NOVEL NEXT Chapter 45 - Pack Attack
Chapter 45 – Pack Attack
“Egon we are not going off route to find a wild Absol just so you can prove some crazy nerd theory of yours!”
“We won't, but to travel on foot from the beginning of route 120 to the connecting route 121 will take us around two and a half days. I am betting we’ll come across one in that timeframe.”
This morning I prepared breakfast as usual for each of our respective teams and then I went off to the center’s computer room to check on my emails. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Eli had sent me a ranger corps’ manual on how to train up a torkoal to develop the drought ability. Once I got past all the irrelevant information pertaining to the raising of Torkoal I got the instructions down to the bare tacks.
Firstly, the Pokémon in question had to be proficient in the use of Sunny Day and secondly The Pokémon in question has to spend over a month at high altitudes in a place that’s extremely sunny. The rangers had a base camp up on the peak of Mt. Chimney where they discovered this interaction.
When the torkoal finally leave that sun spot their bodies instead of adapting back to the regular amount of UV radiation instinctively intensify the sun’s rays in their surroundings. The torkoal could suppress this instinct when in human settlements but it does make them uncomfortable having to hold back their bodies’ now natural ingrained reaction.
“Vi?” “Do you know any places with high altitudes?”
“Yeah, but it’s a long shot. Mt. Pyre extends up into the clouds. However, the mountain side doesn’t get consistent sun, when a cloud drifts on over, the whole area fogs up. There could be a good spot right at the summit, but they don’t just let anybody up there.”
“Because of the orbs?”
“Yeah… they haven’t told me, but I am guessing that Phoebe’s family keeps them there on some sort of altar.”
“Egoooon! It’s rude to have conversations when I can only hear half of it. Now… who is Phoebe and why do you want to go to Mt. Pyre?”
We were situated at the border between Fortree city and route 120. Nearest to us was a ranger outpost covered with flyers warning people of all the dangers present on the route. I made it a point to show Flannery all the dangers we could encounter on our days-long trek through the route.
“My grandpa goes to Mt. Pyre every year to pay respect to our family’s deceased Arcanine. He usually takes me along and I made friends with the granddaughter of the people who run the place. As for the reason why I want to go there… Eli finally revealed the secret of how to train up drought.”
“Really?! But what’s the secret then?”
“I can’t tell you I made a promise. Just know that going up the mountain is one of the requirements.”
“Unfair! You don’t even have a torkoal! He should’ve told me first!”
“I am trying to prove that vulpix also have the aptitude for developing this ability. He shared the method with me for scientific purposes. Also, I promised him that I wouldn’t try to catch any torkoal in the future.”
“Are you crazy!? Torkoal are the best!”
As we were busy arguing, the sole ranger manning this outpost stepped out. Obviously miffed by Flannery’s shouting.
“Quiet you! I work night patrols, this is the only time I can get some sleep in!”
I moved quickly to diffuse the situation. Staying in the rangers’ good books is imperative for any aspiring trainer.
“Sorry! From now on I’ll be sure to properly admonish my companion if she gets too loud again.”
“Ahem, I guess it’s fine. You kids heading up to route 120?”
“Yes, we are heading for the safari zone.”
“Hmm that’s about five days’ worth of travel on foot, are you sure that you have brought enough supplies? These routes aren’t like the rookie zones around Littleroot. You do have a chance of coming across hungry predator Pokémon.”
“That’s okay if we do manage to get ourselves into a dangerous situation, I’ll just bribe the hungry Pokémon with some berries.”
“Mightyena groupings can grow to be as large as twenty individuals per pack. I highly doubt you’ll have enough food to satiate them all. Of course, the wild Pokémon around here know that any sort of hunting on the routes will have consequences but there’s always a small chance that you come across a pack that just migrated southwards and have never seen a human in their life.”
“Is there anything else we should look out for?”
“Yes, there is a small chance you might come across a wild absol. Now normally absol don’t show themselves to humans but if you catch more than a glimpse of one just take the quickest path out of there. Absol sightings have been linked with natural disasters like mudslides, earthquakes, hurricanes and wildfires. Seeing one always means you are about to be hit with a streak of bad luck.”
“Wait wait! Aren’t absol just warning humans what’s about to happen? They could have precognitive abilities.”
“Doesn’t make much of a difference to me, either way just run for it when you see one.”
