Story Notes:
Pokemon isn't mine, and will probably never be mine, so any and all characters and settings that are official Pokemon/nintendo proterty are copyright to them. This IS a fan work, and the plot and setting is not intended to be commercial.
Family reunion
Family Reunions.
It had been several months since Sandy had rescued Blueberry, Azure and Izaac from their abusive master and they were looking marvelously healthy. She often got envious looks from other trainers as she strode through towns with her shiny Riolu and Zangoose by her side. A fair few offered to trade, but Sandy would always decline. Splitting them up would not only make the other never forgive her, but would probably tear her heart in two as well. Unlike most Zangoose, Azure had a more human figure, thin middle, wide hips and a slight bust. Her markings, also, were different. They were entirely on her right side, one covering her entire arm and part of her left side, her ear and around her eye also had a marking and she had an almost star shaped marking on her thigh. She was a rare catch, and never let Izaac from her sight. They wandered the streets until they came to a residential area, houses lining the streets, some with random Pokémon playing happily in the front yards. Izaac seemed to get a little nervous as they continued to walk. Simon had gone off on his own a week ago, but told Sandy that he would meet her in a few days at the local Pokécenter, and would call her the day he got into town. They walked for what must have been a whole hour before Sandy stopped out front a small house with a bright picket fence. She opened the gate and let her team into the yard before knocking on the door. Nearly knocking on the door. It had opened before she actually knocked. She stared into open air for a moment or two, glancing around before an unfamiliar voice called out.
"Down here." It said, the voice distinctly female. Sandy looked down to see a fully grown Espeon looking up at her expectantly.
Sandy flustered for a moment before something in her head clicked. "...Alice?" She probed. "Alice, is that you?"
The Espeon nodded.
"My word, I've not seen you since you were but a little Eevee." Sandy continued. "Is your master home?"
"May I ask who you are?" Alice said, slightly annoyed.
Sandy sighed, putting a palm to her face. "Is. Mum. Home?" she asked.
Alice seemed to consider the words before she smiled wide. "Sandy!" She yipped, leaping into Sandy's open arms and nuzzling her.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm back." Sandy said. "Go get mum, I'll be right in." Alice ran off after Sandy put her down and Sandy walked in, her little gaggle of Pokémon following. She closed the door with a click and guided her group to the family room, where little Izaac instantly ran to the nearest seat and leapt over the back and into it. Until, that is, he was almost thrown out of the chair in fear. Princess, the family Delcatty, had been sleeping in that chair and was not at all pleased to be jumped on. She moved to attack the offending Riolu until Sandy picked her up by the scruff of her neck.
"Princess, be nice." she warned, turning to show the angry cat the Riolu's mother. Large claws had never scared Princess, but the length of Azure's could easily impale her through, and this got her attention. Sandy dropped Princess to the ground as her parents came in and hugged her.
"Welcome home sweetie!" her mother said as they embraced.
"Glad to be back." She said. "I've seen that our little Alice has evolved! Wow, when did it happen?"
"About a week ago, actually." Her father said. "Scared the life out of us."
Sandy's mother had taken that moment to look around the room at the new Pokémon. She actually gasped at the size of Blueberry, who was still really small, before noticing the little golden Riolu shyly looking at her from inside the nearby chair. She went to pet him, but Sandy stopped her.
"Not yet, he's still scared of you and we don't want Azure to get the wrong idea." It was now that Sandy's mother noticed the shiny Zangoose glaring at her.
"R... Right." She said. "Sandy, that Vaporeon..."
"Yeah, he's mine." Sandy said reflexively before her mother slapped her.
"What have you been doing?!" Her mother bellowed. "He's rediculously undersized for a Vaporeon! Don't try to lie to me!"
Sandy raised a hand to her cheek where a red hand mark was forming. "OW." She said loudly as Blueberry rushed to the side of his trainer. "Back down, Blueberry. Yeah, I know he's undersize. He came to me in the middle of the night after fleeing his abusive trainer, a Rocket, and I rushed him to a center. He belongs to me now, as do the other two. I essentially stole those two from their trainer, but there was a worse fate to consider."
Sandy's mother calmed down somewhat. "How abusive?"
"Suck in your gut and see how skinny you get, now make yourself thinner than that." Sandy said. "Scar tissue covering a majority of Blueberry and Azure's bodies from repeted beatings, near atrophied muscles, Joy said that the only bones in their body that didn't seem like they had been broken was their skulls; I'd say I did the right thing."
