Story Notes:
This is my first attempt at a Pokemon Fan fic, so please bare with me.
Ch.2 Mocha
Ch.2 - Mocha
Devin scanned the wind swept field of tall grass he was standing in, one more time. He was 15 now, making Rio almost 5. Aunt Rose and Lu had thought it would be a great idea for Rio and himself to come out here and get some experience in being self sufficient. Of course He and Rio had leapt at the opportunity to ignore their studies and go camping for the week end, with out any adult supervision.
So that Friday after school had gotten done, they had all loaded into Aunt Roses Jeep and went for a drive. Devin had expected that his Aunt would drive a little ways in to the country side and just drop them off. However after a few hours of driving around and getting Devin completely turned around Aunt Rose had ordered Lu to toss them out of the moving vehicle.
Devin was quite surprised when the Lucario nodded her head once, turned around and tossed him out the side of the jeep. He went flying end over end as he hit the ground. Fortunately he recovered quickly enough to catch Rio as she too went sailing through the air.
"Hey! How are we supposed to survive without any supplies?" Devin yelled at the pair in the jeep.
He watched as the jeep spun around in a large arch and started speeding back at them. He dove out-of-the-way as the jeep came dangerously close to hitting him. He heard something hit the ground by his head, as the jeep continued to speed away. Devin opened his eyes to the sight of a large back pack just in front of his nose.
By this time Rio had joined him, and was also looking at the Back pack. They both looked at each other, than back at the back pack, and finally at the diminishing jeep on the horizon. With a deep sigh Devin got back to his feet, and dusted himself off. He watched as Rio, mimicked his every movement. She could be so cute some times, right now though he was certain she was mocking him.
"Are you quite finished?" Devin asked a little cross.
"[Yes]" Rio replied with a mocking grin.
"You know, I wish when they were trying to teach us something they would just come right out and do it."
"[Well how else are we supposed to learn anything if all we do is read about it, or get lectured about it?]"
"Will you quit mocking me; I doubt you even know what half of what you just said means."
"[You're one to talk. I bet you're just mad 'cause your camping trip got ruined.]"
Devin just glared at her. She could be so adult, and yet such a child at the same time. With out warning she jumped up in to his arms and looked him right in the face still smiling.
"[Besides, you can't stay mad at me. I'm too cute for you to stay mad.]"
With that she leaned her head in and rubbed noses with him. It was their special little gesture to each other, and it always made the other feel better, no matter what. And it worked too, Devin instantly felt better. Some how he knew on a deeper level that they were just as connected emotionally as they were mentally. If one was sad the other was too, and could tell. Like wise if one was happy, so was the other. Devin felt like he could share anything with her, and often enough did. Besides it is hard to keep a secret from some one you share a mental and emotional bond with.
"So what do you think we should do than, little miss know it all." Devin asked as he set Rio down.
"[I donno, I didn't read any of your out doors guides. They were so boring.]"
"Fat lot of help you're going to be than." Devin said rolling his eyes.
Devin brought his hand up to his brow to shield his eyes from the noon day sun. Off in the distance he could see a small stand of trees. Other than that there was little else but wide open fields, and the ocean in the back ground. Devin picked up the backpack and started to make his way to the trees.
"Come on Rio, let's get a move on."
Devin watched as Rio stopped pouncing after the butterfly that had distracted her, and ran back to him. Before taking off Devin offered her his hand, to which she happily took in to her own three-fingered paw. Devin loved the feeling of her fur; it was always so soft and silky. Together they made their way to the trees. What Devin had originally thought was a small stand of trees ended up just being the start of one of Hoenn's many forests.
It didn't take long for them to find a spot that was big enough for a small tent and a place for a small fire. Devin set the pack down and started to rummage through it. As he did so he noticed that Rio had immediately started nosing about the clearing. Devin often felt that Rio was easily distracted, and often found her day dreaming. He hoped that it was something she would soon grow out of. That and she was hyper, with little influence that girl could and usual did bounce off of any thing. It was getting harder for him to get her attention and get her to sit still.
Devin watched as Rio found a group of flours and started picking them, and weaving them into a wreath. Devin shook his head and went back to setting up their tent. Devin first set about clearing an area for the tent to be set up. Devin dug through the backpack until he found the tent. He was kind of offended, his Aunt had packed them one of those pop up tents. Devin set the thing on the ground and rolled it out.
"Hey Rio, you want to push the button to inflate the tent?" Devin asked over his shoulder.
There was no response.
"Rio!"
Devin turned around to see what Rio was up to, how ever Rio was not there. In a panic he rushed over to where Rio had last been. Devin found the flour wreath she had made, and a set of paw marks leading back into the field.
"I'm going to kill her." Devin said to no one as he put the wreath on top of the backpack.
Devin set out in to the field following Rio's paw prints. He watched as they quickly started to look like she was prancing or maybe pouncing. The tracks were hard to follow they didn't follow a straight path. They went in every direction. After a while of following after the seemingly random pattern he found himself nearing their camp again, but still no Rio.
"Rio!"
Rio snickered from where she was hiding. She had watched as Devin had set up camp, but quickly had gotten board and had started chasing a butterfly. As she had been pouncing after the tiny insect she decided it would be fun to train with Devin. They trained often enough at home, and that was why they were out here in the middle of nowhere was to train, right?
So she had crept back to the camp and climbed a tree, waiting for him to notice that she was missing. It hadn't taken long for him to realize she was missing, and had set out to find her. She hadn't calculated though that it would take him so long to return though. By the time he did she was so board that she almost forgot why she was hiding in the tree to begin with. She remembered now though, and with a snicker she attacked.
Devin heard Rio snicker, and felt her surge of excitement just as she jumped out of the tree. Devin leapt out-of-the-way as Rios "Quick-Attack" hit the ground. She didn't stop there thought as she rushed in with another "Quick-Attack". Devin blocked as many of the punches and kicks as he could, but it wasn't called "Quick-Attack" because it was slow, and a few of her hits got through.
The ones that got through didn't hurt too much though since early on in her training Devin had taught her to pull her punches when training with him. He like wise had promised, much to her disapproval, that he would never hit her back. Lu's violent coupling with that Blaziken had instilled in Devin a hatred of violence towards women. He had come to terms with the fact that when she agreed to mate with him it had no longer been rape. It still didn't change the fact that he had badly hurt her. So he had sworn never to harm a woman, human or Pokémon, ever.
She was a little blue blur as she continued to use "Quick-Attack" over and over again. Devin reached out and caught one of her paws and used her own momentum to flip her to the ground. Even though he had promised to never hurt her, he had learned quickly to defend him self against her. He had learned there was a huge difference between striking and restraining. So when they spared he would use holds, throws, and shoves against her.
Rio rolled with the toss, and came up on both feet facing away from Devin. Quickly she jumped into the air and did a split kick in mid-flight, the end of her foot was on fire. Devin barely ducked under Rio's "Blaze-Kick". He didn't know how overjoyed he should be though. She was getting craftier at delivering that devastating move, but she had damn near taken his head off with it too.
Rio landed and tapped her foot on the ground a couple of times to ease the burning sensation, before she launched herself forward with another "Quick-Attack" onslaught. Devin wasn't going to take any chances this time, and kept his distance. However he wasn't prepared for to leap forward and lash out with a "Sky-Uppercut", the other move she had learned from her bastard father. Devin caught her free paw and tossed her again to the ground. Rio nipped to her feet and rushed in placing her right paw on Devin's exposed chest.
