Thomas Buizel Poochyena: Ch.40

Everyone was appalled and stunned by the way my tone of voice presented the question. I had shocked the Elder and made Lucario a bit cautious. I could understand why. A teenager confronting the elder of a town? And plus, after I was just welcomed into his town? This would make the original me of when I first introduced myself into the story extremely nervous, but now I had gained confidence.

"E-Excuse me?" Whiscash Elder said, especially surprised.

"This woman just said her baby cannot get home or defend for himself, and you're actually taking your time to make up your mind on what team to send to rescue you?!" I raised my voice at him.

"You watch your tone of voice," I heard an adult say.

I looked over to see Lucario was staring at me very seriously. He had approached us with his son and was not too happy I just talked to the Elder like that. I looked up at him and saw that he was looking at me dead in the eyes. I could feel my brothers slowly walk behind me just in case.

"Do not speak to the Elder that way," he said, "You are even lucky that he is allowing you to live here. He is a very busy man. He will pick the right team when they come up."

"Oh, yeah? Then why didn't you offer first?" I asked back.

Lucario blinked and asked, "I beg your pardon?"

The crowds were murmuring amongst themselves about that question and how I wasn't backing down. I noticed either they shot me glares of irritation or glances of admiration. I remember seeing King raising an eyebrow and being surprised about the whole idea. I guess he was impressed I was able to stand up to Lucario like that. But his son wasn't that happy at all. In fact, he looked angry that I was even talking back with his father.

I noticed that Sasuke and Naruto had looks of concern and worry on their face. I realized that I was getting to the point where I was going too far. I mean, they just saved me from getting into a fight. And now I'm putting myself right smack dab into another one? I slowly calmed down and then explained my point.

"The reason I'm saying that is that I've been told you're the strongest Pokémon in the world. Your team is the best, right? So then, why didn't you offer your team immediately when this mother said that her baby was in danger? Is it that much of a fuss if a big-rank team go in?" I asked calmly.

"Actually, yes," Whiscash Elder gained my attention by explaining, "A lot of Pokémon sadly do not like Rescue Teams, because in order to rescue someone or do business, we go into their territories. So, sometimes… they like to attack Rescue Teams, sometimes for no reason."

I was shocked! There were Pokémon who would do such a thing!? Amazing… I never knew that territory was a big thing in the Pokémon world. I nodded, but then heard a conversation over to my right between the Snubbull, Lotad, and Bellsprout.

"Seems this Thomas has got a fiery attitude," Lotad said.

"And he's not only the little brother, but also the teammate of Sasuke and Naruto's team," Bellsprout added.

"So, what's the rank of this team? Was it Platinum?" Snubbull asked.

"No, they're lower than that; they're Silver," Lotad answered.

"Not like the A.C.T," Bellsprout.

"Yeah, they're Diamond Rank, and they're awesome," Snubbull said, with all of them closing their eyes and nodding.

As I overheard that, I turned to them and said, "It doesn't matter the rank!"

All three opened their eyes in surprise and looked at me as I said, "If this child truly can't fend for himself, then doggone it, we need to send somebody down there immediately! You shouldn't care if you make a fuss right now; the child's life is the top priority here! You need to send at least a team immediately to this place to rescue him!"

"Listen, you do not tell the Elder what to do. That is not your responsibility," Lucario said in a demanding voice, "You will let him decide when and who. Do I make myself clear?"

Like heck was this guy gonna be able to intimidate me like that. I just glared at him at him when I heard someone say something that shocked everyone, including Lucario which caused him to lose his authority.

"Actually, Lucario," Whiscash Elder said, "I agree with Thomas."

"S-Sir?" Lucario said stunned as he looked at him.

The Elder nodded and said, "If this Caterpie is truly unable to defend himself, he won't last long enough for us to dilly-dally and pick the suitable team for the job. He'll die before we even get the time to send the team into the woods."

I heard Butterfree gasp and start to pant. I could see her tears start to form in her eyes. My heart started to go out for this woman. I had to help her. It was then I heard Whiscash Elder speak.

