18

[Dragon Master Mike]

Chapter 2: Ruby

When Corey awoke, he was still in the cage. The cage however was not in the same location. Examining his surroundings, he saw that he was in a large clearing in the middle of a forest. Looking around, he saw 17 other cages with Pokemon in them. In the middle of the field was a large pile of food. Suddenly he heard voices coming from the large speakers around the center of the arena.

“Get ready contestants, the tournament is about to begin!” With those words, a countdown began to play.

“60, 59, 58...” Corey heard as he began to panic. He quickly looked around at the Pokemon around him. To his left he saw the Scyther and to his right he saw the Ninetales.

“50, 49, 48...” The speakers continued counting.

“40, 39, 38…”

“30, 29, 28…” Corey heard as he saw the Sylveon across the field from him was panicking as much as he was.

“20, 19, 18…”

“10...” Corey heard, his heart pounding the whole time.

“3.”

“2.”

“1.”

“Go!” Corey heard as the cage opened on its own. He stepped out of the cage, looking around in an effort to figure out where to run. He saw the scyther immediately dart towards the center. It ran full speed, looking around to make sure that it was not being followed. But it was. It almost made it to the center when the TalonFlame flew into it, Digging its beak into the Scythers head. Corey froze, horrified as he watched the Scyther fall, Blood flying from the back of its head. It had not even been a minute and someone was already dead. Corey quickly looked to his right when he saw the Ninetales dart towards him. Corey panicked. He began to run but the ninetales was so fast. As he felt the Ninetales come closer, Corey could almost feel the sharp teeth digging into his back. But they didn’t.
“Run.” The Ninetales said quietly as it darted past Corey, disappearing into the forest seconds later. Corey did not know why, but he trusted what this Pokemon said, and following her order, Corey darted off into the forest. He ran, constantly looking back over his shoulder to make sure he was not being followed. He ran until his feet began to ache and his lungs felt as though they might explode. Finally he stopped. He sat beneath a tree, finally resting after what felt like the longest time he had ever spent running.

He began to look around. This part of the forest was heavily overgrown, so overgrown that it must have been a miracle that he had made it this far without tripping on a tree root or running into a bush. Barely any light made it through the forest canopy above him. It was dark and overgrown enough that he could probably hide there for a while. He saw a perfect area to hide, a circle of bushes and shrubs with a tree over it that was just the right size and shape to act as a roof. It almost looked as if someone had placed the plants there intentionally to serve as a shelter. Corey walked through the bushes into the dark area within. He then laid down and closed his eyes, looking to get some rest. He did not expect to fall asleep. He did not sleep very long however before he awoke, startled by voices.

“I wonder if anyone is out here.” One of them said.

“Even if there is we would never see them in this dense shrubbery.” Said another. Corey stood up, and slowly peaked his head through the bushes. It was the Talonflame and Donphan. He looked for a second before the Talonflame turned his head. Corey quickly pulled his head back into the bushes, hoping he didn’t get spotted. He let out a sigh of relief when he noticed the Pokemon were continuing, clearly not noticing him. When he was sure they were gone, he peaked his head out of the bushes again.

“All clear.” Corey thought as he examined the area. He stood in the bushes for a few minutes longer, debating his next move. He knew he could not take on another Pokemon directly, so looking for one would be stupid. He also knew that he could be here for a while, and if he did nothing the whole time he would starve. He could think of only one logical action: finding food. He was used to his mother and father doing gathering, but he knew the appearance of some edible plants. He slowly stepped out of the bushes. He proceeded to walk in the opposite direction as the Talonflame and Donphan.

Corey walked slowly, making sure not to trip over roots or anything else that may have been resting on the dense forest floor. He kept an eye out in all directions for other Pokemon, and for some form of edible plant. As he walked, he began to notice the lack of plants on the forest floor. All he saw were bushes with nothing but leaves. He needed to find some berries or other edible plants. He decided his best bet was to find an area where the canopy above him was thinner. It took him about twenty minutes to find such a place. As soon as the canopy began to thin, He began to notice a higher diversity in the plants that he saw. It only took him a minute to find what he was looking for.

