Rising Smoke (a black randomized gijinka storylocke)

[Noblejanobii]

All Shayla wants to do is return to Sinnoh, but after running into a nice stranger at a Team Plasma rally, her whole life stops going according to plan.

Welcome to Unova, home to the scum of the earth that can't even be afforded a prison cell in a better region.

Alright, here we go! It's my first ever storylocke so, hopefully, this goes well. Now I know what you're thinking if you've ever even heard the plotline for the Unova games, and yes, this is a gijinka story. The probably with this kind of story didn't occur to me until I was plotting out chapter 2. Thankfully, I think I've managed to work around the issue at hand, so without further ado, enjoy the story!

Rules:

Spoiler:

1. You may only catch the first pokemon on each route. If you kill it, that is it, no more pokemon may be caught.

• 1a. Shiny Clause is ON.
• 1b. Gift pokemon and eggs do not count as encounters for the area.

2. All pokemon must be nicknamed.

3. If a pokemon faints, it is considered dead and must be boxed.

4. You cannot flee from any wild encounters.

Table of Contents

Spoiler:

Chapter 1- Look below

Chapter 1

Spoiler:

It was a quiet warm night in Nuvema Town. Shayla could faintly hear the sound of rushing water from the river on Route 1. It was serene. As she zipped up her bag filled with a few changes of clothes, a potion, and about 3000 poke, Shayla looked out her window. She had been here for almost a year, yet, it felt like she had only arrived yesterday. She had enjoyed her time in this quaint place. But she could not afford to stay here any longer. Not with the state of affairs as it was.

Shayla sighed to herself then turned to her mounted mirror on top of her dresser. She pulled her long navy hair back into a high ponytail and slipped it through the opening in the back of her black and white baseball cap. It was a souvenir from the Nimbasa Zebstrikas game she had attended a few months ago. It matched the black tank top and jean shorts she was wearing. And while Shayla wouldn't admit it out loud, as a gift from Uriel, Shayla felt quite attached to it. She slipped on her black and white sneakers, then grabbed her bag and slung it onto her shoulder. Shayla took one last look in the mirror, a tanned face with red eyes staring back at her still seeming unfamiliar even after all this time. But it was time to move on.

Shayla quietly opened the door to her room and closed it behind her. She crept down the hallway as silently as she could, a few floorboards creaking as a testament to the fact that stealth had never been her thing. She passed a white door on the way to the stairs, not hearing any sounds from inside. That was Uriel and Josiane's room. It felt wrong to leave without saying goodbye, but Shayla felt that they would stop her if they knew what she was up to. They were the parents she had always dreamed of having, and stopping your kid from running away seemed like the parent thing to do.

Shayla reached the stairs and quietly scurried down, staying on the tips of her toes to minimize the noise. She stepped down onto the first floor and made her way to the living room where the front door lay. She had just set foot on the carpeted floor when a light came on. Shayla froze and felt all the color drain from her face as she made eye contact with Uriel and Josiane.

Uriel stood up from the couch and approached Shayla silently. His fang earrings and flame tattoos had never looked so intimidating. He snorted as he stopped in front of her and pulled his arm out from behind him to reveal a small white envelope. He held it out to Shayla. "You're going to need this," Uriel said quietly.

Shayla eyed him warily before taking the envelope out of his hand. She cast a glance at Josiane, the woman giving no indication of what was inside with her expression. Shayla carefully opened it and pulled out a crisp new traveler's license. How could a forged license look so realistic? Shayla examined the license, trying to spot any flaw in its design, but to her untrained eye, it looked perfect. It had her picture, her full name, her birthdate, her species, the names and phone numbers of her legal guardians, and it even had the different security checks, that Shayla knew of, used to weed out fakes. This was amazing! Shayla looked up at Uriel. "How did you get this? It looks real!"

Uriel gave a short shrug, his mahogany eyes glimmering with amusement. "I have connections. Speaking of which, there's an old friend of mine waiting for you out on Route 1. He's agreed to escort you to Castelia City."

Shayla grinned, excitement filling her. Finally, she could escape this place! She was about to start thanking Uriel profusely when a question popped into her mind. "How did you know I was planning to leave?" Shayla asked quietly.

