Route 7 spread in front of them endlessly, only tall grass and clear skies there to meet them. Sabrina would've considered the sight beautiful were it not for the pillar of black smoke coming out of the city.
After some deliberation they decided to stick around the route a bit longer, looking for chances to train their Pokemon for the upcoming mission. For some ungodly reason the young girl had decided to follow them, now skipping alongside Silver as she held his Swablu in her arms.
"So… Molly's coming with us then?" Ñako asked, raising an eyebrow. "I feel like we missed something."
"Seems so," Sabrina said bitterly.
The girl walked amidst them with a spring in her step, a smile on her face and an arm tightly wrapped around Silver's, who didn't look entirely comfortable with her cheeriness, even if he was trying to hide it. Judging by her lack of protest, she seemed to accept the sudden turn in her life's path rather easily. At Ñako and Sabrina's words, she simply tightened her grip on Silver's arm and smiled.
"We're going to the house of that sir's sister now?" she asked, excitement clear in her voice. "That way I can help her!"
Sabrina froze for a moment, not sure if she'd heard right. Slowly she turned her head towards the girl and frowned.
"Wow…" she said. "Are you brain-dead or what?"
Molly reeled back for a moment, "U-uh… so, your little sister is okay?"
"No, she's dead," Sabrina said, voice taciturn. "I killed her."
"O-oh."
"And you're next if you keep calling me sir."
Ñako walked next to her, an eyebrow raised, and leaned in to whisper something into her ear.
"That thing about your sister... that's a lie too, right?"
"God…" she sighed. "Just… just shut up, all of you."
Before she could finish considering whether punching the ninja in the face was worthwhile or not, everyone's attention turned towards the tall grass at their right as it began to rustle. After a moment, a small, round creature peeked through the top, her soft blue eyes staring curiously at the group of trainers. The moment Molly's eyes fell on the Jigglypuff she let out a huge gasp and pulled hard against SIlver's arm, making him grunt.
"IT'S SO CUTE!" She yelled, almost blowing everyone's eardrums up. "Can we catch it? Please, please!"
Silver scratched his cheek and smiled, "Alright, alright." He looked at the Spearow on his shoulder. "Go ahead Pogo, try not to eat her. Oh, and her name's gonna be Regordeta!"
Pogo let out a loud chirp and dove towards his opponent, opening his beak in anticipation. The Jiglypuff's eyes narrowed and her cheeks puffed. She wound back her arm, which caught ablaze as she threw a devastating punch. Spearow felt the heat even before the stubby hand dug into his cheek, sending him a few feet back with a burn that stung quite a lot.
"Sir, that's not a normal Jigglypuff!" Molly exclaimed. "She knows how to use Fire Punch!"
"Fire Punch? That's-" Silver winced as his Pokemon was so easily repelled. "Hey Pogo come on, hit the chubster!"
While the others fought, Sabrina headed slightly north in search of her own 'training partners'. Soon she noticed a few blades of grass which looked different than the rest; a lot shorter and darker. Beneath them was the figure of a creature which looked like a blue onion, with two small red eyes. The Oddish shuddered under her gaze, and soon a couple more joined him. They moved the leaves on their heads ominously, releasing a yellow cloud of powder. However it didn't seem too effective as the wind carried it in the opposite direction.
The three Pokemon seemed to shrink in fear as they saw this and Sabrina almost felt pity for them. Not enough not to fight them, she thought as she opened two Pokeballs. From the first emerged a fox like creature with six fluffy tails and from the second appeared Gouda.
"Gouda, take care of the one in the middle," she ordered. "Rokon, the other two are yours."
The Vulpix turned his head towards her and his expression sent shivers down her spine. Not only were his eyes bloodshot and almost bulging out of their sockets, but a concerning amount of saliva dripped down his sharp fangs to his wicked grin.
Huh, so that's why he was so cheap.
Gouda also looked at her, but with disdain instead of whatever Rokon's expression was. Sabrina didn't know what kind of tasks she was used to from her previous master, but taking on an onion with legs was probably beneath her.