Sandy's mother hugged her and apologised for slapping her. "Here, we've plenty to spare so take some cash and go to the customise shop."
"Customise shop?" Sandy asked, curiously.
"It's a new store chain that's opened up recently in the Kanto region and has spread here due to popularity." Her father answered. "Basically you go in with your Pokémon and they take a design from the colours and patterns of your individual companions and build it onto a Poké Ball. It costs a bit, but the design choices are phenomenal."
"It's only just around the corner so you really should go and have a look." Sandy's mum finished.
Blueberry looked eager to go, but little Izaac simply looked exhausted.
"I can't go now, maybe tomorrow if that's fine by you." Sandy said. "Izaac is exhausted and I'm sure you'd like to get to know my latest additions."
Her parents nodded and she picked up little Izaac, scratching him behind his ear and sofly cooing him as his mother leapt up on the opposite arm of the chair.
"This little one is Izaac, he's only a few months old and is the son of Azure here." She said, motioning to the blue Zangoose sitting on the chair. "She's very protective. It took me about a week before I could cradle him like I do now." She prodded Blueberry with her foot playfully and he looked at her, smiling happily. "He's Blueberry and I'd not give him up for the world." She said, prodding him again and moving her foot as he tried to pin it and chew her shoe. He usually won this game, mostly because she would be holding a sleeping Izaac while she teased him and didn't want to wake the little pup. Sandy's mother got up and reached for Izaac again but paused before getting to the sleepy Pokémon's head, looking to Azure.
"May I?" she asked. Azure nodded, but never took her eyes off of her son. Sandy's mother scratched him behind his ear.
"He's really ticklish too, look." Sandy said, starting to tickle the little furball. He whined and tried to wrestle out of her grip playfully but didn't have the strength, simply turning his face to Sandy with a pleading look. "Alright, I'll stop." She said to him. "For now." She added cheekily, finishing with a scratch behind his head. He finished writhing and drifted to sleep in her lap. Sandy looked peeved. "Great, now I can't get up or I'll wake him!" she said sarcastically. "Oh well, he'll wake for dinner."
Sandy's mother picked up Blueberry and held him as she sat down. He seemed to enjoy the attention but was unsure about this new person. He fidgeted in her lap until she shook him.
"Hey, now." She said in a calming voice. "I won't bite, settle down." She cooed him, rubbing his ears gently until he settled down. "Well, they're all adorable, Sandy." She said finally. "But where's your Charmander?"
Sandy shifted lightly and pulled out a Poké Ball, but didn't open it. "He's in here, but he's evolved to a Charizard recently so he wouldn't fit in here if I released him." She put the ball on the coffee table in the middle of the room. "When we go to the Customise shop tomorrow, can I take Alice with me?"
"Hm?" Alice asked, nervously looking up from under the table.
"It's probably going to be packed there, and an extra pair of eyes would be nice to keep watch on these guys."
Alice nodded. "I'll go."
"Thanks." Sandy finished, petting Azure.
The rest of the day passed quickly. It was practically night time already, and Sandy's mother cooked dinner. Right on cue Izaac awoke to eat and fell asleep soon after. Sandy felt tired also so she took her trio to her room and they soon all slept for the night, Izaac and Azure on the second bed, Blueberry at the foot of Sandy's.
They awoke early the next day and rushed through breakfast before collecting Alice and heading to the Customise shop. The building was about the same size as a Pokécenter and was covered in posters advertising their grand opening sale. She knelt down to her Pokémon.
"Okay, we're going in here." She said to them. "There are likely to be alot of Pokémon in there, so please stay close to me and Alice." Her Pokémon all nodded their agreement and they walked in.
As she had thought, the room was crowded. There were dozens of Pokémon and at least thirty trainers. The roof was unusually high, probably for people to bring in their larger, bulkier Pokémon. Posters hung in rows from the ceiling advertising their grand opening and there were shelves around the room with unique items, each categorised for the Pokémon type. Sandy leaned down and placed a hand on Izaac's shoulder reassuringly, the little Riolu had been shaking uncontrollably, scared out of his mind at all the strange Pokémon and people. Sandy lead them around the room, looking at all the different types of items before she stopped and selected a Black Belt. She continued around until she picked up a large piece of Charcoal. She doubled back and grabbed a Silk Scarf and Mystic Water, then turned to the counter. She and her team waited in line for roughly twenty minutes before they could get up to the counter and she set her selected items down.
