Chương 4: Unknown Attackers

Vex Masters slowly opened his eyes, gazing up at the unfamiliar ceiling that constantly shown down bright lights, momentarily blinding him. He wasn't sure where he was or how he had gotten here, but he did remember what had happened, the image of all those birds engraved deep into his memory. If it wasnt for that girl having a bike, his and Pikachu's survival wouldve dropped to almost nothing leaving them either broken and unable to move or straight up pecked to death. It was too painful to imagine the outcome of the incident if the bike hadnt been there so he decided to simply steer his thoughts away from it and instead focus on where he had ended up.

Vex pushed himself into a sitting position, removing the blanket that had been placed over him. His clothes weren't as wet as he had remembered and his shoes, socks, beanie, and backpack were all missing giving him the impression that he had probably been mugged before someone decided to help him. Vex rubbed his eyes and shifted his gaze over the room he was now in and was surprised to find it empty except for a lady with pink hair standing behind the desk and a young girl who was holding one of those purple rats Vex had seen near the Town he had been at earlier.

The room was simple enough to understand. Just an almost empty room with what looked similar to a hospital waiting room in one corner with tables and cushioned seats, and three of those computers that Professor Oak had lined up on the far wall. A good portion of the room, not exactly half, was closed off by a semi-circle that was probably meant for employees only, keeping everyone else out. This was where the woman with pink hair sat, wearing a rather short pink dress with a white apron over it. She had blue eyes and bright bubblegum pink hair that was pulled back into two loops giving her a rather unique appearance. It was this lady that immediately noticed when Vex woke up and excused herself from speaking to the girl, rushing over to stand in front of him.

"Good Morning sir, are you feeling alright?" She bent down somewhat to get a better look at him, Vex's fluffy white hair blocking his eyes from her own. "Someone found both you unconscious after the storm with scrapes, scratches, and bruises covering your body."

Vex didn't know if it was even allowed but she took a seat next to him and pressed the back of her hand against his forehead, checking for a fever. "You really ought to be more careful, especially when you have a Pokemon with you such as that Pikachu we have resting up in the other room."

Vex let out a small sigh of relief as he had actually been a bit worried about Pikachu, though not much. It seemed that most people in this world genuinely cared about other living creatures rather then the ones back in his own world that abused other creatures because they thought it was funny. He hadn't been certain that Pikachu was going to be treated well the moment both it and its owner were found unconscious.

"Well, I have to get back to work so please feel free to stay here until your fully rested up. Ill bring your Pikachu to you right away." The woman stood up and was about to walk away when Vex called out to her.

"Hey, doesn't this place cost money?" Vex asked curiously as he looked towards the girl holding the large purple rat. "I don't really have any money on me at the moment. Can I pay you back later? Also, may I know your name? I forgot to ask."

The pink haired woman turned around, smiled and gave a small bow. "My name is Joy, Nurse Joy and its a pleasure to meet you. This and all other Pokemon Centers do indeed require money, otherwise how would we be able to afford all the equipment needed to treat the Pokemon. However, for this one time I shall pay your fees for you seeing as your money got wet from the rain earlier. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be heading to pick up your Pikachu."

Vex watched as Nurse Joy turned around and walked away, towards the door with the large cross over it. She really was a beauty but Vex didn't have enough experience with girls as of yet to be able to make a move on her. To be quite honest, getting into a relationship or even falling in love would prove to be a dangerous option at the moment. Today had already shown him that he wasn't quite up to the task of thinking ahead or dealing with life or death situations. All he had been able to do was run and that was when he was only with Pikachu so he couldn't even begin to imagine if he had someone with him. Going solo was probably a wise choice until he could at least become strong enough to protect himself, or at the very least smart enough to know what the hell he was doing.

"What a cute nurse, unfortunate that I wont be staying very long here otherwise I could have have at least talked to her a bit more." Vex leaned back against his seat while closing his eyes and was about to just relax for a bit when a very irritating yet familiar voice rang out through the room. "THERE YOU ARE, I FOUND YOU!!"

