CHAPTER I - Minor Disturbances

Houndoom could barely manage to jump before the Torkoal crashed into it. It evaded, barely, but then got hit in the back (again) by Tricky's Spider Web. Unable to move, it struggled to get free. This gave Yuuta enough opportunity to drop Vivi onto its back. The bug reacted within a fracture of a second and dug its teeth into the back of the foe. It seemed to hurt, judging by the long howl the Houndoom made. It shook heavily, trying to get Vivi off. Simultaneously it shot multiple Embers in different directions. It seemed they were not aimed, but both Tricky and Yuuta were hit. Smokey, still withdrawn, got winged by a shot too. Some fire just went into the trees and bushes.

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Yuuta was returned to his Pokeball before he could hit the ground. Meadow hissed something unintelligible but then lifted her head. "Oh heavens, the forest is gonna burn!", she yelled, slightly panicking. After all, that was what they wanted to avoid all along. You could almost hear the gears grinding in her head. The her face lighted up all of a sudden. "Gwen, go!" She released her Swablu. "Use Safeguard! Don't let the fire spread!" The Pokemon's eyes glowed for a second, then a light blue shield expanded from its wings and locked the fire in the area. "No one can get burned now. Go all in, or we're gonna run out of Pokemon!" Meadow put a hand on the Pokeballs with her fallen companions.

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Suddenly, another sound could be heard. Two Houndours had returned from their hunt and were about to help their struggling leader. Someone had to scare them off before they could turn the fight in their favour.

[There you go, Tyler. See you Saturday :3 Have fun.]

Tyler heard the sound in the distance and knew what was coming. ''I'll take this one guys, and by the looks of things ye three can handle the Houndoom.'' he said to his new-found companions. ''We will meet up later guys! Smokey!'' He called his Torkoal. ''Come with me.'' Smokey's legs and head emerged from it's shell and it ran after Tyler. ''I'm going to try and divert their path from the main action.'' Said Tyler in a confident voice.

As the Houndour turned the corner they were met by 80 kilograms of pure Torkoal. Smokey collided with them and they were knocked over. Knowing that without Smokey he could put more distance between him and the group he called him back, ''Smokey, return.'' Tyler started running and, in their rage so did the two Houndour... After him! As Tyler ran down the narrow forest path he managed to shout one more audible thing ''I'll be fine guys! just putting some distance between us!''

If you are superstitious and believe in jinxing things your prediction as to what happened next couldn't be that far wrong. Another Houndour (obviously leading the others as it looked like an alpha male with it's petrifying gaze from it's yellow eyes) came from the right side of Tyler, forcing him to make a quick left. It was as if they were treating him as prey, hunting him in a pack, like wild dogs who are of course the most successful predators in the world. He shouted something else but it could not be heard. Then he was out of sight.

Tom looked at Tyler for a sec "and you said I was suicidal.." he whispered and turned his attention back to Vivi.
"Vivi dont let him do! chew him as much as you can!" Tom said.
He looked at Meadow "come on we need to finish him in one blow!" he told her and looked at the other trainer "HEY!" he yelled at him "attack with all your power!" he told him.
Vivi tried to hold on him as much as he could.

Seth knew an ember wouldn't hold Tricky up for long, so he asked him "Are you alright? Do you think you can stand?" The shivering Joltik gave a confirmed look and Seth sent him back to guard the backpack. "Scream as loud as you can if someone comes near."
Seth looked at the trainer who spoke to him and answered "yeah, you're right, we're not playing around anymore!" And as his last words left his lips his Absol, Vela, came walking beside him as if she had appeared from the shadows.
"Alright Vela, let's try and see if your Super Luck can get this Houndoom. Use Quick Attack!" He roared and pointing towards the growling Houndoom.

Meadow smiled when she saw everyone attacking at once. Since the fires were under control for now, she decided that Gwen should join the final strike. "Alright! Fury Attack!", she cheered, sure of victory now.

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The Houndoom watched more or less helplessly how the three smaller Pokemon assaulted it. It still couldn't move as it was still caught in the spiderweb. The Absol hit first, a direct hit on the flank. Vivi continued biting it on the back but was thrown off when the foe fell over. The Pokemon tried standing up again but then it took a Swablu to the face. When the three allies walked a couple of steps back, the Houndoom didn't move any more. It had it's eyes closed and was still breathing, but it was very clear that it wouldn't be rampaging more anytime soon.

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Meadow stood still and held her breath for a second after the fight was over. Then she jumped and cheered, hugging Gwen who had just flapped into her arms. After a short time of intense praising, she put the Swablu on her head (where it liked to be) and quickly stepped over to the newly arrived trainer. When she came closer, she spread her arms in a welcoming and admiring gesture. "That was AWESOME.", she said with a grin. "I doubt it would've been this easy without you stumbling in on us." She laughed. "What's your name, noble knight? I'm Meadow. Meadow Caesius. This is Gwen." She pointed to her blue cottony head.