"Hey, can't jump out of a moving train every day," she shrugged. "Let's shrink that belly, alright?"
While the two completely obliterated the defenseless Oddish, she decided to spectate the other fights. Ñako faced against a similar number of grass Pokemon with the Bulbasaur he'd received from Mullac, while Silver still had trouble against the fluffy ball of pink, which seemed bent on hitting her opponent with as much fire as possible.
"That Regordeta is on fire!" Silver yelled. "She wants to cook Pogo!"
In the time it took her to listen to that and turn back, all the Oddish had been defeated. One of them had fallen face first into the ground, while the other two were toasted to a crisp, the ground crackling with fire from under them. That's when she noticed another pair of eyes on her, these ones belonging to something a bit more respectable looking. Another Drowzee, identical to Gouda with the exception of his look of fear, hid a soon as he was noticed.
Gouda took a step forward, but Sabrina patted her on the shoulder before she could attack.
"Sorry for interrupting your honorable duel, but this one's for Carrie."
The Scyther rose from behind her master like a shadow, the red of her eyes all that could be seen from her darkened expression, glinting like rubies. Sabrina stepped aside, and placed a hand on the monster's shoulder.
"Your first battle," she declared. "Impress me."
She didn't know what she expected, really. Maybe for Carrie to jump forward and flat out eat the poor thing. She would've even tolerated her walking away from the fight, considering the Drowzee too beneath her.
How naïve of me.
What Sabrina didn't expect was for Carrie to hide behind her again, shaking from tip to toe like a wet Poochyena.
"Ah… should've imagined it."
It wasn't enough with a schizophrenic Vulpix and a Drowzee with an attitude, no sir. The Scyther needed to have a personality flaw ridiculous enough to be part of the team.
"You fear Pokemon combat, don't you?"
The Scyther lowered her head, a greenish blush forming on her cheeks.
"Hm. Well, nothing I can do about that. I guess you'll be a means of transportation for the rest of your days," she said, not bothering looking at her. "A Pokemon who doesn't fight is garbage that deserves neither my time nor respect. Rokon, you-."
Unexpectedly, Carrie actually reacted at those words, taking a shaky step forward, putting herself in front of her opponent. She was clearly scared out of her mind.
"...Well, if you insist. Show me what you can do."
She noticed movement at the edge of her vision. The grass rustled almost imperceptibly, revealing something that ran through it at high speeds towards her Pokemon. Her eyes went wide as she saw it jump at Carrie, long claws wound back and shining under the sunlight.
"Shit, Carrie!"
She didn't have time to dodge. The Meowth slashed at Carrie's face with all the strength he had in him, penetrating skin and leaving three deep cuts where her right eye was.
Sabrina felt her throat turn to ice. The cigarette fell from her fingers. Images flashed through her eyes and, for a moment, she could hear it clearly.
----------------------------------------
》"Here again? Aren't you tired of being beaten to a pulp every day?"
A furious man stood on the other side of the arena, a heavy iron crucifix hanging from his neck. He was accompanied only by his trusted companion, a Scyther with a face like that of the grim reaper.
"Shut up!" He pointed at Sabrina with his finger. "I'll show you that I can win without resorting to dirty tricks like you, brat!"《
----------------------------------------
"Gouda, protect Carrie!" Sabrina yelled, the words leaving her mouth before she had time to process them.
Her Drowzee only raised an eyebrow at her before obeying. She pointed one hand at the Meowth and released a small wave of psychic energy, which threw him backwards and stunned him momentarily.
Sabrina stared in horror, the realization of what she'd done flooding her. Heat rising to her face, she returned Carrie to her Pokeball and looked around to make sure no one else had seen that.
Why did I have to remember that now? She lamented herself.
"Scyther are very rare and valuable, I can't find one in the dumpster like you idiots." She excused herself to her Pokemon, who weren't listening to her in the first place.
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
After about half a minute, Gouda emerged victorious against both the Meowth and Drowzee, though it was clear the battle had taken a heavy toll on her. Sabrina was sure of one thing; she hadn't done it out of respect for her or to protect her teammate, but because she'd been trained to obey blindly, no matter what were to happen to her.
