Chapter 3

4.) Zorua

The small gray fox-like pokemon lay sprawled on the ground in front of him and as he got over his shock, he cursed under his breath at the extent of the wounds Zorua bore. Kylus carefully scooped Zorua up before a commotion drew his attention.

"This way! It went this way!" the shouting came from a distance but it was coming closer, fast. He drew a pokeball quickly from his pocket and lightly bumped Zorua's side with it. Light engulfed the fox and the ball gave three small shakes before it clicked closed. A second before 3 males burst out of the bushes into the clearing, Kylus slipped the pokeball into his pocket.

The 3 males had on the same black uniforms, a red R adorning the middle. Kylus's eyes narrowed, Team Rocket, his father had told him about them. They didn't care about the pokemon they used and abused. At least the top trainers in Galactic knew that the most powerful trainers were the ones who the pokemon trusted and wanted to help. Rocket didn't know that. They were weak.

"Hey!" one of them barked at him, "have you seen a Zorua around here?" he stormed up to Kylus, glowering as he loomed over the boy.

Kylus shook his head, "the only pokemon I have is Chimchar," he said, releasing his starter in a burst of light."

The rocket grunt sneered in disgust, "A beginner. There's no way he would've been able to catch that Zorua."

It seemed the grunt didn't know how injured Zorua was, anyone would've been able to catch it. The three shouldered roughly passed him and he clenched his jaw in anger. He hadn't had to deal with this level of disrespect for a while.

After they disappeared in their search for Zorua, Kylus exchanged glances with Chimchar before sighing and returning his starter.

He set off for the pokemon center in Oreburgh, Zorua's pokeball bumping lightly into his leg as he walked.

As he entered the center, he saw the same three males, though this time they weren't wearing the distinct uniforms. They were asking around for a hurt, lost Zorua that was "theirs" and had run off. Kylus ignored them as he headed for the front desk and putting Zorua's ball into the rack. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see one of the grunts glance at him before he resumed asking around.

When his name was called, Kylus went up and grabbed the pokeball, making his way out and into a nearby alleyway. He glanced over his shoulder and at the sight of the people free environment, released Zorua.

Zorua's paws touched lightly on the ground, a weary glint in her eyes as her muscles tensed. Kylus raised his hands slowly and lowered himself to her level.

"It's alright," he murmured softly, "They can't get you here." The zorua's eyes scanned over him before they moved to roam around the surrounding area. When her eyes landed back on him he spoke up again, "do you want to join me?"

Zorua's eyes widened, evidently having never been asked of her opinion, he thought bitterly. Kylus didn't want to lose such a rare and powerful pokemon, though he knew better than most that an unwilling pokemon could lose to a pokemon weaker than itself. If the pokemon refused to listen or outright hated the trainer, they wouldn't get very far.

Zorua eyed him and he allowed her to see the emotions running through him, the anger at her treatment, the care he held for her, and the disgust at the rocket grunts. The fox gave him a wary nod. She would trust him, for now. Kylus knew it would take time for him to gain Zorua's trust, but he was willing to work for it.

Zorua's ears suddenly perked up and she slid behind the safety of his crouched form. In the darkness, there wasn't much to see of the two of them, however the ones that had caught the fox's attention weren't being particularly quiet.

"The boss is gonna kill us!"

The three males from before were speaking loudly to each other, lamenting the loss of Zorua and their inevitable punishment from what Kylus could hear.

"Whatever," one said gruffly, "we'll figure it out when we get back to headquarters."

Headquarters? Kylus cocked an eyebrow, it would be interesting to see what was going on, but it would be dangerous. It'd be better to...

1.) Follow in earshot. More likely chance to get caught

2.) Follow from sight, out of earshot. Less likely to get caught

3.) Use Zorua to follow from smell. Won't get caught, might lose them

4.) Tell the police about them

5.) Ignore them