Story Notes:
Well, this is my first non-horror story and my first on AGNPH so I hope you like it. Now onward into the liquid abyss!!!
Like a Bat out of Hell
Oh man, this was not good. I could have sworn that we were on the right way to Verdanturf. We never left the path, so why was there a rock wall in our way?!
Just when I had given up hope and had began to turn around; I spotted something out of the corner of my eye. There was a small cave! I guessed it wouldn't hurt to take a look, so I pointed it out to my partners. Of course Rena, with her newfound adoration of me, agreed right off the bat. Neo, on the other hand, was a little skeptical.
"I'm not so sure about this Mas... I mean Chris. The cave looks well out of the way to be where we need to go, and there could be dangerous wild Pokémon in there." He did have a point, but I wasn't about to be dissuaded so easily.
"Oh come on Neo, where's your sense of adventure? We'll never know unless we check it out. Besides, I just want to take a quick look and then we're gone." He still looked a little uneasy even after I said this, but seeing as he was outvoted and, he reasoned, just taking a peek and then leaving, he agreed.
Once we reached the cave we saw an old faded sign by the entrance. I decided to read it to see if it had any information on the cave. "Yes, score! Look here guys, 'Rustterf Tunnel'. It must be the tunnel connecting Rustboro and Verdanturf. The name could be a little more original though. You'd think that the people who named it could have come up with something a little more interesting."
"Yes, but look below the name," Neo replied, still not quite convinced. "It says 'Project postponed until further notice'."
"Oh, come on. Maybe they just haven't cleared out some debris or something small like that. Let's just check it out. If I'm wrong, I promise I'll treat us to ice cream once we're back in town, sound good?" With that, all of Neo's doubts faded away. Either way, he figured, it would end with a good deal for him; whether it was ice cream or the next town.
I pulled out my flashlight from my backpack and we entered the cave. The cave seemed pretty empty, but we still saw some unknown Pokémon quickly shrinking back away from the beam of my flashlight. Every time we saw one I felt Rena press close against my leg, as if I could protect her if something were to happen. I thought that this was kind of funny, seeing as Absols are dark types and she seemed afraid of the dark, but I knew I really didn't have anything to worry about. Neo was on the lookout, and I knew he would make sure to keep us safe from wild Pokémon.
We walked for awhile, only mildly hindered by the boulders that blocked the path thanks to Neo's Crush Claw. I saw light up ahead, but just then it really didn't matter. A giant Golbat flew in front of us and blocked our path! This was one big Golbat, and by one big Golbat, I mean one big Golbat! To accurately measure its size, I would need a two meter ruler. And the worst part was it was looking right at me.
Neo immediately leapt in front of me to protect me, but it was to no avail. Neo was swept aside with a whirlwind attack. He was flung against the wall and hit his head, knocked out cold. I could see a trickle of blood running down his fur, but I knew the best thing I could do for Neo was to not attract any more attention to him and hopefully return him into his pokeball before he could sustain any serious damage.
I slowly reached for Neo's Pokeball, hoping to recall him and delay the bleeding, when the Golbat turned and locked eyes with me. It flew towards me, and I closed my eyes and shielded myself with my arms, waiting for the inevitable. I was sure I was going to die, but why was it taking so long?
I cautiously opened my eyes to see an amazing sight. Somehow, there was a barrier of golden light between the Golbat and me. I lowered my arms and it disappeared. My eyes quickly shot up to find the Golbat, but it was crumpled on the ground, so I took the opportunity to examine my arms.
Nothing was unique about them, so I tried to call upon the shield again, but to no avail. I figured it must have something to do with my dreams and being an elemental of light, but that didn't really matter right then, because at that point I remembered something, or rather, someone important, Neo! I quickly ran over to him, but he didn't respond to me, or Rena's constant tongue bath trying to clean his wound. I hurriedly wrapped up his head in gauze bandages I had in the First Aid kit I kept in my backpack, and then recalled him. I then turned to find the exit to the cave, hoping we were near a Pokémon Center, but then stopped. The Golbat was getting up!
"Hurry, throw a Pokeball!" Rena said frantically. She knew that if I didn't she would have to fight it, and for some reason seeing Neo tossed aside like a ragdoll and collapsing on the ground made her a little afraid to do that. I quickly obliged.
"Pokeball, Go!" I shouted. I had no idea how such a little capsule could ever hold such a big Pokémon, but sure enough, the startled Golbat got sucked right in. There was a tense moment then, as the pokeball rocked back and forth, back and forth.