With that last statement the ranger turned around and walked back inside the outpost probably eager to catch up with his sleeping schedule.
“Let’s set out, Flanny. If we are quick, we can pass the on-route swamp before nightfall.”
After four hours walking*
“Egon, my feet hurt!”
“Well, I guess we can take a short break.”
We were nearing the great bridge spanning the entire length of the largest lake on route 120. Up here we had a clear view of the entire reservoir together with the flooded cave system the people passing by aptly dubbed the scorched slabs. This used to be the site of an active volcano, but centuries of inactivity and rain caused the entire caldera to fill up forming a picturesque lake.
Both me and Flannery released our entire teams to enjoy the view with us. I had set clear guidelines on what each member of our traveling group needs to do when we stop for breaks or when preparing to go to sleep while in the wilderness. Having Flannery with us forced me to redistribute each of our roles on the fly.
“Tini, can you get down by the lake and fill up this bucket with water?”
“Vi Vi!” “Okay!”
“Glove you set up the picnic blanket and look after Halo. The rest of us will go foraging for some herbs and berries.”
“Dar!”
“Now remember to only pick up edible plants and berries that have already fallen on the ground. We don’t want to get into any legal trouble with the rangers or Arceus forbid any angry territorial Pokémon. Let’s split into two groups. Numsy you look after Flannery’s group. If you guys encounter a strong Pokémon, send out a distress flare with lava plume, ok?”
“Rupt!”
“Flannery, since you’ve earned your trainer’s license, I will assume you know how to differentiate between poisonous plants and the ones that are safe to eat. Just to make extra sure we’ll inspect anything you bring back so don’t start nibbling on unfamiliar mushrooms on your own. We will reconvene after half an hour.”
“Don’t boss me around Egon! Come along Numsy, our group is much cooler than his.”
“Came…?”
Like that, Rena and Orin went north while Flannery’s group started their search in the south. We didn’t really need much, only just enough so we could have something to snack on. The real reason I pushed the idea to go foraging is so I could have the chance to look around for any wild absol. That and Flannery needed some experience foraging if she ever ran out of food while in the wilderness.
“Vuuul!”
“You are my best sniffer, Rena. Can you smell any large feline Pokémon in the area? We won’t go off route into the mountainous area but if you can smell any that are close we can go check it out.”
My Vulpix positioned herself in an upwind position and smelled the air blowing towards her. After a good minute she turned to me to share her findings.
“Pix Pix!”
“Too faint to tell… that’s too bad I guess we’ll just go ahead and gather some herbs and mushrooms.”
After twenty minutes of looking around we got a fair amount of edible mushrooms and even some wild mint and yarrow for a nice cup of tea. I was about to head back to our meeting place when I spotted a bulbous plant with leaves sticking out of the ground that closely resembled a mandrake’s. Naturally these plants were poisonous, but you could still use them as painkillers or laxatives when properly diluted. When I was in the middle of pulling the plant out of the ground I heard a loud wailing noise.
“Oddd!”
‘Wait this isn’t any ordinary plant?!’
The “plant” glared at me fiercely, obviously upset that I disturbed its sleep and rudely pulled on its head.
“I am sorry little Oddish I mistook you for an actual plant.”
“Dish…”
“How about you come and have lunch with us as an apology? We have some berries and do you like mint tea?”
The word berries seemed to be Oddish’ trigger word because the little grass type hopped out of its hidey hole obviously eager to have a go at our food supply.
“Odd!”
“Here let me pick you up. It must be tough moving around on those little legs.”
The Oddish didn’t resist as I picked it up and held it in my arms. While I was holding on to the little weed Pokémon Rena guided us back to our basking spot in front of the bridge. Halo and Victini were playing around while glove dutifully watched over them. Flannery hadn’t returned yet but seeing as we arrived back ten minutes early there was no cause for concern.
“Heya guys this is Oddish he is going to be having lunch with us.”
“Odd!”
“Oh sorry! She is going to be having lunch with us.”
The bucket of water I asked Victini to bring was filled to the brim and the water inside was clear enough to see through. Now I just needed Numsy to come back so he could heat it up for tea making purposes. None of the others were as proficient as him when it came to boiling water and Numsy took a certain level of pride in that, so I was loath to give his job to someone else. Usually for lunch it was just straight up diced berries in a bowl, no kibble whatsoever. So, I unloaded my cutting board and the tupperware container holding all of my berries and got to work preparing the food. Victini used telekinesis to deposit the diced berries into the appropriate bowls. While we were busy doing that I started talking to Oddish who was distractedly looking at the berry filled bowls.
