DPA: Rivals

Chapter 10: The Curious Incident Of The Poliwag In The Night Time Part 3

Somewhere in the heart of the Viridian Forest, Poliwag stumbles about, becoming more lost and confused with each step, as each and every tree begins to look the same, and the entirety of the forest begins to shift into a vague mess of greenery.

Suddenly, a voice. Frightened, Poliwag waddled over, hiding behind a tree, as a young boy began approaching from a distance. Adorned with shaggy hair the same black as his jeans and the black sections of his red and black jacket, the boy hummed a tune.

"The journey starts today, oh oh oh..." Logan sang to himself, while his two Pokémon , the Sea Otter Pokémon Oshawott, and the Rabbit Pokémon Scorbunny, walked alongside him.

Without warning, Logan stopped. Looking around, he turned directly towards Poliwag, who had done a terrible job hiding behind a tree.

Logan knelt down, looking at the lost Tadpole Pokémon .

"Hey bud, you okay?" Logan asked, a gentle smile on his face.

"Pol," Poliwag nodded.

Logan reached into his backpack, removing a canteen. "Thirsty?" Logan asks, offering the canteen.

Poliwag watched the mysterious trainer, uncertain. Oshawott, a kindred Water Type, mews an assuring "Osha." Deciding to take the risk, Poliwag approaches Logan.

Logan opens up the canteen, pouring out a steady stream of water. Poliwag steps under the flow, lapping up the refreshing moisture before just allowing itself to become drenched.

Logan chuckled. "I'm glad to be of help. My name's Logan. This is Oshawott and Scorbunny."

"Osha!" Oshawott happily introduced itself.

Scorbunny just quietly nodded.

"You'll be safe with me." Logan patted the Poliwag on its head.

"POLIWAG!" Max yelled for the fiftieth time, his voice becoming hoarse. He had been looking for several hours, and had come no closer to finding his friend. His eyes swelled up with tears, and he bit his lip, trying to hold himself back from crying.

A hand from behind grabbed his shoulder and whipped him around. He yelped, terrified, before seeing Skye's bright blue eyes.

"Max, what in Arceus' name were you thinking?!" Skye scolded the boy before entangling him in a tight hug. "We've been looking for you forever!"

"That's right bud, you could've gotten hurt," Daryon added, appearing behind Skye, Pikachu perched on his shoulder. "This forest is dangerous."

"But Poliwag-" Max began.

"We'll find Poliwag," Skye interjected. "We'll find Poliwag together."

Daryon, who had been helping Skye calm down the child, turned around, only to see two small figures approaching from the distance. A pair of Nidoran, male and female, were peacefully walking side-by-side, unaware of two trainers and a child just a few yards ahead.

Quietly, trying not to make a sound, Daryon turned to Pikachu, ready to send the Electric type out to catch the wild Nidoran, but then had a better idea. He slowly reached towards his belt, grasping a Pokéball, before clicking the opening mechanism. The Pokéball opened, releasing a blast of light that quickly shaped itself into Daryon's recently caught Bulbasaur.

This moment immediately caught the attention of the pair of Nidoran, but at this point, Daryon was already in attack mode. "Tackle!" Daryon ordered Bulbasaur, who complied, using the force of its full body to smack the male Nidoran, knocking it back. The female Nidoran yelped, surprised, and took a step back.

The male Nidoran, aggressive as one would expect when attacked by strangers, quickly got up, retaliating with a Peck, using the sharp horn on its head to step the opposing Bulbasaur in the side. Bulbasaur gasped, the wind knocked out of it.

"Bulbasaur, are you okay?" Daryon shouted, concerned. Bulbasaur wheezed for a moment, before turning to Daryon, turning back to the Nidoran, and roaring. Daryon smiled.

Bulbasaur, now irritated, shot off a Razor Leaf, several razor sharp leaves firing from the bulb on its back. Nidoran managed to evade most of them, but a few leafy blades managed to leave some cuts. Nidoran growled, charging at Bulbasaur, blasting several Double Kicks in succession, each blow weakening Bulbasaur a little bit more.

"Try and use a Vine Whip!" Daryon coached the significantly weakened Bulbasaur

Still on the receiving end of a series of a series of Double Kicks, Bulbasaur produced two vines from its bulb, grabbing Nidoran and throwing it into a tree. Before Nidoran could get up and try to retaliate, Bulbasaur collided with Nidoran, knocking it down. Daryon took out an empty Pokéball, throwing the device at the injured target. As with every catch, Nidoran was enveloped in a stream of light before being sucked into the Pokéball.

One shake. Two shakes. Three shakes.

Click.

"Ha, we got it!" Daryon exclaimed, picking up the Pokéball and holding it in the air. Pikachu and Bulbasaur both let out little cries of victory. Daryon, appreciating Bulbasaur's effort, returned it to its Pokéball to rest. He clipped both Bulbasaur and the newly obtained Nidoran's Pokéballs to his belt.

At this moment, Cameron arrived, covered in sweat, tugging four backpacks filled with supplies. "What...did...I miss?" Cameron asked in between breaths, clearly tired from carrying so much weight.

"I caught myself a Nidoran!" Daryon replied proudly.

"That's...so...cool..." Cameron congratulated his friend before collapsing on the ground, exhausted.

"Are you okay?" Daryon asked.

"Yeah...I'll be fine...give me...a moment."

Daryon felt a tug on his pant leg. He looked down to see the female Nidoran that had been accompanying his new team mate sniffing at the Pokéball that housed her mate. Daryon shrugged, pulling another Pokéball from a pocket and tapping it on the female Nidoran's head. Three shakes followed by a click.

"Eh, what's a NidoKING without his NidoQUEEN," Daryon quipped. He turned to the rest of the group. "Let's go find Poliwag."