The Only Way (working title) PG-13

[PKMNTrainerSaw]

I could get back into it, I think. I loved the ideas I had, but execution of them wasn't my strong point. I'll see what I have going for the next chapter.

Yes!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. I love this fanfic, and I hope you can keep it gong.

[Skydra]

Its been a long time since I posted a chapter, but I hope it was worth the time I decided to put into it. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

9

The pack was light by necessity; nobody wants to being carrying around a lot of weight when on the run. Hiding in a grove of trees, they began to examine what they had acquired as they escaped.

Carson had to admit that he was excited; he had clearly felt a Poke Ball when he had dug for the flashlight. Well, let’s see what I get, he thought. He’d been hoping to train a new creature, having progressed with his old ones considerably with his training. Unfortunately, that thought brought back memories of what had ended just yesterday; another home, taken from him. And now? He would have no more homes. At least, not for a while. For a reason he didn’t know, he needed to be on the run now.

What did he have now? Just his Pokemon, some stuff to keep him alive, and a family of people he barely knew. Though, he thought, there was Lessa.

Being his only choice wasn’t a reason to choose her. She was noticably pretty, assumedly streetwise, and personable in many ways. He appraised her silently, while she was staring into space, and dug into the pack. “Something here might… be heartening,” he commented.

Had he been alone, he would have sighed, for he was so clueless as to what to say to the three under the circumstances. He decided the best course of action was to be more upbeat than them, but he didn’t expect being happy a simple task in a group of people with a recently deceased relative, never mind so close of one.

And, Carson himself was sad for another reason; Ethan, almost like a second father, was dead at worst, on the run at best, and at the middle ground captive. There would be no more learning from a master; from then on, it would be learning by experience.

They began to pull out supplies from their survival source. It was good to see food, canned and packaged of such, tightly sealed water bottles (two per pack), and other tools for their well being while hiding out.

Then they emerged; the lustrous, red topped Poke Balls, first from the pack of Mrs. Sakamoto. Carson didn’t want to admit that, even in their situation, he was still excited as to their contents. He berated himself for what he took as acting like a ten-year-old as he dug into the pack to produce his Poke Ball.

Specifics aside, they decided to observe the contents of the Poke Balls one at a time, sitting with their backs to trees in the most clear area around. With his own, the first they decided to check, Carson first observed a splash of green, seemingly of paint. It tipped a long tail, which he followed to the body belonging to a dog of tan. It looked around, observing the surroundings that it found. Carson figured it must be surprised; it may have felt just a second ago to the creature when it had been stored inside the Poke Ball for the benefit of the person who just might need it. Was it months, or years, that it had been contained?

Seeing the surrounding individuals and sensing no threat, it walked over, standing upright, to the small clearing they had camped in at the grove, plopping its body down somewhat humorously between the sitting Tam and Lessa.

Unsurprisingly, the rest of them paid no attention to the humor of the creature, and thus Carson did not, being in the presence of a largely depressed family. He remembered the name for the doglike Pokemon, Smeargle, for it was a locally present creature in the region. Moving on, he turned to Lessa, to his right.

She needed no vocal urging; she simply released the Pokemon, as she sat slumped against a small tree.

Carson, quietly observing them all, found a new creature standing before him: an insect, clad largely in white. It crawled around for a moment, using its feelers to observe the surroundings with touch. Finding itself safe as well, it clambered around the grove feeling the ground.

Unsure of what it was, Carson tentatively approached it. It backed away in the direction of its capsule. Lessa decided to return it to its Poke Ball, then placing it in the pack again.

“That’s two down,” Carson stated. “Should we… see what’s in the others?”

Silence.

“I’d like to see this one,” Jack said meekly.

“Go on, then.”

The next creature was revealed, slithering forth after exiting its containment. Long and sleek, it was a Dratini for sure. Although Carson had never seen one, images of them had appeared in textbooks and guidebooks, stating it to be somewhat rare.

He realized, as it moved towards them, that he wanted this one. But put in this leadership position so early on, he knew he had to cater to the rest of them. They would discuss use of the Pokemon later. The final one was to be released, this one from Carson’s pack.

He searched for more words. “Last one,” he decided upon saying. “Let’s finish this now, and start traveling.”

Not waiting for input that he wouldn’t receive, he pressed the last button of the day.

Despite themselves, they were all slightly off put when a ghostly figure appeared out of it.

It was another unknown creature to Carson, definitely foreign. Levitating in midair and gray all around, it had a lighter tinged coloration in a skull like covering of its face. A glow resonated through the eyes of the “skull”, hauntingly. Despite its appearance, it was no less docile than the others. It wheezed a bit while hovering over to the other Pokemon, who had sat in front of their group of people.

Carson knew that it was useless to designate ownership with their group like this. He rose, and, one by one, returned the Pokemon to their Poke Balls.

Observing where the sun had taken place in the sky, he made the executive decision to move on ahead. “We need to get going,” he said, in the tone of a leader not too strict, but not willing to let his group be held down by themselves.

He could lead them. It was an obvious necessity that their group needed him for this. Whatever misgivings he might have, this was about staying alive. First, he needed to set a goal.

He efficiently acquired the regional map, handy in the pack, and observed. Based on the distance, they had to be on Route 38, somewhere. He could not judge where, not based on any information, but with some orienting, they could make their way to the next settlement, Ecruteak City.

