Lost Pokemon Tales - Chapter 2

The sailor shouted his commands as loud as he could possibly do. "Like I said kid, you're dead, game over! Staryu, Starmie! Water gun! Lickitung! Surf and finish him off with a Hydropump Blastoise!". Within a second the pokemon followed their master's command and leaped forward to perform their instructed move!

They got closer..

And closer..

AND closer...

And at this moment, time almost seemed to stand still for a second..the trainer shouting his lungs out as he gave a single command to his Ghastly. "NOW!". The second the trainer gave the command, the Ghastly shrouded himself in a purple hue, collecting power which was now surging through his floating body and just as the four pokemon got in range to deliver their attacks, the Ghastly unleashed the pure, dark, energy. Firing a single Shadowball attack towards the Starmies inner crystal, shattering it and leaving the pokemon around it stunned by the small shockwave of the blast.

The purple hue that first appeared around the Ghastly was now spreading all over the battlefield, creating a thin purple cloud which made it a little bit harder to see..Giving the scene once more a moment of complete silence as the two trainers waited for the purple hue to lift so that they could inspect the damage with their own eyes.


Slowly, the female trainer let herself down from the wall, landing without complications on the stapled sacks of flour beneath her. The walls around her provided shadows and enough hiding space if she chose not to show herself. With the cold wall of concrete behind her, she knew there was no way she would get back on that wall, unnoticed. The old pokeball she was still holding in her right hand shook lightly, the girl wondered if she should just walk off, the boy seemed capable of handling his own problems fair enough. But the little voice inside her head told her to stay.

The sun was nearing the edge in the ocean now, the bleach moon in the sky lost its blue hue bit by bit as the sky high up was growing darker. Very faint, the first stars could be seen, as tiny glitters in the sky. How long had she been here to watch the battle between two people she didn't know? Her hunger had been momentarily forgotten, but now that she thought about it, maybe it hadn't been a wise idea to stay put, instead of finding something to eat. She could forgot getting into an hotel now around this time, cities like these never had spaces left after 6 in the evening.

She sighed heavily.
*I'll probably have to use my old camping equipment again... unless there's a pokemon center nearby.*

The battling pokemons were still going at it, the ghost type had used a special ability, so it seemed. Purple dust was blocking the pokemons from view and the sailor was spewing out insults as he apparently didn't like to be out of control. Listening to the ranting sailor, she noticed she was still standing there, she had wanted to head out to find some food, but her curiosity got the better of her and her legs didn't obey her urge to go get some food. She wanted to see what happened, drawn by her curious nature, she hid herself partly behind the concrete wall and waited..

Though the purple hue still was present, it slowly started to fade due to the fact that strong winds often were present in a sea-side town such as this one. While there still was time, the trainer ran towards his Ghastly and grabbed his pokeball, kneeling down and activating the mechanism on the ball, storing his Ghastly inside. "Good job Rei." He whispered to himself. He quickly got on his feet again and glanced behind him one more time before making a timely escape through an alley next to the restaurant.

Just as the trainer disappeared from sight, a powerful wind blew away whatever dust still remained. It revealed the Starmie which lay in a critical condition. It's core had been completely shattered by the Shadowball attack and the sailor was kneeling down next to the pokemon, it looked like his head was going to explode due to anger. He grabbed two pokeballs and retrieved the two pokemon which had fainted during the battle. His other three pokemon still remained however and the immobilization effect which had held them earlier seemed pretty much gone.

"Hmpf. How could you stupid pokemon let him get away?!" The sailor shouted. He had obviously noticed that the trainer he had been fighting wasn't exactly here anymore. He looked over his shoulder in the direction of the harbor, and the direction where the sun was going down. "We'll look for him later..no use trying to find that brat in the dark." He said with a confident tone while grabbing three more pokeballs to store his remaining pokemon in. And with that said and done, he left the scene, heading in the direction of the harbor.