Vex sat back up and glanced to his left, a head full of orange hair and viridian colored eyes came marching towards him, and though it was supposed to be a serious visit he couldn't help but smile at what she was dragging behind her. He knew it was his own fault, no denying that, but he couldn't help but to stifle a laugh at the mangled remains of her once shiny red bike. The handlebars were bent, the basket was crushed, the chain snapped in two, and the tires were all but tattered pieces of rubber. It was actually hard to say what did that, his intense riding or the fall when he hit the tree trunk and went flying forward.

"Oh hey crop top," Vex said as she stepped up to him, a look of unfiltered rage clear as day upon her face. "Thanks for the bike loan, I appreciate it. Ill pay you back so dont worry." Vex stood up and stretched his legs out, feeling a bit stiff after laying down for so long.

"My name is Misty, not crop top!" The girls exclaimed as she threw the bike down onto the floor. "And you bet your ass that your gonna pay for it, I'm not leaving until you do." She crossed her arms and gave him a sharp glare. It was clear to she that she was quite serious which made Vex want to laugh, but he managed to restrain himself.

Vex had already been through what could possibly have been one of the worst days of his life. He had been transported to another world via lightning strike, shocked by Pikachu, chased down by a pack of birds he didn't even know the names of, nearly drowned in a fast moving river, rode who knows how far on a bike in the pouring rain and hurricane-like winds, and was now in the favor of a nurse after having all his hospital fees waved. Compared to all of that, handling this girl was pretty much a walk in the park.

Leaning forward, Vex moved some hair away from his face in order to look her in the eyes, his blue and gold eyes catching the light from the ceiling. "If you follow me then you WILL get hurt regardless of how careful you are. I'm vastly inexperienced and close to idiotic. Sure it would be nice to have such a gorgeous girl such as yourself along for the ride, but you have to stop and ask yourself. Is that bike really worth your own life?"

Misty took a step back, her eyes glued onto the guy in front of her. She had originally planned to simply come and see how the guys Pikachu had been doing as well as pick up her bike, but when she saw the state her shiny new bike had ended up in, she felt a strong anger and a more then a small amount of depression. While she wasn't lacking in funds, the bike hadn't exactly been cheap and she had even spent a bit extra to customize it, the total coming out to quite a bit of credits. Still what this guy was saying made perfect sense and it was quite obvious he wasn't trying to trick her.

Once she looked past his different colored eyes and rather fluffy white hair, he was similar to that of a novice. Even a starting trainer would know to prepare for any sort of eventuality such as repellant for wild Pokemon or a raincoat for when it started pouring. Hell even a new trainer wouldn't smell as green as this kid in front of her did, as if he didn't know a single thing about this world, though she just labeled it as his idiocy. There was no way someone could grow up and become a Pokemon trainer without knowing the world or even about the different types of Pokemon, it was simply stupid.

Just as she was about to respond however, she was stopped by the sound of the sliding door opening, causing both her and the young man to turn and see. A Pikachu bounded towards the young man, a perfect picture of health as it jumped onto him and made its way to sit on his shoulder. It seemed genuinely glad to see the young man which surprised Misty a little. He seemed new to Pokemon in general but the bond between him and the Pikachu seemed like it was a least a month old. It was quite disconcerting.

Vex was enjoying the ever changing emotions on Misty's face even though he had no clue what she was thinking. He was going to ask her what she was planning on doing afterwards in hopes of being shown around the city for a bit in an attempt to brighten his day a little, but unfortunately things seemed to be working against him. Just as he was about to open his mouth, the lights in the were cut off, darkness expanding to every inch of the room. The only light came from outside buildings, indicating that the sun had set and only the Pokemon center lights had been cut off.