"Rio, that's enough." Devin said sternly as he felt her gather energy for her "Force-Palm"
"You know not to hit me there with that."
Rio was panting from the exertion, and had a huge grin on her face.
"[I know. But I had you, and I wanted you to know it too.]"
"Oh yeah you so had me." Devin responded with mock sarcasm.
With that he tossed her to the ground again. Rio landed on the activation button for the pop up tent. With a loud bang, the tent popped up and sent Rio flying high in to the air. Devin had enough time to observe the tent with mild curiosity and make a comment before he had to catch Rio.
"Huh, they made it look like half a Poke ball."
With that Devin stuck his arms out and caught Rio.
"[That was fun, can we do it again?]"
Devin laughed and scratched the top of her head.
"Maybe tomorrow."
Setting Rio down, they went about finishing setting up the camp. Devin had Rio go and collect some twigs and logs while he dug up a small hole for a fire pit. Once that was done and a fire started they went through the rest of the kit. It contained some rations, not enough for the whole weekend, a first aid kit, some drinking water, and clothes.
"Well it looks like we'll have to gather food stuffs tomorrow."
"[Why do you say that?]" Rio asked with a mouth full of food.
"Because we eat more than they sent."
Devin rummaged around some more in the bag. He found a collapsible fishing rod and some fish cleaning tools. It made sense really, this was a survival exercise. Devin had never really asked where most of the food they ate came from. In hind sight he supposed it was something he should have looked into since it was illegal to kill, let alone eat most Pokémon.
"Looks like our first lesson will be catching a fish."
"[Well that should be easy. There are tons of fish in the water.]"
"Not many we can eat though."
Rio just gave him a funny look. Devin decided he was too tired to explain to her why they couldn't eat every fish in the sea. Instead he just took out his pajama pants and excused himself to the tent. He had to be careful these days when changing. For reasons unknown to him Rio had tried to sneak peaks of him naked. It never used to bother him before, being nude in front of her. They even used to share their nightly baths.
But as they had gotten older she had gotten more curious about their bodies, and the differences between them, especially his body. He had stopped bathing with her, teaching her instead to bathe her self. He had also stopped changing in front of her as well, to her great disappointment. So it had become a game to her to see him naked. He could always feel her excitement, could almost taste it even.
"Rio, don't even think about climbing up to the moon roof. The tent won't hold your weight."
He could feel her disappointment as she stomped off back to the fire. Devin finished getting ready for bed. Opening up the door so he could see Rio sitting by the fire, he felt a little bad. She sat at the opposite side of the fire hugging her knees to her chest, looking miserable. He realized she was just curious. He also realized that she was maturing much faster than a human does. Pokémon did that, they grew up faster, and matured faster. In that sense they were so much like the animals that they descended from.
But as he stood there watching her, feeling her sadness, and knowing how intelligent not only she was, but all Pokémon were. He couldn't help but think of her as a person though, and more importantly she was also his best friend. Devin stepped out of the tent and kicked some dirt on to the fire to put it out.
"Rio, come on lets go to bed."
Rio looked up from where she had been sulking at Devin's out stretched hand. Her eyes roamed up his arm to his naked chest. When her eyes got to his face she was greeted with his usual kind smile and warm eyes. She happily bounced up off the ground, her sadness completely forgotten as she leapt into his arms.
"[Yes, let's go to bed.]"
Rio snuggled into Devin's chest and was asleep before he had even closed the door to the tent. Devin propped the moon roof open and lay down to go to sleep as well.
Else Where...
Not too far from the forest, out in the field that Devin and Rio had been dumped earlier, a young Buneary was running for her life. She was lost, scared, and confused. A couple of days ago she had been in the Eterna Forest with her brothers and sisters just eating, laughing, and having a grand old time.
The next thing she knew everything had gone black. When she had awoke she was in a pen separated from her siblings. She was terrified, they all were, and they could do nothing. Strange people would show up often to look in on them, but they were not nice. They would hit them and yell at them, go days without feeding them.
She had watched as a couple of her brothers and sisters had died from the abuse. Her heart had broken and she had felt all was lost. For days she had laid at the back corner of her cage, waiting for death to take her. However, yesterday one of her handlers had fled from her cage to find a doctor because they thought she was dead. In their haste they had left her door open. She mustered the last of her strength and fled from her captors.
She had run for as long as she could, lost in a land that was completely different from her own. She had run till she collapsed. When she woke up she had found her self in a small clearing. Slowly she had searched the area till she found some fresh water and berries. She ate and drank her fill. She picked the berry bush clean, eating every one in sight. Finally she passed out again next to the water, one ear lazily floating in the water.
She awoke again with a start. Something had been moving in the bushes. All at once five Mightyena rushed from the underbrush right at her. She panicked right up till the last second. As the first one was about to tackle her she jumped and drop kicked it right in the face. It flew back into the others. She used the momentary distraction to flee once again into the night.
Back at Camp...
Devin sleepily emerged from the tent. He had woken all the sudden really needing to pee. As quietly as he could he made his way to a tree and heeded to natures call. When he was finished he started to make his way back to the tent. As he approached the tent door, a sound out in the woods caught his attention. He turned around just in time to catch a wild Pokémon as it went sailing through the air. Regaining his footing he realized he was holding a little Buneary.
"Hey there little one, how did you get here?"
The Buneary looked at him terrified, than it started screaming.
"[Let me go! Let me go! They're going to eat me! Let me go!]"
Devin was taken back. He knew the little rabbit Pokémon were generally really timid, but he had never seen one so terrified. Come to think of it he had not seen one since he had left the Sinnoh Region.
"No one's going to eat you little one, now how did you get here?"
She still wasn't calming down though.
"[Please don't hurt me!]" She cried.
Devin was about to ask her again what was going on when he heard Rio's sleepy voice behind him.
"[What's going on out here? And who is that?]"
Devin looked from the half asleep Riolu to the crying Buneary and then back again.
"I have no idea. Could you start a fire please Rio while I try to figure out what's going on."
Rio shrugged her shoulders and went about putting some fresh wood into the fire pit before giving it a little "Blaze-Kick" to start it burning. Devin looked at the little Buneary now that there was some light. She looked severely under fed and badly beaten. She was also shaking uncontrollably in Devin's hands. Devin thought back to when Rio was a baby and how she would get nightmares and have to be snuggled as well as sung to to calm down. Devin decided to give it a try.
Devin started to gently rock with the little Buneary as well as quietly sing a lullaby he had sung to Rio on many occasions. Slowly the Buneary started to calm down. Devin continued to sing quietly to the little Buneary as he held it close. Rio got upset however.
"[Hey, that's my song!]"
Devin thought that Rio actually sounded hurt.
"I'm sorry, dear, but it is calming her down." Devin apologized.
"[But it's my song.]"
Devin knew he had hurt her now, and Rio looked on the verge of tears.
"I'm sorry Rio; I'll try to think of another one for her latter."
Rio began to pout right where she was standing. Devin made to reach out and comfort her as well, but something in the bushes caught his attention. Quickly Devin unceremoniously tossed the Buneary into the tent and shut the door.
"Stay in there and be quiet."
