Lost and Found

by Lance Skyes

Chapter 3: Lavender Town

(Listen to this music for authenticity.)

Dinky wasn't sure what was going on. One moment she was in a forest clearing with a Zoroark inches from pouncing on her, and the next, she found herself in a strange town. What was strange about it was that not one of the inhabitants of the town was a pony, but rather a creature similar to N (or at least what N was when Dinky first met him.), as well as the fact that everything Dinky saw was in sepia for some reason.

“What's going on?” Dinky asked, her voice echoing for some reason. She looked behind her to find that there was some boy about N's age walking by. “Excuse me, mister, where am I?”

The boy didn't answer, but rather walked right by Dinky. “Odd,” Dinky said to herself. “It's like I'm not even here.”

“You are trapped in an illusion,” an odd but familiar voice said to Dinky.

“N?” Dinky asked.

“Follow the boy who just walked by if you seek the answers to your questions,” N's voice said.

“But wait,” Dinky shouted. “Where even is this place?”

“Welcome to Lavender Town,” a female voice said. Dinky turned around to find that the boy N indicated was talking to another human, this one a girl. It was here that Dinky noticed what the boy looked like. Despite her vision being in sepia, Dinky could tell that the boy wore a red and white baseball cap, an open red jacket, blue jeans, and black shoes. Around his belt were six tiny orbs, the top half of which were red, the bottom half white, and the center stripe dividing the two hemispheres black.

“Hi, my name's Red,” the boy said to the girl. “I heard there were some Pokemon around here that don't hang around anywhere else, so I wanted to check it out.”

“You heard right,” the girl replied. “They're all in that tower over there. The one that overlooks the whole city.” The two turned towards a huge tower that looked almost as tall as a full-grown dragon to Dinky.

“Alright,” Red said.

“But hey,” the girl said, “before you go up there, there's something I need to ask you. Do you believe in ghosts?”

“Well, no,” Red replied.

“Oh, ok,” the girl said. “Then I guess that white hand on your shoulder isn't real.”

With a startled expression on his face, Red looked on his shoulder to find... nothing. “Heh heh,” he chuckled nervously. “I don't see any-” He turned around to find that the girl had somehow disappeared. Even Dinky didn't manage to see where she went.

“Weird,” Red said. He then turned to the tower that loomed over him. “If I'm gonna complete the Pokedex for Professor Oak, I've gotta scale that tower.” Red then began running into the tower.

“Ghosts, huh?” Dinky asked herself. “Maybe that tower's where the clues to saving Clefairy will be.” Dinky looked down for a moment before saying, “I promise to save you if there really is a way.” She then galloped into the tower after Red.

(Next, this song.)

Saying there were all manner of ghosts inside the tower would probably have been a lie. For the most part, all that were in there were just Ghastly and Haunter with the occasional Gengar. “Woah,” Red said as he looked around at the Ghost-types, most of which disappeared when they caught Red's gaze. “Who knew Ghost-types were so numerous. I suppose that's what I get for exploring the place where Pokemon are laid to rest.”

Red got attacked by several of the Pokemon on his way up the tower, but for the most part, he fought them off with a Charmeleon.

“This guy's really good at Pokemon battles,” Dinky said to herself as she followed Red up the last set of stairs. “He must be best friends with his Pokemon.”

Once Red had climbed the stairs, he found himself at the beginning of a hall. There wasn't a single Pokemon in this hall, but at the end stood two graves, on either side of which were two statues. “Odd for the top floor of a cemetery to only have two graves,” Red commented as he walked forward. “Maybe these are for the original curator and his Pokemon?”

“Or maybe for something totally different,” Dinky thought out loud as she followed Red towards the graves.

Once Red got to the grave on the right, he knelt down and read the inscription. “'Here lies...'” Red read. “Huh? The last part's scratched out. Who'd have the audacity to mess with a grave like this? Team Rocket?”

”You're here... I'm lonely.”

Both Red and Dinky were startled by the voice. Both of them because they hadn't expected it, but mostly Dinky because she knew she had heard the voice before. That exact line, in fact.

