Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Boundless Sky ❯ Attack! Havoc in Rustboro City! ( Chapter 1 )

Chapter 1
Attack! Havoc in Rustboro City!

With a shriek, the girl fell on her backside. The shock of colliding with the pavement distracted her only momentarily from the pain of her arm, the clawed and ripped skin from which blood had begun to ooze. The three Poochyena snarled, poised to attack again, if necessary.

"Chiori!" Dr. Rougan shouted.

She stared at her arm, her breathing shaky.

"Do you see why we have to get rid of them?" Dr. Rougan raised the gun. "I know it's inhumane, but we can't let them run wild and attack people! You can't tame them! No one can!"

"Chiori!" A young man was running to her. He ignored the Poochyena's growls as he knelt beside her. "Are you okay?"

"Get her out of here," Dr. Rougan ordered.

"Please don't kill them!" Chiori cried. "They didn't attack me to be mean! They're just scared!"

"All the scientists are out around the city doing the same thing I am!" Dr. Rougan told her. "It's for our protection! The mayor, the gym leader... all the officials agree on this! And so do I -- especially after watching those pokémon attack my own daughter!"

The young man rose to his feet. "She's right, Dad. They're just scared. They've known the people don't want them around, so they retaliated. That's why they have claws and teeth."

Dr. Rougan sighed. "I know, Midori. I wish there was another way. But, as a representative of Devon Corp, I have to think about the safety of my community."

Midori closed his eyes and pursed his lips. "Okay," Chiori heard him whisper as he raised his head. "And I have to think about the safety of my community," he said aloud.

"What--" Chiori started to ask, but he bowed his head again and remained still.

"Midori!" Dr. Rougan called. "Don't just stand there, take your sister home and get her cleaned up!"

The air around Midori started to swirl, picking up dust and errant leaves that circled his body. His black trench coat and long hair fluttered elegantly.

Chiori tore her eyes from him to see the reaction of their father. His mouth hung open in confusion and impatience, but he wasn't saying a word. Then something else caught her attention: the three Poochyena, who now sat on their haunches, looking up at Midori intently.

She stared at her brother again, who seemed to be locked in some kind of trance. Had so much really happened in just one afternoon? It was such a break from routine...

---

The stack of books in Chiori's hands swayed precariously, causing her to stop in her tracks in order to balance them. Just a few more feet without a spill...

"Hey, Roxanne!" she called, stepping into the classroom. "I'm back!"

"Chiori!" She heard her friend's chair scrape against the linoleum, her shoes clicking hastily.

"No, don't get up!" Chiori protested. "I'm okay--" She stepped backwards, glancing over her shoulder to watch her footing. However, it distracted her from balancing her pile, and as she attempted to stand still again, her foot slipped and she collapsed, the dozen books crashing around her. She shielded her head with her arms as the corner of a book scraped her elbow.

"Chiori!" Roxanne cried, kneeling beside her.

"I'm all right." She rubbed her elbow. "It figures, I made it all this way without dropping one of them." She laughed and picked up the ones that had landed open.

"Why didn't you ask me to help?" Roxanne wondered, gathering four books in her arms.

"Because you were busy in here. And you said you needed them for upcoming lesson plans, so I thought I'd go get them for you." Chiori got up and carried the other eight books to Roxanne's desk without further incident.

"You didn't have to do that. I could have managed myself. Just not all at once."

"Now you don't have to! I just saved you a lot of time." Chiori beamed.

"You don't need to help me all the time," the young teacher said. "You come here almost every day after you get off school... don't you get tired of being in classrooms all the time? Wouldn't you rather be doing anything else?"

"Nah, my school is boring. This place doesn't feel like school at all! You study nothing but pokémon here. I wish I could enroll."

"It's your last year of middle school, right? I don't see why you can't this fall. You're practically a student already at this point."

Chiori giggled. "And I'd get a recommendation from one of the teachers, huh?"

"I'm just an aide," Roxanne reminded her. "But are you sure you'd want to study here? You'd be fine doing hands-on pokémon research out in the wild."

"Aw, trainer's journeys are overrated." Chiori waved her hand, scoffing. "Besides, I want to stay here with you!"

