“There you go. Move at a medium speed.” Baba said. “Too slow and it might think you’re a predator Pokémon stalking it. Too fast and it will definitely think you’re a predator hunting it. Never look it in the eyes. At least not until you gained its trust.”
“It helps that I can’t see it’s eyes.” Jet admitted.
Jet put his hand out just like his father had taught him. The brown, furry porcine Pokémon was completely covered in fur. Big flaps of fur covered its two beady eyes.
“It doesn’t need its eyes. Piloswine are rare in Arjana. I caught this one when I visited Johto but I never got to fully train him.”
“Because you got arrested?”
“Yes,” Baba said wearily. “Because I got arrested as a member of Team Rocket. Now pay attention. Piloswine has a great sense of smell and its ears are not bad either. ”
“So should I stop talking?” Jet took slow, methodical steps toward the Piloswin.
“Only if you want it scare it and freak it out. Then it 100% will charge you. Try making hissing sounds like pspspspss.”
“What do I do if it charges at me?”
“Run dummy,”
“And if it’s faster?”
“Well there is one item I always carry with me. In fact I carry several. Never. Never ever. Leave home without one.
Jet’s mom came around the corner looking frazzled. She removed her headwrap and slung it over the wooden rail of the porch.
“I need to talk to you,” she said to Jet’s Baba.
They were silent for a moment. Only a moment. Their voices began to crescendo as the argument got heated. Jet tried to make out what they were saying. Something about Team Obsidian and taking Jet out of school.
Jet turned scared. “I don’t want to leave school!”
“SWIIIINE!” Jet’s movements were too quick. Too abrasive. He realized he had triggered the Pokémon. Piloswine rose up. For a brief second Jet could see the two beady eyes that usually hid beneath the tufts of fur.
Jet prepared himself to be trampled. Baba was smart, but more than smart, Baba was fast. Most parents would have run over and pushed their child out the way. Baba just simply removed his pokéball and recalled Piloswine. The Pokemon disappeared in a beam of red energy.
Jet sighed and sat on the ground.
“You were supposed to run, Dummy.”
“First the Rhyhorn and now Piloswine. Why are Pokémon always charging me?”
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“Why are Pokémon always chasing me?” Jet wondered aloud as Scarface made his way up the hill. For a second he saw a flash of red as the Alpha Pokémon aura erupted from its body.
Jet ran. He had taken the bag off his back to check on Eevee. Instead of putting it back on his back he slung it on so that it was sitting across his chest. Most people said he was panicking but he had everything under control. Sort of.
They ran the opposite way, away from the watering-hole and away from the furious Pokemon. They made it to the other side of the hill panting on their way down.
“Is he still following us?” Jet asked. He turned and peered over his shoulder.
“BOUFF!!” The oversized Bouffalant crested the hill. It raised its two front hoofs in the air and kicked angrily. It slammed down on the ground and Jet could feel its power radiate through the earth. It wasn’t even a Pokémon move. It was just that strong.
“Yep, still following us!” Jade answered.
“I got this,” Jet said, reaching into his bag that was across his chest. If he had slung it on his back he never would have been able to pull out his secret weapon. He moved past the cowering Eevee and grabbed onto something else just as soft but inanimate.
Jet pulled out a pink pokéball. Instead of a hard object it was made of fluff and cotton. Jet tossed the pokéball plushie with all his might. It traveled in the air and struck the ground right in front of Scarface. The ball expanded and morphed into a large pink Clefairy plush doll. The PokéDoll was specifically made to distract dangerous wild Pokemon and help trainers escape. It was his dad’s secret weapon. The item he told Jet to never leave home without.
Scarface trampled over the Pokémon plushie like it didn’t even exist.
“Shit! Run!”
“What was that?! Jade yelled angrily. They had stopped running to throw the plushie and now had lost their lead.
“A PokéDoll!” Jet answered. “It should have worked.”
They could feel the Pokémon gaining on them. The ground shook with every step and hoofbeats grew louder in their ears.