“It's him...” Dinky said as she took another step back.

”So very lonely... Won't you join me?”

“What the heck is going on?” Red asked. Right as he asked this, though, a scenario all too familiar to Dinky played out. A loud crack was heard in front of the grave as a pale white hand broke through the ground. However, unlike how Dinky remembered, the hand had a Pokeball in it.

“Oh, I see how it is,” Red said as he grabbed one of his own Pokeballs and held it forward. “Whatever you are, if it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get. Go, Haunter!” He then threw his Pokeball forward, the device exploding in midair and letting out a stream of light energy which quickly congregated a little forward of where the ball opened and faded to reveal one of the Haunter Red caught on his way up the tower.

“Haunter!” the Pokemon shouted as it raised its hands at its foe and gave it an intimidating glare.

“This might be our first battle together, Haunter,” Red said, “but I believe in you.”

“Haun,” Haunter replied with a nod.

Without a word, the hand threw its Pokeball and sent out a Gengar, the evolved form of Haunter.

“Another Ghost-type, huh?” Red asked. “This should be a fun battle. Haunter, use Shadow Punch!”

“Haunter!” the Pokemon shouted as it flew forwards at Gengar while winding its hand back for a punch.

“Gengar...” the Gengar chuckled as it faded into the ground before Haunter could make contact with it.

“Can you follow it into the ground?” Red asked Haunter.

“Haun,” the Pokemon replied with a nod before fading into the ground after Gengar.

After a few seconds, Haunter was suddenly launched out of the ground and into the air before it fell to the ground at Red's feet.

“Oh no, Haunter!” Red shouted as he looked down at his fainted Pokemon. He pulled out one of his Pokeballs and aimed it at Haunter. “Haunter, return.” The ball fired a beam of red light that enveloped Haunter and returned him to his Pokeball as energy. “I'm sorry your first battle didn't go well. I promise to make it up to you somehow.” Red then looked up as the Gengar returned to his view, wearing its signature evil grin. Red placed Haunter's Pokeball back in his belt before grabbing another Pokeball. “So we're gonna play like that, are we? Well two can play the hacks game. Go, Eevee!” Red threw the Pokeball into the air before it exploded to reveal a tiny brown fox-like creature with white fur around its neck, large brown ears, and massive brown eyes.

“Eevee!” the Pokemon chirped.

“Ghost-type moves can't affect a Normal-type from what Bill told me,” Red thought out loud. “Still, this isn't any ordinary Gengar, nor any ordinary battle. I have to be careful.” Red took a deep breath before giving his first command to Eevee. “Eevee, use Bite!”

“Vee!” Eevee shouted before rushing towards the Gengar while baring its fangs. (Which looked incredibly adorable if you can picture it in your mind.)

“Gengar!” the Gengar shouted as it tried to counter-attack the Eevee with Shadow Punch. However, the attack passed right through the Evolution Pokemon, and Gengar took a powerful Bite right to its face.

“Alright, Eevee!” Red cheered as Eevee returned to its position in front of Red. “One more Bite should be enough to finish it off, so go for it!”

“Eevee!”

Gengar, on the other hand, wasn't about to lose so easily. “Gengar!” it shouted as it opened its mouth and hurled a powerful Sludge Bomb at Eevee.

“Eevee, look out!” Red shouted.

“Vee!” Eevee cried as it just barely dodged Gengar's attack. The smaller Pokemon then got back up and charged forward at the Gengar once again.

“Gen, Gengar!” the Gengar shouted as it continued hurling Sludge Bomb after Sludge Bomb at Eevee. However, the Evolution Pokemon was too small and nimble and was able to dodge every attack before leaping up and Biting down hard on the Gengar's shoulder, this time latching onto it. The Shadow Pokemon began flailing around, desperately trying to get the Eevee off of it, but to no avail.

“Don't let go, Eevee!” Red shouted.

“Vhh,” Eevee tried to reply as it continued to hold onto the Gengar.