Roxanne smiled a little sadly. Chiori decided not to say any more. Everyone knew that the trainers' academy was for people who wanted to learn all about care and handling of pokémon, but couldn't actually make the individual journey -- for one reason or another. Chiori, as bright and healthy as any fourteen-year-old should be, had no need to obtain a pokémon education indoors, and she knew very well that her presence at the academy would make the other students feel worse about their hindrances.

"Um," she began, determined to change the subject. "Oh, yeah! Guess what?"

"What's that?"

"My big brother's coming to visit today! I haven't seen him in over a year, not since we moved here. I can't wait!"

"That's wonderful!" Roxanne smiled. "He stayed in Vermilion City?"

"Yup! But he should be here really soon. He said he'd be in time for dinner."

"You'd better go get ready, then."

"Are you sure you don't need anything else?" Chiori asked, concerned. "I'll stick around if you do -- my mom can tell Midori I'm here."

"No, no, you go ahead. I'll be fine, don't worry. I'll be here for awhile, grading these papers and then making my lesson plans for the next week."

"Okay... but I'll bring him here to meet you! Is that okay?"

Roxanne could resist giggling at her friend's enthusiasm. "Sure is. I look forward to it."

Chiori raced home, a grin spreading across her face as she looked forward to the evening. Her backpack full of her own schoolbooks thumped against her back, but she didn't mind. She rounded the corner of the block, her house in sight, and she stopped short, gasping for breath. Trash cans were overturned all down the sidewalk, garbage strewn everywhere. Just as Chiori realized what had happened, she saw the can in front of her house's fence moving. Two wild Poochyena backed out of it, dragging scraps of food in their mouths.

"Hey! Get out of there!" Chiori shouted, racing at them. They narrowed their eyes at her and growled, but fled as she approached. Chiori sighed and looked around at the scattered garbage. "Man," she sighed, "they're worse than the Zigzagoon. At least they have the decency not to knock over the cans."

She entered her house. "Hi!" she called, kicked off her shoes. "Is he here yet?"

Her mom came out to greet her, a large spoon in her hand. "Not yet," she said with a smile.

"Okay, I have time for a shower!" Chiori started up the stairs. "By the way, Mom, the Poochyena were back."

"Not again! We've really got to do something about them. Did you hear? The Folsoms' youngest boy was attacked by one."

Chiori paused. "Is he all right?"

"He will be, yes. Just be on your guard when you're outside."

"I always am!" She ran upstairs to her room, throwing down her backpack and getting ready for her shower. When she was done, she threw on her new shorts and a favorite t-shirt and shook her long pink hair, hoping it would dry quickly. She always noticed how students at the trainers' academy didn't have to wear uniforms. She hung hers up in the closet for the weekend, glad not to have to see it for two days.

"Chiori!" her mother called from downstairs. "We have company!"

Chiori shrieked and tore out of her room, flying down the stairs. "Mi-do-riii!" she cried, leaping into her brother's open arms. He laughed and hugged her, lifting her a few inches off the floor. Over six feet tall, with long, bright red hair that literally flowed over his shoulders and down his back, Midori always made an impressionable entrance, mainly because he wore his black trench coat even in warm weather. He slid it off and hung it up this time, however. "It's good to see you too, Chiori," he said, smiling and ruffling her damp hair. "You're getting really tall."

The top of Chiori's head now came to his shoulders. "You watch out, I'll be as big as you someday!" she said proudly.

"How was your trip here? Are you hungry?" their mother asked. "Do take off your boots, dear, and come sit down... I'm still making dinner, and your father will be home soon." She bounced from one thought to another, excited at seeing her grown son for the first time in a year.

Midori chuckled. "Same as ever around here, I see. I'm fine, and my trip was too long in getting here."

"Can I get you anything now?"

"No, thank you. I'm just glad to be here." He unlaced his boots, setting them by the door and following her and Chiori towards the kitchen. "What's with all the garbage on the street, though?"

"We're being plagued by wild Poochyena," Chiori explained. "No one knows how to stop them... but I'm going to talk to my friend Roxanne about them after we eat. Remember her? I want you to meet her! Will you come with me?"