Does she see me like one of those robed bastards? She thought, Am I the same as them in her eyes?
With a sour taste in her mouth she gave her a pat on the head and returned her to her Pokeball, trying not to think about it.
In the distance she noticed Ñako straight up kicking Oddish left and right, who didn't stop coming towards him.
"I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL KILL EVERY FUCKING ODDISH IN KANTO!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. "EVERY SINGLE ONE!"
----------------------------------------
After about half an hour, Sabrina decided to find greener pastures for her training, walking away from the rest. Silver managed to catch the Jigglypuff after a lot of effort on his part, and Ñako took the opportunity to catch the Meowth she'd left unconscious.
The tall grass became more peaceful as she kept walking, until she began to loop around towards Saffron once more. She was about to call it quits when a strange sound of metal dragging against the cold ground reached her.
She froze, silently debating what to do. The obvious answer would be to run, obviously, but something akin to curiosity told her she shouldn't.
After a few more seconds of walking she spotted the source of the sound. Standing in the middle of the field was a tall man with curly black hair, wearing a sleeveless shirt and worn out jeans. But what caught her attention was the thing in his right hand; an ornate, heavy looking silver sword. It was almost as tall as he was, which spoke volumes of the man's strength considering how easily he was carrying it.
Her steps were heard by him, and their eyes met once he turned around. His were narrowed, though more due to boredom than anything else.
Another trainer hired by Mullac? She thought, Or a mercenary trying to make a name for himself?
The two stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, green eyes clashing against soft brown. Finally it was Sabrina who broke the ice, staring down to the strange necklace hanging from his neck and then away as she showed him her back.
"Be careful if you plan to go to Saffron," she said, putting her hands on her pockets. "Later."
----------------------------------------
Vard breathed in deeply, admiring the landscape before him.
"Ah, mother nature spreads before us like a beautiful woman's legs."
They'd made it out of the slums and walked uphill through the nearest route, stopping on a small mound just outside the city. Behind him Sammy and Siegfried sat against a nearby tree, recovering their strength, while Rhin and Mycroft looked around for wild Pokemon.
"I don't know about you," said Sammy, "but I think I had my fair share of exploring for today."
"We should probably go back to Saffron and rest," Siegfried offered. "It can't be safe to stay outside the city."
Sammy sighed, one hand on her knee, "I doubt those things will come back, since we're on an open field."
The sound of flapping wings made its way towards Vard, who perked up his nose curiously. On top of the fence separating them from the city now rested a bird Pokemon covered in black feathers, with something that looked like a hat on top of his head.
Those black wings flapping, the blood red eyes, the funny beak… a single thought came to Vard's mind.
Could he take the hat off if he wanted?
"You rascal bird!" he pointed at him, his other hand curled into a fist. "You shall be Vard's new servant in the skies! Pikachu, make your will known!"
An explosion of light came out of the man's afro, where the Pokeball was located. Pikachu climbed his way through the prison of hair and emerged with a clear look of Please never release me there again.
"Storm of Osiris!"
While Vard was busy with his fight both Mycroft and Rhin saw the grass rustling their way. Two canine looking Pokemon approached, one covered in orange and black fur and the other one sporting a skull like mark on his forehead.
Rhin smiled, looking directly at the Growlithe, "I'll take care of this one. Keroro, out!"
Next to him Mycroft released the Pokemon he'd received from Mullac; the Squirtle stared down his opponent with clear worry in his face.
"Alright Barty, I'll need your help," Mycroft said, smiling. "This time it won't be a battle for our lives, so it'll be okay."
The fire Pokemon they were facing were quick and powerful, but with a bit of strategy and taking Barty's type advantage into consideration the battle slowly began to tip in their favor.
"Barty, careful!" Mycroft warned, "That Houndoom will…"
Grass rustled behind him. Another wild Pokemon? He turned around as fast as he could but only managed to make out the vague shape of… a hat with cat ears? He had to be hallucinating.
Oh well.
The fight didn't last much longer, and soon all three of the trainers managed to catch the Pokemon giving them trouble. Mycroft knelt to pick up the ball with his new companion inside, and smiled.