By now, the battlefield clearly had some scars of battle. The concrete of the restaurant seemed to be slightly damaged at some points due to the battle and small craters surrounded the area as well. As for the restaurant, it looked deserted and closed. Most of the people there had probably evacuated the area while the battle was taking place. The strong wind which had been felt earlier was increasing now and the sky showed signs of an upcoming storm. It was pretty obvious which alley the trainer took to escape though, and while the sailor hadn't seen it, the trainer had dropped, probably lost, a mysterious looking badge where he was previously standing. Regardless of that though, the trainer was nowhere to be seen and like the sailor had already picked up, it was getting dark fast..

The female trainer didn't say anything, the battle had been over so suddenly, the small clearing was now empty. The wind had picked up speed, long grass growing between the concrete wall and the pavement were waving on the winds irregular pace, the salty air of the sea being carried far inland. This sort of wind was very common at the shore, big amounts of cumulonimbus cloud be spotted high above the ocean. The sun had finally reached its setting destination at the horizon, the sky turned a bright orange and slowly changed into a deep crimson, but between the deep dark blue high above and the crimson red at the horizon, it looked like there were so many colors in between, the sky itself had turned into a rainbow.

She still hadn't moved since she decided to stay and watch the battle between the two unknown trainers, she was just standing here, gawking at the beautiful sunset. Twilight had always been her favorite time of the day..
The winds brushed her hair lightly, today was exceptionally beautiful, especially after the long trip on route 110, it had been raining almost all the way.

The sun gave off bright rays of light and just then, before the sun had completely went under, something shiny caught her attention. There was something on the ground, reflecting the sun's rays. She might've missed the tiny item if it had been a few more inches to the left, for only a few strokes of light hit the small clearing. She went over to the glittering item on the ground and bent over to pick it up. It Looked like a coin at first, since it was perfectly round and had a smooth surface. It was cold to the touch, she could feel carved patterns on the backside though. When she turned it around, she confirmed it was a piece of flat metal, the only thing that made it more than just a piece of metal, shining in the sun, was that it had been waxed with purple coloring and had an organized pattern that made it look like a small picture. A picture of what though, it wasn't quite clear. In the middle, there was a small piece of crystal attached, it might be an important item.

"This... might this be what I think it is?"
"Could this be a gymbadge...?"

The girl trainer looked up, the sun had disappeared already and the streets were now basking in its afterglow, the street lights had popped on without her noticing it. She held the small badge closer to her face, she had never seen a gymbadge before, hadn't even dared to try and challenge a gymleader, she didn't need that kind of attention, didn't like big publics and crowds in general. But still, here she was, in what was probably the second most crowded city in the entire region of Hoenn. She turned the coin-like badge in her hand several times and then closed her hand tightly around it.

*I guess I should at least try to look for the guy, he might've went through a hard time getting it, gymleaders are pushover after all..*

She put the badge in a pocket of her backpack and closed it off with a zipper. Looking around for a few moments, she tried to remember where the trainer had run off to, then she shrugged and just went down the street. Maybe it was better to get some sleep first, no use searching for a boy she barely knew in the dark in a city this big.

*Getting something edible would be nice too...*
Her stomach rumbled loudly in agreement with her thoughts. Sighing, she continued onwards down the now dark street that had only few lanterns on the sides to light her path.

The trainer let out a sigh and glanced behind him, trying to determine whether he had actually finally lost his attacker or not. He had been running non-stop for fifteen minutes now and took all sorts of strange paths to ensure he could not be followed that easily. Now however he apparently found himself at the end of the alleyway he had been following and it looked like a dead end as well. No wall to climb over or anything, just a large, concrete wall belonging to a house. He closed his eyes for a moment and let himself drop on the ground, resting his back against the concrete wall he was facing just a second ago. Now he finally had some time to inspect his surroundings..the alley he found himself in was incredibly small in width, three meters at most with trashcans and other garbage making it even smaller. He could barely see the sky here, with walls surrounding him on all sides and buildings blocking his view everywhere he looked. The only thing he could see was a collection of dark clouds far up in the sky..and the trainer had a slight feeling it was going to rain soon.