Devin stood and faced the bushes, Rio ready and at his side. The five Mightyena that had been chasing the Buneary emerged from the bushes and fanned out in the clearing. Devin and Rio stared at the growling and snapping Mightyena as they all began to pace anxiously.
"[Where is the Buneary, we can smell her.]" The lead Mightyena demanded of Rio.
"She is safe where you can't harm her." Devin responded.
All the Mightyena were startled and looked to their leader.
"[It doesn't matter if he can understand us. Master Jade wants that Buneary. Get her now!]"
While the Mightyena were talking Devin took the opportunity to whisper to Rio.
"Are any of them female?" Devin asked under his breath.
"[Only the leader.]"
"Go figure, always a strong woman who leads the pack."
"[Damn right it is. Can I take her?]"
"She is all yours."
Rio lunged at the lead Mightyena while she was still trying to rally her troops. The sudden attack prompted the rest into action. Devin however moved in and separated the four males from their leader. Devin and Rio now faced a divided pack.
The lead Mightyena reared back and lunged, her mouth a flame. Rio dodged the "Fire-fang" attack and countered with a "Quick-attack". The Mightyena landed hard on her side, but was back on her feet immediately. Again she lunged with a "Tackle". Rio dodged again, but before she could counter attack the Mightyena dug her rear paws into the ground and kicked up a cloud of dust into Rios eyes. The "Sand-attack" blinded Rio.
Devin took up a rudimentary martial arts stance and waited for the remaining four to attack. He didn't have long to wait. As one they all charged with "Tackle" attacks. Devin dodged the first one with ease. As he did this he grabbed the second one in mid-flight by the ears and tossed it into the third. The fourth one was on him though, and sunk its saber like teeth into his fore arm. Devin cried out in pain as he drove his foot into the Mightyena's under side.
"Rio!"
"[Devin!]"
Devin looked over to see Rio covering her eyes, the lead Mightyena right behind her, mouth a flame. Devin watched as the Mightyena charged.
"Rio jump!"
Rio didn't hesitate and jumped straight up into the air. Devin dodged aside as the startled lead Mightyena came flying at him. Her "Fire-fang" attack sank deep into one of her own pack members. The unfortunate Mightyena fell to the ground dead, a smoking hole where its throat had once been. Rio landed hard on the ground still blind.
"[Devin, I can't see!]"
She sounded panicked to him. He couldn't tend to her though. He was losing blood and the four remaining Mightyena were regrouping.
"Just hang in there Rio, I'll think of something."
However Devin was drawing a blank. He had no special attacks to counter theirs. Slowly he backed up towards Rio, a plan forming in his head.
"Rio, give me your hands."
Rio reached her hands into the air as told. She didn't know what Devin was planning but she felt him take a hold of both her hands firmly.
"Rio when I tell you to, I want you to do a "Blaze-kick"."
Rio nodded her head and waited for him to give the order. Devin watched as the Mightyena inched closer, drool dripping from their fangs. Confident they had an overwhelming advantage they charged. Devin set his feet firmly in a wide stance and started to hoist Rio.
"Rio, now!"
With a mighty heave Devin swung Rio around in a large arc as Rio unleashed her "Blaze-kick". With their combined strength they attacked. The fire from Rio's kick cut a deadly streak through the air. The "Blaze-kick" caught the first one right on the side of the head, caving in its skull and sent it cork screwing in the opposite direction. The second Mightyena got hit in the neck, instantly breaking it. Its body went sailing into the lead Mightyena. The last Mightyena got hit in the ribs collapsing its chest cavity. Devin fell to the ground, spent of energy, his arm a flame in pain. Rio went sailing towards the tent. The lead Mightyena got back to her feet, laughing hysterically.
"[I don't care if you can understand me! I don't care if that little blue mutt can shoot fire out her ass. All you had to do was give me the Buneary, and we would have left you alone. Now you're both dyeing, and I'm still going to get the Buneary.]"
Devin propped himself up on his good elbow.
"You will not touch her!"
The Mightyena started to laugh hard, but was cut short when the little Buneary came crashing into her. She didn't stop there as she cocked her head forward and quickly unleashed her curled up ear, delivering a crushing "Pound" attack. The Mightyena went sailing back over the camp fire, and didn't get back up.
Devin watched, stunned, as the Buneary fell to her knees crying. Devin got to his unsteady feet and got the first aid kit from the tent. Devin took Rios hand in his and gave her a bottle of water to wash her eyes. He than went about dragging the dead Mightyena to the fire pit and stacking them on. The smell was horrible, and made all of them sick to their stomachs. But it had to be done. By morning the smell of the rotting bodies would have attracted more feral Pokémon and disease would have followed.
To ignore the smell Devin started to clean his arm as best he could. A task he found increasingly difficult with one hand. Rio took his arm in her hands and started cleaning it herself. She applied the healing salve as best she could before making to put on a bandage. When she reached for the bandage she found the Buneary offering it to her.
"[I'm sorry.]" The Buneary said with tears in her eyes.
Rio was temporarily stunned then she regained her composure and smiled warmly at her. Gently she placed a hand on the Buneary's head and accepted the roll of bandage.
"[It's okay.]" Rio said with a smile.
The entire time that Devin was being worked on his eyes were glued to the burning bodies of the dead Mightyena. He felt like a terrible trainer, and they weren't even his Pokémon. He felt as if he had lost a huge battle, and he wasn't even a trainer yet. He watched them burn, he watched as smoke eddied from them in ghastly, ghostly waves.
"I want you girls to go to bed now. We can work everything out in the morning."
Rio and the Buneary made their way to the tent. Before she entered though, Rio noticed that Devin hadn't moved.
"[Are you coming Devin?]"
Devin looked at Rio and shook his head no.
"Not now. In a little bit I will."
Devin turned his gaze back to the fire and hugged his knees to his chest, and rested his chin on his knees. He just sat there and watched as the bodies burned.
The Next Morning...
Slowly Devin came too, blinking in the morning sun. Taking a few seconds to look around he realized he had never went back into the tent. Groaning Devin tried to sit up, but quickly realized he couldn't. Rio was snuggled up on his right side, right under his armpit, her head resting on his shoulder. The odd angle her head was at was causing her to drool. He also noticed there was an extra weight on his chest. Tilting his head down as far as it could as well as rolling his eyes down too, he saw a ball of light brown and dark pink fluff asleep on his chest.
Devin gave a mighty stretch to get feeling back in his body. His groaning and movements were enough to stir Rio, who woke with a snort. Rising up a little bit he nudged the Buneary to get her to wake up. The Buneary woke with a start, and quickly unfurled one of her ears right into his chin. Devin was thank full that she was still half asleep or the attack would have shattered his jaw.
Devin gently pushed the Buneary off his chest and got up. Groaning he stretched again, feeling several of his joints crack in the process. When he was done his eyes fell on the grisly burn pile. Devin instantly felt sick again.
"Come on, let's pack up and get out of here."
Devin didn't bother with modesty as he slid out of his pajama pants and into his normal clothes. While he was doing that Rio and the Buneary went about cleaning up the camp site of all discarded wrappers and water bottles. They than folded up and then rolled up the sleeping bag. When everything was done Devin stepped on the activation switch, and the tent deflated. Picking it up, Devin twisted it in upon its self so it was half its normal size and slipped it into the special straps of the back pack. Making sure nothing was left Devin and Rio started to make their way deeper into the woods. Devin looked down as the Buneary started to go with them.
