Pokearth, Chapter 2
#2 of Pokearth
Chapter 2
'Help!'
I leaped to my feet as I heard a feminine yell. I looked around, but nothing seemed to be nearby. I heard the same yell again, and suddenly, my vision blurred, and everything took on a blue tinge. I didn't know what was happening, but I decided to make the best of it. I looked around with my odd vision and saw a small creature in the distance, surrounded by five bigger creatures.
I ran towards the creature and burst into the clearing, sword drawn and cloak swirling back. In the middle of the clearing, two red dragons which a recognized as Charizard and two turtle like Pokémon with trees on their backs, Torterra were surrounding the small creature. My vision lost the tinge and returned to normal as a stormed forward.
I managed to get a better view and was filled with anger at what I saw. The Pokémon was small, no taller than my knee ( Alex is 5' 11" ). It was kind of like a bipedal dog. It was mostly golden, with black chest, feet, dangling almond shaped ears and a mask-shaped marking on it's face. With a shock, I realized it was a Riolu, which was rare in itself, but it was a shiny Riolu! The reason I was furious was that the Pokémon around it had attacked it and it was bleeding! I rushed forward, determined to stop them.
The Riolu managed to lift it's weary head and look at me, just as I sliced the tree off the back of one of the Torterras. It whirled on me, along with the Charizard. I didn't want to kill them, so I sheathed my sword. They stared at me in disbelief.
"Who does this human think he is? He comes into our battle, kills my tree, and then puts away his weapon, as if we won't attack him!" The Torterra growled. My eyes widened as I realized I could understand Pokéspeach. One of the Charizard lunged at me, but I roundhouse kicked him across the head. He fell out cold to the ground. The others ran off, terrified.
"Monster!" One yelled back. I jogged over to the little Riolu and lifted... her... into my arms. Searching around, I lucked out. A Citrus Berry bush was by the edge of the clearing. I gently walked over so not to hurt her, and picked four. I placed the first one upon her tongue and helped her chew and swallow. She regained a little life, but I knew that she'd need four to get back to full. I helped her with the second, then she ate the third and fourth by herself. Exhausted from her ordeal, she snuggled up against me and fell asleep, saying a quiet, 'Thank you'.
Smiling, I started to search for a place to sleep while cradling her. I finally settled with a bed of pine needles underneath a tree. This is where Boy Scouts would pay off. I cleared a spot and in no time had a nice fire going. I lay down on the pine bed a couple feet from Riolu and in no time fell asleep.
I didn't know what woke me, but it wasn't even morning when it happened. The fire was out and the stars were bright in the sky. With a small laugh, I realized there were two moons here. Then I felt a little movement. I become conscious of what had awoken me. Riolu had cuddled up next to me sometime in the night, and was snoring softly. I gave her head a soft brush and relaxed again, soon drifting off into sleep's embrace.
The next time I awoke, it was morning. My stomach growled and I slowly removed myself from Riolu. I pulled a couple of Oran Berries off a bush and went to find a stick. After I found one, I drew a knife from my boot and shaved it to a fine point. I stabbed the stick through the first berry and rekindled the fire. Roasting over the fire, the berry began to take on a golden tint. Its smell must have woken Riolu, because she skipped over and cocked her head at it.
"You want some?" I asked. She nodded and I pulled it off the stick. It was a little hot, but not too bad. She accepted it greedily and took a bite. Her eyes widened and it was gone in the blink of an eye, it had disappeared. "What, none for me?" I asked, sarcastically. She looked guilty, and almost started to cry, but I stopped her. "Hey, it's okay, I can make more. Don't fret over it."
'I-I'm sorry.' I heard her say. Strangely, her mouth didn't move. As if she could read my mind, she said, 'Of course not, silly. I don't need to move my lips when I talk psychically!'
"Wait, you can read my mind?" 'No she can't'
'Yes I can.' Still not believing her, I began to eat the second Oran Berry. After a bite, I could see why she was surprised. It tasted really good, almost like fried Oreos! I gobbled it down as well, and then I became conscious of the blue juice all over myself and her mouth. I laughed and wiped it off on my sleeve. Oddly it didn't appear on cloth, so I took out my sword cleaning cloth from my trouser pocket and gently wiped the juice off her chin.
'Heh-heh, stop Alex! It tickles!' Not the least bit surprised that she knew my name, I removed the rest of the juice from her chin. She got an evil glint in her eye, and pounced on me, tickling my sides till we both laughed ourselves breathless. I finally pulled her off me and set her in front of me.
"Do you have name, little Riolu?"
'No. Pokémon traditionally don't have names until we're captured or turn thirteen. So as I'm neither, until two weeks anyway, I'm unnamed.' she said, a little sad.
"Really, your birthday is in two weeks too?"
'Yep. So you'll be thirteen too?'
"Do you want a name?"
'Well, I'm not really supposed to, but it doesn't say we can't have a name, just it's not tradition, so... please give me one!' She said the last part as she leaped back onto me.
"Okay, okay! Let me think... how about Rosemarie?" I asked.
'I love it!' She yelled. Then, to my surprise, she kissed me on the cheek! I blushed bright red and lifted her off me.
I regained my posture and said, "So, Rose, what would you like to do know? Actually, why were those monsters attacking you?"
'Oh, them. Well I found one of the Charizard's scales and thought it was kind of pretty, so I kept it. That Charizard attacked me with a couple of her buddies. Wasn't a fair battle.' She said, obviously a little uncomfortable. 'But I know one thing; I don't want to go back there. I want to go with you!'
I admit, I was surprised at the time. She jumped back on me as I tried to process what she said. God, this girl just can't keep her paws off me! I suddenly thought of something. "Um, Rose, you know I'm going to have to catch you in a Pokéball, right?"
'So? I won't be in there very much. Let's do it now!'
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't-" I began to say, and then I felt something drop into a slot on a belt I never knew I had. I looked down at it and saw a black and gold Pokéball in carrying form clipped on. A Luxury Ball! I expanded it and stared at the strange object that had just appeared.
'What were you saying, Alex?' Rose asked, curious.
"Uh... oh! Are you sure you want to do this?"
'Of course I'm sure, I want to go wherever you do!' And with that, she pressed her forehead against the activation button. A beam of energy shot out and returned with her. The ball didn't even twitch, it just dinged. I had an odd urge to stand up and say, "I caught a Riolu!", but then I thought about how stupid that would look, and decided against it.
I knew Rose would be mad if she was in there for too long, so I instantly let her back out. Of course, she hopped right back onto my lap. With a sigh, I lifted her to my shoulder and rose from the ground. "Hey Rose, do you know which way it is to the nearest town?"
'Yep, North. Blackplant or something like that.'
"Do you mean Blackthorn City?"
'That's it! By the way, where exactly did you come from? You just popped up...