When Joe was done being pampered, he made breakfast. Sonia ate calmly, Ralts on her lap and wielding a spoon that was too big for her. Joe cleaned off his plate fast. He had something he wanted to do before they went after Sandshrew again. He eyed Caterpie. It sat on a log. The bug had stayed. Joe approached. The bug finished its own meal and looked up.
"I think it's about time we battled. How about it? Think you can win?"
Caterpie's eyes moved into something of a glare. A determined look. It nodded. Joe went to one end of the clearing, and Caterpie moved to the other. Joe sent out Cyndaquil. An obvious choice. Chances are, he'd win.
With both sides ready, Joe gave a nod. Let Caterpie go first. A handicap for the type disadvantage. Caterpie led by using String Shot. Shot white threads from its mouth. It missed, hitting a tree behind Joe. For a moment Joe was confused, until Caterpie started reeling itself in. This was a much faster way to move for Caterpie. Its tail started glowing a pale green to signify Bug-type energy as it sailed through the air.
Cyndaquil met the attack with Tackle. Caterpie cut the thread, spun, and struck with its tail. Considering the size of Caterpie, the size of the explosion was massive. Joe could feel a strong wind even from his position. It was just a small bug, but it packed quite a punch.
Rotom highlighted the move. "Bug Bomb. A powerful move that is a double-edged sword. If the move is countered properly, then it hurts the user instead."
Both Pokemon backed out of the smoke. Cyndaquil shot Ember multiple times. Caterpie spat thread into the ground and pulled itself down, dodging all of the fireballs. Reeled in on thread and came rushing in. Cyndaquil stood his ground. Fired Ember some more.
Caterpie severed the thread and weaved between fireballs using its momentum. Its slender, narrow body that was heavily segmented made it easy to avoid attacks. Caterpie could either become a straight line or curl around incoming attacks. Caterpie was a master dodger. It needed to be. It was a weak bug.
Caterpie raced in at high speed, getting close to Cyndaquil. Caterpie's tail lit up again. Another incoming Bug Bomb. Cyndaquil rolled to the side. Bug Bomb hit the ground and caused another massive explosion. Cyndaquil barged into the smoke and struck the bug, sending the Pokemon skidding along the ground.
The sound of battle had grabbed the attention of a Pokemon nearby. No one noticed big red eyes in a tree, watching. It was out in search of something, anything, that could be used to heal. It watched to see if the humans had what it wanted.
Caterpie managed to right itself midair. Reeled itself onto a tree using String Shot. Shot thread right in front of Cyndaquil. Charged the Fire-type. Unfortunately, this was all Caterpie could do. Be agile and rush into close range.
Cyndaquil unleashed as much fire as he could. Struck the thread and forced Caterpie to abandon String Shot. The thread severed, but only from where Cyndaquil struck it. Caterpie itself didn't cut the line. Fire crept along the thread until it struck Caterpie. A pale green dust burst from under the segments of the bug's body. With a sizzle, the fire was put out on Caterpie's body, but the thread remained ablaze. Caterpie swung around and hit Cyndaquil with the fire whip. There was a crack as the whip broke the sound barrier and knocked Cyndaquil off his feet. The fire part of the attack didn't do much because it hit a Fire-type, but the whip hurt.
Cyndaquil rushed to his feet. Shook his head, dazed. Caterpie was already close, its tail glowing with Bug Bomb again. Caterpie swung its tail as Cyndaquil unleashed multiple Ember attacks. One hit the tail, and another hit Caterpie's body. It kept descending. Cyndaquil rushed to meet the attack with Tackle. They clashed. Another massive explosion boomed through the forest.
This explosion had been much closer to Joe. The pressure was strong. He had to raise his hand to cover his eyes. When the wind passed, he lowered his arm. Cyndaquil stumbled out of the smoke, but was still standing. The dust cleared and Caterpie was knocked out. Caterpie had been knocked out by Ember, and was simply falling due to gravity, unable to cancel the move.