"You are not that skilled at subtlety, kid. The neighbors could hear you sneaking down those steps. Plus all your questions about which port to take and what routes would be the fastest, it would have clued just about anyone in. Give this emboar some credit, I'm smarter than I look."

Shayla winced a little and gave Uriel a sheepish look. She had been hoping he would not be able to put the puzzle pieces together in time but it seemed like this was not such a bad result. "So… why aren't you stopping me? I'm running away. Aren't parents supposed to stop their kids from doing this sort of thing?"

"Generally, yes," Josiane answered as she stood up from the couch. She brushed herself off and walked up beside Uriel. "But, your case is different. We knew this day would eventually come. When you first arrived in our household we knew you were not the type to stay put for long. And while we had hoped you would stay with us for longer, we agreed that we would not stop you when the time eventually came."

Shayla stared between the two parental figures in shock. She had never truly had parents, not in any real aspect. Uriel and Josiane were the closest Shayla had to that, and despite all the ramifications this would put them through, they were letting her go. Shayla dimly realized she was going to miss them a lot more than she had initially thought.

"I see you're taking your lucky hat," Uriel interjected. "Glad to see you're taking something to remember us by." He paused, almost like he was choking up. Uriel cleared his throat and ran one of his large hands through his brown hair. "Josiane and I knew you probably wouldn't want to leave without saying goodbye so we've been listening for you the past few nights to see if we could catch you before you left. We just… we wanted to let you know that we really enjoyed having you here. Ever since Mason left us, it's been a bit lonely in this house, but when you came here, it felt like…"

"Like Mason had never left," Josiane finished.

Shayla instinctively glanced at the urn on the mantelpiece across the room. Mason had been Uriel and Josiane's only child. Shayla didn't know the whole story, but from what she had gathered, the smeargle gijinka had left home a few years before Shayla arrived and returned in that urn. She couldn't imagine how that must have felt, to see your only child leave happy and healthy and return as a pile of ashes.

"I'm glad I was able to return that joy to you, even if I wasn’t able to fully replace Mason. Once everything gets sorted out, I'd love to come back and stay with you a little longer. Maybe we could go to another Nimbasa Zebstrikas game."

Uriel chuckled and put one of his hands on Shayla's shoulder. He squeezed her gently and nodded his head. "That would be nice." Uriel's expression turned serious as he looked Shayla right in the eyes. "But I hope you realize the instant you step out that door, you can't come back here. At least, not for a long time. It'll be too dangerous. They'll be watching us constantly and I don't doubt if you ever return that they'll come here to capture you."

Shayla lowered her gaze slightly and slowly nodded her head. She had known that; she just hadn't wanted to accept that fate just yet. "I know. But I promise I'll come back some day," she answered quietly.

Shayla felt Josiane and Uriel pull her closer, forming a tight group hug. "Don't make promises you can't keep, darling," Josiane whispered in Shayla's ear. After a moment, the husband and wife released Shayla and watched her fondly as she started towards the door.

"Stay safe," Shayla said before opening the door and slipping into the darkness of the night. Nuvema Town was a lot creepier when the only sounds around her were the chattering and scurrying of wilds in the surrounding forests. Sticking close to the shadows, Shayla darted from her house to the entrance of Route 1.

The air was cold but fresh. Shayla could hear the faint songs of kricketots as she ventured down the short route. She was so caught up in the sweet tune that she almost didn't catch the sound of blades until it was too late. Shayla tucked and rolled to the side, her eyes trained on her assailant.

He was dressed in an all red uniform with silver boots to match the brim of his hat. Shayla could see his golden hair peeking out from underneath his hat as his gray eyes stared daggers into her. Shayla lowered her gaze to his arms. He was wearing silver armor plated with long blades pointed away from his body obviously meant for slashing. She had seen these before, and supposedly, they were barbed as well to cause more damage, though it wasn't at the top of Shayla's to do list to test that theory. Uriel had pointed out these details when they had traveled and seen these guards in Unova before. Uriel had made it very clear that unless you had a type advantage, you were not to mess with these guys. Bisharps were trained, armed, and very dangerous. Though, given the lack of medals on his uniform, Shayla could guess this particular bisharp was a low ranking. Uriel had pointed out when she had first seen them that as a cyndaquil she shouldn't have much trouble with them, but she would have to learn a fire move first. And the problem was, she still had yet to learn one.

