Name: Lochan
Age: 18
Image:
Level: 39
Gender: Male
Ability: Keen Eye
Moves (Four only):
- Detect
- Shadow Sneak
- Feint Attack
- Shadow Claw
================
Name: Saras
Age: 23
Image:
Level: 54
Gender: Female
Ability: Shed Skin
Moves (Four only):
- Agility
- Aqua Tail
- Dragon Rush
- Slam
So many trainers had been roaming Ginda as of late. It didn't seem that long ago when the Gijinka were able to peacefully live away from human eye. To thrive without the nuisance of trainers dragging their team of captive Pokémon along the way in order to capture even more Pokémon. Yet with the borders opened once more, it seemed like humans from all of the other regions were scouring every last corner of Ginda in hopes of catching a glimpse of these unusual creatures. Or just catching them altogether, as the humans have nurtured and developed a very obsessive and dangerous form of kleptomania.
Thankfully, there were many Gijinka who kept an eye upon the region. Most of the trainers were sent back nearly as soon as they set foot upon the shore, realizing they were not prepared for the true dangers of the land. Still, there were many Pokémon and Gijinka alike who simply wanted nothing to do with these human invaders whatsoever. What better way to keep away from human eye than to keep out of sight altogether and live underground?
At least, that's the logic that many Rock, Ground, and Dark Pokémon seemed to follow. The stronger Gijinka kept the humans occupied on the surface, ensuring they stayed well away from the crevices and caverns leading to some of the deeper recesses of the region. Thanks to their efforts, a Sableye Gijinka was able to keep his cozy home in one of the gem deposits deep within the larger cliffs of Ginda. He simply wanted to keep as much distance between himself and these slavers, for lack of a better term, as possible. From what he has heard from the other inhabitants of this cliff and its underground lake, there are plenty of others who shared his sentiments.
The Sableye dug his claws into the nearest wall, breaking a quartz crystal and freeing it from its large cluster. Although not as sweet as an emerald or as rich as a ruby, quartz always left a refreshing aftertaste. Really, he couldn't ask for a better place to settle. The mineral deposits made for generous veins of gemstones for him to feast upon. But even on a diet of crystals and gems, one cannot simply eat without something to quench one's thirst. The Sableye broke off the tip of the crystal with his sharp teeth as he strolled down one of many winding tunnels. The Carbinks around here had teamed up with several Boldre some time ago, digging out a labyrinth of shafts and tunnels in the event that a human makes his or her way into the caves. Ensuring the trainers become confused enough in their wanderings to turn back and leave seemed to be one of the better ways of making sure their living areas remain undisturbed. However, after living here for so many years, the route to the underground lake had been engrained in the Sableye's memory. It would take a mere seven or eight minutes to reach the water. Ten if he wanted to dislodge another snack along the way.
Something didn't smell quite right as the Sableye was reaching the end of the last tunnel. A sort of metallic scent mixed with split stone and freshly disturbed soil faintly wafted through the air. He squinted his glistening eyes and listened very carefully to the shuffling and splashing going on in the lake cavern. Lights were moving around inside of the cave. How unusual: as far as he knew, this lake was far too deep beneath the ground to allow for any light to seep in. Slowly, the Sableye crouched down and stepped around the loose stones upon the ground as he sneaked his way into the cavern. He deftly slipped behind one of the thicker stalagmites. Barely breathing, he leaned out just far enough to see what was going on at the shore.
His pounding heart immediately leaped into his throat, his eyes widening at the scene unfolding before him. Holding the six beams of light were humans! The foul beings had managed to find one of the watering holes! But that wasn't the worst of it. As one of the humans swept his light beam around the cave, he was horrified to see a Kadabra and a Forretress looming over a pair of badly injured Staryu and the closed bivalve shell of a Clampearl. The water Pokémon was struggling to move, but unable to so much as twitch a muscle. The Kadabra lowered its spoon to the core of the nearest Staryu just as the light moved on, shrouding the group of Pokémon in darkness. The pained shrieks of the Staryu sent shivers down the Gijinka's spine, making him duck back behind the stalagmite in utter fear.
Cruel laughter echoed against the cavern wall. Though the Sableye didn't understand much of the human tongue and spoke far less, he was able to pick out the words, "nice", "gem", and "sell" from their conversation. That metallic smell was becoming even stronger now. Sickeningly so.
