The Vagabond.

Chapter 10: Caged Thunder.

Riolu fell to the ground, pushed over by the figure that was guiding him all the way to the strange structure.

Before he could get his face out of the coarse sand, the sound of metal banging against hard rock could have been heard right behind him.

And when he finally did manage to turn around, he saw the face of his kidnapper, as well as the locked bars of a cell he was in

A Midnight form Lycanroc was staring right back at him, her face blank with no visible expression present on it.

Though there was something... off about her. For instance, she was much taller than any other Midnight form he had seen here, or had seen in the books.

She was easily towering over any Lycanroc of the same form as her.

The tall Pokemon scoffed from behind the bars, baring her canines. She crossed her arms. "King said to bring any outsiders here. Good luck."

Before Riolu could get a word in, she was already gone. But before she could fully exit his vision, he caught a glimpse of her tail.

Something that all Midnight forms have almost absent, and even if they have it, it's white or grey in hue.

Like those, she also had one. Yet unlike theirs, hers was... black? No, it was crimson red! Or maybe a bit of both?...

"That's not a normal Midnight form." Luna immediately called out, pointing out the anomaly in her different coloured tail.

"You don't say? A black tail with a red tip.. Where have I seen that before?..." Sol continued, humming gently to himself as he got lost in thought.

As the two voices began talking to each other, trying to figure out who the tail belonged to, Riolu took his time to look around the cell he found himself in.

It was a crude, small room, with a barred door leading outside to a hallway. Both the cell as well as the hallway were made of stone and rock, like the building he walked into.

Adjacent to the door leading out, was another door. This one lead to another hallways. Unlike the first one however, there were faint screams and cheers coming from somewhere in the distance.

His cell was barren, almost like it was a jail cell for whoever found themselves here, made for the most hardened criminals in the mountain region.

But if that's the case, what is he doing here? He's just a Riolu. A Riolu that can't even control aura yet. Why bother with him, when they could've just walked him out?

A faint whistle came from somewhere in the hallway with cheers and applause. Their voice was shaky, visibly afraid of something.

The whistling came closer and closer, the tension rising with each resounding step that the stranger took. Even Sol and Luna went quiet, stopping their conversation.

The figure put one paw in front of the cell's door, their white slender paws and tough looking claws almost shining in the torch's light.

They poked their head out, and...

It was Cassian; strolling through the hallways as if he knew the place like the back of his paw. He anxiously looked over his shoulder, not noticing his friend locked up.

"Over here!" The Emanation Pokémon caught the attention of the Lycanroc, making him squeal and yelp in fear. He jumped back by the sudden sound, turning to the source.

"O-Oh! There you a-are!" He laughed, getting closer Riolu who held on to the bars of his cell. Both of them smiled widely at each other and shared a chuckle.