After what was probably another minute of flailing, Gengar was finally so weak that it just stopped in its tracks and dropped to the floor, defeated.

“Alright, Eevee!” Red cheered as the Evolution Pokemon let go of the Gengar and ran back into a hug from its trainer.

“Vee!” Eevee cheered.

Meanwhile, the hand that had thrown Gengar's Pokeball recalled its Pokemon before a second hand rose out of the ground next to it. The two arms worked together to pull up what looked like a decayed upper half of a human.

“Sweet Arceus!” Red shouted. “What the heck is that thing, anyway?”

”Why won't you join me?” the creature asked as it reached out towards Red. ”I'm so lonely...” The creature then pulled out another Pokeball and threw it, sending out what looked like a massive pile of purple sludge.

“Muuuuuk!” the Pokemon moaned.

“A Muk, huh?” Red asked. He then looked down to his Eevee. “You think you can go for one more round?”

“Eevee,” the Pokemon replied before leaping out of Red's arms and taking a battle-ready position against the Muk.

“Alright,” Red said. ”Something about this battle isn't right,” the trainer suddenly found himself thinking. ”If that creature was Gengar's trainer, how come it didn't give any commands? 'Careful' might be the key word here. I have no idea just how different from a normal battle this is.” Red then adjusted his cap before shouting “Eevee, use Take Down!”

“Eevee!” the Pokemon shouted before running towards Muk with incredible speed.

“Muk!” the Sludge Pokemon shouted as it raised its arm and used it to powerfully swat Eevee away before its attack could make contact.

“Veeeeee!” Eevee shouted as it flew halfway across the hallway right into Red's arms.

“Eevee!” Red said as he looked down at his fainted Pokemon. “It only took one hit for that Muk to KO Eevee...” Red then pulled out Eevee's Pokeball and recalled the Evolution Pokemon. ”I wonder if I should have used that stone Misty gave me...” Red thought to himself as he put Eevee's Pokeball away and pulled out another one. “Alright then. Let's change it up. Go Slowbro!” Red then threw his Pokeball forward, sending out a pink cross between a cat, a monkey, and a dinosaur, with another creature biting down on its tail.

“Slowbro!” the Pokemon shouted as it readied itself for battle.

“Let's not waste any time, Slowbro,” Red said. “Use Psychic!”

“Slow!” the Hermit Crab Pokemon shouted before its eyes began to glow blue and a huge blast of pure psychic energy was hurled at the Muk.

“Muuuuuk!” the Sludge Pokemon shouted as it recoiled away from the Slowbro's attack.

“We've got him,” Red said. “Alright Slowbro, hit him with Zen Headbutt!”

“Slow...” the Pokemon said as it tucked its head in and it began glowing blue. “BRO!” He then rocketed himself forward, hitting the Muk dead-on with the attack.

“Let's finish him,” Red said. “Water Pulse!”

“Slowbro!” Slowbro shouted as it opened its mouth wide and a powerful blast of water erupted out and struck the Muk.

“MUUUUUUK!” the Sludge Pokemon shouted as it fell. Well, it looked like it was trying to fall, but rather it was just unable to maintain its form and began sinking into a puddle. It was then that the creature that sent Muk out recalled it.

”Impossible...” the creature said. ”You have defeated all of my Pokemon... and yet you still won't join me...”

“I'm not gonna join you, whatever you are,” Red said.

”Yes you are...” the creature said. It then raised one of its hands and it suddenly detached and flew towards Slowbro, quickly growing in size before it was just about the Pokemon's size.

“Slowbro?” Slowbro asked in shock. Its question was never answered, however. Instead, the hand suddenly became a fist and flew forward, striking Slowbro and sending it flying.

“Slowbro!” Red shouted as he watched his Pokemon fly over his head and land hard on the ground on the other side of the hall. Red then pulled out Slowbro's Pokeball. “Slowbro, return!” Despite the distance, the beam fired from the Pokeball and hit Slowbro perfectly, recalling the fainted Pokemon back into its Pokeball. Red then pulled out another Pokeball and turned to the floating hand. “You're something entirely different, aren't you? Well two can play at that game. Go Machoke!”