Joe let out a breath. Approached the bug and picked it up. It whined but it was otherwise okay.
"That Caterpie's crazy." Sonia perked up. She'd finished her meal as she watched the battle. It was more entertaining than she expected. Most people's impression of bug Pokemon was that they were weak. Surely a battle against the lowest of the low wouldn't be that interesting.
Goosebumps ran up Joe's arms and across his body. He looked at the bug. Was he sensing power from it? An aspect of Aura being on the same wavelength of Pokemon types? He had no clue. Maybe he'd ask Rotom in a minute. "Oh? Are you actually really strong?"
Caterpie whined. It liked to think of itself as strong, at least for the species. It had developed its fighting style and learned Bug Bomb after slinking in the shadows and observing other Pokemon for months. For many species of Pokemon, they became strong within weeks of training. But Caterpie had to work so much harder to achieve the same level of strength. It'd spent a long time honing its fighting style, and even still, it lost.
Joe brought out a Pokeball and held it above Caterpie. "Just to make sure, are you joining us?" Caterpie nodded. Joe tapped the ball's button against the bug. Caterpie was turned into blue energy. It came back out. "Welcome to the team." Joe said as he stroked the bug.
"Caterpie, the Worm Pokemon. Its suction cup feet allow it to effortlessly climb any and all surfaces. It has a voracious appetite and uses the red feeler atop its head to find food." Rotom said.
#0010 Caterpie
Gender: Female
Height: 1' 01" (Average)
Weight: 3.2kg (Above Average)
Moves: String Shot / Tackle / Bug Bomb /
Ability: Shield Dust
Releases a pale green dust when struck by certain moves.
Joe was happy to receive an explanation of the dust that had countered Ember. To be specific, it countered extra effects like being burned. Shield Dust could adapt to whatever it was needed for. In this instance, it drained oxygen to choke the flames. It could also warm the body so Caterpie couldn't be frozen, or create a charge that redirects electricity so it couldn't be paralysed.
Joe moved over to his bag resting against a log. Set Caterpie down gently. Stroked her head. Cyndaquil had joined his Trainer, so Joe gave him some affection and praise. Cyndaquil fought well and came out victorious. He was happy, and he deserved that feeling. He earned it.
Joe reached into his bag. Pulled out a grey and purple spray bottle. A Potion. It was something of a stabiliser. It couldn't restore energy, but it could stop a Pokemon's condition getting worse, which allowed the Pokemon to have an easier time naturally regenerating their own energy. The label also stated it had painkillers that were absorbed by the skin, just in case.
He aimed the nozzle at Caterpie and squeezed the trigger. He moved to cover all angles. Set the bottle down and stroked Caterpie again. She grabbed onto Joe's hand and began climbing up his arm. She was startled when something swooped down from a tree. She felt natural fear. A predator was nearby. The bird was a blur. It grabbed the unattended Potion with a claw and flew off into the trees.
Sonia rose and pointed. "Ah, cheeky bugger!"
Honestly, Joe was going to let it go. It was a simple Potion. He could easily buy another. But a thought popped into his mind. If the bird had watched Joe use the Potion, then it had a rough idea that it was used to treat others. Which meant the bird needed it to treat someone.
Joe rushed to his feet, urgency in his voice as he spoke fast. "Absol, can you track it?"
Absol nodded and ran into the trees.
"Yeah, let's go huntin'!" Sonia cheered as she met Joe.
Joe and Sonia ran after Absol. They could come back to the campsite later. Caterpie reached Joe's shoulder as the man ducked to swipe Cyndaquil. In Sonia's arms was Ralts.
They ran for a few minutes and reached a cliff. Joe saw Sonia shiver as she looked up. He grabbed her hand. "Don't look. Focus on what's in front of you."
Sonia looked at Joe. Gave him a nod. They looked forward. Before them was a cave. Absol was sniffing around. She barked and turned to her Trainer. Gestured with her head to follow her inside. Joe did so, still holding Sonia's hand. Rotom lit the place up using the phone's flashlight. It was a steep descent. Joe hopped down into the cave. Reached up to Sonia as she crouched and jumped. He caught her from stumbling and they moved forward.