Jade placed a hand on Jet’s shoulder and pushed. “Dodge now!” Jet tumbled to the right and Jade sailed to the left. Scarface, who had been right behind them missed with his Tackle and passed them by. Jet felt the wind rip by him. It was as if a semi-truck had barreled by and had barely missed him.
This wasn’t the end though. The Pokémon galloped a few feet and made a wide u-turn. It came to a halt several meters away and began stamping wildly.
Jet rolled over on his back and then back peddled on his hands and feet as the Pokémon stalked him. Slowly coming closer. He’s lucky it didn’t just turn around and instantly crush him. Instead, it chose to walk right up to him and put its face a few feet from his face.
It was at this moment, Eevee, who had been in the bag being jostled around, chose to stick its head out the bag. Jet was saved. His brave little Eevee had overcome its fear and was now coming out the bag to save him. Scarface turned his attention to Eevee.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Eevee,” Eevee said hesitantly.
“Eevee. Use Tackle.” Jet said.
“Eevee.”
There was a sound of a click as a pokéball opened and Eevee disappeared in a beam of bright red light.
“Oh! So now you choose to get inside your pokéball you grade A+ asshole.”
Jet cried out nervously as the huge Pokemon pushed itself even close to him. A large, gray nose sat at the end of its short, beige snout. Hot, stinky, air washed over Jet’s face. He stared forward. He didn’t close his eyes.
Maybe it was the luck of the universe. Maybe it was fear. Jet had panicked and in that panic he had forgotten what his father had always taught him. But that was what saved all of their lives that night.
“Shadow! Use Bubble!”
A stream of transparent blue orbs slammed into Scarface. Scarface screamed and turned. Jet managed to get from underneath the huge Alpha Pokémon before being trampled to death. He instantly began digging through his bag.
Scarface turned and faced Jade. Her Pokémon partner, a Froakie, stood in front of her. The Froakie flexed its arms as if showing off its muscles. Jade took her pokédex and looked at her partner’s stats
Name: Shadow
Trainer: Jade
Level: 10
Nature: Hardy
Hp: 31
Attack: 19
Defense: 16
Sp Atk: 20
Sp Def: 16
Speed: 22
Froakie, the Bubble Frog Pokémon
It protects its skin by covering its body in delicate bubbles. Beneath its happy-go-lucky air, it keeps a watchful eye on its surroundings.
Her Froakie was nowhere near powerful enough to deal with Scarface. The wild Pokemon was so out of her league it wasn’t even funny.
“Jade!” screamed Jet from the side. “I think he’s pissed at you.”
The buffalo Pokémon stomped its feet and lowered its head.
“Oh yeah, he’s pissed.” Jade said. “Shadow! Give him another Bubble!”
The frog Pokémon pulled back its head and let loose a barrage of bubbles. The bubbles popped against the wild Bouffalant’s fur. The Pokémon screamed. In reality the attack wasn’t doing much but pissing it off. When Jade checked her pokédex she saw only the smallest amount of damage had been done to Scarface’s HP bar. They were trying to beat a giant with a feather.
Scarface charged again. Both Shadow and Jade had to leap to the right to avoid the attack. They were in sync. When Shadow moved right Jade moved left. When Shadow dodged, Jade dodged. Jade trusted her partner and he trusted her. When she said dodge right he dodged the right without fear or hesitation.
[https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/6f17418f-c2f8-4acb-a748-15c3c94aca3f/dfeqzxs-5455476b-14b2-4b8d-8a9a-c53e159dbe3a.png/v1/fill/w_1192,h_670,q_70,strp/pokemon_obsidian__scarface_vs_shadow_by_airmangrace_dfeqzxs-pre.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9NzIwIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvNmYxNzQxOGYtYzJmOC00YWNiLWE3NDgtMTVjM2M5NGFjYTNmXC9kZmVxenhzLTU0NTU0NzZiLTE0YjItNGI4ZC04YTlhLWM1M2UxNTlkYmUzYS5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.ibn6pNr7nVmvZRRjIEXnA_gLnm0o2HKAR8X6rYniA0A]
It was only this trust and training that allowed them to survive as long as they did. Jade kept froakie on his toes. Froakie kept dodging attacks instead of making his own counter attacks. Jet soon realized what she was doing. She was leading the Bouffalant into a trap.
