Captured

Shiny Shenanigans

Crystal~

I crouched down, keeping out of the small pokemon's sight. 

I had been tracking it for about an hour now, careful not to startle it away. After all, coming across a shiny sentret wasn't something that happened to just anyone; I couldn't risk letting it get away by using my normal style of capture.

The ShinyDex is way harder to complete! I would almost rather do the regular PokeDex again instead.

The sentret's maroon ears twitched in my direction, face slightly concerned. It hadn't spotted me yet, but it knew I was nearby.

Luckily, we were both in the perfect position for me to get a clear shot.

Pokeballs were not sufficient security for attempting a shiny capture, at least for me, so I had been using quick-balls to ensure it would be caught on contact. 

I reached into my backpack and pulled out my last one.

The sentret swiveled its body my way, staring intently at the bush I was hiding behind.

At the same moment, I propelled myself out of the bush and kicked the ball directly towards its face.

It squeaked in surprise and tried to run away, but was unable to escape the quick-ball's trajectory. 

"Yes!" I exclaimed as it made contact. But my excitement didn't last for long; as I knew from experience, it was never a good idea to celebrate too soon.

For what had recently become my least favorite three seconds in all my life, I waited for the sound that would tell me my efforts had been successful.

Click!

I rejoiced, picking up the ball and holding it above my head in victory.

"Capture complete!"

I put my prize into the pocket of my bag that contained all of my captures, now completely full.

"Off to the pokemon center with you guys! Or, well, the pokemon transport system. The Professor is going to be happy to see you!"

I checked the map on my pokedex, then turned towards the correct direction, making my way back to Route 29.

One of the pokeballs attached to my belt nudged my hip. I looked down to see Megaree's somewhat impatient face looking up at me.

"You want to come out?" I asked. He nodded vigorously.

I gently tossed his pokeball to the ground, careful to keep it a good distance away from the foliage as he was big enough to accidentally break something.

He grinned at me and shook out his flower ruff, clearly happy to be out in the open.

"You guys have been cooped up in there for a while, huh?" I said to him, patting his long neck. "Don't worry. I'm sure we'll come across something to battle soon."

"How right you are," someone laughed.

Before I could turn around, my arms were harshly pinned to my sides by sharp purple claws.

"Hey!" I struggled to escape their grip as three dark shadows came into view, all wearing the same unlabeled uniform. None of them had visible pokemon besides the one that was holding me in place; a quick glance confirmed it was a gligar.

"Battle is a strong word," said the one on the left, her face obscured by a bandana. "It implies, you know, actually being able to fight back."

"Take care of the green thing," the third one grumbled. "Before we really do have to fight her."