Chp 9: Rattata

"Good morning, Zorua."

"Zorua!"

Today was his last day at home because he had a few days on the road ahead of him before the enrollment date. As soon as he got out of bed, Zorua started nagging him for pokeblocks.

In fact, the pokeblock was supposed to be eaten with regular pokemon food. Zorua, however, ate this stuff like it was a regular meal because of Vic's pampering. He could see the money in his wallet flying out.

Even so, Vic didn't bother to stop Zorua from indulging in the pokeblock. The faster Zorua grew, the better off it would be for him.

Vic organised his belongings and packed them all inside the space bag, which he had made to look like an ordinary bag. Walking around with a space bag on his back, would only make himself a target from less savoury people.

After that, he grabbed a broom and swept his entire house, a task that took him less than an hour. Though that was only because there wasn't a lot of stuff inside his home. Nearly all of the appliances and furniture had already been sold for extra money.

Vik, having finished the housework, was going to relax by reading the pokeblock notebook when he was interrupted by a loud banging on the door.

"Vic!"

"Kevin? Why are you here? Is there any problem?" Vic asked when he saw Kevin at his door.

"Vic! I beg of you! Save my sister, please!" Kevin got down on his knees and cried.

"What happened? And for god's sake, stop crying already!" Vic snapped.

"My sister had been kidnapped," Kevin explained, wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

"What?" Vic exclaimed. "Do you know where she's at right now?"

He had visited Kevin's home and met his sister, a sweet little girl. It would be unfortunate if something bad happened to her.

Kevin nodded and Vic continued, "There's no time to waste. Take me there now!"

As soon as Vic finished speaking, he quickly called for Zorua and told him to stay out of sight. Then, he followed Kevin until they arrived at an abandoned building.

On the way, Vic learned that Kevin's sister had been abducted by some gangsters from the slum. Kevin confessed to him that his old gang frequently got into fights with them.

Unaware that Vic had driven his old gang members out of the city, they thought this was a perfect time to get revenge on Kevin now that his gang had mysteriously vanished.

Vic paid close attention as Kevin described what kind of weapon they typically used. It was best to exercise caution.

Once they got to the front door, Vic ordered Kevin to back up and then gave the door a powerful kick. The door was violently pried from its hinges and slammed to the floor. The gangsters already knew they were coming here. Staying quiet served no purpose.

And, as expected, as the dust from the crash settled, the people inside were already waiting for them. Each of them held a metal bat in their hands.

"He's here! Get him!" said one of the thugs.

"Wait! He brought another person!"

"Doesn't matter! Just beat them both!" the person who appeared to be the gang's leader spoke out.

Vic sized them up. There were a total of five people in the gang, including the leader who stood at the very back.

He and Kevin tightened their grips on the metal pipes they found outside and began to advance toward the five people. The gangsters, refusing to back down, also started to move toward them.

Likewise, there was no hesitation in Vic and Kevin's strides. Soon after, a brawl broke out. Kevin held off one guy as Vic single-handedly took care of the rest.

Since he had learned how to use aura, Vic's strength had grown considerably. During the time when he worked at the Day Care, he often saw trainers lifting their heavy Pokemon like a Geodude for example, without much effort.

It was only after he started learning aura that he understood why those trainers were so strong. In the past few days, Vic had broken many things because he wasn't able to control his strength well.

Under Kevin's shocked eyes, Vic easily defeated the gangsters around him before lending him a hand. After knocking everyone out, they shifted their attention to the leader, who had yet to make a move.

"It's strange. Why does he seem so sure of himself?" Kevin whispered to Vic.

"I'm not sure, but I think he is up to something. Watch my back," Vic replied before walking up to the leader.

"Amazing!" the leader clapped as if he didn't care what happened to his men. "What's your name, kid?"

"Vic," Vic responded simply.

"Nice meeting you, my name is Greg. Remember this name because I will be the last person you saw in your life!"

As soon as he was done talking, Greg came charging towards him, swinging a bat. Vic, though, was ready for it and blocked his swing with ease.

"Just give up, kid!" Greg yelled as he kicked him away.

Vic took a step back before ducking under another one of Greg's swings. At the same time, he wondered why Greg was so strong.

Vic didn't have time to figure out what was going on as Greg swooped in for another attack. Vic raised his pipe as Greg swung his bat down hard, almost knocking him off balance. Gritting his teeth, Vic pushed Greg away from him.

'My strength has obviously improved since I started practising aura. But why is this guy stronger than me?' Vic thought, shaking off the numb feeling in his hand.

Meanwhile, Greg was holding back a smile. 'Almost there.'

As they began another round of fighting, Vic suddenly heard Kevin shouting something to him.

"Vic! Above you!"

Kevin, who had just returned from freeing his sister, spotted a shadow moving along the metal beam above them. He immediately warned Vic of the potential danger when he saw the figure jumping down on top of him.

"It's too late!" Greg laughed cruelly.

However, when the figure was about to land a sneak attack on Vic, Zorua, who had been hiding, broke out of his illusion and knocked the figure off course, saving Vic's life by a hair's breadth.

Vic, who was still reeling from the shock, stood back up. He finally got a good look at the figure who attacked him. It was a Rattata, a shiny one at that.

"Rattata? You're a trainer?" Vic said, turning to the sullen-looking Greg. It seemed he was disappointed that the sneak attack didn't work.

However, Greg was not going to give Vic a chance to take a little breather as he charged in for another attack. Vic didn't have time to think as he parried off the swing with his pipe.

In the meantime, Zorua was holding back the Rattata from attacking Vic and he seemed to be doing well by the look of it.

Despite that, Vic worried about Zorua. A part of him doubted that the young Pokemon could take care of that Rattata by himself. Making a split-second decision, he stepped out of Greg's reach and switched his pipe for the dagger Grandma Cici had given him.