"This wasn't in the plan, but welcome to the team nonetheless Helga," he said. "I hope we can become…"
Something moved through the grass too fast for him to see properly. Something long and thin, which proceeded to coil around his leg strongly enough to almost topple him to the ground.
"Agh, what the…!"
Thick, blue vines were grabbing his ankle, and as he followed them he saw the Pokemon they belonged to. A tiny ball of vines with feet and two dark eyes hidden underneath.
He could swear he saw the thing smile happily at him.
----------------------------------------
The sun had almost gone down by the time Ñako and Silver walked back to Saffron. The city itself was livelier than usual, though the ninja attributed it to the fact that they'd recently burnt down the market. Not that anyone could know that, considering all the witnesses were either dead, indebted to them or grabbing onto Silver's arm. It was a shame that didn't stop most of the people they came across from hurling insults at them.
"Those are Mullac's people!"
"Fucking scum!"
"Get out of our city!"
Molly was shaken by such strong words, but the two trainers simply ignored them as they walked, the shape of Silph Co. growing in the distance. Even as they approached, the barrage of insults didn't slow down in the slightest. None of them startled Ñako, at least until they were a couple streets from the building and he heard something actually surprising.
"It's… it's you! You came back!"
They were approached by the exact opposite of what he expected from a citizen of Saffron. A frail, old lady with a bag of groceries still dangling from one of her hands. Her wide smile exacerbated the dozens of wrinkles around her face.
Ñako was too stunned to speak as the woman walked toward him, eyes watering.
"I knew it, it really is you!" she said, voice trembling but full of emotion. "You look a bit different, but your eyes! Your eyes are the same as the last time I saw you!"
"Wh-hey!" Ñako moved his arm urgently as the woman tried to touch him. "I don't know what you're talking about, hag! I've never once set foot on this dump!"
He got away from the woman as fast as he could, Silver and Molly following behind with frowns of confusion adorning their faces. He shook his head and tried to forget what had just happened; surely the hag must've been senile and had confused him with her grandson or something. Yeah, that made sense.
It wasn't long until they finally reached Silph. Co and noticed Vard's group waiting for them. The man with the pink afro turned towards them as they approached, smiling thoughtlessly.
"You lot look like you fell on a pit full of dung," he said. "And then fornicated with it."
"Ah… there was something of a situation," Ñako admitted. "When the black market burned down and all that."
Rhin glared daggers at him, arms crossed. He then looked at the girl accompanying Silver.
"You got tired of killing people so you've resorted to kidnapping?" he asked, voice full of poison.
"Geez, what an attitude."
They exchanged stories while they waited for the rest to arrive, the only ones silent being Rhin and Mycroft who seemed preoccupied with their own thoughts. Once the sun went down all the way they noticed Sabrina approach from a nearby street, hands on her pockets.
"Ah… if that duck gave me a cold…" she whispered to herself, eyebrows knit together.
Sammy raised an eyebrow, "Duck?"
"Oh hey, we're almost all here." Sabrina ignored her. "Where's the guy with white hair? Wolf… something."
As if on cue the glass doors of the building opened up and five people stepped out into the fluorescent lights hanging from above. In front were two of the men working under Mullac, their faces hidden by masks, one blue and one red. Each of them held onto one of Wolfswift's arms, dragging him toward them, the state of his body even managing to make Sabrina flinch momentarily.
He was covered in gauze and his eyes were bandaged. Several cuts and bruises could be seen on him, blood staining the black fabric of his shirt.
"They found him outside the city."
Mullac was the fourth person, accompanied by someone who seemed to be hiding behind him. He spoke with his usual calming tone, pointing at the wounded boy.
"My men did everything in their power to heal his wounds," he assured them. "However, I'm afraid that his eyes are beyond recovery."
The two men holding Wolfswift let him go. He tumbled forward and fell to his knees, clenching his teeth in pain.
"This mission will be incredibly dangerous," Mullac said, "and there will surely be others looking for the same objects; it wouldn't be a stretch to consider that you'll run into them. You might end up like this boy, or even worse."