"You have a lot of explaining to do, little girl, if you plan on going with us."
The little Buneary dropped her gaze to her feet, and started to fidget.
"[It is a very sad story. Can't it wait till tonight?]"
"No it can't. I need to know if what happened last night is going to repeat itself or not."
"[So you don't want me to come with you than. Obviously not; you haven't even tried to catch me yet.]"
She fell to her knees and started bawling.
Devin felt terrible enough about killing the Mightyena he didn't need a crying Buneary on his conscious also. Devin scooped the little Buneary up in his arms.
"[I am lost in a strange place, I have no idea if my brothers and sisters are alive or not, and the one trainer I happen to find is willing to help me only once.]" She continued to bawl.
"I never said I didn't want you. I do I really do." Devin said as kindly as he could.
She stopped crying and looked up at his warm smile.
"I can't catch you though, I'm not a trainer. As for last night what happened, happened. None of us can change that ever. I just want to know why."
Devin started walking again, still carrying the little Buneary. He made it a few steps before he felt Rio tugging on the hem of his shirt. Devin looked down in to Rio's big red puppy-dog eyes, and pouting lips. Devin grinned as he offered her his hand and then used it to swing her up on to his shoulders. Rio sighed contentedly as she rested her chin on top of his head.
"Jealous a little, Rio?"
"[Not anymore.]"
"So you don't mind if I sing her your song again?"
"[Don't push it.]"
Speaking of which, what is your name. We can't just go around calling you Buneary."
The little Buneary looked up at them with a little bit of shame.
"[I don't have a name, yet. My momma always told us that some day we would meet a great trainer, and that they would give us a name.]"
Devin and Rio just looked at her.
"Well I'm Devin, and this is my very best friend Rio."
Devin held the Buneary out at arms length in both hands and just looked at her. She was light brown from the tip of her ears to the tip of her toes, except for her fluff which was a slightly darker shade of pink.
"What do you think Rio?"
Devin felt Rio shrug.
"[She kinda reminds me of a Latté. You know, put her in a coffee cup, add a few of those really hard cookie sticks, and served with foam.]"
"I think you meant she looks like a cup of mocha chino."
"[Same thing.]"
"No, Latté's are just strong coffee and creamer. Mocha chinos have fluff on top."
Devin forgot what he was going to say next as a great idea hit him.
"[That's it, I'll call you Mocha. How do you like that?]"
The little Buneary thought it over for a bit as Devin pulled her in close to his body again.
"[I love it, I am Mocha.]"
"So now that that is taken care of, let's hear your story."
Mocha heaved a deep sigh, and launched in to the telling what she remembered of the events that had taken place. Devin Kept quiet while Mocha talked, every once in a while Rio would interrupt with a question. On and on Mocha went basically recapping her entire life. Devin didn't want to interrupt her though since it seemed to be keeping her calm.
About mid after noon Devin decided to try out the collapsible fishing pole his Aunt had packed for them. As Devin sat at the edge of a small river trying to catch a fish that wasn't a Pokémon, Mocha was still recapping her life. It was about this time that Mocha got to how she had arrived in Hoenn. Devin paid more attention as Mocha described the giant floating fortress that had abducted her and her siblings.
Pokémon poaching certainly wasn't unheard of; it didn't change the fact that it was still highly illegal. Devin's anger grew the more Mocha described how the poacher had treated the pack of Buneary she had abducted. By the time Devin actually caught a fish they could eat Mocha had reached the point in her story that took place last night.
"That is quite some story, Mocha." Devin said as he went over the instruction book on how to clean a fish.
"I'll tell you what though. You are more than welcome to come home with us and if you want we can make arrangements for you to go back to Sinnoh. As for your brothers and sisters I would try to put them from your mind." Devin continued as he continued reading. THe book was very graphic in its description.
"[I can't forget about them though.]" Mocha said a little hurt.
Devin set the book down and picked Mocha up.
"There is nothing that we can do for them now. Even if we wanted to."
Devin watched as Mocha looked at her feet watery eyed. He really wanted to comfort her, but he had a fish to clean. He was also curious to know what Mocha could do. He also had a feeling that if Rio had a Pokémon friend she might calm down.
"Rio!"
Devin watched as Rio came bounding up to them wearing the flower wreath she had made yesterday.
"[Yeah?]"
"I want you to take Mocha some where and train with her, see what she knows."
Devin watched as the two girls went prancing away to go and train. When he was sure they were out of site he started to clean the fish. He took extra care to do it right and not waste any of it. He checked the book several times. By the time they came back the sun was setting and the fish was almost done cooking. He had gone over the Poke-pidia to make sure what exactly Buneary could and could not eat. He had found some berries for her to eat. As promised he hadn't inflated the tent till Rio was there and waiting on the center point of it. Like the night before Rio went flying and Devin caught her.
The rest of the night passed without incident, other than Rio trying to spy on Devin changing again. That night they all lay in the tent watching the sky till one by one they fell asleep.
Else where in the Hoenn Region...
Hunter jade turned her gaze from her monitor to the henchman that was patiently waiting for her to acknowledge him. She already knew what the worm was going to tell her. She really did only keep her help around because she couldn't run the whole operation on her own.
"Report."
"The Mightyena that we sent out after the missing Buneary are dead. There bodies were discovered earlier today."
"How did they die?"
"Apparently they ran into a trainer, who after defeating them in battle killed them and burned their bodies."
Jade arched an eyebrow at that. Very few people, even criminals like herself, killed Pokémon. It was more taboo to kill a Pokémon than to get caught having sex with one. Sleeping with a Pokémon was actually more acceptable.
"And the Buneary?"
"There was no sing of the Buneary that we could see."
Jade turned her attention back to the monitor, fully intent on ignoring the henchman once again.
"What do you want us to do sir?"
She really hated henchmen that asked too many questions or were too eager to do their jobs. It usually meant they were up to something or died very quickly.
"We will have to get a fresh batch of Buneary. Set course for the Sinnoh Region at once."
"And what of the Buneary that got away?"
"All we have to do is keep our eyes open. It was a shiny, shiny Pokémon are very rare, and a shiny Buneary in the Hoenn Region is bound to get noticed."
This time she really did leave him standing there as she left the cabin.
Sunday Late Afternoon...
Rose stood with Lu in the Field they had dumped Devin and Rio in waiting for them to turn up. It had been a quiet three days for the two of them, and they had managed to get a few things done that normally they couldn't. They didn't have to wait long before Devin and Rio showed up on the horizon. As they approached Rose and Lu noticed that they had another Pokémon with them.
"So how did your weekend go?" Aunt Rose asked as the little group got closer.
"Oh you know pitching tents, fishing, general survival things, you know." Devin replied shrugging out of the considerably lighter back pack.
"[And who do we have here?]" Lu asked her daughter as she hugged her.
"[Her name is Mocha, and we rescued her.]" Rio said still in her mother's arms.
"Rescued her? Oh this is a story you're going to have to tell in full detail Devin." Aunt Rose said Hugging Devin.
"Can we go home first? I am really tired."
With that every one laughed, and got in to the jeep. As the jeep drove off into the sunset, on its way back to the ranch the three kids talked all about their week end. And the adults listened.Chapter End Notes:Sorry for being long winded. Hope you enjoy.
