Pokémon: Leah's Journey {Rewrite}

Chapter 5: Furfrous and Poachers

Leah and her friends would've walked through the Route 5 gate without much hesitation, but something or rather someone was holding them back. Officer Jenny had managed to catch up to them and Leah was now talking to her. Her friends quickly realized that something was dire when Officer Jenny temporarily added herself to their group. "We've caught someone capturing Milotics and selling their beautiful fins." Officer Jenny had explained to Mildred and Zayn.

They finally crossed that gate and found themselve surrounded by lush green hills. This was Versant Road. They could see a few roller skaters testing their skills, but that was not what interested the group. They had a poacher to catch. Mrs. Cuddletails and Manectric were leading the group, scenting trails if any could be found. That's when Leah saw a tuft of black fur from the corner of her eye and decided to investigate. She didn't need to since the tuft of fur revealed itself. It was a Furfrou and it leapt out of the bushes the moment Mrs. Cuddletails got close enough. It rammed into the Vulpix without an ounce of hesitation and Leah wasn't going to let that Furfrou get its way, "You want to play this game, little Primadonna? You'll see that I can play tenfold, Mrs. Cuddletails use Fire Spin!"

Normally Leah's companions would stop her, but the Pokeball she held in her hand gave them enough indication of what she had in mind. Mrs. Cuddletails howled as a vicious fiery vortex was summoned, thus trapping Furfrou in the flames. It tried to escape, but every way it went was met with flames. It barked frantically, panic taking over its mind. This was risky, but with it trapped like that, Leah could throw her Pokeball and catch it. She didn't waste that chance, she threw the Pokeball, watching it fly in-between the flames and hit Furfrou's body. The ball vibrated once... twice... and then it clicked. Furfrou was caught. Leah picked up the Pokeball and sent out Furfrou, "Welcome to the team Primadonna."

The Poodle Pokemon barked in greeting. Officer Jenny held the bag of evidence near its face and simply watched as Primadonna sniffed the bag and bolted in a new direction. They followed the Furfrou for a good while, Mildred was getting annoyed, but Leah, Zayn and Officer Jenny were determined. The sun was setting and they still hadn't found anything, so they decided to set up camp for the night. They'll get back to tracking this man in the morning, but for now, they'll need to rest. The camp was set up near a pond, they were getting somewhere at least. Leah was roasting a sausage near the embers of the fire, "So Professor Sycamore asked me to raise a genetically modified Growlithe."

Mildred made an outraged noise, "What?"

"That's so wrong," Zayn chimed in.

"I accepted it, I told him that I'll raise that Growlithe for its sake."

"I have heard about it from my sister-in-law in Ambrette Town, she reported that the Pokemon was rather timid, but that might just be due to the new environment." Officer Jenny stated, "I am glad to hear that you're willing to raise it, you might give it the care it deserves."

"Might? I will give it the care it deserves." Leah said, determination laced her voice.

"Good." Zayn said.

Once everyone finished their meals, they turned in for the night, only emerging out of their tents when the first few rays of sunlight started to emerge in the horizon. They ate their breakfast and returned to following the trail. Primadonna sniffed the ground and the air, she was rather focused on her task. That's when they found tire tracks leading to a suspiciously placed garage. Garages can be found anywhere, but they're never really placed in a closed off area where very few can find it. That garage can't even be called a garage, it looked more like a warehouse. A man walked out of the truck, carrying fishing nets filled to the brim with Milotics.

They couldn't just stand there and watch, but they also couldn't risk getting caught. These people are dangerous. Even Leah, who can be ruthless in Pokemon battles, seems to be hesitating. Officer Jenny turned to Leah, "What do you think we do?"

"Me? Officer, I haven't graduated college yet, I barely have experience!" Leah panicked.

"I know, that's why I'm asking."

"Well if we want to catch that guy, we have to limit his escape routes."

Officer Jenny nodded, "And how will we do that?"

Leah shrugged, "Normally I'd ask Mrs. Cuddletails to use Fire Spin, but that's risky for both us and the Pokemon in that warehouse."

"Exactly, so what should we do?"

"We block all possible exits, our Pokemon can back us up."

"That's good, alright, Leah and Zayn you two go guard the exits behind the warehouse. Mildred, you guard this exit here, Manectric will guard the exit near the river and I'll guard the exit parallel to Manectric."

The group made haste to their designated spots and waited for the poacher to be done unloading his truck. When he was done, he looked around and saw Officer Jenny. Panic surged through him as he tried to escape behind the warehouse, he was face to face with Zayn and Leah. Zayn had kept Níðhöggr in its Pokeball so he had summon it, the Venipede looked at Mrs. Cuddletails and based on the vicious glare in the Vulpix's face, it knew the situation called for viciousness. The poacher sent out two Pokemon, a Weavile and a Shiftry. Leah had the advantage and so did Zayn, this would be an easy battle if it weren't for the fact that their opponents were fully evolved, but poachers don't play fair. The man laughed, "You're going to fight me with these little weaklings? That's hilarious! What are you gonna do? Tackle us to death? HA!"

"I'll make sure you eat those words! Mrs. Cuddletails use Flame Charge!" Leah growled.

This man was in so much shit he didn't even know. Mrs. Cuddletails's body was engulfed in flames and ran towards Shiftry. Shiftry attempted to use its leaf hands to slap the Vulpix away like it was a bothersome fly, but Mrs. Cuddletails simply jumped on it and then leapt on the trunk of a nearby tree to propel herself towards Weavile. The Vulpix was comparable to a fireball, she would not be deterred from damaging her target even if that means setting a few things on fire. Mrs. Cuddletails came charging towards Weavile. The Vulpix's body rammed into the Weavile.

The problem with having Mrs. Cuddletails in close proximity to Weavile is the fact that she's now trapped within the claws of the ice type. Níðhöggr was rather preoccupied with Shiftry. Leah gave Zayn a gentle smack with her elbow which gave him enough indication of the situation, "Níðhöggr use Poison Tail on Weavile!"

The Venipede's tails glowed a poisonous purple hue and smacked the Weavile with them, allowing Mrs. Cuddletails to escape. The man was panicking by now and had commanded his Weavile to use Foul Play and Shiftry to use Leaf Blade. Leah was not stupid and opted to go on the defensive. Mrs. Cuddletails summoned a blazing inferno of flaming vortex around herself and Níðhöggr. A barrier of flames that Weavile and Shiftry will have to run into to even get a chance at harming them. Shiftry's razor sharp leaf hands quickly withdrew away from the flames in pain while Weavile ran straight into the blazing barrier.

This was enough of a distraction for Officer Jenny to get close enough to the man. With Leah calling out her finale, Ember, and Zayn following suit with Venoshock. The two moves combined to make a blazing glob of poisonous liquid. Weavile and Shiftry lay defeated, Leah scoffed, "Still think of us as weaklings, asshole?"

"Tch, I was going easy on you." The poacher grumbled.

Leah crossed her arms, "Sure you were and now you're under arrest."

Officer Jenny cuffed the man and thanked the trio for their help. The man was brought to the Lumiose City Police Station and placed behind bars. He shouldn't bother them for a while now. Zayn and Leah helped free the Milotics while Mildred nursed them back to health which allowed them to return to their homes faster. With that debacle aside, Leah and her friends can continue their journey as peacefully as possible.