All of the sudden, it started shaking really fast, wobbling all over the ground. It was going to escape! Rena and I quickly backed up, but just as we did the capture chime went off, quite to our surprise. I guess it had run out of energy trying to escape or something. We cautiously walked over to the pokeball. Rena poked it with her claw then backed up really fast, as if she was afraid something would happen. I couldn't help but chuckle at this as I reached down and picked up the pokeball. I was tempted to celebrate right then and there, but there would be time for that later. We needed to get Neo to the Pokémon Center right away.
Rena and I found the exit to the cave after that without much trouble. There was a large Loudred next to the entrance, but he was asleep at the moment so we were able to sneak by. Verdanturf was just a small walk away from the tunnel, so we sprinted the distance. I looked around. This was not a very big town. There were just a few houses, a Pokémart, and a Pokémon Center. When I saw this I beckoned for Rena to follow me, which she quickly agreed to, then ran into the Pokémon Center as fast as I could.
"Nurse Joy, Nurse Joy!" I shouted, worried more now about Neo now that we were actually here. There was no one in the lobby right then, but as soon as I called Nurse Joy came rushing out.
"What seems to be the matter?" She asked concerned. I handed her Neo's pokeball.
"My partner here is hurt bad. He hit his head during a battle and now he won't wake up." I replied worriedly. She had a fretful look on her face, but she quickly replaced it with a determined one. She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a small walkie-talkie.
"Chansey, I need you in here with a stretcher on the double." With that a fairly large egg shaped pink Pokémon rushed into the room with the requested stretcher. Nurse joy quickly released Neo onto it then turned to me. "I will need to take him into the ER. Please wait out here in the lobby, I will tell you when we are finished." With that, she rushed the stretcher through the doors of the ER with Chansey, leaving Rena and I alone in the lobby.
"Come on Rena, let's go get a seat. This might take awhile." With that said we both went over to the waiting area and sat down, Rena in my lap. I absently scratched behind her horn while I looked off with a distant gaze. "I wonder how Neo's doing?" I quietly asked myself. Rena then whimpered and licked my hand, not being her usual self at all. "What's wrong, are you feeling well?" I asked in a concerned voice.
"I'm a coward." She said, ashamed with herself. "While Neo was ready to stand and fight, I was hiding behind your legs like a newborn pup. If you hadn't done that strange light shield right then, you would have been seriously hurt. I'm strong, but all I did was hide like a craven spearow," She ended this with a bitter tone.
"That's nonsense." I said caringly. "You wouldn't have been able to hold off that big guy anyway. I understand, and this hasn't changed my opinion of you at all. You're still the same playful little fluff ball I've come to know and love.
"But... I didn't do anything...." She began.
"That's enough, I can't have you beating yourself up for something that in the past!" And with that, I tilted her chin up and brought my lips to hers, embracing her with a passionate kiss. We sat there like that for a long time, until an actual tear ran down Rena's cheek. "What's wrong Rena?" I asked breaking the kiss and wiping the tear away from her beautiful crimson eyes.
She then looked up into my eyes with a small smile and replied, "Thank you." It wasn't quite what I was expecting her to say, so I had no response prepared for this. Instead I just held her head close to my chest as she closed her eyes, smiling contentedly while we waited.
A long time later the light above the ER turned off, and an exhausted Nurse Joy came out.
"What happened Nurse Joy? Is Neo okay?" I asked, hurriedly rushing over with Rena to hear the news.
"Don't worry," she assured me. "Your Zangoose will be just fine. There were a few complications, but Neo should be good as new after a night of bed rest." With that I breathed an audible sigh of relief.
"Are there any open rooms we can stay in?" I inquired of her. "I want to be here with Neo while he gets better."
"Of course, I understand. I'll get you a room key right away. If you could recall your other Pokémon and give me all of your pokeballs I can give them a checkup tonight as well while you go to your room."
"Do you mind Rena?" I asked, looking down at her.
"Not at all," She smiled back up at me as she said this so only I could hear her, but for the benefit of Nurse Joy let out a cheerful "Sol, sol!"
"Alright," I said as I called her back and handed her ball, along with my newest acquisition to Nurse Joy.
"I'll get them back to you in the morning," she assured me cheerily as she gave me a room key. "You'll be in room number seven just down the hall. Good night."
With that I went to my room and lay down in my bed, too exhausted to eat. I promptly fell asleep, unaware that my every move that day was being watched.
*Video phone conversation between Giovanni and Cassidy*
"His powers are developing faster than I had realized," Giovanni stated nervously.
"What do you want me to do sir?" was Cassidy's reply, oblivious to her boss's demeanor.
"Keep an eye on the boy for the time being. I want to make sure this is done right."