"Of course! I'd be glad to meet your friend I keep hearing about."

"You two had best go now, then," their mother said. "It might be too late after dinner... Dad and I want to see Midori as much as possible, you know."

"Awww, okay. We'll be quick!" Chiori tugged on Midori's hand. "Do you mind? I know you just got here, but..."

"It's alright. I'll rest when it's bedtime, huh?" He grinned and followed her to the door, stepping into his boots again.

"Roxanne?" Chiori called for her friend as they neared her room at the school. She found her still at the desk, sorting through paperwork. "I'm back! And I brought someone for you to meet!"

Roxanne looked over her shoulder. "Hi, Chiori. So this is the famous big brother? It's nice to meet you."

Midori stepped up to her before she could rise, holding out his hand and smiling. "The pleasure is all mine, milady. I do hope we haven't interrupted anything important." He seemed to have a glittering aura around him all of a sudden, his change in tone and behavior reminding Chiori of certain boys in anime.

Roxanne's eyes were wide, startled by Midori's formality. Chiori was a little surprised, too; when had he started acting like this?

"Oh... no," Roxanne said. "I was just about to take a break and watch the news." She nodded at the nearby television set, sitting atop a tall, wheeled cart.

"Allow me." Midori turned the volume up on it. Roxanne looked at Chiori with a raised eyebrow. Chiori shrugged in her defense.

"So what befalls Rustboro City on this fine spring evening?" Midori asked.

"What befalls you?" Chiori replied, giggling. He gave her a bemused look.

"Eh?" Roxanne said suddenly. Her attention was solely on the news, in which the young reporter was holding a microphone up to an older woman, a town celebrity.

"Yes, that's right," she spoke into it. "It was an honor to give the very last Thorn Badge to such a skilled young trainer. It finalizes my whole career." The caption at the bottom of the screen read Aspen Celandine: Rustboro City Gym Leader, now retired.

The camera cut to a girl, barely Chiori's age. "I had no idea this would happen," she said breathlessly. It seemed as though the interview was conducted right after the battle. "It's my first badge, but I feel like it's the most important one." May Armstrong: Hoenn League Participant, the caption read.

"It's happening so fast, the new wave of gym leaders sweeping the region," Aspen said. "Flynn retired just last month -- Wattson is the only one of my generation left. I hope he represents us all well."

"Wow," Chiori whispered. "I never thought about it... what are the trainers going to do? That girl's really lucky, getting the last Thorn Badge."

"Someone will take her place," Midori said. There was a blurb on the screen about how Flynn's granddaughter had assumed control of the Lavaridge Gym as soon as he'd retired.

"It's not that easy," Roxanne said. "Aspen never raised a family or anything. No one inherits the gym."

"No relatives anywhere?" Midori asked. Roxanne shrugged.

"Do you have anyone in mind to replace you?" the reporter asked.

"Nope." Aspen, a well-mannered and strong-looking lady for her age, smiled at the camera. "I want this to be an opportunity for aspiring gym leaders across Hoenn. There are many specialists in pokémon types -- I don't want the Rustboro Gym to be associated with grass-types forever."

"And how do you propose to choose one of possibly dozens?" the reporter asked.

"Why, with a hearing at this year's Gym Leaders' Convention, of course. Every hopeful gym leader is invited to state her case, and I will be there to select the best candidate, along with the other leaders and the members of the Elite." Aspen bowed slightly.

"How generous of her," Midori commented. "Your Gym Leaders' Convention will be interesting. When is it?"

"In August," Chiori said. "Wow, then Rustboro will be the focal point of a lot of attention after that... we'd better do something about our pest problem before then. Hey, Roxanne?"

Roxanne was staring hard at her desk, not particularly at any of the papers that lay spread out. "Roxanne?" Chiori asked again.

"Huh?" The young teacher snapped out of her trance.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. Just silliness." She shuffled some of the papers around.

"What?" Chiori persisted, worry tugging at her voice.

Roxanne sighed. "I just wondered what it would be like to be a gym leader. That's all."

"You want to be the leader? That's awesome!" Chiori gushed. "You'd be perfect! You know hundreds of battle techniques and how to handle pokémon of all sorts--"

"But I don't actually have any of my own."

