SaiaiSaiko

The Lucario was silently walking through the manor. He didn’t know why the pup of his human partner wouldn’t come back home, but he knew the pup would need all of his friends. He also knew that the possibility of the pup returning was the reason neither the fox-like nor the empathic creature was gone already, returning to the wild as many of those the humans called Pokémon did.

He heard the question in the noise one of the elder’s partners made, an inquiry into his search and what chaos she would have to handle. Althea pinned him with stern eyes. She wasn’t rude, didn’t demand outright, but he knew he would regret not telling her. He rumbled back that he was searching for Eve and Knight and wanted them to have a look in the city at something he had felt earlier that night. He had felt muted flashes of it before, but this time it had been long enough to pin down what he felt.

She accompanied him, leading him to the very beings he had looked for and then she stayed, waiting to see what exactly it was he wanted them to look at. He didn’t mind and didn’t interrupt the training of the eevee with the espeon and sylveon simultaneously. Despite the power and changes the adaptation from eevee to their final stages gained, it wasn’t set in stone whether the eevee or the evolution would win. And sure enough, the eevee soon outwitted her training partners, directing their magical leaves against each other and hitting them both with a shower of stars from the point where she had jumped up to.

Knight, who was sitting to the side and looking on, jumped up and emitted a soothing pulse. Luke was sure the humans got the cause and effect of the pulse wrong. The pulse itself didn’t heal, it just let their own energies heal them, directed by the soothing and direction of the healing pulse. He welcomed it, his metallic bones aching with the patrol he had had with his human. He just wished the technique would work on humans. Sure, it helped them, the same way the purring of a cat did, but not nearly as well as it helped them.

After Eve, Fluff and Spike were taken care of, did they turn towards him. He rumbled his observation that had led to the fall that had led to his aching bones and his human worries. Althea looked at him, a reprimand in her golden eyes, before she cautioned the hopeful mons. Knight stepped closer, carefully hugging Luke and sighing before humming. It was a habit he had picked up from the pup Luke hoped they would find. His human, despite taking care of a new pup, was still deeply grieving the pup he had lost. Luke knew it wasn’t different for the oldest of his human’s pups, the charming grieving pup his human had brought home all these years ago, the pup who grew up and flew away, as flighty as the mons he befriended.

Luke huffed, following the kirlia and eevee to the gardens. Althea had wandered off, probably to either return to the elder or to care for one of the many duties the elder had. He was sufficient suprised as the voice of the elder called out instead, stopping them in their tracks.

„Would going through the garden bring you faster to the place you want to go to?“, the elder asked. He was patient, didn’t demand, didn’t judge and waited for their decision. Luke shook his head, answering for the other mons, who were uncomfortable at being caught. They had stayed years, years other mons wouldn’t have stayed, only to go now on a hope. And they both knew they would likely not come back, or wouldn’t be accepted back. The lucario would share this observation if he didn’t know that his human was far too willing to have them come back.

„Well, then come. I’m sure you would like to take a few things with you before wandering off. Would the front door suffice or do you need the cave?“ Eve yipped once, an answer that the front door would be what they would take. The elder nodded, packing a small backpack and a cloth pouch designed for their bodies and usage, with some cooked and dried berries and their pokeballs. He then helped Eve and Knight to put the bag and backpack on respectively before leading them to the front door.

„I hope you find what you look for and have a safe journey. And should you not find what you are looking for, this will always be your home“, the elder said as his goodbye, leaving the mons to their own version of a goodbye. Luke ruffled Eve’s fur on the head, yipping to take care, before clasping his paw with Knight's hand, doing the same. They promised, letting him promise to take care of the pup, who had taken on the habit of overworking himself from Luke’s human. Luke sighed and promised he would try, knowing the honesty of that promise was worth more to those two mons than if he actually succeeded.

A last nod at each other and the lost pup's mons slinked into the early morning dawn, the sun showing itself for once. The shadows cast were long and dark, but the morning light was a promise and a hope that the darkness would lift with time. Luke just hoped he was right and he had felt the lost pup, as different as the aura may have been from before.

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Jason sighed, after he had taken the first deep breath of the polluted air in the harbor that was his stop. He was finally here, in Gotham. He was finally home. Trick leant into him, a subtle effort to comfort and gain comfort at the same time. Jason pet the head of his first partner, his hand sinking into the white, wispy mane with the toxic green glowing remnants of the lazarus pits. Coal made an inquiring noise at this, head tilting with the question Jason could feel him having.

