A Wolf Lost

Chapter 3: The new Member

Marshall didn't know how long he had been walking in this forest for. It certainly felt like days. Days where he had only eaten berries his trusty Lycanroc had managed to find, and clean enough water from creeks. It was miserable, and he was starting to feel a little sick. Lycanroc seemed to devote himself to taking care of Marshall, even though Marshall was his trainer. Marshall was sick, he found. He must've gotten something from the water. He sighed, and kept pushing on. He knew that he had to keep moving. He didn't know whether he'd reach a town or not, or whether or not he'd even be safe in that town. He just knew that either way, he had to keep moving. He had gained some paranoia since the duo's escape from the house, a few days previous. He jumped at little sounds like stepping on sticks or listening to a Pachirusu scramble along the crunching leaves. Lycanroc offered him a berry. "Thanks, bud." He said, but pushed his claw away. "I'm not hungry. Eat some yourself.." He said. He got sick, he ran a little ways into the forest, throwing up just about everything he had ate today and yesterday. After taking a few deep breaths, Marshall returned to his concerned looking Pokémon. "I'm fine, Lycanroc." He said, even though he felt terrible. Why was he tolerating this? He didn't expect civilization to be for another few miles. He only predicted the miles part because he could hear the occasional truck horn, which echoed here, reverberating in his ears. It made him dizzy, after already feeling so sick anyhow. It took about another 3 hours to pass just a few miles, but he could see sights of civilization. "Lycanroc, I think we found the town..!" He said. After just another minute of aimless treading, they came up to a fence. Marshall, uncaring and unconcerned, climbed the fence with relative ease, though he got held up a little bit as he was worried he might throw up. Once he got over, Lycanroc just hopped over. The duo made their way into the small town. It was a typical stop on a Trainer's journey, from the looks. A Pokémon center, a Pokémart, some houses. This one didn't have a gym, though it had a nice aesthetic look to it. He looked left, and then to right. Were they staring at him? He didn't care. His clothes were awfully muddy though, and there were some rips in his clothing. "I didn't realize how much I roughed up my clothes." He said. Lycanroc had licked his hand, for whatever reason. "What? Are you worried your fur is going to be dirty?" Marshall said, sarcasm draping heavily in his voice. He walked into the Pokémon Center, Lycanroc following close behind and growling at whoever got too close. Marshall sat down in one of the seats. "I could fall asleep right here.." And he dozed off. He slept for a full 3 hours. He woke up, to Lycanroc shaking him a little. "Wha..? Did I fall asleep?" He asked. Then, he looked up at the Nurse Joy that was nearby. "Are you okay?" She asked. "I heard that you just showed up, climbed over the fence with that Lycanroc of yours." She said. Marshall simply nodded. He was too tired to talk at the moment. "Do you need medical treatment?" She asked. It was obviously from the fact he looked so bad. Then, the sick wave hit him again, and he held his stomach. "Yeah, I think I do." He said. Nurse Joy nodded, lifting the boy up. Lycanroc followed closely, not wanting to leave Marshall. Nurse Joy stopped, about to head in. "Could you wait out here?" She asked. "No, no. He stays with me." Marshall said, with firmness. "But-" Nurse Joy began but Marshall interrupted her. "You're dumb rules should be bypassed, thank you. And I know very well I sound entitled, but I have my reasons." He said. Nurse Joy began to protest, but after waiting for a moment, she sighed, allowing Lycanroc to come. They had gone to a doctor's room. "Let me check your temperature, you seem horribly sick." She said, giving him a thermometer. He put it in his mouth. He had fever temperature, and Nurse Joy sighed. "Did you drink unpurified water?" She asked. "Yeah, I did, because I've been walking in the forest for days with no food or water. I had to do something." He said, annoyed at her pushiness. "Well, it's simple enough to fix." She said. She gave Marshall some medicine. "Take this, in a few hours, you should feel better." Marshall nodded. He took the medicine. "Thank you, Joy." He said, and was about to get up when she stopped him. "Oh, we're not done yet. You need new clothes, and supplies.." She said. "What were you even doing out in that forest anyway? That was dangerous." She said, with a mom-like attitude. Marshall looked at the T.V. "Turn that on." He insisted. When Joy didn't move immediately, he did. He flicked on the T.V. with the remote. It was on a News channel, and his house was up on it. "What's that all about?" He asked, feigning ignorance. "Oh, the new organization called Team Lunar had stormed a womans house. Her son was said to be at home, but no trace of him was found except some boulders blocking one of the doorways." She said. It brought up a picture of him and his Lycanroc. A picture he didn't know was taken of him, which was him running off into the forest. It simply said Missing, then his first and last name, along with a depiction of Lycanroc. Joy had looked at the T.V. "Oh, that. A boy went missing a few days ago after a Team Lunar raid on their house." She said, staring intently at the Missing photo. Then, she looked between the two. Her eyes widened after she finally realized just who she was looking at. "Marshall?" She said. He looked up at her. "Yep. That's me." He said, dazed. "You've been lost for days!" She exclaimed. "And Team Lunar have been looking for you everywhere in the region." She said. "Why do they want me so badly?" He asked. "None of us know. When Team Lunar usually wants something, they get it. Nobody's been brave enough to stand up to them." She said. "I best be careful then." He said, sighing. Joy sighed. "Let me get you some nicer clothes, Marshall. Then, we can talk about you being confirmed safe." She said. He nodded. Joy left the room. He stood up, walking out. He searched around a little bit, before finding a room with provisions in it. Food, water, potions. He took a dusty backpack, and started packing the bag. After being full with plenty of provisions, he exited. He saw Nurse Joy turn a corner. "Must be where the clothes are." He said. He walked over, going into the room he saw her go into. She had grabbed some clothes, and were looking at them closely. He hid around a corner, watching her leave. He swiftly took off his old clothes once he was in the room, and put on some new ones. He packed extra sets of clothing, and then, exited again. 