“What kind of flavor do you prefer Oddish? We have Spicy, Sour, Sweet and Dry tasting berries.”
“Odd…”
“She’s never had the opportunity to taste a berry before?!”
The rest of my team was also flabbergasted at Oddish’ surprise reveal. I was under the impression that wild Pokémon got to eat wild berries on occasion especially since most berry trees grew throughout the year.
“Is competition for food on this route that intense?”
“Dish…”
“That’s okay little gal. I’ll give you a bit of everything and you can find out what you like.”
It was at that moment that Flannery returned from her scavenging trip. She seemed pleased with herself for some reason, the pep in her step being unmistakable for anything else.
“Egon, I had my first battle with a wild Pokémon. It was a blast!”
“That’s fine and all but did you gather any herbs?”
“No… but this Poochyena was really fierce! Not like a regular poochyena at all. In the end my Slugma had to pull out his best moves to win the battle.”
“Fine… but don’t get distracted next time. Come sit, lunch is almost done.”
“Numsy can you do the usual?”
“Rupt!”
With his bigger size it was kind of awkward to heat up the teakettle over his back, but he made it a bit easier for me by crouching down. The kettle was held aloft over one his volcano humps by use of a rope and a long stick struck deep into the ground. While I was waiting for the water to start boiling I distributed everyone’s bowls to their respective recipients. They all started eating with much gusto, especially oddish was over the moon with the wide selection of different berries placed inside her bowl which used to be Tranquill’s.
“Dissh!”
“Slow down a bit Oddish we still need to figure out which berry is your favorite. Now take a small bite of each and tell me what you think.”
“Odd!”
She did as instructed taking a small bite each time before moving on. When she first tried tasting a slice of aspear her face sported a short grimace before moving on to the other flavored berries.
“Dish!”
“So, you dislike sour tasting berries hmm but the rest you liked in equal measures. Next time I should remember to buy bitter tasting berries.”
Seeing as Oddish started getting comfortable with us I decided to ask it some questions regarding the route she called home.
“Hey Oddish, have you ever seen any absol around here?”
“Dish?”
“What’s an Absol?”
“Large mountain cat Pokémon with white fur and a horn on the right side of their faces.”
“Dish! Odd!”
“She’s seen those before, but they don’t live in these parts only coming down the mountain on occasion to warn everybody if something bad is about to happen.”
“Drat! Well at least I confirmed my suspicions.”
The mint tea was served to those who wanted to try it. All of my fire type Pokémon declined to try the hot leaf water except for Victini who took hers with extra sugar. As we were about to finish and head on deeper into the route a distinct howling sound was heard all around us.
“Awoooo!”
The bushes started shaking until eventually the group of Pokémon who were eying us revealed themselves. A pack of seven full grown Mightyena and limping behind them a Poochyena with burn marks all along his fur coat.
“Flannery…! What did you do?”
“Nothing, we were just battling it out like normal! Poochyena is just being a sore loser...”
Flannery whispered that last part in my ear. At least she was smart enough not to agitate the pack of angry Pokémon any further.
“Grrrr!”
‘I am asking for a raise after this.’
“Hello there, lovely weather we are having today... How can we help you fine group of Pokémon?”
“Is that all you got!?”
“Well sorry that I don’t make a habit out of riling up packs of dangerous Pokémon!”
I knew instinctively the reason that we haven’t gotten jumped yet was because we were fielding a large grouping of trainer owned Pokémon ourselves. That being the case I was hoping this could be resolved with a spritz of burn heal and some lava cookies. The biggest Mightyena, which was also probably their leader, stepped forth to voice out their demands.
“Arf!”
“Vi Vi.” “They want enough berries for all of them or else.”
“Mightyena this must all be because of some misunderstanding on my companion’s part. How about we get Poochyena all cleaned up and send you and yours off with a helping of my grandma’s specially crafted patent blended Lava cookies?”
The Mightyena seemed to think about it for a moment. Giving out another cursory glance to all our Pokémon who were now in a battle-ready state in case the negotiations went sideways. Even the little oddish seemed to be ready to lend out a helping hand.
“Ruff!”
