Chapter 22

"Oliver, use Water Gun!" Amos yelled as one of the Team Plasma grunt's Sandile used Sucker Punch on his Oshawott.

Oliver gave a cry and shot a stream of water at the small crocodile. The Sandile squealed and fainted.

"Junior, Payback!" Sky Blue shouted next to him, and his Mr.Mime started punching a Purrloin.

The Purrloin screeched and it to collapsed to the ground.

"No! Their to strong! We have to go back!" a woman yelled to the other two women next to her.

One of the woman's Scraggy had just passed out from Hugh's Tepig.

The women grunts screamed and ran away, down the cement walkway.

Sky snickered and turned to Amos and Hugh. "You fight well, I will admit." he told them.

Hugh smiled, but Amos was listening.

"What's happening to Oliver and Tepig?" he gasped.

The two pokemon were glowing, and seemed to be growing. Hugh also gasped as the glowing stopped. 

Oliver and Tepig were taller, and looked completely different. Sky laughed.

"They've evolved! You guys now have a Dewott and a Pignite!" he said, watching the pokemon examining themselves.

"Evolved?" Amos said blankly. Sky nodded. "Yep. When most pokemon reach a certain level, the pokemon will grow up, or evolve. Some pokemon evolve three times, and most evolve once or twice. Some don't evolve at all." he explained.

Hugh knelt down to look at his Pignite more closely.

"Well, he looks a bit more tougher." he commented.

Sky's Mr.Mime, Junior, giggled as Pignite flexed his muscles. Amos watched Oliver playing with his two new scalchops.

Sky looked around.

"We should head back to the entrance. I'm pretty sure we took care of all those Plasma patrols." he said.

Amos nodded and returned Oliver to his pokeball. Hugh did the same, and they followed the older trainer.

"You and your Mr.Mime seem to get along really well." Amos said, trying to start a conversation.

Sky Blue smiled and Junior giggled again. "Yes, me and Junior have been together for thirteen years. He was raised with Chatter and my Joltik, Jo Jo." replied Sky.

"Where did you get him?" asked Hugh.

"I found him when he was a Mime Jr. He lived with Chatter and Jo Jo in one of those Hidden Grottos. I lived with them." Sky told them.

Amos then remembered that Sky was a orphan.

"So you were raised by pokemon?" said Amos.

He nodded and the Mr.Mime started mimicking his trainer. "Pretty much."

Hugh tilted his head and asked, "But, didn't you have a choice? Why did you choose to live in the wild?"

Sky stopped in front of a iron bridge. He looked uncomfortable.

"I had a choice." Sky Blue finally said quietly. "I could have stayed in my town and live in an orphanage, or I could runaway and live in the wilderness. I chose to runaway. My choice led to my sister's death."

They didn't talk the rest of the way. Amos thought he had walked over a invisible line. He felt pity for Sky Blue. It must be hard for Sky, thinking that it was his own fault that his sibling died.

Amos suddenly noticed that they were near the entrance. He saw the figures of Mira and Leia waiting for them.

"Where's White?" Sky asked Mira as they got closer.

Mira didn't answer right a way. The two girls were both messed up. Leia's shirt was torn, and Mira had mud on her clothes.

"Well, she kinda... left." Mira started shyly.

"What does that mean?" asked Hugh.

Leia looked at the ground. "Her Espeon went a bit-"

"Insane." Mira finished Leia's sentence, nodding.

Junior looked from Sky to Mira, apparently trying to catch their gaze.

"You mean she... she let Tiny go?" Sky asked hesitantly.

Leia and Mira nodded.

"We think so." Leia said. "Tiny attacked my Snivy, well, she's a Servine now. But the Espeon went out of control and started attacking Severusa. White put her in the pokeball and ran away crying."

"I followed her up a stairway that led to that Castelia garden above the sewers." continued Mira. "When I got up there, White was gone. All there was... was this."

And she held out a small handkerchief.

Sky took it and shattered pieces fell out of it. The remains of a pokeball fell into his hand and fell on to the cement ground. They all stared at it.

Amos couldn't believe it. He never thought White would release her pokemon, no matter what. Why would she release Tiny?

"I'm not surprised, honestly." Sky Blue finally said.

Hugh looked at him in surprise.

"You're not?" said Hugh.

Sky shook his head. "Not really. Tiny and White's relationship had been a bit rocky for ages. The only thing that kept White from letting Tiny go, was that Tiny was her grandfather's former partner."

"But releasing her at a time like this is a bit dangerous." said Mira.

"How is that dangerous?" Amos asked.

"Well," she started, rubbing her arm as she looked at the shattered pokeball. "Team Plasma has always wanted to try and get rid of White. She has always been a threat to them. Now that Tiny is out of White's control, she has the freedom to do what she wants and go where she pleases. Tiny knows quite a lot about what White has been doing, so if Team Plasma catches her, it's not a good thing."

"But they can't understand pokemon! No one is THAT talented! So it's not that dangerous!" Leia pointed out.

Amos saw Mira and Sky exchange looks.

"Should we look for White?" Hugh asked after a moment.

Sky shook his head. "I don't think so. She's just probably by herself. I mean, she's probably just depressed."

Amos was still looking at the pokeball shards as Mira started to walk outside.

"Well, I'll try and look for White." Mira sighed. "I wouldn't put it past her to try and fly to Nimbassa City."

"I might go back to the hotel." said Sky, following his friend. "I don't think my pokemon will last another battle."

Junior gave Amos and Hugh a bow and followed his trainer.