"These and three customised Poké Balls please." She said.
"Certainly." The clerk replied. "I shall need to see the Pokémon you wish to customise them for."
Sandy lifted Blueberry off the floor and onto the counter and then followed suit with Azure. She bent down to pick up little Izaac but he was nowhere to be seen. Her eyes went wide and something in her rapidly changing mood translated itself to the Pokémon with her. Azure leapt off the counter and got on the ground, frantically looking for her lost pup. Alice jumped up onto the counter.
"Sandy, a man has picked up your Riolu and is attempting to flee out the door." She said.
Sandy whizzed around as she heard the door open and threw Charizard's Poké Ball out the door, releasing him. He filled the doorway perfectly and glared down at the man holding the struggling little pup. He growled deeply and grabbed the stunned man by his shoulder.
"Attempt to steal my Pokémon will you?!" Sandy yelled over the din of the crowd, which hushed them all into silence. As one being, the crowd turned toward the door, all staring at the now frantic man. Sandy waded through the people and slapped him across the face. "How dare you!" She growled. "The only reason I'm not going to let Azure kick your ass is because you didn't get far."
"Azure is a stupid name for a Charizard." The man said.
"Not him." Sandy replied, stepping out from infront of her viciously snarling Zangoose. "Her."
The man's look changed instantly. He seemed calmer, more collected. "Oh please!" He said loudly and smugly. "I know you stole these Pokémon from another trainer so don't try that with me."
"I stole no Pokémon." Sandy said. "These ones I rescued from a Rocket, and I'm not letting you take them!"
"You think you can steal our Pokémon and get away with it?!" The man shouted, before suddenly realising what he had said.
"I thought so!" Sandy growled. "Someone call the police, this guy is now going nowhere!" She finished, several people behind her took out phones and dialled. She reached up and tried to take Izaac back from the Rocket, but he wouldn't let go. Sandy clicked her fingers and Charizard tightened his grip, his claws digging into the Rocket's shoulder. He yelped and his grip loosened enough for Sandy to wring a crying Izaac from his hands. She put him on Blueberry's shoulders and walked back to the counter where the dumbfounded cashier stood. "Anyway;" Sandy continued. "as I said, I would like three customised Poké Balls. One for my Zangoose, Riolu and Vaporeon."
"Y-yeah." The clerk stammered as Sandy put her Pokémon on the counter. The clerk took a few photos and put them on a rack above his head where they were lined up with others. Sandy turned around as he heard the Rocket roar in triumph. Charizard had released him, but as Charizard got out of the way, an Arcanine used Extremespeed to tackle the Rocket to the ground, and he was soon covered in Growlithes. Jenny sauntered into the building.
"Who owns that Charizard?"
Sandy put up her hand. "He's mine."
Jenny walked over and shook her hand. "Thanks for catching that guy, he's been kidnapping Pokémon all over this area."
"Don't thank me, I was protecting my Riolu." She replied, picking him up from the counter. "Just count your lucky stars that he didn't get any further or I'd have had Charizard break something." She turned back to the clerk. "How much?"
The clerk tapped buttons on the register. "Twenty thousand Pokédollars. The Poké Balls will be ready in a few hours, come back then." Jenny looked surprised, as did Sandy's Pokémon. Sandy, however, simply pulled her backpack off her back and withdrew a large plastic bag.
"Here we go." She said, pulling out some notes. "One... Two... Three.." she counted out the notes until she had counted to twenty. "Twenty thousand. Thanks much!" She collected her things, swept them into her bag and led her Pokémon out. Little Izaac avoided people as they moved, practically crying until she picked him up and put him on her shoulders. He yelped in terror when he felt her hands close around his waist and tried to bite her fingers, but stopped when she turned him around to face her. "Now, now, don't bite me."
As she walked past him, Sandy handed Charizard the charcoal and withdrew him into his ball. She led the Pokémon back home and they sat in the family room. Sandy took this opportunity to tie the Mystic Water around Blueberry's neck before he ran off to explore the house. She quickly tied the silken Black Belt around Izaac's waist before he ran off after Blueberry. Azure tried to follow him, but Sandy pulled her into an embrace. The Zangoose tried to scratch her way free, but Sandy wouldn't let go.
