Orion 15: Shady (Patreon)

The city was a lot busier as evening approached, and Orion saw dozens of people walking around. A few where chatting softly, but most were quiet, and a gloomy atmosphere hung over Old Ferrum Town.

"Ri…" whispered from his shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess that Zoroark showing up is a pretty big deal," Orion agreed.

He was glad to reach the Library building. Yanking the door open, he stopped dead in his tracks. Elena stumbled forward, crying in surprise, apparently right in the process of opening the door.

"There you are! I was about to come and get you," she said, eyes wide with excitement. "Grampa needs to talk to you. Come quick!"

Before Orion could react she grabbed his arm and tried pulling him forward. He resisted instinctively, then stepped forward and closed the door. Elena showed no reaction to his resistance and she continued pulling until he came along to the staircase.

It was a rusty, metal affair, the steps lined with thin wood, smooth with age and wear.

"It's really incredible," Elena said as she let go of Orion and began running up. "The ---- will come tomo---!"

A few steps in, the rattling of the stairs made all she said impossible to understand.

The what? Orion thought as he ran after her.

Thirty steps later they ran into a small hallway with a few closed doors and one open double wooden one. Elena sprinted inside, Orion on her heels, really curious what was happening. He almost forgot that he was actually not interested in questions, or weary from the day.

Professor Hazelton said behind a massive desk of hazelwood with his last name carved in curling letters in the front. Papers, books, and many other things cluttered all of it but the center, where he had a single book open in which he was furiously scribbling.

As they entered, he looked up, and his eyes lit up.

"Ah, Orion! I was hoping you would show up! Do you have time to answer some-"

"Grampa, later! First, tell him about the you know what!" Elena interrupted him.

Orion felt a slight relief as the Professor nodded.

"Right, of course," Professor Hazelton said with a wide smile. "So, I just got a message from a friend of mine in Tellur Town. The merchant caravan should be arriving here tomorrow afternoon, and-"

Elena spun around, grinning at Orion. "And they will have three unbound Pokemon so everyone can test if they have perhaps gotten aura! I'm going to try!"

"Elena… remember last time?" Professor Hazelton said with a weary smile. 

Orion noticed a tiny bit of worry in his eyes, but it vanished as fast as it came.

"Yes, yes! I won't get to excited this time," Elena said, almost jumping up and down. "But I have a feeling I'll do better this time! I'm still young and the changes are big until you reach eighteen! That's still ages away!"

Orion blinked in surprise, turning to the Professor. "I thought you had to be born with aura?" he asked.

"What? No, dear boy! Whoever told you that?" the Professor said, shaking his head. "Some are, but most somehow gain it before their sixteenth birthday, and-"

"Eighteenth birthday! Remember last year?!" Elena said, shaking her head at him.

"I remember," the Professor said with a smile. "Now, why don't you go down and read a bit? You need to relax for tomorrow!"

"Who could relax now?" Elena said before she froze and blinked. "Then again, it couldn't hurt to brush up on my aura-type knowledge!"

Orion watched in surprise as she waved, shouted a hard-to-understand greeting, and sprinted away.

Professor Hazelton watched her go, then leaned back in his chair. He seemed lost in thought, and Orion moved from one foot to the other, not sure if he should say something.

"She was depressed for nearly a month after the last time," the Professor finally said. He looked at Orion. "The further beyond twelve that someone is, the smaller the chances are. Only around sixteen is there a resurgence. I have never been able to figure out why that is."

Orion nodded, then stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Nurse Joy said you wanted to see me?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes… I was going to ask you for some more information on other types of pokemons that you have seen, but after what happened this afternoon. Well. I can understand if you are to tired."

Orion saw the question in the Professor's eyes, hesitated, and then steeled himself against boredom and horrendous questions.

"I can answer some questions," he said, forcing himself to smile.

"Good, good! A resilient boy, I'm sure Krastin will be happy with that," the Professor said. "Well then, have you ever seen a Pokemon that-"

Time crawled by as Orion answered ever more detailed questions. Some he knew, if they entailed Pokemon, he'd taken care of on the farm. For others, he could only explain what he'd seen, though he refrained from adding that seen meant on the television or Pokeweb.

Finally, as he was sitting on the chair, having a hard time keeping his eyes open, the Professor laughed.

Orion blinked and looked up.

"You should go to bed. I've asked you about the size of onyx where you are from three times now, and all you did was yawn!"

"I… sorry," Orion said, grinning. 

"No problem! I might have gone a bit overboard, but you have helped me immensely. In some cases you have confirmed what I almost knew, and in others you've explained some uncommon phenomenon. I'll make sure to send you some more food- as a fighting aura-type you will need a lot of it."

At the mention of food, two rumbling sounds, one louder than the other, came from Orion and Riolu.

