Story Notes:
Yay, My second story. This one will have more than one chapter (I sincerely hope). Please leave a review and rate accordingly.
A Friend is Found
Matt stopped... He had to stop. He was too tired, too exhausted. He sat down on a fallen tree trunk to rest his weary bones and muscles.
"6 long days, and still, NOTHING! Not a single pokemon worth catching!" Matt thought to himself.
Of course, he had seen some pokemon, but it was just the usual, like a Weedle, or a helpless Metapod. Nothing worth catching. Matt had been out in the forest, looking for a good pokemon to start his journey with. He was about 14 years old; More than ready to begin his adventure. Matt was well built as well. He was tall enough, about 6'3, to be considered over-average. He had ragged black hair, and green eyes that sparkled when the sun hit them. All in all, he was quite handsome.
A long, loud groan in his stomach signaled that it was time to eat. He shrugged out of his backpack, and unzipped it, revealing what scarce munitions he had left. 2 apples, and a juice box, and 4 bottles of water. He had made doubly sure he packed more water then any other object. He wasn't about ready to get lost out here, and die from a lack of it. Along the food, he had also packed potions, antidotes, and other remedies, incase an encounter with a pokemon didn't go smoothly, which it won't. He took a long swig from his water bottle, being careful to only consume what's needed. 4 bites from an apple later, and he was ready to continue on back home. If he didn't find anything, then the entire expedition would have been a waste, and he would have to return empty-handed. He put his backpack on, stood up, and began walking again.
The sounds of the forest were truly breath-taking. The tell-tale call of a Pidgey, the shrill whistle of a Spearow... Matt strained to hear more, until he heard some very faint rustling. Matt drew a Great Ball, ready to catch a potential pokemon. He crouched down low, and sneaked through the grass. As he was creeping along, the rustling became louder and louder, until Matt's path was blocked by some shrubbery. Matt took a deep breath, held the Ball at the ready, and rolled out from behind the vegetation, knowing that whatever was making the sound, it was definitely right here.
Matt's eyes scanned the area, darting back and forth, a small bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. After about 10 seconds, he discovered that whatever was here, wasn't here anymore. Puzzled, Matt walked around the area, examining for possible clues. He noticed some tracks, and if all the books he had read on pokemon had taught him anything, these were Nidoran tracks. Male Nidoran tracks. He found where the tracks began, at the clearing's edge, and followed the telltale shapes. The prints led him to the center, but immediately came to an abrupt stop. They just, stopped.
"Great! My one chance at catching a decent pokemon, and it conveniently Houdini's it's way out of the area."
Of course, this couldn't be possible (... Right?...). It probably got scooped up by a Fearow, or another predator. Poor little guy. He looked up at the sky, wondering what it could have been, and was met with the amber eyes of the long lost Nidoran.
Matt screamed, and fell backwards, landing with a thud on the ground. He looked up again, to make sure he didn't imagine it. There was indeed, a male Nidoran, strung up by a hind leg. Matt's only guess on who could have done this crime was that local poachers had started setting traps in this area as well. Matt's eyes followed the rope holding the Nido in mid-air, and he discovered it was a man-made snare. It was an intricate system of pulleys, ropes, and counter-weights. Whoever made this trap knew exactly what they were doing. Matt slowly stood up, not taking his eyes off of the pokemon for a second. Matt realized that if the Nidoran was hung a little lower, he could have been stabbed in the eye with his toxic horn. He moved a little closer, trying to get a better look at him. His purple fur was ragged and ruffled, and his usually rigid ears, tinged with a sickly turquoise, were floppy and lifeless. His small ribs were visible, the fur and flesh sucked tightly between them. It was obvious he had been hanging for several days, and he looked very dehydrated. Whoever set the snare had probably knew to wait several days, for the pokemon to weaken enough so it didn't pose a threat.
Matt slowly and carefully shuffled towards him, to which the Nidoran let out a weak growl, and bared his teeth. But Matt needed to establish that he was friendly, and didn't want to hurt him. The trainer reached out slowly and began to stoke his back. The growling started to quiet, as it was probably quite soothing. The Nidoran's eyes slowly started to fall closed. Matt stopped; He needed to be let down now. He followed the rope to a nearby tree, finding the place where the counter-weight was located. It was a simple weighted cube, made for this purpose. The rope had a metal hook, which was, in turn, attached to a hoop on the cube.
Matt grabbed the rope, pulling down so that enough slack was created that he could unlatch it from the weight, and support the Nidoran himself. Matt was wondering what was going to happen when he was set on the ground. Would he scurry away? Or would he attack like the wild Pokemon that he is? Matt decided to take the chance, and gently lowered him to the ground.