Mightyena relented, easing up on their demands and accepting my counter proposal. Having been picked as their leader this one could weigh the cost and benefits of my proposal would still slant in their favor and they could avoid expending their energy on fighting with us and eventually the rangers if things got really out of hand.
“Little one come closer. Let me take care of all those nasty burn marks on you.”
The Poochyena first looked to the pack’s leader for permission. After receiving a slow nod from that Mightyena he walked forward and stood still near me waiting to be treated.
“Now Flannery since you were the one who left this Poochyena with these marks you are going to fix him up. Grab the burn heal spray from my backpack. You know how to use it right?”
Flannery was still not convinced that the Poochyena was actually hurt and reluctantly grabbed the burn heal before starting to apply it to the soot covered canine Pokémon. The girl couldn’t stop herself from trying to get just one last lick in.
“I won fair and square, and you know it!”
“Grrr.”
“Don’t mind this one, she has a problem admitting fault. How about you try a Lava cookie?”
“Ruff!”
My container containing all of our Lava cookies emptied out till I only had about half of my original supply remaining. The Mightyena pack seemed to appreciate my peace offering well enough giving me yips of appreciation. Numsy and Victini on the other hand were giving me sour looks over the whole ordeal. Those two did not appreciate me expending their future treats on costly shenanigans like these. I reminded myself to call up grandma for an extra order the next time we settled someplace for a longer period of time.
“Dish?”
“Thanks for wanting to help out even if you didn’t need to. My team is strong, you know?”
“Arf!”
Having finished my peace offerings, the pack was about ready to set off. Their leader calling the Poochyena to come back home with them. Before leaving the little rascal wanted to let Flannery know that this is what happens when you mess with him. He did so by blowing a raspberry in her direction.
“Why you…!”
“Calm down Flanny. Do you want to start this thing all over again? Just give that adorable pugger a kiss goodbye.”
“That Poochyena is the worst! I’d sooner kiss my Slugma.”
“Maaa?”
“Nothing’s wrong with you Mag. It’s just to keep your body from hardening the minerals need to be above melting point. That’s too hot even for me. As soon as I figure a way around that I’ll give you all the smooches you could want!”
“Maaa!”
As the last of the pack left our vicinity, I addressed Flannery to find out if she’s learned anything from this encounter.
“You know what you did wrong?”
“Yes, that is the last time I am trusting a dark type not to go back crying to its mommy!”
“Not that, battling wild Pokémon is fine, I'd encourage it even. Though there is a certain protocol I stick to whenever the battle’s finished to make sure there are no hard feelings. A half berry or some encouraging training advice goes a long way. Pokémon have feelings too you know? None of us like to lose and have the opposing party gloat afterwards. The next time you get into a fight, call me so I can make sure that you show proper battle etiquette.”
“Ugh stop babying me!”
“Nope, your grandfather is paying me too much money to half ass this mentorship. Now let’s quickly get out of that pack’s territory while we still have the chance. Camping anywhere close to them when they know that we have a large food supply is a bad idea.”
“Dish!”
“Oddish, do you want me to bring you back to your sleeping spot? I know that your kind only really becomes active at night.”
“Dish…”
“She wants to stick with us for a while longer.”
The little grass Pokémon seemed to have come to enjoy our company. The free food and companionship probably beats out sleeping inside a hole in the ground.
“Sure, you can be our guide while we are on this route. Feeding a Pokémon of your size isn’t a burden at all.”
After recalling most of our Pokémon we hit the road again crossing the giant bridge that stretched out over the lake. While we were walking over the bridge, I couldn’t help but look down. The grotto housing the supposed legendary Pokémon was the only thing sticking out of the water’s surface.
‘Someday… though it is strange that the ranger corps hasn’t fully explored the scorched slabs. Those preppers live for that kind of thing. Maybe the apocalypse event set to happen in a few years will dry out the cave’s tunnel systems revealing the Pokémon hidden inside.’
“With the help of everyone I am sure that we can desiccate the entire cave system on our own!”
‘Where’s the vapor supposed to go? It will only hit the cave’s ceiling and recondense into water again. We need some kind of strategy…’
While me and Victini were busy exchanging ideas I didn’t notice that we already crossed the bridge and entered the swampy area. In places like this where the water could get up to knee height the most important thing to have would be a set of well insulated rubber boots. Luckily, I had the foresight of bringing a pair of those with me.