"Don't worry, Azure." She said. "He'll be fine here, trust me." She tried to comfort the worried zangoose. "Here;" without letting Azure go she tied the Silk Scarf around her neck. "there you go." She said, petting Azure's head. "C'mon, let's go see where they went." Azure looked down at the scarf around her neck, smiled happily and nodded.
"Zan!" she said. Sandy smiled. This was the first thing Azure had actually said to her.
She put Azure down and walked out the door that Blueberry and Izaac had gone through. She could hear little Izaac laughing at something so she followed the sound and found her way to the backyard. She opened the door and let Azure out before following her, closing the door tightly. It was a large backyard, high fences all around to stop intruders or escaping Pokémon. As Sandy's parents were well known breeders, an entire fence was covered in pens. Most of them were empty, winter having rolled in Pokémon were not in season. A few late hatchers played around the yard, wrestling, running through the play equipment. Most of them were Eevees, a popular and therefore expensive Pokémon to buy. However there were a couple of different Pokémon mixed into the bunch, the most notable being a Pichu and an extremely rare Suicune puppy. Pichus were rather common, and were regularly available to trainers at a normal fee, but seeing the little Suicune puppy playing with Izaac hit Sandy rather odd. She walked over to her mother who was cleaning the pens.
"Mum?"
"Yes?" She replied, sitting upright to look at her daughter.
"Where'd you get the Suicune pup?" Sandy asked.
Her mother looked over at the young Pokémon playing before answering. "Oh, her. Well, a short while ago an old man came to us with his Pokémon, a fully grown Suicune. We wanted to know where he had aquired such a rare Pokémon and he said that he could not tell us. However he said he would like us to breed his rare Pokémon for him. We, of course, accepted. It was a few weeks before we found the egg, and he came around for his Suicune back. We gave him his companion and asked if he wanted the egg, but he declined, telling us that he would like us to have it. Before we could say we couldn't do that he left. She hatched just as you got home yesterday. We're not sure what to do with her."
Sandy looked over at the little water Pokémon. She seemed so happy, as did Izaac. "Why don't you keep her?"
Her mother shook her head. "We don't have the space for a fully grown Suicune in the house." She said sadly.
Sandy's eyes drooped as her heart dropped. "For a Pokémon that rare, no price is too high." She said, before getting a sly idea. "Mum, how much do you think you would charge for her?" Her mother laughed.
"You couldn't afford both her and your other Pokémon on the price I'd set." She said. "Not unless you've beaten eight gyms from at least two regions." Sandy's heart dropped again. "We can't let some rich toff buy her just to keep her as a trophy item, though. That'd be unfair on her." Her mother continued. "So we can't keep her or sell her. I wouldn't feel right letting her go, either."
Sandy's father came out from inside. "Sandy, Officer Jenny just stopped by to congratulate you on catching a Team Rocket guy?"
Sandy nodded. "Yeah, he tried to steal Izaac from me."
"Well, I said I'd go get you, but you weren't in the house, so she handed me this and left." He finished, handing her a cheque. She looked at it before double-taking.
"Holy-" She said, before handing it to her mother. "Here." she said. "trade you for the Suicune?"
Her mother took the cheque, her jaw dropping at the amount of money written. "T-two hundred thousand?!"
"I know..." Sandy said. "They must've got some good info outta that guy."
"W-well I guess this..." Her mother started. "Right, sure." She handed Sandy a Poké Ball. "Go get her yourself." She said.
Sandy walked over with the Poké Ball and tapped the Suicune on her shoulder with her finger. The little Suicune looked up at her from Izaac.
"Would you like to play with Izaac more often?" She asked. The little puppy nodded. "I can keep you with me and you will be around him all the time?" The Suicune tilted her head before understanding and nodded, smiling broadly.
"Sui!" She said.
Sandy tapped the ball to the Suicune's nose and it was enveloped in a bright flash of red light. The ball shook for a moment or two before clicking. Sandy released her new water Pokémon, who yipped happily at her.
"Let's call you Crystal."
Crystal yipped again before running up and tackling Blueberry, who playfully wrestled with her. Sandy's father stood next to her and put his hand on her shoulder.