As before Constructive Crits welcomed
Devin scanned the wind swept field of tall grass he was standing in, one more time. He was 15 now, making Rio almost 5. Aunt Rose and Lu had thought it would be a great idea for Rio and himself to come out here and get some experience in being self sufficient. Of course He and Rio had leapt at the opportunity to ignore their studies and go camping for the week end, with out any adult supervision.
So that Friday after school had gotten done, they had all loaded into Aunt Roses Jeep and went for a drive. Devin had expected that his Aunt would drive a little ways in to the country side and just drop them off. However after a few hours of driving around and getting Devin completely turned around Aunt Rose had ordered Lu to toss them out of the moving vehicle.
Devin was quite surprised when the Lucario nodded her head once, turned around and tossed him out the side of the jeep. He went flying end over end as he hit the ground. Fortunately he recovered quickly enough to catch Rio as she too went sailing through the air.
"Hey! How are we supposed to survive without any supplies?" Devin yelled at the pair in the jeep.
He watched as the jeep spun around in a large arch and started speeding back at them. He dove out-of-the-way as the jeep came dangerously close to hitting him. He heard something hit the ground by his head, as the jeep continued to speed away. Devin opened his eyes to the sight of a large back pack just in front of his nose.
By this time Rio had joined him, and was also looking at the Back pack. They both looked at each other, than back at the back pack, and finally at the diminishing jeep on the horizon. With a deep sigh Devin got back to his feet, and dusted himself off. He watched as Rio, mimicked his every movement. She could be so cute some times, right now though he was certain she was mocking him.
"Are you quite finished?" Devin asked a little cross.
"[Yes]" Rio replied with a mocking grin.
"You know, I wish when they were trying to teach us something they would just come right out and do it."
"[Well how else are we supposed to learn anything if all we do is read about it, or get lectured about it?]"
"Will you quit mocking me; I doubt you even know what half of what you just said means."
"[You're one to talk. I bet you're just mad 'cause your camping trip got ruined.]"
Devin just glared at her. She could be so adult, and yet such a child at the same time. With out warning she jumped up in to his arms and looked him right in the face still smiling.
"[Besides, you can't stay mad at me. I'm too cute for you to stay mad.]"
With that she leaned her head in and rubbed noses with him. It was their special little gesture to each other, and it always made the other feel better, no matter what. And it worked too, Devin instantly felt better. Some how he knew on a deeper level that they were just as connected emotionally as they were mentally. If one was sad the other was too, and could tell. Like wise if one was happy, so was the other. Devin felt like he could share anything with her, and often enough did. Besides it is hard to keep a secret from some one you share a mental and emotional bond with.
"So what do you think we should do than, little miss know it all." Devin asked as he set Rio down.
"[I donno, I didn't read any of your out doors guides. They were so boring.]"
"Fat lot of help you're going to be than." Devin said rolling his eyes.
Devin brought his hand up to his brow to shield his eyes from the noon day sun. Off in the distance he could see a small stand of trees. Other than that there was little else but wide open fields, and the ocean in the back ground. Devin picked up the backpack and started to make his way to the trees.
"Come on Rio, let's get a move on."
Devin watched as Rio stopped pouncing after the butterfly that had distracted her, and ran back to him. Before taking off Devin offered her his hand, to which she happily took in to her own three-fingered paw. Devin loved the feeling of her fur; it was always so soft and silky. Together they made their way to the trees. What Devin had originally thought was a small stand of trees ended up just being the start of one of Hoenn's many forests.
It didn't take long for them to find a spot that was big enough for a small tent and a place for a small fire. Devin set the pack down and started to rummage through it. As he did so he noticed that Rio had immediately started nosing about the clearing. Devin often felt that Rio was easily distracted, and often found her day dreaming. He hoped that it was something she would soon grow out of. That and she was hyper, with little influence that girl could and usual did bounce off of any thing. It was getting harder for him to get her attention and get her to sit still.
Devin watched as Rio found a group of flours and started picking them, and weaving them into a wreath. Devin shook his head and went back to setting up their tent. Devin first set about clearing an area for the tent to be set up. Devin dug through the backpack until he found the tent. He was kind of offended, his Aunt had packed them one of those pop up tents. Devin set the thing on the ground and rolled it out.
"Hey Rio, you want to push the button to inflate the tent?" Devin asked over his shoulder.
There was no response.
"Rio!"
Devin turned around to see what Rio was up to, how ever Rio was not there. In a panic he rushed over to where Rio had last been. Devin found the flour wreath she had made, and a set of paw marks leading back into the field.
"I'm going to kill her." Devin said to no one as he put the wreath on top of the backpack.
Devin set out in to the field following Rio's paw prints. He watched as they quickly started to look like she was prancing or maybe pouncing. The tracks were hard to follow they didn't follow a straight path. They went in every direction. After a while of following after the seemingly random pattern he found himself nearing their camp again, but still no Rio.
"Rio!"
Rio snickered from where she was hiding. She had watched as Devin had set up camp, but quickly had gotten board and had started chasing a butterfly. As she had been pouncing after the tiny insect she decided it would be fun to train with Devin. They trained often enough at home, and that was why they were out here in the middle of nowhere was to train, right?
So she had crept back to the camp and climbed a tree, waiting for him to notice that she was missing. It hadn't taken long for him to realize she was missing, and had set out to find her. She hadn't calculated though that it would take him so long to return though. By the time he did she was so board that she almost forgot why she was hiding in the tree to begin with. She remembered now though, and with a snicker she attacked.
Devin heard Rio snicker, and felt her surge of excitement just as she jumped out of the tree. Devin leapt out-of-the-way as Rios "Quick-Attack" hit the ground. She didn't stop there thought as she rushed in with another "Quick-Attack". Devin blocked as many of the punches and kicks as he could, but it wasn't called "Quick-Attack" because it was slow, and a few of her hits got through.
The ones that got through didn't hurt too much though since early on in her training Devin had taught her to pull her punches when training with him. He like wise had promised, much to her disapproval, that he would never hit her back. Lu's violent coupling with that Blaziken had instilled in Devin a hatred of violence towards women. He had come to terms with the fact that when she agreed to mate with him it had no longer been rape. It still didn't change the fact that he had badly hurt her. So he had sworn never to harm a woman, human or Pokémon, ever.
She was a little blue blur as she continued to use "Quick-Attack" over and over again. Devin reached out and caught one of her paws and used her own momentum to flip her to the ground. Even though he had promised to never hurt her, he had learned quickly to defend him self against her. He had learned there was a huge difference between striking and restraining. So when they spared he would use holds, throws, and shoves against her.
Rio rolled with the toss, and came up on both feet facing away from Devin. Quickly she jumped into the air and did a split kick in mid-flight, the end of her foot was on fire. Devin barely ducked under Rio's "Blaze-Kick". He didn't know how overjoyed he should be though. She was getting craftier at delivering that devastating move, but she had damn near taken his head off with it too.
Rio landed and tapped her foot on the ground a couple of times to ease the burning sensation, before she launched herself forward with another "Quick-Attack" onslaught. Devin wasn't going to take any chances this time, and kept his distance. However he wasn't prepared for to leap forward and lash out with a "Sky-Uppercut", the other move she had learned from her bastard father. Devin caught her free paw and tossed her again to the ground. Rio nipped to her feet and rushed in placing her right paw on Devin's exposed chest.