"Thank's a lot professor," Orion said, not sure if the weary questions were worth food. It would depend on the amount of food, he guessed.

The Professor laughed again, shaking his head, and got up. He walked to a cupboard and pulled out two pokeberries.

"Here, eat these as you walk home. I wouldn't want you to sleep on an empty stomach."

Orion and Grit happily accepted the food. "Thanks! Uhm… can I take another book from below?"

Professor Hazelton nodded immediately. "Yes, just make sure to leave a note which one you took and your name on the desk. I'll take care of it later!"

"Thanks," Irwin said again. 

Just as they were about to leave, the Professor hummed and called Orion's name.

"Yes?"

"Although the chance is small, if Elena awakens her aura tomorrow, she will go to Krastin. I'd be indebted to you if you could keep an eye on her. She tends to lose focus when she thinks she can find out new information."

Orion nodded, feeling a surge of protectiveness from Riolu. It surprised him, but he did agree with the sentiment.

"Definitely!" he said.

"Alright, now, better head back," Professor Hazelton said.

Orion nodded again, then turned and headed down the stairs. The library was dark and empty, but he slowed as he passed the section about auras. After a second, he grabbed a book on metal aura called 'The Power of Heavy Metal', and another called 'Aura Training for Beginners'.

He scribbled the names and his own name on a slip of paper he found on the desk, then headed outside.

It was dark, cloudy and cold outside, and Orion squinted as he tried to see through the dark as he walked towards the Pokecenter. There were some lights around, creating pockets of light he walked in and out of.

"Do you think the merchants can tell us more about my aura?" Orion whispered to Grit.

There was no response, and he looked at his shoulder, expecting his friend to be asleep. Instead, the Riolu was staring straight into the dark, and slowly, a sense of confusion and foreboding came from his friend.

It wiped away all Orion's weariness, clearing his mind of the questions, and stopped mid-stride. He felt his muscles bunch together as he stared at the other side of the small square he was on. It was dark, but as he watched, something moved. A tall figure that looked faintly like a man walked forward along the edge.

Orion wanted to mutter a greeting, but his voice stuck in his throat as Riolu growled dangerously.

"Riiiiiiiiiiiiii!" 

Grit's high-pitched cry carried a warning and a question. The figure stopped, and Orion had the distinct sense that he was being looked at. He took a hesitant step back, getting a sinking suspicion.

"Riolu!" 

Something pulsed from Grit, and the image of the man seemed to shimmer before suddenly vanishing. In its place was a knee high figure, that let out a surprised and angry bark.

"Rua!"

Orion shivered as he remembered two angry red eyes. Then a small, black and red furred pokemon stepped into the edge of the light. Its eyes gleamed as the glowered at Riolu. A soft, but dangerous growl came from it..

Orion acted before he even realized what he was doing.

"ZORUA!" he shouted, his voice a bit higher than he'd have preferred had he the time to think about it. "There's a Zorua in town!"

The Pokemon before him reacted like lightning, dashing forward.

"Quick attack," Orion shouted, and he was shoved back as Grit launched itself from his shoulder. 

The two pokemon mon, one blue-black, the other red-black, slammed into eachother, Grit's attack hitting first. The Zorua showed barely any reaction, and it unleashed a rapid onslaught of hits that struck Riolu, causing it to stumble back.

Fury Swipes, Orion knew, recognizing the attack.

He clenched his hands into fists. That made the Pokemon in front of them way too high!

Grit moved before he could call an order, kicking out low just like he'd been practicing all day. It still didn't carry any of the power of the Breloom, but the Zorua still dashed back.

Orion's mind went a thousand ticks a second. There was no way Grit could fight the Zorua, and just trying could get him killed. He jumped forward and grabbed his friend. Holding the struggling Pokemon, he turned and ran. He knew he'd never be able to outrun the Zorua, but he hoped he didn't have to.

"Zooooorua!" came an angry call from behind, but Orion ignored it.

Shouts came from nearby, and he spun around a corner just as something cracked into the wall beside him. He didn't check what it was but ran for the voices. A ball of light shot up somewhere, and then roaring, shouting, and fighting followed. 

They are attacking again!

Something slammed into his back, and with a painful cracking, he was flung forward, hitting the ground with hands outstretched. A sharp snap came from his left hand, and he cried out at the sudden pain.

"Zorua, zor!" a dangerous snarl came from behind.

"Ri!" 

Orion rolled on his back just in time to see Riolu attack the Zorua again, using a quick attack. It had as little effect as the first time, and the Zorua attacked. A single strike caused Grit to be launched away, and Orion was barely in time to raise his hands to catch his friend. Stinging pain came from his left hand, and the force of Riolu hitting him in the chest shoved him a few feet back.

"Ri," Riolu groaned before shrugging Orion off.

"No, you can't fight him!" Orion hissed. "We need to flee!"

"Riolu, Riolu, ri!" Grit said, stalking forward.

