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Jim Maguire paused as he heard a pokémon yelp off to one side of Route 110. Was something hurt? Concerned, he headed toward the noise, and then realised he could hear a voice, too.
"Worthless mutt!" a man was snarling. Another yelp punctuated his statement. "Disobey me? I'll show you respect for your trainer!" This time Jim heard a dull thud right before the next yelp.
He peered through the bushes to see a burly man twice his age. The man was dressed in black pants, with a striped shirt and a bandanna that made him look like a pirate. At his feet was poochyena; he was raising one foot to kick the small pokémon.
Jim had never punched anyone aiming to hurt before, but the "oof" the pirate goon made as the air rushed out of his lungs was possibly the most satisfying sound he'd ever heard. "You call yourself a trainer?" Jim snapped as the pirate dropped.
The older man opened his mouth, and Jim kicked him in the stomach.
"Worthless piece of trash," Jim growled, kicking him a second time. A third kick went into the pirate's ribs, then Jim walked over to the small poochyena trying to flee.
"Hey, there," he said softly, offering his hand to the puppy.
He was barely fast enough to avoid getting bit.
"Ha!" the pirate scoffed at him. "You think you can control it just like that? It's mean, brat."
"Darcy, if you would?" Jim asked, glancing at his arm. For an instant, nothing happened; then a dark blue creature rose out of his sleeve, taking the form of a disembodied head. The misdreavus shook herself, then floated over to the pirate and wrapped herself around his mouth.
"Thanks." Jim returned his attention to the poochyena. The pup growled at him, but didn't try to bite. "It's okay," he said soothingly. "I won't hurt you. And I won't let that jackoff hurt you either." He could feel the young creature's pain and fear and wished he could do more than just talk it down.
One step at a time. Earn the poochyena's trust, then get it to a Pokémon Center. They weren't very far from Slateport; with Ember to help, they could get there in ten minutes. But how to-- ah!
Slowly, so the pup wouldn't think he was attacking, Jim unshouldered his bag and dug around inside it until he found his Pokéblock dispenser. "Here," he said, softly lobbing a square candy at the poochyena.
The small pokémon leaped back, snarling, but sniffed at the block curiously. The growl died down, and it slowly approached, finally licking the candy.
Jim grinned as the poochyena devoured the candy, and tossed another one. "Like that, huh? You're a brave one, all right. Come on." Slowly, he lured the puppy to him, then offered his hand once more. This time, the poochyena sniffed his hand, then licked it.
"There you are," Jim said, smiling. "Let's get you to a Pokémon Center, hey?" Carefully, mindful of where the pirate had been kicking the little thing, Jim scooped it up in his arms. "Darcy!" he called, and the misdreavus detached from the pirate and floated back over to him, wrapping herself around his jacket sleeve once more.
"Don't think you'll get away with this!" shouted the pirate as Jim started to walk away. "Carvanha, go! Ice Fang!"
Jim leapt aside, turning just before landing and shifting his hold on the poochyena so he could hold it one-armed. With the other, he took a pokéball from his belt and flung it out. "Ember!"
When his ponyta sprang from the pokéball, the pirate laughed at him. "You idiot! Sending a fire type against a water type? You're doomed to lose!"
"Carvanha," said Jim calmly, "don't learn Water attacks until the thirty-first level. Ember, Stomp!"
Ember neighed and reared up on her hind legs, then slammed her forelegs down on the carvanha. While ordinarily the sandpaper-like scales of a carvanha would harm a pokémon, ponyta hooves were as hard as diamond. Ember sustained no damage, while the carvanha was knocked unconscious. Before the pirate could call forth another pokémon, Jim ordered, "Trample!"
"That isn't even a pokémon move!" the pirate protested.
"I know," Jim answered, his grin as feral as any banette's as Ember ran the pirate down. "That was a command."
He whistled for Ember to return before she killed the man, then mounted her. "To the city!"
Ember broke into a full gallop towards Slateport, oddish and zigzagoon scattering before her hooves. Jim lay low on her back, shielding the poochyena from the wind with his body. "Goggles," he muttered, feeling his hair flying behind him. "I need goggles." Ponyta weren't anywhere near as fast as rapidash, but the last time Jim had checked, Ember's top speed was seventy miles per hour. The last thing he needed was for something to fly into his eye and potentially blind him.
Within minutes, they had arrived at Slateport's Pokémon Center. Jim dismounted and dashed inside. "Please - he needs help!" he gasped at the nurse on duty.
She stared at him. "What happened?" she asked, taking the Poochyena from him and gently examining it.
"I don't know," Jim lied. "He was hurt when I found him. I think maybe his ribs are broken."
"Not to worry," the nurse assured him. "We'll be able to fix him up in no time."
Jim smiled in relief. "Good."
"What's his name?" she asked.
Jim didn't hesitate. "Kiba," he said.