It occurred to him that the enemy, whoever they might be, might think that Carson’s group would travel there. In that case, they would have to lay low. Either inconspicuously in the general public, where they were hard to pick out and harder to capture (or kill) without unwanted attention and capture successfully, or hiding. Maneuvering in the city would be difficult while hiding in the surroundings, and they would have to come out some time, or being in the city would be useless anyway.

He wondered whether it would be necessary at all to hide. What was the chance that they would be able to coordinate another attack when they didn’t know where his group was going?

They would be after him sometime, he knew. He’d been said to be important. The Sakamotos knew something they shouldn’t. Safety was a priority. That’s why they needed to lay low, hid when possible, he realized. If there was a high margin of error, they would be in danger. They were in danger even now. That’s why he needed to lead them.

He readied to relay the specifics of his plan. “We’re going to Ecruteak,” he informed. “And we need to lay low. Hide when possible, and when necessary to reveal ourselves, we be inconspicuous.”

“You realize that if they know anything, they’ll know that Ecruteak is our destination?” Tam blurted. rather loudly.

“I already thought of that. If they believe we might think of that, they will target Olivine and Ecruteak. Either way, they’ll have a way to find us. We must work as cautiously as possible while doing that which might seem obvious.”

Tam, sullen still even after an outburst, nodded. He expected some resistance with her, as she was much older than he was and was the mother of the other two. But he needed to keep them safe, beyond the ways of a desperate mother.

Then he had misgivings, as they walked towards the likely direction of the road of Route 38, to make sure they went the right way. Maybe Tam was better equipped to safely guide them. But how could she do so while all three of their family were suffering loss? Before she made any executive decisions, she couldn’t be so overrun by grief.

As they walked, Carson wondered why he wasn’t grieving over their dad. While there were logical reasons, the death of both his parents, and the fact that he barely knew Mr. Sakamoto, he could not help but feel… unfeeling, but maybe that made it all the better when he was leading.

Being a leader was hard stuff. It wasn’t easy deciding another person’s actions, especially when you were unsure of your own. Could he do it?

The answers were all ahead.
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The report reached HQ minutes minutes after the raid. “Green Unit Squad Four reporting in. Mission failed.”

The receiver passed the information on immediately to his superior, as the report was recited. “Target escaped. Codename: Turning Point retreated through an unknown exit. Enemy agent Ethan Nox attacked Captain Coteli and Lieutenant Jenson, giving the escapees necessary time. Captain Coteli escape by air, with Ethan Nox hostage. A middle-aged man was caught in gunfire and shot in the chest, dead, name unknown. The target escaped with a woman, teenage female, and younger male. Those accompanying the target are presumed to be the wife and children of the fatality.”

The information reached the room of the superior, a lamp lit beside him at his desk. He preferred the dramatic and strategic uses of darkness, but he needed sight for his work. The earpiece hummed with the information, and he took it with an agitated expression, slamming his fist down on the table. But, excepting the circumstances of the real target’s escape, he had Ethan Nox, one of the most dangerous enemies of his. While he hid his emotion, he was really driven by desire for revenge. Someone had been killed that was close to him by their organization, and while he had an idea who, he was unsure.

“The subject’s whereabouts are unknown. Squad Leader, Captain Coteli, has predicted that they have retreated underground, and are arriving at an area near Route 38. Their destination is most likely Ecruteak, but he suggests sending a team to Olivine to be sure they did not circle back.”

The superior leader, the man at the desk, replied to the receiver. “Tell Coteli that I can give the orders, smartass.” He knew that Max would take it as a joke; they were well acquainted friends.

“Dispatch Red Unit Squads Two and Three to the border of Ecruteak, Route 38. Tell Captain Connor that the target, Codename: Turning Point, will be entering Ecruteak. She can brief Captain Nesaf. Connor will know what to do. Dispatch Orange Unit Two to the border of Olivine, Route 39. Captain Borsch will be aware of the circumstances if you inform him of the targets possible retreat to Olivine through Route 38. Both units must arrive at their respective areas promptly.”

“Yes, sir,” the receiver said, a communications officer. “The teams will be informed immediately.”

The man at the desk wasted no time; he canceled the call and leaned back in his chair, thinking deeply. This target, this Carson, very important in multiple ways, could escape again. He was strong of mind, and had obviously trained with Ethan Nox. His escape could happen again. The agents strewn across the region, all powerful and trustworthy, would need to be put into action. Some could gain his trust. One was even a double agent. They needed to mobilize against Carson if he succeeded in maneuvering further. Just as well, the enemy would strike back, in the instance that Carson was captured, requiring defense. So many possible outcomes, but he calculated as many as he could. His chances of success, his organization’s chances, were high. But he knew the tide could be turned, which was why he would need to act strategically.

The tide was turning more and more in his favor. He needed to ride the tide up to the shores, where the prize waited. All he needed was a successfully capture.

Carson could not hide for long, not against all of his potential enemies. It was nearing the time.
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That's it for this one. More is in the works, so if you want it, inform me that this is so, and I will be more likely to work faster towards a goal of completion.

[PotatoPi]

Please write more, this is great.

[GildedScizor]

Goddamn, this is intriguing! XD
Please write more!