[https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/6f17418f-c2f8-4acb-a748-15c3c94aca3f/dff4273-33c300c7-287d-47fc-b514-fdff9747dfaa.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzZmMTc0MThmLWMyZjgtNGFjYi1hNzQ4LTE1YzNjOTRhY2EzZlwvZGZmNDI3My0zM2MzMDBjNy0yODdkLTQ3ZmMtYjUxNC1mZGZmOTc0N2RmYWEuanBnIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.A-IlmIkXfJQxNY6wubSqcH8Tn3pYN_RWal8SomByGBM]
Jet took the bus into town and walked through the streets towards Jade’s junkyard. There was actually only one junkyard in the entire town. Umooja Town didn’t have a lot of used vehicles and Steel Type Pokémon usually took care of any spare scrap metal lying around.
Even though there was only one yard, the junkyard itself was huge. It was on the edge of town opposite of Umooja Academy. It took up more than 2 blocks.
Jet couldn't help but noticed everything had painting of Pokemon. There was a huge pokeball painting on the main building and on cars and on anything else that happened to be around. There was a huge Butterfree painted smack dab over the main garage. To the left were two Magby. They were spit roasting a large metal tube with a fire attack.
“Can I help you?”Jet was so busy starring at the painting he didn't notice that a man had walked up next to him. He was dressed in blue overalls and a Magneton floated over his head.
He had a thick accent from Kanto. He had olive skin and almond eyes. It took a moment to realize that this was Jade’s dad. Their skin color was different, Jade being light brown, but she resembled the man so much it would be impossible for him to be anyone else BUT her dad.
“Hey, Jade invited me over.”
“And what are your intentions toward my daughter?”
“Uhh…” Jet didn’t expect to be grilled. “I have no intentions toward my daughter–I mean your daughter.” He stumbled.
“In Kanto, a man with no intentions is no man at all.” The man pulled a long piece of metal from the ground. His Magneton floated just over his shoulder.
WHAM!
Jet jumped as the sliding gate shut behind him. Two Machoke had slid the door shut and were now wrapping a metal chain around it. Jet sensed instant danger from the man. He’d been led into a trap. He held out his hand and his eyes dashed to the man’s feet, just like when he faced Mankey.
“Otou-chan, will you stop!?”
Jade dashed into view. The man smiled. He had been teasing Jet. Jet let his heartbeat settle in his chest.
“Watashinotomodachi ni ijiwaru shinaide!” Jade yelled in another language.
“Kare wa anata no kareshidesu ka?” The man replied with a smirk.
“Kare wa watashi no taipude wanai,” she said, then made a grabbing motion at her chest. “Oppai ga chīsa sugiru.”
Wait… What? Jet thought. He turned and looked at Jade with a frown.
“Come on Jet, let’s go!”
As Jade led them away the man called out behind him. “It was nice meeting you. I really enjoyed watching your video. Very funny.”
Jet groaned.
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Jade led them to a shack that was far away from the main building. The junkyard was basically a maze with the cars as walls. The shack was big but old. The paint was falling off in sections and the thing was built with rocks and stone. It was almost like a cottage sitting in the back of a junkyard.
[https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/6f17418f-c2f8-4acb-a748-15c3c94aca3f/dff4adt-28565bff-8455-48e7-b0ee-fa60d3ab080e.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzZmMTc0MThmLWMyZjgtNGFjYi1hNzQ4LTE1YzNjOTRhY2EzZlwvZGZmNGFkdC0yODU2NWJmZi04NDU1LTQ4ZTctYjBlZS1mYTYwZDNhYjA4MGUucG5nIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.IHVGMjhTPTzUVAqA37mrqf_uzvl7DfzorWUSgOe5ugI]
Outside the cottage there was a Slowpoke. Every now and again a Slowpoke would show up at this mom’s Ranch. Usually because they were too slow and stupid to get out of other Pokémon’s way. Or they got hit by a car or something. But they were calm and easy to care for. They didn’t fight like Mankey or bite like Growlithe. Some of his mom’s best patients.
Jet walked up to Slowpoke. It looked somewhat different from most Slowpoke. It was a slightly different shade of pink, and it had a yellow coloration on its forehead. Jet made a funny face. Pulling his cheeks and rolling his eyes back at the Slowpoke. It just sat there with a vacant look on its face. It’s tail had been cut off, and it looked infected. Green patches of skin colored his pink skin.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“That Pokémon is lethargic even for a Slowpoke.”
“You cutoff his tail?”
“No. My mom travels and researches Pokémon. She was traveling in the Galar Region when she found Slowpoke. Usually the tail falls off on their own but some punks had cut it off. My mom waited for it to grow back but it never did. We’ve given it all kinds of medicine and potions but nothing works.”
Jet had a flash of Eevee when they were fighting Scarface. It had been so frightened that it was shaking. The look of Eevee was burned into Jet’s brain. It had been hurt by Scarface and that hurt didn’t go away easily.
