POKEMON: The Wielders of Ki
Chapter One: The Dawn of Heroes
“Okay now guys, we’ll only have a few seconds to get this performance just right! “ Ruby said. She was squished inside the damp, cramped cargo hold of the S.S. Razorwind with her pokémon crew. Her amazing nose sniffed out the all the rich and powerful trainers gathering aboard, or rather her almost as amazing eyes spotted a news feed of the gathering on TV. The SS Razorwind was docked outside of Goldenrod City for two days, and the owner of the ship decided to throw an extravagant party. It was strictly A-list, and Ruby Heart classified somewhere between B and C. Was there a B.5 list anywhere? Ruby scratched her orange polished nails through her Vulpix’s soft fur and grinned at her crew.
“Let’s do this!” She jumped to her feet in a burst of energy, and conked her head on the metal roof. “Ouch! Shit!”
Up top on the ship’s deck, party goers chatted away in clusters of groups.
“I think a gym would be a perfect addition to Anville Town in the Unova region. It’s already a center of transportation, but there’s little else…” said Krystal as she gently set her teacup on the saucer she was holding. A short, portly man with a large mustache nodded his head in agreement.
“The opportunity to invest is quite good,” he agreed.
“There’s just the matter of the –“ Krystal replied when a man behind her let out a loud sigh. “What, Jacob?”
“How come, whenever we go somewhere, it’s always about you, your business, or both?” he asked. Krystal let out a small sigh of her own and fiddled with the handle of her teacup.
“You could have stayed in town, you know. I invited you along because I thought you’d enjoy yourself. But it seems you’re determined to have a bad attitude,” she said.
“Now, hold on just a second,” Jacob hopped out of his seat, but Krystal had already turned her head away from him, leaving him to stare at two blonde, curly pigtails: her special indication of saying she made her point and was tired of the conversation. Jacob grumbled to himself and strode off to the bow of the ship where another ruckus caught his attention. People scrambled over themselves to get a look, and an autograph, from a dark woman with bright green hair who Jacob felt looked familiar. A boy, who looked much like the green haired girl, was trying to push his way out of the crowd. When he finally made it, he pushed himself against the railing. He was panting.
“I swear…. every where we go….” he muttered.
“Tell me about it,” Jacob replied. He joined the other boy at the railing and hopped up on the top railing to sit, looking quite comfortable and not at all afraid of falling overboard. “Let me guess: overzealous corporate tycoon?”
“Try television celebrity,” the boy replied. He rolled his eyes and Jacob smiled and extended a hand to him.
“Name’s Jacob Green.”
“Terrick Hawthorne,” the boy replied and gave Jacob’s hand a brisk shake. “You put up with this too, huh?”
“Oh yeah. For a couple years. These past few quarters have been doing really well. Investments are up forty-five percent.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Terrick asked.
“I have no idea,” Jacob replied. They shared a laugh, until a hand came up over the side of the boat and grabbed the bar next to where Jacob was sitting. He jumped up lightning quick as a girl in bright orange and yellow clothes pulled herself over the railing. The moment her feet touched the deck, a vulpix on her shoulder jumped into the air.
“Okay, Flare, dazzle the audience with will-o-whisp!”
The Vulpix, Flare’s, fur turned a deep purple and her eyes glowed white as balls of spirits began circling her. They hovered eerily over Flare’s head.
“How the hell did she come up the side of the ship?” Terrick asked.
“I have no idea,” Jacob replied and looked over the side, “Is there a ladder?”
“Hey, boys, I’m trying to do a show here! Flare, ember! Go!” Ruby shouted. Flare unleashed a barrage of fiery balls into the air that were caught inside the will-o-whisps, turning them a bright white.
“Now finish it with dark pulse!”
Flare sat down and lifted her head and howled. A dark whisp crawled from her pursed lips and swept upward, circling around the now white will-o-whisps, and creating the illusion of space contained in a bubble.
