Ch 46. The encounter

Waking up rather early to the soft drizzling of rain, Ares came face to face with his pokemon, who had as always surrounded him while he slept. Excavating himself from the pile of fluffy, hard and/or feathery companions, Ares silently began to gather the supplies to make some breakfast. He had quickly put up a tent, setting up everything for him to make some food.

As this was the first time Beldum would spend some quality time with his other pokemon, aside from the evening from yesterday, it would be a great chance to see what kind of food it liked, disliked or even hated. Aside from that, it would be a great chance to observe how Beldum ate, as he hadn't spotted a mouth anywhere yet. It would be really exciting to see it happen before his eyes.

Humming in a good mood, his eyes wandered about as he was cooking, spotting a certain orange colored fur hidden at the side of his tent. It had almost escaped his sight, as he hadn't expected a pokemon to just lay besides it. It was completely drenched, shivering from the cold, but still didn't rush into the tent to stay dry. While his pokemon were strong, they surely wouldn't mind a peaceful pokemon joining them to get some respite from the rain. It was a peculiar fellow.

Moving his hands in a 'come here' manner, Ares crouched down.

"Come here. It's dry underneath."

Ares spoke softly, waiting patiently for the Growlithe to move.

The Growlithe remained still, moving only the slightest bit to the side, only slightly decreasing the distance between them, enough for the Growlithe to be partially covered by the tent.

"That's fine as well, I suppose."

Ares muttered, shrugging a bit as he resumed to make breakfast.

As it was a bit of a celebration at the addition of a new pokemon, Ares decided to splurge a bit on the taste, deciding to make some pancakes, French toast as well as some sandwiches to make it just the slightest bit more balanced.

The smell of sweetness of honey and vanilla soon spread out across his camp, making many noses twitch as Ares's pokemon slowly woke up. Stumbling outside, Lucario was the first to join Ares in the preparations for breakfast. Lucario yawned loudly, covering his mouth as he blinked away the forming tears.

Setting up the table, he was soon joined by Umbreon and Pikachu. Both looked around for things to do, but found nothing, as everything was already set up. That was when the rest of Ares's pokemon finally noticed the soaked form of Growlithe.

Beldum was the first to see, as it quickly hid behind Ares, hovering a fair distance from Growlithe. It seems like it didn't succeed in throwing of his unwanted companion. Now it had even brought the Growlithe here.

While Beldum was thinking hard on how to react to the sudden encounter, Clefairy greeted the new face with a bundle of enthusiasm, pushing the hesitating Growlithe towards the warm campfire. At least, the hot coals that were still burning from the day before. It was a brilliant idea from Umbreon to shelter the campfire, in case a sudden downpour like today happened.

Now that Growlithe was situate besides the coals, it was slowly warming up again, being gently dried with a towel by Lucario.

A bowl filled with food was placed in front of him.

Growlithe looked up in uncertainty, staring at Ares at the unexpected kindness.

"Eat up. You need your strenght."

Who knows when the trainer of Growlithe came looking for him? It was a certainty that the Growlithe was a trainers pokemon, seeing that it was well taken care of. At least that was what its well groomed fur and teeth showed.

Ares hummed a soft tune, handing out the food for the rest of his pokemon, wondering where the trainer of the Growlithe currently might be.

Ares had such thoughts in mind as he slowly ate his food, while his pokemon were conversing with the Growlithe, who had finally begun to eat. The only one who was keeping its distance was Beldum, as it was still uncomfortable with this group of pokemon. For now it stayed close to Ares, the only one who didn't pose a real threat to him.

The Growlithe in question began to visibly relax under the silent but jolly pokemon group, sharing its story with the rest. When it spoke of the actions of last night, the group glanced with approving looks towards Beldum, who just looked away in embarrassment.

The nerve! It wasn't its intention to be a goody two shoes!

Beldum huffed as it gorged its food and retreated into the empty confines of the sleeping tent.

Having missed a prime opportunity of seeing Beldum eat, Ares shook his head in lamentation. Such a waste.

Joining his pokemon, Ares looked Growlithe over from head to toe, spotting only the injury on its neck, supposedly from where a metal object had been. Frowning a bit, Ares took out a potion, applying some first aid.

While doing so, he called the nearest Pokemon Center.

"Nurse Joy, what is your emergency?"

The gentle voice of Nurse Joy resounded from the rotom phone.

"Hello Nurse Joy. You're speaking with Ares. I've encountered a Growlithe that has been injured. I suspect it has been mistreated. Are there any rumors of Growlithe trainers in the area who have given up on their Growlithe?"

Nurse Joy remained silent for a moment after a soft, 'oh dear!'.

"Not that I am aware of. There aren't that many Growlithe trainers to begin with in this area. Only Officers Jenny have a multitude of Growlithe in their ranks. I will contact them to see if they know anything. Keep on hold for a moment."

"No problem, Nurse Joy."

Ares waited patiently, bandaging Growlithe's neck in the meantime.

"Thank you for waiting. It appears an officer Jenny had been critically injured this past week. Her Growlithe had gone missing after a poacher took it. The office Jenny has unfortunately passed away not too long ago. The chance is present that the Growlithe in you company is that very same Growlithe."

Then if the Growlithe was tied and left behind, what could be the purpose to leave such a valuable pokemon?

"I see."

Was all Ares could reply. There was no trainer to take care of the Growlithe, as his previous trainer has already passed away.

"The officer Jenny of Saffron city is still on the phone with me. I will connect her through. I advice you to bring the Growlithe to the Pokemon Center as soon as possible. With that said, I will connect you to Officer Jenny."

Nurse Joy hung up as another female voice spoke again.

"Officer Jenny speaking. I am currently speaking with the trainer Ares, correct?"

"That's right."

"Good. The Growlithe in question, can you tell me what you know about it?"

Following that, Ares shared the information he had come to know of Growlithe, as well as what Beldum had gone through. That is through the communication from Mew that is.

"I thank you for your cooperation. This information has helped us a lot. Officers are on their way to your current location. Please remain there till the officers arrive. The poacher may still be in the area, so be careful. It is confirmed it is a dangerous man in the possession of a Nidoking and Golem. Exercise caution."

With many warning having been spoken, Officer Jenny hung up, leaving Ares to ponder on his own dilemma. The cause for the poachers actions.

The only feasible possibility was that the poacher used Growlithe as bait to lure out a more valuable pokemon. But what could that pokemon be?