!” A rush of body’s descended back through the steel door in a matter of seconds, Officer Jenny watched ore struck as all these men complied to her command straight away. “Wow! That’s, that’s co…” turning around to face the four Pokemon she suddenly halted her speech, intending to forget the last few comments, “Right! Back to the point.” Her piercing voice became soft in a split second as if she had a split personality. “Skarmory, Swellow. What brought you here?” Skarmory took the instinctive lead in explaining the situation to Arcanine and Tangrowth who then relayed it onto the Green Haired Police Women.

“Grw, Grw Greuw!” Arcanine said with an apprehensive tone attached to his deep growls. Since Officer Jenny had known her Arcanine for over 10 years she instantly knew that trouble was brewing not far that far away.

“Oldale Town? Is that where we need to go?” Swellow nodded rising into the early afternoon sky and promptly heading in the direction of Joshua. Jenny held out two PokeBalls pointing them both at Tangrowth and Arcanine, “You two, I’m going to ride on the back of Skarmory. You’re going to have to stay in your PokeBalls for the meantime.” Two red beams of light flew from the white circle on the Balls. Once in contact with the Pokemon, it turned them red and sucked them inside. “Okay, Skarmory lets go!” It didn’t take that long for Jenny and Skarmory to be next to Swellow, who also swept over and landed on the shiny Pokemon.

*****​

The brig was dark, damp and cold, two watchmen sat on either side of the gloomy door that entered the imprisonment. Max had luckily fallen to sleep due to Budew using her Sleep Powder directly on him to hopefully help ease the pain he was in. His body was sprung out draped over Roxanne, who, like Joshua, had changed her attitude to scared and frightened. She lent over Max who seemed peaceful at last, snoring calm melody’s as he dreamt of far off lands full of cheerful and playful Pokemon! The door buzzed as it slid open to give way to the unmasked man, however since it was relatively dark Roxanne was not able to identify whom he was.

The man stepped forward easing closer towards the bars of their cages. “Are you going to tell me what I want to know?” He calmly stood there waiting for a positive response to what seemed like a simple question. “You know I don’t’ like waiting. So put me out of my misery.” Roxanne turned her glance at Joshua and then the ground. His presence felt extremely intimidating, presenting many problems to the need of communication. “Fine, if that’s how you want to play it that’s how we will.” He began to leave the room however stopping before he made it out. “Just to let you know, when we find Skarmory he’ll need all the help he could get. Or I suppose we could sell him off for money. That won’t be too bad!”

“Noooo! You leave him alone. If you even lay a single finger on my precious Pokemon you will pay for it.” Joshua grabbed the iron bars shaking them with all his might. What he planned to achieve was far from what the eye could see. The door again began to make the buzzing noise as it closed to leave the distressed voice of Joshua. Tears dripped down his fair skin, again producing Joshua into a distraught heap on the floor. Roxanne felt the pain that
Joshua had bundled inside, she couldn’t even imagine what it would feel like to loose two Pokemon in the same day.

A bump surprisingly trembled the bars of the cage that everyone was in, stirring Max awake. Roxanne clenched him tightly afraid he would come to more harm. “Are you all right Max?”

Groaning he sat himself upright, “I feel a lot better than before, but that isn’t hard!” Seeing how dull the situation seemed to be Max decided to enlighten the mood with a pinch of humour. The bars began to rattle again issuing Joshua with an excuse to relieve himself from a clump of sorrow on the floor. Standing up and brushing the dust off, he quickly ran to the edge of the cage to have a peak through the window to take note of the current dilemma and being very careful and cautious to not touch the side. A silver wing brushed the glass of the window piercing the ears of everyone in the room thus making the guards stop the game of cards. Joshua knew who the wing belonged to and needed a simple distraction to help Skarmory in its activities. He plucked the first idea out of his head straight to the tip of his tongue.

“That noise was me!” The guards both stared at him, intending to be rather scary. “I did it to attract your…attention.” The guards again just stared at him as if he seemed meaningless, hoping not to have to ask for an answer to be given. “…I…Well I…I…Skarmory is going to be back at the ruins. We intended to trick all of you!” Upon the last letter both guards rushed out of the holding cell, obviously both wanting to be the first to tell whoever was in charge perhaps hoping for a promotion into higher ranks. This gave Joshua the perfect opportunity; time seemed to have switched sides.