"Halt! You are breaking the district curfew. By order of the Arceuian Authority, you are under arrest!" the bisharp shouted before charging at Shayla. She ducked under his arms and nailed her shoulder into his solar plexus but other than a soft 'oof' it seemed like the man was fine. Shayla shoved the bisharp away and tried to create some distance but it wasn’t much use. This guy was faster and stronger than she was; she'd have to bank on outsmarting him. But how?

"Heads up!" Shayla ducked just in time to see the bisharp gijinka get a face full of sand. She felt a hand grip her shoulder as she was forced back, another man stepping between her and the bisharp. “Let me handle this, doll face.”

Shayla stepped back a bit, deciding it best to not interfere. She had been described as highly persistent in the past, but even Shayla knew this was a fight she could not win. The stranger held a chain in his hands, spinning the right end of the chain as the bisharp gijinka regained his focus.

The bisharp guard glared at the man and said, “Mind your own business. This is between her and the law,” he snarled out.

The man chuckled before snapping the chain like a whip, causing it to wrap around the bisharp and pin his arms to his sides. The guard cried out as his blades cut into his legs. “Can’t do that. See, problem is, this is my business.” The man yanked the chain, pulling the bisharp guard closer and grabbed his face roughly. “Hm… you know, up close, you look pretty tired. Maybe you should take a nap, sweetheart.”

In the blink of an eye, the man had slammed the guard’s face into his knee, knocking the poor bisharp out cold. That was not going to go over well with his superior. Shayla winced a little as the stranger released the bisharp from his chain. He turned his gaze to Shayla and a chill ran down her spine in terror. She should have run when she had the chance. Then, much to Shayla’s confusion and surprise, the man cracked a smile. “Didn’t scare you too much did I, doll face?”

“Uh… no? Just… more surprised than anything else I guess.”

The man chuckled at that response and approached Shayla, slinging his chain across his shoulders and holding it with both hands. “Well, that’s good. Don’t want to make too horrible of a first impression. We’re going to be traveling together for a decent amount of time, so I don’t think it’ll benefit us if you’re frightened of me.”

Suddenly it dawned on Shayla. “You’re the escort Uriel contacted for me.”

The man nodded his head. “Yes ma’am, name’s Tyson Jonas. Now, I’d love to continue introductions, but I know for a fact that in about fifteen minutes there is going to be a guard change and I’d rather not get caught by that torterra with his unconscious colleague lying at my feet. I presume you feel the same?” Shayla quickly nodded her head in agreement. “Alright then, doll face, let's head on then.” Without waiting for Shayla, Tyson brushed past her heading further down Route 1 towards Accumula Town. Shayla spun on her heels and jogged to keep pace with him. He was quite the brisk walker.

Shayla scanned Tyson over, now able to get a better look at him when he wasn’t in the middle of a brawl. Tyson stood about a foot taller than Shayla and definitely held a more muscular build than she. His hair was a dark old silver color and his eyes appeared to be garnet in shade. He was wearing a gray shirt with a black leather jacket complementing the matching black pants and boots. He had two stud piercings underneath the right side of his bottom lip and two more between his left eye and eyebrow. She noted that he was also wearing a King’s Rock as a bracelet, possibly for its battling effects? Shayla squinted a little, just barely able to make out his faint beard in the small amount of light the moon provided. Shayla glanced at the chain he was holding, the weapon of choice seeming to change in length as he used it. Perhaps this was part of his power as a gijinka. But what type of gijinka was he? Shayla didn’t know of any that were associated with chains.

“First off, don’t call me doll face. It’s demeaning. Secondly, I want to know where you’re taking me. Uriel obviously trusts you, and I’m inclined to do the same, but I’d still like to know where we are headed. Lastly, I want formal introductions at some point.”