"She's a gem alright."Chapter End Notes:more to come! Please comment, I'd love to know what you think!
Fixed a mixup with types, Suicune is now water, not Ice
It had been several months since Sandy had rescued Blueberry, Azure and Izaac from their abusive master and they were looking marvelously healthy. She often got envious looks from other trainers as she strode through towns with her shiny Riolu and Zangoose by her side. A fair few offered to trade, but Sandy would always decline. Splitting them up would not only make the other never forgive her, but would probably tear her heart in two as well. Unlike most Zangoose, Azure had a more human figure, thin middle, wide hips and a slight bust. Her markings, also, were different. They were entirely on her right side, one covering her entire arm and part of her left side, her ear and around her eye also had a marking and she had an almost star shaped marking on her thigh. She was a rare catch, and never let Izaac from her sight. They wandered the streets until they came to a residential area, houses lining the streets, some with random Pokémon playing happily in the front yards. Izaac seemed to get a little nervous as they continued to walk. Simon had gone off on his own a week ago, but told Sandy that he would meet her in a few days at the local Pokécenter, and would call her the day he got into town. They walked for what must have been a whole hour before Sandy stopped out front a small house with a bright picket fence. She opened the gate and let her team into the yard before knocking on the door. Nearly knocking on the door. It had opened before she actually knocked. She stared into open air for a moment or two, glancing around before an unfamiliar voice called out.
"Down here." It said, the voice distinctly female. Sandy looked down to see a fully grown Espeon looking up at her expectantly.
Sandy flustered for a moment before something in her head clicked. "...Alice?" She probed. "Alice, is that you?"
The Espeon nodded.
"My word, I've not seen you since you were but a little Eevee." Sandy continued. "Is your master home?"
"May I ask who you are?" Alice said, slightly annoyed.
Sandy sighed, putting a palm to her face. "Is. Mum. Home?" she asked.
Alice seemed to consider the words before she smiled wide. "Sandy!" She yipped, leaping into Sandy's open arms and nuzzling her.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm back." Sandy said. "Go get mum, I'll be right in." Alice ran off after Sandy put her down and Sandy walked in, her little gaggle of Pokémon following. She closed the door with a click and guided her group to the family room, where little Izaac instantly ran to the nearest seat and leapt over the back and into it. Until, that is, he was almost thrown out of the chair in fear. Princess, the family Delcatty, had been sleeping in that chair and was not at all pleased to be jumped on. She moved to attack the offending Riolu until Sandy picked her up by the scruff of her neck.
"Princess, be nice." she warned, turning to show the angry cat the Riolu's mother. Large claws had never scared Princess, but the length of Azure's could easily impale her through, and this got her attention. Sandy dropped Princess to the ground as her parents came in and hugged her.
"Welcome home sweetie!" her mother said as they embraced.
"Glad to be back." She said. "I've seen that our little Alice has evolved! Wow, when did it happen?"
"About a week ago, actually." Her father said. "Scared the life out of us."
Sandy's mother had taken that moment to look around the room at the new Pokémon. She actually gasped at the size of Blueberry, who was still really small, before noticing the little golden Riolu shyly looking at her from inside the nearby chair. She went to pet him, but Sandy stopped her.
"Not yet, he's still scared of you and we don't want Azure to get the wrong idea." It was now that Sandy's mother noticed the shiny Zangoose glaring at her.
"R... Right." She said. "Sandy, that Vaporeon..."
"Yeah, he's mine." Sandy said reflexively before her mother slapped her.
"What have you been doing?!" Her mother bellowed. "He's rediculously undersized for a Vaporeon! Don't try to lie to me!"
Sandy raised a hand to her cheek where a red hand mark was forming. "OW." She said loudly as Blueberry rushed to the side of his trainer. "Back down, Blueberry. Yeah, I know he's undersize. He came to me in the middle of the night after fleeing his abusive trainer, a Rocket, and I rushed him to a center. He belongs to me now, as do the other two. I essentially stole those two from their trainer, but there was a worse fate to consider."
Sandy's mother calmed down somewhat. "How abusive?"
"Suck in your gut and see how skinny you get, now make yourself thinner than that." Sandy said. "Scar tissue covering a majority of Blueberry and Azure's bodies from repeted beatings, near atrophied muscles, Joy said that the only bones in their body that didn't seem like they had been broken was their skulls; I'd say I did the right thing."