'Only moment's until she finds I'm gone..' He thought. Lycanroc whined a little to get his attention. He pointed at a window. "Perfect, let's go through there." He said. He looked around. "Ah." He said, grabbing a chair and rolling it to the window. He climbed up on the chair, and climbed out the window. Lycanroc climbed out not too long after. "Let's split." He said, beginning to walk away. He had just stolen several hundred dollars worth of provisions, but at the moment, he didn't care. He had a goal in mind. "Find the leader of Team Lunar." He said aloud to himself. He nodded, looking at Lycanroc. "This is crazy, isn't it?" He asked his Pokémon. Lycanroc simply shrugged. "This is the last thing I expected to be doing.." He said. He crossed a small bridge, which went over a clear creek. He could see his reflection. His brown eyes and hair. He sighed, feeling it flow in the wind. He began to walk again. "Let's go, Lycanroc.." He said, walking onto the developed Route. He saw plenty of trainers. "I suppose we'll be getting our fair share of training.." He said. The two fought each and every one of the trainers they came across, wiping them all with ease. Him and Lycanroc had only a little experience, but it seemed that he had gained strength since he left, that day, 5 years ago. "Good job, Lycanroc." He said, rubbing his back affectionately. "Proud of you.." He said after beating the final trainer of the Route. "Come on.." He said. Marshall had walked into the next town. Lycanroc once again went back to his growling when someone came within a ten feet radius of them. He was really protective, Marshall noticed. He sighed, as he looked around. This town was larger than the last, and it had a Pokémon gym too. "Hmm." He said. "If we want to get strong, maybe we should challenge gyms..?" He said to his Lycanroc. A voice out of nowhere spoke up. "Maybe so." It said, and Marshall felt a tap on his shoulder. He practically whirled around. It was another kid, maybe about the same age as him. "Wha? Why'd you intrude on the conversation I was having with my Lycanroc?" He asked. "Well, you just seemed so at a loss." He said with a matter-of-fact tone to his voice. This already pissed Marshall off. "Alright then." He said, biting his bottom lip. "I'm Levi." He said. "And you are?" He asked, holding out his hand. He hesitated, before grabbing his hand and shaking it. "Marshall." He said. "Hmm. I feel like I've heard that name before.." He said. "But I can't pinpoint where." He said. "So, this is you're Lycanroc?" He asked. "Yep. My partner." He said. "Do you have any other Pokémon?" He asked. Marshall, a bit taken aback by this, shook his head. "No." He said. "You realize that's a Rock type gym, right?" He asked. "Taking it on with just that Lycanroc won't end well. You need another Pokémon, Marshall." He said. Marshall looked down at the ground. "That's probably true." He said. "Let's go catch one, hmm?" He asked. "Oh. Uh.." Marshall hesitated, looking at Lycanroc. He didn't seem to dislike him, but he didn't enjoy his tone as much as Marshall, just by looking at him. Marshall nods. "Let's go, then." He said. And so, the trio made their way to the Route at the other side of town. "Just go into the grass." He said. "And take these." He said, giving Marshall 10 Pokéballs. He nodded once again, stepping into the grass. The last thing he expected was a Pokémon to swoop down from the sky at him. It was a Noibat. Marshall nodded, and began to battle it. After attacking it a few times with Lycanroc, making sure Lycanroc, even though he really wanted to, made sure not to use his full power. "Alright, you're fine now.." He said. He threw a Pokéball at the Noivern, to catch it off guard by doing it suddenly. It fell to the ground. It started to wiggle and shake, moving around on the ground. After what seemed like an hour of watching it do so, it finally clicked. "That's it." Levi said. "No way. It can't be that simple." He said, picking up the ball. "Have you never caught a Pokémon before?" Levi asked. "No, I haven't, actually. My mother caught Lycanroc, who was a Rockruff at the time, for me." He said. "Well, it's best you get training." Levi said. "I'm going to fight the gym. Good luck, and see you around." Levi said. "See you." Marshall says. And he's gone, as fast as he appeared. Marshall tossed the ball. "Come on out with us, Noibat." He said. It came out, just like that. "Alright, ready to get training you two?" He asked. They both gave firm cries of excitement. And so, they began to train for the journey they would undertake. Or, they would have started, if they weren't stopped almost as soon as they were going to start. Marshall heard a scream of "I found him!" And a Pokémon running at him next to the other Trainer. They had a L badge on their shirt. "Team Lunar..?" He said to himself. He had no chance to get an answer, as the battle started abruptly. He commanded his Pokémon to attack Noibat. "Noibat, fight back!" He commanded. "Wing Attack!" Marshall exclaims. The Lunar grunt's Pokémon took the hit, getting knocked back, K.O.ed in one shot. "Dang, Noibat. Let's go!" He exclaimed. The Lunar grunt growled. "You best watch it boy, we're looking for you." He said. "Alright, team Loser. Scram." He snapped. And just like that, the grunt was gone. "Now, let's actually begin training.." He said. "And that was an ironic encounter.." He said. Finally, Marshall and his Pokémon began to train.