„Coal, Lullaby, this is where Trick and I come from“, Jason answered. The mandibuzz on his shoulder nibbled at his hair, but otherwise ignored his inner turmoil. Jason knew that this was not as interesting to the vulture as getting settled into a nest and getting pampered. He had really spoiled his girl rotten.

„Anyway, let's go. We have a lot to do“, Jason hummed and jumped overboard onto the dock. He knew Trick and Coal followed; they always did, while Lullaby grumbled as she fluttered up and circled around them until he wasn’t jumping anymore.

The night practically swallowed them as he made his way to Crime Alley, only fully relaxing and settling as he was surrounded by even more social filth than he had been before. Dealers and Junkies were doing their business, prostitutes were attracting their Johns, and burglars and thieves were either coming from their heist or just swarming out. He could easily identify the criminal filth hidden between the overtired workers, either coming or going to their underpaid jobs. There was an overall tenseness Jason wasn’t sure he liked all that much. He will deal with that as soon as he establishes himself. First, he needed to find his first safe house and settle before he started to go out and gather intel. He nodded at one of the streetkids he could see standing guard at the mouth of an alley and sighed as he got glared at. At least the kid had good instincts to not trust any friendly gesture. It hurt, especially as he didn’t feel like he should be one of the obviously untrustworthy people, but then again, he was walking with three obviously powerful Pokémon that clearly weren’t rich pets or workers. The only ones who had combat-trained Pokémon in Gotham were the Goons and the villains who employed the goons as well as the vigilantes. And neither were good news in Crime Alley.

Settling into the shitty-looking but comfortable apartment that would be his most-used safe house was overall easy. The landlord had given him a hard look as he saw the Pokémon he intended to bring in and decided he didn’t want to know. Smart decision and seen all too often.

„No move usage in the apartment or you pay for the renovations. And if I get complains from your neighbors because of them, you are out.“

„Agreed“, Jason answered. It was common to have that be a requirement when Pokémon lived with one. It was not that dissimilar to the usual rules regarding pets. And most Pokémon were not more than overpowered pets, though Coal would take offence to being called a pet. Something about being humanoid made them weary of being seen as pets. Not that it mattered with Jason, he would never think of any of the Pokémon that decided to stay with him as anything less than a friend. A freeloading friend who needed his opposable thumbs and legal human status, but still a friend.

It was a few nights later, he was wearing a simple dark gray league robe over his armor, similar to Trick masking his presence through one of his illusions as just another stray cat Pokémon living among the population in Gotham and having a rooftop stroll, that he noticed something more interesting than the filth he was going to take out. An Absol was running away from some fuckheads. Sure, Jason understood not wanting bad luck and disaster following one into one's life, but this kind of treatment for an innocent creature who wasn’t even the problem was unnecessary and cruel. He wondered, though, absols didn’t like Gotham for this exact reason. Anyway, he really shouldn’t intervene, but that had never stopped him before, and it wouldn’t know. He knew he would intervene the moment he saw that absol run and heard the crowd of angry people. If it were other Pokémon, then he wouldn’t intervene; he had no business upsetting the balance and disputes between the wild Pokémon in Gotham, who were only fighting over resources and territory, but humans hunting a Pokémon for something was different.

„I’ve got you“, he murmured softly to the squirming absol he had taken under his arm after grappling down from the roof and back up, setting the absol down on the roof and backing away. The doglike Pokémon shook itself out, revealing markings on the fur that were rather unusual. It then bared its elongated canines, showing that it had the ability to deliver a nasty bite, if not even crunch, before somewhat settling. Seeing that he wasn’t getting hurt and that Jason didn’t come closer seemed to help, though it was still agitated.

„You are sensing something, aren’t you?“, Jason questioned. It was always hit or miss if a wild Pokémon could understand you, they weren’t mindless animals -with as much magical and elemental power as any Pokémon had, it required a sense of intelligence to control and choose when to apply- but that didn’t mean they understood the human language or cared for human conventions. That was one of the reasons why Pokémon were seldom caught in the wild; it was preferred to get them from breeders, as those Pokémon already understood humans. Not that the concept of "breeder" wasn’t a total misconception of a notion regarding Pokémon. Jason got interrupted in his musings as the absol huffed and nodded. Only once, but that was enough to confirm that it did sense something and that it understood Jason.