“It’s probably not a physical problem. It was probably traumatized from being hurt by humans. Mental issues can affect the body even in Pokemon.”
Jet set his bag down and Eevee leapt out of its bag. It clumsily stumbled on its prosthesis but gained its footing after a second. Jet reached into his bag and pulled out one of his secret weapons. A Tamato Berry.
The Slowpoke sniffed at the berry Jet placed in front of it. Jet waited as the Pokémon looked derpily at the berry in front of it. It took about five minutes but Slowpoke finally began to chomp down on the Tamato berry. Jet smiled and slipped a second item over Slowpoke’s neck as it ate. The bell jingled once and gave off a calming sound.
“A soothe bell?” Jade was looking at Jet approvingly. “I haven’t seen one of those since Kanto.”
“So you’re from Kanto?”
“Sorta. I was born here but like I said my mom travels. It’s how she met my dad. Kanto. Galar. Aloa. I even lived in Kalos. That’s where I met Shadow.” Jade threw out her PokéBall and her Froakie appeared.
“Do you know Trainer Red?”
Jade laughed. “No. I never met trainer Red. But I have met Blue. He did a Ted-Talk at my school when I was younger. I like his Golduck. His Golduck inspired me to pick Froakie–another water type–as my starter.”
“Oh, cool!”
“So anyways… you want to catch that Bouffalant?”
“Yeah. I need the reward money to get my trainer license.”
“So how are you going to do that?”
“What?”
“I mean Scarface is pretty yeasty even if he’s old and blind. You can’t use Eevee. He won’t listen to you. And even if he did, he's deathly afraid of Scarface and even more deathly underleveled.”
“I’ll catch a new Pokémon then.”
“With what? You have to weaken a Pokémon first before you catch it. Then you have to raise it and make it stronger. And that if it listens to you. It might decide to be like Eevee and not listen.”
“Eevee!” Eevee said excitedly from beside Jet’s ankle.
“And you Eevee, stop being such an asshole. It’s not cute.”
“Eevee,” Eevee growled in response.
Jet said. He hadn’t thought of it before he'd gone off to track Scarface at the waterhole. He hadn’t considered Eevee might be scared or how strong Scarface would be. Even if Eevee wasn’t scared he didn’t listen to Jet. If Jade and her Froakie hadn’t been there…
“So what’s your solution?”
“Oh, you’re actually looking for help?” Jade said incredulously. Jet said nothing and Jade sighed in response. “I can train you. Both of you. I can help you level up. But you have to be less of an asshole to Eevee and Eevee you have to be less of an asshole to Jet.”
“I’m not an asshole. It's been a jerk to me since we met.”
“He has been a jerk to you. Not it.”
“Huh? How can you tell it’s a he?”
“See the coloration on his tail. It’d be slightly different on a girl Eevee. How do you not know this? Don’t you go to the academy?”
Jet looked down. “No. I dropped out a couple years ago.”
Jade looked at him then made a face. “Well I don’t know what happened. And I don’t care. You’re both being hella’ foul to each other and while I’m training you you’re both going to be nice. Right?”
“Right,” Jet mumbled.
“Eevee,” Eevee also mumbled.
“I said right?!”
“RIGHT!” Said Jet.
“EEVEE!” Said Eevee in response.
“Good. That brings us to our first lesson.” A wicked smile crossed Jade’s face. She walked up to the shack. “The first lesson is survival. You two have to learn how to face a Pokémon more powerful than you and not get squashed.”
“How do we do that?”
“Practice,” Jade’s smile became even more twisted. Whoever she was before that person was gone. In her place was a sadist. A person who only lived to see Jet suffer.
Jade opened the door to the shack. Smoke billowed out from the doorway filling the threshold with an eerie black curtain. There was movement within. A shadow of some hideous dark thing. Some kind four legged creature emerged from the shadows.
It was completely black with an orange face. For the second time in his life he made the mistake of meeting the Pokémon’s gaze. Two red demon eyes peered deeply into Jet’s soul. Jet saw the emotion play across the Pokémon’s orange snout. Its eyes narrowed and its teeth showed white. Jet had issued a challenge and the terrifying Pokémon accepted the challenge.
The Pokémon waved its skinny tail with a triangular tip. On top of its head were a pair of long, curved gray horns.
“A Houndoom?” Jet took a step back. “We ain’t scared of a Houndoom. Right Eevee?”
“Eevee,”
Jet noted that Eevee sounded farther away. He turned to see the Pokémon was no longer beside his leg. It was headed the opposite direction as fast as his little prosthetic leg could carry him.
“Eevee, you asshole!” Jet turned and was right behind him.
Houndoom was next. It had leapt away from the shack with abandon and went after his prey. They’re running had triggered his instincts. They weren't a Pokémon and his trainer anymore. They weren’t even prey. They were uncooked dinner.
Jade sighed. “I have a lot of work to do.”