Weathering The Storm... (A Pokemon OC Story)

Chapter 71: You Will Be Found...

Walking through Mauville City, as the sun shone through the windows, Alex walked with a warm smile on his face. His trophy in his arms and his Pokemon League pass lanyard hanging around his neck. No care in the world could bring down his energy. Money problems? No longer with the stacks of cash stored in his backpack. He'd just about bought out the Pokemart with enough supplies to satisfy himself and a couple more people for an entire journey around the region. Anxiety over gym battles? Gone. He didn't need the badges anymore, they'd just be for practice. He was content, at least for a while.

A small rattling caught Alex's attention. Slowly, his feet ground to a halt, and he peered to the side where the rattling was heard. He found a small crevice in the architecture of the wall, a dusty and decaying corner, filled with filth. But, in the corner, sat an isolated Pokeball, its scratched surface covered with filth on the bottom from the floor, but completely clean on the top. Its shiny metallic surface had been chipped at by time, although something intrigued Alex about it. It moved across the palm of his hand, even when his palm was still as a statue. Alex pressed the cap on the Pokeball. Instantaneously, a Pokemon appeared from the Pokeball, diving into the air and then landing on the ground with a thud. This Pokemon, Alex noted, was a Gible.

A happy looking one at that. Wide jaws, innocent and pure eyes, and a smile so warm it might as well have been a fire type. Instantly, its head darted around the room, and it began to waddle in the opposite direction. Before it could make too much distance, however, it was promptly scooped up by Alex. Alex had a lot of questions, but communicating with a Pokemon was already difficult enough. So, he knew he had to take it just one step at a time. Holding Gible gently in his hands, he asked,

"Do you know why you were in that corner?"

Gible gave a firm head shake from side to side.

"Right, well, what are you trying to do?"

Gible pointed with its stubby fingers towards the decrepit Pokeball, crying out multiple times as if it were talking. Even if Alex couldn't understand what Gible was trying to say, he got the gist of it.

"You wanna try and find your trainer?"

Gible vigorously nodded up and down, then tried to be released from Alex's grip, thinking it was done and could be free. But, Alex kept a tight hold of Gible.

"Right. I don't want you running off alone. You could get hurt. So, I'll help you find your trainer. Does that sound good to you?"

Gible smiled brightly, its happiness contagious and catching onto Alex. Alex then looked around at the entirety of the shopping district. The masses of people went by in droves, many or most with Pokemon by their sides.

"This is going to be tough.", Alex thought, thinking of just how many people Gible could belong to. But, he was in no rush to go anywhere. He had a day to spare. And, if it helped to reunite Gible with its trainer, then it was worth it, in every sense of the word. "Right, let's do this!"

——————————————————————————————————————

"No, sorry."

"Do I know you?"

"Nope."

"Not mine, dear."

"Who'd want a weak Pokemon like that one?"

"Jerk.", Alex muttered under his breath as the thug walked away. He'd asked everyone. Trainers, people with Pokemon, even just random people that didn't have a Pokemon, nor looked like trainers. Alex hoped desperately for some sort of thread that he could latch on and the whole thing would just unfold and hand him the answer. But, morning to lunch was nothing more than a waste of time.