"Rio, that's enough." Devin said sternly as he felt her gather energy for her "Force-Palm"
"You know not to hit me there with that."
Rio was panting from the exertion, and had a huge grin on her face.
"[I know. But I had you, and I wanted you to know it too.]"
"Oh yeah you so had me." Devin responded with mock sarcasm.
With that he tossed her to the ground again. Rio landed on the activation button for the pop up tent. With a loud bang, the tent popped up and sent Rio flying high in to the air. Devin had enough time to observe the tent with mild curiosity and make a comment before he had to catch Rio.
"Huh, they made it look like half a Poke ball."
With that Devin stuck his arms out and caught Rio.
"[That was fun, can we do it again?]"
Devin laughed and scratched the top of her head.
"Maybe tomorrow."
Setting Rio down, they went about finishing setting up the camp. Devin had Rio go and collect some twigs and logs while he dug up a small hole for a fire pit. Once that was done and a fire started they went through the rest of the kit. It contained some rations, not enough for the whole weekend, a first aid kit, some drinking water, and clothes.
"Well it looks like we'll have to gather food stuffs tomorrow."
"[Why do you say that?]" Rio asked with a mouth full of food.
"Because we eat more than they sent."
Devin rummaged around some more in the bag. He found a collapsible fishing rod and some fish cleaning tools. It made sense really, this was a survival exercise. Devin had never really asked where most of the food they ate came from. In hind sight he supposed it was something he should have looked into since it was illegal to kill, let alone eat most Pokémon.
"Looks like our first lesson will be catching a fish."
"[Well that should be easy. There are tons of fish in the water.]"
"Not many we can eat though."
Rio just gave him a funny look. Devin decided he was too tired to explain to her why they couldn't eat every fish in the sea. Instead he just took out his pajama pants and excused himself to the tent. He had to be careful these days when changing. For reasons unknown to him Rio had tried to sneak peaks of him naked. It never used to bother him before, being nude in front of her. They even used to share their nightly baths.
But as they had gotten older she had gotten more curious about their bodies, and the differences between them, especially his body. He had stopped bathing with her, teaching her instead to bathe her self. He had also stopped changing in front of her as well, to her great disappointment. So it had become a game to her to see him naked. He could always feel her excitement, could almost taste it even.
"Rio, don't even think about climbing up to the moon roof. The tent won't hold your weight."
He could feel her disappointment as she stomped off back to the fire. Devin finished getting ready for bed. Opening up the door so he could see Rio sitting by the fire, he felt a little bad. She sat at the opposite side of the fire hugging her knees to her chest, looking miserable. He realized she was just curious. He also realized that she was maturing much faster than a human does. Pokémon did that, they grew up faster, and matured faster. In that sense they were so much like the animals that they descended from.
But as he stood there watching her, feeling her sadness, and knowing how intelligent not only she was, but all Pokémon were. He couldn't help but think of her as a person though, and more importantly she was also his best friend. Devin stepped out of the tent and kicked some dirt on to the fire to put it out.
"Rio, come on lets go to bed."
Rio looked up from where she had been sulking at Devin's out stretched hand. Her eyes roamed up his arm to his naked chest. When her eyes got to his face she was greeted with his usual kind smile and warm eyes. She happily bounced up off the ground, her sadness completely forgotten as she leapt into his arms.
"[Yes, let's go to bed.]"
Rio snuggled into Devin's chest and was asleep before he had even closed the door to the tent. Devin propped the moon roof open and lay down to go to sleep as well.
Else Where...
Not too far from the forest, out in the field that Devin and Rio had been dumped earlier, a young Buneary was running for her life. She was lost, scared, and confused. A couple of days ago she had been in the Eterna Forest with her brothers and sisters just eating, laughing, and having a grand old time.
The next thing she knew everything had gone black. When she had awoke she was in a pen separated from her siblings. She was terrified, they all were, and they could do nothing. Strange people would show up often to look in on them, but they were not nice. They would hit them and yell at them, go days without feeding them.
She had watched as a couple of her brothers and sisters had died from the abuse. Her heart had broken and she had felt all was lost. For days she had laid at the back corner of her cage, waiting for death to take her. However, yesterday one of her handlers had fled from her cage to find a doctor because they thought she was dead. In their haste they had left her door open. She mustered the last of her strength and fled from her captors.
She had run for as long as she could, lost in a land that was completely different from her own. She had run till she collapsed. When she woke up she had found her self in a small clearing. Slowly she had searched the area till she found some fresh water and berries. She ate and drank her fill. She picked the berry bush clean, eating every one in sight. Finally she passed out again next to the water, one ear lazily floating in the water.
She awoke again with a start. Something had been moving in the bushes. All at once five Mightyena rushed from the underbrush right at her. She panicked right up till the last second. As the first one was about to tackle her she jumped and drop kicked it right in the face. It flew back into the others. She used the momentary distraction to flee once again into the night.
Back at Camp...
Devin sleepily emerged from the tent. He had woken all the sudden really needing to pee. As quietly as he could he made his way to a tree and heeded to natures call. When he was finished he started to make his way back to the tent. As he approached the tent door, a sound out in the woods caught his attention. He turned around just in time to catch a wild Pokémon as it went sailing through the air. Regaining his footing he realized he was holding a little Buneary.
"Hey there little one, how did you get here?"
The Buneary looked at him terrified, than it started screaming.
"[Let me go! Let me go! They're going to eat me! Let me go!]"
Devin was taken back. He knew the little rabbit Pokémon were generally really timid, but he had never seen one so terrified. Come to think of it he had not seen one since he had left the Sinnoh Region.
"No one's going to eat you little one, now how did you get here?"
She still wasn't calming down though.
"[Please don't hurt me!]" She cried.
Devin was about to ask her again what was going on when he heard Rio's sleepy voice behind him.
"[What's going on out here? And who is that?]"
Devin looked from the half asleep Riolu to the crying Buneary and then back again.
"I have no idea. Could you start a fire please Rio while I try to figure out what's going on."
Rio shrugged her shoulders and went about putting some fresh wood into the fire pit before giving it a little "Blaze-Kick" to start it burning. Devin looked at the little Buneary now that there was some light. She looked severely under fed and badly beaten. She was also shaking uncontrollably in Devin's hands. Devin thought back to when Rio was a baby and how she would get nightmares and have to be snuggled as well as sung to to calm down. Devin decided to give it a try.
Devin started to gently rock with the little Buneary as well as quietly sing a lullaby he had sung to Rio on many occasions. Slowly the Buneary started to calm down. Devin continued to sing quietly to the little Buneary as he held it close. Rio got upset however.
"[Hey, that's my song!]"
Devin thought that Rio actually sounded hurt.
"I'm sorry, dear, but it is calming her down." Devin apologized.
"[But it's my song.]"
Devin knew he had hurt her now, and Rio looked on the verge of tears.
"I'm sorry Rio; I'll try to think of another one for her latter."
Rio began to pout right where she was standing. Devin made to reach out and comfort her as well, but something in the bushes caught his attention. Quickly Devin unceremoniously tossed the Buneary into the tent and shut the door.
"Stay in there and be quiet."