It was a minute before Leia, Hugh, or Amos spoke.

"So," Hugh started, breaking the silence. "Your Snivy evolved?"

Leia nodded. "Yes. Mira said it's a Servine now."

She then tossed a pokeball in the air and a much taller Severusa appeared. She didn't look as different as before. The only major difference was that the v shaped structure on her chest had none grown over her shoulder. Her snout was smaller and thinner.

"Oliver and Tepig evolved too." Amos told her. "We have a Dewott and a Pignite now."

Leia gave a small smile. "So they have only one stage left! I know what Severusa will look like, since White has that Serperior." 

Amos tilted his head. "Do you think," he started hesitantly. "We should look for White too?"

"Nah," said Hguh, now beckoning them to follow him outside. "Mira will find her. White's probably just a bit upset about letting Tiny go. I would."

"But still, Mira said that Team Plasma wants to get White out of the way. The grunts could still be in the city." Amos pointed out.

They were now walking up the port. It was in the early evening, and the city lights were now lit up. The sky a dark blue, and the stars were hidden behind the clouds.

"Stop worrying. White will be fine." Hugh told him.

Amos glared at his cousin. Leia was carrying Severusa, and was not listening to them.

When they reached the city, the streets were packed with people. The noise was very loud, and Severusa actually gave a small cry.

"Where should we go?" Leia asked as she tried to stay close to Hugh.

"I'm going back to the hotel. You guys coming?" Hugh said, turning to Amos.

"I will," replied Leia.

"I might-" but Amos stopped.

He had just saw a glimpse of black and red fur. It was a large Arcanine, squeezing through the crowd. A large scar was slashed across its eye.

Archy.

"You go without me." Amos told them, starting to follow the Arcanine.

"What?" Leia squeaked.

"Go ahead without me. I'll be back in awhile." he said again, and ran after Archy.

Archy was making his way toward a small dark alleyway. Amos stayed as far away as he could while still keeping Archy in sight. The Arcanine looked around before going down the alley.

He didn't know if it was safe to go down alone, so Amos tossed his three pokeballs into the air. Liliana, Packs, and Oliver appeared from the red light. Amos's pokemon looked at him with curious looks on their faces.

All he said was, "Stay quiet, and follow me."

Liliana tilted her head and followed her trainer down the alley. Packs and Oliver exchanged looks before following.

There was only one street lamp in the alley. There was a cafe, but it was closed. There were also large trash bins against the walls.

Archy was strolling around the trash bin, making his way toward the middle of the alley. Amos heard voices and ducked behind one of the trash bins, his pokemon crouching down beside him.

"You shouldn't have let her go!" said a man's voice.

"If I had kept her, she would have started killing off the other pokemon!" White's voice replied coolly.

Amos peered around the bin. He saw Archy standing next to White, who had her back to the trash bin. To Amos's horror, the man that owned the Hydreigon they attacked near Virbank City was standing in front of her.  He noticed that the man had the same green hair as White did.

"But she could turn us in!" the man hissed to White.

"Come on, do you think Tiny would go that far? She doesn't hate me THAT much!" White snapped.

"How did she react when you released her anyway?" he asked.

Amos saw White start pacing before she answered, "She was shocked, which surprised me. She's been wanting to be free for awhile. I think she had been fooling herself. Besides, she can't turn us in."

The man then growled something that Amos couldn't catch. Then the man hissed, "You have to be careful."

"Why?" White snapped.

"You are being suspected. One of those kids is a bit suspicious." the man told her.

She stopped, and Archy had looked from White to the man.

"Which one?" she asked.

"The boy with the brown hair and the Oshawott." replied the man.

Amos' heart was beating fast as Liliana growled.

Archy's head suddenly turned toward their direction. He started snarling and barking. Without warning, Liliana also began to bark and ran out of their hiding place.

She yelped and barked at the Arcanine as the man hissed, "Who does she belong to?"

White looked frightened as she stared at the Growlite.

"It's... it's his!" She hissed back.

White whirled around and stared at the trash bins. Amos felt Packs move closer to him and Oliver gave a tiny snarl.

"Archy, Flamethrower!"

Fire shot past the trash bin and Amos yelled.

"Water Pulse!" Amos shouted at Oliver as he stood up from his hiding place.

The Dewott gave a screech and shot a pulse of water at the Arcanine.

"Purr, Protect!" the man cried, and a large cat like pokemon sprang from behind him.

It yowled and leapt in front of Archy and Liliana. A large blue orb surrounded the three pokemon, and the water bounced off.

"White, run!" shouted the man as Oliver started using Fury Cutter on the cat.

White looked more scared then Amos felt. "But N-"

"RUN!" the man yelled again.

White stepped back and ran down the alley, leading further into the city. Archy yowled and ran after her, leaving Amos alone with the man and the other pokemon.

"Ember, Bite, and Fury Cutter!" Amos ordered his pokemon.

"Protect, again!" the man shouted.

The cat meowed and the orb surrounded it once again. All the attacks bounced off again.

"Who are you?!" Amos yelled at the man as the cat started scratching at his pokemon.

"You'll have to catch us first!" the man hissed.

The man threw a pokeball into the air, and the large Hydreigon escaped from it. Amos watched as the man climbed onto its back, and the dragon flew up into the sky. The cat yowled and ran after its trainer, leaving the Amos's pokemon gasping from pain.

Amos fell to the ground, his heart beating faster than ever. He couldn't go back to the hotel for help. Not now. He would have to chase them. He could never catch up to the man, since he didn't have a Flying Type.

He would have to go after White.