*****​

The wind howled through the strands of Officer Jenny’s hair, giving her thrill that she would never forget. Once again they attempted to break the side of the copter open, to free Max and the others but time after time it just didn’t work. Jenny took her eye of the helicopter and scanned the ground for confirmation of where they were and where they were heading. Directly beneath them was the start of Petalburg City and the buildings stretching as far as the horizon. The giant mechanic machine suddenly tilted slightly to the left, dipping lower to the ground. The noise vibrated the air around them; nearly everyone came out of their houses to see what was creating the tremendous ear ache. Both Carolyn (Max’s Mum) and Norman (Max’s Dad) were already outside having training matches between Slakoth and Snorlax. They didn’t seem bothered by this commotion unaware of who was trapped inside.

After a long and (to Skarmory) tiresome fly to the ruins of Oldale, the helicopter seated itself neatly onto the fresh grass, motivating Jenny to wake herself from her drowsy state. Skarmory dove into the near tree tops allowing Jenny to jump from its armoured back, she held tightly to the hand bag. “Arcanine and Tangrowth your assistance is needed,” she very delicately whispered, both Pokemon were able to take the hint from her voice. Arcanine crouched down, rolling its fluffy tail out straight, Tangrowth melded with the bushes to be able to hear any conversation clearly. Skarmory and Swellow took to the sky in order to keep a beady eye on their friends.

The hatch screeched as it laid softly upon the clean ground. Five cloaked men immediately stepped from inside the contraption being crudely followed by three chained people and Pokemon. “Skarmory…will be in those ruins over there…You promise not to hurt him.” Joshua felt an urge of sudden glee flowing within his body, the only people getting injured wasn’t them but the 5 masked men. Their pride would be sufficiently attacked.

This was Officer Jenny’s chance to shine, not thinking she half heartedly scurried into sight, skidding across the damp green ground. Arcanine and Tangrowth alike bolted out of hiding to support their trainer and stop the evil doings of the thugs. “Hand over the hostages now!” Angry as ever her rage boiled over, needing to escape and scold someone else. She wasn’t going to let anybody break the law, let alone get way with it. “Let’s show them what we can do guys. Arcanine use Flamethrower and Tangrowth use Power Whip” Nodding in agreement the two Pokemon released their attacks, the endless flame engulfed the five men causing a panicked reaction. The gigantic whip then slapped the men directly in the stomach, sending them soaring into the side of the chopper. Officer Jenny headed straight for the three tied together worried about their health and safety, “Are you all Okay?”

“Yeah, we’re okay,” Max bluntly replied rubbing his sore chest as Jenny untied them all. He lifted his head high, thanking the world for his well being and his chance to be the greatest Pokemon Master ever! “Don’t you want to go after those lot?”

“Not this time! I’ll let them go for once, but if they ever mess with me or my friends again...They will regret it!” The young woman raised her gaze into the reddening sky, the evening was looming ever closer preparing for the arrival of a new fresh day. Would a fresh start help erase the evil along with it?

 

[Lief Katano]

...?

 

[harryheart]

...?

That really doesn't make anything clear! What is it that you don't understand?​

 

[harryheart]

Chapter 6: Zigzag through the mind!

Max was thrown harshly against the inside of a metal machine, not being able to see exactly what was taking place as his injury was causing him to become weaker and weaker. He heard a woman speaking to him; unfortunately again this was muffled as his mind was concentrating on the throbbing pain pounding in his chest. His instincts were informing him of friends in need, but just who they were, he couldn’t remember. More voices entered the whirl of vibrations buzzing around Max, intending to penetrate the walls of his secluded mind. He heard the cries of little, unknown voices, not speaking the language he knew, they just seemed to keep on repeating the same word over and over again but with different intonations. Maybe he was just having a bad dream. Creatures just saying one word and only one word seemed really weird and rather crazy. Once all the complaining was over a certain warmth crept over his muscles, seeping into his skin and rested like a layer of mould over his body. Max began to feel sluggish and dozy, wondering what was causing the strange effects on him. More calls were sounding again with a slight electrical buzz in the background. Had he been encased in an electrified cage? Before he had a chance to answer the question posed in his mind, darkness thrust itself into Max’s vision. All lights seemed to switch off!

Bolting upright and back into his world, Max rubbed his mahogany eyes free of bitterness. It seemed that the previous days experiences had affected him more than he had originally thought. Quietly he wriggled out of the bed that Joshua had kindly allowed him to stay in the night before. He grabbed his warm clothing and stumbled into the bathroom, locking it as he whisked himself in. Dumping everything in his hand to one side he clambered into the shower, not bothering to take his green t-shirt and red shorts off. Max just needed to be woken up, then maybe he could think straight and erase the nightmare from his system. The hum lurched on, chugging away in the background while a cool jet of water lashed over Max, swallowing him into an array of droplets.