“Flanny put on your boots we entered swamp country. Any puddle we come across could have a barboach just waiting for a chance to bite at our ankles. Oddish, do you know what other kind of Pokémon live in this here swamp?”
“Dish Dish!”
“Surskit and Masquerain, sometimes the marill from the lake come here to play as well.”
“You hear that Flannery? Ya better get those muckboots on unless you want to develop a case of trench foot.”
“Egon stop using that fake Unovan farmer accent!”
“It fits the theme! Just go with it Flanny! This is how us Unovans speak when in swamp country.”
POV - ???
“Are you sure that son of yours is up for the challenge? I ain’t holding back my punches for anyone Joseph.”
“You can rest assured that my son will be the top contender this year. Our battle analysts have crafted strategies to counter every possible strategy you and your elite four could come up with. Barring any unforeseen technicalities Steven will be crowned champion.”
“All these fancy strategies of yours won’t mean anything if the bonds between your son and his Pokémon are untested. Only trials filled with hardship can do that. From what I hear, that son of yours has more of an interest in being a spelunker than to go through the life of a hardened trainer.”
“We hired the finest of tutors for both Steven and his Pokémon. We are confident that all of them are at the elite level, especially Steven’s Metagross.”
“We’ll see… If this doesn’t pan out, I have two others that could replace me in the future.”
“Two?”
“Wallace of course but there’s a new kid trying out his luck this circuit.”
“This child… Can you tell me more about him?”
“He’s been learning under old Tim for the last few years. On first glance there’s nothing remarkable about him but the brat has managed to earn himself the allegiance of a mythical Pokémon. If he doesn’t mind revealing that Pokémon to the world, I could see him getting to the conference finals and facing off against that son of yours.”
‘All my plans…!’
“Joseph, do not interfere in that boy’s journey. I only told you this because you would’ve found out eventually. There’s not much that goes on in Hoenn without your lickspittles finding out about it. The kid’s a good seed, my dragons liked him well enough on their first meeting and you know how rare that is.”
“Does anyone else know?”
“From my reckoning a handful of higherups in the Unovan league. Usually in cases like this the boy would have not been allowed to leave the region. Somehow the kid’s got preferential treatment from them.”
“Alright then. Anything else?”
“Yeah, when are you going to come out of that dusty office of yours and join me and Briney for some old-fashioned exploration? Briney’s been faring trainers between his home on route 104, Dewford, Slateport and Lilycove for fun. He says there’s a good chance the King Neptune sank somewhere near Wazoo Island.”
“We don’t all have the free time to do whatever we want Drake. Devon has never been more profitable than it is now. From a small company that mined rocks and smelted iron sand to what we are now. Our specialized poké balls are used worldwide beating out those Johtonian apricot balls in usage and we are this close to creating a viable prototype of a revival machine.”
“Fine, maybe next time. See you later, old friend.”
*Click
‘For now, it’s best to observe this possible future hindrance. I’ve put in too much time and effort to have my family’s bid for hegemony put into jeopardy.’
“Kennedy!”
“Yes sir!”
“Have one of our private eyes look into a rookie trainer who is participating this year. He’s supposed to have studied under Moore from the elite four. Narrow it down and have someone privately investigate the kid. I want to know everything from his favorite food to the color of his socks. Make sure they are discreet and let them know there’s a bonus in it for them if the kid doesn’t find out.”
“Will do, sir!”
“Has our spy inside Cinnabar Labs gotten any closer to obtaining those blueprints yet?”
“Sir! The last time he managed to send a message out our spy let us know that he’s about a month away from getting the position that would allow him to take a copy home with him.”
“Excellent, let him know that the agreed upon bonus is doubled when he delivers. Devon corporation needs to be at the forefront of all scientific innovation. We can’t have those upstarts in Kanto get even an inch ahead of us. How’s our fossil acquisition coming along?”
“Three completely intact root fossils and two armor fossils. We have been unable to purchase any overseas fossils without abiding by the strict budget you gave to us.”
“Good. Having Devon corporation buy up more fossils in that short a time frame makes us look suspicious. Our detractors must have no grounds upon which to sully our reputation.”
‘So much to do, When Steven finally becomes champion I can grow this company without limitations. Drake won’t allow any apparent favoritism but with my own son leading the league association those pesky environmental regulations won’t be a hindrance anymore. With the league’s backing I will finally be able to start project Delta Emerald.’