Then, the shrieks stopped.
No. He didn't want to see any more. Didn't want to hear any more. This had to be some sort of bad dream, right? Nightmare or not, he needed to get out of here. Despite the ailing Pokémon, there were far too many humans for him to handle on his own. There was nothing he could do to help them without getting caught himself.
The Sableye scrambled back to the tunnel from whence he came, his sheer panic making him slip on some stones and gave away his position. Two beams of light immediately locked upon him, making him hiss and recoil as he was suddenly blinded. Raising his clawed hands to shield his jeweled eyes did very little to stop the light. More shouts echoed in the room, causing the rest of the lights to snap to his position.
Without warning, the light was broken by the silhouette of the charging Forretress hurtling right at the Gijinka. Were it not for his blinded vision, he would have easily dodged the Gyro Ball. Instead, the Sableye was knocked upon his back, winded from both surprise and the sheer force of the blow. His chest ached as he pulled himself upright with a loud hiss. One of the other humans had released a Delibird from its Pokéball, commanding it to block the tunnel he came from. Taking in a deep breath, the scarlet penguin Pokémon heaved an Ice Breath upon the walls of the tunnel, quickly encasing it in a wall too thick to simply bash with force.
Snarling, the Sableye knew well that he was outnumbered. There was no way for him to feasibly win this fight. Not here. Not now. He pulled himself to his feet and darted for what he prayed was too treacherous of an exit for these humans: the river outlet. His heart pounded with every step closer he drew to the rushing water., but his escape would not be so simple. A loud, crackling noise and a bright ball of light was fast approaching behind him. That relentless Forretress unleashed a Zap Cannon to stop the Gijinka's escape! The Sableye cried out in pain as his body quickly overloaded with pain, the electricity coursing through every nerve in his body. Yet perhaps he had a little luck left after all. He had managed to hurl himself into the water just as the Zap Cannon struck. Thanks to the electricity, however, he was unable to move his entire left side of his body. That steel bug had left him paralyzed and at the mercy of the river's current. Water filled his lungs as he tumbled through the water, causing his vision to fade in and out...
Fate was still kind to the Sableye. Something was rhythmically pushing against his chest, attempting to pump out as much water from his lungs as possible. At long last, he managed to force the rest of the water out on his own with violent coughs and sputters. His savior jerked back, not wanting to be coated in his spray. The Sableye cracked his eyes open, but quickly shut them again, blinded by light once more.
A quiet voice called to him, speaking in his native tongue. ~
You all right now?~
There was some relief to be had. The light was merely warm sunlight. Instead of the hard cave floor, he was laying upon a patch of grassy moss. For the time being, he was safe. Finally, the language that voice was fluently speaking could only mean one thing.
The Sableye cracked open his eyes again, squinting to compensate for the light. Before him was one of the Gijinka who inhabited the river. A Dragonair, in fact. Her massive tail was still halfway in the very river he was pulled out of. Perhaps he had some luck with him yet: it was rare enough to bump into a Dragonair, let alone a Dragonair Gijinka.
He seethed as he tried to sit up, but he couldn't muster any strength from either his left arm nor his left leg. The Dragonair reached out and eased him into an upright position.
~
I take it that's a no,~ she frowned. Unfortunately, there was very little she could do about his condition, but at least he wasn't drowning in the river any more.
The Sableye shook his head. ~
Humans,~ he snarled. ~
They're inside the cliffs. With their slaves. They... they're taking... stones from...~
His voice trailed off and his stomach churned as he thought back to that poor Staryu. Even worse, what those revolting humans could have commanded that Kadabra to do to him, since his eyes were jeweled. Strangely, even though the Dragonair cringed upon hearing his tale, her expression was one of both grief and dread. Did she already know...?
~
Can you stand?~ the Dragonair asked, a sudden determination in her voice.
The Sableye frowned. ~
N-no. I can't feel my left side. That Forretress had a Zap Cannon,~ he sighed.
