[Pokepunk] [23] Retracing Steps

The Pokeball twitched several times, and there was a tense moment. They could now hear the Ariados on its approaching from the woods, and the Ranger seems anxious about that. The ball twitched two more time, then stopped. Zhu let out an audible sigh; the Spinarak was caught.


"Grab the Pokeball and get back," the Ranger released a Noctowl from its Pokeball, staring at the gap that had been created.


Caught Spinarak!


Gained $10


Lost 1 Pokeball


Pokemon Name


Spinarak, Female


Bug/Poison


The 'String Spit' Pokemon


Forest Habitat


1'08"


19 lbs


Level 5


XP: 0/20


Moves


Poison Sting


String Shot


Scary Face


Ability


Swarm


Stats


Attack: 9


Defense: 6


Speed: 3


Special Attack: 6


Special Defense: 6


Personality: This Spinarak is very protective of others. She does not like being disturbed while sleeping.
 
Nuan rushes forward to grab the pokeball, crunching leaves and twigs under her boots as she unsubtly pushes through the forest. As she does so, she raises Zhu's own ball and depresses the button, calling him back into safety. "Take a moment to rest." Nuan whispers in apology as she kneels down and scoops the Spinarak's pokeball up into her hands. With no hesitation she twirls around and starts to run back towards the Ranger, hoping to get behind him and to safety.
 
The Ariados appeared soon after, and the Ranger ordered his Noctowl to attack, opening with a Hypnosis, which caused the Ariados to fall asleep. The Noctowl then proceeded to peck the Ariados several times, before throwing a Pokeball at the giant spider Pokemon, and he scooped up the Pokeball.


"Outstanding. You handled that Spinarak pretty well, too. Come on, I'll get you and your Pokemon some food, and get the paperwork all filled out for your stipend, as well as a roof over your head. Sound good?"
 
"Yeah, that sounds cool." Nuan tries to remain calm and collected as she says this, but doesn't quite manage it. She wasn't used to fleeing from anything, and the resulting rush of adrenaline had been a new experience for her. She was, after all, a pampered rich girl underneath all of her bizarre attire.


Nuan palms the two pokeballs containing Zhu and Jum, releasing them so that they could walk alongside her. The Spinarak would be released later, when she could care for its burns and introduce herself properly.


"We're going to go get some food." Nuan tells her pokemon even as she resolves to meekly follow the ranger and take whatever training she can, so she wouldn't make so many stupid mistakes again.
 
"You did good out there, for a first timer. You need to work with your Pokemon and teach them how to move more carefully, but that's the sort of thing you can learn from Rangers," the Ranger grinned, handing her $5, and after feeding their Pokemon, "I don't know how this Ariados got out here. Spinarak occasionally evolve in the wild, but it isn't common. The Pokemon out here just aren't powerful enough for that to happen."


Gained 2 Fame
 
"Maybe a trainer like, released it or something. Or it could just be particularly aggressive, getting in fights all the time." Nuan offers her some ways the Ariados could have evolved. Her three pokemon are scattered around her. Her new Spinarak, named Chih Nu, is sitting on Nuan's lap and chittering happily as Nuan strokes her. "So like, where do I go to get these lessons?"
 
"Maybe. I'll learn more when I bond with the Ariados. I should get started on that now. The first few hours are usually the most important."


He looked at Chih Nu, who was cooing under the affection.


"You seem to have gotten the handle on that part, anyway."


"The Hokkein Ranger Station can teach you what you need to know to be able to teach Pokemon those skills yourself. But in order to authorize to do so, you'll have to earn the Merit from the Warden. But before then, I can show you what to look for if you're, say, tracking a Pokemon while you're in the wild. You'll at least know what to look for, anyway."


The Ranger released the Ariados into the field out back, where it was still asleep. The Ranger applied a potion to its wounds, and then applied an Awakening to get it to rouse. He'd set out some food for it. Chih Nu smelled the Ariados, and scurried to the porch to look on at it.


"Spin! Narak! Spin! Spin!" she called out.


"Dos! Ar-ia, dos!" it replied. It hissed at the Ranger, who was inspecting the Pokemon. He backed off, allowing the Ariados to chat with the Spinarak.