Devin stood and faced the bushes, Rio ready and at his side. The five Mightyena that had been chasing the Buneary emerged from the bushes and fanned out in the clearing. Devin and Rio stared at the growling and snapping Mightyena as they all began to pace anxiously.
"[Where is the Buneary, we can smell her.]" The lead Mightyena demanded of Rio.
"She is safe where you can't harm her." Devin responded.
All the Mightyena were startled and looked to their leader.
"[It doesn't matter if he can understand us. Master Jade wants that Buneary. Get her now!]"
While the Mightyena were talking Devin took the opportunity to whisper to Rio.
"Are any of them female?" Devin asked under his breath.
"[Only the leader.]"
"Go figure, always a strong woman who leads the pack."
"[Damn right it is. Can I take her?]"
"She is all yours."
Rio lunged at the lead Mightyena while she was still trying to rally her troops. The sudden attack prompted the rest into action. Devin however moved in and separated the four males from their leader. Devin and Rio now faced a divided pack.
The lead Mightyena reared back and lunged, her mouth a flame. Rio dodged the "Fire-fang" attack and countered with a "Quick-attack". The Mightyena landed hard on her side, but was back on her feet immediately. Again she lunged with a "Tackle". Rio dodged again, but before she could counter attack the Mightyena dug her rear paws into the ground and kicked up a cloud of dust into Rios eyes. The "Sand-attack" blinded Rio.
Devin took up a rudimentary martial arts stance and waited for the remaining four to attack. He didn't have long to wait. As one they all charged with "Tackle" attacks. Devin dodged the first one with ease. As he did this he grabbed the second one in mid-flight by the ears and tossed it into the third. The fourth one was on him though, and sunk its saber like teeth into his fore arm. Devin cried out in pain as he drove his foot into the Mightyena's under side.
"Rio!"
"[Devin!]"
Devin looked over to see Rio covering her eyes, the lead Mightyena right behind her, mouth a flame. Devin watched as the Mightyena charged.
"Rio jump!"
Rio didn't hesitate and jumped straight up into the air. Devin dodged aside as the startled lead Mightyena came flying at him. Her "Fire-fang" attack sank deep into one of her own pack members. The unfortunate Mightyena fell to the ground dead, a smoking hole where its throat had once been. Rio landed hard on the ground still blind.
"[Devin, I can't see!]"
She sounded panicked to him. He couldn't tend to her though. He was losing blood and the four remaining Mightyena were regrouping.
"Just hang in there Rio, I'll think of something."
However Devin was drawing a blank. He had no special attacks to counter theirs. Slowly he backed up towards Rio, a plan forming in his head.
"Rio, give me your hands."
Rio reached her hands into the air as told. She didn't know what Devin was planning but she felt him take a hold of both her hands firmly.
"Rio when I tell you to, I want you to do a "Blaze-kick"."
Rio nodded her head and waited for him to give the order. Devin watched as the Mightyena inched closer, drool dripping from their fangs. Confident they had an overwhelming advantage they charged. Devin set his feet firmly in a wide stance and started to hoist Rio.
"Rio, now!"
With a mighty heave Devin swung Rio around in a large arc as Rio unleashed her "Blaze-kick". With their combined strength they attacked. The fire from Rio's kick cut a deadly streak through the air. The "Blaze-kick" caught the first one right on the side of the head, caving in its skull and sent it cork screwing in the opposite direction. The second Mightyena got hit in the neck, instantly breaking it. Its body went sailing into the lead Mightyena. The last Mightyena got hit in the ribs collapsing its chest cavity. Devin fell to the ground, spent of energy, his arm a flame in pain. Rio went sailing towards the tent. The lead Mightyena got back to her feet, laughing hysterically.
"[I don't care if you can understand me! I don't care if that little blue mutt can shoot fire out her ass. All you had to do was give me the Buneary, and we would have left you alone. Now you're both dyeing, and I'm still going to get the Buneary.]"
Devin propped himself up on his good elbow.
"You will not touch her!"
The Mightyena started to laugh hard, but was cut short when the little Buneary came crashing into her. She didn't stop there as she cocked her head forward and quickly unleashed her curled up ear, delivering a crushing "Pound" attack. The Mightyena went sailing back over the camp fire, and didn't get back up.
Devin watched, stunned, as the Buneary fell to her knees crying. Devin got to his unsteady feet and got the first aid kit from the tent. Devin took Rios hand in his and gave her a bottle of water to wash her eyes. He than went about dragging the dead Mightyena to the fire pit and stacking them on. The smell was horrible, and made all of them sick to their stomachs. But it had to be done. By morning the smell of the rotting bodies would have attracted more feral Pokémon and disease would have followed.
To ignore the smell Devin started to clean his arm as best he could. A task he found increasingly difficult with one hand. Rio took his arm in her hands and started cleaning it herself. She applied the healing salve as best she could before making to put on a bandage. When she reached for the bandage she found the Buneary offering it to her.
"[I'm sorry.]" The Buneary said with tears in her eyes.
Rio was temporarily stunned then she regained her composure and smiled warmly at her. Gently she placed a hand on the Buneary's head and accepted the roll of bandage.
"[It's okay.]" Rio said with a smile.
The entire time that Devin was being worked on his eyes were glued to the burning bodies of the dead Mightyena. He felt like a terrible trainer, and they weren't even his Pokémon. He felt as if he had lost a huge battle, and he wasn't even a trainer yet. He watched them burn, he watched as smoke eddied from them in ghastly, ghostly waves.
"I want you girls to go to bed now. We can work everything out in the morning."
Rio and the Buneary made their way to the tent. Before she entered though, Rio noticed that Devin hadn't moved.
"[Are you coming Devin?]"
Devin looked at Rio and shook his head no.
"Not now. In a little bit I will."
Devin turned his gaze back to the fire and hugged his knees to his chest, and rested his chin on his knees. He just sat there and watched as the bodies burned.
The Next Morning...
Slowly Devin came too, blinking in the morning sun. Taking a few seconds to look around he realized he had never went back into the tent. Groaning Devin tried to sit up, but quickly realized he couldn't. Rio was snuggled up on his right side, right under his armpit, her head resting on his shoulder. The odd angle her head was at was causing her to drool. He also noticed there was an extra weight on his chest. Tilting his head down as far as it could as well as rolling his eyes down too, he saw a ball of light brown and dark pink fluff asleep on his chest.
Devin gave a mighty stretch to get feeling back in his body. His groaning and movements were enough to stir Rio, who woke with a snort. Rising up a little bit he nudged the Buneary to get her to wake up. The Buneary woke with a start, and quickly unfurled one of her ears right into his chin. Devin was thank full that she was still half asleep or the attack would have shattered his jaw.
Devin gently pushed the Buneary off his chest and got up. Groaning he stretched again, feeling several of his joints crack in the process. When he was done his eyes fell on the grisly burn pile. Devin instantly felt sick again.
"Come on, let's pack up and get out of here."
Devin didn't bother with modesty as he slid out of his pajama pants and into his normal clothes. While he was doing that Rio and the Buneary went about cleaning up the camp site of all discarded wrappers and water bottles. They than folded up and then rolled up the sleeping bag. When everything was done Devin stepped on the activation switch, and the tent deflated. Picking it up, Devin twisted it in upon its self so it was half its normal size and slipped it into the special straps of the back pack. Making sure nothing was left Devin and Rio started to make their way deeper into the woods. Devin looked down as the Buneary started to go with them.