Chiori blinked and looked up at her brother, who was listening quietly. It had never occurred to her that Roxanne, a pokémon genius, didn't have any creatures for herself. "Well, that's easily fixed! Go capture some! It'll be easy for someone like you."

She sighed again, shifting in her chair. "Perhaps... but I can't go to the convention. It's too far away."

"Nah, it'd be okay! And it's months from now, you'll have plenty of time to get there. That's why they hold it during summer vacation."

"And did you ever think someone in my condition doesn't travel well?" Roxanne snapped abruptly.

Chiori clamped a hand over her mouth. It was always so easy to forget about her friend's poor health. Her bright attitude and vast knowledge made up for her shallow breathing and fragile build. And only a couple of hours ago she had brought Roxanne's books to her, so she wouldn't have to struggle with them herself. She felt a twinge of guilt for even thinking that the older girl couldn't carry a few books now and then.

"I'm sorry," Roxanne said softly. "It's just... it's everything. The people want gym leaders who are strong in both mind and body. That's why the League picks people who have been all over the country... or are at least related to someone who has. I knew Aspen was going to retire sooner or later, and I always thought that it would be nice if I could take her place... if I could become stronger by doing it."

"Of course you can," Midori spoke at last, dropping his impressive formality for a normal speaking voice, a serious one. "I hardly think your assessment of the League is correct, either. Where do you think we are, Kanto?"

Chiori smirked.

"Your pokémon are the ones who battle, not you," Midori continued. "All you have to do is control them from the background, and that's all mind power. And, if what Chiori has told me about your knowledge is true, then you must be more than qualified for the job."

"It's April now," Chiori said. "You can catch some pokémon really easily, and have a little while to train them, and, by August, you'll be all set! You won't have classes to maintain during all that time, you know." At Roxanne's pause, she added, "I'll go with you! Anywhere you want, I'll help. Think about it over the week, and next weekend we'll go pokémon hunting, okay?"

Roxanne looked from her to Midori, stunned. "Okay," she agreed, smiling a little.

"Yay!" Chiori clapped her hands.

They bade Roxanne good night after that, heading home for their waiting dinner. "This is going to be great!" Chiori declared. "I really hope she can be a gym leader. I can tell she doesn't want to be a teacher for the rest of her life. Oh! There's the pokémon mart! I'd better get some pokéballs!" She raced towards the store.

"Aren't you getting kind of an early start?" Midori asked, following her inside.

"Might as well, since I'm here! I'll give Roxanne some pokéballs to show her I'm serious!" She picked up a package of a half-dozen basic pokéballs,

"You know, Chiori," Midori said as they left the store. "Catching pokémon works better when you weaken them a little bit, so their guard is down. And the best way to do that is through a battle... with a pokémon you already have."

"Ehh!?" Chiori snapped her head up to look at him. "But... how are you supposed to get a pokémon in the first place, then?"

Midori chuckled. "That's the hardest part, usually."

Chiori groaned and went back to swinging the plastic bag with her new purchase.

Their father, a scientist at Devon Corp, the largest center of pokémon research and technology in Hoenn, was home when they returned, and dinner was ready. The family was hearing about Midori's travels over the past year, enjoying all the finely-prepared food, when there was a clatter and much loud barking.

"Already?" Dr. Rougan rushed to the window.

"Chiori, did you ask Roxanne about those Poochyena?" Mrs. Rougan questioned.

Chiori's blue eyes went wide. "Auugh, I forgot! We got caught up in the news -- Aspen, the gym leader, retired today!"

"Yes, I saw," said Mrs. Rougan as a melodic but muffled beep went off. Her husband, still at the window, reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellular phone.

"Is that so?" he said. "I see." A pause. "All right, I'll be there as soon as I can." He refolded and repocketed his phone. "They just held a meeting in town hall about what to do with the Poochyena influx. They want all of us at Devon to capture them for shipping out to the woods, which is probably where they came from." He bent over his plate and shoveled in the last of his potatoes.

"Right now?" Mrs. Rougan asked. "But it's getting dark."

"They're nocturnal." He swallowed his food in a huge gulp. "This is the best time to get them."