He was moving slowly and with difficulty, but a sense of steely resolve came from him.

Orion forced himself to his feet, the pain in his back and hand fading to the background as he feared for his friend.

"Zorua," their enemy growled, a slight laugh seeming inside its voice.

"Ri!"

Again, Riolu moved first, but this time he didn't use quick attack. Instead, he jumped forward and right as the Zorua's flurry of attacks came, he used Endure.

Even then, Orion grimaced as the rapid strikes caused Riolu to stumble back with a cry of pain. He landed on his hands and feet, and drew deep ragged breaths.

Not sure what to do but not willing to watch it anymore, Orion shuffled forward.

"Leave him alone!" he shouted, angry at his feeling of weakness. Weren't fighting aura trainers supposed to be able to fight? Why was he so weak still?

He knew, in the back of his mind, that he was being foolish. He had only become a trainer days ago and learned about aura even shorter. 

The Zorua barked a laugh, then flashed forward. 

Orion knew that if the attack hit, with no healing in the Poke Center, he or Riolu would be in a ton of trouble. He jumped to his friend, intent on pushing him away when something flew past his head like a tiny missile. It intercepted the Riolu mid-air, flinging it back all the way into the wall a dozen or more feet away.

"Noct- Noctowl!'

A deep, deafening cry, belying the tiny Pokemon's size, boomed out.

Orion stared in stunned surprise at the Zorua, which lay in a crumpled heap, unmoving. He didn't know when he'd sat down, but he was, and as he heard running, he felt his mind go blank.

The last thing he knew was concerned voices and a sense of assurance from Grit. Then everything went black.

--

Orion woke slowly, his awareness growing like a budding tree. The first thing he noticed was that he was on his back, and there was no pain. Then, he felt something was holding his hand in place. 

He hesitated for a bit, then opened his eyes and blinked at the sudden brightness.

"Orion, you're awake!" a familiar, relieved cry came.

Orion barely saw something dash away, and then a door thudded, and what he thought was Elena was alone.

I'm in the Poke Center, he thought, looking around stupidly. And it's daytime.

For a moment, he wondered if Krastin would be upset that he missed his class, then he thought about Grit. He bolted upright in bed, and instantly, a dull pain came from his back. With a pained groan, he fell back, glad that didn't increase the pain. A soft yawn made him look to the side, and he saw Grit stretch its arms before looking around worriedly.

"Riolu!"

"Yes, I'm okay," Orion said just as the door was shoved open.

Nurse Joy and Elena surged inside, both looking relieved.

"That's good to hear," Nurse Joy said.

Orion was about to answer when a dull rumbling came from his stomach. With it came a sense of hunger that bordered on being vanished, and he grimaced.

"Krastin said you would be hungry," Nurse Joy said, smiling. "That's a good sign. Elena, could you-"

"I'll get it! I'll be right back!" Elena shouted as he dashed out of the door and then down the stairs.

"Don't run on the stairs," Nurse Joy shouted after her.

There was no response, and they both heard something thud the last few steps.

"Oh dear, I hope she didn't break her leg," Nurse Joy said, shaking her head.

Then they heard running into the Poke Center below, showing everything was fine.

"What happened," Orion asked.

He was rubbing Grit's head with his good hand while the other was wrapped up in a thick clump of white bandage. He heard the door open, then someone ran through the Poke Center.

"You saved a lot of people. That is what happened," Nurse Joy said. "If you hadn't warned us, we would have been ambushed again."

Orion blinked, thinking about the Zorua and the fighting he'd heard. 

"It was Grit," he said. "He detected something, then… did something!"

"Did he now?" another familiar voice said, and Professor Hazelton walked in. 

He looked weary, eyes drawn, but at the same time he exuded a sense of power. A small Noctowl sat on his head, eyes closed.

"Thank you!" Orion said, pushing himself upright only to grimace at the stab of pain in his back.

"Stay down," Nurse Joy said, shaking her head. "You got a nasty bruise on your back, and one of the bones in your hand snapped."

Irwin blinked, looking at his hand. It hurt far less than his back, which surprised him.

"Don't worry. One of the advantages of your aura is that you will heal much faster than normal," Professor Hazelton said. "Your back should be fine by tomorrow, and your hand in a day or two. Still, you will have to take it slow for a while. I've spoken with Krastin, and he said it's fine if you just go with Elena and see the merchants later today."

Orion nodded, his curiosity growing. "They have arrived?"

"They came early in the morning," Professor Hazelton said just as Elena stormed into the room with a basket full of berries and food.

"Now, go and eat! If possible, come and see me tomorrow. I'm very curious about the details of your aura because Krastin said there was something weird about it."

Orion barely heard him as he was using his good hand to stuff pieces of bread in his mouth. He barely managed a wave as he and Grit began taking care of all the food they could.