Sandy's mother hugged her and apologised for slapping her. "Here, we've plenty to spare so take some cash and go to the customise shop."
"Customise shop?" Sandy asked, curiously.
"It's a new store chain that's opened up recently in the Kanto region and has spread here due to popularity." Her father answered. "Basically you go in with your Pokémon and they take a design from the colours and patterns of your individual companions and build it onto a Poké Ball. It costs a bit, but the design choices are phenomenal."
"It's only just around the corner so you really should go and have a look." Sandy's mum finished.
Blueberry looked eager to go, but little Izaac simply looked exhausted.
"I can't go now, maybe tomorrow if that's fine by you." Sandy said. "Izaac is exhausted and I'm sure you'd like to get to know my latest additions."
Her parents nodded and she picked up little Izaac, scratching him behind his ear and sofly cooing him as his mother leapt up on the opposite arm of the chair.
"This little one is Izaac, he's only a few months old and is the son of Azure here." She said, motioning to the blue Zangoose sitting on the chair. "She's very protective. It took me about a week before I could cradle him like I do now." She prodded Blueberry with her foot playfully and he looked at her, smiling happily. "He's Blueberry and I'd not give him up for the world." She said, prodding him again and moving her foot as he tried to pin it and chew her shoe. He usually won this game, mostly because she would be holding a sleeping Izaac while she teased him and didn't want to wake the little pup. Sandy's mother got up and reached for Izaac again but paused before getting to the sleepy Pokémon's head, looking to Azure.
"May I?" she asked. Azure nodded, but never took her eyes off of her son. Sandy's mother scratched him behind his ear.
"He's really ticklish too, look." Sandy said, starting to tickle the little furball. He whined and tried to wrestle out of her grip playfully but didn't have the strength, simply turning his face to Sandy with a pleading look. "Alright, I'll stop." She said to him. "For now." She added cheekily, finishing with a scratch behind his head. He finished writhing and drifted to sleep in her lap. Sandy looked peeved. "Great, now I can't get up or I'll wake him!" she said sarcastically. "Oh well, he'll wake for dinner."
Sandy's mother picked up Blueberry and held him as she sat down. He seemed to enjoy the attention but was unsure about this new person. He fidgeted in her lap until she shook him.
"Hey, now." She said in a calming voice. "I won't bite, settle down." She cooed him, rubbing his ears gently until he settled down. "Well, they're all adorable, Sandy." She said finally. "But where's your Charmander?"
Sandy shifted lightly and pulled out a Poké Ball, but didn't open it. "He's in here, but he's evolved to a Charizard recently so he wouldn't fit in here if I released him." She put the ball on the coffee table in the middle of the room. "When we go to the Customise shop tomorrow, can I take Alice with me?"
"Hm?" Alice asked, nervously looking up from under the table.
"It's probably going to be packed there, and an extra pair of eyes would be nice to keep watch on these guys."
Alice nodded. "I'll go."
"Thanks." Sandy finished, petting Azure.
The rest of the day passed quickly. It was practically night time already, and Sandy's mother cooked dinner. Right on cue Izaac awoke to eat and fell asleep soon after. Sandy felt tired also so she took her trio to her room and they soon all slept for the night, Izaac and Azure on the second bed, Blueberry at the foot of Sandy's.
They awoke early the next day and rushed through breakfast before collecting Alice and heading to the Customise shop. The building was about the same size as a Pokécenter and was covered in posters advertising their grand opening sale. She knelt down to her Pokémon.
"Okay, we're going in here." She said to them. "There are likely to be alot of Pokémon in there, so please stay close to me and Alice." Her Pokémon all nodded their agreement and they walked in.
As she had thought, the room was crowded. There were dozens of Pokémon and at least thirty trainers. The roof was unusually high, probably for people to bring in their larger, bulkier Pokémon. Posters hung in rows from the ceiling advertising their grand opening and there were shelves around the room with unique items, each categorised for the Pokémon type. Sandy leaned down and placed a hand on Izaac's shoulder reassuringly, the little Riolu had been shaking uncontrollably, scared out of his mind at all the strange Pokémon and people. Sandy lead them around the room, looking at all the different types of items before she stopped and selected a Black Belt. She continued around until she picked up a large piece of Charcoal. She doubled back and grabbed a Silk Scarf and Mystic Water, then turned to the counter. She and her team waited in line for roughly twenty minutes before they could get up to the counter and she set her selected items down.