Tyson rolled his eyes and glanced down at Shayla. “Alright, princess, then what should I call you? Do you have a preferred nickname or something? And just for future reference, my friends call me “his royal highness” but I will also accept “overlord” or “emperor”.”

“Don’t call me “princess” either. Shayla will be just fine, thank you very much. And I’m not calling you any of those things. It’ll either be Tyson or no name at all,” Shayla replied curtly. She folded her arms and asked, “So then, where are we going? What’s the plan of attack?”

Tyson raised his eyebrows at Shayla. “Isn’t it obvious? We’re heading to Accumula Town. I’ve got a friend there that’s going to let us stay the night then we head on to Striaton City. If these guys act like they usually do, then they’ll overthink our actions and head straight for Striaton, and when we’re not there they’ll keep searching around. They’ll be ahead of us, sure, but we’ll at least lose them for a couple of days and hopefully be able to keep our heads low to avoid them as we draw closer to the hornet’s nest that is Castelia City. Sound good to you?”

Shayla shrugged her shoulders. “You’re the professional so I’ll presume that it’s a solid plan and trust your judgment. If it isn’t, then it’s on you. Deal?”

“Deal,” Tyson responded with a smirk, “As for formal introductions, you mind if we save that for the morning? I know you’re obviously itching to know more about me but since I’m the one that made that fake ID of yours, the feeling’s not exactly mutual. Besides, I gotta get my beauty sleep at some point and staying up for a formal discussion of who I am does not equate to beauty sleep.” As if to emphasize his point Tyson made the gesture of flipping his hair.

Shayla snorted at the gesture as she looked in the direction of Accumula City. She wasn't so sure about Tyson's plan, but if he wasn't kidding about making her fake ID, then Shayla suspected that he would know what course of action would be the best to take. "Yeah, that sounds fine to me. Still, impressive work on my traveler's license. I couldn't tell it was fake."

"That's because it's technically not. Still, though, you think this is my first rodeo? Trust me, you are not the first high-profile prisoner I've smuggled out of Unova. I've got it down to a science at this point. Most people head for Johto or Kanto though, why are you heading to Sinnoh?"

Shayla shrugged a little and answered, "Well, I'm originally from Sinnoh, and I'm trying to track down a couple folks. I figure that's a good place to start since that's the last place I saw them. You have any better advice?"

Tyson furrowed his brows a bit as he thought it over before shaking his head. "Just avoid places like Jubilife if you can. The port you're headed to, Canalave City, is small enough you can get in undetected. But it's right next to Jubilife could pose some problems. It's still better than landing in Snowpoint or Sunyshore if you ask me."

Tyson let go of his chain with his left hand and let it slide off his shoulders so that it was dragging slightly behind him. He rolled his shoulders a bit then said, "I've actually got a contact in Canalave if you want some help locating your friends. His name is Dr. Vishapin Knight and he works at the library in Canalave. Just mention that you know me and he'll be happy to help."

Before Shayla could respond, Tyson pointed ahead with his left hand, indicating towards a house on top of a hill in Accumula Town. "See that house? That's where we are spending the night. A buddy of mine, a krookodile gijinka, lives there. Come this way, I know a shortcut."

Tyson darted to the right into the trees that surrounded Route 1 and Accumula Town. Shayla stuck close to him as they made their way through the wilds, her eyes constantly scanning the area for any wild or feral pokémon around. At one point, she paused, a blue flash appearing for a split second in the distance, but it was gone before Shayla could register what it was. When they emerged from the trees again, they were at the top of the hill, beside the house Tyson had pointed out a few minutes before. Shayla looked around, extremely confused. She hadn't even felt them climb up a hill.

Tyson saw Shayla's perplexed expression and said, "That's called a Hidden Grotto. They're fairly uncommon but they've been popping up here and there around Unova. You notice how the underbrush and everything got really thick? That's why. My buddy here discovered it and does his best to keep it hidden because the Arceuian Authority has been destroying them whenever they pop up. They claim it's for extermination purposes with the ferals but I don't believe that."