They walked around a corner and found the bird. It was perfectly spherical from puffed up feathers. Black appendages like horns. In its claw was the Potion. It twisted the object around and looked at it from many angles using its big red eyes. Adjusted its grip to mimic Joe. One talon on the trigger, the rest at the back of the bottle.
Rotom identified the bird as a Hoothoot. The bird didn't seem to notice the light, but it did notice the voice. It was startled at Rotom speaking and jumped around to see where the voice had come from. Hoothoot saw the human it'd stolen from. Its eyes became mean and it hopped back.
Joe raised his arms. "Hey, I come in peace. You want that Potion for a reason, right? Why? Maybe I can help."
Hoothoot tilted its head. There was no clear separation between head and body, so Hoothoot's entire body tilted to the side. A noise came from behind Hoothoot that only the bird heard. It twisted around to see its friend. Nodded and turned back to Joe. Nodded to the humans, put the bottle down, and hopped aside. This revealed a pink bunny with a horn atop its head. It should have two big ears, but one was cut down significantly. Across the left side of its body were three big claw marks that lined up with the missing chunk of an ear.
Joe jumped into action immediately and Sonia yelped. He rushed forward and crouched in front of the Pokemon as he heard Rotom claim it to be a male Nidoran. Joe's hands hovered over the animal for a moment as he debated moving it around to get a better look at it, but Rotom stepped in and scanned the bunny. Sonia came in to get a look at Nidoran, too. She'd dealt with scarred Pokemon before, but she still didn't like seeing it. It'd taken a moment to steel herself.
"His energy levels are low. Nidoran is struggling to regain energy as his body focuses on sealing his wounds."
Hearing that, Joe grabbed the Potion and started spraying it all over Nidoran. Covered it in a thin mist. "This won't heal you, but it'll do for now." Joe said as he put the bottle down. "You need to go to a PokeCenter. I can take you, if you're okay with that?" He looked at Sonia. They still had a task to complete. Joe was worried about whether Nidoran needed help right now.
Sonia nodded along. "Ya need proper support. We can give ya plenty a water an' food, an' ya don't gotta worry anymore so ya can rest well. It'll help with ya energy generation. Then the PokeCenter'll finish the job and get ya right as rain."
Joe sighed deeply with relief. This wasn't time sensitive. Getting a better look at Nidoran, he could see the scar was almost entirely sealed. Nidoran had braved the worst of it already. "What happened? How did you end up with a scar like that? Is there a problem in the area we need to be aware of?"
Joe asking these questions got Sonia to start panicking a little for the little Sandshrew she was supposed to be looking after.
Nidoran began talking and Rotom began translating. It happened about a week ago. Nidoran was living a happy life with his parents, a Nidoking and Nidoqueen. He was playing with his good friend, Hoothoot. Everything was normal. But then a group of humans showed up. The one that gave orders was a man wearing a black suit. He had short hair and a nasty grin.
Nidoran's parents told him to flee as they fought. The humans won and put strange metal contraptions around the necks of his parents. Nidoran was hiding in the bushes, but seeing his parents be forcefully captured angered him. He charged at the humans. The man in the suit used a big cat, a Persian, to fight. The Persian slashed at Nidoran, cutting off his ear and leaving a massive wound across his side. Just one attack was enough to take Nidoran out of the fight. He collapsed as the humans left, taking Nidoran's parents with them. Hoothoot had hidden in the trees and watched. When the humans were gone, Hoothoot approached. It managed to carry its friend to safety in this cave. Hoothoot forced its friend to eat and drink, despite not wanting to. Nidoran was too injured to care for himself, but he had a good friend by his side that helped him pull through.
As they listened to the tale, Sonia began to bawl her eyes out, flooding the cave with big tears.