"These and three customised Poké Balls please." She said.
"Certainly." The clerk replied. "I shall need to see the Pokémon you wish to customise them for."
Sandy lifted Blueberry off the floor and onto the counter and then followed suit with Azure. She bent down to pick up little Izaac but he was nowhere to be seen. Her eyes went wide and something in her rapidly changing mood translated itself to the Pokémon with her. Azure leapt off the counter and got on the ground, frantically looking for her lost pup. Alice jumped up onto the counter.
"Sandy, a man has picked up your Riolu and is attempting to flee out the door." She said.
Sandy whizzed around as she heard the door open and threw Charizard's Poké Ball out the door, releasing him. He filled the doorway perfectly and glared down at the man holding the struggling little pup. He growled deeply and grabbed the stunned man by his shoulder.
"Attempt to steal my Pokémon will you?!" Sandy yelled over the din of the crowd, which hushed them all into silence. As one being, the crowd turned toward the door, all staring at the now frantic man. Sandy waded through the people and slapped him across the face. "How dare you!" She growled. "The only reason I'm not going to let Azure kick your ass is because you didn't get far."
"Azure is a stupid name for a Charizard." The man said.
"Not him." Sandy replied, stepping out from infront of her viciously snarling Zangoose. "Her."
The man's look changed instantly. He seemed calmer, more collected. "Oh please!" He said loudly and smugly. "I know you stole these Pokémon from another trainer so don't try that with me."
"I stole no Pokémon." Sandy said. "These ones I rescued from a Rocket, and I'm not letting you take them!"
"You think you can steal our Pokémon and get away with it?!" The man shouted, before suddenly realising what he had said.
"I thought so!" Sandy growled. "Someone call the police, this guy is now going nowhere!" She finished, several people behind her took out phones and dialled. She reached up and tried to take Izaac back from the Rocket, but he wouldn't let go. Sandy clicked her fingers and Charizard tightened his grip, his claws digging into the Rocket's shoulder. He yelped and his grip loosened enough for Sandy to wring a crying Izaac from his hands. She put him on Blueberry's shoulders and walked back to the counter where the dumbfounded cashier stood. "Anyway;" Sandy continued. "as I said, I would like three customised Poké Balls. One for my Zangoose, Riolu and Vaporeon."
"Y-yeah." The clerk stammered as Sandy put her Pokémon on the counter. The clerk took a few photos and put them on a rack above his head where they were lined up with others. Sandy turned around as he heard the Rocket roar in triumph. Charizard had released him, but as Charizard got out of the way, an Arcanine used Extremespeed to tackle the Rocket to the ground, and he was soon covered in Growlithes. Jenny sauntered into the building.
"Who owns that Charizard?"
Sandy put up her hand. "He's mine."
Jenny walked over and shook her hand. "Thanks for catching that guy, he's been kidnapping Pokémon all over this area."
"Don't thank me, I was protecting my Riolu." She replied, picking him up from the counter. "Just count your lucky stars that he didn't get any further or I'd have had Charizard break something." She turned back to the clerk. "How much?"
The clerk tapped buttons on the register. "Twenty thousand Pokédollars. The Poké Balls will be ready in a few hours, come back then." Jenny looked surprised, as did Sandy's Pokémon. Sandy, however, simply pulled her backpack off her back and withdrew a large plastic bag.
"Here we go." She said, pulling out some notes. "One... Two... Three.." she counted out the notes until she had counted to twenty. "Twenty thousand. Thanks much!" She collected her things, swept them into her bag and led her Pokémon out. Little Izaac avoided people as they moved, practically crying until she picked him up and put him on her shoulders. He yelped in terror when he felt her hands close around his waist and tried to bite her fingers, but stopped when she turned him around to face her. "Now, now, don't bite me."
As she walked past him, Sandy handed Charizard the charcoal and withdrew him into his ball. She led the Pokémon back home and they sat in the family room. Sandy took this opportunity to tie the Mystic Water around Blueberry's neck before he ran off to explore the house. She quickly tied the silken Black Belt around Izaac's waist before he ran off after Blueberry. Azure tried to follow him, but Sandy pulled her into an embrace. The Zangoose tried to scratch her way free, but Sandy wouldn't let go.