Red threw his Pokeball, and out of it came what looked like a humanoid roughly Red's size, except it was entirely purple and bulging with muscles. “Machoke!” the Pokemon shouted as it flexed its muscles.

“Be careful, Machoke,” Red said. “I'm not sure what this thing is, but it's gonna take a lot of effort to beat it. I can tell.”

“Choke,” the Machoke replied with a nod.

“Then let's get started. Hit it with Karate Chop!”

“Machoke!” the Pokemon shouted before it reared its fist back and flew forward at the White Hand. Before the latter could do anything, Machoke brought its hand down in a swift chop that hit dead-on.

“Nice hit, Machoke!” Red cheered. However, this celebration was premature as, upon taking a second look, the White Hand seemed to take almost no damage.

“Choke...” Machoke said as it took a step backwards. Taking advantage of its foe's unsureness, the White Hand quickly reared up and slapped Machoke into the wall to their left, leaving a huge indent with several cracks right where the Pokemon impacted.

“Oh no!” Red shouted. “Machoke, return!” Red pulled out Machoke's Pokeball and recalled it. “If that's how you're gonna play, let's change things up a bit...” Red then pulled out another Pokeball. “Go Parasect!” Red then threw the Pokeball, sending out what looked kind of like some kind of insect crab with a massive mushroom as its shell.

“Parasect!” the Pokemon shouted.

“No time for banter,” Red said to his Pokemon. “Use Stun Spore!”

“Para!” Parasect shouted before it began shaking the mushroom on its back, unleashing an odd-looking powder that fell upon White Hand. Suddenly, it began twitching and what looked like bolts of electricity began flowing all across it.

“We've got it!” Red shouted. “Now Parasect, hit it with X-Scissor!”

“Para...” Parasect said as it reared its pincers back. “SECT!” Parasect then launched its pincers forward and struck the White Hand, launching it into the wall.

“Alright!” Red cheered. “Now, get in close and use Giga Drain!”

“Sect,” Parasect replied. It then moved forward and was about to attack the White Hand, but it was right then that the latter recovered from its paralysis and gave the Parasect a powerful punch that knocked it backwards into the other wall.

“Parasect, no!” Red shouted. He then pulled out Parasect's Pokeball and recalled the fainted Mushroom Pokemon. He then turned around and glared at the White Hand.”I've still got one Pokemon left, and I know he can defeat you.” Red then pulled out his last Pokeball. One that held the Pokemon he held most dear. “I'm counting on you, Charmeleon!” Red shouted as he threw his Pokeball, sending out his precious Flame Pokemon.

“Charmeleon!” it shouted.

“It all comes down to you, Charmeleon,” Red said. “Use Flamethrower!”

“Char!” Charmeleon shouted before it opened its mouth and sent a powerful blast of flame forward, engulfing the White Hand in flames.

“Don't give it a chance to breathe!” Red shouted. “Follow up with Dragon Rage!”

“Charmeleon!” the Pokemon shouted before it opened its mouth again, except this time, rather than a steady blast of fire, he only launched a single ball of blueish flame, striking the White Hand perfectly and causing it to float backwards.

“Finish it off! Use Slash!”

“Charmeleon!” The Pokemon's claws began glowing white before it charged forward and brought its claws down powerfully upon the White Hand, causing it fall backwards and onto the ground before it disappeared completely.

“All right, Charmeleon!” Red cheered. “I knew you could do it!”

Charmeleon turned around to its trainer and smiled. “Char!” it cheered along with its trainer.

”I'm... not... finished!” the creature shouted before it launched its other hand forward, quickly forming into a creature similar to the one Charmeleon had just defeated.

“Don't back down, Charmeleon,” Red reassured. “I believe in you!”

“Charmeleon,” the Pokemon said with a nod. However, that little nod left the Pokemon distracted just long enough for the White Hand to give the Flame Pokemon a powerful punch, knocking it backwards.

“Charmeleon! Are you ok?” Red asked. In response to this, Charmeleon quickly got up and shook himself off.