He inspected the wound he had gotten on his leg earlier; Though the bleeding had stopped it still seemed to sting a bit. The Raticate had made a clean cut across the lower part of his leg but he was lucky he avoided the main attack else it might've turned out to be much worse than just a small cut. He moved his hand over to his pockets and grabbed the dark, engraved pokeball. Placing it on the ground beside him. The clothes the trainer wore were quite standard..just some jeans, a blouse with its sleeves rolled up and a black shirt underneath. On his back he carried a black, medium-sized backpack which held some basic supplies such as water and so on.

*..I think we lost them Rei.* He thought. Though he didn't say anything, he knew his ghost-type pokemon could read his thoughts through telepathy, even from within his pokeball. He did enjoy to simply talk to his pokemon though..mainly because he himself wouldn't feel so alone if he did as well..but at times like these it was perfect, due to the fact that he was completely exhausted, and his pokemon probably was as well due to the energy it had used during the battle. *..I'm kinda missing Lavender Town now...* He looked up at the sky and sighed..it was getting darker and darker by the second, until even the last ray of sunlight had completely disappeared. There was no lighting in the alley he was in either..so the only kind of light he could see came from the windows of the buildings around him. *Well..at least we're used to being in the dark..in more than one way..* he snickered to himself..

He was glad he could still laugh about the situation he was in.
*I knew we should've finished that guy off on the ship though..sorry. I didn't mean for us to get into a fight. I'm like the only pokemon trainer that doesn't like to go around challenging everyone to a pokemon battle..I bet you I'm like the strangest trainer there is, Rei.* He placed a hand on his belly after it gave another growl "I'm really hungry..I doubt anything's open around this time though.." he said in a low tone of voice. Even now however it echoed throughout the alleyway. He gave another glance at the sky above him and continued "..And I think we should find some shelter too..I bet you it's going to rain soon and I know you hate bad weather.". He grabbed the pokeball and held it in front of him "..I can release you from that ball though..Doubt anyone's still out now. Shouldn't cause any problems right?" He said to himself. He moved his hand over to the small button on the pokeball, releasing his Ghastly in front of him.

Though the ghost-type pokemon would seem frightening to most, this one obeyed his trainer without much difficulty. What bond they had was a mysterious one, but it looked like some sort of mutual respect and understanding they had for each other, while still keeping a healthy friendship. The trainer gave a smile in the Gastly's direction and pulled himself on his feet again. He reached a hand inside of his pocket for no other reason than it just being another habit. While he did that however, he froze.

"Uuh..Rei." He said with a uncertain voice. "...Did you grab our Marsh badge? Because uh...it's not on my belt." Every time he reached into his pockets, he could feel the metallic texture of the badge on his skin, but all he felt now was the structure of his pants and belt, nothing more. His voice was getting desperate now. Whether or not the Ghastly had answered obviously couldn't be heard in words. "Well uh..I don't have it eith--..."

...Wait!

He remembered something! "Damnit..I knew I felt something strange! The badge must've slipped while I was getting your pokeball out of my pocket..." ..... "DAMNIT!" he shouted out in anger. "It took us like forever to get that marsh badge from Sabrina. Do you remember how beat up we were after we finally managed to put her pokemon under your sleep ability?" He grimaced at the thought but quickly continued "..Wait, it's still gotta be there.."

He focused his attention on his Ghastly, speaking in a dead serious tone "You go ahead Rei, you don't get obstructed by these walls at least..I'll be there as fast as possible okay?". The Ghastly seemed to make a nodding gesture and disappeared out of sight. The trainer too, having caught his breath before, ran out of the alley. Though he couldn't retrace his steps, he knew which way would lead him to the place he used to be. Or well..so he hoped. He was going in the opposite direction however, even though if he didn't know that yet. This path however might miraculously lead him to the road the female trainer had taken earlier, He going exactly in the opposite direction she seemed to be going..