“Ta-da folks!” Ruby shouted. She placed her hands on her hips when she realized no one had been watching. Flare’s ears fell as Ruby deflated. “Really? No one saw that? Aw man…”
“Ma’am? We’d like a word with you…”
“Oh yeah? Adoring fans, eh? You want an autograph?” Ruby asked. She spun around with a stupid grin on her face that was instantly erased when the man who addressed her grabbed her roughly by the arm. “Ouch! Hey, that hurts you jerk! Let go!”
“The boss doesn’t take kindly to stow-a-ways, missy,” the man said, still not letting go of her arm.
“Captain, it looks like security has captured a bilge rat…” Krystal said as she sipped her tea. The pudgy man she’d been discussing business with squinted across the deck.
“I didn’t hire security for this event,” He said. Krystal’s eyes flew open and she set down the cup. “Then please excuse me,
sir,” she replied and took off running down the deck. “Jacob!” she said, “They’re not security!” As Krystal closed in on the guard her small hand curled into a tight fist, and she socked the man holding Ruby square in the gut. The man grunted and tossed Ruby aside. She stumbled, and toppled over the railing of the ship, screaming as she fell to the water below.
Jacob’s head snapped around as he heard Krystal calling out to him. Then they focused in on the man trying to restrain the girl, and other men honing in on them. He reached down to his belt and unhooked a little purple and white ball. He pressed the center button, felt the orb grow in his hand, and felt the ticking of the timer for release. He tossed the ball into the air as the timer ended and the ball popped open, unleashing a flood of light that materialized into a large Persian. Terrick raised his eyebrow as Jacob stepped in front of him.
“You guys have real guts to show up so soon…” he said. “Perin, double team!” The Persian leaped forward and produced copies of its self and its copies surrounded the approaching men. Jacob looked over his shoulder at Terrick. “Get everyone off the boat. It’s not safe.”
“But-“
“GO!”
Terrick frowned and ran past Jacob, and into the now frozen crowd surrounding his sister.
“Come on! Let’s get everyone off,” he said. His sister nodded and together they began herding the surprised party goers off the ship. But another group of men in black blocked the gangplank. At the same time, Ruby emerged on the head of a Gyarados, soaking wet and severely pissed off.
The sound of metal hitting the wood deck sounded, and smoke erupted throughout the ship. As confusion circulated, more pokéball lights flashed, and fearsome sounds reverberated across the ship. Battling ensued as frightened party goers ran amok and some brave trainers stood to fight. When the smoke cleared, the men in black had all vanished. Krystal looked around, running from port to starboard of the ship in search of clues to where they went. Her fists clenched and she slammed them on the railing.
“Dammit! They got away again!” Her eyes narrowed and all professionalism vanished. Jacob placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder, as wails of agony erupted around them.
“My dear Cyndaquil is gone!”
“Noctowl! Where are you!?”
“Not my Pichu! She was still a baby!”
“Geodude? No….”
“We have to get them back, Jacob…” Krystal said.
“I know. We will,” he replied and gave her shoulder a squeeze before crossing the deck to help Ruby to her feet. “Are you okay, miss?”
“Of course I’m not okay! Those damn bastards! They threw me overboard and stole my Flare! “ Ruby replied. She wrung out her short hair and clothes, and then stomped over to Krystal. “If you’re going after those creeps, count me in.”
”You’ll go too, won’t you, Ms. Hawthorne?” an old woman asked. She gazed at the green haired girl with pleading eyes and clasped her jewelry covered hands together. The girl scratched her cheek nervously, then made a fist.
“Y-yes! Of course I’ll go! Your pokémon will be returned to you in no time!” She said. Her laugh sounded more like a choking sob. Terrick sighed.
“Guess this means I’m going too…”
The trainers exchanged looks from across the ship, to see just who they would be travelling with as they hunted down the men in black. They sized each other up and wondered if they could trust one another. All was silent until Jacob coughed to break the tension.
“We probably shouldn’t wait around too long. They’ll just get farther away,” He said.
Bookmarks