Trial by Lightning by: Pent Ghelsburg
Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. I use them with permission and respect is given to their owners. Any resemblance to real life persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Furthermore, there is cross-species content presented within this story. You have been warned.
“I am building a fire, and every day I train, I add more fuel.
At just the right moment, I will light and ignite greatness.”
-Mia Hamm
You gotta be the very best...or so the old cache phrase said. It had been told millions of times. It was on every poster and on every radio station, Every time it was heard, people often moaned except those who were new to the scene. Such was the way of things in Hoenn since Pokemon very much dominated society and all things considered pop culture. Only the youthful ones found it pleasing and those that still had aspirations of becoming masters, breeders, or some other grand career path that not many saw come to fruition.
Bloody Rabbit, or BR as he was known fondly by his friends, was a teen fresh out of secondary school. At 19 years of age, he had his whole future to look forward to. Once he graduated, his focus had shifted from school to landing a full-time job with the local stock firm in Mauville city. Greater Mauville Holding, as it was known, was infamous throughout the region for its cutthroat tactics of buying out smaller companies in order to stay at the top. BR just wanted a chance to get in and show what he was made of.
He had landed his first interview which was nothing special. The bunny-wolf was able to ace that part of it, especially since it was just preliminary biographical stuff. BR was surprised his somewhat demonic form didn't give off an ominous impression. The bunny-wolfs gray and white fur contrasted well with any conservative business get up, which worked to his benefit. Though he normally had to try his best to hide his wings, even if his tail was the most prominent thing about him. Once the fur had left the business, he was told to expect a call in a few days time.
It had been a week or so since the actual interview itself. BR was pretty nervous about the ordeal, especially since it had been so long. Each and every day that passed was nerve-racking and did little to help his confidence. Fortunately, he wasn't alone in life and although he had moved out from his parents, BR had a travel partner who went with him everywhere he went. Like everyone else in the region, he too had a Pokemon, even know he never had any true aspiration of ever becoming a breeder, master, or something else related to the beasts.
Very early on his life, the bunny-wolf was able to befriend a Pikachu. Unlike many other Pokemon, the thing never truly called a Pokeball his master. Instead, the mouse followed his master around. So long as BR was able to supply the rodent with cookies and warm sweets. When they were 16, they had even gone to the tattoo parlor and gotten piercings together. The worker was especially surprised when BR asked the woman to puncture the Pikachu's ears. Each of them got a double loop on their right ear, which made it a lot easier to distinguish their comradery.
On the 8th day after the interview, BR finally received an email from human resources. The details of the email were rather lengthy and it took the teen some time to actually digest and absorb what was being asked of him. After reading it twice over, the boy figured he knew what he had to do. It was rather strange that his task was to deal with a Team Skull grunt who had supposedly been working on the inside.
Mauville holding wasn't about to go public about ousting the mole from his position, so the big boss passed on the message to let prospective employees get rid of them instead. It was a rather effective technique that worked well over the years and kept MHC out of the press. The most interesting part of the email is that apparently all the leg work had already been done for BR. The mole had been instructed to meet an informant for a perspective sale on the corner of Darrow and Bunnel road. The bunny-wolf knew exactly where that was...and his task? To get the mole to confess and record it so that they could be fired.
The planned meeting was in 24 hours and BR knew exactly how he would get the person to speak up. His plan...was to use his Pikachu and either battle him or allow the Pokemon to subdue the never-do-well into submission. The goal was the same...to use what battle skills he had learned over the year to his advantage.
“Hey, Puuchu?” The bunny-wolf wanted to make sure his friend was alright with it.
“Yes, master?” The rodent's cheeks lit up as he spoke.
“You up for a battle tomorrow?” BR asked hoping this would be the case
“Of course, Master. I am always ready for battle.” Puuchu was a wee bit arrogant when it came to competition, even know he didn't practice much.
“Good...we're gonna beat the snot out of a Team skull goon. You game?” BR asked feeling rather excited about the prospect of battle as it had been some time since he last engaged.
“Oh, yes. Master!” The Pikachu lifted his paw and held out an orb of electricity as a show of confidence.
“Great, my life counts on it. Don't let me down! You can even have cookies if you win!” The teen figured this would be all the incentive he needed to do well.
“Cookies...yes...I want...COOKIES!” A bolt of lightning struck from the sky as the Pikachu absorbed it.
“Good boy...” BR figured they didn't need practice as he was much too good for that.