„Something I can help with?“, Jason asked tentatively. The absol tilted it’s head, sniffing a little, before it nodded again, once and sharp and then it turned and ran. Jason really hoped that it would only require him and Trick to solve because if he had to bring Lullaby or Coal into the mix, it would make a mess of his plans. Yes, he had let them out of their Pokéballs for the arrival, but that was before he started to stake out the situation. And he had decided that the company and comfort of having his friends with him outweighed the risk of early discovery.

„A trafficking network?“, Jason mumbled after he had been led to the warehouse he was now observing. The absol paced restlessly beside him, but let him stake out the place in his own time. A soft whine of puppies made the absol growl. Trick was equally tense, letting the illusion he had kept for the whole patrol go. It didn’t matter much, the white mane and green glowing wisps were hidden by a cloak and hood, only the yellow eyes glowing ominously with his disdain and rage.

„Trick, stay with Absol, I will signal you to come. I know you can take Absol with you. I will take a closer look.“

It was simultaneously better and worse than his original thought. Better because it wasn’t helpless kids in the clutches of assholes, but worse because they were helpless houndour puppies. And this was clearly not a trafficking ring for the Pokémon themselves, but for organs and body parts of the puppy Pokémon and its evolution. And to make matters worse, they were cowed and constantly weakened by the handlers' poliwrath. They clearly knew what they were doing, using water -either from their Pokémon's attack or from a hose and the fucking sprinklers- to punish and weaken the fire types when they tried to protect the members of their pack. They were currently in the process of taking one of the puppies and relocating it to somewhere else. Jason didn’t need to see more, Trick had the advantage against the fighting-type Pokémon with the ghost type. And with his cloaked appearance and the option to transform with his illusions, he could cause a lot of chaos. And he wouldn’t be alone in the fray either. Jason was there as well, ready to fight alongside his Pokémon. Most people forgot that personally fighting was an option as soon as they had at least one Pokémon to do it for them.

Priority would be to get the sprinklers taken out. As well as the Poliwrath. He looked at the canine dark types nipping at each other on the roof where he had left them. He made a low humming sound, trusting his partner to hear him and know what he wanted. Sure enough, Trick was ready to follow his lead, waiting for his move. Palming his dagger, he made another low hum, differently pitched and illusionary darkness spread through the warehouse, leaving the humans and the Pokémon inside confused. Satisfaction curled along his lips as he slipped silently and unseen into the confusion and made short work of three of the handlers and their Pokémon, cutting throats until the humans got their bearings and started to organize again. Trick and him were already hidden between the supplies, crates Jason will look into as soon as the enemies are taken care of and he gets a chance.

The Poliwraths and their handlers were looking tensely into their surroundings, keeping a careful eye on the fire dogs as well. Jason could see some of the men ready to wander off, finding who had taken out the though frogs and the thugs alike. He switched his dagger for one of the silenced guns he carried with him and hummed lowly, signalling his partner that he could drop the illusion as soon as he was ready. Jason hadn’t gotten a good look at where the sprinklers were and if they were reinforced and he was at least at a disadvantage when fighting blind after the initial attack. It was a short moment later that the light flooded back, the illusion of darkness vanishing. Jason quickly took the surprise and blinding of the thugs to take out as many sprinklers as he could, helping his partner and himself with the next step of the plan, starting with the nearest to him and going further away from himself as he went. He nearly had all, only the thin sheen of water pouring and caging the fire dogs in was left and the chaos of his enemies silenced the soft sound his guns made and thus ensured he would stay hidden.

He hummed a comment –a carte blanche regarding the attacks and decisions, as Jason would be too preoccupied with fighting himself to give orders–, and counted the seconds, waiting for his partner to spring into action. And he felt a delighted cackle rise in his own throat as he saw the decision Trick made. The cloaked fox made a low, threatening huff and stalked out of its hiding place, eyes glowing as dark purple winds rose and lashed against everyone. They felt like a caress whenever they were meeting Jason, clearly not intent to harm him and Jason smiled. He was quick to join the fray, smiling as he saw the multicolored energy surges enveloping his partner.

It was a massacre from there. The enhancing aura the ghostly wind gave Trick wasn’t only making Trick stronger, but also faster. The amount of uncoordinated water streams and ice beams Jason had to dodge and maneuver around as the Poliwrath spewed them was annoying though. It created a thick layer of ice and a few icy obstacles Jason had to jump over. The thugs were grinning in victory, not knowing what problem they had created for themselves as Jason started shooting them, painting the ice a bloody red. The Poliwraths were struggling with their balance on the ice, tanking their accuracy and evasion, while Trick had no such problems. Zoroarks such as Trick first emerged from the bitter cold and settled into the form they now occupy after the climate had changed. But Trick had the ancestry of the Zoroarks from old, and had the advantage of instinctual navigation of icy cold spaces. Didn’t mean that some of the water and ice didn’t hit anyway. With so many enemies, it was to be expected. He wasn’t really worried about that, his partner was tough and didn’t make a sign of having noticed it.