"Don't worry, Azure." She said. "He'll be fine here, trust me." She tried to comfort the worried zangoose. "Here;" without letting Azure go she tied the Silk Scarf around her neck. "there you go." She said, petting Azure's head. "C'mon, let's go see where they went." Azure looked down at the scarf around her neck, smiled happily and nodded.
"Zan!" she said. Sandy smiled. This was the first thing Azure had actually said to her.
She put Azure down and walked out the door that Blueberry and Izaac had gone through. She could hear little Izaac laughing at something so she followed the sound and found her way to the backyard. She opened the door and let Azure out before following her, closing the door tightly. It was a large backyard, high fences all around to stop intruders or escaping Pokémon. As Sandy's parents were well known breeders, an entire fence was covered in pens. Most of them were empty, winter having rolled in Pokémon were not in season. A few late hatchers played around the yard, wrestling, running through the play equipment. Most of them were Eevees, a popular and therefore expensive Pokémon to buy. However there were a couple of different Pokémon mixed into the bunch, the most notable being a Pichu and an extremely rare Suicune puppy. Pichus were rather common, and were regularly available to trainers at a normal fee, but seeing the little Suicune puppy playing with Izaac hit Sandy rather odd. She walked over to her mother who was cleaning the pens.
"Mum?"
"Yes?" She replied, sitting upright to look at her daughter.
"Where'd you get the Suicune pup?" Sandy asked.
Her mother looked over at the young Pokémon playing before answering. "Oh, her. Well, a short while ago an old man came to us with his Pokémon, a fully grown Suicune. We wanted to know where he had aquired such a rare Pokémon and he said that he could not tell us. However he said he would like us to breed his rare Pokémon for him. We, of course, accepted. It was a few weeks before we found the egg, and he came around for his Suicune back. We gave him his companion and asked if he wanted the egg, but he declined, telling us that he would like us to have it. Before we could say we couldn't do that he left. She hatched just as you got home yesterday. We're not sure what to do with her."
Sandy looked over at the little water Pokémon. She seemed so happy, as did Izaac. "Why don't you keep her?"
Her mother shook her head. "We don't have the space for a fully grown Suicune in the house." She said sadly.
Sandy's eyes drooped as her heart dropped. "For a Pokémon that rare, no price is too high." She said, before getting a sly idea. "Mum, how much do you think you would charge for her?" Her mother laughed.
"You couldn't afford both her and your other Pokémon on the price I'd set." She said. "Not unless you've beaten eight gyms from at least two regions." Sandy's heart dropped again. "We can't let some rich toff buy her just to keep her as a trophy item, though. That'd be unfair on her." Her mother continued. "So we can't keep her or sell her. I wouldn't feel right letting her go, either."
Sandy's father came out from inside. "Sandy, Officer Jenny just stopped by to congratulate you on catching a Team Rocket guy?"
Sandy nodded. "Yeah, he tried to steal Izaac from me."
"Well, I said I'd go get you, but you weren't in the house, so she handed me this and left." He finished, handing her a cheque. She looked at it before double-taking.
"Holy-" She said, before handing it to her mother. "Here." she said. "trade you for the Suicune?"
Her mother took the cheque, her jaw dropping at the amount of money written. "T-two hundred thousand?!"
"I know..." Sandy said. "They must've got some good info outta that guy."
"W-well I guess this..." Her mother started. "Right, sure." She handed Sandy a Poké Ball. "Go get her yourself." She said.
Sandy walked over with the Poké Ball and tapped the Suicune on her shoulder with her finger. The little Suicune looked up at her from Izaac.
"Would you like to play with Izaac more often?" She asked. The little puppy nodded. "I can keep you with me and you will be around him all the time?" The Suicune tilted her head before understanding and nodded, smiling broadly.
"Sui!" She said.
Sandy tapped the ball to the Suicune's nose and it was enveloped in a bright flash of red light. The ball shook for a moment or two before clicking. Sandy released her new water Pokémon, who yipped happily at her.
"Let's call you Crystal."
Crystal yipped again before running up and tackling Blueberry, who playfully wrestled with her. Sandy's father stood next to her and put his hand on her shoulder.
"She's a gem alright."Chapter End Notes:more to come! Please comment, I'd love to know what you think!
Fixed a mixup with types, Suicune is now water, not Ice