Scarface led with a Head Charge attack only to miss his target once again. Jade had led Froakie to the right and she had gone to the left just as she had done when she pushed Jet out the way of Scarface’s first Tackle.
Jade realized something was wrong. The truth is her and Shadow should have been pancakes by now. Scarface’s attacks were always slightly wrong. Slightly off kilter. It was the only thing keeping them both from being trampled. If only by a hair.
They had gone in a clockwise motion slowly leading themselves to a huge boulder. Finally, Jade’s back was to the boulder and Shadow was in front of her. Scarface lowered his head for another charge.
In an instant Scarface was running forward. Once again, Jade dodged one way and Shadow dodged the other. Scarface missed them both. Breezing by like a runaway train.
WHAM!
Rocks showered everyone as Scarface slammed into the boulder. Breaking it into millions of pieces. Dust and debris filled the air.
“Yes!” Jade cheered.
“BOUFF!” Scarface instantly hit a u-turn. Jade had been hoping that running it into a boulder would stop it. This was an Alpha Bouffalant! Even normal Bouffalants could crack boulders just for the fuck of it. Now it turned and headed straight for Jade.
“Froakie!” Froakie jumped in front of his partner and let out a stream of bubbles. Again his attack didn’t do much damage. It did however manage to slow Scarface just enough for Jade to expertly roll out of the way.
Shadow dodged but took a glancing blow. That was more than enough. Shadow was done. Scarface was so powerful that even the slightest blow was like hitting the lower level Froakie with a freight train. Shadow fell back. Unable to battle.
By this time Jet had found what he needed. A soft pink pokéball sat in his hands. He gave the ball a squeeze and a plushie expanded out from the ball.
Jade looked from her Froakie to Jet astonished. During The entire battle she had hoped that he had something up his sleeve. She realized at that moment that she may have gotten herself killed by following Jet.
Instead of fear, however, Jet smiled. He put a finger to his lips in a shushing motion. He stood up and flung the PokéDoll as far as he could. The Jigglypuff doll hit the ground with a SQUEEKE! The toy laughed and an electronic “JigglyPuff!” screamed from the creature.
Once again Jade wandered if death was imminent. What would a doll do? Especially since the last one hadn’t worked.
Instead, Scarface turned. He headed towards the doll and slammed into it!
“Jiggly?!” the doll screamed and floated away. Scarface gave chase. When he caught up to it he slammed into the creature once again. It screamed and floated away again and Scarface gave chase again.
Jade recalled Shadow into his pokéball and took off running away from the Bouffalant and Jet was close behind her.
When they got back to the edge of town it was nightfall and the street lamps were beginning to come on. They had run all the way back without stopping. Jade had only slowed her pace for Jet to catch up.”
“You want to explain…” Jade had to catch her breath. “...You want to explain what happened back there?”
“My dad…” Jet exhaled. “He used to tell me. Not to look into a Pokémon’s eyes cause they’ll freak out. But I was so scared. I froze. I looked right into Scarface’s…Well I looked into Scarface’s face.”
“So what?” Jade said, annoyed. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“There’s a reason why they call him Scarface. Maybe a Pokemon got him or something. His face is all scratched up.”
“Jet,” Jade said frustrated. “Just get to the bottom line.”
“Jade. Scarface is blind. His eyes were damaged. He can’t see a thing.”
“That doesn't make sense. How was he chasing after us? How was he leading his herd to water?
“I dunno. Probably by sound and maybe smell too. That’s why the first PokéDoll didn’t work. He couldn’t see it. I used a different model. One that squeaks and makes sounds.”
“That’s why he kept missing.” Jade realized.
Jet, who had been bent over heaving from his run, stood straight up. “Yeah it’ll be good to know when we face it next time.”
Jade frowned. “Uh. What do you mean we?” She said once again putting emphasis on the pronoun.