The wait was tantalizing as the next 24 hours rolled around slowly. The afternoon passed into the night which ultimately the sun rose up once again. As his alarm rung loudly, BR popped out of bed feeling as if he'd missed something. Looking at the clock, it didn't seem that he was late. He still had about an hour and a half to make both himself and Puuchu some breakfast. Still, he wanted to rush and make sure he was early.
“Come on, Puuch. Get up.” The bunny-wolf roused his friend who slept at the end of his bed.
“Yes, mast...” The Pikachu plopped out of the bed and onto the floor with a loud thump.
It took every ounce of BR's self-control not to laugh as he put his paw over his mouth.
“Let's go get breakfast.” The teen didn't bother showering and got dressed for his day in a semi-formal white shirt and dress pants.
BR went downstairs and Puuchu followed closely behind as the fur made some nourishment for the two of them. The bunny-wolf went with his usual half sausage half fruit regiment while the Pikachu got some fresh berries. Puuchu was especially fond of Oran berries and always melted at the site of them when they were presented in the form of cookies. Once they were done with the meal, the teen packed a small bag of things and collected some paperwork to put inside a briefcase. After all, he wanted to appear as official as possible.
After eating and collecting their things, they were ready to go. They head out the door and were greeted by the obnoxious stare of the sun glaring upon them. BR shielded his eyes and made his way out the door, with Puuchu close behind him. Unfortunately, the bunny-wolf didn't have a car yet as he couldn't afford it so he decided to hire a Poke-lyft. There were plenty of them around when he checked his phone and he instantly booked one with a click of his finger.
Before long a man came up riding a tremendous stallion of a Rapidash.
“Get on, kid. Don't got time to dilly-dally today.” The jockey didn't seem to be wasting any time today.
The teen and his pokemon boarded the back which was a makeshift carriage, with very little space to offer them. The chair nothing but wood and splinters as the bunny-wolf tried to get comfy. His pokemon ending up sitting on his lap. It made him a bit uncomfortable but he had to grin and bear it since there was no other option. Fortunately for both of them, the ride wasn't terribly long even if it was made even worse by the fact the cobblestone streets resulted in an otherwise bumpy ride.
After about 15 minutes of suffering the buggy stopped.
“We're here...off ya go.” The driver opened the door from his seat on top of the casket.
BR picked up Puuchu and descended from the vehicle. The streets were buzzing with noise as the teen looked around for the signs of his meeting place. Off in the distance, he made out the park with a large oak tree in the center.
“That looks like it...Let's go Puuch.” The teen put his pet on the floor before going towards the meeting spot.
They arrived in the park and sure enough, a woman appeared in a dark black suit with the letter “S” emblazoned on the lapel.
“That must be her...let's be careful!' The bunny-wolf crept into action and got ready for battle.
“You the person I supposed to meet here? Do you have the files as was requested?” The woman asked in a hushed whisper as the teen came close.
“Yes, do you have the flash drive with the information?” Once he had this, he could subdue her and take her into the authorities.
“File first and I'll give you the drive...” She withdrew her handed and waited for him to do the exchange with her.
“Alright...hands up. You're gonna go down to with me to the authorities and we're going to turn you in for embezzlement...” BR said exactly as he was told in the email.
“I'll do no such thing...You'll have to take me in by force.” The woman tore away and plucked a Pokeball from her side before throwing it.
“You're on! Go Puuchu!” The little Pikachu sprung out onto the court as a fiery Blaziken popped out of the other
“Blaze Kick!” The woman shouted out to her avian pal as it whirled around in a cyclone towards the Pikachu.
The rodent was able to avoid it as he rolled out to the side of the makeshift arena.
“Iron Tail!” The rats tail struck backward and landed square on the birds behind.
It took a moment before the Blazekin was able to recover from the blow. But eventually, it picked itself up.
“Hone Claws...” The bird struck out its lanky legs as it rocketed towards the Pikachu without delay.
“Thunder, quick!” A bolt of lightning jetted out of the sky as it fell directly onto the rodent below it.
The Blazekin, sure enough, was motionless and its trainer stood stupefied as it ran over to tend to its wounds.
“Fine...fine you win...I give.” The woman knew she was bested and that she needed to fold or her Pokemon would be further injured.
Puuchu stretched out from beneath the fainted bird as he joined the bunny-rabbit for a small celebration. The two took in the woman for questioning and she was arrested. The act finally landed the teen a job at the firm. BR was pretty happy about it too and their deed was equally cheered on at the company picnic after they had been formally hired. They even allowed the Puuchu onto company grounds, which was normally forbidden. But the question remained. Were there any more moles inside of the company? Only time would tell.