Tyson led Shayla around to the back of the house. The house was small and white, with two windows on each side of each floor from what Shayla could see. There was a porch out back as well with a mounted swing, a grill, and a set of table and chairs. Tyson and Shayla climbed up the porch. Tyson pulled the screen door opened and knocked on the backdoor. Shayla was expecting some sort of coded knock but Tyson just banged on the door really loudly a few times then shut the screen door back. Shayla heard some thumping from inside the building before the inner door flung open revealing a very drowsy looking krookodile gijinka.

"Come on, man, not so loud. You want the guards down the hill to hear you? I was awake," he grumbled. The red pajamas and “just woke up look” that the krookodile wore gave Shayla a different impression. His black hair looked like it hadn't even been brushed and his eyes were bloodshot. Still, despite this rather unimpressive first look, Shayla could see the muscles this guy hide underneath his pajamas. She made a mental note not to get him angry.

"Yeah, uhuh. Sure you were. Come on, just let us in."

The krookodile pushed open the screen door and let Tyson and Shayla in. He closed and locked the back door behind them. "Tyson, you don't mind sleeping on the couch do you?" Tyson raised an eyebrow at the request then shook his head. "Good, I just wanted to give the lady the nice bed." He fumbled for a moment before blurting out, "Unless you'd rather have my bed, in which case I can take the couch."

Tyson walked over and pat the krookodile on the shoulder. "Hey hey, easy. I'm fine with the couch. You always guilt yourself into giving me your room. You enjoy it for once." Tyson turned his attention to Shayla. "Shayla, please meet our host for the night, Ashur Prince. Ashur, this is our guest, Shayla Perkins. She's heading to Sinnoh." Ashur gave Shayla a small wave, which Shayla returned.

"Pleasure to meet you," Shayla said, "and thank you for opening your house to me tonight."

Ashur flushed a little and he lowered his gaze. "I just hope you'll find it comfortable during your stay." Ashur looked at Tyson and instructed, "Stay down here. I'll take Shayla upstairs and grab you some blankets. I’m sorry the bed isn’t entirely ready yet. I started to make up the couch bed but I wasn't sure what sheets you would like so I tried three different set of sheets and then…" Ashur trailed off resulting in a chuckle from Tyson.

"Ah, so you did doze off. It's alright, buddy. Whatever sheets you picked, I'm sure they're fine. I'll wait down here. Go on upstairs." Ashur looked over at Shayla and gestured for her to follow him. She started after him as he ascended the stairs just to the right of them. Ashur led Shayla to the first door on the right of the upstairs. He opened the door and gestured for Shayla to walk inside.

“Thank you,” Shayla said as she walked in.

Inside the room was a bed with blue sheets and two blankets on it. There was a nightstand right next to it and a lonely chair off in the corner. Other than that, the room was relatively unfurnished.

“Sorry, this room doesn’t get used extremely often so there’s not much here. I hope you don’t mind,” Ashur mumbled as he walked over and began to fiddle with the blankets. Poor thing was obviously very nervous about having what Shayla presumed were unexpected visitors.

“It’s lovely, thank you, Ashur. Two blankets are more than enough for me in the winter. I’m a cyndaquil gijinka, after all, so I’m naturally warm.”

Ashur seemed relieved at that statement. He gave Shayla a shy smile and said, “Well if you need anything, I’m the next door down. The bathroom is across the hall from you and um… there’s food in the refrigerator if you want anything. I’m not sure what time Tyson wants to leave in the morning but sleep as long as you like. No doubt, you’ll need to be well rested for the journey.”

Shayla nodded her thanks and put her bag down in the lone chair. She heard the door close as Ashur left the room. She unzipped her bag and dug through it. She had brought one pair of pajamas, a summer set since Shayla was unsure how long she would be on the run, and she could take the cold of winter easily. Even if summer was two seasons away, Shayla prepared for it just in case. Pulling her hair out of the ponytail, Shayla looked out the window into the darkness that surrounded Route 1. There was not a clock in the room, but Shayla could guess it had probably been an hour since she left home. It felt like longer. Shayla sighed to herself and changed into her pajamas. Unfolding the blankets, Shayla slipped under the warm covers and sleep quickly took hold of her.