As soon as the Nidoran's paws touched the forest floor, he preformed an attribute, one that Matt hadn't anticipated; Speed. In one swift motion, the Nido had did a sort of half backflip, tore through the tough rope with his razor-sharp teeth, and was free. It stood it's ground, clicking it's teeth rapidly, and snarling at Matt. The skin over his ribs were being sucked in and out. Matt concluded that it was quite frightened, and very intimidated. He needed to act, and he needed to act now. He picked up a stick, and wielded it like a weapon. With any luck, the Nidoran was already weakened from hanging, and it wouldn't put up too much of a fight. Matt didn't want to hurt him too much if he kept striking.
As if on cue, the Nidoran dug his feet in, got some purchase, and flung himself towards Matt, fangs bared, and letting a battle cry out. Matt quickly sidestepped and evaded, allowing the attacker to sail past harmlessly. Matt quickly spun to face him, just as he launched himself for a second attack, up towards his face that time. Matt held his arms over his face to defend himself, so he decided to latch onto his vulnerable arm instead. Matt felt the skin break and tissue tear, as the sharp teeth pierced his skin effortlessly. He let out a yowl of pain, and shook his arm, trying to free himself from the strong jaws.
The Nidoran held strong however, biting even harder, digging in deeper. Tears forming at his eyes, Matt realized what must be done. Ignoring the excruciating pain, he positioned his trapped arm at chest level, and used his other arm to give 2 solid thumps on the head, right below his toxic spike. The Nidoran's grip almost immediately loosened, but not quite letting go of his arm. The Nido's bright amber eyes looked at Matt, and began to roll slowly to the back of his head, his eyelids closing.
Matt set him down, and drew his Poke Ball; There was no point in wasting a Great Ball on a pokemon that wasn't going to struggle anyway. He triggered the Ball to grow 3 times in size, and lightly tossed it at the unconscious Nidoran. In a flash of light, he disappeared inside the sphere. After about 6 seconds of stillness, it finally pinged and locked itself. After Matt inspected that it was indeed locked, he tended to his wounds. He examined the deep cuts the teeth had made to his forearm. It was obvious he had a stronger than average jaw strength, because any other Nidoran would have tried to stab him with the horn. But for some reason, he only tried to bite him... Peculiar...
He extracted some disinfectant and sprayed it on heavily, then bandaged and wrapped it up with some light medical gauze. Matt packed up, bent down, and retrieved the Poke Ball containing his first pokemon. He looked at it for a second, then held it near his belt, allowing the magnetic clips to do the rest. Before leaving, Matt dismantled the snare, trying to make sure no other pokemon would get caught up in it, and finally continued walking home...Chapter End Notes:And so it begins... I hope it uploaded correctly..
"6 long days, and still, NOTHING! Not a single pokemon worth catching!" Matt thought to himself.
Of course, he had seen some pokemon, but it was just the usual, like a Weedle, or a helpless Metapod. Nothing worth catching. Matt had been out in the forest, looking for a good pokemon to start his journey with. He was about 14 years old; More than ready to begin his adventure. Matt was well built as well. He was tall enough, about 6'3, to be considered over-average. He had ragged black hair, and green eyes that sparkled when the sun hit them. All in all, he was quite handsome.
A long, loud groan in his stomach signaled that it was time to eat. He shrugged out of his backpack, and unzipped it, revealing what scarce munitions he had left. 2 apples, and a juice box, and 4 bottles of water. He had made doubly sure he packed more water then any other object. He wasn't about ready to get lost out here, and die from a lack of it. Along the food, he had also packed potions, antidotes, and other remedies, incase an encounter with a pokemon didn't go smoothly, which it won't. He took a long swig from his water bottle, being careful to only consume what's needed. 4 bites from an apple later, and he was ready to continue on back home. If he didn't find anything, then the entire expedition would have been a waste, and he would have to return empty-handed. He put his backpack on, stood up, and began walking again.
The sounds of the forest were truly breath-taking. The tell-tale call of a Pidgey, the shrill whistle of a Spearow... Matt strained to hear more, until he heard some very faint rustling. Matt drew a Great Ball, ready to catch a potential pokemon. He crouched down low, and sneaked through the grass. As he was creeping along, the rustling became louder and louder, until Matt's path was blocked by some shrubbery. Matt took a deep breath, held the Ball at the ready, and rolled out from behind the vegetation, knowing that whatever was making the sound, it was definitely right here.
Matt's eyes scanned the area, darting back and forth, a small bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. After about 10 seconds, he discovered that whatever was here, wasn't here anymore. Puzzled, Matt walked around the area, examining for possible clues. He noticed some tracks, and if all the books he had read on pokemon had taught him anything, these were Nidoran tracks. Male Nidoran tracks. He found where the tracks began, at the clearing's edge, and followed the telltale shapes. The prints led him to the center, but immediately came to an abrupt stop. They just, stopped.
"Great! My one chance at catching a decent pokemon, and it conveniently Houdini's it's way out of the area."