He ordered, "Alright then… Sasuke! Naruto! Thomas! I know you three aren't an official Rescue Team yet, but I see that right now you are the best team for the job. See this as your pre-test to see if you're eligible for the Rescue Team Exams! Your mission is to go to Tiny Woods and retrieve Caterpie safely!"

Yes! I felt like I was able to prove something! I then noticed both Sasuke and Naruto salute with their left paws, so I did the same. It was then Lucario stepped up and then faced Whiscash Elder.

"Sir, if this is a pre-test mission, I would like to request my son Batsu to join them too," he said.

My brothers and I immediately looked at Batsu. He still had the calm yet unemotional look on his face as he stood next to his father and waited. I watched as Whiscash Elder slowly had a smile on his face appear. He nodded as the crowds then started to talk excitedly about the son of the Legendary Lucario being on this mission.

"Very well, Batsu may join, but Sasuke is the leader," he said.

Batsu nodded and says as he stood with me and my brothers, "Thank you for this honor, Whiscash Elder. I promise we won't let you down."

"Very well, now go!" Whiscash Elder ordered.

"Please save my baby…" Butterfree managed to say, "I can't live without him."

I smiled and did something that made everyone, no matter what they thought of me, admire me. I slowly fist-pumped my right hand to her and grinned. I winked my left eye and made a promise to her.

"Don't worry," I promised, "We're gonna get him back immediately with no problem. I can promise you that!"

With that, Sasuke and Naruto couldn't help but blush of pride. They were proud of me. For a timid and paranoid boy, I was starting to come out of my shell and be a man. Butterfree smiled with confidence in our team. I was glad we were able to give her some comfort; nobody should have to go through that. Batsu was eyeing me especially, as if he was interested to know more about me. I wondered though if it was something else I wasn't getting.

"Alright, guys! Let's head out!" Sasuke ordered.

After that, all four of us thus ran out of the pond area and made our way to Tiny Woods. Everyone seemed to applaud us as we made our way out. I felt great; this was the beginning of an awesome experience. I was part of a Rescue Team. I was going to be able to help others. I felt great as my brothers, Batsu, and I ran out. However at the time… I didn't notice that King was growling to himself. He was tightening the fists he had made in his hands and was glaring at the direction we left. It was like… he was jealous of something…

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As we ran through the Square, we turned to the west from where my brothers had brought me into the square. We kept running as we stopped around Kecleon shop and wares store. The reason we stopped is because Sasuke halted us to.

"Hold on," he said, "I'm just gonna grab some Pecha and Oran berries. It'll only be a quick second."

With that, he and Naruto quickly went over to the shop and met G.K and P.K for some purchases. While that was happening, I couldn't help but feel awkward and uncomfortable. I didn't try to look or stare, but when I glanced out of the left corners of my eyes, I saw that Batsu kept staring at me. I was starting to feel more uncomfortable. He wouldn't even blink; he just stared at me. It was like he was trying to do something… I just didn't know what. I mean, I've gotten some extraordinary glances from people, but… geez, come on.

"LOOK OUT!!!" I heard someone yell.

I slowly looked in front of me to see a huge green flash come at me at a hundred miles an hour. I gasped to see what looked like a Grovyle run with several stuff in his hand at a hundred miles an hour. He saw me and then ran faster. It was then he then threw his right arm out to grab me. I widened my eyes as he came closer.

Hearing the shout, my brothers turned around and saw the Grovyle. They immediately grew pale as they began to run back.

"Thomas!!" Naruto yelled as they tried to help me.

But the Grovyle had gotten so close to me, they wouldn't be able to reach me in time. I was about to scream. My head wouldn't be able to move back in time as his hands grabbed for me. Then in a flash, I felt a slight shove from a paw knock me backwards. Before I made contact, I had seen Batsu slide in between us and pushed me with his left paw. He then punched the palm of the Grovyle's hand. The green Pokémon immediately took hold of his paw and pushed off, allowing him to flip over him and land behind me when I landed. But before he could do anything to me, Sasuke and Naruto were there guarding my rear as I was stunned on the ground.