Nidoran had suffered for the past week. It boiled Joe's blood. Parents taken, child left for dead. Whoever this man in a suit was, Joe wanted to teach him a lesson. And it was an odd detail. He'd have to ask about it when Nidoran was okay. He had now encountered multiple criminals in suits attempting, or in this case succeeding, to forcefully capture Pokemon. Maybe it was connected. He remembered the man from Ho-oh's dream wore a white suit, while Nidoran described the man that took his parents as wearing a black suit. If they were linked, then maybe it was a rank thing. Joe thought about martial arts. A black belt was the best rank. So, was the man that took Nidoran's parents a leader of some sort? And assuming this was all linked to Rocket Syndicate, then Nidoran's parents were in a position for Joe to find them because he planned to wage war against the criminal organisation.
Joe turned to Hoothoot. "You did good." He watched Hoothoot puff out its chest, satisfied. Joe looked down. Considered what to do. Looked Nidoran in the eyes. "I'll take you to a PokeCenter and get you healed up. After that… It might be a long shot, but if you stick with me, I'll try to help you track down your family. I can't promise anything, but we have to try, right?"
Sonia's emotions immediately switched to that of glee. She glomped Joe, wrapping her arms around his neck from behind. She stroked his hair. "Gosh, ya such a softie. Good boy."
"I like the attention. More please." Joe was happy to be pampered by a beautiful woman.
"Good job bein' honest."
Nidoran took this time to consider Joe's words. He could reason that it was a long shot. What were the chances that this random human managed to assist Nidoran to the point of finding the man that took his parents? But even if the chances of it happening were slim, it could happen. Nidoran would bet on that chance. Nidoran did his best to stand. It was a struggle. His entire body shook from the strain. Hoothoot came in and supported the bunny from the side. Nidoran looked Joe in the eyes. His eyes were sharp. He nodded as best he could. Nidoran was strong-willed, that much was for certain.
Joe smiled as Sonia let him go. He reached back to a Pokeball. The last on his holster. "It's best if you go in here for now. I think it's like a stasis. It'll put you to sleep so you can get some serious rest. Oh, and we have a reason we're out here. We're looking for a Sandshrew. It might take a couple of days until we reach a PokeCenter, but I promise I'll get you there."
There was something about this human that was trustworthy. Maybe because he hadn't stormed into the area and forcefully took Pokemon. He asked for permission. He had respect for animals. Nidoran nodded and got caught.
"Nidoran male, the Poison Pin Pokemon. The larger the horn, the stronger the venom it produces. Well-developed muscles in the ears allows them to be adjusted to catch sounds from different directions."
#0032 Nidoran
Gender: Male
Height: 1' 10" (Above Average)
Weight: 9.4kg (Above Average)
Moves: Poison Sting / Take Down /
Ability: Poison Point
Upon contact, there's a chance that poison rubs off onto whatever touched it.
Joe figured it was a temporary alliance. Once the family was reunited, Nidoran would go with his parents. He turned to Hoothoot. "Are you coming, too? Your friend is going to need you."
Hoothoot jumped repeatedly and chirped as Rotom translated. "Yes, but only to support Nidoran."
"Okay. I don't have any spare Pokeballs right now, so you'll have to stay out for a bit. If a fight doesn't involve Nidoran, I won't use you. Does that sound fair?"
Hoothoot gave an affirmative and hopped along as the group left the cave. Ralts floated up effortlessly. Joe helped push Sonia up as she grabbed hold of a ledge and pulled. Cyndaquil was jumping onto the edges of smaller ledges and spinning his legs as he attempted to climb up. Caterpie used some of her now restored strength to wrap Cyndaquil in thread. She spat the other end at the cave's roof, near the entrance. Joe climbed and pulled the thread up while Cyndaquil stretched his stubby arms out to catch the wind. Joe could've just carried the hedgehog out, but he enjoyed the little flight.
They moved back to camp and packed up. Set out to find Sandshrew.
Ralts pointed the way. "I think Sandshrew backtracked. He's closer than last night."
"Perfect! Let's go get him and get home!" Sonia shouted as she led the way, a spring in her step.