"Noble knight? give me a break" Tom sighed "Oi! what are we gonna do about the houndoom?" he asked them, mostly Meadow.
Vivi got near him and poked him and jumped back.
Tom hold Vivi in his arms, and looked at the way Tyler was ~I wonder if he's ok~ he thought and then looked at the houndoom ~at any rate...why did a houndoom be here? there are no houndoors in this place, let alone houndoom...they said it's not a trainer's pokemons but...it's all too wierd...I can capture him but I dont feel like having a houndoom~ he was lost in thoughts.

"So very nice to meet you Meadow, Gewn, my name is Seth Collins." He said ignoring the tone that Tom gave him. "And this is..." he then turned to his Absol which already had gone back for his backpack, with the little Joltik resting on it. Seth then turned to Tom and said with a more business like voice "That Houndoom, whatever its goals are, I don't think it will be doing this again. Wherever they might go they wont try and burn everything up by the lesson they learnt... I hope.
Seth then turned around and said "Well this is Vela, she and I have been friends my whole life." At the end of his sentence the Absol had came to a halt beside Seth and rose its head to his outstretched arm to get herself a pat on her head. Tricky who noticed the Houndoom wasn't a threat anymore started to climb down from the backpack which still rested on Velas back, and went quickly to Meadows feet and started chirping, he then climbed up on her right leg and latched on with his small paws.
"Oh I'm so sorry, he often does that. He might steal some of your electricity from your leg with his small fangs but it only tickles I'm sure." Seth laughed embarrassingly and scratched the back of his head. "Oh and his name is Tricky." Seth then watched at Tricky and even though the little bug purred with delight of this persona that he felt from her he still asked "do you want me to put him in his pokeball?"

Meadow laughed again. "It's okay. I only have flying Pokemon, I'm quite used to them sitting everywhere. Right, Gwen?" "Lu!", it tinged from the top of her head. "You'll have to meet the rest of my team once we were at the Pokemon Center. They're both not in proper condition right now." Her smile dimmed for a second was back soon. "Anyway, I don't know what to do with the Houndoom. I don't think we can leave it here after all it's done..." While she was thinking, she heard a sound behind her. Ready to fight she turned around. But it wasn't any Pokemon. It was a couple of police officers.

"What happened here?", one of them asked. Meadow bowed to him. "We followed the rampaging Pokemon into the forest to stop them from burning the woods or reaching the next city", she said politely. "We knocked out the leader, but the rest of the pack has strayed. A few of them went after one of us; he ran that way." She pointed where Tyler had gone. The officers looked at each other. "Good work", one of them finally acknowledged. "We'll take it from here. We will take care of the Houndoom and search for your friend. I assume your Pokemon are tired. I suggest you go back to Goldenrod and rest there. We might need you for a hearing later." "A hearing? Is this a matter of national safety or something?", Meadow asked curiously. "That does not interest you. Get going and let us do our job." The officer waved them along. His colleague had released a Squirtle and started to take out the single fires.

Meadow sighed and looked at Seth and Tom. "Come on guys, resting sounds awesome." She turned around and strolled back the path they came from. After all, there was no hurry now. She just assumed the men would head for Goldenrod sooner or later.

Tom was confused when he saw Meadow started walking ~well, it's better then her yelling at me~ he thought and followed her.
When he got out of the forest he threw his 2 other pokeballs and released Sophi and Lennel.
"it's alright now" he said and smiled, she looked at him and nodded.
Lennel moved to Meadow, looking around her "mis.." she said happily, most likely scheming more tricks.
"so...Meadow, where are you heading next?" Tom asked her.

Seth saw Meadow and Tom walk a couple of steps, then he yelled "I'll stay here, nice to meet you!" But he didn't think they heard him. He then turned and looked at Vela and crouched down to her level. "Is this what your forebode?" He whispered. The Absol stare with it's gleaming eyes into Seth and he could almost see the moon in her eyes even though it was still daytime. "Okay, well just for safety, let's hang around a little before we move on."
Seth sat down and watched the cops taking out the nearby fires. He then turned to his backpack and opened it carefully. A blue big egg was the only thing in his backpack, except for blankets surrounding it. The blue shell was slightly transparent and you could see a head twitching. "Look Vela, it's dreaming..." Vela was looking at the egg and made a small barking sound. "Don't wake it up!"
"You know..." He said whilst shutting the backpack. "... we three are going to be the best friends there is." A sudden realization came to Seth. "We.... Three?" With a sudden move towards his belt he felt that both of his two pokeballs were empty! "Tricky! He's still on that girls leg!" While standing up the officer looked at him weirdly but he ignored it and started running towards Goldenrod city as he secured the backpack to his back firmly. "I hope they haven't left the pokemon center when I get there" He whispered to himself.