Jason didn’t have much to do regarding the Pokémon. Cold and malice were radiating of his partner as he breathed a wide cone of air, slowing the Pokémon even more and weakening them. Dark violet ice spread where it climbed up the frozen bodies. Some of the thugs found their survival instinct and decided to make a run for it, but Jason couldn’t risk them getting away. He took them out easily, trusting his partner to finish the hunt.

He did have to duck out of the flying path of one Poliwrath which had launched itself at his partner, as well as dodging a few more ice and water moves, but that was something he had experience in. He listened to their pained cries of them and decided to help his partner out, shooting the three poliwraths his partner hadn’t sliced through with a swift move.

He hummed as, after a little while, nothing else happened, a command to guard the perimeter while he was going to deal with the frightened fire dogs. Trick made a dissatisfied sound and howled loudly. Jason narrowed his eyes, tense as his partner made a ruckus he didn’t want. Fighting as they had was a risk as it was, with Batman being most often seen with a lucario at his side. Jason had nothing against Luke, the partner of Batman and said lucario, but he was notoriously good at sensing aura. He just had to hope that the Pokémon wasn’t anywhere near or that his aura had changed enough to not be detected. Making loud noises and drawing more attention was not what Jason needed. He sighed, but accepted it, he trusted Trick after all.

And maybe it hadn’t been such a bad idea after all, he thought as he was dragged out of the path of a hot and cursed flamethrower and the resulting steam as the flames met the water curtain by the absol that had led them here. The absol was now stepping forth and making soothing sounds, calming the afraid dogs. The disaster Pokémon stayed as a reassuring presence with Jason as he examined the mechanics of the water curtain that kept the Pokémon more or less trapped. Smirking, he found the release and activated it, letting the Houndour and Houndoom out to carefully explore the warehouse. He wasn’t sure about releasing them as strays into Gotham. Sure, he could see that they were clearly used to Gotham; Gotham had had a stray problem with them for a while when he had been younger, but that didn’t mean others wouldn’t have the same idea of targeting them and getting their unique fire organs for the cursed and poisoned flame fuels.

He did buy a warehouse recently, intending to make it a shelter for the street kids and other kids in need, but he needed some time to get it renovated. Until then, the pack he just saved could live there. And if they wanted to stay, they would need to cooperate and cohabit with the children.

He crouched before the packleader of the pack and looked it in the eyes. „Do you understand me? One yip or nod for yes“, he asked carefully. The houndoom did lower its head a fraction. That was good enough for Jason to continue. „I have a den you and your pack can have. It will be protected against intruders, and someday children and other people with my mark will come and go. You will need to accept that if you decide to inhabit the den.“

The houndoom tilted its head, then it howled, summoning the roaming pack and waiting. Jason took it as the indication to show them the den and he made sure to have them see him as he led them there.

Once they reached the cleared warehouse Jason had indicated as a potential den, the pack started to roam again, exploring the surroundings and lying down after a while. The absol had followed, seeing the rescue and safety of the pack through before coming back to stay at Jason’s side.

He didn’t mind, the absol was a calm presence at his side. He did look at it more sharply as it followed him to his home and indicated a desire to be brought into it.

„You want to be my partner?“, Jason asked carefully. The absol made an agreeing noise and nosed at his side, where he had the three pokeballs of Trick, Coal and Lullaby. And a singular last Pokéball for the possibility of a new member. He really needed to go shopping for more supplies. Or find illegally traded Pokémon items. He pulled out the Heal Ball and held it to the absol, an offering. He never understood how some people threw their partners' balls around or even at their potential partners. He wouldn’t accept such treatment, why would his Pokémon do that?

The absol nosed at the ball until it activated, clicking instantly to signal the acceptance of the new inhabitant. Jason smiled and released all his partners, not minding them doing their own thing in the little apartment and preferring their company compared to the solitude he would otherwise endure.

He looked after Trick, who had gotten drenched and a little chilly, but nothing what a good night of rest wouldn’t solve and dried him. He then prepared a small snack for everyone, knowing they got peckish in the darkness of the night when kept awake before going to bed. He would have to think about a name he can offer his new friend.

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