"You're not going to hurt them, are you?" Chiori insisted.

"No one wants to. Don't worry, we've got little cage-traps for their transport. If they don't cooperate, the worst they'll get is a mild shock. They'll be fine." His family followed him to the door. "Sorry about this, Midori. I'd let you come along, but they want us professionals only."

"Meanwhile, who's the one with pokémon of his own?" Midori said in good humor as Dr. Rougan drove off.

"Hey, yeah!" Chiori piped up. "Do you think I could borrow one to help Roxanne catch hers?"

Midori chuckled. "Not likely. I've got to take them back home with me, after all."

Chiori pouted a little as Mrs. Rougan started clearing the table. "Hopefully your father and his colleagues will set things right. And hopefully that will mean no more overturned trash cans. Chiori," she added pointedly.

"Okay," she agreed reluctantly.

Midori smiled. "I'll come with you."

He graciously picked up the slimier bits of garbage. When they had finished, Chiori placed the trash can's lid on as tightly as she could. "Maybe I should catch one of these Poochyena to help out Roxanne," she said. "Though I'd feel bad for the others that have to be stunned and shipped away."

"It's for the best," Midori said. "And like Dad said, they'll be all right. Better once they're back in the wild where they belong."

Suddenly a shot fired in the distance, followed by a Poochyena's yelp. Others barked in protest. Chiori and Midori exchanged a horrified look. "Let's find Dad," Midori said.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." He started down the sidewalk. Chiori gulped and followed him.

"I don't see any Poochyena," she said after a little while.

"I know." Midori kept turning his head, keeping his eyes open.

"Hey, is that Dad?" Chiori pointed down the street.

Midori squinted. "It is. You go ask him if everything's all right. I'm going to go look around a little more."

"Okay. Be careful."

"Naturally." He gave her a smile and hurried off, his coat flapping behind him.

"Dad?" Chiori called as she approached. She saw three Poochyena in front of him, and a couple of small cages at his feet. As she got closer, she always saw a gun in his hand. "What are you doing?" she cried.

He snapped his head up. "Chiori, stay back!"

She didn't listen, running as fast as she could to his side. "You said you weren't going to hurt them!"

"We had a change in plans. The captures we attempted earlier didn't really work -- they started attacking us. This is a safety precaution. We're still trying to be gentle, but if they won't cooperate..."

Chiori remembered the gun shot she'd heard earlier. "You can't! It's not right!"

"I'm sorry. These aren't garden pests like Zigzagoon, they're vicious, carnivorous pokémon!"

"They're attacking because they see you have guns! It's their safety precaution!" Chiori darted between her father and the three Poochyena.

"Chiori, move! You shouldn't even be out here, anyway! What's your brother doing?"

She ignored him and turned to the pokémon, kneeling before them. "I won't let him hurt you," she said, holding out her hand. "Just go into the cage for a little bit, and we'll take you to the woods. Doesn't that sound nice?"

Everything happened in a blur of motion: a Poochyena leapt at her outstretched arm, Dr. Rougan yelled her name, and Chiori tumbled backwards, more in shock than in pain...

---

She felt blood trickle down her arm, but her gaze was transfixed upon Midori. Dr. Rougan was calling to him now, but if he heard his father, Midori paid him no mind.

Dr. Rougan gave up yelling after a few minutes. Several more would pass before the air around Midori became still. The red-haired boy opened his eyes slowly and stumbled back a few steps.

"Midori!" Chiori exclaimed.

He gave her a tired smile. "It's all right now," he said.

"Huh?" She blinked at him. The Poochyena darted past her, running away from the scene and barking, a calling out rather than a threat. Chiori stared after them with wide eyes. "What's going on?"

"I told them they'd better leave for the forest themselves," Midori answered.

Chiori whipped her head around back to him, her hair flipping up to her face as she did. "You what?"

Two more Poochyena raced past them, following the path of the first three. Midori held out his hands to Chiori and pulled her to her feet. "Here." He handed her tissues from his coat pocket. "Sorry I didn't give you these earlier. I was a little distracted."

"That's okay," Chiori said absently, dabbing her wound.