~
Then hold on.~
Much to the Sableye's surprise, the Dragonair lifted her tail out of the water and wrapped it around the injured Gijinka. She gently lifted him up onto her backside and ensured he was at least somewhat clinging to her shoulder. With an astounding burst of speed, the Dragonair slithered through the woods, determined to keep off of the main trails. There were still a few Cheri berry trees. It wouldn't do much for his electric burns, but it might enable him to move. The Sableye did little to nothing to protest against this. In fact, he was grateful for the help.
However, the Dragonair suddenly came to a stop. Someone had ravaged the Cheri berries. All of them were ripped from their branches, leaving naught but leaves and twigs. She cursed under her breath, causing the Sableye to stare at her.
~
...what shall we do, then?~ he asked, slowly becoming more wary. The longer they stayed still, the more likely a trainer will stumble across them.
The Sableye's savior's eyes were darting around as she thought. If these were gone, there were only two places she could take him. But taking him to Cheshire town was far too risky. In his state, he'd be easily captured. But the second location...
Taking in a deep breath, the Dragonair began heading down a path hardly traveled. ~
There's a sanctuary deeper in the woods,~ she reassured. ~
You'll be safer there than out here.~
~
What are you going on abou- AH-!~
Again, the Dragonair darted through the forest with her Agility, startling the poor Sableye and forcing his instinct to hang on. Considering his recent run-in with the nastier humans, the Dragonair didn't wish for him to know the true destination of where they were heading: a laboratory run and managed by a pair of humans along with their befriended Gijinka.
Twenty minutes had passed before the lab came into sight. The Sableye's eyes widened and he gave the Dragonair a shake of the shoulder. ~
Don't tell me we're going in there,~ he hissed.
~
I won't tell you, then,~ his savior huffed. Once she spotted something, she immediately began to slow down. ~
Keep your voice down. There might be a trainer around.~
As much as the Sableye wanted to protest, he immediately clammed up. The Dragonair slowed down her speed in order to slither through the leaves and grass without making any noise. There was blood in the air. She could smell it. The source of the blood astounded her: slumped against a nearby tree was a Zoroark Gijinka. Even more unusually, there was an Eevee with glimmering fur standing before him. That couldn't possibly be the cause for this one's injury, was it? She had the smell of a human in her fur. Perhaps the trainer was nearby after all.
~
Back away!~ the Dragonair warned as she hurried up to the injured Zoroark. While Sableye warily watched the Eevee, the Dragonair crouched down to check the Gijinka. Definitely blood. This wound had been here awhile. The Eevee couldn't have inflicted this one.
She reached down and tried to carefully lift the Zoroark, but he proved to be far heavier than expected. It felt even worse considering she already had an extra load on her back. Speaking of which, the Sableye was scowling at the Dragonair now. ~
And just what do you think you are doing?~
~
Same I'm doing for you,~ she strained, trying to heave the injured Zoroark closer to the fence behind the lab. Much to the Dragonair's delight and the Sableye's dismay, there was already an Espeon Gijinka in sight, as well as one of the humans. Struggling with her words, the Dragonair raised her voice, "
Sang choo wary?" she called to what she prayed was one of the professors of the lab.
The Sableye looked astonished. ~
What in the world did you just say?~ he blinked, astounded that the Dragonair was attempting the human tongue in the first place. But he would receive no answer.
From where she laid on the ground, Rina gave a little groan while rubbing her head. A fall from that good of a distance was one someone needed to take a moment to recover over, after all. Although with a few more seconds during which the other female trainer approached her and offered her assistance, the blonde seemed to be back to her full energy. Peeking up at the girl who introduced herself as Amii, she accepted the help by taking the brunette's hand and standing up. After she brushed her somewhat discheveled clothes off, freeing them from a bit of dirt that gathered on the red material, she smiled brightly over at the young woman.
The entire time the scene had played out before him, Linoone was -- as his trainer had said -- mostly quiet. Despite this, he didn't hold a hostile expression upon his face but rather a gentle and kind one. However, he still remained silent even when he was introduced. Taking a few steps closer during the girls' conversation, he took long tail that was colored in a swirl of colors: cream, white, and brown and used it to finish brushing Rina off. This wasn't the first time and certainly wouldn't be the last that he was required to clean her up after a little stunt that failed in disaster. But he had come to enjoy this trait about his trainer, much like everything else. Rina never gave up, even in the darkest of times, that was what he liked best. That was why he trusted her.
"Vee?"