"Release, indeed. Come here, I want you to see something."
 
Nuan nods and stands up, patting the dust of her skirt as she does so. Zhu mimics her motion, almost making Nuan giggle before she got a hold of herself. Jum stays sitting, still happily munching away on his food. Zhu and Nuan both go to follow the Ranger.
 
"Right here, on the Ariados. Someone whipped this Pokemon at one point."


Sure enough, the Ariados had scars on its thorax. It paused munching on the food the Ranger had put out, as if waiting for them.


"See that? She stopped eating when we got close. Someone beat this Pokemon, and fiercely controlled its feeding habits."


The Ranger put a foot between the Ariados and its food, and the Pokemon took several steps back.


"If this had been a wild Pokemon, she would have bitten me for doing that. Someone beat and released this Pokemon."


He shook his head.


"If you would do me a favor, and tell Warden Cho about this when you get to Hokkein. She'll want to know about this. Hopefully, we'll find out who did this and have them arrested."
 
"That's terrible! Of course I'll help." Nuan's shock causes her to completely drop her stoic facade.


"I'll tell her as soon as I get to Hokkein." Nuan flips open her journal and jots down a quick note to make sure she wouldn't forget any of the details.


Nuan looks at the Ariados sadly. "I hope you can help her get over such mistreatment. I just don't understand, who would do something like that?
 
"Someone that breeds Spinarak, which makes so sense since they're not particularly rare, didn't have much use for her anymore. But your Spinarak says that's not the case. Look at Chih Nu's back. And look at the Ariado's back. See the similarities of the markings? And here, how her thorax sleeks inward like that, your Spinarak has the same contour. This is Chi Nu's mother. At the very least a close relative, maybe a sister or an aunt. My guess would be the Coal Organization."


He nodded.


"Yeah, that makes sense. Beginner trainers move through this route. Raise an aggressive, territorial Ariados and release her into the wild, and the Spinarak start overwhelming the area. With this and other powerful Pokemon, all the Pokemon that live in this area will either have to get stronger or get pushed out, making this whole area a lot more dangerous."
 
Nuan shakes her head. "I didn't those people were so horrible. I mean, I've heard about them before, but..." Nuan trails off, unable to articulate her feelings on the subject. She led a very sheltered life before she ran away, and its really starting to hit her how much she doesn't know.


Nuan yawns and then blushes at her rudeness. "Sorry, I'm getting really tired. Maybe you can teach me those basics tomorrow morning, and I'll head off to Hokkein after that?"
 
(You've encoutnered 2 Pokemon, conducted 1 event, and partook in 1 track, so you'll need 1 more before moving onto Hokkein.


Also, 5 XP, distribute among your Pokemon as you please.)


"Of course, I've got an extra bed in the spare room. You're welcome to stay in there. We get wild Pokemon through here all the time. Please don't try to capture them, or they'll stop coming. There's a five hundred meter 'do not catch' radius around this outpost. But your Pokemon are welcome to roam and play with the wild Pokemon as they please."
 
"Don't worry, I won't try to catch any of them. Thank you for the bed."


Nuan turns to her pokemon and whispers to them. "I'll leave the door open for whenever you're done. Have fun."


Zhu waddles along with Nuan to the room. Jum keeps eating, oblivious to what is happening around him. Chih is lying down on the floor near the Ariados, conversing with it in their own strange language.


-----


Nuan wakes up at exactly 6:00 AM, her biological clock set by the years that Nuan's schedule had been strictly regulated. She shuffles out into the main room to wait for the ranger, eager to learn all she could.


(I'd like to do a ranger competition, if possible. If not, Nuan is going to head out and probably do a trainer battle.)
 
"All right, let me show you some thing that you should keep in mind. You can learn a _lot_ by tracking Pokemon. This isn't really stuff that you can teach your Pokemon, at least right now. Some of the Ranger Wardens can help you with that. But the biggest thing you've got to do is pay attention. Stop, look around, and listen. Smell. There's a lot more Pokemon here than you can see."


(I'll let you have some fun with this.)
 
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