Dr. Rougan's cell phone rang. "Yeah, mine too," he said to the caller. "I think they all just decided they'd better run to safety on their own."

Chiori winced at she pressed the tissues against her arm. Dr. Rougan finished his call and pocketed his cell phone. "I don't know what just happened," he said. "I don't think I want to know. I'm going back to Devon." He picked up the cages. "See you kids back home."

Midori placed a hand on Chiori's shoulder and turned her the opposite way, towards their house. "Dad's really freaked out," Chiori said.

"Of course. He's a scientist, and there's no explanation for him."

Chiori opened her mouth to ask, but Midori spoke first. "You remember Dengon, don't you? My Sneasel?"

"Yeah... no one knew what she was, because Sneasel aren't found in Kanto. It took you a couple of years to learn what she was, too." Chiori smiled at the memory, at the time when she and Midori lived in Vermilion together. "Why? You still have her, don't you?"

"Of course. I have more pokémon since I've seen you. There's Shinraiko, my Umbreon, and Sorataro the Murkrow..."

Chiori raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to get to the point.

"All my new pokémon are dark-types," Midori went on. "They all came to me on their own. And Poochyena are dark-types. So they are willing to listen to me."

"Whoa, wait," Chiori said. "You can talk to pokémon? With your mind?"

"The Poochyena told me they left the forest because of all the young trainers chasing after them. They wound up here, and liked picking through our garbage a little better than hunting down food. More choices here, apparantly." He smirked. "But I explained to them that it was no longer safe here, that the humans had stooped to killing them. So they agreed to go back to the forest. Annoying kid trainers are better than armed grown-ups any day."

"I can't believe you can just talk to them!" Chiori declared. "Will you teach me? It'll be easy because we're related, right?"

Midori smiled sadly. "It's nothing something you can teach, I'm afraid. It's... more like a talent."

"No way! I'm going to learn how! When I have pokémon, we'll be so close that we'll know each other's thoughts all the time!"

"Well, any trainer who's good to her pokémon can understand their feelings," Midori said with a grin. "But just don't expect to speak their language."

From behind them came a soft, inquisitive yip. The siblings paused and turned around to see a Poochyena, who had been following them. It stopped as well, lifting a forepaw and licked it delicately. Then it tilted its head as it stared at Midori.

He chuckled. "I might have guessed," he said aloud. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a pokéball, which he handed to Chiori. "I thought I'd come prepared."

"Huh?" Chiori looked from the ball to him.

"She wants to come with me. Just like Dengon and the others. But I asked if she'd mind staying with you instead."

"With me?" Chiori asked incredulously. "But you're the dark-type... guy." She fumbled for a word.

"She says that's all right."

Chiori squeezed the tissues to her arm and chewed on her bottom lip. Midori smiled patiently. At last, Chiori reached for the ball with her free hand, the one on the injured arm.

"Press once to enlarge it," said Midori. "And again to activate. Then give it a toss. It'll take care of the rest."

"I don't have to weaken it? You said that's how it worked."

"Normally, yes. But she's perfectly willing, so it's all right."

Chiori pressed the white button on the middle of the ball's face twice and flung it gently towards the Poochyena. It hovered above her head, and she watched curiously as its red beam engulfed her body, twisting her form and sucking her inside. Chiori's eyes were wide as saucers as the ball clattered to the sidewalk and rolled around a bit, still glowing. "It... it turned into..."

"She's fine. That's how a pokéball works, after all," said Midori.

"Wow..." Chiori picked up the ball, which was opaque and unable to show her new capture.

"You can name her anything you want," Midori told her. "Just be sure to call her by it often, so she learns it."

"Hmmm." Chiori looked around in thought. Then she giggled and declared, "Isis! From my favorite anime, remember?"

Midori laughed. "Good choice."

She clutched her pokéball protectively in her free hand. "Thank you, Midori! I promise I'll take the best care of her."

"I know you will. Now we'd better get home and get that taken care of." He looked down at her arm.

"I hope Mom won't be mad that I brought home the kind of pokémon that did this." Chiori laughed nervously and looked up at the sky, where stars were beginning to shine. Then she noticed that Midori had started walking again, and she hurried to catch up to him.