"Oh, I don't know. Get the team healed up. Travel. Get stronger. Complete my team. Work for the goal. I don't really know the order." She laughed. "I usually have a plan, but..." She paused. "Wait. I feel like I forgot someth... ouch!" She looked down herself and right into the eyes of the tiny Joltik. "Oh. I guess what I know what I forgot. By the way, where is that guy?" She turned around and saw Seth sprinting towards her. "He, no worries. I don't steal Pokemon." She shouted as soon as he was in hearing range. She and Tom had been walking really slowly, so they barely were out of the forest. She carefully plucked Tricky from her blouse and held him in her palm to hand him to his trainer. "Why didn't you come with us? Remember, we need to stay together because they want us for a hearing about that Houndoom. Join us, we're having smalltalk. Seth, was it?"
Gwen, still sitting on her trainer's head, was quietly singing a song as she often did when traveling. When Meadow held the Joltik, the Swablu curiously leaned forward to have a proper look at the tiny Pokemon. "Lu?"

Gasping for air he answered "Yeah, heh, I guess, just wanted some private words with Vela" He then looked at the purring Joltik lying in her arms. "Once he got stuck on a Tauros and it got so scared it rampaged the whole herd to destroy the owners fence and they ran off into the distance, that was worse to run after. Luckily Vela here often find him" Vela had gone up to greet Vivi and Sophie, she did not trust the flying Lennel though and kept a distant eye on her.
"I'm sorry I haven't introduced myself to you." Seth said and turned towards Tom and gave him a hand to shake.
Meanwhile Tricky looked up as the Swablu looked on him and he suddenly gave out a small Thundershock towards the bird and started laughing. "Tiiik!"

"Jeez, you're like a waller n' pokemon magnet" Tom told Meadow "does it count as a lady charm.." he wondered.
He turned to Seth "I..uh..I guess" he said and shook his hand and said "I suppose there is nothing we can do about the hearing, so maybe it's better to hand together, just in case..oh yeah, we may want to go to the market to buy some potions and whatnot, well, I dont need since I got mine before" he smiled "anyway let's find a nice relaxing place to rest and, well introduce ourself properly" he said.
Sophi looked at the tiny yellow bug and then she looked at the swablu and then at the absol and hugged Tom's leg, shyly.
Lennel flew around Seth, looking at him closely.

"Lady charm? Might be." Meadow laughed. "Anyway, we really should stick together for now. Whatever the police want, we should do as they say. I have no intention of breaking my reputation." She adjusted her vest and belt. "Let's get to the Pokemon Center first and then find something fun to do. How does that sound?" She turned around to walk further, but Gwen had lifted herself from her head and flew closer to the Joltik. The thundershock did not seem to have disturbed her in any way, it only seemed to have fueled her curiosity. "Lu!" She chirped excitedly and unleashed a little cloud of Mist around the small Pokemon. "Gwen, you always had the easiest time making friends", Meadow commented and raised an eyebrow.

Tom looked at Meadow and Seth and kept walking to the pokemon center "vivi, are you hurt somewhere?" she asked him but Vivi shook his head.
"I am heading to the pokemon center, you better come" he told the other trainers.
Sophie looked at Gwen and the joltik while walking, then she looked at the absol and quickly run ahead of Tom and started walking.
Tom looked at her for a second and then looked ahead, to the pokemon center.

"Yeah the pokemon center is the best choice by now, Trycky needs a heal anyway." Seth answered Tom.
Vela was now getting acquainted with Meadows' pokemon as she usually did. She gave a small howl at Tricky to calm him down and try and make him behave himself. She then gave a appreciating look to Gwen for not getting angry with him. Seth saw this and said. "Vela really likes your pokemon. They must be really good friends of yours." He then took his hand and felt the underside of the backpack and felt the warmth of the egg oozing on his hand. "I have something to show you two later." He said and smiled.

Meadow smiled. "Thanks for the compliment, I don't really hear that all that often. Come on, let's get going. I can't stand the thought of Fiera and Yuuta being defeated. Well, at least I got revenge." She curiously looked at Seth's backpack but didn't pose any questions. By now, they had almost arrived at the Pokemon Center. The town were still in disorder. Most injured people were already taken off the streets even though those with minor scratches and burns were still there. Destroyed benches and pants were still visible, and of course it was unusually quiet. As soon as the Center was in sight, Meadow started to jog and disappeared between the huge sliding doors.