The darkness didn't last very long as the lights returned mere seconds later. When the lights flickered back on, Vex's concern didn't last very long as his attention shifted about onto the two shadowy figures standing inside the room that hadn't been there a second ago. He couldn't really see anything about them except their hair color, one being a bright blue and the other a long bright red.

They were both wore pitch black cloaks that hid their bodies from view as well as black tophats and sunglasses. They gave off an air of mystery as well as a feeling of danger that Vex couldn't quite put into words. Even if he was a complete moron, he instinctively knew that these two were the ones who cut off the lights just now.

"Infiltration complete," The one with blue hair said as his looked around, his voice rather deep and his black sunglasses reflected the light from the ceiling which made him seem even more menacing in Vexs opinion. "It seems they had a backup generator after all. Also, these kids weren't part of the plan."

"It doesn't matter," the red haired figure answered. From the sound of it, this one was a woman and from the tone she was giving off, Vex could only assume that she was in charge. This woman gave off a cold feeling, as if she wouldn't hesitate to kill him if he resisted. "We chose this specific timing in accordance with traffic, officer patrols, and frequent visitors. One or two more people doesn't mean anything. Incapacitate them."

"As you wish," The blue haired male said as he took a step forward. The feeling of danger increased as Vex watched the male take that one single step. No one moved or spoke, most likely also stunned by how fast everything was happening around them. The people who appeared weren't here to socialize and this fact alone seemed to make not only Vex but Misty, Nurse Joy, and that one girl with the rat freeze up.

The man suddenly burst forward at a near inhuman speed, heading straight for Misty. Misty had little to no time to even move as the blue haired man slammed his fist into her stomach followed by a blow to her temple, knocking her out before she even hit the floor. Without even pausing, the man headed straight for Vex, but jumped back when a bolt of electricity hit the floor by his feet which had been fired from the Pikachu on Vex's shoulder. The man took a few steps forward, looking with caution.

"Your Pikachu is smart," the man said as he stood up straight. "Normally Pokemon only do what its trainer says but that one did what was best in the current situation. You trained it well. You have my respect."

Vex blinked, finally snapping back to reality. "Nurse Joy, take those two and retreat further inside the Center. Quickly!!" He wasn't sure what was happening or why the two were here but he knew he stood no chance against them. Hell, he stood no chance against even one and there was TWO of them standing in front of him. He had no intention of playing hero and sacrificing himself, he simply was going to stall for a few seconds using Pikachu. He would've used Leonardo, but he didn't have his bag on him which had the squirtles pokeball.

Nurse Joy, without even hesitating or asking questions, quickly ran up and grabbed Misty by the arms and began tugging her towards the doors with the plus of the top. She was surprisingly strong, managing to pull around 120lbs of dead weight with her as she and the girl disappeared behind the door with Misty in tow.

"Getting rid of dead weight," The man said as he once again launched himself forward. "How smart of you. You'll be a worthy opponent." This time when the electricity came at him, he sidestepped as if he knew where the light was going to hit. With the lightning dodged, Vex was now wide open for an attack.

"It seems that first play was just a stroke of luck," the man said as he ducked low and aimed a punch at Vex's chest, which the young man barely managed to block by crossing his arms in front of his body. Still though, the force was more then enough to send Vex stumbling backwards before crashing onto his a**. "Shame. I guess you were a novice after all. I retract what I said before."

Pikachu jumped off of Vexs shoulder and stood in front of him with cheeks sparking. The man didn't seem to be fazed by it as he looked on with his glasses reflecting a recovering Vex and an angered yellow mouse.

"We're running out of time," The red haired woman said with snipped words. "If we fail here then it'll be a while before we can strike again. We need to succeed. Failure isn't an option so just end his life if you have to."

The man nodded but didn't take his gaze off of the two partners. "I'll tell you what kid," The man said as he raised up a single finger. "If you and your Pokemon move aside, then I'll not only spare your life but also let you keep your Pikachu. However, you only have one chance. The moment you say no, you and your Pokemon die here. Thats the way your story goes. You got ten seconds to decide."