The water continued to splash upon his weary body while he began to recap his nightmare, playing it over and over again in his mind as if it was a remote controlling a DVD. ‘Maybe he was just having a bad dream, creatures just saying one word and only one word seemed really weird and rather crazy.’ How could he have forgotten Pokemon and how they act? Tears swelled in his eyes, Budew and Charmander had needed him and he wasn’t able to help them. All he had done was think that these creatures were crazy!

Two loud knocks tapped on the door to the blue striped bathroom, “Max, are you all right?” Roxanne had been awoken by the noise of the shower pattering in her ear like a calm rain shower. “Are you feeling better?”

“Yes, Roxanne! I’m fine. I just wanted a shower to sooth my muscles.” The young boy stretched his tightened muscles, relaxing himself; he switched the shower off stepping onto the fury carpet. Dripping everywhere, he reached for a towel drying himself and his clothes the best he could. Slipping kindly off his damp skin, the clothes were placed in a bag, ready to be hung out to dry in the glistening morning sun. After a rapid change, Max flung himself out of the bathroom door, making sure that his glance didn’t befall that of his Pokemon. He couldn’t face them at the moment; he had to give them space.

The brisk morning air tickled his fresh skin, causing the hairs to stand on end from a slight chill. Max however was in a mind of his own not feeling the effects, depressing himself with the thoughts of the helicopter. Not realizing he was doing so, he subconsciously pulled his damp clothes from their plastic covering and clipped them to a washing line outside of the thatched hut with the wooden clips already hanging there, swaying a little in the light wind. Shortly after his approach into the clearing, Roxanne followed keeping a watchful eye on his on goings, her apprehensive look indicating her vexed thoughts. She couldn’t understand what was going on with Max, why was he acting so strange?

Seeing the beautiful shine of the morning dancing on the bright green leaves, spreading a joyous feeling from one plant to the next, Max sullenly lowered himself to the ground, banging his back against the Willow tree positioned behind him. For once he didn’t cry out in pain, as he knew either Joshua or Roxanne would be out of the cabin in no time, to rapidly aid him. Instead tears flourished to his maroon eyes, feverishly containing themselves behind the white seal. Drawing his knees toward his dismayed face, Max couldn’t help burry himself into the lavish comfort of the black trousers, radiating a warm sense of pleasure through his gloomy and murky mind. A calm sense of relaxation multiplied like bacteria in every small section of his skin, acting in a style of meditation!

“Oy! You!” A brown haired girl stood a mere metre away from Max, her pink mini skirt crinkling in the light breeze. Max vaguely lifted his head to a point of seeing her black fluffy boots, poised as if she was about to do something extreme. “Are you with us?” She appeared to have become a tad less agitated, launching into an uncontrolled babble! “Well actually using the term ‘with us’ could suggest that you weren’t originally in our reality which is possible since know one really knows what reality is but I’m sure they will some day and figure out whether we are just…”

“Okay, okay, okay, I get it! You don’t need to keep on at me!” Max broke free from his calm, relaxed mental state, arising to his feet and positioning himself into an aggravated stance! “There is no need to ramble on at me!” His persona changed to a bully, causing the girl to react with a fearful reply.

“I’m sorry,” she cried with a howling wail, “I didn’t want to come across rude.” She retracted away from Max, causing him to revert back to his normal self. “Also, the main reason I came over here was to ask for a battle. Y…you see, I’ve only just got my starter Pokemon and I wanted to test my skills.” She compelled herself back into a cheerful smile, impatient for her first ever battle.

“Okay then! I accept!” Max whisked his hand to the location of his PokeBalls, realising that his Pokemon were still at the cabin. “Er, sorry to bring your idea to a halt, but er, my Pokemon are just back through there if you still want a battle!” Max stuttered, this time retracting in order to leave unscathed. He indicated to the clearing that he had just escaped from, “There, that’s where we have to go!”

​

*****​

They had finally arrived at the wooden hut, proceeding inaudibly inside. To Max’s dismay Roxanne was blocking his clear path to the Pokemon, playing together like Nursery children. His fearful expression revived onto the clean skin, unaware of its presence.

“Max, what’s wrong? You’ve been acting strange all morning and I need answers!” Roxanne came across as a stern figure deciphering an ancient code.

“I…I don’t know what your talking about,” his determined ability to prove himself wrong once again overpowering the need for truth, with a sudden need to change the conversation. “Please can you let me take Budew for a battle?”

“Not until you tell me what is the matter!” The two both seemed to have forgotten the presence of Max’s new friend, witnessing what seemed (from her point of view) to be a ridiculous little feud! She could tell that Max was caving to the idea of coming clean.