"You have a lot of explaining to do, little girl, if you plan on going with us."
The little Buneary dropped her gaze to her feet, and started to fidget.
"[It is a very sad story. Can't it wait till tonight?]"
"No it can't. I need to know if what happened last night is going to repeat itself or not."
"[So you don't want me to come with you than. Obviously not; you haven't even tried to catch me yet.]"
She fell to her knees and started bawling.
Devin felt terrible enough about killing the Mightyena he didn't need a crying Buneary on his conscious also. Devin scooped the little Buneary up in his arms.
"[I am lost in a strange place, I have no idea if my brothers and sisters are alive or not, and the one trainer I happen to find is willing to help me only once.]" She continued to bawl.
"I never said I didn't want you. I do I really do." Devin said as kindly as he could.
She stopped crying and looked up at his warm smile.
"I can't catch you though, I'm not a trainer. As for last night what happened, happened. None of us can change that ever. I just want to know why."
Devin started walking again, still carrying the little Buneary. He made it a few steps before he felt Rio tugging on the hem of his shirt. Devin looked down in to Rio's big red puppy-dog eyes, and pouting lips. Devin grinned as he offered her his hand and then used it to swing her up on to his shoulders. Rio sighed contentedly as she rested her chin on top of his head.
"Jealous a little, Rio?"
"[Not anymore.]"
"So you don't mind if I sing her your song again?"
"[Don't push it.]"
Speaking of which, what is your name. We can't just go around calling you Buneary."
The little Buneary looked up at them with a little bit of shame.
"[I don't have a name, yet. My momma always told us that some day we would meet a great trainer, and that they would give us a name.]"
Devin and Rio just looked at her.
"Well I'm Devin, and this is my very best friend Rio."
Devin held the Buneary out at arms length in both hands and just looked at her. She was light brown from the tip of her ears to the tip of her toes, except for her fluff which was a slightly darker shade of pink.
"What do you think Rio?"
Devin felt Rio shrug.
"[She kinda reminds me of a Latté. You know, put her in a coffee cup, add a few of those really hard cookie sticks, and served with foam.]"
"I think you meant she looks like a cup of mocha chino."
"[Same thing.]"
"No, Latté's are just strong coffee and creamer. Mocha chinos have fluff on top."
Devin forgot what he was going to say next as a great idea hit him.
"[That's it, I'll call you Mocha. How do you like that?]"
The little Buneary thought it over for a bit as Devin pulled her in close to his body again.
"[I love it, I am Mocha.]"
"So now that that is taken care of, let's hear your story."
Mocha heaved a deep sigh, and launched in to the telling what she remembered of the events that had taken place. Devin Kept quiet while Mocha talked, every once in a while Rio would interrupt with a question. On and on Mocha went basically recapping her entire life. Devin didn't want to interrupt her though since it seemed to be keeping her calm.
About mid after noon Devin decided to try out the collapsible fishing pole his Aunt had packed for them. As Devin sat at the edge of a small river trying to catch a fish that wasn't a Pokémon, Mocha was still recapping her life. It was about this time that Mocha got to how she had arrived in Hoenn. Devin paid more attention as Mocha described the giant floating fortress that had abducted her and her siblings.
Pokémon poaching certainly wasn't unheard of; it didn't change the fact that it was still highly illegal. Devin's anger grew the more Mocha described how the poacher had treated the pack of Buneary she had abducted. By the time Devin actually caught a fish they could eat Mocha had reached the point in her story that took place last night.
"That is quite some story, Mocha." Devin said as he went over the instruction book on how to clean a fish.
"I'll tell you what though. You are more than welcome to come home with us and if you want we can make arrangements for you to go back to Sinnoh. As for your brothers and sisters I would try to put them from your mind." Devin continued as he continued reading. THe book was very graphic in its description.
"[I can't forget about them though.]" Mocha said a little hurt.
Devin set the book down and picked Mocha up.
"There is nothing that we can do for them now. Even if we wanted to."
Devin watched as Mocha looked at her feet watery eyed. He really wanted to comfort her, but he had a fish to clean. He was also curious to know what Mocha could do. He also had a feeling that if Rio had a Pokémon friend she might calm down.
"Rio!"
Devin watched as Rio came bounding up to them wearing the flower wreath she had made yesterday.
"[Yeah?]"
"I want you to take Mocha some where and train with her, see what she knows."
Devin watched as the two girls went prancing away to go and train. When he was sure they were out of site he started to clean the fish. He took extra care to do it right and not waste any of it. He checked the book several times. By the time they came back the sun was setting and the fish was almost done cooking. He had gone over the Poke-pidia to make sure what exactly Buneary could and could not eat. He had found some berries for her to eat. As promised he hadn't inflated the tent till Rio was there and waiting on the center point of it. Like the night before Rio went flying and Devin caught her.
The rest of the night passed without incident, other than Rio trying to spy on Devin changing again. That night they all lay in the tent watching the sky till one by one they fell asleep.
Else where in the Hoenn Region...
Hunter jade turned her gaze from her monitor to the henchman that was patiently waiting for her to acknowledge him. She already knew what the worm was going to tell her. She really did only keep her help around because she couldn't run the whole operation on her own.
"Report."
"The Mightyena that we sent out after the missing Buneary are dead. There bodies were discovered earlier today."
"How did they die?"
"Apparently they ran into a trainer, who after defeating them in battle killed them and burned their bodies."
Jade arched an eyebrow at that. Very few people, even criminals like herself, killed Pokémon. It was more taboo to kill a Pokémon than to get caught having sex with one. Sleeping with a Pokémon was actually more acceptable.
"And the Buneary?"
"There was no sing of the Buneary that we could see."
Jade turned her attention back to the monitor, fully intent on ignoring the henchman once again.
"What do you want us to do sir?"
She really hated henchmen that asked too many questions or were too eager to do their jobs. It usually meant they were up to something or died very quickly.
"We will have to get a fresh batch of Buneary. Set course for the Sinnoh Region at once."
"And what of the Buneary that got away?"
"All we have to do is keep our eyes open. It was a shiny, shiny Pokémon are very rare, and a shiny Buneary in the Hoenn Region is bound to get noticed."
This time she really did leave him standing there as she left the cabin.
Sunday Late Afternoon...
Rose stood with Lu in the Field they had dumped Devin and Rio in waiting for them to turn up. It had been a quiet three days for the two of them, and they had managed to get a few things done that normally they couldn't. They didn't have to wait long before Devin and Rio showed up on the horizon. As they approached Rose and Lu noticed that they had another Pokémon with them.
"So how did your weekend go?" Aunt Rose asked as the little group got closer.
"Oh you know pitching tents, fishing, general survival things, you know." Devin replied shrugging out of the considerably lighter back pack.
"[And who do we have here?]" Lu asked her daughter as she hugged her.
"[Her name is Mocha, and we rescued her.]" Rio said still in her mother's arms.
"Rescued her? Oh this is a story you're going to have to tell in full detail Devin." Aunt Rose said Hugging Devin.
"Can we go home first? I am really tired."
With that every one laughed, and got in to the jeep. As the jeep drove off into the sunset, on its way back to the ranch the three kids talked all about their week end. And the adults listened.Chapter End Notes:Sorry for being long winded. Hope you enjoy.
As before Constructive Crits welcomed