"Yes sir!"Chapter End Notes:Well, tell me what you think. Oh, and does anyone else think that Cassidy needs to die? (Jk
Just when I had given up hope and had began to turn around; I spotted something out of the corner of my eye. There was a small cave! I guessed it wouldn't hurt to take a look, so I pointed it out to my partners. Of course Rena, with her newfound adoration of me, agreed right off the bat. Neo, on the other hand, was a little skeptical.
"I'm not so sure about this Mas... I mean Chris. The cave looks well out of the way to be where we need to go, and there could be dangerous wild Pokémon in there." He did have a point, but I wasn't about to be dissuaded so easily.
"Oh come on Neo, where's your sense of adventure? We'll never know unless we check it out. Besides, I just want to take a quick look and then we're gone." He still looked a little uneasy even after I said this, but seeing as he was outvoted and, he reasoned, just taking a peek and then leaving, he agreed.
Once we reached the cave we saw an old faded sign by the entrance. I decided to read it to see if it had any information on the cave. "Yes, score! Look here guys, 'Rustterf Tunnel'. It must be the tunnel connecting Rustboro and Verdanturf. The name could be a little more original though. You'd think that the people who named it could have come up with something a little more interesting."
"Yes, but look below the name," Neo replied, still not quite convinced. "It says 'Project postponed until further notice'."
"Oh, come on. Maybe they just haven't cleared out some debris or something small like that. Let's just check it out. If I'm wrong, I promise I'll treat us to ice cream once we're back in town, sound good?" With that, all of Neo's doubts faded away. Either way, he figured, it would end with a good deal for him; whether it was ice cream or the next town.
I pulled out my flashlight from my backpack and we entered the cave. The cave seemed pretty empty, but we still saw some unknown Pokémon quickly shrinking back away from the beam of my flashlight. Every time we saw one I felt Rena press close against my leg, as if I could protect her if something were to happen. I thought that this was kind of funny, seeing as Absols are dark types and she seemed afraid of the dark, but I knew I really didn't have anything to worry about. Neo was on the lookout, and I knew he would make sure to keep us safe from wild Pokémon.
We walked for awhile, only mildly hindered by the boulders that blocked the path thanks to Neo's Crush Claw. I saw light up ahead, but just then it really didn't matter. A giant Golbat flew in front of us and blocked our path! This was one big Golbat, and by one big Golbat, I mean one big Golbat! To accurately measure its size, I would need a two meter ruler. And the worst part was it was looking right at me.
Neo immediately leapt in front of me to protect me, but it was to no avail. Neo was swept aside with a whirlwind attack. He was flung against the wall and hit his head, knocked out cold. I could see a trickle of blood running down his fur, but I knew the best thing I could do for Neo was to not attract any more attention to him and hopefully return him into his pokeball before he could sustain any serious damage.
I slowly reached for Neo's Pokeball, hoping to recall him and delay the bleeding, when the Golbat turned and locked eyes with me. It flew towards me, and I closed my eyes and shielded myself with my arms, waiting for the inevitable. I was sure I was going to die, but why was it taking so long?
I cautiously opened my eyes to see an amazing sight. Somehow, there was a barrier of golden light between the Golbat and me. I lowered my arms and it disappeared. My eyes quickly shot up to find the Golbat, but it was crumpled on the ground, so I took the opportunity to examine my arms.
Nothing was unique about them, so I tried to call upon the shield again, but to no avail. I figured it must have something to do with my dreams and being an elemental of light, but that didn't really matter right then, because at that point I remembered something, or rather, someone important, Neo! I quickly ran over to him, but he didn't respond to me, or Rena's constant tongue bath trying to clean his wound. I hurriedly wrapped up his head in gauze bandages I had in the First Aid kit I kept in my backpack, and then recalled him. I then turned to find the exit to the cave, hoping we were near a Pokémon Center, but then stopped. The Golbat was getting up!
"Hurry, throw a Pokeball!" Rena said frantically. She knew that if I didn't she would have to fight it, and for some reason seeing Neo tossed aside like a ragdoll and collapsing on the ground made her a little afraid to do that. I quickly obliged.
"Pokeball, Go!" I shouted. I had no idea how such a little capsule could ever hold such a big Pokémon, but sure enough, the startled Golbat got sucked right in. There was a tense moment then, as the pokeball rocked back and forth, back and forth.