Rhin took a step forward, wanting to help the man but afraid he might attack him. "How… what happened to you?"
"Tsk…" Wolfswift got to his feet with difficulty, legs still wobbling. "There were… too many of them. I couldn't do anything."
Sabrina simply stared at the sorry state he was in, wondering if he'd even be useful for the mission. What if he turned into a burden? What if that burden cost them their life? It would've been merciful to either force him to stay or take him out of his misery.
Would someone miss him if he were gone? She thought, shoulders dropping. Does he have someone back home waiting for him?
Silver tapped Molly in the shoulder and pointed at Wolfswift, "Hey, see if those hooded guys did anything to him."
She nodded enthusiastically and knelt next to the man, swiftly inspecting all his wounds with a steady hand.
"Sir, he was very well taken care of," she said. "But… they were right, his eyes…"
A few feet from them, Vard crossed his arms and smiled.
"Very well done, my foreman!" He patted Silver on the shoulder. "That girl will be a good asset for the Team of Vard! For your foresight I give you this!"
He fumbled around inside his cape for a moment until he found what he was looking for. Grabbing it by the tail he showed Silver an upside down, passed out Rattata with his tongue sticking out.
"He's not dead, just shake it a little."
"You've had that thing in your cape for hours?" Sammy asked, horrified.
"Thank you so much, Vard sir!" Silver said, voice turning bubbly in excitement. "I promise I'll train him as if he were my own family!"
While everyone around him wondered what the hell he'd meant by that, Mullac approached them and cleared his throat, grabbing their attention.
"By the way, I believe it's time for me to introduce you."
He moved to the side, revealing the person who was hiding behind him. Everyone who'd been at the slums that afternoon recognized her immediately by the unmistakable hat with cat ears and the long sleeved sweatshirt.
"She is a trainer who will travel with you," Mullac explained. "She calls herself Muffin."
"It's the girl from the bar," Mycroft said, eyes wide.
"Bar?" Silver smiled, "What bar? You guys had fun without us?"
The girl apparently named Muffin introduced herself quietly, though it was clear by the look on her eyes that she didn't quite trust the group she'd been stuck with.
After a few minutes of preparations Mullac gave each one of them a small backpack, which felt comfortably heavy as they carried it. Sabrina had to dump her old one and put the crossbow inside the new one along with everything else.
"Those have a week's worth of food and rations, as well as a tent," Mullac said. "It's all I can give you until your return, I'm afraid."
The man turned to the side, eyes lost on the endless landscape leading north. He waited for a few moments before speaking again.
"As I've explained before, your mission is to find the underground dungeon hidden within Pewter's abandoned prison. Inside one of the cells you will find the object I want. I recommend you travel through Route 5 tonight, as you will be safer under the blanket of darkness. The first city you'll encounter will be Cerulean; you might stop there to rest and buy more provisions were they to run out. After that you'll walk towards Mt. Moon and head north. It's a long, arduous path but I trust you can handle it."
He narrowed his eyes, and a gleam of something like sadness appeared behind them.
"That is all. Good luck."
----------------------------------------
They were almost an hour into the road through Route 5 when Mycroft slowed his walking, purposely falling behind.
He'd been so nervous in front of Mullac he hadn't gotten a word in. How could he? He'd been lucky to put that inside his pocket instead of the backpack he had to empty in front of the man. Had it been there, he would've seen it and all his plans would've collapsed on the spot.
As the others went ahead he put one hand inside the pocket of his overcoat. He had to make sure it was still there, as stupid as it was. Slowly, he took it out, and the light made his eyes itchy.
In his hand he held a long, pristine golden feather. It glowed with a powerful, multi color gleam and the very touch of it sent shivers through his skin. Its warmth had been the only thing keeping him from fleeing as soon as their mission had been revealed.
Mullac's words came to mind once more. The legend of Ho-oh, and the divine power it had given humanity long ago…
If the man knew he held one of the objects he was looking for, Mycroft would surely be killed on the spot. He needed to protect it.
He needed to keep Ho-oh's feather safe.