Of course, this couldn't be possible (... Right?...). It probably got scooped up by a Fearow, or another predator. Poor little guy. He looked up at the sky, wondering what it could have been, and was met with the amber eyes of the long lost Nidoran.
Matt screamed, and fell backwards, landing with a thud on the ground. He looked up again, to make sure he didn't imagine it. There was indeed, a male Nidoran, strung up by a hind leg. Matt's only guess on who could have done this crime was that local poachers had started setting traps in this area as well. Matt's eyes followed the rope holding the Nido in mid-air, and he discovered it was a man-made snare. It was an intricate system of pulleys, ropes, and counter-weights. Whoever made this trap knew exactly what they were doing. Matt slowly stood up, not taking his eyes off of the pokemon for a second. Matt realized that if the Nidoran was hung a little lower, he could have been stabbed in the eye with his toxic horn. He moved a little closer, trying to get a better look at him. His purple fur was ragged and ruffled, and his usually rigid ears, tinged with a sickly turquoise, were floppy and lifeless. His small ribs were visible, the fur and flesh sucked tightly between them. It was obvious he had been hanging for several days, and he looked very dehydrated. Whoever set the snare had probably knew to wait several days, for the pokemon to weaken enough so it didn't pose a threat.
Matt slowly and carefully shuffled towards him, to which the Nidoran let out a weak growl, and bared his teeth. But Matt needed to establish that he was friendly, and didn't want to hurt him. The trainer reached out slowly and began to stoke his back. The growling started to quiet, as it was probably quite soothing. The Nidoran's eyes slowly started to fall closed. Matt stopped; He needed to be let down now. He followed the rope to a nearby tree, finding the place where the counter-weight was located. It was a simple weighted cube, made for this purpose. The rope had a metal hook, which was, in turn, attached to a hoop on the cube.
Matt grabbed the rope, pulling down so that enough slack was created that he could unlatch it from the weight, and support the Nidoran himself. Matt was wondering what was going to happen when he was set on the ground. Would he scurry away? Or would he attack like the wild Pokemon that he is? Matt decided to take the chance, and gently lowered him to the ground.
As soon as the Nidoran's paws touched the forest floor, he preformed an attribute, one that Matt hadn't anticipated; Speed. In one swift motion, the Nido had did a sort of half backflip, tore through the tough rope with his razor-sharp teeth, and was free. It stood it's ground, clicking it's teeth rapidly, and snarling at Matt. The skin over his ribs were being sucked in and out. Matt concluded that it was quite frightened, and very intimidated. He needed to act, and he needed to act now. He picked up a stick, and wielded it like a weapon. With any luck, the Nidoran was already weakened from hanging, and it wouldn't put up too much of a fight. Matt didn't want to hurt him too much if he kept striking.
As if on cue, the Nidoran dug his feet in, got some purchase, and flung himself towards Matt, fangs bared, and letting a battle cry out. Matt quickly sidestepped and evaded, allowing the attacker to sail past harmlessly. Matt quickly spun to face him, just as he launched himself for a second attack, up towards his face that time. Matt held his arms over his face to defend himself, so he decided to latch onto his vulnerable arm instead. Matt felt the skin break and tissue tear, as the sharp teeth pierced his skin effortlessly. He let out a yowl of pain, and shook his arm, trying to free himself from the strong jaws.
The Nidoran held strong however, biting even harder, digging in deeper. Tears forming at his eyes, Matt realized what must be done. Ignoring the excruciating pain, he positioned his trapped arm at chest level, and used his other arm to give 2 solid thumps on the head, right below his toxic spike. The Nidoran's grip almost immediately loosened, but not quite letting go of his arm. The Nido's bright amber eyes looked at Matt, and began to roll slowly to the back of his head, his eyelids closing.
Matt set him down, and drew his Poke Ball; There was no point in wasting a Great Ball on a pokemon that wasn't going to struggle anyway. He triggered the Ball to grow 3 times in size, and lightly tossed it at the unconscious Nidoran. In a flash of light, he disappeared inside the sphere. After about 6 seconds of stillness, it finally pinged and locked itself. After Matt inspected that it was indeed locked, he tended to his wounds. He examined the deep cuts the teeth had made to his forearm. It was obvious he had a stronger than average jaw strength, because any other Nidoran would have tried to stab him with the horn. But for some reason, he only tried to bite him... Peculiar...
He extracted some disinfectant and sprayed it on heavily, then bandaged and wrapped it up with some light medical gauze. Matt packed up, bent down, and retrieved the Poke Ball containing his first pokemon. He looked at it for a second, then held it near his belt, allowing the magnetic clips to do the rest. Before leaving, Matt dismantled the snare, trying to make sure no other pokemon would get caught up in it, and finally continued walking home...Chapter End Notes:And so it begins... I hope it uploaded correctly..