“Berries!” Corey thought, looking at the bush in front of him. He walked up and ate one of the blue berries off the bush. “Oran berries” Corey thought, recognising the flavor. He continued to eat a few more berries. He was about to take another berry when he noticed a sound overhead. It sounded like something was moving in the tree tops. Corey quickly took cover, hiding inside the berry bush. He hoped that whatever was coming did not notice him. his heart raced as the sound drew closer.

“I know you're there.” Corey heard a voice say from above him. “You can come out. I am not here to hurt you.” Corey peeked out and saw the Ninetales from earlier. Corey knew he shouldn’t reveal his location, but for some reason the Ninetales made him feel safe.This made no sense though. Why should he trust another Pokemon when everyone there was supposed to be his enemy? He knew he was being stupid, but he began to step out of the bush he was hiding in. He hoped only that if he had made the wrong choice, his death would be swift. Almost the second Corey’s whole body had left the bush, the Ninetales jumped down from the tree. She landed directly in front of him. Corey looked down as she looked at him. After a few seconds, the Ninetales spoke.

“Tell me.” She said. “what is your name?”

“C-Corey. Its Corey.” He hesitantly responded.

“I can tell you are one who does not wish to fight.” The Ninetales said. Corey remained silent, slowly looking up at her. “You are not alone. There are others who do not wish to fight. Others including me.” She said, still looking at Corey. Corey slowly looked up at the Ninetales.

“I see you have already found food. If you head directly east from here you will find a stream. From there you can get fresh water. Go there.” The Ninetales said.

“Why?” Corey questioned. “How do i know i can trust you?”

“Because i have already helped you. I told you to run, and you ran." The Ninetales said, speaking of the beginning of the tournament. She paused for a second before continuing. "In addition to this, If you couldn’t trust me you would be dead right now. And i know you trust me, otherwise you would not have left the bush when i called you. ”

Corey could not argue.

“Why are you helping me?” He asked.

“I have already told you, because i don’t wish to fight.” The Ninetales said. “That and-” She began before stopping. “I can’t talk about it now. The Humans have eyes and ears everywhere. Just do as i say and head to the stream. Wait for me there. You will surely get there before me, as i need to make a few stops along the way. Go now. And stay away from any other Pokemon you meet." With those words she began darting towards a tree. With what appeared to be little effort, she leaped from branch to branch until she was half way up the tree.


“Wait!” Corey shouted as the Ninetales quickly turned her head down towards him. “What is your name?” Corey asked.

“My name?” The Ninetales said. “My name is Ruby.” Without giving Corey a chance to say anything else, She quickly darted off into the forest, jumping from tree branch to tree branch. And just like that Corey was alone again. It was clear to him that he could trust Ruby, for if he couldn’t he would be dead. He followed her instructions, heading east. The journey was uneventful, As he saw no signs of other Pokemon. There was nothing of interest to see; just Oak trees and bushes.

It took Corey about an hour to reach the stream. Corey was happy to see the crystal clear water. The stream about 3 meters across. A large amount of fresh water flowed through it. Corey walked over, his legs growing sore from walking all day, and began to drink from the stream. He felt the much needed water flowing down his throat. Once he had finished drinking, He looked up at the sky. Though it was hard to tell through the trees, Corey estimated based on the position of the sun that the time was somewhere between two and four in the afternoon.

Corey remembered Ruby’s next instruction. He was to wait for her. Corey spotted a large bush a few meters upstream. He walked to it and hid inside. He lied down, allowing his tired legs to rest. He proceeded to keep an eye out for Ruby, making sure not to make the mistake of falling asleep again. after about an hour, Corey began to become worried. Surely Ruby would come, Corey told himself. It took another twenty minutes before he heard something. He stood up and walked out of the bush. He looked around for the source of the noise. He noticed movement in a bush across the stream from him. He watched excitedly, waiting to see Ruby come out.

Corey saw a head pop out from the bush. But it was not Ruby.