The girl trainer wandered forth down the dimly lit street, which most likely would go all the way down to the beach that this city was so well known for. Apart from the street lanterns, only the windows on the different sized houses provided light. She was used to walking alone, but there was just something eerie about walking alone in the dark. The girl shivered, her right hand still hold on to the old pokeball, which was in its small form, gripping it just a little tighter to assure herself she was just paranoid and had nothing to actually worry about. Just then, she felt something wet drop on her elbow, startled, she turned around to face.. nothing. She looked around confused.

*Did I just imagine that? Or maybe.. w-was it a ghost?!*

Frantically, she looked around, the paranoia taking her over for a moment. Then, another drop fell onto her hand and one on her cheek, slowly, it started drizzling. Quizzically, she looked up to the sky, but had to close her eyes almost immediately, cause raindrops hit her eyes. She shook the rain out of her hair, grumbling.

"That's just like me, mistaking rain for a mouthwatering ghost?!"

She cursed herself for taking silly conclusions, of course it was rain, what else to expect with such threatening and dark looking clouds? The rain went from drizzling to thick drops that could drench you in a minute. The girl started to run, with her backpack held above her head to try to at least stay dry for some part. Of course it had to be her luck again.. or rather, the lack of it. With no place to stay at and with all restaurants already closed, she sure was in for a hell of a bad mood this night.

Lights behind the windows died one after the other, now only the street lamps were there to cast a light on her path. Puddles had already started to form, the lanterns were only partly reflected on their rain-broken surfaces. Finally, she saw a medium sized tree up ahead, quickly she hid under it, saving her from most of the rain. She sighed, relieved that she at least had found a place where she could hide from the rain until it got less intense or stopped altogether. The sound of splashing footsteps came into earshot and the female trainer had just turned around to see who was running up the hill, when the person had already passed tree she was hiding under, halfway. It was clearly a male though, even though she could only see his backside, which was quickly disappearing from the site as well.

"That guy can run fast." She said, talking to no one in particular.
"I wonder why someone would go out running, during a rainstorm?"

Before she knew it, the guy had disappeared, running up the street in the direction she had just come from, taking the sounds of splashing footsteps with him in the dark...

The trainer ran as fast as he possibly could. The battle with Sabrina still fresh in his memory. Though he had won his badge, he knew all too well that he and his Ghastly only won due to the elemental advantage his ghost type had against Sabrina's psychic type pokemon, and of course the fact that Sabrina and her pokemon shared a psychic link, which meant that once Sabrina's pokemon were put under the Gastly's sleep spell, she'd be as well. His clothes were almost completely soaked now but that didn't really seem to be on his mind at the moment. All he cared for was getting his badge back..even if he'd have to beat up the sailor he battled previously.

He wasn't afraid of the dark. He originally came from a little town called Lavender Town in Kanto. One could see it as -the- ghost town ( in a literal sense ) of the world, and once you'd gotten used to that, no lighting or a dark area wouldn't be a problem either. *I hope Rei managed to find it..* He repeated to himself in his head while he was running.

However..this didn't seem to be the case. Once he arrived at what previously was the battlefield, the only thing he saw was mud. The craters that had formed in the ground due to the battle were slowly washing away as well..leaving very little evidence of a battle at all. His Ghastly approached him, He of course having arrived at the scene a lot faster than the trainer did, and the answer he carried wasn't a good one. "...You didn't find anything either, huh?". the trainer said with a sad tone in his voice.....

He remained silent for a moment..

"..."

He let out a sigh and turned around, in the direction he came. "...Let's just..find some place to rest and get dry..we'll buy some food in the morning....". Not only was he drenched now, but muddy as well due to the constant running. His pants being completely covered in mud and his hands as well. Slowly but surely he started walking in the direction where he came from.. and after two hours of searching he had finally found a place to rest..

~***~