“Char,” Charmeleon said with a nod.

“Good,” Red said. “Now, hit that thing with Inferno!”

“Charmeleon!” the Pokemon shouted as the flame on its tail and the flame in its mouth both quickly began to grow before almost its whole body was cloaked in fire. It then fired all the flame right at the White Hand. The attack hit dead-on and managed to set fire to the White Hand.

“Direct hit!” Red cheered. However, he wasn't cheering for long before the White Hand flew up and grabbed Charmeleon, proceeding to lift it into the air.

“Charmeleon!” the Pokemon shouted as it struggled to break free.

“Oh no!” Red shouted. “Charmeleon, get out of there with Dragon Rage!”

“Char-” the Pokemon started, however, it was interrupted when the White Hand suddenly threw Charmeleon down to the ground with full force, causing to go right through the ground and impact on the floor below.

“CHARMELEON, NO!” Red shouted as it ran over to the hole in the floor and looked down at his defeated Pokemon.

Red is out of usable Pokemon.

“This can't be...” Red said with a shaky voice. “How could this happen?” It was right then that the White Hand suddenly came up behind Red and grabbed him, lifting him into the air and pulling him towards the creature at the grave. “Hey! What's going on!?'

”Finally...” the creature said as it grabbed Red from its hand and began dragging him down into the grave. ”Fresh meat...”

“No! NO!” Red shouted as he tried to struggle against the creature's grip. But it was useless. He was already halfway into the grave and sinking fast with the creature. “CHARMELEON! ANYONE! HELP!!!!!”

And then Red's head went under, and he was gone.

Game over

Dinky slowly and carefully cantered over to the grave where Red disappeared with Buried Alive. “What... what just happened?” Dinky asked nopony in particular. It was then that she read the inscription on the grave.

Here lies Red

“But... I don't understand...” Dinky said. Suddenly, the world around her began to glow brightly before she seemed to black out once again.

Dinky quickly woke up with a shout, finding that she was back in the forest clearing, all the color around her looked normal, and, sitting in front of her, was N, no longer a Zoroark, but rather in his human form once again.

“Do you understand?” N asked before Dinky had a chance to ask any of her questions.

“N-no,” Dinky said. “I don't understand a thing. What are you? What just happened? How is this supposed to help me save Clefairy?”

“A Zoroark, and I showed you an illusion, to answer your first two questions,” N replied. “A lost memory, to be exact. A memory that the universe forgot and redid until it got the time line correct. Technically, it never happened. Nor did Buried Alive. But the universe wasn't able to remove him forever. After the temporal anomaly caused by Arceus moving all his Pokemon from the old world to this one, Buried Alive was able to escape into Equestria.”

“So then, that thing that happened to Red...” Dinky said. “Is that what happened to Clefairy?”

N was silent for a moment before saying, “I'm afraid so.” This caused Dinky to quickly tear up at the thought of her Clefairy getting grabbed by that thing, dragged into a grave, never to return...

“Is there a way to save her, though?” Dinky asked.

Once more, N was silent. Except this time, he was silent for longer than before. “Technically, there's no way to save Clefairy,” he finally said. “Unless... we do the same thing the universe once did to Buried Alive.”

“What does that mean?” Dinky asked.

“It's hard to explain,” N replied. “It would be easier to show you another illusion. Are you ready?”

Dinky took a deep breath before replying. “Just show me what I have to do to save her this time.”

“I will,” N said. He then turned back into a Zoroark and charged forward to trap Dinky in another illusion.

Author's Note:

Why did I use Red for that flashback? Blue would have chickened out if asked to go much past the 3rd floor, and the Lavender Tower is taken down before Gold and Silver show up in Kanto, so... yeah. HIs team? I dunno. I just threw a few Pokemon together.

Comments

[catfire13]

REEEEEEEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

[Lance Skyes]

5069405 Sorry.

[Lance Skyes]

6449619 I don't quite think so, actually. Mostly because I haven't seen any other Zoroarks in this universe be able to talk without an illusion.