Tom looked aroun a second before he entered the pokemon center and thought 'What kind of a gym leader would not go help his own town...unforgiveable! I'll have to talk with the gym leader!~.
since Vivi was only tired he didnt had to give him to the nurse but he did ask the nurse if there was a room the 3 trainers could share, he paused and looked at them to see if any of them object.

"I already have a room, but there were other people in it. I don't know if they are still there. Room 213?", Meadow asked the nurse while she was waiting for her Pokeballs to return.
"Four free beds, two taken.", the woman informed.
"Okay, I guess we can book that."
While they were talking, another nurse arrived with Meadow's Pokeballs on a tray. Thanking her politely, Meadow grabbed them as quickly as possible and put them on her belt again. "I'll go outside and let them fly", she said to Tom. "Catch up once you're done." She hurried out again and threw the balls immediately. Gwen came out first, chirping happily and then returning to sit on her trainer's head. Yuuta shook himself and jumped around on the floor, flapping occasionally. Once Fiera had appeared, Meadow hugged her. "You still need to learn to pick your battles", she said and smiled. The Skarmory nudged her trainer's head carefully and spread her wings. "Of course you can fly now." Meadow laughed and watched as the huge bird took off.

Tom waited a bit and after Meadow released her pokemons outside and then walked out of the pokemon center "can I have a word with you for a second?" he asked Meadow.
Sophie looked at Gwen and tried to call her "ra-ra~" she gasped, trying to get her attention.
Vivi walked to Yuuta, trying to start a small talk with him.

"Yeah sure", Meadow said but didn't look at him. Her gaze was locked on the Skarmory in the sky. She was still smiling and had her arms akimbo. "So, what's on your mind?"
Gwen looked down from her lookout and at Sophi. "Lu!", she chirped and sailed down happily, almost crashing into the Ralts. She flapped her cottony wings and poked Sophi softly. Yuuta lifted his head and looked at Vivi. He cocked is head and hopped closer. "Ruff."

"w-well..I wanted to apologize for what happened before...with my pokemons and the wallet...I-I am not really thinking you're a worst trainer then me..I-I mean...when we fought that houndoom, you and your pokemon were amazing" he said, somewhat nervous "and...well..you see...I-I want to repay you somehow!" he said.
Sophie fell on the ground "r-raaa~" she said scared and almost cried.
Vivi jumped a bit, like he was challenging Yuuta for a friendly show of power, his shoot string shot to the air "sewa!" he said.

Seth sat down at a bench while looking at Meadow releasing her pokemon outside, and at Tom who was talking to her. They both reminded him of the people at Fortree City. So kind to pokemon, that might not be the best quality but Seth really thought that was one of the best qualities in life.
The fully healed Joltik came climbing up his leg, stopping at the knee. "You know Tricky, I think we should expand our family." Vela looked at Seth with a questioning look. "Soon there'll be four of us." He said thinking about the egg. "and I really would like for you guys to meet new and different kind of pokemon." Vela then gave a small howl, Tricky was slowly shutting his eyes, not really listening.
"You are so caring Vela" Seth said looking at his Absols' beautiful bright red eyes. "I think you would really like it if we were a lot more than just three." Vela scratched her back with her sharp tail, she then took a step forward and faced down towards the floor and bonked her skull into Seths' chin.
"Haha! Thanks, I'll take that as a confirmation." Seth patted her on the neck and she gave him a lick on the nose. "I really love you guys." He said and smiled. Vela looked a bit at him then lay down at his feet purring. Tricky was now sleeping on his knee, and hadn't really listened at all to what Seth had said.
Seth then looked at the two trainers, "I think those two might get us somewhere, we should travel with them." He said while stroking on Velas back. "I like those two... yeah.. Let's travel with them, at least for now." He then smiled and shut his eyes for a second. Thinking of the future, what great gifts it holds.

Meadow looked at Tom, surprised. "Thanks, I guess. Anyway, you don't need to repay me. I shouldn't have lost my temper." She looked up again, but Fiera had flown out of sight. Meadow sighed contentedly and looked around. Gwen looked flabbergasted and chirped quietly to calm Sophi down. She flapped her wings again as to emphaisze that they were fluffy and harmless. Yuuta, on the other hand, seemed to accept the challenge Vivi posed. He looked down for a second and then screaked, usign Scary Face on the Sewaddle. Meadow burst into laughter seeing that.

Vivi stepped back but fell on the side, he panicked a bit and waving his small legs as if he's running.
Tom laughed too and scratches his head "Vivi.." he said and looked at Meadow "dont worry, I'll repay you, my hometown isnt too much far, I'll work something out there" he smiled.
Sophie touched Gwen's wings and suddenly grabbed one of them and pulled gwen to the floor, sleeping on one of her wings "ra~" she said calmly, slowly falling asleep.