“It’s just that…well erm…something that happened last night!” Twitching as the words escaped his solid grasp. Joshua sauntered into the fire lit room, swiftly stopping at the noticeable silence discharging itself from the three stragglers, who a few seconds ago where in a heated discussion.

“Am I interrupting?” He questioned with an admirable amount of courage, but just like with the girl he was totally ignored. The silence bellowed it’s noise for more minutes to come, ignoring any possible sign of interruption.

The four eyes continued to be fixated with one another like they were the mouths doing the talking. At last Roxanne finally stated her thoughts as if she had understood the problem at hand. “Max, you don’t have to worry about dreams, they are just your imaginations view on things. There is no need to worry!”

“Wow, for a second there you sounded like one of my sisters newest friends, how odd! And I suppose your right! There is no need to worry.” Swivelling around to face his newest friend, Max compellingly started to lighten up his mood, “So, you ready for that battle I promised you!”

​

*****​

The glare of the mid-day sun roared in the picturesque sky, providing a glimpse of happiness onto the damned Earth.

“You can have the first move, being a gentleman and all!” Max grabbed a hold of the small ball containing the petite bud Pokemon, Budew. Pressing the centre white button, it expanded in size signalling that the battle was about to begin. The youngster opposite placed her blue handbag beside her feet; reaching to a PokeBall attached to her miniskirt, she did the exact same motion, throwing her PokeBall into the middle of the battle arena. This Pokemon that appeared, looked like it was a grass type, since it was a whitey colour blended with a light green touch. It was on all fours and had a green dots around its shiny neck, the most amazing thing was the leaf on top of its’ rounded head. Max seized his Pokédex from the pocket that it was now obtained in.

The device began to recall its' nature, “Chikorita, the dinosaur Pokemon, it uses the leaf to determine the temperature in it’s environment and loves to sunbathe when it posses the chance!” After slipping it neatly back into the pocket of his trousers, he threw the PokeBall in his left hand, out of the white beam emerged Budew, dancing on the spot with the occasional chirp of contentment.

Open space surrounded the two onlookers, watching the adolescents prepare for a casual battle, with the relatively near past pushed further and further behind them. Max and Budew were rearing to go, a proper battle for them to test their skills and teamwork. “Hm, two grass types against each other, this shall prove to be fascinating, therefore let’s commence!” With a yell of support from the sidelines, the opponents lunged towards each other, waiting for their trainers to relay commandments.

“Chikorita, given that you’re up there lets use Tackle!” The tiny grass Pokemon tucked her legs into her side bending her head down. With one sharp movement, Chikorita’s slammed into Budew with its’ full body weight as the force. Budew back flipped onto her legs, posing with style.

“Budew lets use your Bullet Seed attack, followed up with Water Sport!” A yellow shine released miniature seeds in the dozen at a horrific speed, Chikorita had no chance to dodge, but the lass thought on her feet, instructing the Pokemon to counter with Razor Leaf. The leaf upon Chikorita span like a rotor on a Helicopter, creating sharp leaves that cut the oncoming seeds with no trouble at all. Budew quickly reacted by energetically vibrating its’ small body in order to fabricate water. The approaching leaves were splattered, along with Chikorita. At first it didn’t prove to be a significant problem, until the attack began to slow down, dropping dead against the soil. Everyone realised that the move was used defensively to allow Budew a chance to move earlier and let the attacks hit. “It didn’t work as I expected it to, but destroying your attack certainly helped!”

“The battle isn’t over yet so don’t jump to immediate conclusions Max,” called Roxanne from the bench at the boundary of the arena. “You need to think strategically if you’re going to win this one!”

“Well we’re not going to mess up from here onwards, Chikorita Leach Seed now!” The green dots around Chikorita’s neck glowed a vibrant red, linking them all together. As a result it released three giant buds, directly hitting Budew. After impact, vines swept from one bulb to the next, connecting together. Zaps of energy constantly hit Budew, draining power out and into Chikorita. Roxanne declared the battle over, saying Budew was unable to continue the battle. Max ran beside his injured Pokemon, tearing the damaging attack from Budew. He cradled her in his loving arms, standing straight up and gleaming at the winner.

“Well done!” He withdrew one of his arms from Budew, gesturing his appreciation. The girl took his hand into hers’, returning his gleeful smile. “Budew will be alright, and you’ve shown me my errors, thank you.”

“Really I should be thanking you for giving me and outstanding first battle, and if others are like this then we will have amazing battles in our attempt to wins ribbons!”

“So you are a Coordinator, good luck in your contests. I hope to see you again some day. One last thing before I forget, what did you say your name was?”

“Oh, I didn’t mention that, how silly of me! My name’s Harriet, nice to formally greet you!”

​

*****​