The Grovyle seemed to eye me. I didn't know what the heck this guy's problem was, but it seemed I was his target. But at the time, I was still focused on Batsu, who was in his fighting stance and calm while facing the attacker. To be that fast... pushing me out of the way when the Grovyle had his hands inches away from my head that would've touched in milliseconds... If someone had blinked, they would've missed it. How on earth did this Riolu do that? And how much training did he have to achieve in order to execute that?

However, our staring stopped when the Grovyle looked past us to see a team of Pokémon chase after him. It was a team of Houndoom, Cofagrigus, and Mandibuzz, chasing after him.

"YOU!! STOP RIGHT THERE!!" Cofagrigus yelled.

The Grovyle immediately turned around and ran away from us. The team ran right past, chasing after him. They shouted for him to stop as they continued to chase him. After they have gotten out of sight, Sasuke and Naruto immediately helped me up and brushed me off.

"Geez..." I muttered, "That team didn't even bother to stop and check if I was okay..."

"Yeah, Team Pitchblack isn't known for their gentleness and sympathy," Sasuke said.

"Thomas, are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" Naruto asked.

Well, my rear was sore from landing on the ground so hard, and that shove kinda stunned me, but yeah, I was perfectly fine. I nodded as I looked over at Batsu, who had his arms folded. He gave me a serious look.

"You let your guard down. If I wasn't there, he would've stolen your headband," he told me.

I felt a sweatdrop go down my face as I asked, "Um… did you NOT hear anything my brothers were telling about me back at the pond?"

Sasuke stepped forward and said, "Batsu, listen; I know you're the son of Lucario, and add that to your skills, you have a masterful experience with battles. But Thomas just got out of almost being killed from a surprise attack by multiple enemies. Plus, you know that you, me, and Naruto did not do the greatest jobs on the first missions we did. Please don't belittle him just because he wasn't able to react."

Batsu blinked in a collected way and nodded, "Very well, I shall leave it at that, then. Also, for your complaint, that thief and Team Pitchblack are like mortal enemies. Whenever each of them are in the general area together, everybody assumes there will be a fight, because they've clashed so many times."

"Wait…" I began to ask, "You said he was going to steal my headband? Who is he anyways?"

"His name's Zev," Naruto answered, "He's the local thief. He pickpockets and just likes to make mischief. You'll probably see him a lot getting arrested here."

"Wow… is he that good?" I asked.

Naruto nodded and replied, "Actually, yes he is. His dad, Sceptile, used to belong to Team Lucario before the incident."

"What incident?" I asked.

"Exactly ten years ago, there was a huge explosion that almost destroyed Tiny Woods and half of Pokémon Square. When teams went to investigate it, they saw Sceptile in the middle of it, with the detonation devices in his hands," Batsu finished, "Because of this, my dad's team, Team A.C.T, many other teams, and Whiscash Elder banned him from Pokémon Square and from ever being a team member again."

Whoa, that's rough. I started to understand why Zev became a thief. He must've been struck by this really hard that it caused him to drop all of his morals and lessons that his dad taught him and just do things his own way. I had compassion on him, for some reason.

"So, because of that," Naruto said, "He turned to a life of crime. He basically pickpockets anybody he can get his hands on. And thankfully, if it wasn't for Batsu, you would've been next."

I turned to Batsu and smiled upon hearing that. I nodded to him and thanked him.

"Thank you; I owe you a lot," I said cheerfully.

It was then Mr. Sunshine said, "Just don't get caught like this again in the mission; we can't afford any mistakes."

With that, he started to walk towards the bridge and wait for us. I kind of felt like getting fed up; I was nice to this guy, and he was being an emotionless uncaring warrior. Was he angry that I stood up to his father like that? Well, whatever it was, Sasuke snapped me out of my thinking as he placed his paw on my shoulder while Naruto got the berries from G.K and P.K.

"Hey, don't let him get to you; he's always like that," he said.

I nodded as Naruto handed the berries in a bag to Sasuke and said, "Let's hurry; Caterpie needs our help!"

We both nodded to him as we ran behind Batsu. Once the Riolu saw us, he joined in with us. We started to hurry off to the Tiny Woods. My heart started pounding with excitement as I went on my very first Rescue Team adventure!

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