All of the sudden, it started shaking really fast, wobbling all over the ground. It was going to escape! Rena and I quickly backed up, but just as we did the capture chime went off, quite to our surprise. I guess it had run out of energy trying to escape or something. We cautiously walked over to the pokeball. Rena poked it with her claw then backed up really fast, as if she was afraid something would happen. I couldn't help but chuckle at this as I reached down and picked up the pokeball. I was tempted to celebrate right then and there, but there would be time for that later. We needed to get Neo to the Pokémon Center right away.
Rena and I found the exit to the cave after that without much trouble. There was a large Loudred next to the entrance, but he was asleep at the moment so we were able to sneak by. Verdanturf was just a small walk away from the tunnel, so we sprinted the distance. I looked around. This was not a very big town. There were just a few houses, a Pokémart, and a Pokémon Center. When I saw this I beckoned for Rena to follow me, which she quickly agreed to, then ran into the Pokémon Center as fast as I could.
"Nurse Joy, Nurse Joy!" I shouted, worried more now about Neo now that we were actually here. There was no one in the lobby right then, but as soon as I called Nurse Joy came rushing out.
"What seems to be the matter?" She asked concerned. I handed her Neo's pokeball.
"My partner here is hurt bad. He hit his head during a battle and now he won't wake up." I replied worriedly. She had a fretful look on her face, but she quickly replaced it with a determined one. She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a small walkie-talkie.
"Chansey, I need you in here with a stretcher on the double." With that a fairly large egg shaped pink Pokémon rushed into the room with the requested stretcher. Nurse joy quickly released Neo onto it then turned to me. "I will need to take him into the ER. Please wait out here in the lobby, I will tell you when we are finished." With that, she rushed the stretcher through the doors of the ER with Chansey, leaving Rena and I alone in the lobby.
"Come on Rena, let's go get a seat. This might take awhile." With that said we both went over to the waiting area and sat down, Rena in my lap. I absently scratched behind her horn while I looked off with a distant gaze. "I wonder how Neo's doing?" I quietly asked myself. Rena then whimpered and licked my hand, not being her usual self at all. "What's wrong, are you feeling well?" I asked in a concerned voice.
"I'm a coward." She said, ashamed with herself. "While Neo was ready to stand and fight, I was hiding behind your legs like a newborn pup. If you hadn't done that strange light shield right then, you would have been seriously hurt. I'm strong, but all I did was hide like a craven spearow," She ended this with a bitter tone.
"That's nonsense." I said caringly. "You wouldn't have been able to hold off that big guy anyway. I understand, and this hasn't changed my opinion of you at all. You're still the same playful little fluff ball I've come to know and love.
"But... I didn't do anything...." She began.
"That's enough, I can't have you beating yourself up for something that in the past!" And with that, I tilted her chin up and brought my lips to hers, embracing her with a passionate kiss. We sat there like that for a long time, until an actual tear ran down Rena's cheek. "What's wrong Rena?" I asked breaking the kiss and wiping the tear away from her beautiful crimson eyes.
She then looked up into my eyes with a small smile and replied, "Thank you." It wasn't quite what I was expecting her to say, so I had no response prepared for this. Instead I just held her head close to my chest as she closed her eyes, smiling contentedly while we waited.
A long time later the light above the ER turned off, and an exhausted Nurse Joy came out.
"What happened Nurse Joy? Is Neo okay?" I asked, hurriedly rushing over with Rena to hear the news.
"Don't worry," she assured me. "Your Zangoose will be just fine. There were a few complications, but Neo should be good as new after a night of bed rest." With that I breathed an audible sigh of relief.
"Are there any open rooms we can stay in?" I inquired of her. "I want to be here with Neo while he gets better."
"Of course, I understand. I'll get you a room key right away. If you could recall your other Pokémon and give me all of your pokeballs I can give them a checkup tonight as well while you go to your room."
"Do you mind Rena?" I asked, looking down at her.
"Not at all," She smiled back up at me as she said this so only I could hear her, but for the benefit of Nurse Joy let out a cheerful "Sol, sol!"
"Alright," I said as I called her back and handed her ball, along with my newest acquisition to Nurse Joy.
"I'll get them back to you in the morning," she assured me cheerily as she gave me a room key. "You'll be in room number seven just down the hall. Good night."
With that I went to my room and lay down in my bed, too exhausted to eat. I promptly fell asleep, unaware that my every move that day was being watched.
*Video phone conversation between Giovanni and Cassidy*
"His powers are developing faster than I had realized," Giovanni stated nervously.
"What do you want me to do sir?" was Cassidy's reply, oblivious to her boss's demeanor.
"Keep an eye on the boy for the time being. I want to make sure this is done right."
"Yes sir!"Chapter End Notes:Well, tell me what you think. Oh, and does anyone else think that Cassidy needs to die? (Jk